Still Here!

I wish I had something crafty and inspiring to post.

But nope.

I'm sure just like you, I've been busy shopping, wrapping and baking.

Oh yeah, and going crazy. Like I do every holiday season.

I am SO not one of those gals that has it all together right now. I am always flying by the seat of my pants and just barely skating by.

Oh well! Still love this time of year.

We're heading to the snowy Utah mountains for Christmas.

I’m a little bit scared. I grew up in Utah, but moved to Arizona about 2 years ago. I’m a softy. 50 degrees is cold to me now. It means I have to put on a long-sleeve shirt when running and wear shoes instead of flip flops. What the heck am I going to do in sub-30 weather??

We won’t be back until after New Year’s. But if any of you are still reading this humble little blog, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous New Year!

Grandma’s Rocking Horse Cross Stitch

Last year my mother let me and each of my siblings choose something of my grandmother’s to keep. I chose this beautiful rocking horse cross-stitch. Not sure why. I just liked the simple beauty of it. Unfortunately, it sat in my Christmas boxes all last year cause I just hated the gold speckled frame that it came in.

But that was before me and spray paint were BFFs.

So this year when I pulled it out of my Christmas boxes, instead of seeing an uglygoldspeckledframe thathadnochanceofEVERseeingthelightofdayagain, I saw my grandma’s beautiful vintage cross-stitch that just needed a little paint on the frame to make it pretty again.

Do you have anything that spray paint can rescue?

Fur Wreath

The Nester last year posted an awesome tutorial on how to make a fur wreath for your winter/Christmas decor. I so loved the look of it, and decided to give it a try this year.

But this project was definitely a doozy!

In her instructions she says, "Like most of the projects we do here, there's a little risk, a little trial and error, a little imperfection and it's all worth it. Basically, you want to cover the wreath form with the fur. And the longer the hair, the more forgiving it is of your messy, inpatient, non-measuring self."

I didn't believe it when I started it, but the more a got into it the more I realized, yep! that's exactly what's going on here. No rules, lots of trial and error. And in the end, your goal really is just to cover the wreath form with the fur.

I had fur EVERYWHERE,
and I think I was itching my eyes for several hours afterward.

But it was so worth it!
I love that it's just a little different than what you usually see.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas . . .

A Christmas Centerpiece

So I've had this berry pine garland since last year. As usual, I picked it up on clearance without having a clue what I was going to do with it.

But with a little patience, the inspiration came! And I decided to cut it up and use it in a Christmas centerpiece.

But I needed something to put it in . . . Hmmmmm. . . .

It needed to be solid wood, dark, rustic,
rectagular, not too big, not too small . . . Hmmmm . . .

But the more specifications I had, the less likely I was going to

find anything like it at the Goodwill (ha ha).

So I decided to make myself a box! (with a little help from the hubby of course)

I stained it a dark walnut and then piled in my chopped up garland.

Threw in some Christmas pinecones . . .

And called it good!

The husband even likes this one :) (bonus!)

Give Thanks Banner

Since making my first paper banner for my little girl's birthday party, I've kind of become addicted. I can see banners everywhere. And with all of the adorable scrapbook paper out there now, seriously, how can you not? So I got inspired the other day while making some greeting cards, and decided to put one together for Thanksgiving.

I printed the letters on Thanksgiving antique sheet music that I found over at The Graphics Fairy.

Too bad Thanksgiving is like in a day and I'll only have it up for a little while. But Christmas is right around the corner and I can't wait to start dressing up the house in red and green.

I *might* even put up my Christmas tree this week . . . or next.

Don't hate me.

Can you love a filing cabinet?

I have the best friends in.the.world.

One of my girlfriends called me the other night and said she had something for me if I wanted it. And that she was sending me a pic right away and to let her know what I thought.

When I opened my e-mail I almost fell off my chair. I was IN LOVE.

With a filing cabinet.

When I called her back I tried not to sound too lovesickteenagerlike. Just in case she changed her mind, I didn't want her to feel bad. Although she herself loved the cabinet, she didn't have a place for it and wanted it to go to a good home.

She knew I would love it too and take good care of it.

This cabinet is just too good to be true. The perfect chippy blue with brown underneath. The gorgeous antique hardware.

Don't you love it too? And if you don't, don't tell me. My husband already told me he thought it was ugly. I just hope he was out of earshot when he said it. Can't have this beauty not feeling loved in her new home!

I just can't wait to fill her up with craft supplies and put her to good use . . .

*sigh*

Thanks Linds!

Winner, Winner!

And the winner is . . . .

Number #1: My highschool friend, Jackie, at Beautiful Journey.

Yay! I'll get your package to you ASAP.

I was just thrilled that so many of you participated that I decided to make an extra set of these Fall greeting cards and have a second winner for those!

And the winner is . . .

Number #30: My friend Holly here in Arizona! Congrats!

Thank you to everyone who particpated! I wish I had something to send to each and every one of you. But I am already brainstorming for my next giveaway . . . maybe even in time for Christmas :)

Giveaway Ideas

Last day of the giveaway! I hope everyone who wanted
has had a chance to enter.

I just wanted to post some ideas of things you
can do with some of the giveaway items.

Here I put some berry wreath picks in a glass vase. So easy!

Here I just strung the leaf garland around my porch chair. I really love
this garland and all its colors. Perfect for fall!
And, yes, I have bought one for myself!

This is what I've done with the chestnuts. Just filled up a Goodwill vase
with some faux grasses.


I suggested "sprinkling" the leaves or chestnuts around a fall display. Here I've done the same, but with pinecones.


Just a few here and there . . .



Nestled among my little pilgrim folks . . .


And on my fall mantle.

And here is something I love doing with the jute twine . . .
wrapping it around candles.

So just a few ideas on some things to do with your fall decor. Good luck!

Autumn Giveaway!

I think you all know how much I love Fall. And now that I live where it doesn't snow, I'm especially in love with November and all of its pumpkin, cinnamon, crunchy leaves, cool breeze loveliness. So this giveaway is all about autumn!

A bundle of fall berry wreath picks. These can be used to spruce up a fall wreath, fill up a pretty apothecary jar, or (my favorite) tucked in or around a candle to just give a little extra something.

A pretty sparkly fall leaf garland. I love these things. You can string it around a fun pumpkin display, or dress up your autumn mantle, or even get crazy and tear the leaves off to put on a wreath or fill up a jar or sprinkle around a display.

Two cute little pumpkins.

A bag of hand-gathered chestnuts. These are my new favorite unexpected fall decoration. These look great around a candle in a hurricane glass, or sprinkled around a fall display.

"GIVE Thanks" vinyl lettering. The GIVE is beige and the Thanks is burgundy. The Thanks is meant to overlay in front of the GIVE, but you can create whatever your heart desires!

GRATITUDE vinyl lettering, dark brown in color.

The two little pumpkins above are ceramic and will need padding when shipped. So I was looking around for something to keep them safe when I remembered I had these! Two cute Halloween handtowels and washclothes. Of course you won't be able to use them till next year, but how fun are these??

A bundle of my new favorite thing . . . jute twine. This is perfect for stringing up banners, tying up goodies in a bag, or wrapping around candles to give them the perfect fall touch.

Finally, a bundle of 5 homemade Fall greeting cards. Pictured is just one of the designs. And please forgive my camera skills. I obviously need a tutorial on "how to take fabulous super up-close pictures of teeny tiny objects" :) Oh well. I think you get the idea!

Now all you have to do is leave a comment and you'll be officially entered in the giveaway. Make sure that you have an e-mail attached to your account or left in the comment so I can contact you. The giveaway will go through Thursday, and I'll announce the winner on Friday.

Happy November everyone!