[in five]: Displaying Christmas Cards

It's that time of year again! Time for Christmas cards...and time for me to say, "Gee, I really should have sent out Christmas cards this year." Someday, my friends, someday... Anywho, here are some super chic ways to display your cards. Check out my picks from previous years here and here. How do you display your cards?

image from Shutterfly

image from By Stephanie Lynn

image source unknown

image from Beautiful by Design

image from Emily Henderson

[kreyv of the day]

image from Dear Lillie

[in five]: Free Christmas Gift Tag Printables

Six days, people…SIX days! I'm a little bit excited, can you tell?! Today, I've rounded up five of my favorite FREE Christmas tags, and they are all completely adorbs! The links are below each picture.  Enjoy!

image from Creative Index

image from Lemon Squeezy

image from Lia Griffith via World Label

image from The Lovely Drawer

image from Simple as That

Christmas Trees to Go

I absolutely LOVE these lil' things, don't you? There is something so simple and organic about them, and, plus, you can put them almost anywhere.  They are definitely on my wish list for next year.  P.S. Christmas is only one week away.  ONE WEEK AWAY! Are you ready?!

image from Atlanta Homes Mag

image from Dreamy Whites

image from Golden Sycamore

[so cheap, so easy]: Christmas Poster Hanging

First of all, I'm just going to go ahead and say that I'm sorry for the crappy pictures. I'll just blame it on the poor lighting…and the fact that I'm not a good photographer, but whatever. You win some, you lose some, right?! 

Anyway, this little project came about, because, well, basically, I'm kind of cheap when it comes to holiday decor. There are just too many other things on my list…things that will stay up for more than a month. I have a big wall in my living room that is just waiting for something fabulous, BUT, in the meantime, it is a good place to hang this amazing poster by Caravan Shoppe. The download (which is four prints) was $5, then I paid $9 to print it (36x48). (You can print it for $7 at Staples, but I just happened to be closer to a Kinkos.) I bought one inch dowels at around $4 each and shortened them by just a few inches. I then hot glued the poster to the dowels and rolled it around once on the top and the bottom. I then added jute twine to hang it. It should be easy to store by just rolling it up, but even if it tears, it will only be $7-$9 to print out.  Anywho, it's a good addition to my fake red presents and rain boots that are just there posing for pictures until it snows again. Ew, snow.

Christmas at My House

What. A. Weekend! Mr. Hubs had not one, but TWO work parties. I'll have to say that they were both rather enjoyable, but I like to go to bed early, so I'm still tired! Yes, staying up until 11 is late in my book, and yes, it takes me days to recover. I'm a party animal, that's for sure.

I FINALLY have some pictures of Christmas decor to post, but, of course I'm not done. With nine days until Christmas, though (can you even believe that?), this might be as good as it gets.  I mean, it only took me until December 16 to post these, so, let's see, at that rate, I'll finally finish decorating by January 1. Like I said, this may be as good as it gets!

Neighbor Gifts | Merry & Bright Candles

Last night, we went to a live nativity, and you guys, it was fuh-rea-king cold. Yes. THAT cold. After three years in St. Louis, I have apparently forgotten what a cold, Utah winter feels like. As Jeremy says: I'm just not built for out of mall weather. That boy knows what he's talking about.

I put these simple little candles (found here) and tags together to give to neighbors, dance instructors, storytellers, teachers, butchers, bakers, candlestick makers, and all the other hundreds of people you want to give a little somethin' somethin' to during the holidays. I think they're cute, and they say "hey thanks for all you do" without spending tons. (Email me or leave a comment if you would like me to send you a pdf file of the tags.) Do you give neighbor gifts? What are you giving this year? Please share your ideas…unless you're giving something that I can't copy like homemade bread or 60" TVs.  And, if that's the case, where do you live, so I can live next door? I'm not picky--I like big TVs AND homemade bread.

[in five]: Favorite DIY Christmas Ornaments

Hey there! How was your weekend? Ours was great, besides the snow, or, if you're into that kind of thing, let me rephrase…that snow sure is beautiful, and I love sliding around the ice in my car! (Was that convincing?) I actually don't mind it as long as I never have to touch it or drive in it. Is that too much to ask?

In other news, I actually made some progress with the Christmas decor around the casa. Can you believe it? We had a church meeting on Saturday night, and I volunteered had to stay home with Stella, so I made ornaments. Now, if I can just muster the strength to take pictures. (Good thing I'm not at all dramatic.) 

Here are five of my fave DIY Christmas ornaments (links to original posts are under each image).  I made the geometric ornaments--super easy, super cheap, super chic…just the way I like it! How's your decor coming along? At my pace, mine may be all up by December 24th.  Maybe.

image from Make It and Love It via U Create

image from Suburble

image from Cozy Cottage Cute

image from Vintage Revivals

image from Anthropologie

[kreyv of the day]

image from Martha Stewart

The Christmas Mantel

I came to the same conclusion that I come to every year around this time: I really don't have very many Christmas decorations that I like. (It's almost the same thing as opening the cupboards over and over hoping that there will be new food in there. Unfortunately, no matter how many times I open the cupboards and/or Christmas bins, there's nothing new and exciting in there--such a bummer.) Since I have way too many other things that I want to buy, I'm probably not going to go spend lots on new decorations. Instead, I guess I'll just have to get creative…either that or continue to listen to the Sarah McLachlan Holiday station and live vicariously through these images. I'll most likely do a combination of both.  Hopefully, I'll have some type of progress to share next week.

In other news, I love these Christmas mantels. There is something I love about each one of these mantels, but the wreaths, oh the wreaths are just amaze balls. I think I may have to incorporate a version of this somewhere in my house this year. Which one is your fave?

image source unknown

image from The Globe and Mail

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Displaying Christmas Cards

Remember how I said I was a slacker with the Christmas decorations? Yeah, it's still true. I didn't make any progress today, but I did think about decorating. That counts, right? You see, I've got to get a move on, because come December 26th, the decorations just have to go right back into storage. They're fun and all, but then things just start to get cluttered. But anyway...

One of my favorite parts about Christmas is getting cards from my peeps. (Do people even say "peeps" anymore? I'm so not cool--or maybe I am. I don't even know...so probably not.) Of course, I'm not sure where or how I'll display the cards this year, because, well, I don't even have my Christmas tree up, but I'll figure something out. Speaking of holiday cards...if you don't get a card from us this year, don't feel left out, nobody is getting one. I kind of didn't get to them in time, and by kind of, I mean, we went more than an entire year without getting a single picture of our family. There's always next year, right?! In the meantime, I will lovingly display all of the cards that get sent to us, so keep 'em comin'! By the way, how do you display your cards? Check out more ideas from this post.

image from The Wicker House

image from Tilly's Cottage

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The Advent & 23 Days Till Christmas

Happy December! I am so excited for Christmas, but I've gotta be honest: I've been a complete slacker on the decorations. (I know, it's only December 2, but now the craziness starts.) We finally put the tree up last night, but it still doesn't have ornaments. Speaking of slacking, I always have big plans for an advent calendar that never happens. I love the idea of these ones, but if I don't hurry, I may have to resort to the ones from the store with the, ummm, chocolate. At least I wouldn't eat that chocolate, though, because a) I totally discriminate against sub par chocolate, and b) it's kind of hard to steal your kid's candy from an advent--even I wouldn't do that.  Do you have an advent?

image from Third Floor Design Studio

image source unknown

image from Raumdinge