Wicked Easy Holiday Swag

Real quick, easy way to give a little holiday touch, with out any money*. You can put this swag on your mailbox post (like I did), on your bedroom door (like I did)- it is a nice way to be festive without wreaths all over your house :) Remember, less is more...

- *OK, so I had the ribbon, boxwood and have a great big pine tree in my yard that I can cut from.



- Anyways, this is super easy- just take 4-5 sprigs of pine, then lay 2-3 sprigs of boxwood on top. Add a sprig or two of red berries and tie them all together at the top with twine. Use ribbon to tie a bow on top of twine.



- Waaaaahlaaa, wicked quick easy way to make some swag.

Prelude Baby

Just a quick post about how excited I am for Prelude in Kennebunkport, Maine (my hometown) this weekend. Kennebunkport was rated the second best holiday town in the United States by HGTV (see here).

So, I am about to go into the Port and see old friends I have not seen in a while and celebrate. The town goes all out decorating, shops are open, restaurants glowing, hot chocoloate flowing (I just rhymed there didn't I?) Anyways- as my sister said last night, "The port looks like Whoville from The Grinch". Hopefully I will get a picture or two to show you just how beautiful it is.

Oh- and it is my birthday tomorrow, which makes it extra special. Yes, I am a Prelude Baby!

No matter what you are celebrating, enjoy this festive time of year.


Image Credits

Miss Lucy's First Stocking

My sister asked me to help her with a Christmas stocking for her daughter (my beautiful niece) Lucy. I happily agreed to help, and this is what we came up with. I cannot wait to see it year after year. Katie and I had a great time making it together, and a lot of laughs.

- We lined it with green polka-dot fabric I just happened to have. It was an easy hem since we used the zigzag sewing machine stitch.




- Katie wanted it to be fun, romantic and girly. We decided to use pink ribbons that I had across the top. We went back and forth about doing the entire stocking- I think we made the right choice.



- Using the zigzag stitch I sewed on (before I sewed the stocking front and back together!) a tree Katie cut out using a cookie cutter as a guide. The fabric matches Lucy's bedroom curtains and another project which involved a pillow her Uncle Matt did which I will blog about soon.



- I think adding the tree really ties the stocking together. To hang it, I used a piece of leftover ribbon and looped and sewed it into the corner.



Merry Christmas Miss Lucy- I cannot wait to celebrate many Christmases to come and hope Santa fills your stocking very well each year!

Oh- and because she is so cute...I can't not post a picture of her.

And Sprinkles Makes...

Embroidery inspired cake! I found this great idea on Pinterest and thought it would make a great anniversary cake for my mom and step-dad. I found the design on this wonderful blog, Polka & Bloom. I enlarged the design I liked- which she calls the Spring Bird and I call 'The Love Birds'. I printed on a colored printer, and just followed the patter by looking back and forth. I loved making this for them. I went with colored cake on the inside, green, yellow and pink layered. It was as fun making it, as it was eating it on Thanksgiving night.

- I found great sprinkles in several colors at Michael's Crafts.

- And a lot of white frosting. I cheated and used store bought fluffy white frosting. I put the cake in the refrigerator for about an hour prior to decorating, to have it soft enough to have the sprinkles stick, but hard enough so it was easy to work with.

- I used tweezers (new!) to place each sprinkle on, while looking back at the large print out I did on a colored printer of the pattern. I did use the tip of the tweezers a few times to trace out a pattern to follow.

- And some love. I added some pine from outside of my house to give it a more festive look and texture.

I did not win our Thanksgiving Day contest for best dessert, but I feel like I sure did 'take the cake'.

Sprinkles anyone?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday- I know I am very thankful for the wonderful family and friends I have- and enjoyed a long, yet, busy weekend! I wanted to give a sneak peak at my Thanksgiving/Anniversary cake I made for my mom and step dad. Needless to say, it took a few hours, but was worth it...

All Stitched Up- My Favorite States

I am a member of the Junior League of Portland- and we have something called DID 'Done In A Day', which, you guessed it, is a project you can do in a day. So, in the spirit of the league, I decide to tackle this project I Pinned a while back. I have done needlepoint since I was little, so this was not super difficult for me, but even if you don't have a lot of experience in stitching, this should not be too hard. I am planning on framing all four in matching frames, and hanging 2 over 2 in my bedroom along with the other wall art I have been working on- see here.

So here is how I did this fun 'DID'!

1. I printed maps of the states Matt and I have lived in (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and myself in Washington, I did not do Colorado where Matt has lived, but I will) . I basically just searched for each state in Google and went to 'images' and found them, and printed. The only negative was that they are not completely in proportion. I had a new-ish white pillow case and traced with pencil each outline of the state. I had thread, but it is the same stuff you use to make friendship bracelets, or typical needlepoint projects :)

2. Since I needlepoint, I had a wooden ring which helps keep fabric taut. I don't think you need one though, but it helps. I just started a simple stitch along the pencil trace. I did a free hand heart (in red, duh) close to the places we have lived. Matt grew up outside of Montpelier and I lived in Burlington and Stowe, Vermont.

3. The state of Maine has the longest coast line out of any other US state, just sayin'! I did not get too elaborate, but did the best I could. There are a lot of nooks and crannies in Maine, but I think it came out pretty good. We live in Kennebunk, which is very very south (hence the heart!)

4. Matt lived in New Hampshire for over 10 years in Portsmouth, and I went to college in New London. I decided to keep it simple with on heart on each state, so his trumped mine :)

5. I loved living in Seattle, so here is my homage to that beautiful state!

6. Here is all four together. They will look great framed on my wall, and love the meaning they have to Matt and I.

I would love to see if anyone else does other states :) I can imagine Colorado will be easy!

Need Another Unique Wedding Gift Idea- Look No Further!

Matt and I recieved an amazing wedding gift from his brother, Erich and girlfriend Angela. He is an amazing wood craftsman! They refurbished this old trunk they found at a market. They did an amazing job with the details. The fabric on the inside is all brand new, along with the hand-crafted shelving and storage. My favorite part was how they filled it with really fun things, on every layer! From UNO cards to wine, they did an amazing job. It was like opening a beautiful stocking on Christmas morning. Thank you Erich and Angela, we totally owe you :)

Just a taste of what they filled it with:

- Paper umbrellas for our cocktails

- UNO cards

- Crayons

- WINE!

- Crainum (best game ever)

- Fabric and other fun sewing accouterments for my sewing

- Water guns - because you just never know

- Pink plastic Flamingo - we named Lester and he made an appearance at the beach for our wedding

- Animal crackers

- Maple candy- Matt's favorite

- Maple cookies- another one of Matt's favorite

- Rug

- Match box cars

- Model John Deere Tractor

- Bird stickers (love)

- Easy button

- Bag Balm

- GI Joes

- Candles

- Puzzle

- And much more...Amazing!