It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I LOVE Christmas time AND I LOVE to decorate for Christmas. My husband on the other hand is somewhat of a Scrooge, but I "Deck the Halls" anyways! :) I thought I would share some of my favorite decorations with you to spread the joy of Christmas and if you're reading this, then I think you should do the same on your blog! ;) There are LOTS of pictures and I didn't even post half of the ones I took! :) Every year we like to collect some sort of Santa Clause. I put the year on the bottom so each year when we get them out, we reminisce of Christmases passed. I am thankful to celebrate the birth of my Savior. I hope that my family, along with your family, will try to slow things down this busy holiday season and take the time to really enjoy the true meaning of Christmas!

ITEMS OF NOTE

• Addi lost her 1st tooth and the Tooth Fairy could only find $5 to put under her pillow. What an expensive tooth!! It had been loose for awhile and she finally just pulled it out all by herself one morning. Way to go Addi!! We watched the movie Tooth Fairy to celebrate, which was surprisingly a pretty entertaining and enjoyable movie!

• BUNK BEDS! We have been needing bunk beds for quite awhile now. With the tiny bedrooms in our house, bunk beds seemed like the best option. Kendall was sleeping in the playpen in our room for 7 months, Hally was still in the converted crib (our crib converts into a toddler bed), and Addi was still in her room in a twin bed. Lucky us, while I was in Seattle TIM FOUND A FREE BUNK BED!!! It was meant to be! He was taking Addi to school and on the side of the road was a bunk bed with a sign that said, "Free Bunk Bed." So he sent me a picture of it on my phone and rounded it up. It took him a few trips to get all of the pieces in our little car. Then it sat in our living room for a good month. Then I started painting it, which was a LONG process, but I am SO HAPPY with the outcome. A few trips to Home Depot and one REALLY late night later and we have some pretty AWESOME and ONE OF A KIND bunk beds for Addi and Hally!

Here is the before picture. I was actually so happy that we found something that I could paint, because I love the look of painted wood and this one had cool rod iron detail.

Here are a few after pictures. Don't you love the bed spreads too? I am SO into damask right now, which is trendy I know, but I think it's cute.

I really wanted to paint the walls a tan color, because I am OVER the purple with the stencil, but I was tired of painting and ready to get the beds put together and everyone situated in their new rooms. The tan will have to wait till we someday get a new house, or till I decide I can't stand it anymore and start painting it.

Do you love this shabby chic chandelier that I found at IKEA? I love chandeliers lately, don't you? Thanks to my man for being handy and installing it for me!

• I GOT A NEW CAR - I am no longer stuck at home, which my not necessarily be a good thing, but I love it! I have never had a car that I actually wanted and now I do. We no longer have to cram all three kids in the back of our compact Elantra. Let the long road trips begin! :)

THE CLEVER CHIC

Drum role please! My sister Tiff and I are so excited to announce our new BLOG!! It's a craft/all things creative blog! Just go to thecleverchic.blogspot.com and check it out!

BASEMENT PICTURES

It was a long and grueling process, but I did it and it turned out alright.  Do you remember what our basement looked like before? Let me remind you:

BEFORE

Before we moved in about 2 1/2 years ago, I repainted every room in the house except the basement. The walls were pretty beat up and it was so bright and so green, which actually wasn't too bad for my daycare, but it was time for a change. So here you are, wah-la!

AFTER

Here is a picture of the texture I used. My friend Gina is AMAZING and she came and showed me the technique of it all. Basically you need a lot of mud and a lot of love (ie. joint compound and patience). Then you prime it, then you paint it and then you glaze it.

 

As you can tell, I did one wall red and I don't have much on the walls yet, but this particular wall will be dedicated to Tim's sports memorabilia, so when I get it hung I will post a picture.

Does it look like a lot of work? It was, especially for one person. :) Please just allow me a moment to toot my whistle that I did this all by myself. :) Thank you.

Tim is not a fan of any type of home renovation project, if you know Tim, then you know that he can't handle this kind of thing (he stresses) and he's not afraid to admit it either. Thank goodness that I am not afraid to tackle a project of large proportion. I just told him to, "Stay out of the basement." :) Next up, I'm going to install our basement bathroom! Okay, probably a bit more than I can handle.

Do you like the window? How did I do it? Just buy an old window at an antique store and hang a wreath on it. Cost of the window $10, cost of the wreath, $15, cost of a unique wall hanging..... you guessed it..... priceless. 

THE ECLECTIC CRAFTER

The Nester is hosting a Handmade Holiday's Party, complete with Mr. Linky! Now is your chance to help support your fellow moms/bloggers/crafters. Just click here and you can do your holiday shopping from hundreds of different blogs, Etsy shops, etc.

Here are a few crafts of my own, just a little of this and a little of that. If you're interested in anything, just shoot me an email steffanisue@yahoo.com. Happy Shopping! :)

Antique window with dried flowers!

Distressed and crackled clock with vinyl lettering, custom name and established year. Also available in antique white and black!

Custom made flannel baby blanket measuring 40" x 34". Available in any two colors of your choice!

Perfect for a baby shower present!

NEW DESK

My friend Desi was moving and getting rid of an old desk so I took it off her hands. It used to be what I call "faux wood" or "sticker wood" (it looks like you could peel the wood off like a sticker), or "fake wood." Look at it now though! I just gave it a couple coats of black paint, sanded the edges to give it a distressed look, put on new drawer pulls and finished it off with a nice coat of polyurethane spray! I am so excited, I didn't think it would turn out this good. Thanks for the desk Desi! If you look close enough by the keyboard you can see what it used to look like.... oops, I forgot to paint that part.

SPOOKY FRIENDS

Would you like to spruce up your spooky Halloween Tree? Well, just add some easy-to-make spooky ghost ornaments!!!

Here's what you'll need:

• 1/8 yd. white fabric (I got mine at Wal-Mart for $0.33)
• cotton balls
• needle & black thread
• black ribbon
• scissors
• black Sharpie

~Cut your fabric into 5"x5" squares. Stuff the head with half of a cotton ball and tie a 7" piece of black ribbon in a double knot around the ghost's neck. Next draw on two black eyes with your Sharpie. Thread the needle, but don't knot it. Sew the thread once through the top of the ghost's head. Now tie a knot at the top, making the loop however large you want it.

WAHLA!! Now you have a cute little ghost to hang from your Halloween Tree! Wasn't that easy? Isn't it cute?

I got the tree at Pier 1 Imports.

BABY BLANKET BUSINESS

I made this baby quilt for my friend that is going to have a baby. You have probably seen them before, they're called rag quilts. You sew the seams to the outside and then cut the seams so when you wash it, it becomes frayed.

(Click on the picture for a closer look.)

I had an idea of selling these on Etsy or something, so I need everyone's opinion. It measures 40"x 34"; it has two layers of flannel and a middle layer of batting; it cost about $20 (I used more expensive fabric) to make, although I think I could get the price down to maybe $10 or $15; and this is the kicker, it took me a long time to make it, I'm guessing maybe 6 or 7 hours spread out over a few days. I think I can get the time it took down, once I get making them. So, I guess I am left thinking, "Hmmmm. Is it worth my time?" With all the facts, how much do you think I could sell one for? Or how much would you buy one for? Let's say it costs me $15 to make and 5 hours to make it. If I sell it for $30 I will earn about $3/hr. I would have to sell 10 blankets at this rate to make $150! $30 does seem like a lot for a little blanket, but it's a really nice, homeade, soft and heavy blanket. If I hike the price up to $40 I would at least make $5/hr. and if I sold for $50 I don't think anyone would ever buy it, but at least I would make $7/hr. Most people would probably just decide to make it themselves. I am guessing it's probably not going to be worth my time.

I will have boy and girl colors and package them cute like this.

A closer look.