Holiday Traditions

Happy Monday! We won't be crafting this week and instead I'll share with you one tradition that I like to do at this time of the year -- I walk around New York City to admire the lights, decorations and store windows decked out for the holidays.

I think that traditions are memories that you keep

forever and I think Lord and Taylor would agree with me.

This year, Lord and Taylor asked their Facebook fans to share their favorite holiday stories and the response was overwhelming! Lord and Taylor chose twelve stories and executed these in their windows -- a great collaboration, don't you think?

Here are my favorites:

A DISCO CHRISTMAS

"My first year in the city, I thought I would be spending Christmas alone, so I was thrilled when I was invited to a co-worker's annual tree trimming party. It wasn't at all what I expected...let's just say Kate had a flair for decorating. Not only did she have a silver tree and a disco ball, everything in her place was covered in silver tinsel! Well, it was the 70's after all. When else could you actually have a "Disco Christmas"? - David Engleman (Chicago, Illinois)

HOLIDAY DRESSES

"My grandmother was an amazing seamstress. Each Christmas she created the most beautiful outfits for my mother and her sisters. While I don't have her "sewing hands," I carry on the family tradition by giving my daughters new holiday dresses each year." - Linda Bennett Marblehead (Massachusetts)

DECK THE HALLS

"I love decorating for the holidays although my cozy city apartment (aka 350 sq/ft. studio) does not accommodate my grand ideas, it never stops my holiday spirit. Instead of "decking the halls," I simply decorate the fire escape!"

- Sarah Currie (New York, New York)

A TOAST ON CHRISTMAS EVE

"Christmas is all about family. My husband and I were actually married on Christmas Eve, so our first Christmas together is still one of the most memorable. Our tree only had one ornament, but with every year and every child (and every grandchild) our tree, as well as our family, has grown larger than anything we could have dreamed when we toasted to our future that first Christmas Eve." - Lorraine Adams (Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey)

OUR GINGERBREAD HOUSE

"It isn't Christmas at our house unless something is baking in the oven. Every year we bake all of my grandmother's great recipes while always adding a few of our own. We may have even perfected the art of building a gingerbread house. From stained glass windows to candy cane fences, gumdrop pathways and chocolate chip trees, nothing can rival our architectural masterpiece. - Nicolina Ferrara Somers (New York)

Lovely traditions indeed!

By the way, for every new fan Lord and Taylor

gets on its Facebook page, they will donate $1 to

the American Red Cross in Greater New York.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Stars

Happy Friday Everyone!

One of the pleasures of the holidays is breathing in

the scent of pine! Streets and shops lined with

real Christmas trees is indeed a lovely sight.

All this week, I've been making salt dough

ornaments and here's another idea to

turn a blah tree into a TADA! tree.

TADA!

Little stars made of salt dough, shaped with

cookie cutters and baked in the oven...

...then painted in ravishing gold paint.

Add one on a string...

And then another...

Until you have a garland.

Now, they're ready for the tree!

Have a magical weekend!

Sweet, sweet Christmas

All this week, I'm making my own ornaments

using salt dough. It's easy and definitely a

fun activity with the children.

An empty wreath is so blah.

Here's how I'm snazzing it up:

I'm adding some sweets like candy and doughnuts,

all made from salt dough.

TADA!

Here they are all decorated, ready for a tree or...

...a wreath for my front door!

Delicious, don't you think?

Another Gingerbread Man

One of my favorite holiday traditions is decorating the

Christmas tree.

An empty tree can be quite blah.

I just can't wait until the lights are strung, the decorations

are hung and the star is positioned on top!

For sure, one holiday tradition I'd like to begin

is to make our own ornaments. It's fun for the family,

each ornament will have a story and will never be

available in any store.

Doing that is easy using this salt dough recipe

and a bunch of cookie cutters. It's almost like

making cookies, but ones that lasts for generations.

TADA!

I know, I've been infatuated with gingerbread people lately.

I just can't resist them, especially this one

with a special message stamped on it.

You can achieve this with these cool cookie cutters

from Williams Sonoma.

TADA!

Here's what my gingerbread boy looks like

after being baked and a coat of paint.

Isn't he adorable on the tree?

I hope Santa doesn't mistake

him for a real cookie!

Too Good to be Truffles

All this week, I'll be showing you how to

make your own ornaments using this

easy to make salt dough recipe.

Today, we'll be using this blah -- paper liners

that scrumptious chocolates used to sit on.

I rolled balls out of the salt dough and passed a skewer

through the top for holes where I can insert a

piece of string.

Then I baked the balls in 250 degree oven.

Once cool, I painted and decorated!

Here's what they look like now:

TADA!

Truffle ornaments!

Don't they look like the real thing?

Adding a silver cord will indicate that these

chocolate bonbons are not edible.

Then you can hang them on the tree!

A Christmas Card

Let me tell you about something I came across

in the public garbage can. I found a clear plastic

bag (sealed) containing these:

CD envelopes!

Fifty pieces of clean, unused CD envelopes!

Clearly, nobody had wanted these, so I helped myself

to the stack. {But please know that no matter how much

I like making stuff out of "trash", I don't go through

other people's garbage bins. Heehee!}

Okay, here's what I eventually used them for:

TADA!

My 2010 Christmas card!

Inspired by this card I crafted last year, I decided

to include a handmade ornament.

Using this salt dough recipe, I made heart-shaped

ornaments with a cookie cutter. I added a hole on top

with a skewer and then baked these in the oven.

After cooling, I painted the hearts in a sparkly silver.

Then I slipped in a silver cord through the hole

and attached the ornament on red card stock

(trimmed to fit the CD envelope)

with a holiday message.

I wrote more personal messages on the

back plus a suggestion on how to use

the ornament: on a tree, a wreath or

around a doorknob.

I hope my relatives and friends

like this card + ornament that they

can use year after year!

Mint + Chocolate

Howdy! Look at what I have as a blah today:

An empty chocolate and gum box.

A bit blah but I like these because they resemble envelopes.

But nothing that gift wrap can't solve.

I added dimension with layers of these scalloped coins

(made from a puncher).

Plus a little contrast with fuchsia sequins.

These make for nifty gift boxes for small presents

but have lots of impact.

Have a great weekend!

Generic to Fantastic

If you're giving away gift cards for the holidays,

add a little personality to the packaging.

When you purchase the gift card, it sometimes comes with an envelope.

But isn't this so blah?

Make it TADA!

Add some glitter & bling to match the

sparkle & shine of the holidays.

This tinsel was from a gift I got last year

that I simply hot glued on the face of the envelope.

Add the card and a brief, cheerful message!

Gingerbread Lady

All this week, I'm sharing some wrapping ideas

for small gifts that you'll be giving away.

When the holidays come around, there's

a lot of baking involved & packages received.

Make sure to save those empty boxes!

These are blahs that can become TADAs!

I can't help but think of gingerbread people

at this time of year. So I took out the cookie

cutter and traced the shape on the cardboard.

Then I painted it all over in a festive color &

attached some ribbon at the top with hot glue.

Tada! It looks like an ornament!

By adding two holes, it can be used to

"wrap" a pair of earrings.

Something you made yourself or found at a craft fair.

You can use it to highlight a necklace, too.

Tuck this gingerbread lady in a small gift box

if you want to keep the gift a surprise.

Bear-y Christmas!

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by and thanks for

visiting Delia's blog yesterday where I turned a blah paper bag

into a TADA! envelope. Perfect for money gifts and tips.

Today, I have another idea to "disguise" a gift card

(some people may think it's impersonal to give a gift card,

I don't -- I think it's practical and let's the recipient pick

what he or she really, really wants!)

Blah: a teddy bear that was a promotional freebie.

Remove the tag and replace with a small envelope

(I made this using construction paper).

Secure it to the bear with ribbon or small amount of hot glue.

Insert the gift card and finish with a sweet note.

TADA! No one can resist the charm of this bear

who comes bearing a gift!

Have a great day!

Big Gifts in Small Packages

How was your weekend?

I hope you were able to find some "me" time in the midst of

holiday preparations and year end deadlines.

This week, I'll be showing you ways to wrap small gifts

that are big in value.

Today's blah:

A plain paper bag.

To see the TADA!, you'll have to visit

Delia's blog where I'm a guest blogger.

What are you waiting for?

It's time to hop on over to Delia's!

The Gingerbread Man

If yesterday, I made my version of a gingerbread house,

today, I might as well make a gingerbread man, right?

So I'll start off with blah, empty food cartons like these:

Then cover each in left-over gift wrap.

Add some cord for the handles, attach

my good looking gingerbread man and...

Tada! A cute gift box!

Have a fantastic weekend!