Gifted Magazine from Creature Comforts

If you haven't heard or seen this little lovely and read it like a hundred times, honestly...where have you been?  This little piece of heaven, aka Gifted Magazine, is a gorgeous online holiday magazine curated by the loveliest of all, Ms. Ez of Creature Comforts.  I have been mildly (ok, crazy) obsessed with her blog since the beginning.  Do you remember your first blog crushes? Well, Ez was my very first.  She still is one of my all-time favorites.  AND... this girl can make one heck of a magazine.  Honestly, someone (editors can you hear me???) give this fabulous lady a magazine.  oh...wait. She's so amazing, she already got herself one.  And it rocks.

Gifted Magazine is the perfect holiday gift guide.  It even has DIYs to die for.  This little darling below is on my to do list. It is why I just had 24 gauge wire lying around to make the tinsel words.  And with mere weeks to go...I am gonna make this wreath this week.  Such a simple idea, but my pretty little head is just buzzing about with options to use this twistie tie theory. Adore.



Still stumped about what to get for someone? Or what to make?  Go indulge yourself and view the completely FREE and completely AWESOME Gifted Magazine...or revisit it over and over and dream of having it in print...dear santa, I have been (mostly) good this year...

Visions of Loveliness - Holiday Carnival

Hello sweeties, I hope you had a lovely weekend! I have been waiting anxiously for this little pretty post by Sharon of Cupcakes and Cutlery.  Ever since she told me it was carnival themed I have been dying to see it.  and...it is fabulous...could it ever not be?  Take it away my lovely...

Sharon says, "I have yet to pick one look for my Christmas decorating. This year, though, I am totally feeling a Christmas carnival vibe. If I had the energy and time to start all my holiday decorating for this theme, this board is what I would aim for it to look like. I think it would be a super fun holiday party theme too. It could be really casual, sort of naughty feeling with the homemade peppermint liquor and bright, gaudy colors, fun for kids and adults and totally unexpected! I hope you all have a fantastic holiday!!!!"

SOURCES:

MILK AND STRAW
RED SHOES AND STRIPED TIGHTS
WHITE XMAS TREE
HOMEMADE PEPPERMINT LIQUOR
XMAS BINGO
CANDY APPLES
BALLOON SHADOWS
VINTAGE INSPIRED ORNAMENTS BY INDIGO BUNTING DESIGN
XMAS LIGHTS
XMAS COTTON CANDY
CARNIVAL TICKET FLOWER
WHITE AND BLACK CREPE PAPER
RECYCLED RECORD ORNAMENTS
"CHRISTMAS" CARD
GINGERBREAD FAVORS
BALLOON WREATH
FUNNEL CAKE
FAVOR BAGS

A BIG MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO SHARON! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR BEAUTIFUL COLORFUL WORLD WITH US!

XO

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Happy Holidays! Here's a roundup of some little lovelies.  I am also pleased to announce that you can find MORE gift guides over on Cupcakes and Cutlery and   Green4u (We decided to unveil these babies together for more shopping goodness, tons of goodness)

I just added to it this morning so there will be more goodies sprinkled around the month...Enjoy!

BROADS THAT BAKE

rollings of cinnamon apron ice milk aprons $85

spoon recipe cards rifle paper co. $10

rolling pin williams sonoma $18

individual pie tin donna hay $2.95

dining room measuring spoons anthropologie $24

 

LADY LUXE

ribbed fingerless gloves Gap $20

drapey bow earrings anthropologie $30

essie 4 pack of polish jcrew  $20

doodles pen kate spade $45

merino throw pendelton  $98

 

FETE FANATIC

calligraphy return address stamp emilie friday’s $49

best ever cupcake icing kit bake it pretty $17

pink round cake stand sweet and saucy supply $65

cupcake tray sprinkles $25

weekly calendar kate spade $18

 

LITTLE ONES

dachshund “lola” strawberries and cream $27

organic skittles bowling set little sapling toys $21

catalina tablet desk pottery barn kids $79

furry bear hoodie gap $25

little fox teething toy little sapling toys $12

stroller blanket baby dry goods $38

 

FOR HIM & (MORE) FOR HER

"the boy mechanic" popular mechanics $10

pop rocks glass jonathan adler $

plaid scarf lands end $29

leather iphone case restoration hardware $39

cashmere lined gloves jcrew $98

fifth avenue stripe earmuffs kate spade $65

wanderlust pacifica solid perfume set sephora $15

gillian o'malley slippers target $10

Hmmm....and Santa... if you can find these kate spade bourgeois bow earrings from last year...I will love you forever!!!

PS - those lovely velvet bows and sequins are graphics from the amazing pugly pixel

Super Quick Advent Calendar Printable

Hello Lovelies!  I just made this little countdown this afternoon because I completely lost track of time and never made the gorgeous one I have in my dreams...for the second year running.   I was incredibly inspired by the pretty little countdown over on Potter and Butler yesterday using her fabulous gracious garland.

...now I have a little calendar countdown set of cute little ornaments and its easy and you can whip one out right now.  Easy peasy.  I made it for my 2 3/4' round punch because I don't like cutting circles.  I tried the circle cutter today and jabbed myself in the finger putting the tip on.  Ouch.  So, I added few more pages so the circles had more space for punching.  Punch each number out.  Punch a hole on top.  Run some thread and voila- 24 mini ornaments ready for countdown.  It's our first year doing this tradition, so I had to bat the boys away from putting ALL of them up at once.  I had the card holder, but you could also just string a piece of twine or ribbon and line them up with clothespins across the walls.  More pictures coming tomorrow, my light is already gone today.  But if you make this (or Emily's) tonight, you are still perfectly on schedule.  Enjoy.

Get your countdown HERE. Get Emily's prettier and more sophisticated one here.

Lolly Garland Tutorial over on A FABULOUS FETE

Hello all! I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday.  It's my favorite time of year...when it's officially time to celebrate Christmas, even though my tree has been up for possibly one or two weeks...ahem. Anyhoo, without further ado...Go get your craft on with a super simple and super cute garland/ornament/cupcake topper tutorial I did for Lauren over on a fabulous fete. Enjoy!

Tinsel Word DIY

Hello! So, while we were putting up Christmas decorations this weekend, I ended up with extra garland.  Me? no way... This mini tinsel garland was the perfect antiqued silver color and I had just purchased it at Target.  I was outnumbered by the boys and told there will be NO garland on the tree.  What??? Since this year is the first where the mini men have been big enough to really help decorate the tree, I gave in, after a lot of whining on my side.  So yep.  I'm obsessed with garland...and I have none on my tree.  I'll let it slide this year. But I just couldn't bear to put this cute little tinsel in the attic.  I don't have a mantel...or a staircase...hmmm...

I had just purchased wire for another holiday project and thought about those cheesy hanging decorations made of tinsel...perfect!  Mine is way more chic, no?

So, supply wise, a roll of picture hanging wire (from a hardware store) and about 16 ft of tinsel.  The mini tinsel works best with the thin wire. By all means use the big stuff if you want something huge, just remember to increase the gauge of the wire so it's stronger. 

Before you start, lay out your word/letter/design to check that you have enough tinsel, it would be terrible if you ran out and ended up with "ho"

Use the wire cutter attached to the roll packaging or a pair of wire cutters if you have them. Cut about two foot sections of wire to start.  It is easier to attach two pieces of wire together later.  Also, cut a bunch of little 2 inch pieces of wire.  You will use these to secure the tinsel to the wire.

Now it's time to start wrapping.  Twist the ends of the wire and tinsel to secure it together.  Add a 2 inch piece and twist like a twistie tie.  Wrap the garland around and around to cover the wire.  I did mine kind of loosely, it's certainly not dense, but I needed lots of little pieces twisted on to secure it. It is more a matter of personal preference.

Keep going until you get to the end of the piece of wire.  At the end, twist a new piece of wire to join the new section and continue down the line.  After you have a large length of tinsel covered wire, start forming your letters.  Use the smaller "twistie" pieces to secure the letter formations and any loosened tinsel.  Twist, bend, twist. 

The thin wire is easy to work with, and forms the letters nicely.  The word will still need some support when hanging.  I used about 6 push pins to attach it to my wall, placed in the cross of the h's,on e dead center and two on the ends. I did this quickly, in under an hour.  You could use a heavier gauge wire, but it might be more difficult to work with.

Wouldn't this be cute as initials for a holiday wedding or a baby shower? 

Enjoy and have a fabulous holiday week! Let me know if the pictures are too small to see, I have been having way too much fun with Picasa!

Happy Holiday Hints

Hello, we interrupt our regularly scheduled Wednesday Wonderfulness for an important holiday entertaining message. If you are one of those lovelies that can restrain themselves to decorate until after Thanksgiving, this is especially for you. If you have been decorated for a week or more (Thanksgiving, what Thanksgiving?) then this is still helpful, too. This is a public service announcement for all. There are some things that must be purchased for the holidays NOW. As in yesterday, literally.


Rule number one…anything you like in one of the gorgeous gift spreads in the pretty holiday magazines should be purchased right now. That is if there is still stock left…go check…

I’ll wait right here…

okay, good.

Next, entertaining goodies are a plethora right now. You will have more selection now,than at any other time of the year. If you like to host parties this season or next, you must take advantage of the increased supply of options. Do you have a wedding in spring or summer? In all honesty, this is the easiest time to find mercury glass. Period. I have my eye on this lovely at Ballard Designs. I guarantee you will not be able to find this baby in July, even though I would argue that its beautiful antiqued silver finish would look lovely with red and blue stripes and stars. But really, I have been looking for one of these for-like-ever. Well here it is.
Mercury Pedestal at Ballard Designs

This is also a perfect time to stock up on neutral serveware…aka cake stands and tiered servers. I am a yearlong shopper. I will buy any (and every) reasonably priced option I find in my shopping adventures. I always check sales and to be honest…these sales coming up next week are the best. Had your eye on an 8” cake stand by the lovely Martha at Macys? Well, I just got the square version this weekend for a grand total of $13. Can you say additional % off of the already awesome sale price? Always keep an eye out for great basics that you can get for cheap, like really cheap. You will always use them, and if you have an arsenal, how adorable will those biscuits look at brunch on a pretty little stand?

Why am I telling you this? Because it is a great tip if you are just starting to want to design pretty parties. Because you are at the mall or browsing online anyway. Because if you don’t get certain items now, when you go looking for them the weekend before your holiday fete…the good stuff will be gone and you will be stuck with an overpriced dessert tray with an ugly reindeer on it. Yes, I don’t care if you get servers with reindeer on them…but beware, after next weekend all the cute ones will be gone. Really.

I offer this advice from experience. That, in past years, I have browsed, gone home, debated and in some instances, when I returned the VERY NEXT DAY…my coveted lovelies were gone. Now what’s a girl to do. Shop smarter next year. So, finally today, I will share with you some of my goodies...get it while it’s hot and the shipping is free…

Isn’t this pretty. I found it in the candle section this weekend. How perfect would little macarons or mini meringues be on this? Remember to think outside the box. Pottery Barn Tiered Server

These guys are really hard to find and sell out quick. I can’t tell you how many times my chosen set of Williams Sonoma cookie cutters were gone upon the second trip. Really. And these have little messages you can write. Combine the holiday sayings with the original message cookies…especially the scalloped cutter…too darn cute. Williams Sonoma Cookie Cutters

Dear little tablecloth made of festive tartan, you have eluded me two years running. You can’t hide, I love you and you will be mine. Williams Sonoma Tartan Tablecloth (placemat shown)

This baby is under $15 bucks. I have it in white. This is a perfect neutral and you could even use it at Thanksgiving. Sur La Table Wire Dessert Stand

Cute gift tags are a PAIN to find. Don’t leave wrapping to the last minute. Well, leave the wrapping part. Get your supplies ASAP. I would use these around napkins as place settings. Zinc Tags at terrain.

Got a West Elm catalog in the mail yesterday afternoon. Fell in love with this. What to put on it. Don’t care, just know it would be perfect in the arsenal. This baby is made of porcelain and is NOT on the website. Call to order or visit the stores…West Elm Porcelain Petit Four Stand 16-3096443 (that’s the catalog item number, just in case you heed my warnings…)

Okay, at the very top is a cute basic ruffle edge cake stand I picked up at Pier One. It was $14.99. Nuff said. (Santa is from Target - isn't he cute?)

Finally, don’t walk by ornaments you love just because it’s early…er mid…November. (I might purchase an ornament or two in October, don’t judge me.) They will not be there. Or they will only be online, and who orders just one ornament online? Not me.

So there you have it. My little bit about entertaining goodies and how you can accumulate the good stuff for cheap so it’s there when you need it. Just think, if you follow my advice, you will be able to focus on decorating the cookies and not what you’re going to put them on. A plate with an ugly reindeer on it…for shame, unless you embrace Christmas sweaters, then carry on!

So my little hunters- good luck and best dishes.

xo,

Jenny