Christmas Crafts

I got a little crafty before Christmas this year (did I mention that I was up until 2:30am the night before Christmas Eve because I all of a sudden decided that I wanted to be creative this year at the last minute?! As if we had nothing else going on..ugh!).

I made gift card holders:

I made sure to embroider an initial on them so we can reuse them! ;)
I wrapped them up in a clear bag and tied a homemade gift tag on them...they really were super easy! ;)

I wanted to make my sister something to go along with her gifts so I decided on making a chalkboard. I know she has been wanting a cute one so I took the idea from the one that I got from the Queen Bee Market and ran with it!

Here is the chalkboard:

Making the chalkboard part was actually way easier than I thought it would be! Yes, I used chalkboard pens too!

Kandyce and I had a "craft night" and it was her great idea to make gift tags on the Cricut! They came out so cute! Every package had their own personalized gift tag this year...see, told you...I decided to be more creative this year! I forgot to take a picture of them on packages so I went ahead and took some after (I made everyone save theirs!)...

Here are the tags:

I think I learned my lesson and now I will have to start making things over the summer so I will be ready in time for Christmas! ;)

Christmas Hutch

I was very excited to decorate the hutch! It was a new place where I could add more of our Christmas decor to! ;)

I added snow to the house to make it look more festive..haha! I tried!

Can I just say that I LOVE THIS!!! This was one of my very special purchases from the Queen Bee Market this year! It is supposed to be a recipe card holder/chalkboard...I think it's a whole lot more fun when you can write on it with chalkboard markers instead...so I did just that! ;)

Yes, we have a theme all over the house...spiral candies!

If I can remember, I will add more pictures of the house all decorated for Christmas! =)

It's Baking Time!!!

Yep, it's that time again where I go crazy making a ton of sugar cookies (see the recipe from last December...it is truly the BEST!)! Here are a few pictures of my (not so pretty) creations! I had a shaky hand =/

I have so many different ideas and recipes I want to try this Christmas...we'll see how far I get! ;)

Thankful!

This year has had plenty of ups and downs...overall, it was a great year and we are all so thankful for so many things including:
1. Both of our A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and supportive families
2. Our wonderful friends
3. Our jobs (especially during this icky economy)
4. Our beautiful home
5. Love that we receive each day
The list could go on and on...

This Thanksgiving was yet another great one!

We spent Thanksgiving day at mom and dad's house with the whole family including Mike's mom and brother! My mom cooked the most delicious meal (as ALWAYS!!).
So very thankful for these two!!!
Yep, made cakeballs....chocolate cake with peanut butter chips! Soooo good!

This pumpkin could have snacked all day long!
The pictures turned out blurry, but Mak decided to get some dress up time in with Uncle Mike...shhhh...he doesn't know I am sharing this! ;)
She also had fun playing with Ryan!

That next morning (Black Friday) was spent waking up at 4:30 with my mom to tackle the crowds all over town! We did it and boy did we find lots of good deals! =) That night was Thanksgiving round #2 at Grandma and Grandpa Ese's in San Clemente where we got to see Aunt Kathy, Cousin Steven, Cousin David, and Leia! Fun times!

Vintage Frame wall....Complete!!

This project has sat aside since summer and I have envisioned it for a LONG time hoping that it would turn out the way I thought..it did! You are probably wondering why there are bare frames hanging....that's the point! I wanted to make a "funky" vintage frame wall from a bunch of frames that I have collected...here is the finished product! I love detailed frames especially when they are old and the spray paint makes them sooooo pretty! The collage is angled because it is going up the stairs to our bedroom! Yep, walls are still white! Ahhhhh! We are making it a priority...promise!

One of my fun finds from the Queen Bee Market! ;) And...I LOVE those Chalkboard paints oh so much! Thank you, Chessa! =) Love that I can change the message when I want!

I had my eye on this frame and I just had to have it!
I added the fabric and spray painted our intital...

My neighbor was on the lookout all summer long for thrift store old vintage frames...I just did the spray painting and the frames did what I wanted them to do!
Can you believe that this was GOLD before?! Yep! This one was a special one...it had my great, great grandparents' picture in it! It, too, was GOLD!

Pumpkin Patch Photo Shoot?!

Every year we make our annual trip to Bates Nut Farm to pick out a pumpkin and well....take pictures! You might think we are nuts, but there is just something about the pumpkin patch pictures that are just so neat to have. We usually go as a whole family, but plans changed and Mike and I went by ourselves this year.

*Note: Please excuse the bazillion pictures of the two of us. Really...did we need to take this many?! It looks as tho we did a PHOTO SHOOT! My excuse...well I did just put together my new vintage frame wall ;)

Did we carve them?! Um no...we kind of got rushed!Yah, that was because of me! =( I tried picking up a huge pumpkin and well....
I found a comfy place to park it!
He obviously had success (unlike me!)

Love him to pieces!

Our poor (future) kids are going to hate the pumpkin patch because of all of the picture taking! =/

Everyone needs a litte treat...cake balls?!

Halloween would just not be complete without Cake Balls and Caramel apples! =)
I made them with spice cake! Yummmm!

Oh the possibilities for Christmas time! ;)