"Crafty" Wrapping

I recently happened upon the Crafts Department on Martha Stewart's website. She had the cutest wrapping idea I have ever seen.

All the creator did was cut strips of colored paper, temporarily tape on a letter template, and then use a straight edge to cute out the tops and sides, folding along the bottoms. She layered the loops within each other to create one of the cutest "bows" I have ever seen!

I can't wait to try this!



The picture inspired me and I played with some craft paper and pretty ($1) ribbon for a few of my presents. But, I am definitely trying the idea above for a few as well! Can't wait to show you all how it turns out.



As a side note, this little guy is finally cold! It is getting down to the 20s this week in Florida. Can you believe that!? We can't! Especially since we will be getting our new heating and air conditioner FRIDAY...just a little late for the cold front that is coming in TODAY.



Oh, and did I forget to mention that one of our windows (the only one that hasn't been replaced) almost fell out of the wall last week!? That will (thankfully) be replaced today. Well, we will all have to bundle and huddle together for warmth for the next few days. Wish us luck!



Stay warm this week.

Read more...

Getting Crafty--Ribbon Trees!

If you know me, I am the least"crafty" person you know, in every sense of the word! But, this project was so easy, even I could handle it!!

First, I bought three of my favorite Christmasy ribbons. You could pick any color scheme here, whatever goes with the theme of your home!



Then, I picked up some styrofoam trees in all different sizes. I didn't actually use the middle sized one for a lack of ribbon, but of course, any size works!



Then, I looped the ribbon and pinned it in rows starting from the bottom, alternating colors. I used straight pins and it was super easy. I just tried to overlap each row so that you couldn't see the pins or the tops of the ribbons.

I think they turned out great! Just as a hint, covering the top is difficult. I used a cute Christmas skewer and stuck it straight down through the top of my small tree, and let the ribbons just fall over the sides of the big one. There is definitely a lot of ways to do this!



They sit right over our stocking and go perfectly with our decor!



This project cost me a total of $10 for two trees! I bought dollar ribbon and used coupons on my trees.

Hope you all have a great weekend! Get crafty!

Read more...

Misc. Monday & a Christmas Cookie Recipe

1. I am officially on the countdown. We have 7 school days left until Winter vacation! These next two weeks at school are CRAZY and jam-packed with events, wish me luck!

2. I have my first serious "evaluation" this Friday and I am a bit nervous. Hopefully everything will come back positive.

3. Florida has been freezing lately! My mattress warmer is getting lots of use at night as we do not have heat that works. Good thing we live in Florida...I don't think we could get by without working heat anywhere else in the U.S.!

4. I am getting into the mood of making Christmas cookies. I made this recipe earlier in the week and they are almost gone! Yikes!

Cookless Candy:

-16 ounces of mixed salted nuts
-3-4 cups corn flakes
-32 ounce package chocolate chips
-12 ounce pakcages of butterscotch chips
-3/4 cup of peanut butter

Step 1: Mix chocolate, butterscotch, and peanut butter over a double boiler
Step 2: Stir in 3-4 cups of corn flakes (to your liking) and the entire can of nuts
Step 3: Spoon mixture out onto a parchment lined baking sheet
Step 4: Cool cookies in the fridge/freezer for 10-20 minutes until hard
Step 5: Store in an airtight container and enjoy!

Hope you all are having a great Monday!

Read more...