Owl Themed Gift Wrapping and DIY Ornament

November 20, 2012 AT 6:00 am 8 Comments

November 20, 2012 By traci 8 Comments

So, “whooooo’s” ready to start talking about Christmas?! Believe it or not, I am!

I am “owl”-ways ready to talk about Christmas. Are you?

I actually have a Christmas tree up and decorated in my home already. People may think I’m crazy, but I don’t give a “hoot!”

Any-whoooo….

Are you catchin’ a theme in this post?

Yep… Owls!

Do you know the Legend of the Christmas Owl?

source

Here it is:

“I’m a little Christmas Owl. Please hang me in your tree. I won’t say much while I’m here, but my eyes have much to see. When Santa starts to check his list, you know he checks it twice. He sends an owl to be his eyes and see whooo’s naughty and nice! So, every time you see an owl with his eyes so wide and bright… be on your best behavior for that owl is Santa’s sight!”

I am loving me some owls right now! I have some owl ornaments on the Christmas tree that I already have up in our master bedroom. {I had to put it up early for a post I was doing for Home Depot.}

The tree topper I made is actually an owl too.

So I did a little early Christmas wrapping and carried on with the owl theme.

I wanted to share with you some easy Christmas wrapping ideas.

An inexpensive way to wrap Christmas presents is to use brown packaging paper. I got my roll of brown paper at the dollar store.

Next, I used some black and white plaid ribbon to tie bows on my packages.

To coordinate with the decorations on my tree, I added some white feathers. I bought a package of feathers for a little over a dollar at Michael’s.

The greenery and red berries that I added to the package in the above picture were Christmas decorations I had left over from last year. I believe I purchased them at Hobby Lobby.

I made the black owl with my Silhouette machine. I made the owl cutout and then sprayed it with chalkboard spray paint. {You could just use black paper if you wanted to.} Then I used chalk to draw the eyes and wings.

On another package, I used a white cutout of an owl and attached two red jewel eyes with my glue gun. I also added a feather to the bow for a touch of whimsy.

You could write something cute on the tag like this, if you wanted to…

Lastly, I just added some feathers and a red jewel to the middle of my bow to coordinate with the other packages.

I just love my cute little Christmas packages. Smile

Well, I couldn’t say goodbye to my owl obsession just quite yet.

I decided to make an owl ornament as well!

All I needed to use was a plastic ornament, ripped book pages, an owl cutout, Mod Podge, ribbon, and jewel eyes.

This project was sooooo easy and something that your children would love to help you make. {Because it is messy!}

I took a plastic gold ornament and covered it with Mod Podge.

Next, I covered the ornament with strips of ripped book paper. Once I covered the whole ornament with book pages, I put another layer of Mod Podge on top of the book pages.

Then I added my owl cutout to the ornament and applied some more Mod Podge on top of that.

After the ornament was dry, I used my glue gun to attach some black ribbon to the gold piece on the top. Next, I tied a red ribbon to the top and added adhesive jewels to the owl for eyes. {I got the adhesive jewels last year from Hobby Lobby.}

Isn’t he sweet?!

Well, I am finished with owls for now, but I am keeping my eyes out for some more “owl”-trageous projects for the future.

I found a few already that I want to share with you. Just click on each picture to visit the original source.

Owl Punch Gift Tag

Owl Christmas Gift Tags {Etsy}

Holly Owl Personalized Merry Christmas Tags or Package Labels {Etsy}

**********************************

You can follow me here:

Have a blessed day!

Traci

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Hot Chocolate Bar {Our New Christmas Tradition}

December 23, 2011 AT 3:40 pm 19 Comments

December 23, 2011 By traci 19 Comments

Well, amidst the chaos of our kitchen renovation this December, we have been able to start a new Christmas tradition.

At least that’s what the boys’ say.

We have the “island” from our kitchen that we are not using as an island anymore, but it still holds some of the pots and pans that I need. So I just sat it up against the wall and put some leftover butcher block on top.

It’s just a temporary thing.

But since it is sitting in our kitchen, I thought I would put it to use and make it a “Hot Chocolate Bar.”

Let’s just say that the boys went crazy over this!

They think I am the coolest mom EVA!

We always drink hot chocolate each winter, but we have never had a spot designated just for making hot chocolate.

That’s what me made so cool.

We have regular marshmallows and peppermint marshmallows, some hot chocolate, and some candy canes.

I’m sure that new items will be added to our hot chocolate bar each year.

Maybe hazelnut or almond flavoring? Yum!

The boys made me promise that I will do this again next year, and of course I agreed.

So a new family tradition has begun!

Here are some hot chocolate bars I found on Pinterest if you need some more ideas to create your own.

The following three images are from Catch My Party!

source

Warm Winter Wishes!

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Simple and Inexpensive Christmas Recipes

December 22, 2011 AT 12:04 pm 9 Comments

December 22, 2011 By traci 9 Comments

Wow! Christmas is almost here!

I really can’t believe it. Our kitchen renovation has had me a wee-bit distracted. Smile

But I wanted to take a second to share with you some easy Christmas recipes.

First up is these chocolate-covered-marshmallows-on-pretzels-thingies.

A friend of ours made these at our sons’ piano recitals, and the boys just loved them.

They were easy to pick up and delicious to eat.

I made some for Adam’s classroom party the next week, and they loved them too.

You basically stick two mini-marshmallows on the end of a pretzel stick and dip it in melted chocolate, then add sprinkles, and Voila!

Another recipe I love to make our these marshmallow-cornflake-holly-berry-thingies.

These are so festive and beautiful on a Christmas table. Plus, they taste great!

It’s basically like making rice krispy treats.

I melted 1/2 stick of butter in a sauce pan, added a bag of marshmallows and let them melt together. Then I added a ton of green food coloring to get that deep green color. You can add a teaspoon of vanilla too, but I was out of it.

Then you add 3 cups of corn flakes mix them with the marshmallow mixture. Spoon some of the mix onto wax paper and had a few red hots to the top. Then let cool.

How easy is that?!

Warning: These treats will turn your tongue green. Smile

Tomorrow night the boys and I will be making our buckeyes. This is a tradition that I will never skip. I’ve been making them as long as I can remember. Over 30 years at least.

The boys love making them too. We leave buckeyes for Santa Claus.

Click on the picture above to find the recipe and read the story behind why I’ve been making them since I was a child.

Lastly, every year I share this link again…

We call it “Snow”. It’s basically white chocolate covered popcorn with M&M’s. It is delicious!!!

Such a great little snack to have around at Christmas time.

I like to bag it up and give it as a little gift!

Click on the picture to view the recipe.

As a side note, we are almost finished with the kitchen. I hope to show you how I’ve decorated my shelves for Christmas by tomorrow or Saturday.

Until then, I hope you are enjoying this season, and I pray that you would feel God’s love for you in a fresh way today.

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More Simple and Inexpensive Christmas Decor {from Our Fifth House!}

December 11, 2011 AT 10:29 pm 7 Comments

December 11, 2011 By traci 7 Comments

Okay, I do not want to freak you out or anything, but Christmas is less than 3 weeks away! Ack!

Are you finished decorating your house?

Have you started yet?

I haven’t! Unless you call this “decorated for Christmas”…

Jonathan and I found this little tree, that used to be my mom’s, while we were getting some things out of our guest house (aka: storage building). The boys were so excited when they saw that little tree! Precious.

I am hoping to get our real Christmas tree up this week.

So if you are like me, you are still looking all over blogland for some great Christmas decorating ideas.

That’s why I am so excited to have Carmel, from Our Fifth House, here on my blog today!

She is going to share some great ideas for simple and inexpensive Christmas decor.

And guess what?

She’s another Kentucky Girl!

This state is loaded with DIY talent! :)

She lives in the city right next to me, but we have never met. I am hoping we can get together during the new year. (Got it, Carmel?!)

Now, here she is…

Hello, I’m Carmel from Our Fifth House, and I am so delighted to be here today! I was so very honored when Traci asked me to participate in her Christmas series! She said she was running a series on simple and inexpensive Christmas ideas, and I thought to myself, “Wow, is she reading my mind or something?” I honestly can’t think of two other words that would better describe how I like to decorate my home for the holidays!

To deck the halls in a simple and inexpensive way I follow three basic rules.

Christmas crafts don’t have to be time consuming. When you keep things simple you can create a lot in a small amount of time.

I made this wreath using some clothing that my son had outgrown. The shirt had a small stain and the vest had a hole in it, so they weren’t worth donating. Repurposing these items kept them from realizing their trashy future. ;) The wreath form and wooden letters I purchased at Hobby Lobby. It not only took just 15 minutes to make, it also only cost about $5 - thanks to a nice little 50% off sale!

I also made a little Christmas village to use as a centerpiece on my kitchen table.

This was another very simple and easy craft project. These paper mache houses ranged in price from $3 to $6. I placed a battery operated votive in each house and in the evening they are so cute! My kids love this village and my daughter is begging me to add a snowman. That may be my next craft project. ;) Those evergreen pipe cleaners are probably my favorite. You can do so much with them from making a sweet little Christmas tree to using them as napkin rings!

My second rule is the easiest to follow.

Decorating with the cards that you receive brings in such a warm feeling and personal touch to your decor. We’ve yet to receive any cards just yet, so I hung up a few photos. You really don’t need to a buy a Christmas card holder. You can string up ribbon, twine, or a crochet chain (like I did) to your windows and use clothespins to hang your cards and pictures.

Simple and sweet!

Last but not least is rule number 3.

Even if you don’t have a chalkboard you can turn a mirror into a message board using dry erase markers. I love adding some of our favorite Christmas movie quotes and scripture verses to lots of wipeable surfaces in our home. It’s just a fun way to bring in even more holiday cheer!

Apart from following these rules, my main focus when it comes to decorating my home for Christmas is bringing in the feeling of hope and joy. I want to cherish and be grateful for the very best Christmas present that we’ve ever been given – Jesus!

Thanks so much Traci for inviting me over to your beautiful and inspiring blog! It was such a honor to be here today!

Cute stuff, Carmel! Thank you so much!

If you have never visited Carmel’s blog before, you are in for a treat! Just click on the button below to check it out!

Also!

The Winner of the 20 North Ora $25.00 Gift Certificate is…

Shirley (daisyjean@******)

Congrats!!

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Lemon Loaf

December 5, 2011 AT 11:18 pm 5 Comments

December 5, 2011 By traci 5 Comments

Today, I am excited to continue my Simple and Inexpensive Christmas series with another wonderful post by Tracie, from Cleverly Inspired!

Tracie is from Kentucky too!

So today is double the Traci(e) and double the Kentucky!

The recipe Tracie is sharing with you sounds so simple and so delish!

Here she is!

Hi, my name is Tracie and I am the author of Cleverly Inspired. My mission with my blog and anything that I write on it is to inspire you to be clever in your own life. I hope you find projects that you go out and do for yourself…and I hope you enjoy every minute of it. There is a sense of accomplishment that is so powerful when you can say…”yes, I made that…” A sense of pride is always a good thing. I am a firm believer that you are never supposed to stop learning. And the best part about learning something new is to share it with someone else. I am always sharing…whether it is a recipe, project, decorating tip, photography skill, the list goes on and on. My hope is that you enjoy learning too…and you pass it on.

I am so thrilled to be sharing here at Traci’s today! I thought it would be fun to share a recipe that would make great little neighbor, teacher, or hostess gift….fits so many occasions! Package the little loaves up with some wax paper and baker twine…a sweet card and your done! Something homemade is always in style…and appreciated!

Mix together the shortening and sugar till fluffy. Add in eggs and incorporate. Then the milk and lemon juice. Gently mix in the dry ingredients.

This recipe makes 3 little loaves or one regular loaf.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter or shortening (I had shortening…but butter would be great too)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup milk, 2% is fine
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lemons, zest

Glaze (optional)

1 lemons, juice of
1/4 cup sugar

Directions

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating until creamy.
Blend in milk. Add in 1 tsp fresh lemon juice.
In another bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.
Pour into batter.
Stir to moisten.
Scrape into greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. (or 3 small little mini loaf pans)
Bake in 350f degree oven for 55 to 60 minutes.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes.
Dust with powdered sugar.

Thank you so much, Tracie!

I cannot wait to try this recipe. I can think of a ton of people I could give this to as a gift this Christmas.

Be sure to stop by Tracie’s wonderful blog, Cleverly Inspired, for even more wonderful ideas and inspiration.

Like this Christmas “wishing” chair…

Have a blessed day!

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Simple and Inexpensive Christmas Décor from Dear Lillie!

December 2, 2011 AT 8:12 am 9 Comments

December 2, 2011 By traci 9 Comments

I am thrilled to have Jennifer, from Dear Lillie, sharing at Beneath My Heart today.

She has one of the most beautiful blogs in blogland! Not kiddin. (And I secretly wish I could be her, or inherit 1/10 of her talent…ssssshhhhhh…..)

But even though I cannot be Jennifer, at least I can hang out on her blog for hours and soak up tons of inspiration.

Her blog makes me go “ooooohhhhh” and “aaaaahhhhhh” on a consistent basis.

And if for some crazy reason, you have never been to Jennifer’s amazing blog, you are going to thank me for introducing you to her.

You’re Welcome. Smile

Today, Jennifer is going to show us how she has decorated her home in a simple and inexpensive way.

I am so excited and honored to be guest posting on Traci’s blog today! We first bonded a while back when we discovered our shared love of decorating, blogging and basketball. December of course is the busiest month for all of those things. I just love decorating for Christmas. We are generally on a pretty tight budget so I try to make as many things as I can or use things from our home or things I can collect from outside. This year I have mostly been using cardstock because it has allowed me to make so many decorations for almost nothing!

In our kitchen I added some family photos hung from clothes pins and some fresh greenery is draped along the curtain rod. It cost less than $10 to make this garland of photos. I think it would look really neat to use all photos from past Christmases. Because our family is young that didn’t work this year, but I am hoping that in future years I will have enough Christmas photos to do that.

I also printed a bunch of family photos on cardstock (over 50 and it cost me less than $1.50!) and used some to tuck into a wreath I had made earlier this year:

And some of them I hung on our Christmas tree:

And the rest I hung from branches I collected from outside and put in an urn.

I also typed up Luke Chapter 2 and printed a bunch of them out on two pieces of cardstock and added those to the tree in our living room.

And here is a little peak at that tree which I am still working on.

I am still working on our mantel as well but am hoping to get it finished up this weekend!

I hope you all have a blessed Christmas season! And thank you, Traci, for having me over here on your amazing blog!

Thank you, Jennifer!

I also wanted to let you, my readers, know about Jennifer’s amazing online store, Dear Lillie.

She has beautiful women and children’s apparel…

Accessories….

Items for home décor….

And more!

Like downloadable prints…

and Tutus!

Click on the button below to visit the Dear Lillie online store!

Be sure to stop by tomorrow for a progress report

on our kitchen renovation!

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Easy and Inexpensive Handmade Ornament

October 13, 2011 AT 1:00 pm 18 Comments

October 13, 2011 By traci 18 Comments

I shared a tutorial over at Positively Splendid that I wanted to share on my blog too. Amy is doing a wonderful series over at her wonderful blog. You should check it out. :)

I love handmade gifts at Christmas time! There is something so special about a gift that someone took the time to make with their own two hands, don’t you think?

So I started brainstorming about something I could make…and make CHEAP! Let’s admit it. Times are tough for all of us. We want to bless others with gifts at Christmas time, but sometimes we do not have a lot of money in which to do it. Well, I say we get creative and see what kind of beautiful things we can make for pennies!

Here is what I came up with…

easy inexpensive handmade ornament

These festive and simple ornaments only cost me 45 cents a piece to make! (I’ll explain more about the cost in a minute.)

All I had to do was purchase one of these clear plastic ornaments at Hobby Lobby.

This ornament costs $1.49 at Hobby Lobby, but with my 40% off coupon, I got it for about 90 cents.

I decided to make two ornaments out of this one ball, so I had about 45 cents in each ornament.

I took half of the ornament and traced it on some craft foam board that I already had. (You could use cardboard from a box or anything else that is a little sturdier than paper. Be creative! Just look around your house and see what you can use!)

I used an Exact-o Knife to cut a little inside of the circle so my foam board would fit in my ornament.

Now it was time to decorate the ornament.

Now I have to admit, I didn’t have to pay for the rest of the supplies because they were things I had in my craft boxes from previous craft projects. I already had the ribbon, the alphabet stickers, and the sticky rhinestones in my craft supplies (all of which were purchased at Hobby Lobby last year). You could use whatever left over craft supplies you have in your home to make your ornaments too!

I decided to see what kind of “Christmasey” words I could make with my stickers, and I decided on “JOY” and “hope”.

I simply added the self-sticking rhinestones under the words to give it some Christmas “bling.”

I was planning on gluing the foam board to the inside of the plastic ornament, but I didn’t need to. It fit so snugly inside the plastic ornament, that it is not going anywhere. :) But if you felt the inside of your ornament needed a little extra support, you could apply craft glue to the sides to help hold it in place.

I love the way the white inside the ornament and the bright red ribbon show up against the greenery of the tree!

For fun, I used some scrapbook paper I already had, cut it out in the same shape of the ornament, and glued it to the back with some adhesive spray.

I really do love the way they turned out!

If I had not already had all of these supplies on hand, I would have gotten them at the dollar store. I think you could get some ribbon, alphabet stickers, “bling”, and sturdy board for about $4.00 at the dollar store. That would make each ornament cost about $2.45! Not bad for a gift for a loved one, teacher, or neighbor, right?!

Wouldn’t these ornaments be cute with a child’s name in it, or a monogram, or maybe even a picture of someone?

I am brainstorming some more ideas to make with these clear plastic ornaments!

Have a blessed day!

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My Christmas Mantle

December 17, 2010 AT 9:35 am 15 Comments

December 17, 2010 By traci 15 Comments

Since I have been teaching third grade as a long-term sub for the past 16 weeks, I haven’t been able to spend as much time on my home as I would like.

The same is true for Christmas. I just haven’t had the time to get all the Christmas boxes out and put all of the decorations up around the house.

But two things I had to do were… the Christmas tree and the mantle with the boys’ Christmas stockings.

This is what my mantle looked like two years ago at Christmas…

Last year it looked like this…

I loved seeing the boys’ silhouettes above their stockings. For a tutorial of how to make the silhouette tiles, click HERE.

This year, I decided to add some greenery to my mantle.

I bought some fresh greenery from Krogers, but it wasn’t enough to fill up my whole mantle.

So to make it look fuller, I first added a strand of faux greenery with lights on top my mantle.

Then I added the real greenery I had gotten at Krogers and faux poinsettias from Big Lots. (BTW, my friend Heather told me you can get free clippings at Lowe’s where they sell the real Christmas trees. I’m going to do that next time!)

The poinsettias are a deep, velvety red with a little sparkle…lu-huv!

It was already looking beautiful!

Then I added some silvery snowflakes that used to be my mom’s for a little more shimmer and shine. I also added my mercury glass bird that I got at HomeGoods this past summer.

silver snowflake

I then added a few mercury glass votives that I made from Goodwill juice glasses. I will share the tutorial of how to make them next week!

All that was left to do was to hang the boys’ stockings that I got on sale at Kohl’s last year. They were only 5 bucks a piece, and they are the perfect Christmas red!

My little mercury glass bird looks a little lonely up there, so I am planning on adding some chunky silver candlesticks to each side to balance it out. Maybe I will get to it before Christmas! :)

I love the jingle bells on the stockings!

I didn’t take a picture at nighttime, but since the fireplace is in our bedroom, we get to sleep to the soft glow of the Christmas lights. Heavenly!

So that is about all the decorating I have had time to do this year! :)

I did put some Christmas dishes in my hutch. I will try to share that next week.

You know what I have learned this year, though?

My boys are as excited about Christmas this year as they were last year when my house was fully decorated! Go figure.

Maybe it’s not about the decorations…

Have a blessed day!

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Red in my Kitchen

December 16, 2010 AT 9:36 pm 8 Comments

December 16, 2010 By traci 8 Comments

Ya’ll know I love me some red.

So when I was at the Relevant Conference in October and was given an opportunity to pick a product from the Dayspring “Jesus is the Gift” Christmas line, it didn’t take me long to choose the one I wanted.

I was instantly drawn to this big red plate…

When I received it in the mail a couple of weeks later, I was giddy.

It is the perfect plate for decorating, and the perfect plate to serve Christmas goodies on! Plus,it has a beautiful message.

Right now, I have it displayed on my kitchen counter…

I love the way it stands out against my white beadboard backsplash and black granite tile countertops.

I just clicked over to the Dayspring website while writing this post and was excited to see that this plate is 50% off right now!

It is only $8.49!!!

That is a great price for this beautiful plate!

Click on the button below if you want to visit the Dayspring site

and see the rest of the beautiful pieces in this collection.

Some items are even more than 50% off!

Happy Shopping!

Disclosure: I participate in the Dayspring Affliate program and was given this plate for free to do a review post. However, the opinions in this post are 100% my own. If I didn’t like the plate, I would tell you. :) After seeing the Dayspring products in person, I can honestly tell you they are beautiful!

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Passionate about Poinsettias

December 14, 2010 AT 9:04 pm 13 Comments

December 14, 2010 By traci 13 Comments

This year I am in love with poinsettias!

Last year, I did a post called Crazy about Cranberries, because I love to decorate with cranberries too. If you missed it, click on the picture for lots of inspirational decorating ideas.

But this year, it’s poinsettias for me!

One reason I just love them so much is because they are red. If you have been reading my blog for any time at all, you will know I love red.

Red makes me happy.

And Christmas is not Christmas without a lot of RED in my home!

My husband bought me a beautiful, big poinsettia for 99 cents at Lowe’s on Black Friday.

It sat on our kitchen table for a couple of weeks, until I decided to decorate with it differently.

Mainly, because I saw this picture in Country Living Magazine…

See the individual poinsettias in little glass bottles?

I knew I wanted to try this!

The boys didn’t have school on Monday because of snow, but that didn’t stop me from getting to Goodwill! :)

We actually went to a matinee, and when it was over, the boys asked me if we could go to GW. Love them! Of course, I gave in. :)

I was going to start looking for little clear glass bottles so I could make a vignette like the picture above.

You would not believe my surprise when I walked over to the shelves at GW and saw three little glass bottles sitting together. They were absolutely perfect!!! And only 50 cents a piece. I scooped them up, and I might have yelled, “woohoo” out loud…maybe….

I loved that they were all different shapes and sizes!

I also got this little bottle for a dollar too.

When I got home, I cut branches off of my beautiful poinsettia, and place them in the water-filled bottles.

Love.

I sat them on a mirror tray on my buffet and added a little faux snow for fun.

The fresh greenery I bought at Krogers for 5 bucks. I used some of it on my fireplace mantle too (that I will show you soon.) :)

I was going to add chalkboard labels to the bottles, but changed my mind…at least for now…

Aren’t they fun and festive?!

I love seeing them in my kitchen everyday.

I thought about having a Poinsettia Linky Party on Friday to see other great ideas around blogland of how to use poinsettias in your Christmas decor.

Would anyone come?

Let me know in the comments, and I will plan it!

Have a blessed day!

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