Love is in the air!!

It's everywhere, the red, the pink, the hearts......it's love!!! No sooner has Christmas left us and the stores are filled with Valentines décor and chocolates!! I love it!!! We aren't "hard-core" celebrators of V-day simply because we believe that you should show the ones you love EVERYDAY how much they mean to you, but we do like to get each other a lil' something cute and of course, I love to decorate!!!

   This year I did our mantle and made a really cute heart chain out of paper, but there was one project that I was really wanting to try and that was a felt heart garland. I saw the idea on Pinterest, and it looked quite simple so I had to try it!! All I needed was the felt, which I bought a the dollar store, some pom-poms (which I also bought at the dollar store), thread and needle, and my sewing machine!! It was so super easy and took no time at all!!! My only complaint is that it was a tiny bit flimsy because it is strung on just thread, but I imagine there is something else out there that would work a bit better!!!  I was thrilled with the final product! I had one naked mirror in my dining room that it was perfect for...and voila!!!... the finished product!! I think it looks great, don't you??

                                                                                       

2013 Musts!!

   Hello 2013 and good riddance 2012!!! Anyone else happy to have a new start?? I'm thrilled....it's time to get my butt in gear and start living a little!!

   I'm not a huge believer of making resolutions. I think that they are often silly and unachievable and can often set you up for failure and disappointment, so this year I've decided to have a "Must" list. It's just a lil' list that I've compiled for myself of things that I feel I must do, or must try, or must achieve..(you get the idea!!). I thought I'd share that list with you hoping that maybe it will inspire you to create a list, have goals but not feel like you have failed if you don't achieve them and maybe add a little bit of fun to your days!! Enjoy!!

My "Musts" for 2013.....(no pressure.....)

~ I must try a yoga class, so what if I'm soooo not limber!!
~ I must be more patient with the Hubster while he is finishing building the garage.
~ I must learn to love my body more....yeah, I have curves..I'm a woman aren't I??
~ I must try one new recipe each weekend.
~ I must spend more time with the ladies from work....they R-O-C-K!!!
~ I must start an emergency fund...this is necessary!!!
~ I must try on one outfit that I love..even if I don't think it will look good.
~ I must get on that treadmill everyday...even if I'm tired...I know I'll feel great after!!
~ I must get rid of that wallpaper in the front entrance...maybe new, fun wallpaper??
~ I must work on K's scrapbook that I started when she was 5....it'll be a wedding gift one day!
~ I must go for more hikes...I love nature and I want to be out in it more often.
~ I must give myself more positive comments...negative is a No-No.
~ I must be patient and wait to get a dog....*sigh*..this will be hard!!
~ I must ask K what she would love to put in her room...ie- fun lights, hanging things....
~ I must leave more sweet notes for my husband..who doesn't love that?!?!
~ I must take our neighbour across the street something nice...she brought us treats when we moved in!
~ I must not feel like I have failed if I don't achieve everything I just wrote.....but I think that I'll come pretty darn close!!!!

      **Leaving you with a pic. of Hubby and I Christmas Day!!**

                                                                                     

And......it's done.

    I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone already!!! ALOT of hours of wrapping and only minutes of ripping and tearing.....it was worth it!! We were truly spoiled this year..so many wonderful gifts from our families, and many useful things that I am so thankful for. I think our girlie was totally happy with all of her gifts...she's such an appreciative, un-selfish girl..the BEST really!!

     Our day was pretty long and involved alot of driving...it can be tiresome, but I'm always happy to see everyone and spread some holiday cheer. We've decided (and informed everyone) that next year we will NOT be leaving our home but staying in and enjoying our lil' fam...our beautiful decor and an awesome dinner..everyone is invited of course, so it will be a fantatsic celebration!! It's definetly our turn to enjoy our beautiful home and all the hard work that we put into it, and we would love nothing better then to share it with our loved ones.

    I never really ask for anything for Christmas (o.k....I have an obsession with a certain type of candle...but everyone knows that already, so no need to ask what to get me!!)..but my in-laws wanted to get me something that I REALLY wanted...and there was kinda one thing that had been on my mind for awhile...a video camera!! My Nikon was just-not-cutting-it when filming K's piano recitals, soccer, etc........I needed something better! I want to capture these moments now while she's still young so that we can sit back years down the road and look at just how awesome she was and has become!! Needless to say, I was THRILLED when it was one of the first gifts that I opened at their house Christmas Day!!! I haven't quite mastered it yet, not that it's rocket science or anything), but I'm going to sit down soon and read the book from front to back and fugure it out!!

  I hope all of you had as wonderful a Christmas as we did!! We are truly blessed, and spoiled. (with gifts and love!). Though we both come from small families we truly are showered with tons of love. I love our lil' family gatherings and it just goes to show that Good things come in small packages!! Right??? Right!!!


     

And.....we're ready!!!!

  I can't believe that it is Christmas Eve Eve!!! Whaaaat???? I know...it has crept up on me...and I finally, FINALLY finished everything today...I think. My hands are raw from wrapping so many gifts (o.k...that may be a slight exageration...but they ARE dry and cracked..), but they are done and all placed under our fantabulous Christmas tree!!! One less thing on my To-Do Before Christmas list!!

   I decided that this Christmas I was going to make a couple of gifts...who doesn't love a nice homemade gift that comes from the heart?!?! I decided to make each of our family members a monogram mat for their homes. It's so simple, yet looks so fantastic!!!! I also made some for the ladies at work and they were a hit!!! Gift-making success???, I think so!!

  I also wanted to make something for the Hubster, K and I, but it had to be something useful!! I decided on making tumbler cups for us (see previous post on Mr. D's gift!!). We bought K a really cool popcorn machine for Christmas (and some extra kernels and flavouring to put on it) so I thought that it would be awesome if we each had our own cup with a sleeve to go on it to match our personalities. I then filled them with candy, and Voila!!!..we have cool cups to go along with popcorn/movie night!

  I'm excited this year...I think everyone will be thrilled with their gifts..bought and homemade!!! Does anyone else out there make some of their gifts??? I would love to hear your ideas...there's nothing quite like the feeling of giving, especially when it comes from the heart!

                                                                                           

A gift for Mr D!!

  Since the season of giving is upon us, I was trying to think of a gift that was fun, creative and of course, useful that our girlie could give to her teacher at school. I had seen a few different ideas on Pinterest, but I really wanted to be creative on my own, to add that little flare of Christmas to the gift.  I finally made a decision on what I was going to make, consulted with K's mom to make sure that they didn't already have something in mind and got crafting!!

     I was going to need a tumbler glass...you know, the ones that have the lids with the straws?!?!? They are so great for at home, at work and even in the car!!! I headed to the dollar store to take a look and low and behold they had EXACTLY what I was looking for!! I just wanted a clear one as I was going to be making a sleeve for it, so it didn't need to be fancy to begin with. I actually ended up grabbing a few tumblers because I'm going to make one for the Hubster, K and myself for Christmas (ya know....to use on our movie nights!!!) I was getting excited to get home and get started...(I still had one more stop before I could get there.. GRRRR!!)

    I used my Silhouette machine to cut out the sleeve itself ( I had previously bought the cutout from my subscription..so that made it even easier!), then decided on a fun Christmas paper as the accent in the middle. Origionally I was going to just put "Mr. D" in the middle on the front, but I thought that that was kinda boring looking, so I opted for a cute reindeer and made a nice tag to put his name on and tie to the straw on top of the cup. Now...you can't just give someone an empty cup...that wouldn't be nice, so I filled the inside of the the cup with red and white peppermint candies..(who doesn't like those???)..it gives it a more festive look and Mr. D will have something to munch on while he's wrangling his Gr. 6 students...(not K though!! hehe!!). I think this project turned out great! It was so easy to make, very inexpensive and Mr. D will be able to reuse this gift over and over.....there's nothing better than a gift that keeps on giving, and I think I've found the perfect one!!

                                                                                    

                                                           ( top view with the tag..)                

My new favourite song....makes me happy!!

Monogram Doormat

     I have to admit that I get a little giddy over monogram crafts...like really, how many things can you have that have your monogram on it?? Is there a limit?? Whatevsss...I love it regardless and will probably keep on making things till I run outta room in our home.

      We have quite a few doors in our home...oustside doors! We have a sunroom on the back of our house that has 2 doors..one that connects the sunroom to our kitchen and big sliding doors that go to the backyard. We have a door mat at the door that goes outside but not one at the door that connects to the kitchen...we really needed one. And hence....onto Pinterst I went!!

      After looking for a bit, I came across one that looked pretty simple to make, and of course, I knew that I would do my own version with a Font that I loved!! All I needed was a plain mat...off to the Dollar store!! I found my mat (which cost $2.00 BTW), came back home a got straight to work!

      I wanted something a little fancy but not over the top so I went on my Silhouette program and cruised through the fonts. After a few trial ones I found the one that I thought would be perfect and I even added a design underneath for a little flair. I cut it it on my Silhouette machine and decided where I was going to place it on the mat. I've seen some different variations, but decided upon putting ours in the bottom left hand corner. I figured this way there would be a little less traffic going across the actual monogram so maybe it would last just a bit longer.

    I have TONS of paint left over from when we painted rooms in our house so I decided upon the turquoise paint from K's room as I thought that it would "pop" against the dark background of the mat. I carefully taped my cutout letter and design onto the corner of the mat and started dry brushing the paint onto the stencil. I had to go over it a couple of times to make it a bit bolder which is much easier that blobbing to much paint on and making a huge mess!! I took my blowdryer to it the help speed up the drying process (yes..I am impatient and just can't WAIT to see my finished product!!!)I then carefully peeled off the stencil and voila!!!!...Here is the finished product!!!