Advent Calendars have been around for a couple hundred years, but they seem to have been given a second life lately thanks to sites like Pinterest. Not sure what I'm talking about? Let me explain... Advent Calendars are a special calendars used to count or celebrate the days in anticipation of Christmas. These are especially awesome and fun to do with kids. Most Advent Calendars involve something like a box to open with a treat inside for every day in the countdown or an envelope with a special message. The possibilities are endless though. Let me show you what I mean and why these deserved the coveted Things I'm Loving Thursday slot this week. I know... no one or no thing really "covets" the Things I'm Loving Thursday slot, but it sounded good and made me feel important so I'm sticking with it. Hehehe!

 

  

Christmas Mantel Decor

I was slow when it came to getting my mantel decorated for Fall this year, but quite the opposite when it came to Christmas. Of course, that may have something do with the fact that I start to look forward to Christmas on December 26th of every year. If you are anything like me you know that budgets for anything other than gifts are tight this time of year so I wanted to do something easy, simple, and affordable. I decided to start with a greenery garland with decorative ornaments to fill in the space. That was just about all I needed, but I wanted a little something more. I spied some Christmas-y words that worked lovely with the garland at Hobby Lobby and with that my mantel decor shopping was finished! Since Hob Lob (as I like to call it) has 50% off sales on their Christmas decor almost every week I was able to get all my mantel decor for under $25.00. Perfect! Quick and cheap, but oh so pretty!

DIY Polka Dot Wrapping Paper

As promised from my earlier post about DIY unique gift wrap ideas, today's post is an easy tutorial about how to make your own polka dot wrapping paper. This paper looks designer and chic and can be customized however you like. You can make smaller dots, bigger dots, or even do a totally different design like a chevron or honeycomb pattern! And it's a snap to do.

The only materials you will need are a roll of plain wrapping paper and a small can of spray paint. I went with Kraft paper and a gold metallic spray paint. The first step is to make a template for your design. You can use anything that you don't mind getting paint on. I have Cricut cutting machine so I just cut a circle out of the middle of a peice of cardstock. You could easily do the same thing with a punch or by tracing and cutting. Next, roll out your the wrapping paper that you want to customize on a flat surface. If you are going to be doing this inside or on your porch I would recommend you put newspaper underneath and make them stick out of the edges of the paper to protect your surface. I didn't do this and my husband about lost it when he saw what I was doing. Hahaha! He ended up being right though.... so don't make that mistake!

Then just put your template down and start spraying! I found that using a bit of washi tape on the edges of your template to hold it down on the paper. The washi tape will come right off without tearing your paper and you can keep sticking it down and pulling it up as you go.

I think I am definately going to need to try this technique in chevron or small vertical stripes! But really, how cool is it that you can make your own gift wrap like this and that it is so affordable and easy to do?! I love it!

Unique DIY Gift Wrap Ideas

Thanksgiving is over so it's time to talk Christmas! I love this time of year! Christmas is my favorite holiday by far. It's also one of the best time for crafting which is just an extra bonus. Today I want to talk gift wrap. I have decided to up my game with my wrapping this year. Yes, it would be easier and quicker to use store bought wrapping paper... but for once I would really love for my gift wrap to reflect the thoughtfulness and care that was put into picking out and buying the treasures inside the packages. So here is what I came up with!

I used a Kraft paper theme with Red, Gold, and Green accents. The green Christmas tree paper was hand stamped by me. It was so easy to do and didn't take a long time to complete. I just rolled out part of the roll on my kitchen table and stamped away. I love it because it was easy yet it's handmade and totally unique!

The rest of the paper (minus the polka dot) is just scrapbook paper! Scrapbook paper is great for wrapping smaller sized presents and stocking stuffers like DVD's, books, and such. There are so many great scrapbooking papers to choose from so the possibilities are endless! Then just add some pretty ribbon and Baker's Twine to finish things off. This project was easy, fun, and now my gifts look special!

PS - stay tuned for a DIY tutorial on how to turn plain Kraft paper into chic, designer style metallic Polka Dot wrapping paper!

A Surprise Party

This weekend my family was able to finally tell the secret we've been keeping for months. First of all, it is a complete shock to me that we pulled it off... it is a well known fact that my mom's side of the family (the Doyle's) are not the best secret keepers especially amongst ourselves. We like to call each other and "catch up on the latest" and Grandma is the queen of this. So how we did it I'll never know, but we were able to keep the party plans from her and we really and truly surprised her for her 80th birthday. We all agreed that turning 80 is a kind of a big deal and we wanted to do something really special. Since our family is now spread out between Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virgnia, Florida, and Thailand (yes, Thailand!) we decided that getting as many people there as we could would be the biggest part of making this a special occasion. We were able to get everyone there except the Floridians and Thai residents. It was so great to be able to have most of us there together to celebrate with the lady that has made such a huge impact on each of our lives. She has been the most amazing Mom, Grandma, Mother-In-Law, etc. and I'm so glad we were able to give her a day of celebrating that.

Credits:

Surprise party invitations by Print Your Heart Out 

Paper Straws by Bahana Splits Boutique

Photo booth props by Mister Mustache

In Honor of Design's 2012 Holiday Gift Guide

Today I am so excited to share an amazing holiday gift guide that has been put together by Anna of In Honor of Design. This gift guide has been beautifully assembled and features many handmade gift and recipe ideas to add a personal touch to your gifts this season. I  am flattered that Anna asked me to be included in this amazing collection. You can find Bahana Splits Boutique's Red Polka Dot Washi Tape on Page 39 of the gift guide. 

So what are you waiting for?! Check out this one of a kind collection that is sure to give you loads of ideas and inspiration and jump start your holiday shopping! 
 

In Honor of Design's 2012 Holiday Gift Guide

Freebie Friday!

Does the word "freebie" excite you as much as it does me? Maybe I'm just easily excited, but sometimes my heart literally skips a beat when I see this word! Yeah... maybe it's just me. But if you happen to be one of those people who is somewhat like me in that way then today is your lucky day! Head on over HERE to Bahana Splits Boutique's Facebook fan page for a chance to win a $25.00 Gift Certificate from the shop. This includes free shipping straight to your front door. And you literally just have to click "Like" to be entered. How much easier could it be?! I think not much easier. Good luck to you all! Happy Friday!

Things I'm Loving Thursday : Fashionable Faux Fur

I am loving this current fashion trend because 1.) It's cozy 2.) It's chic 3.) It's cool. I don't know that I am awesome enough to pull it off, but I may just have to try it sometime soon. Here are a few of my favorite furry fashion finds. Did you see what I did with all those alliterations? Smooth, huh?!  ;)

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