Girls bead kit

I have been looking everywhere for wooden die cut beads like this for forever. I finally found some necklaces at a novelty toy store but they were quite expensive. Then lo and behold I found these two adorable bead kits, and at the dollar store of all places! I just love the dollar store for reasons like this.

Vanila "Cocoa" with peppermint

Here is a great holiday drink I sort of made up the other morning. It is very yummy! Stephen's Gourmet Hot Cocoa has a lot of flavors and one great one is French Vanilla. I thought I would prefer actual chocolate over this but when peppermint is added it is really delicious. I'm not a big fan of peppermint flavor it's always been a bit too strong for me. But when it's mixed with the creamy French Vanilla it transforms! In fact I am officially addicted!!
All you need is hot water and two mini peppermint candy canes. And of course French vanilla hot "cocoa". I added lots and lots of spoonfuls of this because it has sort of a mild flavor. This makes it very creamy! Oh and don't forget marshmallows!

When you stir the candy canes in, your yummy creamy colored drink turns PINK! :)

Marshmallows add the final touch! And a great extra creamy flavor.

I think I'd better go and make myself another cup! Yum yum yum! Hope you try it out it really is lovely! And aren't those pearly white candy canes just the prettiest?! They lost their stripes when I stirred them into the drink. Have a happy vanilla peppermint day, and a Merry Christmas!

I "heart" Peppermint

I love the look of peppermint against this blue Swiss dot fabric backdrop. :)

New tree

We are finishing our attic to be a master bedroom. This is our new little 4 ft tree we added to get it feeling more like Christmas up there. I love it! I stare at it all the time and pretend the rest if the room is finished and worthy of photographing. He he, Happy holidays!





(P.S. the tree + ornaments + candy canes all added up to 22$!!!!)

Wrapping things up

I have been wrapping up a storm these past few days and I just wanted to share some of my favorite ones.

How to make a pom pom garland

Today I an idea for making her a pom pom garland. I thought about making one by threading the pom poms with a needle but I foresaw the pom poms sliding around on the string, and I wanted them to stay put. Then I realized that by crocheting them onto a chain stitch I eliminated that problem. Here is a little tutorial for all of you since its so darn easy!

HOW TO CROCHET A POM POM GARLAND
USING THE CHAIN STITCH

All the tools you need for this project are:
crochet thread
1.25mm crochet hook
pom poms

1. To start, you just chain a few stitches .
2. To add a pom pom, you poke the hook right through the middle of the pom pom then grab the thread and pull it right through the pom pom and start chain stitching again. (It's basically the same principle for adding beads to your crochet projects.)
3. To space them apart be sure and do a lot of chain stitches between the pom poms. (I didn't count the stitches I just added a pom pom when I felt it needed another one.)
4. Just keep repeating chain stitching and adding pom poms for as long as you want depending how long you want your garland to be.

I love how it turned out! In fact I love it so much I made two!

One with a specific "Christmasy" color scheme and the other with random colors.

Hope you have as much fun making these as I did!

sugar plum fairy

This girl is so cute I think I'll have to do another fairy eventually. She was a custom order from my sister Daryllyn so she is already sold. Just wanted to share! :)

our cookie house

This year we had a really fun time making our graham cracker and candy houses! We usually have a "pot luck" party and have all the guests bring their two favorite candy's, but this year we were too lazy to invite anyone. It was still a lot of fun!

Matilda Jane

These clothes by Matilda Jane (found on Mer Mag) are so adorable! I love the bright colors and the mismatched patterns, I also love the photography.

My Mom's living room

Isn't it lovely!

I always look forward to seeing the tree at my Mom and Dads. I love my Mom's newly remodeled living room. it is so beautiful! My mom has such a great classical decorating style that I LOVE. All 5 of her daughters got the decorating and crafty bugs from her! Love and miss you Mommy!