Merry Christmas! And an Announcement!

Merry Christmas from the (soon to be) Walkers.

Yep. Mr. Lovie and I are engaged!

 I meant to take sweet pictures like this around October since that was when we actually got engaged and announce it then, but life happens. We've started wedding planning (if you follow me on Pinterest, I'm sure you've noticed) and then the Christmas madness began. That's also why I haven't been able to get as many posts up as I wanted. I hope you'll forgive me. :)

We've been together for 4 years and we're so excited to get married in October, 2013.

And I thought I should share with you, friends, too. :) 

What do you think about that light wreath? Want to make one? 

Great. Tutorial is coming soon!

Have a Merry Christmas! 

Thanks for reading!

Glitz and Gold Holiday Necklace

This lovely holiday tutorial, Glitz and Gold Holiday Necklace,  is up on 30 Handmade Days blog! Be sure to go check it out!

It's the perfect accessory for you holiday party dress or even with a plain tee and cardigan. Enjoy!

Linking to the parties on my sidebar and Liz Marie Blog

My Favorite Things Thursday- It's Back!

I've really been missing showcasing the wonderful things I see around the blog world. I'm excited I had time to look around this week and find these wonderful ideas to fill your home with Christmas cheer!

Enjoy! 

DIY Advent Tree by Katie on A Beautiful Mess

Um. In love. Immediately. I love the drawstring bag, the colors, the simple design. All of it. Somebody get me some lumber.

Spool Christmas Tree by Ronda on Maya Road

I came across this sweet little tree and loved it right away. I have a ton of these that have been begging for a project. 

Glitter Christmas Trees DIY by Julie Ann on Julie Ann Art

Glitter. Glitter. Glitter.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

And they're easy. 

Antique Postcard Tree by Diana on Anyone Can Decorate

How cool are these! I love the curled one.

Chalkboard Art Ornaments by Jenn on Clean and Scentsible

Chalkboard art is so popular right now. I love how these ornaments look on this simple tree. I am also ridiculously jealous of Jenn's beautiful handwriting skills! Go check out her secret to great chalk board art.

4 Secrets to Tying the Perfect Bow by Gabrielle on Design Mom

I've been asked several times to share my bow tying tips by friends. I only knew about one of these secrets from this tutorial- so that means there are 3 more I need to try! I'm so excited. Tying the perfect bow is definitely an art. :)

Holiday Woodland Wrapping Ideas by Jennie on Odessa May Society 

I love this natural look. And I bet those real greens on there smell amazing. So sweet.

DIY Brass Tack Ornaments by Claire on Fellow Fellow

Gold and shiny+Christmas is always my favorite. 

Personalize Stockings with Felt by Rachael on Imagine Gnats

LOOVING this idea. AND that stocking is so super cute.

Rudolph Silhouette Christmas Sign  by Melissa on Number 2 Pencil
I just love that sweet reindeer. And I really like the idea of creating art on wood slices! So cool. Apparently they sell them at Michael's. Who knew? Tutorial on Melissa's blog!

 Christmas Decor by Sarah at The Winthrop Chronicles
I'm a sucker for large color lights. They look so sweet against that wood pallet art.

 Felt Mistletoe by Aimee on It's Overflowing

I love all things felt. This is just the cutest. 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Berries and Ornament Initial Wreath Tutorial

 I got excited when I was asked to create this wreath for a work friend because I knew I'd get to do something fun. I love the traditional Christmas colors, but I wanted this wreath to be extra bright and cheery since it was going on a first grade teacher's door. :) The lime-ish green ribbon I used to wrap the wreath did just the trick-and the polka dots of course. When it comes to decorating classrooms, polka-dots are always my go-to move. Ha.

I was originally going to do a picture tutorial, but this wreath was so easy, I didn't take step by step pictures. You can do it. 

Materials Needed: 

Wide ribbon  for the wreath(50% off at Michael's!)-mine was wired, but it doesn't need to be. 

More wide ribbon for the bow. 

Straw wreath form

Large Initial

Small paintbrush

Glue/mod podge, glitter

Berry sprigs (I used two different ones and trimmed them down to work for me)

Ornaments

Hot glue 

Wrap your wreath with the wide ribbon, adding hot glue every now and then as you go. 

Trim your sprigs some, mix and match, do whatever you like. Find a place where you think it looks right and hot glue it on. Hold it down for several seconds to insure it sticks since the sprigs will most likely be kinda heavy. Glue on some ornaments to fancy up the sprigs. 

 Paint large dots of glue dots on your initial. (Mine came white-from Michael's-, but you may need to paint yours if yours did not.) Sprinkle glitter over the glue dots and let dry. Once dry, tie a sweet little ribbon bow to your initial if you like! Glue the initial to the wreath over the bottom of the sprig. Make sure everything looks right and level. 

 Hot glue a fun ribbon on top and you're done! You can glue a knotted ribbon loop to the back of the wreath to use for hanging if you like. 

Hope you love this simple, but bright and happy idea for a Christmas wreath! 

Thanks for reading!

Sharing via the parties on my sidebar. 

Ugly Sweaters and A Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas Eve!!!

In honor of Christmas I thought I'd share with you  my love for ugly/tacky Christmas sweaters and attire. I present to you this year's sweater and outfit.

 Wow, right? The cool part? Mr. Lovie picked out the whole outfit from our local Goodwill the day before knowing I could craft it into a great ensemble. The right sizes and everything. How good is he?!

 I may have woven that red plaid ribbon in throughout the holes from the knitting in the sweater and tied the bows in the front. And I may have done it in the car on the way to our party. What? haha.

 And of course I made the bow on my headband and my shoes.

 My speedy bow tutorial will come soon. I made all three bows in less than 15 minutes. Speedy, huh?

Here is Mr. Lovie and I in front of the tree at our friend's party... 

Lovely, yes? Good and ugly. :)

 

Of course Nixon Girl had to come. In a sweater. And her very own bow.

 The ugly/tacky Christmas sweater party started several years ago when my wonderful friends and I somehow managed to all live in the same apartment complex the year after we graduated. (Seriously, at one time there were 14 of us living in the same complex. It was so fun.) The picture above is most of us. Love this picture. It was clear that the tradition just had to continue. Even though we all live all over the place now, we still try to make it happen.

 And here's the skirt! Bonus! It's really cute! It's a wool skirt so it's nice and warm and it's a beautiful shade of bright red! Merry Christmas to me!

And it has pockets!! Woo hoo!! I just love great thrift store finds!

I hope you are having a great Christmas and enjoying this time with your families. I won't be posting this next week most likely as I am with my family and friends back in Lexington, Kentucky. I'll see you for sure after the new year! Merry Christmas!!

If you're still wrapping presents check out my Christmas Bow Tutorials!! Your presents will be gorgeous in no time!

Need a super last minut gift check out my Pretty Packaged Christmas Candy!

 

A Last Minute Gift Idea: Pretty Packaged Christmas Candy

 Anyone else scrambling to get it all done? 

 Yeah. Me, too.

 I thought these fun and pretty packaged Christmas Candies might help some of you... I made them this morning. They are seriously an easy and fast last minute gift. I saw the packaging idea here via Pinterest. It's just a little piece of scrapbook paper folded over a ziplock bag, stapled on either side and embellished with bows. Quick and easy. And the best part is, if you're like me and hoard craft supplies out the wazoo, you already have all that stuff. 

 I got the recipe for the Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark at Hersheys.com. The one on the right is from the actual recipe except it's milk chocolate, not dark chocolate. I made a batch with dark chocolate, too, though, and I think I like it better. The one on the right is actually a bag of Ande's Mint Baking Chips (found at Walmart) melted and topped with crushed peppermint as well. I made it the same way as the Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark. It is crazy easy to make. Which is why I chose it. :)

 So pretty and festive.

 I made the first batch of these for coworkers and actually put them in some sweet holiday tins I found at JoAnn's for 60% off. 

 I thought I'd go ahead and make a couple more batches and fix them up nice for those unexpected gifts you always need. You know those kinds of people...a neighbor that pops over unexpectedly with something yummy for you and your family, a coworker who you didn't realize you were that close to gives you a little something, etc. You can make up several of these and hold on to them for the unexpected gift giving. And if you don't end up needing them, attach them to a gift you're already giving or eat them yourself! Believe me, you'll want to! 

Here are some of the other last minute gifts I'm attempting to make today and tomorrow...

Ruffle Scarf By Pink Lemonade

I've just made 3 or 4 of these sweet ruffly scarves. These are not the kind that keep you super warm, but will look oh so cute and stylish. 

I'm hoping to add some fabric flower pins to them, too, using the flowers I made here, here, and here, maybe. 

Toiletry Bag from Prudent Baby

And I'm hoping to squeeze in time to make another couple of these (I already made one for Mr. Lovie-and he is already using it!). 

Casserole Carrier by Homemade by Jill and Two Little Hooligans

And hopefully this sweet casserole carrier. Wish me luck!!

Thanks for reading.

Linking this post to the parties on my sidebar!