Girl's Christmas

Every year a friend of mine hosts the most fabulous get together for a group of  girls that includes friends and her sister-in-laws. I have been lucky enough to be included in this festive party for the past three years, and over the years we have all become friends. It is a lovely group of women. Not only does everyone bring a yummy snack, but we have an gift exchange that is the mother of all exchanges. Seriously. We look forward to this night all year. Well, I know I do :) The theme is "my favourite things," and each girl gifts nine of their favourite thing... one for each girl. It is so fun and you really get a mix of different gifts because we all have different tastes and hobbies. 

So, if you have a group of girlfriends, no matter the size, you should really consider adding this to your holiday get together. And if I haven't sold this idea enough, here are the nine gifts I received at this year's party.

From the tea lover- her favourite blend and an adorable mesh ball infuser.

From the health foodie gal and the wine lover friend- a cliff bar and a wine cork with a pump to keep that unused wine fresh!

From the girl whose mother is an amazing crocheter... the most adorable headband, with a gloss to match.

From the frequent traveller- an adorable bag of mini toiletries.

From the girl who loves baths- a relaxation kit including bath salts, body wash, a luffa, and of course chocolate.

From the mountain lover- a special ornament for our Christmas tree

From the latte lover- a $5 gift card to a local coffee shop and a gloss to re-apply after drinking the latte.

From the girl with a sweet tooth- a chocolate snack.

I have a  thing for cupcakes and muffins, and so this year I gave everyone a cupcake/muffin holder to make travelling with your treat easier. I also made personalized jewellery trays for each girl. For those of you who want to try this, I used a box of clay from Hobby Lobby. I rolled small amounts of clay into a ball and then rolled it out with a rolling pin. I then used a circle cookie cutter to get my shape. I used letter stamps to personalize each tray, and before baking them in the oven I turned up the edges to give each one a unique shape. Super easy :)

Christmas is right around the corner! I hope everyone is having a healthy and relaxing holiday season with your loved ones. From our family to yours, 

Merry Christmas!!

~ K

Christmas mash up

I haven't made a post for a couple of weeks .. Life has gotten in the way as usual and I have had so many little things going on and a lot on my mind. I have been busy preparing for Christmas, baking, making decorations for Max's first birthday, starting the transition from Max into daycare (and trying to mentally and emotionally deal with that), putting together Max's first year photo book (which is taking forever because of the slower than molasses download speed on my computer for the shutter fly website), helping put together games for one of my best friend's baby shower, working, and trying to do as many fun things as I can with Max before I return to work in six weeks. There just aren't enough hours in the day. Life is good though and I can't complain we are happy, healthy and fortunate in many ways. My husband and I can't believe how big Max is getting and the new "tricks" as I like to call them ;) that he is learning, but at the same time.. how in the world is he almost one year old!! (insert bawling).

So this post very much mimics my mind right now.. A complete mash up! 

As promised I'm sharing with you series of holiday gift tags that I made this year. They were super easy and fun to make. The buttons, felt and scrapbooking paper are all from the dollar store and the gift tags and red/white striped string are from Hobby lobby. I know you can buy a sheet of gift tags from the dollar store but to me nothing beats something handmade with love... and if you complete a project like this while watching a show that you PVR'd from two weeks ago you can kill two birds with one stone.. multitasking is definitely a best friend of mine. I have also been playing around with brown paper wrapping paper and greenery.

 Need a cute idea for a personalized present for your loved ones? A few years ago I made a set of these for a friend of mine. You can buy a package of tiles from home depot to make two sets of four. I used a stencil and black paint. I would use a black sharpie if I make these again in the future. I did the first initial of their four family members. I then slapped a piece of sticky felt on the bottom to protect the surface they placed them on.

I LOVE these wreaths. They were not the most fun to make but the end result was totally worth it. All you need is a wire hanger and a ton of balls. Choose a friend's favourite colour, or choose a colour that matches the recipient's Christmas tree decor (like the blue one I made). All you do is thread the balls on and shake them down. They will fall into place for you. It also wasn't the cheapest to make.. the red wreath was $20... because you need a ton of balls. 

I'm also including pictures from past season's projects, my popsicle snowflake and my and Christmas bulb door decoration.. Oldies but still goodies!

 

 My final share is two pieces of art work made by a very cute baby. Have you ever tried tape resist art work? It was fun to do with him. And of course, what would the art work be without a button and hand made yarn pom pom as accents  :)

 Next week a friend of mine are getting together for a craft date to make wreaths and trees out of coffee filters. These ideas have been floating around on Pinterest lately and so I thought I'd try to make a couple for next year's mantle which I'm hoping to make more elaborate, since hopefully by then Max understands the words "don't touch" :)

Okay. Get ready for this simple sharpie coil doormat project... I giggle inside every time I see it on my phone. Again it's the little things that you add to your day to keep you sane. Or is it insane that I'm obsessed with a doormat!? I'll let you be the judge. I am still on the hunt for a plain mat to make this. Most of them already have print or design on them. But I will preserve. It may have to be added to next year's decorations. I plan on putting Merry Christmas instead of the keep the change line.

I am still hopeful that I will have a teepee made for Max by Christmas. If I do I will post the process. I will also be posting my paint job on Max's new ikea LATT table and chairs; his present from Santa. 

I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season and not feeling stressed or overwhelmed with everything on your to do list. At least tomorrow is Friday... TGIF!

Oh and Saturday Max meets Santa. I'll let you know how it goes. My husband and I have a $5 bet going.. my odds are on him losing his bananas. We will see. 

~ K