JOY Jars

I was inspired when I saw these "Thanks" jars before Thanksgiving and immediately knew I wanted to do something similar as part of my Christmas decor so I began saving jars and right after Thanksgiving, grabbed 3 jars, some scrapbook paper, and got to work. 

Here's what I came up with........ 

Battery operated tea lights are sitting inside each jar. 

I simply cut my scrapbook paper to fit the jars, secured it in the back with tape so I could re-use the jar after the Christmas season, and then cut a J, O, and Y from red cardstock using my Silhouette machine. I adhered the letters to the jar with pop dots to give them a bit of dimension and voila! 

Linking to the parties listed in my sidebar

Quote of the Week: Every Time a Bell Rings

"Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings." 

- It's a Wonderful Life

Weekend Wonders: The One with Christmas Printables

There are so many cute Christmas printables out there. Below are just a few of my favorites.

Christmas Subway Art

I love this adorable subway art printable from Bunch of Craft.

Gift Tags

I love these gift tags over at Sass and Peril.

Merry Christmas Banner

This is a cute printable banner over at The Red Kitchen.

Tags (and more!)

Cute tags and more are avaiable for download at Catch my Party.

Christmas Lunch Box Notes

Cute, fun, and festive lunch box notes are available for download over at Darling Doodles.

Shopping Lists

This printable is adorable shopping lists from the Paper and Glitter Blog.

A Giving Heart

Noah has such a giving heart and at times I find myself surprised and proud at how much he likes to give to others.

At Noah's school, the kids are awarded points based on behavior and then they can "spend" those points in the school store each Friday. Noah's improved leaps and bounds with behavior and completing tasks this school year and has been able to go to the school store and spend his points just about every Friday.

Very rarely does Noah purchase anything for himself at the school store. Most of the time he brings home a gift for me, my parents, or J. Last Friday, he came home from school excitedly telling us to open his backpack. We pull out a royal blue t-shirt with a picture of multiple puppies (some even wearing hats!) printed on it. As I looked at the shirt, I noticed it was HUGE. I looked at the size and realized it was about J's size. I asked him who he got the shirt for and he sweetly replied, "Daddy."

J wasn't thrilled at the thought of wearing a shirt with puppies on it out in public so he slept in and then gave it to Noah to sleep in since Noah does like to occasionally sleep in J's shirts when he is at work.

I love how he puts others before himself when he has earned a reward. I think it's something we could all learn from and I really hope he never loses this quality.

Emailing Santa

Recently I helped Noah email Santa. We used this website to send his letter to Santa. It was easy to use and he even got a letter back from Santa right away!

For himself he asked Santa for more art supplies, lots and lots of paper, some DVDs, and a Clemson jersey like Daddy's. He also asked for a Clemson shirt, doggie treats, and doggie toy for his pup Paisley.

The website gave him a couple of different choices of how to tell Santa what his behavior has been. I suggested choosing the "angel with a crooked halo" but Noah insisted on choosing the "sweet angel a top the tree." Too bad there wasn't an "angel choir boy" option!

Linked to 5 Minutes for Special Needs

 and
5 Minutes for Moms

Guest Blogging at The Crafty Scientist

Yesterday and today I have been featured at The Crafty Scientist. Yesterday, Mel (a fellow Clemson fan!!) posted a crafty interview where I answered some fun, craft/blogging questions and then today I am sharing a tutorial on how to create my chalkboard ornaments.

Head on over to The Crafty Scientist and check them out!

This Year's Snow Bars

Every year I make what I have come to call "Snow Bars." They are candy bars (I use Hershey's chocolate bars though you could really use any type of candy bar) wrapped up to look like snowmen. I first made these for a craft show a few years back and they were a big hit and remain a big hit every year.

Over the years, I have varied how I make these just a little bit. Originally I wrapped the bars with white paper and then drew on the snowman features. But last year, I discovered these printable wrappers by Laurie Furnell and have been using them ever since. Laurie shares this file for free and you can download it here.

For the hats I use children's socks. I get them at The Dollar Tree and you get three pairs of socks for 1.00. This year, I started by them in the summer as soon as they started putting out cute children's socks. I cut off the toe part of the sock and discard then I slip the sock over the top of the bar to create the snowman's hat, roll it up a little bit, and then I secure it with a little bit of glue under the sock so it doesn't slip off when they are being handled. I then tie a bit of ribbon at the top of the hat. 

These little bars are easy and inexpensive to put together and remain one of my favorite Christmas crafts!

(Linking up to the crafty parties listed in my sidebar)

ETA: It looks like the freebie is no longer for sell but you can purchase the wrapper file on Etsy for $1.00 here. 

Quote of the Week: Child at Christmas

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred. And we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas time." 

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Weekend Wonders: The One with Ornaments

I have seen SO many cute Christmas ornaments around the blogosphere lately! I'm sharing a few of my faves with you today.

Cupcake Ornaments

Are these cupcake ornaments at Artsy Vava not adorable!?! Head on over to learn how to make them using cupcake liners and Christmas balls plus a few more "ingredients." 

Lightbulb Snowman

Lady in the Red Rocker shares a "how to" for these cute little snowmen ornies made from ordinary light bulbs.

Felt Owls

I love owls so it's not a big surprise that I fell in love with these cute little felt owl ornies from Juicy Bits.

I Spy Ornament

These "I Spy" ornaments at Craft Snob are adorable and would be great for a kid.
(In fact, I may make them myself for some of the kids in my life!)

JOY Ornament

I love this Joy ornament made out of vintage looking sheet music. Head over to Frugalicious Me for a how to and a template to download to make your very own.

Scrabble Ornaments

These fun ornaments from my Sweet Savannah are made from Scrabble tiles. You could spell lots of great Christmas-y words or someone's name!

Photo Ornaments

Would you believe that these photo ornaments over at The Crafty Chicks were made from a canned juice lid?!? Clever!

Mini Yarn Wreath Ornaments

These little yarn wreaths from Smile Like You Mean It are adorable - and they are made from a shower curtain ring!

Lastly, check out a few of my ornaments from Christmases past.

Initial Ornaments

Chalkboard Ornaments

Paparazzi Jewelry Review

One of the things I love about blogging is making new friends that I probably never would have met if it weren’t for blogging since they don’t live near me. Michelle, from Someday Crafts, is one of those friends. She is a special education teacher turned stay at home Mom to three adorable kiddos and we became friends discussing my sweet Noah.

Michelle recently became a jewelry consultant for Paparazzi Jewelry as a way to earn some extra money for her family. Michelle sells the jewelry locally at jewelry parties, craft bazaars, and through her website, Jewelry for Five.

Michelle sent me three pieces of jewelry to give them a try.

The Long Brown Ribbon Necklace 

The Sunset Pink Flower Clip

The 5th Avenue Brown Headband

I love the ribbon closure on this necklace because you can easily adjust the length of it. The only thing I don't like is that the brown isn't as of a dark brown as I'd thought it was going to be but it's still beautiful and I can wear it with many different things. The necklace also came with matching earrings.

I like that the flower clip has both an alligator clip and then a standard pin back on the back of it so I could clip it in my hair or on a bag or a coat or something; love the versatility of it.

I adore headbands but I will admit I was a little leery of ordering one because I could not try it on first and if a headband is even a smidge too tight I won’t wear it because then I just end up with a giant headache. But I’m happy to report that this headband seems to fit well and although I have only worn it once, it was for about 5 hours and I remained headache free!

When Michelle was first telling me about this jewelry line, she told me that every single piece of jewelry, headband, clips, etc. was only $5.00! You are probably thinking like I first did that it’s too good to be true, right? That because it’s so inexpensive it’s probably lacking in quality. Well, now that I have held several pieces in my hands, I can assure you that it is NOT lacking in quality. It’s the same type of jewelry I’ve bought at boutiques in the mall and paid triple the price for. It’s good stuff and would make a great Christmas gift for family, friends, co-workers, teachers, etc. Click below to go to the Jewelry for Five website and check out Michelle's awesome selection of jewelry and accessories.

Also, if you are looking for a way to supplement your income, becoming a consultant like Michelle did just might be the answer for you. Check out her website or email her at jewelryforfive@gmail.com for more information.

Full Disclosure: I was given free jewelry in exchange for writing an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Happy December!

November was a busy month here on the blog! I attempted to post every day for NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month.) I have attempted this in the past and usually started out strong but then fizzled out mid month never successfully posting every single day. But I'm happy to report this go 'round - I did it! Yay! There was lots to post about though, with Thankful Thursdays, my first give away, and craft projects; so that made it easier!

December is going to be a busy month as well. Not only blog wise but life wise too! I love this time of the year! I love the colors, the decorations, the scents, the feelings,  etc. Our tree is up and almost finished. This season just gives me lots of warm fuzzies.

And as you know, I always change my desk top background at the first of the month. This month I chose a cute Christmas one from LeeLou Blogs.

Happy December friends! 

Counting Down the Days

After posting different ways to countdown the days until Christmas last weekend, I was inspired to create something new to countdown the days. (This is what we used last year.)

Here is this year's Christmas Counter-Downer.....

Want to make one of your very own? You know you do! Here's how.......

1. Gather your supplies. You will need:

• A piece of wood or board of some kind (I used a tacky plaque I bought at The Dollar Tree. I often like using these for projects like this because they are a good size, the sides are already finished, and there's already a hook on it for hanging on the wall. You'll just want to sand the front just a bit before you do anything to it so that paint or Mod Podge will adhere better.)
• Decorative scrapbook paper
• Coordinating cardstock
• Mod Podge
• Foam brush
• Chalkboard paint
• Chipboard coaster (I used a cheap coaster I bought on super clearance at Michael's that I had in my stash. You could also use a heavy piece of cardboard or chipboard and just cut it into the size circle you want.)
• Embellishments
• Chalk

2. Paint your coaster following the directions on your bottle of chalkboard paint and set aside to dry. (Most say paint strokes one way, dry for a bit, paint strokes the other way, and let dry again.)

3. Cut your paper to the size of your board. Brush a layer of Mod Podge on your plaque and then lay the paper down smoothing it out as you go along. If you have any extra, sand off the edges using a sanding block. Be sure and sand away from the board. (I always cut my paper a bit big for projects like this and sand off the extra because I like the finished looking sanding gives it.)

4. Print out the words "Days until Christmas" on your cardstock in your favorite font or download mine here. Trim to fit your board and glue it to your board.

5. Once your chalkboard paint has dried, glue on your coaster above your words.

6. Add any embellishments you like.

Now you are ready to count down the days until Christmas!

(Linking up to the parties listed in my sidebar)