Decking Our Halls {2012}

I love putting out my Christmas decorations! It really makes it feel like the holidays are here!

I didn't go too crazy this year, pregnancy and a 2 year old consume my life now, so decorating is more of a luxury than a necessity ;)

But here's some of what I got up this year!

  This is what I'm most proud of this year. I saw something similar on pinterest, but it was selling on etsy for like $40! But in my mind of course, I think "I can make that!" So, I did! It's not perfect, but I like it! I had to take it down to get a decent picture of it, but normally its on the wall.

I used the 'vaseline' technique to get the chippy paint look!

Planning Christmas 2012 {Free Printables}

Last year I made a Christmas planning folder with free printables and you all went crazy for it! Well, here is the updates 2012 version you all asked for! The only things that really have changed is the calendar and the dates, but I hope you like it and use it again this year!! I know I will! Here's the post with the NEW links!

The first printable is Santa's Survey!

I had been wanting to do a page like this for a few years now, for my husband mostly! It is SO hard to just come out and ask him what he wants! This way you are able to have your spouse write everything down, or have your kids fill it out for you, and there's no more guess work! You will always have everything you need to know at your fingertips! I also filled it out for my little boy, so that whenever I get an idea of something to get him for Christmas, I can jot it down. I keep mine all together in a binder, so I can just grab it whenever I go out Christmas shopping and I have all my ideas right there!

Santa's Survey Download

Next up... A fun December calendar! I know you all probably have a calendar on your wall, but I'm using this one for all things HOLIDAY! what days I'm going to make Neighbor treats, what nights we're going to pass them out, things like that!

 

 

December Calendar Download

Next up... FOOD list! I love food. This list keeps you reminded on what neighbors you are giving treats to, and what food you agreed to bring to what party!

Christmas Food Download

This next one will replace your 50 cent notebook that has random gift ideas for your family scribbled all over it. Just fill in the name, and whenever you get a genius gift idea for your grandma, jot it down and it will be with you when you go out shopping!

Christmas Gift List Download

And what would a download list be without a cover!?

download cover

 Merry Christmas and Happy Planning!

Reindeer Block

We made these cute little guys for our Thanksgiving craft night. My sister in laws, mother in law and I try and get together around the holidays and do a few crafts, and this year I brought these cuties to make! They were SUPER easy! And they look adorable!

You need:

wooden block 5 1/2 x 6 1/2

bead board square 3x4

tan, red, white, and black paint

tan and pink felt

 sandpaper

2 small branches

hot glue gun

Paint your large block tan, and your bead board red (leaving the indents white). Once those are dry, sand the edges to create the worn look. Glue the bead board onto your large block. Drill two holes on top of the block about an inch or less apart from each other. Paint the face on the reindeer with the black and white paint. Cut ovals out of the felt, making the pink ovals a bit smaller than the tan. hot glue them together, and fold the bottom in thirds so the ears stand up. Hot glue them to the hot of the block. Insert branches into drilled holes, if you want, you can secure them with a little hot glue.

 Enjoy your cute new Christmas Decor!

Tips on buying Holiday Decor {And a look at mine}

Mmmm. Christmas Decorations. My favorite! It just doesn't feel like the holidays until the stockings are hung!

I wanted to share a few tips that I use when buying holiday decor, so I don't break the bank every year!

...............................................................................

Tip #1- Shop the sales.

this kind of sounds like a no-brainer, doesn't it!? But you'd be surprised at how many people don't shop for new decor after the season is over! Last year I got all of the ornaments for my second tree at like 75% off! I think I spent maybe $20 total on the entire tree! Decor goes on sale anywhere from 25-90% off a few days after Christmas, and I stock up! Robert's usually puts their holiday decor on sale way before the holiday is up! Just make sure to not buy things that are going to go out of style fast, stick to traditional pieces.

Tip #2- Buy multi-seasonal colors

Red is a GREAT color to buy because it works for a few different holidays. (Christmas, Valentines, 4th of July) Green (Christmas, St. Patricks Day, Thanksgiving) This tip works great for things like wreaths, candles and garlands.

Tip #3- Make what you can
I'm not kidding! A chunk of wood and some paint costs a LOT LESS than a $15 premade block from a boutique! It's even better if you have a cricut/silhouette and can cut your own vinyl! But places like Steamrollers will cut vinyl for you! I made our stocking this year (tutorial on that to come!) and I think I spent like $6 on everything! A lot cheaper than paying $12 per stocking!
Tip #4- Use interchangeable focal points
Remember the Plate rack I bought? I LOVE it! It's SO easy to just pick up a few plates that match the season, and change them out! And bonus, if you don't use vinyl on them, you could use the same color for multiple seasons! But again, you can get vinyl for pretty cheap! Or try buying some fancy plates that wont need vinyl! I bought 3 chargers from walmart that were like .97 cents each!
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Want a look at my Decor? Don't get too excited, it's nothing fancy. It's hard to decorate the bottom half of your house when you have a curious 1 year old. But I did manage to talk my hubby into putting up a second tree!

This Shelf is in my front room, I usually do this one first since it's the first thing people see.

My Homemade stockings, yes they LOOK homemade, I know!

Like my leg lamp? It was a gift form my sweet friend! :)

Tree #1. Notice how the bottom is scarce? You can thank my little man for that.

Tree #2. This is our fun tree. It will hold all our family ornaments, when we get some! ;)

Plate rack, not too bad for $3.00!

Like the Reindeer? I'm working on a tutorial for that! We made them at our craft night with my husbands family on Thanksgiving. And that Joy block?... see what I mean about making things! That was free!

This was my sad attempt at showing you my pant shelf in the kitchen. The lighting is horrible up there!

And that's about it! Hope it gave you some inspiration to go make or buy some new decor!

Snowman Family {Guest Post by Tasha}

Snowman Family

So I had some extra wood lying around, and my sister and I decided to make a snowman family. They turned out PRETTY cute! 

You will need: 

*Fabric for the head wraps, and scarves. I probable used a 1/3 of each. 

(at Joannes they had a 4 pack of christmas fabrics for 10 dollars, so I bought that.)

*Glue Gun

*Twin, string, anything that you can tie the top of the hat with.

*Orange, White and Black Paint

*Wood. Depending on how tall you want your tallest one, then cut an inch or 2 off of the second, and an inch or 2 off the 3rd.

When I cut my blocks I didnt measure how tall they were, I just sorta guessed how tall I wanted them..so I cant give you exact measurements.. It just depends how tall YOU want your cute snowman's to be! I painted my blocks white, let them dry, then tied the head wraps on. I hot glued the fabric to the snowman blocks, then with twin I tied the top of it. Wrapped my scarfs around each one. Then painted the faces on. you can use your creativity and use buttons for the eyes, felt or fabric for the nose, I just had paint in the closet, so that's what I used! I painted my cute little nose, and eyes. Once they were all made, I set them on my porch! 

Happy Snowman Making!!!

Tasha Bracken

25 Stocking Stuffers for your Manly Man!

I love looking at stocking lists! Personally I think the stocking is one of the most fun parts of Christmas morning! Maybe it's because it's first, maybe because it's a whole lotta gifts really fast, but whatever it is, I love stockings! However, my dear sweet husband is SO hard to buy stocking stuffers for! He is not into toys, or gag gifts, and I hate filling it with all candy! He is a 'Manly Man', into hunting and fishing and 'guy' stuff! So I put together a list of stocking stuffers that have been a hit with my man over the past few years. No frilly, cutesy stuff here! Hope it gives you some ideas!

1. Jerky
2. Car air fresheners
3. Fishing bait
4. Fishing hooks
5. Nuts
6. Fishing Line
7. Bullets
8. iTunes card
9. Hunting gloves
10. Earbuds
11. Hunting Magazine (or whatever magazine he's into)
12. Hunting movie
13. Keychain
14. Window/leather wipes for the car
15. Mini Tape Measure
16. Pocket knife
17. Knife sharpener
18. Mini boxes of cereal
19. Mini flashlight
20. Body wash/cologne
21. Gum/mints
22. Hand sanitizer (for the tackle box)
23. Wool Socks
24. Extra cell phone charger
25. Love letter (because no matter how manly he is, he still needs to know how much you love him!)

Organize your Christmas {Free Printables}

Need the updated 2012 edition!?? Click Here!

Christmas time is officially upon us! I adore the holidays! I love being with family, the decorations, the yummy food, the music, and the LISTS! Oh, the lists! I am such a list person, so I use any excuse I can to make one, or two... or a binder full! Last week I shared this first printable on my guest post at Over the Big Moon, and I promised the rest of it soon, and here it is!

The first printable is Santa's Survey!

I had been wanting to do a page like this for a few years now, for my husband mostly! It is SO hard to just come out and ask him what he wants! This way you are able to have your spouse write everything down, or have your kids fill it out for you, and there's no more guess work! You will always have everything you need to know at your fingertips! I also filled it out for my little boy, so that whenever I get an idea of something to get him for Christmas, I can jot it down. I keep mine all together in a binder, so I can just grab it whenever I go out Christmas shopping and I have all my ideas right there!

Santa's Survey Download

Next up... A fun December calendar! I know you all probably have a calendar on your wall, but I'm using this one for all things HOLIDAY! what days I'm going to make Neighbor treats, what nights we're going to pass them out, things like that!

December Calendar Download

Next up... FOOD list! I love food. This list keeps you reminded on what neighbors you are giving treats to, and what food you agreed to bring to what party!

Christmas Food Download

This next one will replace your 50 cent notebook that has random gift ideas for your family scribbled all over it. Just fill in the name, and whenever you get a genius gift idea for your grandma, jot it down and it will be with you when you go out shopping!

Christmas Gift List Download

And what would a download list be without a cover!?

download cover

 Merry Christmas and Happy Planning!

Christmas Card Display and 5 Free Printable Christmas Cards [Guest Post by Over the Big Moon]

Hey LLS Readers! We are so excited to be Blog Swapping with Stefanie today! Don't you just love her blog? She's adorable!

We are Lisa and Pam from Over the Big Moon!

Over the Big Moon is a blog where you will find a little bit of everything that relates to family life, kids, and decorating our homes! Pam is a Mom to 2 boys and Lisa a Mom to 3 boys! So, you actually might not find a ton related to little girls, but you will still find a lot of fun family ideas and traditions for your home! So, run on over and check it out!

Today we are looking forward into December, and to Christmas Cards! We both love the tradition of Christmas cards! Lisa wanted to share a cute way to display your Christmas Cards and then we also have 5 different Christmas card printables you can choose from for your family card this year!

I (Lisa) had a coat rack that was just screaming for a North Pole makeover!

I decided to unscrew my hooks and wrap the pole in white ribbon. 

Now it is as easy as clipping the cards to the ribbon when they come in the mail!

I used these super cute spiral Paper Clips to attach the cards.

One of my favorite things about the Pole is that it will be easy for my boys to look at the Cards. I have such fond memories of looking at Christmas cards each year! I loved seeing my family's friends grow up over the years. Now for the Printable!

We have 5 Christmas Card designs available for download that you can simply add your own family picture and personalized message to. If you do not have a photo editing program like Photoshop you can use Aviary.com for free! Their Advanced Image Editor is almost just like Photoshop and will allow you to add your custom text and add your family picture! The downloadable files below are PNG's, so they will work in all Photo Editing programs! Costco allows you to upload custom designs in to their Christmas Card selections so we have provided their standard size of 6 x7.5, as well as a 5x7. Simply click on the size under each card to download.

5 x 7
6 x 7.5

5 x 7
6 x 7.5


5 x 7
6 x 7.5

 
5 x 7
6 x 7.5


5 x 7
6 x 7.5

Come visit us at Over the Big Moon to see more Tutorials, Pre-K Packs, Free Printables, Traditions and More!

Thanks again Stefanie for letting us Guest Post!