Christmas Traditions

Growing up (and let's face it, now), if it's a Christmas activity I want in on the fun. I have always crammed as much baking and yuletide crafts as one possibly can in a short month. (The shortest month of the year if you ask me). 

 

When I was little, I always made a gingerbread house. But back in the day, you couldn't find all these perfect little gingerbread house kits that include everything you need. My mom, bless her, isn't so crafty. She never baked me up walls and a roof for my little houses. So, I used what we had around the kitchen. Usually graham crackers, sometimes saltines and squeeze cheese. My parents always told me how beautiful they were, but now that I'm a parent I know they were tossing back eggnog and laughing till they cried.  

 

I'm pretty sure those windows are made out of cheese...

This year was Mally's first time to do a gingerbread house with me. Needless to say, she love it as much as I do.

We got this tiny house kit at Target for like $2.50. It came with the house pieces, some small candies and the frosting! I added in some extra candy and sprinkles from our stash. (Yes, we have a massive stash of sprinkles for every occasion.)

Turned out adorable! I am so excited to start this tradition with my little one and hope she looks forward to doing it each year as I do!

Happy Holidays!

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I'm on a painting spree

I'm on a painting spree and I can't stop.

Shew, that feels better to get that off my chest. The struggle is real. I want to paint everything right now. I have seen online while browsing around lately where people have painted chalk board on doors and cabinets in their kitchens. I think it is a cool look and any reason to have another chalk board in the house to doodle on is reason enough for me! 

Ever since buying our house, I have never loved the glass corner cabinet. I'm not sure why the previous owners decided on that cabinet to make into a display. It's the largest top cabinet and it's not easy to decorate because there is no light inside and the shelves are the same thick wood just like the other cabinets instead of maybe a glass shelf. I do like glass cabinets, just not this one:

So I decided it would be a good place to paint on a chalk board. The hubby wasn't on board at first but I said just give me a chance. I can always scrape the paint back off or worst case, get new glass added back in. So I taped off the edges and went to work with Martha Stewart Chalkboard paint from Michaels.

...and here's the end result. I REALLY like how it looks. It make my kitchen look less cluttered since you don't see all the stuff in the cabinet now. I have also opened up so much more storage space since I no longer have to attempt to make it look nice!

It took about 3 coats of the chalk paint and I put it on with a cheap sponge brush. It has a great texture and the chalk glides on and is easy to remove.

Since it's Valentine's weekend I wrote love because I LOVE my husband for surprising me with this adorable mama bracelet for an early Valentine's day gift:

Happy Valentine's weekend!

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Weekend Crafting with Chalk Paint

For Christmas, my in-laws gave Mally a little rocking chair. It's a lot like one my sister had when we were growing up. I decided to get a little crafty and give it a makeover so it would better blend in with our decor. Here she is opening it on Christmas:

I love using chalk paint because you don't have to prep and prime the wood. Plus, a little goes a long way. I painted her high chair with Annie Sloan chalk paint a while back and really liked the results.

I decided to try the Martha Stewart chalk paint that you can get at Michaels for around $9 for the rocker. It's a smaller container but it's super thick and you could do some serious painting with the little bit you get. I'm really happy with the results. It took about 2 coats. I used Martha Stewart craft paint in "Sea Glass" to paint accents and to monogram the back panel. It was a really fun Sunday afternoon project!

Get your craft on - Wreath edition

I haven't crafted anything in quite a while. Evidently being a work from home freelancer and chasing a crazy 1.5 year old takes up a lot of time and energy! I have been wanting a new wreath for the front door, though. Our front door is black and I've had an old Grapevine wreath on there by default that I've had since I got married. It's in pretty rough shape anymore and it's time for a change.

I've been wanting a Boxwood wreath like this:

But with fall finally here, I have been leaning more towards something fall-ish.. or autumn-e? So, I've been seeing these Wheat Wreaths, like this:

Only issue is, this bad boy is almost $90! Whoa momma!

While on Pintrest the other day, I found this GREAT tutorial on how to easily make my own for over HALF the cost! You can find the simple directions here.

 

You use floral pins and a straw wreath form. The bunches of wheat are 5.98. I used 4 on a 14" wreath.

...and here's the finished product!

 

I can't quit going out and looking at it. It looks so good from the road on that dark door!

Talk turkey

I am so excited for the holiday season! I went Christmas shopping today and was able to check a few people off my list. I like to be pretty close to done with my Christmas shopping before thanksgiving just because of the crazy rush. Especially this year with a little one in tow. Speaking of the little bug, words cannot express how stoked I am for her first thanksgiving. She's big enough now that she can have a little bit of everything at the table. I'm looking forward to seeing the look on her face when she gets her first little nibble of pumpkin pie. First holidays with your baby are so special. 

I've dressed baby girl up for all of her first holidays and thanksgiving will be no different. The past few holidays, I've gotten my craft on and embellished some of her onesies for the occasion. This month, we're talking turkey!

I got a bunch of different colored small sheets of felt from Michaels. They are a great size and under a dollar a piece, I have plenty left over for other projects.  I cut out the pieces freehand and pieced them on the onesie. (I can put together a template if needed)

Then, I used white thread to just outline the felt pieces. I had two little beads left over that I used for the eyes, but you could use little buttons, or knot the thread. The finished product is super cute and super easy! Happy Holiday Season!