My top posts of 2011

2011 was a fantastic year for my blog!  It grew so much thanks to all of you and I would give you all a great big hug if I could. 


Here is a recap of some of the most popular projects.


In February, I redid our master bedroom.  I still love it and am thrilled with how it turned out.  I only wish it was this clean now. 


In April, I posted a tour of our home.  It has changed so much since then.  I need to post new pictures! 


In June, I finally figured out a solution for how to store our gift wrap.  This organizer has been so handy!  Wrapping gifts has been a breeze!


Also in June, we redid my daughters bedroom in a Paris theme.  She still tells me almost weekly how much she loves her room!


In July, I put together a chore system for my kids.  We still use it and it's still working.  We have slacked off a little for the holidays, but will start it back up after the first of the year.

In August, I recovered my less then attractive office chair.  It's still looks great!

In November, I posted about our Memory Jar.

Again, thank you for such a great year.  I can't wait to see what 2012 holds!!



Gift ideas


Are you looking for a few last minute gift ideas?  Well, you've come to the right place.  I made a few gifts for friends and family this year and would love to share them with you.  If you are related to me and have not opened your gifts yet, please look no further!!  :)




I made these red and white polka dot trays for the girls I serve with at church.  I made them the same way as the orange one here.  I also glued a heavy duty magnet to the back of a button for a cute magnet to hold things to the tray.


 

I make calendars for my in laws every year.  This is the 2011 version.  I made a blank calendar in Word, printed a picture from every month this year and mounted them both on scrapbook paper.  To hold the pages, I got a legal sized clipboard that I spray painted and then mod podged the clip. Every month a new page can be clipped onto the clipboard.



I put together these little hot chocolate containers for our friends and teachers.  I individually packed different flavors of hot chocolate and marshmellows in skinny cello bags that were tied with bakers twine.  Then put it all together with candycanes into mini paint cans, which I then embellished with a bell or chipboard star and ribbon.


I saw a cute cell phone holder on pinterest and it gave me the idea to make one for my sister in law.  From my stash, I used black fabric for the back, stregthened with heat and bond and quatrafoil fabric for the pocket.  I sewed all the way around everything.  Then I took a large grommet (for curtains) and put it through the top where it hangs onto the charger.  After I took this picture I added some black ric rac to the top of the pocket to finish the edge.

What did you give for gifts this year?

My Favorite Things

There are many things that I just cannot live without.  Besides my family of course, here are some of my favorites:


I love organizing and galvanized buckets are great for that. We use them to hold toiletries in the bathroom (each child has their own), to hold pens and pencils in the playroom, and in many more places around our home.


I am crazy about how my house smells.  I love fragrances to go with the seasons.  Right now I am loving these candle melt thingies from Walmart.  They go great in my Scentsy candle warmer.  My house smells like Hot Wassail right now.  mmmmmmm!!


  The online postal service at USPS.com is an absolute life saver!!!!  I "click and shipped" all of our gifts to out of town family members for Christmas this year.  Not only did I not have to go wait in the long line at the post office, my postman came to my door and picked everything up.  And it was a few dollars less expensive to do it on-line then in person!  If you haven't tried it and ever have to ship things....try it!  You can even order the priority mail boxes from them for free and they will deliver them to your door.


At any given time I have around 5-6 tubes of chap stick in strategic places around our house, in my purse and in the car.  I can't stand having dry lips. 


Clothespins are my favorite way to clip and display things.  I use them in my office, to display  pictures and for our Christmas cards this year.


My new favorite obsession are vintage silver trays.  I have quite the collection (the more tarnished the better) and display them in a few different rooms in our house.  The round one above is magnetic and I use it to hold photos.



What are some of your favorite things?



Christmas Card holder

I really liked our Christmas card holder from last year. I tried to find a picture on my computer but couldn't.  Here is the link to that post.


 But this year, our house is arranged different and it wasn't going to work. 


So I came up with something different to do above the mirror in our entry way.


I took a pom pom garland and hung it from 3m hooks.


Then using clothespins, I clip Christmas cards up as they arrive.


It looks much better now as we have received more cards and hung them up.


And here is our 2011 Christmas card!



Our Christmas House


Here is our home all dressed up for Christmas!


Every year when I lug the millions (seems like) of H E A V Y Christmas totes out of the attic, I swear that I'm going to get rid of half of our stuff and simplify.


Then I start digging into all the boxes and find our things that have so much sentimental value.  Like the teddy bear nativity that was the first Christmas decoration I ever bought as an adult and the cute Little People Nativity that my kids love to play with year after year.  We would be so sad to not push that angel down every time we walk by and hear Away in a Manger.

  

As I pull out each ornament my kids have chosen over the years the memories come crashing back.  I think of the first season my son played soccer, our first trip to the Grand Old Opry here in Tennessee and my daughter's love of dance.


And then the kids get in on the action and find their favorite things, like this Christmas blanket now named "Comfy."  How could I possibly get rid of that?


As I find perfect little spots to display our Christmas treasures, I smile and remember the magic of Christmas.


The joy that can be found in seeing something spruced up for Christmas and the fun I have doing the sprucing!!


As we (fight to) put up a number to count down the days until Christmas day I remember that it is worth it!


I love Christmas!!

linking up to:  Inspired Room, Nester, Kelly's Korner

Christmas tree


Here is our 2011 Christmas tree!


It is quite busy but lots of fun I think!  Someday I want more then 1 tree so I can put foo foo ornaments on one and the kids ornaments on another.  But for now I put both on this one. 


I like lots of layers on our tree.  We have a pom pom garland, large red bulbs, glass candy canes, glittery letters of our names, and picks and fuzzy candy canes sticking out the top.


Plus we have our yearly Christmas ornaments.  We get new ornaments every year to represent our interests.  Here are some from the last few years. 


This is our kids ornaments for this year.  A pencil for the oldest because he is having a great year in school, Mickey Mouse for our girl because she is totally into Disney and a mitt and baseball for the youngest because he played baseball for the first time this year.


Merry Christmas!


glittery Christmas bulbs


Last year I bought a few plastic glittery Christmas bulbs in an after Christmas sale (the white ones in the picture above).  This year I wanted a few more in red and green.


So I bought these replacement bulbs at Walmart (my go-to craft store), painted them with mod podge and sprinkled them with ultra-fine glitter. 


When they were dry, I put them into a glass apothecary jar.


I love how sparkly they are!!


They look so pretty with our glass jars of ornaments!

Christmas mantle

This shelf in our dining area is one of my favorite things to decorate for the seasons. It is one of the first things to see when entering the room.  I made it a few years ago from pine boards and antique glass door knobs. 



Here it is all decked out for Christmas.


Red J O Y letters nestled in some greenery


a vintage metal tray with a bingo card from Jenni Bowlin, a vintage #5 flash card, a metal 2 and some glittery Christmas trees


a felt snowflake framed with some scrapbook paper, tucked in some more greenery


To finish out the room, I hung some glittery snowflakes and small balls from the light fixture.  We also wrote our Christmas fun list on the chalkboard doors.  A great reminder of all the fun things we want to do this season.