.my Christmas wish list.

*Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway!

image source

.my Christmas wish list.  Since I have been focusing so much on getting others what I think they will like for Christmas, I thought I would share some lovely items I might want... ok, I do want.  So today, as my final Christmas in July post, I bring to you my Christmas wish list.  .my Christmas wish list.

*Freedom--In Search Of (Silver) by Sparkle Thots
*Shoes from Hydra Heart, I am loving the style of these, and colors of these and these, and these are so cute for a mom & daughter hint, hint.
*By Grace Alone Necklace by Lisa Leonard Designs
*Most Wanted Books: Alabama Stitch Book, Alabama Studio Style, Handmade Nation, Handmade Home, & A Homemade Life.
*Other Books: The Creative Family, Linen, Wool, Cotton, Sewing Bits and Pieces, Weekend Sewing, Amy Butler's In Stitches, & Seams to Me.
*Most Wanted Magazines: Martha Stewart Living & Ready Made
*Other Magazines: Woman's Day, All You, Better Homes and Gardens, Taste of Home, & Cooking Light.
*Cd's: Jack Johnson's To the Sea, & Colbie Caillat's Breakthrough. (PS: If this cd was available I would love, love, love it.  Sophie Madeleine has an amazing voice.)
*A sign like this, with these colors.
*Or a sign like the one in this precious picture.

.a Christmas wrap-up.

*Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway!

 picture source: d Sharp journal

.a Christmas wrap-up.  As the end of July approaches I have only 9 more gifts left on my Christmas list!  This is quite amazing to me as most cannot be bought until December itself, because they are either unknown secret Santa recipients, gift cards, or food items.  I love that I feel like I accomplished a lot this month to prepare for this fall & winter.  Hopefully this means I will be able to fully enjoy this Holiday season, stress free. 

In doing the Christmas in July series on the blog, I found numerous websites filled with ideas that I would like to try out, when I have time.  Including the simple and beautiful advent calendar pictured above that was found via Design Sponge, and made by d Sharp journal.  Seriously, how easy & fun.  This winter I am also going to make some ornaments that I didn't have time for this month.  And most of all I am going to have fun Celebrating the real reason to be filled with joy, the birth of Christ.  Thank you for taking this journey with me, as always Merry Christmas this July! .a Christmas wrap-up.
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In my guest post at Silver Strands this week I wrote about my favorite Christmas song called When Love Came Down.  I wrote about it because it inspires me all year round.  I feel like it is too good to not share here as well.  The song is written by by Chris Eaton, and sung by Point of Grace.  I love every line and it is a favorite all year round, I hope it will inspire you as well.  To listen to this beautiful song go here.
 Here are the wonderful Lyrics:

Close your eyes and share the dream
Let everyone on earth believe
The Child was born, the stars shone bright
And Love came down at Christmas time
And Love came down at Christmas time

Christmas Eve, 2 am
Heavy snow is falling down
And the streets clothed in white
Echo songs that were sung by candlelight

We're alive, we can breathe
But do we really care for this world in need?
There's a choice we must make each and every day

So close your eyes and share the dream
Let everyone on earth believe
The Child was born, the stars shone bright
And Love came down at Christmas time
And Love came down at Christmas time

So Merry Christmas everyone
And Peace throughout the year
The time has come to celebrate
So let your voices fill the air
Everyone, watch and pray that the sun will shine on a brighter day
Join your hands, lift them high
For this gift of life

When Love came down at Christmas time
When Love came down at Christmas time
When Love came down at Christmas time
When Love came down at Christmas time

So close your eyes and share the dream
Let everyone on earth believe
The Child was born, the stars shone bright
And Love came down at Christmas time
And Love came down at Christmas time

.little gifts, wine sleeves.

.little gifts, wine sleeves.  I always ask my family what they want for their Birthdays and Christmas.  That way they get what they want or need and I don't have to see disappointment in their face if I give a bad gift.  I usually don't ask my sister Hilary because we are so similar in taste that if I like it so will she. In general this has worked out.  This year my mom told me she wanted wine for Christmas.  Since I don't drink wine and have no clue what is good, I went to the store with a specific list of what my mom likes and I also asked a guy who worked there for help.  Hopefully she will like what I picked out. 

With wine being my subject matter, I wanted to dress up the bottles a bit.  A couple years ago one of my Aunts gave us a bottle of wine for Christmas with a fancy wine sleeve on it.  So, I decided to make a bunch of wine sleeves to go with the bottles.  The sleeves are made from old sweaters that are no longer in use & worked perfect for this project.  .little gifts, wine sleeves.

Here is the step by step, (it looks long but it's not - I promise):

To make wine sleeves you need: an old sweater, a sewing machine, marker (optional) & thread.

1. Gather your materials and thread your sewing machine. 
2. Take a sleeve from your sweater and measure from end down roughly 12 inches. 
*If your working from the mid section of a sweater measure out a piece that is 12" long and 8 1/2" wide.

*all pictures are labeled with coordinating step number.

3. Cut sweater sleeve straight across at the 12 inch mark. 
*If working from a mid-section cut 12" by 8 1/2" piece and sew down the long side, making it 12" by 4".

4. (optional) Draw a semi circle where you just cut, this will be the bottom of the wine sleeve.
5. Sew the semi circle by either tracing what you drew or by eyeballing it.
6. Trim excess fabric.

7. Take the flat piece and find the middle of the bottom, lining up the ends.  This will make a bulge, just try to make it as flat as possible. 
8. Sew a straight line across, roughly 3/4" from longest point.  This is to make the bottom flatter. 
9. Trim excess fabric.
10. Flip inside out & place on wine bottle.  Enjoy!

*If there is bulging at the bottom of the sleeve, after placing it on wine bottle,  you may need to sew up the side a bit to make it straight all the way up.  This usually happens on looser fitting and larger sweaters.

.guest blogging.

When Love Came Down is found in a christmas story.

.guest blogging.  Today I am guest blogging over at Silver Strands.  I am also having a giveaway over there, and offering a coupon code for 10% off all items in my shop.  .guest blogging.

Here is a peak at what I wrote about:

....I believe that most people are inspired by Christmas songs so I will share my favorite one with you today, called When Love Came Down. It is sung by Point of Grace & written by Chris Eaton. Christmas should be about Christ & this song is a simple reminder of why we all get to be filled with joy and Celebrate.....

....continue to Silver Strands to finish reading & to enter the giveaway.

.Christmas, update.

.Christmas, update.  I have 6 out of 26 gifts done, fully wrapped, tagged, and ready to go.  Out of the 26, 5 gifts cannot be purchased until we swap names in our home group & I find out the gender of our baby (bringing the count to 6 out of 21 gifts done).  Then there are the gifts of food.... I believe that at least 3 of those gifts will be food, I am going to spare the recipients with buying those items until we are really close to giving them so they do not spoil or start to grow funk before hand (now the count is at 6 out of 18). 

Also, two gifts are purchased just not wrapped, one gift is ordered via Internet & has not come just yet, and another is a gift card I will purchase closer to Christmas itself.  With that being said I really only have less then ten gifts to get before the end of this week in order to fulfill my Christmas in July goal.  We will see if that happens or not, but either way I am pleased that at least half of my Christmas shopping is out of the way.  I truly think it will help me be able to relax and celebrate this winter.  .Christmas, update.

Below are some links to great savings, buying gifts online really has cut costs:

*For the men in your life get 20% off at NFL.com automatically for today only!
*Get 80% off, till July 31st, at Restaurant.com with the promo code: PLATE
*Get 25% off everything (including sale and clearance), till July 31st, at DaySpring with the promo code: THANKS2010
*Get 15% off everything (including sale and clearance), till July 31st, at Night Owl Paper Goods go to this cute blog for the promo code. 
*Check out Amazon's daily deals for lots of great gift ideas.
*And check out all of the FREE items you can get at Vista Print this summer.  I got a flip book for someones upcoming Birthday and I got a banner for whenever I start to do craft shows. All I had to do was pay shipping.  AWESOME.
*Also check back here later today/tomorrow because I am going to have a giveaway & a promo code for 10% off to my shop.

.little gifts, no peaking mask.

.little gifts, no peaking mask.   Today's little add on gift is a no peaking mask!  This would pair perfectly with a spa relaxation gift.  Or you could use it as a tag on the outside and write no peaking on it!  How cute.  The tutorial is from my sister Hilary who just started a blog over at the ant hil.  Please pay her blog a visit to thank her & see a really, really, cute drawing that she posted yesterday.  Have a wonderful day & Merry Christmas, in July! .little gifts, no peaking mask.
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Hello all, this is Hilary from the ant hil.  As part of her "Christmas in July" series, Dez has asked me to share a tutorial for an easy add on gift for Christmas.  Thus I present you with the "No peaking until Christmas" sleep mask tutorial!  Although there are a lot of steps this mask is super easy and can be made quick for a last minute gift.

no peaking until Christmas sleep mask

Materials:  fabric for front of mask- about 6'' by 10'', coordinating silky fabric for back of mask, strap- one piece 6'' by 10',' and another strap 1.5'' by 20'', coordinating thread, thin elastic-13.5'' in length, fusible fleece interfacing (quilt batting can substitute), ribbon/trim (optional).

Tools:  sewing machine, pins, ruler/measuring tape, pen/pencil, needle, knife, safety pin, over-sized sun glasses (optional)

1)  Cut and press fabric (be sure to adjust the iron settings for the different fabrics)

2)  Fold the longest piece in half lengthwise and pin.  Sew with a seam allowance large enough for your elastic to fit through.  My elastic is 1/4'' and I used a seam allowance of 1/2''.  Don't forget to back stitch at the ends!

3)  Trim the fabric strip to 1/8'' then use a safety pin to turn the strip right side out.  Use the safety pin again to slide the elastic through the tube.  Secure the ends of the elastic with pins.

4)  Sew the ends of the elastic close, back stitching a couple of times to secure.  Trim the ends of the elastic.  You are now finished with the strap, set it aside for later.

5)  Lay your sunglasses on a sheet of paper and roughly sketch around them for the mask shape.  In order to have a mask that blocks out light it will need to be much larger than the glasses- take this into consideration when sketching your pattern.  Also, remember to account for seam allowance!

6)  Cut out the pattern, for symmetry fold the paper in half before cutting.

7)  You can either iron on the fusible fleece interfacing now or after cutting the pattern pieces.  Iron to the wrong side of the fabric following the interface's instructions.  For a softer sleep mask, use the fleece interfacing on both the front and back of the mask.

8)  Pin your pattern to the fabric and cut out both front and back pieces.  If you did not already apply the interfacing you will need to cut out one or two pieces of interfacing as well and repeat step 7.

9)  Now is the time to add any embellishments to the front of your mask.  Just remember not to put anything too close to the edges.  For my mask I added a simple bow by hand stitching it on.

10)  Pin your elastic strap at even heights to the back of your mask's right side.  I pinned mine near the middle of each side.  Make sure the strap doesn't get twisted as you pin it.

11)  Pin the front and back of the the mask together with right sides facing each other, sandwiching the elastic.  Make sure the elastic strap stays near the center to ensure it won't get sewn into the mask.

12)  Using a 1/4'' seam allowance, begin sewing at the top side of the mask.  Continue sewing around the mask; leave at least 1.5'' to turn the mask right side out.

13)  Trim if needed around the corners of the mask- do not trim near the opening.  Turn right side out, use a knife to even out the edges from the inside.  Press to smooth out any wrinkles.

14)  Top stitch around the mask or hand stitch to secure the opening.  I used a blind stitch for my mask's closure for a seamless finish.
15)  Package as an add on gift for a friend or use for yourself to relax during the holidays!

I hope you all enjoyed, thanks for having me- xoxo hill

.little gift... coming soon.

.little gift... coming soon.  I have one more little gift project to share with you all, however the tutorial didn't get finished... yet.  We are sick around here, and by we I mean the little one, and that means that I have more work on my hands then usual.  So today is a sick day.  I will post my other little project sometime next week, stay tuned... it has something to do with wine if that sparks your interest.  Also tomorrow I will have a guest blogger, my first!  I am excited to share her wonderful ideas with you. .little gift... coming soon.

.little gifts, cake stands.

Tea party cake stands

.little gifts, cake stands.  Do you ever bring gifts for the host of the party?  I normally do not, just because I never know what to get.  However, I wish I did & I think it's awesome when people do.... because, lets be honest, hosting a party is a lot of work. 

My mom always brought a little gift to give to the host, even if it was a tray of cookies the host always seemed delighted and very thankful.  I think that bringing a tin or plate of cookies is great, but think they would be so much better on a cake stand! 

One of my favorites!

I came up with how to make these cake stands after trying to find cheep versions for my sisters bridal shower tea party (next summer, yes I am on top of things).  I couldn't find any under $20.00 anywhere, so I decided to make my own. 

All you need is one ridiculously cute plate and a base.  The base could be a cup, candle holder, martini glass, vase, wine glass, or anything that looks sturdy.  I made a bunch for Hill's shower and the cost of about 8 of them was around $25.00, thanks to goodwill.  Although I originally made mine for a tea party they could also make great gifts accompanied with Christmas treats to give to a party host.  .little gifts, cake stands.

This is a perfect plate for a white Christmas!

To make these cake stands:

All you need is: cute plate, cute base, e6000, q-tips.

1. Pick out one plate and one base, make sure they work well together and the base will fit inside the bottom of the plate.

2. Clean plate and base.

3. After letting dry, turn plate upside down & place base right side up.

4. Place a strong layer of E6000 around the rim of base top (where it will be connected to the plate).

5. Turn base upside down and press firmly onto plate bottom, making sure that it is centered and even.

6. Clean up extra glue with a q-tip (might require more then one).

7. Make sure base and plate are still centred with one another & leave it alone for one day.  AS IN DO NOT TOUCH (I made the mistake of flipping some early & I had to start over). 

8.  After one day, you can flip over and use! 

Congrats you just made an easy and adorable little gift (after use, hand wash only).

.little gifts, mini journals.

.little gifts, mini journals.  This past week, I have really been focusing on getting people checked off from my Christmas list.  I bought someone (can't say who) a really cool pencil set from Paper Pastries, and I needed an extra gift to put with them.  I thought a journal would be great - but I didn't want to make a big one so I decided mini was the way to go.  After making a couple, I decided that 4" x 6" was the perfect size and vowed to make a whole slew of them with a bunch of card stock I had in my stash (hooray for some destash!). 

They are very simple to make, and when you put two or three together they make the perfect addition to any gift.  They will be great for jotting down notes, lists for the store, anything really and they are small enough to practically fit anywhere. .little gifts, mini journals.

To make these mini journals:
1. take a piece of card stock and cut it 8.25" by 6" (so their a little bit bigger on the 4" side, but that's ok).
2. grab 12 sheets of paper to fill your book, cutting it a little bit smaller then the outside card stock.  I cut mine, 8" by 5.75". 
3. fold all pieces in half, This works best if you do the card stock separate & then do the 12 sheets in groups of 4. 
4. flatten out paper, line up so paper & card stock are centered, punch with crop-a-dile: one on each end.
5. take some string/thread/ribbon and put through.  Tie & close.
6. Admire what you made! You have a lovely mini journal. 

I am placing mine in groups of three for the perfect addition to any gift.  I also made so many that some will be available in the shop soon, if you would rather not cut and tie :).  Have a lovely day!

.shop update.

.shop update.  Yesterday between cleaning our kitchen and taking the little one to the doctor I managed to snap a few pictures of some new rings for the shop.  They are part of Lydia's Treasures, specifically the new garden collection.  The new garden rings feature a cabochon chrysanthemum flower on top of an antique filigree adjustable ring.  The four new rings I have listed are with the colors, lime, light pink, teal, and purple.  I hope you enjoy looking at them.  .shop update.

.christmas in july, sales.

.christmas in july, sales.  Right now all over the web, many stores are offering Christmas in July sales.  Above are a few of my favorites found via searching on etsy.  If you type in Christmas in July on etsy hundreds of products will show up, some are so cute they are worth searching for. .christmas in july, sales.

1. ophelia's apoth. e. cary. $7.50

2. riri creations $18.00

3. sun basil garden $5.00

4. k is for calligraphy $11.00

.ornament to do.

muffin tin mom

.ornament to do.  I have failed at getting ornaments made this week.  Life was just too busy.  And by busy I mean CRAZY - yes it needed to be all caps.  Our church hosts vacation bible school every summer, as many do, and goes ALL OUT.  This year we had over 500 children participate!  Both awesome and a little scary at the same time.  I love seeing all the little ones learn about the love of our awesome God & singing silly songs and making crafts with them is just as fun. 

Elise

Enough about vbs though.  I did make a few ornaments from this tutorial by Elise.  They turned out alright, not nearly as perfect as hers.  Below is a list of the ornaments I would love to make for this upcoming Christmas season.  .ornament to do.

how to do something

to do, ornament list:
teardrop ornament by a little hut
ruffle pomander ornament by kojo designs
cardboard stars by muffin tin mom
felt ornament by crafty pod
old book ornament by how to do something

kojo designs

...and for more ornament link love visit one pretty thing, go to her categories, and find all of her fabulous links to ornaments, trust me you will not be disappointed.  Her site is a marvel of wonderful tutorials and idea inspiration.

.ornament swap.

Saidos da Concha

.ornament swap.  I was going to try to make a ridiculous amount of ornament's this week.... But, life got busy and with a one year old, baby on the way, and vacation bible school my house is all sorts of crazy right now.  I did manage to make a couple and will post them tomorrow, granted I find my camera battery charger and have time to charge it.  For now though you can go to Terri's Notebook and look at her flickr group for her Ornament Swap this July.  The swap is closed, but there are some great ideas for you to get started on.  While your at flickr just type in ornament and be amazed at all the beauties, or just click here.  I am loving the birds I found on there... and may have to get the pattern.  .ornament swap.

.christmas tags, freebie list.

image source: a fanciful twist

.christmas tags, freebie list.  The other day when I made some Christmas tags I only made a handful.  One was because I am not sure I love them.  And two because there are so many free wonderful tags you can find online and print for yourself.  Below is a great collection, if you know of anymore send the links my way and I will add it to this long list.  Prepare yourself, some are utterly adorable and you may just be tempted to print them all. .christmas tags, freebie list.

image source: a little hut

free printables:

*mushy  *martha's clip art tags  *dr. seuss  *a fanciful twist  *inside a black apple  *vol.25  *camilla engman  *a little hut  *kitty genius  *yoonie-at-home  *kelly hicks  *something  *sew mama sew (pdf file)  *heiko  *lucky crow  *the blog studio  *sublime stitching  *sweet jessie  *grand revival  *creature comforts

image from benign objects

multiple print outs:

*mixed bag of treats  *little window shop  *benign objects  *the small object

image from sonoma garden

circular tags:

*lolly chops  *lolly chops #2  *sonoma garden

images from: a little hut & zakka life

crafty gift tag ideas:

*a spoonful of sugar  *zakka life  *zakka life #2  *a little hut   *lolly chops (mailing lables)

.holiday gift tags.

.holiday gift tags.  I believe that wrapping a gift in a great way is almost as important as giving the gift itself.  I love seeing beautiful packages as it shows that you truly care and did not just throw something together last minute.  Gift tags are part of the packaging and I created some for this upcoming Christmas season.  .holiday gift tags.

To make these simple tags I used, one maila file folder, Japanese washi tape from cute tape, my crop-a-dile, my paper cutter, some string, and our printer.  First I printed 12 pictures of the words Merry Christmas, using HP PSG font, onto one side of a maila file folder (cut the folder in half before putting it into the printer).  Then I cut the pictures apart, trimming the top corners to look more like a store tag.  I added some washi tape to give it more of a Christmas look, trimming the flat end after applying the tape. Then I punched a hole and added some string.  So simple, yet so cute.  Now I have a bunch made up for when I do finish getting the presents and wrapping them.

.shopping trades.

two down - wrapped with Christmas card stock

Yes this is a long post - but a seriously great discount is below... scroll down if you want to, I don't want you to miss out on the fabulous deal by restaurants.com

.shopping trades.  Since I have vowed to get all my shopping done I thought I would update you all on my progress.  So far I have zero two gifts complete out of 26 - my bad.  I do have some partial gifts and items coming in the mail as we speak.  However, all my shopping and wrapping and tagging is what I would like completed by August 1st - so I better get on it!  Of course, if this does not happen we do still have a couple months until they need to appear below a well decorated tree. 

A couple gifts that I am giving this year were found via oh, hello friend's online shop trade.  Even though it was a summer guide, I got a couple fabulous gifts from new online friends who were willing to trade with me.  This list is great for gifts both now and at Christmas, there is also a huge variety and you will be bound to find something.  If you have an online store you can contact any seller and see if they would be willing to trade you items - if not go there anyways and look at all the lovely stores.  Trading items is a great way to save money while shopping for others.  If any of you are interested I have a shop and am open for trades.

I read somewhere that by shopping online you can save a ton of money.  I have been doing a lot of online shopping lately and have to agree that this is true.  I usually am able to find the best deal online by looking at a number of different sites that sell a product, including eBay and amazon.  You would be surprised what you can find on eBay in new condition.  I have also learned that by shopping online I can look up coupon codes and apply them to some of my favorite online stores.  I always go to retail me not first in order to look up coupon codes.  I find they are the most accurate and provide me with the best deals.  Thanks to them I have saved a ton of money so far. 

Another great website I have gone to is restaurant.com, let me just say I first used their site last week and am now addicted and not turning back.  Here's how they work, you go to their site, pick out a restaurant in your area (search by zip code or by state, more restaurants in large city areas), and purchase a gift certificate by value.  Most of the $25 gift certificates cost only $10! 
After going to retail me not to search for a bigger discount I found out that through the rest of today only you can save 80% more using the code: FUN (big or little caps, I don't think it matters).  That's right I said 80% off, meaning a normal $25 gift certificate that originally costs $10 will only cost you $2!!! SERIOUSLY, you are buying a $25 gift certificate for only 2 bucks. 
There are some fine print rules regarding the use of the certificates but they are small in detail compared to the amount of money you will be saving.  And if for some reason you don't feel like picking a restaurant right this minute, or you need a gift for someone, you can buy gift certificates to restaurant.com and still use the discount.  I purchased a dinner of the month club package worth $175 towards restaurants and it only cost me $12.00 - and yes I am still in complete shock.  I plan on using some of these as Christmas gifts, because you can customize them to anyone after they show up in your account.

I have also been able to save by shopping at garage sales and thrift stores like goodwill and the salvation army.  I found a number of small toys for Lydia so far and their condition is fairly good.  All I have to do is wash them up and a couple gifts for Lydia are complete.  This year I would like to stick with a kitchen theme for her... so if you see any toys that would fit perfectly in a little girls kitchen and you live in southern WI - let me know.  Specifically, a toddler shopping cart & a play kitchen set (although it may be too big to fit in our apartment), thanks :)

I hope this helps you shop smart and think about all you can save for this upcoming season.  Even though its July these great ways to save can be used all year round.  Now go to restaurant.com and seriously save yourself some dough for a date night.  .shopping trades.

.wreath wrap up.

.simply.simon.

.wreath wrap up.  This week I have been all about making wreaths.  I have found oodles of great tutorials and did a couple myself.  When I find more time I would love to make many more to decorate our house with this winter season.  I find that wreaths are a great way to welcome anyone into your home and add to the spirit of Christmas.  .wreath wrap up.

tutorials I have completed:  * paper wreath  *mini wreath

miss fancy pants & razzle dazzle

paper wreath tutorials: 

*the red thread  *razzle dazzle  *floating world  *paper pew wreath  *our daily chocolate  *miss fancy pants

lark & lola, martha stewart, better homes and gardens

glass ball wreath tutorials: 

*martha's wreath  *lark & lola  *silver sparkle

craft stylish, cathie filian, coco knits

yarn wreath tutorials:  *cathie's wreath  *coco knits  *yarn wrapped wreath

samster mommy

nature inspired wreath tutorials:  *winter wedding wreath  *samster mommy

sunset, domestifluff, pickles

fabric wreath tutorials:  

*apartment therapy  *festive felt wreath  *rosette wreath  *pickles  *home by sunset

freckled nest

other wreath tutorials: 

*candy wreath  *reused wrapping paper wreath  *rope wreath  *button wreath