Christmas Time in the City

Hello Everyone! I hope your weekend was restful. Some snow arrived last night and that only added to my anticipation of Christmas.

While the holidays bring a lot of stress and a never ending checklist, I allow myself to spend a few hours around New York City to marvel at the holiday lights. 

My first stop: Macy's on 34th Street.

On this particular evening, I was able to catch an outdoor movie featuring "The Miracle on 34th Street".

As with the past years, the holiday theme of Macy's is "Believe".

"Believe" appears in many parts of the store.

This meter moves from "Imagine" to "Believe"...

...Depending on the letters left for Santa Claus.

Let's walk around the store, shall we?

We'll make it to the top floor on this historic wooden escalator.

Welcome to the Holiday Lane! I love to find inspiration here.

There are Santas in every shape and color.

As well as an Elf on the Shelf.

These are "Kissing Crystals", a modern take on the mistletoe.

Of course there are lots of ornaments...

...And festive trees! If you can stop by tomorrow, I'll show you some of my favorite ones.

All Wrapped Up

Happy Friday folks!

Yesterday, I showed off this paper bag from Whole Foods. I found it so cute, I used it to craft. I cut up one side to make gift tags. And the other side, I saved to use as gift wrap:

Let's all say it together: blah to TADA!

Have a delightful weekend!

Bag to Tag

Hello! This season can be fast-paced and stressful so I hope you'll find a little pocket of "me" time.

"Me" time for me is crafting. This is what I'm crafting with today:

Have you seen the Whole Foods paper bags? It's decorated with snowflakes!

In the past, I've used this kind of paper bag to make a lot of holiday-related things. Let's keep with tradition, shall we? 

In a most drastic move, I cut up the paper bag to make these gift tags:

I cut around the snowflakes, glued these onto cardboard to make them sturdier and will allow me write a note at the back. I made a hole with a craft punch and tied on some twine. Then I added embellishments using craft stamps and an ink pad. 

Glitter glue outlining the snowflake for a sparkly finish.

A small puddle of glue and a sprinkling of glitter.

Maybe even some calligraphy and festive words.

Paper bag to gift tags...TADA!

More Gift Tags

Hey, hey, Happy Wednesday!

Yesterday, I told you about my new toy, a gift tag stamp kit.

I made more gift tags, this time switching out the red ink pad to black. But here's a little secret:

If you flip the gift tags, you'll see that they are made of old boxes! Blah to TADA!, baby! A little recycling, even during the holidays, hurts no one, right?

Here's a holiday tip: once presents are wrapped, segregate these into paper bags {left over from shopping}. Assign a paper bag to a family or group of friends you're scheduled to see this season. To avoid confusion, add a label to each bag secured with double-sided tape. This is how I made good use of my recycled cardboard tags! 

Leave the bags under your tree or line them up in your foyer. Just before your party, pick-up the bag you need and you're ready to go. No scrambling involved. TADA!

Hand-stamped Gift Tags

Today, a craft that will appear on the presents I'm giving away this holiday. But first, a little bit of show and tell:

I got myself this stamp activity kit. I think it's a good investment because I can use it all year round, for anyone I know, and for every occasion possible.

Inside, there's an ink pad, a wood-mounted rubber stamp, a few blank tags, and a pencil.

What I love about it is I can use it to turn cardboard that's bound for the trash from blah to TADA!

Just ink, stamp and cut.

And I even made use of ribbon remnants to dress up my gift tags. TADA!

Christmas Countdown

Happy Monday, friends!

Remember this chalkboard upcycled from the backing of a broken picture frame? This is how I'm turning it from blah to TADA! for the holidays: 

I'm using it to count the days before Christmas! Simply change the number every morning to get the whole family excited. TADA!

Group Effort

I hope you all had a delightful Thanksgiving packed with funny stories and full bellies!

Let me conclude my week with a final "gratitude collage" that I put together with an autumn leaf, watercolor, and a little imagination.

I call this, "Hooray Team!" because I am thankful for collaboration, cooperation, and teamwork. I think it's TADA! when everyone gets along and a project turns out superbly because of collected efforts.

And with that, I wish you all a fantastic {shopping} weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving in the U.S. today! 

I wish you and all you love a very, very Happy Thanksgiving!

Friends-giving

I have a little project called "Gratitude Collage" that I'm doing all this week. 

I figured it's a good way to preserve the beauty of fall and to count my blessings.

I just gathered some leaves, pressed them in between scrap paper and books to flatten them. Then I glued them on paper, then enhanced with watercolor. Here's what I made today:

"Girls in Fancy Dresses" is what I've named this collage. 

These are what I'm thankful for: 

• Friends that I can always lean on, the ones who are supportive, understanding, and even if we haven't spoken in a while, we'll always pick up when we left off
• Occasions to get primped and pretty
• For that little extra cash for a dress or shoes, because many times, "I have nothing to wear!"  
• Reasons to celebrate
• Lovely memories of parties past

A Gratitude Collage

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

I'm basking in the beauty of Autumn and sharing pictures from a few trips around the neighborhood and out of town.

While it's blah that the trees are shedding their leaves, I think it's TADA! that vibrant carpets are formed on the ground.  I decided to pick some of these leaves for a project I call "Gratitude Collage".  

You see, it's Thanksgiving here in the U.S. this Thursday, and part of tradition is to look back and think of all the things we're grateful for. All this week, I'm incorporating leaves with watercolor to do just that.

This collage is called "Warm and Fuzzy". Can you spot the leaves? If you guessed "hat", "scarf" and "mittens", you're right!

Little things like these make a brutally cold day more manageable, keep me from getting sick, and they add some TADA! to a rather blah winter wardrobe.

How about you, what are you thankful for?

Autumn Splendor

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a fun weekend.

I'm feeling a little wistful. November is coming to an end. And so is 2013. But there is a little thrill creeping in now that the holidays are on their way. 

So today, just photos showcasing the beauty of Autumn. A little quiet time before the rush begins...

I collected a few leaves from my autumn walks. Tomorrow, I'll show you how I we can turn them from blah to TADA!