Start Your Christmas Notebook

I don't even pretend to be organized, but I have found one thing that makes my Christmas shopping so much better- the Christmas notebook. I went to do a "quick" Costco run this morning and was sidetracked by all the great new things they have out for the holidays and ended up getting a couple gifts, so I knew it was time to pull out my notebook. I got it a few years ago from the Michaels $1 bins and pull it out each year when I start shopping.  It's very basic, I make a page for each of the kids, and then list any other people I will be shopping for on another page.  When I buy something for Christmas, I write it down and put a check next to it.  If I hear them mention wanting something, or have a great idea, I will write it down to remind me later when I'm shopping.  It's also great to keep track of what you're spending on everything.  I stash gifts in a big box up in my closet and when I got it down today I discovered 3 puffer jackets I bought on clearance last year, 2 cute sweaters, and a Halloween T I got for Mr. C - whoops.  But I was excited that I'm that much closer to being done shopping for this year!  (and glad I didn't pick up another jacket at Costco)  I have a tendency to buy and forget, and then buy more, and then I don't return things, and it's money wasted.  This notebook has been a lifesaver for me during the holidays, hopefully it can help you too!

Halloween Monster Finger Cookies

I wanted to make witch finger cookies, but my sugar cookie dough puffs up too much and they looked more like monster fingers to me after baking!  They were a huge hit though, and very easy! 

Use your favorite sugar cookie recipe and mix in some green food coloring.  Scoop dough and roll into "fingers" and press an almond into the tip before baking.  Gross and yummy :)

Halloween Countdown block calendar

A couple weeks ago I got together with my sister-in-laws and we made these block calendars to countdown to Halloween and mine's finally finished!  You can find the instructions HERE.  My sister-in-law Jackie did hers a little different and I love them too:

I've started one for Christmas, and I can't wait to make a birthday one too!  Though that one might need 3 blocks because kids start counting down to their birthdays months in advance...

Duck Tape Pumpkin Pop Yard Stakes

That title was a mouthful!  I was trying to think of an idea to enter this contest, and I came up with these giant pumpkin pops! They were really easy, and using black and white Duck Tape, it was pretty much instant crafty gratification.  I started by wrapping each of the wooden dowels with white tape.  Then I put a glob of glue onto the end of the stick and poked it into the bottom of a fake pumpkin. (I punched holes in the bottom with scissors.)  Once the glue dried, I used black tape to create the stripes on the pumpkins, and then wrapped the whole top with clear cellophane and tied it with a ribbon- done!  They look almost good enough to eat!

Keep Calm-o-matic Poster Generator

This website is fun, create your own "KEEP CALM" poster spoof. I say this too much, I think I need to put the poster in my kitchen and just point to it!

Print your own decals!

I love this idea!  Cathe Holden from Just Something I Made created some great vintage style decals for various containers and printed them onto Injet Printable Decal pages!  I don't think I knew there was such a thing!  My mind is excited about all the possibilities... check out her post HERE.  She's got some great free downloads for you to label all kinds of things around the kitchen.
PS- the kids started back to school today! Some fun stories for another time... I have some mixed emotions about that but the good news is I will probably be blogging more! 

Creepy Vellum Spider Web Candle Shades- free download

Edit: 9/10 download link updated! Let me know if you have any problems opening it! Thanks!

I played around with a spider web template from Martha Stewart's website and came up with these printable candle shades! I printed mine on vellum, but it would work just as well printed on regular paper. You basically just have to cut the sheet in half lengthwise and trim edges, secure each wrap in a circle with double stick tape and then set your little "lantern" over a tealight in glass. (or if you are like me and have little hands around that won't leave them alone, get those little battery votives and drop one in the middle.) You can download the spider web sheet by clicking HERE. They are my favorite Halloween decoration at the moment! I have big plans for the wall above them, stay tuned...

If you use these, I have one tip, I put the printed side on the inside of mine, so it's hard to see the spider and web in daylight, but when it gets dark they look really cool, and you can see the design inside when you look down at them.

I'm not completely useless...

And neither is my blog! I've found some great free downloads to share (via other favorite blogs- keep reading) I am almost done inventorying my food storage, the "system" will be in place THIS week and I will post about it- by Friday for sure! I started with a clip board and some sheets of lined paper and started writing everything down, and counting cans. If you are anxious to start, start doing that, it will take you longer than you expect.

Now for the fun stuff:

These free gift tags from Whisker Graphics are so cute! Click HERE to get your own.

Also found from her website this free funny "To Do" list from Vale Design HERE.

Design Mom always points me in fun directions, and I was thrilled to find this site, Vintage Printables with free, high resolution, vintage images.

She also posted a link to Design Dazzle's "scratch off" Father's Day card- I love that idea! See how to make your own HERE.

And finally, my crafty project for the week, THIS Father's Day envelope card (or some version of it) from Pine is Here.

Easter Eggs

Ok aren't those the cutest little egg holders ever? Williams Sonoma is full of adorable Easter things right now. If those wired egg holders aren't in your budget, (like me) Creating Keepsakes Blog has some cute paper ones you can download and print instead of those ones you punch out of the egg dying kit! Find those HERE. I also thought these tissue wrapped eggs were really pretty, I want to wrap some chocolate eggs up for my kids Easter baskets to look like these.

Going through my catalogs...

I put all the pumpkins and fall decor away today and then decided to pretend I had the day off for a while! I went through a bunch of the catalogs that have been stacking up. For some reason I get Pottery Barn Teen and it is of course as pretty as the rest of their catalogs- I love the collages they create on the walls in the rooms. I really loved this idea because you could easily make your own by getting one of those cork tiles, trim it to fit a picture frame, cover it with some pretty scrapbook paper or fabric, and stick in some pretty pins and you have an adorable little jewelry holder!Maybe I would think to put on earrings sometimes if they were out displayed all pretty! And this necklace from Coldwater Creek I just liked: (Sam, are you reading this??) I love pearls- I always have to stare at this bracelet from Red Envelope when I get a catalog.

Holiday Catalogs!

The holiday catalogs are arriving! I have a compulsive problem where I cannot throw away a catalog without looking at it- when I get really behind in this oh-so-important job, I force myself to flip through them without even really looking and only then can I throw them away. Weird, I know. But there are so many pretty things and good ideas out there to look at... Here are a couple favorites from the Comany Store right now: Of course I always am trying to think of things I could make, and this one would be something really easy with just a little sewing or even fabric glue:

And this banner is fabric, but I could see doing something out of paper kind of like it: