A Delicious Holiday

One of my favorite indulgences during the

holidays & the winter months is

hot chocolate:

I'm an equal opportunity hot chocolate

lover -- thick, light, topped with

marshmallows or cream or with

cookies on the side. I love them all!

Are you still putting together

gifts for surprise guests or

instant meet-ups?

Here are a few more ideas

I found while browsing

on Pinterest:

A S'mores kit made of

graham crackers, chocolate

bars and marshmallows.

Reindeer pops made of peanut butter

cookies, chocolate, pretzels

and candy.

These packages of popcorn

are dressed up as snowmen.

The face and body are drawn

with a pen and the hat is

made of a glove & ribbon.

Cute don't you think?

May you have a happy weekend

and a truly Merry Christmas!

Here Come Santa's Reindeer

Christmas is just around the corner.

Gasp! Are you all set?

Here's a stocking that hangs on one

of our doors...I added Santa which

was a gift embellishment.

Now doesn't the stocking

look more festive?

Even with limited time, you can

still do some blah to TADA!

Need some last minute gift ideas.

Here's some I found on Pinterest:

Beer bottles dressed up as reindeer!

Just use pipe cleaners, stick-on eyes

and pompoms.

A wash cloth transformed

into another reindeer.

You can use it to wrap bars of

soap or other bath products

to give away.

Reindeer pops that kids will love.

Made of marshmallows

dipped in chocolate and

dressed up with

pretzels & candy.

Printed with Love

Do you give out holiday cards?

I love sending and receiving them!

This year, I sent out store bought cards.

There's nothing wrong with that.

When I can, I try to add a handmade

touch to my cards like these ornaments

from last year. But alas, sometimes

time isn't on our side.

I found these really cute prints on Pinterest:

A Christmas tree made of tiny foot prints

Another tree, this time, made with

hand prints

Check out these reindeer

also made of foot prints!

Ravishing Wreath Ideas

Hello Lovelies!

I'm in the thick of wrapping presents.

Some go under the tree, while some

are to be shipped off to family and

friends faraway.

I'm recycling boxes & shredding my

own paper instead of buying

packing fillers.

As I do this, let me leave you

with some ideas to decorate

your door:

A wreath made of cinnamon

via dilly dallas

A wreath made of corks

via Good Housekeeping

A wreath made of twigs &

scrap fabric

via huckleberrygumbo

More ideas here.

Enjoy your day!

Christmas Inspiration

Happy Monday!

I have to admit, this week is going to be

quite busy. I'm pretty sure you know

what I mean.

Take for instance, holiday baking that

needs to be packaged & given away.

That's why I've pulled some inspiration

from the web that I think are TADA!

For festive decorations for the

dining or coffee table:

A TADA! candy cane vase

Take a blah container and cover it

with candy canes {use tape to

secure them in place}.

Finish with a ribbon & fill

the vase with your

favorite blooms!

image c/o Ecopolitan Bride

Here's another idea:

Glass, berries & light

Fill glass receptacles with berries or

red candy. Add some candles

for instant TADA! & glamour!

image c/o 33 Shades of Green

See you tomorrow!

Decorations for Dessert

As we celebrate Friday, here's a final idea

to turn this blah into a TADA!:

blah: used gift wrapper

TADA!: Delightful dessert toppers

They're easy to assemble: Glue gift wrap onto

cardboard and make desired shapes using a

decorative puncher. Attach one end of a

toothpick to the cardboard with tape or

a bead of hot glue.

Use on top of cake pops, brownies,

cupcakes or truffles.

Have a fun & yummy weekend!

Tiny Presents

I have a crazy habit of keeping old gift wrap

especially if the designs are eye-catching.

So I guess you can picture me as I

open presents -- no tearing, creasing

and pieces of tape are slowly lifted to

preserve as much of the pattern

as possible.

blah: used gift wrap

TADA!: Tiny gift boxes for tiny treasures

I found small boxes that once contained staples,

tacks, paper clips. I wrapped them with the

good parts of the old gift wrap then

embellished with a monogram and ribbon.

I also lined the inside of the box with

green tissue paper.

TADA!, don't you think?

Holiday Tags Part 2

Hello friends!

Used gift wrapper from Christmas past

can still be useful for Christmas future.

blah: old gift wrapper

TADA!: instant gift tags

Simply cut out designs from existing gift wrap

and glue them on card stock.

A handwritten greeting is always a nice touch

to a handmade tag!

Holiday Tags Part 1

Our featured blah for the week:

A stack of used gift wrapper from last Christmas.

Let's give them a second chance, shall we?

Here's what happens with just some glue,

card stock, some punchers,

glitter stickers & string:

TADA! Cute gift tags!

Go crazy with color & print combinations

then write a cheerful message on the back.

New Uses for Old Gift Wrapper

Thank you for visiting me today!

One of the things on your holiday shopping list

would be gift wrap. Don't you just love the

festive patterns available out there and

how pretty the gifts look when they're

all wrapped?

Sadly, once the gifts are opened,

the fancy gift wrap are banished

to the trash bin.

I know it's weird, but sometimes, I like to keep the

used gift wrap. It's just blah to throw them away!

I cut them into strips of varying lengths,

glue the edges together and pile them on

top of each other. Then I staple them to

form this paper ribbon.

TADA! It's all you need to dress up a plain gift box.

It's as decadent as store bought ribbon

but no need to pay full price.

Have a happy Monday!

Eco-Christmas

Hello and Happy Friday!

I'm wrapping presents but I'm trying to

avoid using traditional wrapping paper.

I'm trying to save money and the

environment at the same time.

Thank goodness for these paper bags with

a holiday theme printed on them.

Throwing them away would be blah.

So I've turned them into small gift packets.

TADA!

It's all about looking for a design on the bag

that you want to highlight, and then simply

cutting, folding & securing the

edges with glue.

Add a homemade ribbon to spruce it up.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Red Envelopes

In Chinese culture, there is a tradition of giving away red envelopes on special occasions like weddings and the New Year. Inside the envelope, you'll find money. The red color of the envelope represents luck & protection from evil spirits, while the money symbolizes prosperity.

With this tradition in mind and this project at hand:

Transforming a blah paper bag into

something TADA!

I came up with this idea:

More gift envelopes but in a

raging red & a cheerful wish.

I cut this part of the bag into a

rectangle, folded it to make an

envelope and glued the edges

together, leaving one edge as

the opening.

Here's what the back looks like.

So whether or not I put money inside,

I hope my friends receiving these

red envelopes will find 2012 filled

with luck, protection & prosperity!

Brown Paper Packages Tied up with String

All this week, you'll see how many things I

can do with a brown paper bag:

Okay, let's limit the the "things"

to holiday gift wrap. In the past

two days, I made a few envelopes.

Today, this blah...

...becomes this TADA!

I cut out the most festive word on the bag,

attached it to cardboard

{from an empty cereal box},

punched a hole &

threaded some string.

TADA! Easy, breezy gift tag!

And how else to mark this season

but through celebration!