12 days of Christmas Bulletin Board

Getting christmas crafy! I wanted to create somekind of advent calendar but came across this idea and decided to do this one first! I will go for the advent one for next year. I liked the idea of 12 days of christmas with cute little notes in each day. I did make a couple of adjustments to the instructions from BHG. I could not find the envelopes quickly so I just cut out scrapbook paper and glued it on. I found some cute scrapbook stickers and added those on as well. Also, choose white alphabet stickers after seeing the black ones did not look right to me. Now to start counting down the 12 days this coming week!


Better Homes and Gardens 12 Days of Christmas board


The materials I used - it was around $20 for the project, but the bulletin board was the most so if you have this on hand it will be less!









12 Days of Christmas Bulletin Board CalendarCount down the days until Christmas with an easy-to-make calendar that features special activities tucked into daily pockets.


What You'll Need
• 18x14-inch bulletin board
• Acrylic paints and paintbrush ( I used spraypaint here which was already done in the pic above)
• Patterned paper
• Crafts glue (optional)
• Double-sided tape
• Twelve 2-1/4x3-1/2-inch red coin envelopes
• Numbered stamps (0 through 9)
• Black ink pad
• 1-1/4-inch-diameter white sticker labels
• 1-1/4-inch-diameter metal-rim tags
• Hot-glue glue and hotmelt adhesive
• Slips of white paper


How to Make It
1. Paint the frame of the bulletin board; let dry. Adhere patterned paper to the front of the board using crafts glue or double-sided tape.
2. Cut off the flaps of the red coin envelopes to create open tops. Space the envelopes evenly on the bulletin board and attach with double-sided tape.
3. Stamp each number 1 through 12 onto a sticker label. Attach the labels to the metal-rim tags; hot-glue the metal-rim tags onto the envelops.
4. Write or print activities for each of the 12 days on slips of white paper.
5. Insert slips into envelopes.


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Martha Magazine Trees

I came across this easy to do project on Martha Stewart and decided to give it a try - I had magazines and spray paint, so all I needed was alittle glitter! I will spare the details as Martha does a much better job. It took about 45 minutes to fold the tree, but easy to do watching the TV!

Here is the link and details!

Hem tape is my new BFF - xmas table runners!

Sewing and me have never met (ok, there was that brief dabble into cross stitch when I was a kid, but lets not count that!). I have asperations to buy this sewing machine to start on, but holding off for now. One thing at a time! However, it turns out there is a glorious product called iron on hem tape! It is sewing without sewing. I found this post about a no sew table runner and thought I could do that with xmas fabric! So off to Hobby Lobby I went with my shopping list of fabric, hemming tape, and ribbon.



Now, truth be told I had another issue - ahem - apparently with hemming tape you need to own an IRON! Are you getting the hint that I really do not know anything about the home? I had received a free iron table when I picked up another craigslist product several months ago (doesnt hurt to ask if people are selling anything else, and this time the owner threw it in for free!) Anyway, I figured it was about time I owned one, so amazon fixed this issue quickly for me.

Armed with my new iron I got to work. The wonderful thing with my house is how the kitchen and living room are situated. I have a big island that goes right into the family room - with a big TV. This took a couple of hours to do, but no issue when I get to watch all of my DVRed shows!






First I measured my spaces - I made 8 placemats and 4 table runners of various sizes. For the placemats, I just used one I had on the table before to cut to size. For the runner, I placed the fabric down on the carper to attempt a straight line. Still working on the straight line part but it mostly fixes when you can use the hemming tape to adjust afterward.



Total cost for this project was about $25 for the fabric (but I had 8 placemats and 4 runners made, so yours would be much less with 1 or 2) and then $2 for each roll of hemming tape for a total of $31 for all! I really love adding color and decorating for the holidays, but prefer items that can serve purposes outside the holidays or be flattened for stowing away.

Here is a sample of the result! I am stll finishing my furniture pieces so the other pics will come later.











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Sedona Adventure!

I must get up north periodically to have adventure! I went up to Sedona this weekend just for the day to hike, but literally took a wrong turn and had an adventure! I was busy talking and missed the turn off to Sedona - all of a sudden I see pine trees and knew we had gone too far. So - I was thinking there was a turn off soon to go back down to Sedona. I took what I originally thought was a paved road, but turned out to be the Schnebly Hill road that I have always wanted to take (but did not have the car) Yeah for 4 wheel drive! Gorgeous views, but they were not joking when I read later 4 wheel drive is required.

Thanksgiving Recap

I bought my house to entertain, and as a result I held my first thanksgiving dinner at my house. I should feel lucky as my first dinner only had to be for 10 people (all my family in town), but still I was nervous. Why? Because I have a gorgeous big, gourmet kitchen and well, I barely cook. I was never one of those people who grew up in the kitchen helping mom cook. I studied, read books, took adventures but domestic I was not. Now, as I am in my thirties I am wishing I took some home EC class, but thank goodness for the internet!

For my first dinner I cheated – yes, I ordered from AJ’s. I would never hear the end of it from my brother’s if we had Thanksgiving dinner without the Turkey. However, I did in fact work to cook another turkey and wanted to try something alittle healthier. I found this one from clean eating magazine! It turned out edible, but was alittle dry since I overcooked it – lesson for next year, my oven cooks fast and not to put it in for over three hours! I also did not use the stuffing this year, for next year!

Pomegranate-Glazed Stuffed Roast Turkey!