a date with the christmas tree.

First of all, I have to apologize to all of you. I have barely been around, and I didn't mean to completely abandon my blog. A few things have been happening around here that have been taking up my time, and I think it is high time to share!

Number One... The shop has been busy! I am finally caught up on all of my current orders and would love for you to keep shopping. Order turnarounds will be very quick since I know that you all are needing things super quickly this holiday season, so shop now! The 1300th customer will receive some fab freebies in the mail, let me tell you! :) I'm almost there, eek! Maybe you need some cute gift tags for your presents? Maybe something to add in for a hostess gift at a holiday party? Or maybe some cute confetti to add to your Christmas cards? The shop's got it all. Go peek. :)

Number Two... It's the holiday season!!! Need I say more? What isn't going on at this time of year? Shopping for Christmas gifts, stringing up holiday lights, mailing out Christmas cards, planning a party for Andrew's class. Whew! I'm tired just thinking of all of this. More on the holidays in a moment....

And of course, Number Three... I have been wanting to spend an inordinate amount of time with my new boyfriend! Yes, you heard me right! I am now dating a new & super fantastic man and I am happy, happy, happy. I guess my blog comes second to that. :)

So now you all know where I've been and I promise I'll try to be around more. I love my blog, I love my readers, and I love to share ideas, inspiration, and what I've been up to. So thank you for sticking around and popping in to say hi when you do. It means a lot to me. :)

OK, like I said, more on Christmas now!
I have a date
with my Christmas tree
penciled in for Thursday.
We are going to pick out a tree that evening and start decorating it and I couldn't be more excited! Before decorating the tree however, I always think it is fun to take a look at some decor inspiration. Here goes....


The most adorable little tabletop tree. I adore trees this size. Easier to decorate, but still so festive and fun! This one is from that talented lady named Martha. :) I also am so in love with the tiny little trees lining the windows. So super cute!


I am not a hugely pink kind of girl, but this screams happiness to me! I love the iridescent glass ornaments on the tree and I think it looks like one big piece of candy. Love! {Also from Ms. Stewart!}


I do happen to think that Christmas is a time to incorporate all colors. If you toss on every ornament you have on a tree, it looks amazing. The reason for the season is not to make a color statement, and I think this tree looks fun and whimsical.
{From Country Living!}


Then again, the simplicity of this color palette is totally oozing charm as well. I adore the pillow mish-mash on the couch and love how sparse the tree is. And of course, I am a total sucker for anything paper-chain. Maybe I should get Andrew on that project?? :)
{Country Living, again!}


And finally, my favorite picture for this year. I love, love, love this!!! Everything is so happy in this picture from Country Living... from the flowers on the table that are not classically "Christmas," to the bright and cheery Christmas tree, to the eclectic mix of chairs at the dining table, and the most perfect chandelier ever, this is how I want Christmas to feel at my home.

Special.
Not perfect, but so special.
That's what the holidays are all about. :)
Happy decorating, my friends!
xo!

a perfect stocking stuffer!

Just added to the shop...
gift certificates for the holiday season! :)

If you know someone who loves cards, gift tags, wrapping presents, creating, scrapbooking, paper crafts, etc etc etc.... this might be a perfect option to tuck in with their gift! :) Let the recipient choose what they'd like in the quiet coziness of their home after the craziness of the holidays!

Shop for them here!

And by the way...
Almost to 1300 sales in the shop, as well!
Lucky number 1300 will receive some yummy paper goodie freebies, for sure!
Will it be you?!

PS.
So sorry I have been absent around here.
Please forgive me.
I've been a happy & busy bee, let me assure you. :)
xo!

christmas cards...!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.
Tomorrow!!!?!!!
That means that this weekend kicks off the holiday season!
{Can it really be this time of year already?!}
I am in serious need of figuring out my Christmas cards for the upcoming season as well, so maybe you all could weigh in and help. :)

Shutterfly is amazing.
And yes, I know I run a shop full of handmade and super-unique greeting cards and I could whip some up for myself as well... but, that's not how I usually work. I like a photo Christmas card. {Am I being disloyal to my Etsy shop right now???!!} :) And when figuring out a holiday photo card, I turn to Shutterfly! I adore Shutterfly. I love the photo books and have used them for myself and my own photo storage, as well as for teacher gifts! SO cute.

But now I need help in the Christmas card department....
these are my faves so far. :)


1. bright colored lights christmas card

SO unbelievably cute. This card is one of my favorites- it evokes so much happiness and spirit!


2. holly and jolly christmas card

I love sharing more than one photo, and this is the perfect card to create those photo memories! :)


3. sweet and retro christmas card

The soft green makes this card so adorable. I love the swirly font and the retro feel of it is so super cute!


4. bright and merry christmas card

LOVE the colors. It is classic, but still young and modern.


5. merry zigzag christmas card

I adore this one. It definitely tops my list at the moment. I love the colors and the zig-zag provides a cute and whimsical touch!


6. berry merry photo christmas card

ADORE this. Maybe it is the addition of the "holly" berries that I like??? :)


And of course, these holiday themed address labels are too cute as well.
I think I may have to snag a few of these, too.
On the top is the gift address label.
And on the bottom is goodwill to all label.

So perfect to add on to the holiday cards!

So help me out, friends.

Which is your favorite card??

I am having a hard time deciding on which one Andrew and I will be sending out!

And...

If you are a blogger, go visit here to get 50 free cards from Shutterfly.

Amazing deal, right?

Happy Wednesday,

and a very happy Thanksgiving weekend to you all!

xo!

PS.

Mommy Holly is having a Black Friday sale!

FREE shipping to anyone who uses the code "blackfriday" in the message to seller area through Friday. :) Pay like usual and I'll refund you via paypal as soon as I can!

christmas in july!

It's summer. It's hot outside.

But it's never too early to be planning for the holidays, right?! :)

There is a fantastic

Christmas in July

event taking place this week

at It's a Good Day!

There will be guest posts, giveaways, and goodies galore ALL week long!

I'll be guest posting on Friday,

but pop over today to check things out!

You will want to turn on some Christmas music,

I am sure of it!

And here are a couple other things

to get you in the {early} holiday spirit:

happy holiday bird cutouts!

I adore these colors. The bright green mixed in with the red and white seems so fresh! :)

christmas trees and pickup trucks happy gift tags!

Love, love, love this motif. So funky- I can't wait to tie these onto Christmas gifts!

There will be MORE items to come, but these are the first tastes of "holiday" in my shop so far and I am so excited about it! Now get yourself over to Teresa's blog and get in the holiday spirit!! :)

xo!

PS.

The wedding was fantastic this past weekend!

Andrew looked so adorable in the tux!

Photos tomorrow! :)

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!

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!

...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....