Kraft Paper Christmas Wrap

Presents under the Christmas tree are nice.

Beautifully wrapped gifts under the tree, are....

hmmm, I am having trouble coming up with a word

that actually defines how awesome they are...

.....

They are:

a conversation starter, a focal point of the room,

an "Ahhh" piece, a special little something to give to 

those you love.

Somehow that still doesn't describe how much I loved having these 

under my tree for the short time they were there.

A few of my favorite craft supplies & go-to's for decorating my house

and parties this year were:

Burlap (I love burlap, for everything!)

Twine (again, so versatile!)

Lace

White Paint

To make all of those things flow together, all I needed was some

brown Kraft paper!

(This tree skirt {actually its a piece of material I bought 4 years ago

meaning to sew into a tree skirt & never felt like it, so it just gets 

wrapped around the tree} needs to go. I am so glad

I had these pretty packages to cover it up. I am thinking a ruffle

burlap tree skirt is a project before next year:) )

To make the dots I used a white ink pad and a pencil with

a slightly used eraser on the end.

Dip the eraser in the ink for each dot & "stamp".

 Washi Tape is so fun, and comes in A LOT of different

colors and patterns. I found mine at Michaels.

LET IT SNOW!

I bought a paint pen (Michaels again!) and covered

the box in writing. 

These adorable paper lace doilies were left over from

Grace's birthday party. Can you guess where I bought them?

Yep, Michaels! They are actually in the baking isle and come in

an assortment of sizes.

This gift wrap could be used all year round. Instead of using red ribbon, 

swap it out for another color. Write "Happy Birthday" or "Congratulations" all

over a box, instead of "let is snow". 

I think this would be a beautiful wedding present!

I hope I inspired you!

Paper Bag & Burlap Advent Calendar

Advent calendars are beautiful. 

They are Christmas traditions. 

They allow families to take a moment out of the hustle and bustle

and create a memory.

I wanted to create all that for my family. Here is my version of an advent calendar. 

My plan was to put an activity in each bag leading

up to Christmas. I am going to be honest, I failed. With a 15 month old

who won't even sit still to read a book to, activities were hard to come up with.

We have a done a few, but some days-I just had to enjoy looking at

this display without the doing!

Grace does love books, so I bought 6 Christmas books and wrapped

them. That was our activity for 6 of the days!

We also had hot chocolate and popcorn in front of the Christmas

tree one evening before bed. (if you don't already 

know, Grace also loves food..so this was a

 favorite one for her!)

I made M&M cookies and put in a bag (now this one is 

Drew's favorite!). A few years from now, or maybe 

even next year this can change to a cookie decorating day!

The best thing about making your own advent calendar-you can make the

activities whatever you want them to be! Drive around and look at Christmas

lights, go caroling, build a snowman, watch a Christmas movie (this was on my

list until our tv broke), read the Christmas story, open a gift, etc. 

Just enjoy being a family!

 The clothes pins I covered in lace for Grace's birthday party (maybe you

remember seeing them on my earlier blog post?) I thought

they fit this theme perfectly!

I made these burlap bows with a lace accent! These are perfect for 

Christmas, a country wedding, a shabby chic birthday party & lots

of other events! DIY instructions to come!

As I started receiving cards in the mail, they took the place of the days

 that had already passed. I am hoping by the 24th I have enough cards to fill the whole thing!

My family Christmas card.

PIN IT.

I want to hear about your family Christmas traditions too!

DIY Christmas Snowglobes

I LOVE decorating for Christmas. Getting my boxes of decorations out is like unwrapping presents-I don't remember what I all I have packed away. There is something about taking down all of my normal/regular/starting to get bored of stuff & getting to create a new space. When it's Christmas, each time I walk into my living room I smile--that's how I want my house to be all year round! Today I put together a quick little craft--DIY Snow globes!

What you will need:
-Jars (I used my pasta jars, but you could use mason jars, jelly jars, etc)
-Small Christmas trees in varying heights (I found mine at Walmart ranging from .75-$2!)
-Epson Salt for snow
-Pine Cones (mine are painted & sparkled to look like glittering snow!!)
-Hot glue gun
-Paper & Scissors

Cut a circle out of the paper a little bigger than the inside of your lid.

When put down in the lid it shouldn't move.

(If you are using a jar that you don't mind if the lid is ruined-glue it right to the lid!)

Glue your tree to the paper, and the pine cone to your tree, about a half inch up on the tree.

 (if you glue it on the paper it will get covered by the "snow")

 Add your salt to the jar & screw the lid on.

Finished!

For the jar that only has pine cones in I just shook them around

 until they were placed how I wanted them)

Want to make these gorgeous sparkly snow covered pine cones?!!!

You will need:

-Pine cones

-Wite Out

-Spray Adhesive

-White Glitter

 Boring, regular pine cone.

 Paint all of the tips on the pine cone using the brush in the Wite Out.

I originally started using white Puffy Paint but that was taking forever, I also like the look of the Wite Out better.

(sorry this is a bad picture)

 Once all of the tips on the pine cone is painted, spray the entire pine cone with the Spray Adhesive.

Sprinkle a generous amount of glitter on while still wet.

I made about 50+ of these in varying sizes for a Christmas party I am helping decorate for.

I believe after the party I may add them onto my Christmas tree, or garlands I have around the house!

As always, feel free to PIN it!

Shabby Chic First Birthday Party

Our sweet, baby girl, Grace Elizabeth Reinford, turned one on August 26th. We had her Birthday Party in a friends apple orchard, using the colors Mint, Pink & Gold. I wanted the theme to be shabby chic while still fitting for a one year old. I am a DIYer and made almost all of the decor (banners, tissue balls, cupcake toppers, twine wrapped bottles, Lace clothespins, hand stamped plates, straw tags), the food (a pasta bar), & painted MANY props (a height chair found at a second hand store, the stand used for her dessert table, a wooden letter G, chalkboards etc.). Grace's great-grandmother made her individual cake.
So here are LOTS & LOTS of pictures, enjoy!

(Want to see an image bigger? Just click on it!)

These twine wrapped bottles are time consuming, 

but super easy & cheap!

I hand stamped each plate with a butterfly

In a later post I will share how to make this adorable little tassel 

cake topper, along with the the tassel garland over the dessert table.

The Cricut is to thank for cutting out these for me!

Marshmallow pops! Just dip a marshmallow in 

colored chocolate & add some shimmery sprinkles!

             Love colored straws, esp. with an easy to make tag!

Love this picture of her!

I wish you could see the lace clothespins a bit better, 

these are definitely shabby chic!

Doily Banner!

Grace LOVED her cake, I have never seen anyone dig in like she did!

Grace & her grandparents & great-grandparents!

The people who have & will play a major role in her life!

Me with my Reinford Sister-In-Laws! (& nephew!)

I am blessed:)

Photo Credit goes to Paula Fairman Photography! 

Please PIN away! (& let me know when you do in the comments!!)
& stay tuned for instructions on many of the projects from this shabby chic first birthday party!