Chaising Fireflies Advents

There are two advent calendars from Chasing Fireflies that I think are adorable beyond words. First is this one where you dress the doll as the days go by:

Such a cute idea, but I don't think my daughter would be able to wait to finish it. The doll would be dressed the first day.

And the second is Santa and his reindeer pulling all the presents with his sleigh:

Each of his presents holds a treat for you to enjoy.

Both fun, both way too cute, and both decently easy to replicate if you are crafty enough.

Snow Ornaments

Ashley from Shanty 2 Chic worked her magic with a bag of snow and some plain glass ornaments:

There is so much fun stuff you can put in glass ornaments! Paper. Glitter. They are like mini apothecary jars you can hang on your tree!

I even have some that hold colorful pieces of ornaments I have broken in the past.

Cocoa Containers

Emily from Not So Idle Hands repurposed some powdered drink containers to make some cute cocoa containers:

They are perfect to give to neighbors as a holiday treat or you can leave them out on your counter to help liven up your kitchen for the holidays! I love when I don't have to put things away!!

Paper Tree Advent

Tomorrow is December 1st. I am trying to find a way to balance finding Christmas spirit without dragging out all of the Christmas decorations that will be moved to our new house in four weeks.

I think we will make this advent calendar from Make and Takes tonight:

It is cute, the kids will love it, and we won't have to pack it up when it is time to go!

If you are looking for a last minute Christmas countdown, this might just be the one for you too!

Cookie Exchange

I almost want to host a cookie exchange just so I can send out these cute invites I found at Brooklyn Limestone in Progress:

Gingerbread Houses

Tonight we are getting together with my in laws for our annual Gingerbread house party. Although it is all in fun, we are pretty competitive with the decorating ideas. Every year we compete (quietly) to see who has the best idea for the roof or the cutest addition. So this year I have done some research and I thought I would share it with you.

And honestly if I post them here I can look them up on my phone tonight after we start.

I apologize for the overload of pictures, but they are all pretty cute!!

I love the Tootsie roll log fence, and the frosted mini wheat roof is always cute, but we have done that one before:

Grass made from green rolled fruit snacks and the sliced almond roof:

I might need to make a garage on my house this year:

Or an igloo for my pet polar bear:

How simple is the white frosting roof with sugar crystals:

And I don't know if those are chow mien noodles or bran cereal, but they are beautiful, and the 'stone' is gorgeous too. Not to mention the tootsie roll walkway:

Another slivered almond roof and I love the door on this one:

The jelly candy shutters:
and jelly candy window boxes:
The windows made from square pretzels:

The checkered walkway and the pretzels on the door are cute:
We already planned to have a sucker light post after Lou La saw it on a house earlier this month and I am going to have to copy the double gumdrop bushes:

The pretzel fence and of course a marshmallow snowman. We have one of those every year:

The mailbox and sled....CUTE:

I will have to take pictures of the completed houses and show them to you tomorrow.

All images were found via Google Image.

Snowmen Ornaments

I found these cute snowmen ornaments at The Cupcake Cuppy:

What a fun and easy ornament (or a REALLY cute gift tag) to make. And all you need are spools!

Believe Banner

Chelsea has a step by step tutorial on her blog for making this gorgeous Believe banner on her blog, Room to Inspire:

And even if you aren't a banner fan, these could make some gorgeous ornaments.

Cranberry Wreath

Amy from The Idea Room has a tutorial for this cranberry wreath that looks good enough to eat:

Well, it would if I wasn't full from all the Thanksgiving Stuffing!

Paper Leaf Wreath

Another wreath made from paper:

But this one from The Red Thread comes in the form of paper leaves, not loops. This would be very cute in fall colors as well. Next year!!

Paper Wreath

This wreath from Razzle Dazzle Crafting is make from paper strips:

It reminds me a lot of the fabric wreaths I have seen, but not being a sewer, I don't have any scrap fabric lying around. Scrapbook paper, on the other hand, is a different story!

Found via Fort & Field

Ornament Remix

I love this idea from Room Remix:

You string three glass ornaments on florist wire, twist it together and make a hook from the wire, and then hang the ornament from the florist wire hood. A fun way to 'remix' your ornaments for practically nothing.

Ribbon Tree Shirt

In case the ruffle version was a little more sewing than you are willing or capable of, this ribbon version of the Christmas tree shirt from Just A Betty is pretty darn cute too:

Sweater Stocking

If you have some old Christmas sweaters lying around and you are in need of a new stocking, The Long Thread has a tutorial for you:

This cute stocking was made out of two sweaters that she found at the thrift store. A great way to recycle some old sweaters into some new holiday decor.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope your Thanksgiving it Rockwell-esq!

Have a great day!

Twine Snowmen

You will never have to worry about these snowmen from David Stark melting:

You can see the directions for these twine snowmen on Design Sponge.

Poinsettia Pillow

I am not really one for holiday pillows...but this Poinsettia Pillow from Centsational Girl may change my mind:
She has a tutorial on her blog...and I think the right shade of red might look REALLY cute on my bed!

Mini Monogram Wreath

Lindsay of Living with Lindsay took the monogram wreath thread of last year and went miniature:

You can see her tutorial here. I am not sure if I like it more because it is small, or because it looks so sharp hanging off of the back of the dining room chairs.

Turkey Treats...Gobble Gobble

Some more last minute Turkey Treats:

Jewels of a Child:


Cookies and Cups:

Urban Nest:

Crayon Turkey

These Turkey Crayon Holders from K McKay Designs would be perfect for a kids table:

Especially one covered in butcher paper.

Harvest Centerpiece

Oh if I only had 100 stalks of dried grass and wheat:

image from Martha Stewart

But I don't. I don't even have a little bit of wheat to pull this off:

Or this one:

Next year I must find a good wheat source.

Pilgrim Place Cards

No cuter place card/napkin ring can be found than these from Family Fun:

Pumpkin Topiary

If you are having people over to your house for the holiday, these pumpkin topiaries from Fern Creek Cottage would make a great last minute decoration:

Amy Atlas Thanksgiving

Today is my last day of Thanksgiving posts. With Thanksgiving only 2 days away, I feel like giving you more ideas that you might want to squeeze in at the last minute is a sin.

So today I will give you some extra Thanksgiving posts, and then it is on to new things. Christmas and Winter and Hanukkah. Hot chocolate, and peppermint, and any other holiday treat you can imagine.

But before we do...one last day of Thanksgiving. And we are going to start it off with Amy Atlas:

You can check out more of Amy's Thanksgiving Treat Buffet HERE on her blog. My favorite are the caramel pears. Why should apples have all the fun?

LoLo Craft Winner

The winner of the apron giveaway from LoLo Crafts:

Was Little Bird (Dymphna Delarosa). Please email me with your contact information so that Aunt LoLo can get your apron out to you.

Thank you all for participating and thank you Aunt LoLo for sponsoring the giveaway!

Relish Cornucopia

Instead of having a relish tray this Thanksgiving, why not give each guest their own relish cornucopia...all wrapped up in a tortilla:

And not only is it a snack, but table decor too! You can see the details at Family Fun.

Button Tree

These button trees from Inspiring Creations are so cute:

What a fun and easy way to use a frame that might have the glass broken out of it. (You can ALWAYS find those at thrift stores or garage sales. Or even your own house.)

I think it would be a great project for the kids to help out with too. Each child could decorate their own tree by gluing on the buttons and then you could display them in individual frames.

Pilgrim Puppets

These finger puppet pilgrims would be a fun craft to keep the kids busy after they are done playing with their mashed potatoes at the table:

or why they are waiting for their mashed potatoes.

You can see the directions on Kaboose.

They remind me of the old school Little People. That is whey I love them!

Praline Pumpkin Pie

If you are looking for a new pie for Thanksgiving dinner...this might be it:

This pie from Centsational Girl has pumpkin, brown sugar, and pecans in it...and really what is NOT to like about pumpkin, brown sugar and pecans.

You can get the recipe HERE