brown paper packages tied up with string

....these are a few of my favorite things.

this is how i wrapped this year for Christmas. 

The paper is from Dollar Tree (it's in the office supply section) and the hemp twine is from Walmart in the craft section. I just used sharpies (on hand).

What to do with those Christmas Cards

one of my favorite things about the holidays is receiving Christmas cards in the mail. i don't know what it is about it...it just makes me happy. because it makes me so happy i don't ever want to get rid of them, but then again, i don't want them sitting in piles either...i've got plenty of piles going on already.

years ago, a friend suggested cutting out my favorite part of each of the cards i received and creating a scrapbook with them. i thought this was fantastic. here is ours from 2007.

here is a little bit closer on one of the pages...you can see i hand wrote 2007 at the bottom. i used simple paper in the background because there is so much going on in the body of the page. i typically alternate the background colors between red and green.

i'm obsessed with pictures, so i love getting the holiday cards with pictures. i decided i didn't want to cut up these cards and include them in the scrapbook page. rather, i punch a hole in each card at a corner with a single hole-punch and then feed them through a metal ring. i include these in the Holiday Cards scrapbook simply by dropping the ring down into an empty sleeve that corresponds with the correct year.

sampling of Christmas, part 2

take-out organizers...i made these a few years ago and organized them in binders, but i had bought these really cute file folders for Landon's Love that i haven't really done anything with. i thought to cut the file folders to create a front and a back and then i still used the sheet protectors (other than polka dots, these are my favorite things...EVER). I put a "Shh..secret recipes" sticker on the front with a label. The intention of these is for folks to put take out and delivery menus in the sheet protectors and to keep this folder somewhere near the phone. i love these...they are simple, yet so handy for folks who get take out or delivery often.



wooden picture block...i was searching craft blogs the other day and came across little birdie craft blog (see 'blogs i follow' list) and saw the most precious idea...wooden block with pictures. check out their website for some darling examples. one of their tips was to use matte pictures only and all i have is glossy. since i was looking just the other day, i didn't have time to get matte prints. my brain got to searching for ideas of how i could still create a wooden block to display pictures. here is what i came up with...



instead of mod podging a picture to the wooden block, i used decorative paper and then embellished it with a little binder clip of sorts so that the picture could be changed at any time. i really like how it turned out and cannot wait to do more. for anyone out there who might try something like this, but are having a hard time finding wooden blocks, i might suggest contacting a local cabinet showroom. my husband was able to bring home old samples that worked perfectly! if you don't feel like going that route, check out the little birdie blog for some ideas about where to get some wooden blocks.

photo garden...i got this idea from Michaels years ago but have yet to create it. i think i intended to do it for Grandma and Nan a few years ago and never got around to it. i used the most random things (straws for the sticks because i couldn't find skewers, ripped green tissue paper for the grass because i was too lazy to walk downstairs and get pipe cleaners or nice paper).



fleece scarves...this is my "little black dress" of the winter when it comes to gifts. this all started about 5 years ago when i received the most wonderful gift from a student of mine. she had created a warm and stylish scarf out of fleece. i adored the style and appreciated the warmth because I DON'T DO COLD. these scarves are as easy as cutting a strip of fleece and then cutting strips along the length to give it a little character. in the past i have sewed down the length, but i don't think it is necessary. this was the first year i tried using those fleece throws that are in every store. i got mine at Walmart for less than 8 bucks and was able to get 4 adult size scarves out of them. my only complaint with using the throws is that it seemed to produce a lot more lint all over the place. i think shaun was afraid to eat in the kitchen for a few days because there were little blue fuzzies flying around like mad. this picture isn't the greatest, but it might give you an idea.



treasure jar...i embellished these with picket fences and flower stickers. i drew in the stems. i added stickers to spell out our nieces names. 7 year olds typically have tons of treasures, so i figured this would be a cute place to keep them.



family boredom buster kits...these will have to be late Christmas gifts as my printer isn't cooperating, but i have compiled tons of ideas from magazines and our own families and come up with fun things to do together. whenever i can get these completed i'll try to post a picture and a sample page.

sampling of Christmas, part 1

in an attempt to save money this Christmas i set on a mission to create things. Even right now i'm trying to figure out things i can make for my niece who i will be exchanging gifts with in less than 2 hours...i think i should just give it up!

at school, we have activity period once a month. my group does crafts. the group i had most recently wanted to tie dye. although the thought of tie dye made me cringe (the mess, my inexperience), i agreed. i'm glad i did because it sparked some ideas for Christmas. this year i tie dyed towels and white leggings for my nieces.





i have to admit, i still don't really know what i'm doing when it comes to tie dye, but what i've learned is that it doesn't really seem to matter! i like those kind of projects :-)

both of my nieces love art, so i tried to create some things to support that. i made an art tube for one of them.



an art display center made from a scrapbook:






and an art in progress on the go kit (i placed a sketch pad and some nice colored pencils in an accordian file):