bye-bye, holidays!

Today is the last day of 2009.
Where did the year go?! :)

Well, I am welcoming in the new year by cleaning up all the Christmas decorations today and starting tomorrow with a clean house and a fresh attitude! But.. before the holiday season is completely over, I wanted to share a few photos from the past week...

My sister and I on Christmas Eve... We went out to Coronado with our parents to see the gorgeous tree (a yearly tradition!) and to have lunch by the ocean. So gorgeous and always a place where I feel lucky to live in such a beautiful place. :)


Setting out presents on Christmas Eve... so very magical!


Andrew on Christmas morning! The presents were a big hit! :)


Like our sweet dog Gwynnie, I think I've had enough of the holidays. :) I enjoyed every moment of it for the past month and am now ready to move onto the new year!

I hope everyone has a
safe and
fun night
to ring in
2010!!
See you next year, xo!

sales for a worthy cause.

I was wondering what to do with the holiday items that were still in my shop, and an idea came to me. Instead of taking the listings down, I'm deciding to do something very beneficial with the proceeds. When you make any purchase from the holiday section of my shop, you will not only receive a cute item for yourself, but you will also be helping to feed hungry Americans. For EVERY $1 donated to this cause, Feeding America helps provide 7 meals to men, women and children facing hunger in our country. SEVEN meals for each dollar! It is amazing what one dollar can accomplish. Let's see if I can sell out my holiday items... they are on sale and you can tuck them away for next year. And you will be helping those who truly need it. No one should go hungry.

It's a powerful feeling to know that even with a few dollars, we are making a huge difference.
Shop here and help.
xo!

a last minute gift how-to.

If you are wondering what to do about those last minute gifts, look no further! This is the perfect holiday gift, and looks amazing wrapped up in cellophane and a gorgeous red bow! Made out of old magazines, this Martha Stewart craft is not only easy, it is totally green as well! (And if you've got an old magazine just lying around, it's free, too!!) This also makes a beautiful hostess gift if you are going to a holiday get-together. :) Or if you want to make a few for yourself, gather a "forest" on your Christmas dinner table!



Watch the video here and see the how-to so you can make some of these fabulous trees for yourself! So far, I've made a bunch for gifts... and I'm still folding! And beware... They are super addictive! :)

Happy crafting to you all in these last few days before Christmas... what are you still working on? Are you all set for the holiday? I'd love to know how crazy this time of year is for the rest of you :) xo!

dear santa.

This might be the cutest thing I've ever seen and I feel compelled to share it with you all. :) Yesterday, Andrew and his dad wrote a letter to Santa, but Andrew wrote just about the entire thing himself. Yay for learning lots in kindergarten, right?! And he had to specify which house he would like each item... mom's house or dad's house. Somehow, I got stuck with the "pet hamster".... not sure if Santa is going to come through on that one haha!



Off to drop the letter into the big, red mailbox at Macy's! I'm so proud of this little boy and I think Santa is going to be very good to him this year. :)

xo!

(PS. I had to add that interesting gingerbread man to block out the address hehe!)

this made me LOL. :)

Mr. Half-Eaten Gingerbread Man.

Grab the how-to right here.

I might have to whip a few of these up before Christmas!

xo! :)

party time! ...plus a fabulous & easy holiday craft tutorial!

Yesterday, I threw the Christmas party for all of the kindergartners in Andrew's class and it was quite the hit! I wanted to make it super special for the kids, and I also wanted them to be able to take something home over the holiday break that was exciting to open, as well useful! I came up with these "craft bags"!

With the help of a couple other moms, we created a big bag of craft supplies for each child. They flipped! Stickers, workbooks, crayons, glue, feathers, homemade play-doh, pom-poms... you name it! It was a great Christmas gift to share with them and one that will be used over and over again I hope. :)

I also made each child a "Rudolph the Reindeer" t-shirt, which is the easiest craft to make, but it's so cute and effective!!

Want to make your own??

Here's what you'll need!

Supplies:

White Tshirt

Large Round Spongebrush (You can find them at Michael's or JoAnn's!)

Tiny Round Spongebrush (cut half of it off to make an ear shape!)

Brown Fabric Paint

Brown & Red Puff Paint (that are ok for fabrics as well!)

Small Googly Eyes

FabriTac Glue

Small pieces of aluminum foil

Simply place a small square of aluminum foil inside the shirt where you want the reindeer to be. Then squeeze a little brown paint onto another piece of foil and dip the large spongebrush into it and stamp onto the shirt. Then dip the small round spongebrush (cut into an ear shape) into the paint and sponge the ear shape onto the reindeer's head. Lay out to dry for at least a few hours so that the brown paint can fully set. When it's dry, bust out the puff paint and googly eyes to finish up the details! Glue on the googly eyes with the FabriTac glue, and then be creative- use the brown puff paint to give your reindeer some antlers, and a small dot of red paint for the nose. Let dry at least four hours or until the puff paint is completely set. And ho, ho, ho!! Your reindeer is ready for a Christmas night out! :)

The kiddos were also able to decorate cookies for their holiday treat! I set up one of their tables with a whole buffet of yummy sprinkles, gummy bears, M&M's, frosting tubes, etc! Then they were able to decorate their cookies in small groups and when everyone was finished, they got to eat their handiwork! :)

Andrew's teacher with his group :)

Smile! :)

I think the party turned out fabulous and now we are happy to enjoy a restful two weeks off for the holiday season. Andrew has already broken into his craft bag, so I think it's a success. :)

Hope you are all enjoying a happy and festive holiday season so far!

And PS.

I'm now a college graduate, finally!!!

xo!

some peppy (and free!) christmas tunes!

Have you heard about the cute kids band, Hullabaloo??? If you haven't, you are so missing out. It is a two-man band from here in San Diego and they are super cool! Kids love them, and let me tell you, so do adults. The songs are fresh and cute, and totally fun to sing! If your stuck listening to kids music in the car, please let it be one of their CDs. You are going to thank me!

And guess what else? For the holiday season, you can download their new holiday CD for FREE! Yay! I am definitely enjoying myself blogging at the moment, tapping my toes to this peppy Christmas music. (And my child is in bed.) Yes, I'm listening to kids holiday music by myself and it's cool! Go download it, folks! xo! :)

christmas sale, ho ho ho! :)

{bright and cheery christmas card}

In the spirit of the holiday season (and the season of fabulous sales!!), I am offering all of the items in my shop at 20% off!

That's right!
20% off
ALL items!
ho ho ho!

Get shopping, folks...

because this sale only lasts through Thursday night!

Please purchase and pay like usual and I will refund you the discount through PayPal :) Merry holidays, my friends!! xo!

{happy christmas jumbo tags}

{happy christmas card}

{fabulous merry christmas card}

{cute christmas poinsettia tags}

{bright and happy holiday card}

a holiday memory.

I have the fondest memories of going to the Nutcracker every year when I was growing up. I always thought it was so magical... the music, the story, the dancing, the costumes, the snow softly falling onstage near the end of the show... :)

Every time I see the Nutcracker, I leave feeling inspired and completely in the holiday spirit. Although we don't go every year anymore, it is always a treat to go and it still makes me feel like I am a little girl again, watching the ballerinas twirl in their fancy costumes...

What are some of your

favorite childhood &

holiday memories?

This week, the topic for Pink Saturday is exactly this.. favorite childhood memories of the holiday season. Read about it here! :)

Happy weekend, xo!

craft tutorial - "feel-good flip book!"

Andrew's kindergarten teacher had her birthday today and I wanted to involve all the kids in a special handmade surprise for her. Well, I found the cutest idea to make a little book with each page made by one of the kids. It is also a way to keep the costs for teacher gifts down which I thought was especially important this year. I want Andrew and all the other kids to feel good about making something homemade that is also extra special!! This little book sits on top of a desk and the pages flip open... so if you need to brighten your day, all you have to do is peek through the book!

You can find the basic instructions to make the flipbook here, but I tweaked it a bit for our class. This is the perfect craft to make for your child's teacher... it can be for a birthday, the holidays, teacher appreciation, whatever! Andrew's teacher LOVED it and shed a few tears reading through the nice things that the kids wrote and drew for her...

I printed out the white sheets of paper from my computer and then mounted them onto a heavy cardstock sheet. They are about 8 inches square, so it makes up into a nice size book to sit on a desk.

Then I sent a note home with one page for each of the kids and kept it a secret from their teacher... they returned their finished creations to me and it was so fabulous to read what each of them wrote!

Each page is different and reflects that child, which is so special. And of course, I made the front page and jazzed it up so it looks really cute! :) There you go, the perfect gift for that special teacher this holiday season!! xo!

happy december!

OK, ok....

so this isn't exactly

what my December looks like

at the moment. :)

But these photos were taken a few years ago at our home when we lived in snowy, upstate New York. While I am so thankful that it is the holiday season and I intend to fully enjoy it, I can't help but feel wistful about this perfectly picturesque place that I used to call home.

The month of December always makes me miss the snow. Although, in March I might be happy I live in San Diego. :)

I am guessing the dogs miss the snow as well... or maybe they miss the woods in our backyard that was their personal playground. :)

Wherever you live,

snow or sun,

hot or cold...

have a happy

first day of

December

...and enjoy the season to come, xo!

...and i'm back!

After quite the hiatus,

the blog is back!

I guess I needed a break. I've been busy finishing up my bachelor's degree, crafting and creating with the kindergartners, making turkey tshirts for Thanksgiving, going on vacation to Las Vegas, yada yada yada... Enough of the excuses! This is my favorite time of the year and I want my blog to reflect that!!

So I want to wish you all happy holidays and I can't wait to share some fabulous little ideas and creations with you for the holidays!! It's good to be back... xo! :)

PS.

These photos were taken on our vacation this past week. Andrew and I are posed in front of New York New York Hotel in Las Vegas and the photo of Andrew is in Calico Ghost Town on the way to Vegas... SO cute and fun!! More photos to come....

ironing out some issues.

..while I iron out some issues with my blog. I am at a place where I need to decide where my blog is going, and I need a bit of time to figure it out. Don't worry, I'll be back soon... and the blog will be better than ever with a fresh new look and feel! :) Thanks friends, and I look forward to be back in the blogging world soon, xo!

[photo courtesy here]

crafty!

I had big plans for posting all sort of Halloween crafts this year on my blog. I love Halloween. I love to celebrate this day with lots and lots of decorations, crafts, and goodies. It's also so fun to have a child around that appreciates every spider web hung, every black bat hanging around the house, and every pumpkin carved. But this year, sickness has caught up with me! :( I am so sick and have been this past week. Of course it hits now, right??! When I am the busiest, I always seem to get very run down. So I am leaving the blog for a few days at least, but I am not leaving you with nothing. Please pop in to my favorite craft blog and see what's up...
The Crafty Crow is a collection of fabulous craft ideas at all times of the year, but there are some ridiculously cute things posted right now for Halloween. Get ideas and inspiration, make some crafts with your kids, and enjoy the Halloween weekend!! :) xo!

make a black wreath.

For Halloween, your front porch will be the first thing that people notice while they are trick-or-treating. When those kids come up to knock on the door, have the door look festive with a spooky black wreath! :) For our door, we bought the 4-dollar black wreath at Michael's and tied a big orange bow on it.. so cute! And it immediately made our front yard look like it was in the spirit of Halloween! While our wreath was super easy and effective, here are two other variations on the black Halloween wreath that I absolutely adore...

Martha, you've done it again and wowed me! I am in love with this wreath. Using silk roses hot glued onto a Styrofoam wreath form, the entire thing is then spray painted black to give it a gothic feel. Tie it up with a big black ribbon and it is perfection! :) And of course, what a way to re-use those old silk flowers you probably have laying around somewhere, right?!

I found this amazing black wreath here. Scroll down about halfway down the page to get the instructions, but the basic idea is super simple. You take a Styrofoam wreath shape and literally tie a bunch of black grosgrain ribbon all around it to form this cute wreath, perfect for Halloween!!

Tomorrow, I will be posting about a few cute kids crafts for the week of Halloween.... very simple, yet so fun for any age! :) xo!

shadows and silhouettes.

And wouldn't you love to put up some fun shadow-y decorations like these??!! And if you are feeling lazy like me, the Martha Stewart craft aisle at Michael's has some ready made decorations that are so super cute as well!! :)

I am up to my knees in Halloween today, getting ready to throw a party tomorrow for 7 crazy little boys. :) I want to utilize my time today, so when Andrew comes home, it is a Halloween-fest around here!!

What do you do to decorate for Halloween??

Any fun ideas for me?!

I will be posting a bunch of fun, last-minute Halloween crafts and decor tips starting Monday that your kiddos can help you with. I think holidays with kids are so extremely rewarding... to see their happiness at even the smallest craft or decoration makes it all worth it. :)

Happy haunting, friends!! xo!

it's time!

I think it is finally time to get some pumpkins today!!! I wanted to wait until closer to Halloween so it felt more festive, but I think the time has now come. I am hosting a party for Andrew and a few of his good friends on Saturday and I need to put on my Halloween thinking cap and get decorating!!! :) Wish me luck on finding the perfect pumpkins, xo!

30 days.

Who's excited????!!!!!

I AM!!!!!!

I am so ready. I feel like I have waited so long to see this movie! I even have my special pass to see the movie the evening before release!! (And I don't even have to stay up until midnight to see it this time!) My mom and sister surprised me with this super cute t-shirt for my birthday as well, which I will be wearing to the movie. And do you know who is in my bedroom keeping me company now??? This guy. :) Yes, that's right. I am now 27 years old with a cardboard cutout of Jacob Black staring at me while I sleep...

My name is Holly

and I am a

Twilight-a-holic.

xo! :)

continued support.

I am sure many of you read my blog a while back about helping out the Baby Emma Crew fund. This little 14-month old girl has suffered a very traumatic brain injury about a month ago and has had to undergo many surgeries and treatments since. She has lost the functioning on the right side of her body, even her speech, yet she is still fighting strong.

It is times like these that we all need to figure out a way to help, no matter how small. I have some very cute items in my shop listed for this fund, such as the "hoot owl tags" above, and would love for you to take a peek. I just made my first donation this morning and immediately felt lighter, like I was helping to lift this terrible burden off of Emma's parents by just the smallest amount. Take a peek, and do what you can to help. Every dollar means that these worried parents can rest a bit easier by their daughter's side!

Thank you, friends!! xo!

black and white.

I am big on black and white.

I wear almost nothing else, and when it comes to flooring, I tend to like the same color scheme. Any pattern. Any sized tiles. Any room. And it's SO effective with any color scheme you have going on in the room.

A bright and happy bathroom, with those cute tiles that almost give a polka dot feel to the floor!

The black and white checkerboard makes for such a cozy space in this kitchen.. who wouldn't want to cook up a little dinner in here?!

Bird's eye view! A few sparse black tiles give an otherwise plain white floor some pizzazz!

The coziest little kitchen (and windowseat, which you know I love!) I love the black and white color scheme with that little pop of green. Much like my blog at the moment, haha!

A grand entrance, and a cheerful butter yellow placed against the bold black and white tiles.

Hope you all have found some pretty inspiration through these photos! Have a cozy Thursday, xo! :)

orange to yellow.

Here are the photos I took from Andrew's karate graduation this past weekend! :) He was happy to strike a pose for me before his testing... with his new toy gun, of course, courtesy of his Papa (my dad!) at Knott's Berry Farm. :)
He graduated from the orange belt level to orange-yellow. Moving on up in the karate world, right!? :)

Very happy with his new belt level, as you can see!! :)

And here he is afterwards with his fabulous karate teacher! Andrew adores him :) I am so proud of him in his karate class... it is so exciting to see your child do so well at something they really love!!

Have a happy Wednesday, xo! :)