give crafty recap

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That's me in the pink sweater making some glittery clothespins and vintage magnets with new friends

Give Crafty was a fantastic day filled with handmade crafts, creative inspiration, sweet treats, and new friends. Check out Jessica's photos and a recap of the day over on her cute blog. My mom was the lucky recipient of several gifts I made at Give Crafy and she loved both the gifts and the beautiful wrappings! I'm looking forward to hanging up my fabric banner soon...it's going to be the star accessory in any future craft room!

pretty presents

 {cupcake liner bows}

 

Just a few photos of my favorite presents I've wrapped so far this holiday season. Off to wrap a few more! Merry Christmas Eve!

heading south

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There's a pretty big piece of my heart left in Tennessee, and today I'm headed south to meet it. Looking forward to a relaxing Christmas with family and friends and the chance to soak in the familiar surroundings of home.

A few more holiday posts yet to come....pretty presents and a sneak peek of our Christmas card!
Safe travels to all those headed home today.

xoxo

paper ornaments

Inspired by these paper ornaments on How About Orange, I crafted a few paper ornaments to add a little texture to a simple holiday display. Our current apartment doesn't have a mantel, or really any great place to set up decorations, so I settled with adorning the top of a short bookcase with a few holiday touches.

These particular paper ball ornaments are easy-peasy if you use Jessica's templates on How About Orange and have patience and a sharp pair of scissors. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cut out shape after shape and put these balls together while watching a marathon of Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse over and over again. I'm all about Team Edward. {I made these in mid-November after seeing Breaking Dawn} 

After practicing with a few neon copy paper balls, I trimmed down a few sheets of Amy Butler scrapbook paper (found on clearance at Michael's about a year ago!) and ran them through the printer. Much to my surprise, the heavier paper breezed through the printer just fine. Once the ornaments were assembled, the heavier paper provided a sturdier object and gave the mini sculptures fun texture.

The rest of the mini holiday display is made up of a small ornament garland, a vintage silver sleigh and vintage baubles from my grandmother-in-law, a sparkly green Christmas tree, wooden Santa, and a few candles.

Next up, a few photos of my favorite part of the holiday season...wrapping presents!

graduation day

After 16 months of hard work, serious studying, lots of clinical hours, and fun times with classmates, Karl graduated from nursing school with his Master's degree on Friday! He's been counting down the days for the last several weeks with the help of a paper chain:

 And on Thursday night, he was down to one loop left!

 {he celebrated with a beer}

On Friday afternoon, he walked across the stage, diploma in hand, and earned his Master's in Nursing degree. I'm so proud of you, Karl! Can't wait to see where your new career takes you and us!

 {blurry Karl}

Give Crafty

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I'm so excited to participate in Give Crafty this Saturday! Lauren and I are so ready to get our craft on with a great group of crafty ladies. I can't wait to meet some new blog friends and round out my Christmas shopping list with several new handmade projects. Many thanks in advance to Jessica and Amanda for hosting us!

our tiny Christmas tree

It might be tiny, but this little Christmas tree has a whole lot of personality. It leans to the left and doesn't photograph well, but its branches are filled with miniature ornaments from Karl's childhood, sparkly baubles, and a cute jewel-toned garland. Maybe it will regain some balance by next year and be sturdy enough to sit on a tabletop!

I hope your last two weeks before Christmas have been filled with merriment, cozy sweaters, hot chocolate, and lots and lots of Christmas carols!

diy: christmas ornament wreath

Supplies:

1 wreath form (I used metal)

Hot glue gun

Lots of hot glue sticks 

Many, many sparkly holiday ornaments (in various sizes)

Ribbon 

I've been talking about making a holiday ornament wreath for several weeks now and am thrilled I finally gathered all the supplies and put this little front porch sparkler together! 

Here's how:

1. Gather your wreath form and sparkly ornaments and plug in your hot glue gun. Gently pop the metal tops off your ornaments so they will adhere to the wreath easier. Once the tops are taken off, the ornaments should look something like this:

2. Working quickly, apply a ring of hot glue to the top of the ornament, going around twice to make sure the glue is thick enough. 

3. Immediately place the ornament, glue side down, onto your wreath form. Press and hold until the glue begins to dry. Repeat all the way around the form until you have a base layer of ornaments.

4. Once the first layer of ornaments are attached, glue remaining ornaments on top of the first layer to create a fuller wreath and further hide the metal frame. 

Add a little glue to secure the sides of the ornaments on the second layer.

5. After your second layer is complete, fill in any gaps with smaller ornaments. I used several tiny gold balls on this step. 

Here's what the bottom of the wreath looks like:

6. Once all the ornaments are attached, trim ribbon to desired length and weave through the back of the wreath. Tie the ribbon in a bow and hang it up!

I made the sparkly garland on the front door out of scrap ribbon and foam stockings and trees found in the Dollar Spot at Target! Punch a couple holes, string the ribbon through and viola! Instant door decor.

Ta-da! You're finished! 

*I purchased all of my ornaments at the local Dollar Tree store for a whopping grand total of $8. They aren't the quality I'd use to decorate a tree but work fabulously well for this project! 

I found the wreath form and ribbon in a box of holiday goodies we received from Karl's Grandma Joey, but I'm sure you can buy metal forms at JoAnn's or Michaels.