Social Salutations

Monday, December 10, 2012

The Stockings Were Hung by the Chimney with Care

With our new addition to the family this year, we are one stocking short. I decided to tackle the project head on and pull out the trusty sewing machine - we're not the best of friends. We've had our ups and downs, but this time I think I showed that machine who's boss. (Riiight).

This project naturally started with some stockings I found on Pinterest. Here is some of the inspiration I found:

Love these from Ballard Designs

These from Dear Lillie are so sweet!

And finally, my favorite from Dreamy Whites:

I had toyed with the idea of using a burlap coffee sack that I picked up, but in the end there wasn't enough fabric for four stockings. After I scoured my fabric supply I decided on using some left over drop cloth fabric that I had laying around. It looked most like the stockings I found online that I liked so I just went with it. The same day I picked up the coffee sack, I also bought an old grain sack as well. I loved the red and blue stripes it had, and it also has some writing on it as well. The only bad thing about it was that there are some pretty large stains - big enough that I wouldn't be able to use it for pillows or upholstery. I decided to use the striped part of them to make the tops of the stockings.

I'm actually still in the middle of this project - two down and two to go! Hopefully I can finish before Christmas!!

XOXO

Friday, December 7, 2012

Friday I'm In Love with Pretty Packages

Friday I'm In Love is back this week with some gorgeous gift wrap ideas! As I have been scouring the bloggy world this week, I came across some beautiful packages for the holidays. I love giving a gift that not only looks good on the inside, but on the outside as well. These ladies have some great ideas, and they are easy to pull off too!

Every time I toss a toilet paper roll I stare at it wondering what it could be, and 9 times out of 10 I come up short. Jill from Create. Craft. Love., on the other hand, found a great way to re-purpose them as these adorable pillow boxes! I love the pop of color on the craft paper, so cute!

Meeha Meeha has outdone herself again with this snowflake and pom pom gift wrap! If you love those poms as much as me, head over to her blog for the tutorial. So adorable, right?

Rebecca from Simple as That has some awesome and easy ideas for her pretty packages. I love each and every one of these, especially the bunting! All I keep singing in my head is "Brown Paper Packages tied up with string"....

Don't forget the gift tags! Chelsea from Making Home Base used washi tape to make these creative tags for her husband's care package. LOVE! (And yes, that's her handwriting!!)

Finally, if you're like me, you wonder how to make edible gifts look good for the holidays too. How cute is this cookie packaging from Jo-Anna at A Pretty Life In The Suburbs? Her tutorial is great, make sure you head over to check it out!

That's it for this week. I hope you enjoyed these amazing ideas as much as I did!

XOXO

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Elf On The Shelf - Week 1

This year we have had a little elf visiting us through the holiday season. Addison has named her Calup, and she has been getting into all sorts of trouble. We're having so much fun with her that I wanted to include you all in her latest adventures!

Day 1: Elves and Fairies are pretty tight I think...

Day 2: Who knew elves likes dominoes?

Day 3: Hangin' Around...

Day 4: Lifeguard Duty

Day 5: Someone's in Trouble!

Day 6: Joy Riding

Day 7: A Date with Prince Eric... drinkin' out of a redneck wine glass! So Naughty!

That concludes week 1. Stay tuned next week for more elf shenanigans!!

XOXO

Jenn

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

It's HERE!!!

I can officially cross something off my bucket list. A few months ago I entered into "Organizing Solutions: Room by Room" Talent Scouting Party at WhisperWood Cottage. The winners that were selected would have a feature in the January issue of Cottages & Bungalows Magazine. I have always dreamed of it (but never thought I would have a shot), so I entered my craft room/home office on a wing and a prayer. I never in a million years thought that I would be among the beautiful projects selected. The day Amy announced the winners I rushed over to her blog to see if by chance I was among them. I scrolled down the list oohing and ahhing over the selections, with each one I will admit I got a little sad. Until, that is, I got to the very last one - holy crapola it was ME!!!

Well, the Magazine is out!! Words cannot express my excitement as I rounded the corner into the magazine section at Publix and saw the issue sitting right on top. I sat down on the floor until I found it - wow. There it was - I was officially published!!

Thanks to Amy at WhisperWood Cottage for hosting such a unique opportunity for the little bloggers out there like me - what an amazing opportunity. Congrats to the other wonderful ladies who were also selected!!

XOXO

Monday, December 3, 2012

O' Christmas Tree

Last year I was tooling around a local antique gallery and fell in love with some reclaimed wood trees that some vendors had made. About a month ago I found some old painted wood boards at the Flowery Branch Auction and snatched them up. This year I would make my very own tree to add to my Christmas Mantle display.

I started with these boards, laying them out on the floor. They were pretty dirty so I had to clean them up a bit. Then I used a straight edge and drew diagonal pencil lines down the sides where I wanted to cut the boards. I recruited hubby to do the cutting for me since I'm not exactly a whiz with the power tools. He was a sweetie and used wood glue to attach the painted boards to a vertical plank we had in the garage.

Up on the mantle it went, but it was balancing on the "trunk". A few days went by and then we heard a loud crash. The tree had tumbled off the mantle and was laying in pieces on the floor. I decided to go ahead and nail the planks on and added a base to the bottom so it wouldn't tumble down again.