Christmas Crafts

This year I've decided to do my best to make some gifts and decorations for the holidays rather than buying everything. Although I still have to purchase materials to make these lovely items, it's cheaper in the long run and I'll be able to create more than just one thing. The bonus is that Q is incredibly creative and I have a stockpile of odds and ends that we already had many of the base materials required. Anyways, here's a little sneak peek at one of the crafts:

For all my Instagram friends, this is old news. For those who are not following me on Instagram, here it is! We are hosting a Christmas party this week and to give it a bit more jazz, we are setting up a photo booth (photos to come once complete). I've been gathering props and made these little signs. Tedious (I have to figure out a better way next time), but so worth it. I love them! Especially the fonts. You like the fonts too? Here's where you can find them: www.dafont.com

This site is fantastic! An ungodly amount of fonts that are free! FREE! Very easy to download and install, plus they're extra fun for graphic and photo editing projects. The ones I used for this project were "Happy New One" (Nice) and "Christmas on Crack" (Naughty) at 200 and 160 point font size respectively. All I did was print them out, use an artists blade to cut them into stencils, trace onto scrapbook paper, and fill in with a black marker. Simple. But tedious for sure. 

Are you trying your hand at little projects like this? What are you making? Share!

More crafts to share with you in the coming weeks!

breathe

xoxo

I Found A Few Little Things

I thought I had cleared off the memory card in our camera but it appears I cleared out most of it. What was left were a few shots of our Thanksgiving weekend trip to Surrey/Vancouver, a bit of Halloween and this year's Christmas decorations. For your viewing pleasure...

These fun guys were at English Bay, the tip of Stanley Park (I think).

The Tree of Gondor!

On the drive home.

The majesty of Mount Robson. Damn clouds.

More on my pumpkin later.

One of my new ornaments, but this is my favourite one of 2012.

xoxo

Gasp!

Pretty sure Q would shake his head at me if I ever did this for Christmas:

via

I think this is fantastic! We all know that I love Christmas and decorating for the season. In order to make this happen in my house I would have to move the sofa out of the living room. Guess I have to think of something else. :)


xoxo

PS: There is an element of this photo that adds to my decorating inspiration for this year. Can you guess what it is?

Glitter Heart Garland

I adore my new holiday decorating item! Sparkling hearts on white coils spring out from a collection of great ribbon (I love ribbon.....a little too much). There was no hesitation when I saw this beauty, I had to have it!

Be My Valentine

Hello and good morning friends!

I love holiday candies. It's something about the shapes and colours and the wrappers that make regular ol' chocolate put a big smile on my face. So I wanted to share what I put together for those special someones for this Love Day 2012. Some sweet and tasty treats for those that have a warm space in my heart.

These are my favourite so far: Raspberry Heart Gummies

Kisses!

Heart shaped charger plates house my little nifty gifties.
Smooch embellished cellophane baggies sealed with pretty purple ribbons. 

All the extras in a heart bowl.

My favourite 'new' item: Typewriter Stamps. I used them at Christmas on
the gifts I gave and I'm pretty sure I will use them until they are worn right out.

Cheers to you and your Valentine! Have a a beautiful day everyone!

xoxo

What Did You Do For New Year's?

This is what we did:

We kept it low key and stayed home for the festivities. We had a lovely and surprisingly filling dinner: fondue and raclette. After we all stuffed our faces, we each relaxed in our respective areas of the house until it was time for champagne (which I mistakenly froze). Champagne slushy? Yes please! It was so good and super delicious!! Music and snuggles topped off the evening until bedtime. Here's a peek:

Note: Jags is ready for dinner. Silly kitty. He thinks he's people.      :)

I love these little white dishes. The beef just looks so pretty. 

Pretty nails, good times, family, and champagne slushies. An excellent night!

So tell me, what did you do for New Year's??

Cheers to you and yours in 2012!

xoxo

Happy Thanksgiving One & All!

I hope you all have stuffed your bellies to the point of bursting and that you're winding down the first major holiday with a nice big glass of wine. I choose chocolate swirl cheesecake. Yummy! Tonight was the first Thanksgiving I had without my whole family, just me, Q, and the kitties. A sweet little dinner for two and I successfully made cornbread! For the first time ever! And it was super tasty! It's all thanks to Q for finding the recipe, quick and simple.

Want to have some of it? Well here's the recipe for you to try:

Buttermilk Cornbread

1/2 c.       butter

2/3 c.       white sugar

2              eggs

1 c.          buttermilk

1/2 tsp.    baking soda

1 c.          cornmeal

1 c.          all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp.    salt

- Preheat oven to 375F (175C). Grease an 8 inch square pan (I used a glass loaf pan and it worked great).
- Melt butter in a large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended.
- Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 30 - 40 minutes (I did 45 minutes, your oven will most likely be different than mine).



That's all there is to it! See how easy?

Enjoy!

2 Big Celebrations On This Day!

MERRY BIRTHDAY MOMMA! et BUENOS DIAS DE LOS MUERTOS!