Showing posts with label Christmas decorations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas decorations. Show all posts

12.02.2011

Our Advent Calendar

Now I've heard that Advent does not necessarily begin Dec. 1st - is this true??? I'm not sure, but Wednesday I decided I might as well whip out an Advent Calendar to begin none other than the next day, Dec. 1st! Great planning, huh? So the challenge was to create something that could be made with what I already had in the house. This.could.get.interesting. :-)

Seriously, I'm actually super excited about the end result! Ta - da!!!



This isn't really my "decorated" mantle, but it is a stand in until I "really"
decorate it and so the kiddos don't get into the calendar!



I found inspiration via searching on Pinterest for all of about 5 minutes,
then combined elements that I liked and knew I had
material for. So with that said...
Materials used:

Cork Board (trim painted in ASCP Old White)
Ron - Loc Muslin to cover cork (Spray Adhesive)
Thumb tacks - (yes...some are yellow, blue, whatever - they're hiding!)
Ribbon
Envelopes
Cardboard
Glue (or tape)
Printed my own numbers
Cut everything
Glued and Glittered the border on the numbers
(odds gold, evens red)
Cute little star punch ($ store???)
Jute twine
Paper for Writing Daily Activities in the Envelopes


Is that all??? I kind of can't believe I had all that!




Cut, knot, cut, knot, repeat for 25 times total! ;-)




I made a little bow "star" for the top of the "tree"



I rolled the edges and secured the fabric with Spray Adhesive.



I made Christmas day extra glittery ~ with a pretty angel tack! :-)
(I've had that thing since I don't know how little I was!)










This did take a bit of time, but was suuuuper easy.
The kids even helped a little bit here and there as they were interested!

I have to admit, I love this because our family is so, well,
sporadic shall we say, that I am planning to fill the
envelope each night after the kids are in bed. Then the hubby
and I can decide, "Hey, tomorrow let's say we're
going to The Nutcracker!" Well...that wouldn't be
completely sporadic, but we still don't have tickets because
we still don't know what day we're going - you following?!!! lol

Soooo......
Our first activity was "Bake Cookies With Mom". :-)
Nice and simple, huh? And honestly never done at our house.
There was definitely a lot of excited jumping up and down by the kids!

And Snickerdoodles and milk were our pre-dinner "snack".  ;-)




Happy Advent Calendar Making!





~Anneke~


You can now follow me via Pinterest and Twitter!




{Primp}

12.01.2011

Fresh Christmas Greens by Diane Pfeifle

I've been feeling super spoiled the past day. Super, super, duper spoiled actually. Seriously. I love, love, LOVE fresh greens for Christmas. Last year I bought a 25ft. fresh garland from Costco and made wreaths and a garland for our door. I LOVED them! But they took.for.EVER! And what a mess. Wowza. :-)

Today I have the pleasure to share how you can have fresh, beautiful holiday greens for your home, whether shipped or decorated by the wonderfully sweet Diane Pfeifle of Hoh River, WA.

I contacted Diane through a Craigslist ad for her wreaths because they looked like just what I was looking for at a great price. Through various correspondence, Diane agreed to come and decorate our home with fresh greens in exchange for a review. Let me tell you right off the bat, she is fantastic and I truly love what she did in our home.



First of all, one thing in particular I love is that she has a direct
collaboration with local logging sources, and collects
leftover greens from downed trees that would
otherwise just be burned.
How great is that?!


When Diane arrived at our home, I gave her free
reign to do whatever she wanted. We decided to decorate
our banister and three large windows with wreaths.
(This is valued at $60)




She really took the time to make sure everything
looked just right and added beautiful details
to each piece she decorated.




I already am in love with the scent filling our house!




All of the three wreaths in our dining room windows
are a little bit different, but coordinate perfectly with
each other. Diane had everything from wire,
to ribbon, and filler pieces ready to go.




I love these little birdies...I told my girls
there is one for each of them. ;-)




She made and added many of these bows
right then and there to the wreaths.




Here is another detail picture.




And all three of the wreaths in the windows.

I love seeing them in our space. I'm used to spending SO
much time making everything I decorate with, so
it's still a bit strange to walk around the corner and
see everything done and decorated!


Thank you Diane!


If you are interested in Diane's garlands and wreaths,
following are details on her services and contact information.


Available Greens:

Noble
Douglas Fir
Red Cedar
Port Orford "Yellow" Cedar
Pine
Yew


Diane's pieces are available to:
Ship
Sell from her home
Personal In-Home Decoration w/ Free Estimate


A Few Prices:

Wreaths ~
$15-$50

Cedar or Noble/Cedar Mixed Garland by the ft. ~
$2.60/ft.
$4.00/ft. installed


Contact Diane:

or
(206) 491-6542
via call or text


Her schedule is filling up quick, so if you
are interested, don't hesitate!
She was in and out at my place in
less than an hour!!!


Thanks again Diane!


~Happy 1st of December~


Anneke :-)




You can now follow me via Pinterest and Twitter!