Christmas Eve Wrap Up Part 2

How's Christmas Eve 2013 treating ya?  Hopefully you are wrapping things up (literally and figuratively) and getting settled in so you can fully enjoy this amazing celebration of Jesus birth!

(source)

One last DIY before this amazing Christmas season comes to a close.  This DIY is inspired by my friend Rebecca.  Two weeks ago we had a long discussion about washi tape.  For those of you who don't know what washi tape is, it is decorative japanese tape and is very similar to the texture and feel of painters tape.  I absolutely love washi tape and its hard not to.  Look how cute it all is.  Over the past two years I have acquired quite a collection and Rebecca asked me, well what do you do with it?  So I decided as part of Rebecca's Christmas gift, I would include a little gift topper made with washi tape.

Thanks to pinterest I came across these super simple and fun toothpick stars.  They are quick and easy to make.  All you do is form a star out of toothpicks and tape the corners together.

Use them as gift toppers, string several together and make a garland or tie a string and add to your Christmas tree as an ornament.  Of course, if washi tape isn't something you have on hand you can also use masking tape, painters tape or even colored duck tape, all cut down into thin strips.

This is just one idea for washi tape, but the possibilities are endless.  Here are a few other washi tape projects (try me)  (try me) (try me) (try me) or (try me) that I hope will inspire you to go out and grab your own roll and get taping!

As for Dane and my Christmas Eve:
Tonight we are planning to attend Christmas Eve service, enjoy a family Christmas with my grandmother's side of the family, skype a few friends in Australia (because it is actually Christmas Day for them....Happy Christmas all my lovely Aussie Family) and then of course fall asleep watching A Christmas Story.  The next time we chat the celebration will be in full swing, I simply cannot wait!

Wrapping Up Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve, and chances are, a lot of you are trying to finish up some last minute shopping, baking, cleaning, or decorating.  As for me, it never fails, I always find myself wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve.  If you are like me, then today is the day for you here on our blog!  Today I have two Christmas posts for you, all about gift wrap.

Now I am sure a lot of you are awesome gift wrappers, but I have never been good at it.  Surprisingly, my brother, Brock, is the best gift wrapper I know, and he is stopping in today to give us a very simple, but important lesson on how to wrap a gift.

Hi, my name is Brock, and I am here to teach you gift wrapping 101.  I have two rules in gift wrap.
1. You only need three pieces of tape.
2. If it ain't tight, it ain't right.

Let's get started!

First thing you need to do is measure the paper.  Having the right amount of paper is what keeps the wrap job tight.  Keep the paper tight to the box on your top edge and bring it over next to the side of the roll.

Now bring the roll up on the side and add an extra inch.

Cut down this line.  I really prefer wrapping with paper that has grid lines, you can find this type of paper at Hobby Lobby.

Now you need to measure the correct distance going the other way.  Bring one end up just a little over half way.  Measure the same distance on the other side and cut along that line.

You should now have the perfect amount of paper.  Bring the long ends across the box and tape (that's one piece of tape).

Now crease the ends.  Make the creases on your ends as tight as possible.  Bring the bottom flap up, then cover it with the top flap and tape (that's tape piece number two).  And repeat on the other side.  (and that is tape piece number three).

There you have it, a perfectly wrapped present, also a blank canvas for you to add fun bows or embellishments to.  Stop in later this afternoon for all the fancy stuff via my sister.  Thanks for reading today!  +Brock

Thanks so much for your gift wrapping lessons Brock!  I did my best to follow your rules when wrapping your gift.  Can't wait for you to see it Christmas morning and see what a good job I did!  Merry Christmas Eve Everyone!  Will be back later this afternoon with a little pretty you can add to your perfectly wrapped packages ♥  Christy

DIY Christmas Ornaments

This past weekend all the kids were home at my parents house, and I thought it would be fun to do a quick little Christmas crafting project with the girls.  I saw this pin on pinterest and decided it was the perfect DIY.  What I love about this project is that there is a really good chance you already have everything you need to create them.

What You Need:
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup flour
Sharpies
Straw
String
Drinking glass or cookie cutter

To make the dough recipe simply mix the salt, water and flour with a mixer.  This is a lot like the homemade play dough your mama used to make for you.  If you wanted you could also add some food coloring to create a colored affect, but I really liked the natural look of the dough.

Roll the dough out between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick.  I found the thinner the better.  Then cut shapes with a drinking glass (for circles) or cookie cutters if you would like to do another shape.

Use a straw to poke a hole in the top of the ornament.

Now bake at 250*F for about two hours or until the dough feels dried out to the touch.

After the ornaments cool, simply draw on them with sharpies.  Don't feel confident in your drawing skills?  Neither did I.  The camera ornament is actually a rub on I got from the scrapbooking section.

This would also be a really great project you can do with kids, because crayons work well on the baked dough.  They would also make really fun and unique gift tags.  One batch of dough makes about 12 three inch circle ornaments.

Happy Christmas Creating!

Australia Autumn DIY

It is that time of year: Tights and Boots, Hot Tea and Biscuits, Scarves and Sweaters, Cozy Blankets and Glowing Fires.  And Candles.  Lots and lots of candles.  Yes Autumn has hit Australia my friends so I wanted to stop in with a little Australia Autumn DIY.

True, we burn candles year round.  But in the Autumn and Winter months there seems to being a continuous flicker of candlelight in our room, plus it seems to add a bit of warmth (that may all be in my head, but I will take it).  

To make this candle holder all you need is a clear glass container and a sharpie.  It is so simple.  Chose and design or pattern and draw.  

I chose a classic herringbone pattern but I think chevron, polka dots, or even writing text would be fun. You can use any color sharpie as well.  I am so in love with gold right now so it was a natural choice.  

Other things I am in love with right now: this Green Jasmine & Pear tea by Madame Flavour and Rusks which are a South African biscuit that you dip in hot drinks.  They melt in your mouth.  My beautiful friend Monique has me started on them and I am not going to stop.  

How about you, what are you loving about Australia Autumn or for some of you, Unites States Spring?

Love, Christy

Make Your Own Dino Shirt

Clothes aren't the easiest thing for me to come by here in Australia.  They are pricey and fit oddly.  What can I say, I was made in America.  One of the stapes in Dane and my closet is our white t-shirt collection.  The other day it was HOT out, and I wanted a cute graphic tank to wear with my maxi skirt.  So I started looking at what I had on hand and decided, I can make one!  It was super simple!

Gather some supplies:
A white t-shirt (although colored ones would work as well)
A piece of cardboard the size of the design you want to create
A sharpie
A stencil

So Dane gave me this book of fun stencils from Typo last year.  When he got it for me, I knew the possibilities were pretty much endless.  Let the creativity flow!

1.  First pick a design.  I chose a dinosaur because it made me smile.

2. Place your cardboard in between your two layers of t-shirt so the sharpie doesn't bleed through.

3.  Place your stencil on the t-shirt and trace around it with Sharpie.

4.  Color between the lines.

5.  Throw the shirt in the drier or set it in the sun to get the Sharpie to set.

So the possibilities are endless with this!  I am sure fabric markers would work even better but I didn't have any on hand.  I have also washed the shirt and didn't have any problems with bleeding or fading.  Yay!

So there ya go!  If you don't have any plans, you should try and make one this weekend!

Happy Creating!  Christy