Holiday Bliss Be Yours!

(image board: thejoyof)

  

When it's time to pretty up your packages for the holidays, I love to try unexpected color combinations and venture off from the traditional green and red. These funky and cheeful cards, tags and wrapping paper from UK based designer Caroline Gardner make sassying up the holidays a cinch.

Too bad they come from England and Christmas is just around the corner or I would be tempted to order a variety of these fabulous papers and have a gift wrapping party! (That is, if I had a nice lump of wrapping paper money sitting around. Hmmm. Perhaps this should be a new category in the ol' budget?)

Whimsical gift tags make the most adorable final touch.

Oh Kiddie Tree, Oh Kiddie Tree

I love the silver and frosty blue tree at my house, but there's just something endearing and sentimental about putting up the kiddie tree. Maybe your kiddie tree is THE tree at your house or maybe it's like the one I decorated with my mom yesterday - just a little fella in the corner of the breakfast nook packed with all the chipped, handmade and silly ornaments from many a childhood Christmas gone by. Poking through the boxes of ornaments from the last 30 years and thinking of dear grandma Clara who knitted those cute little stockings for her great grand babies (me!), or uncle Steve who picked up those goofy clothespin reindeer at some craft fair in 1987 and wrote my name and my sister's names on each one brings a wave of cheesy Christmas nostaglia that I rather like and look forward to experiencing year after year ...

Smell This

I am in need of a new fragrance (I've been going frangrance-less for months now) and would like to request all three of these glorious sounding (and I'm sure smelling) fragrances from C. Keith Vintage for Christmas. Or really just one would do nicely. But which one? The Coriander Citrus sounds divine but then again the Heirloom Garden has hints of orange and verbena which must be sublime. And if the description of the scents aren't tantilizing enough, surely the fact that each product is made by hand, in small batches with charming packaging and natural ingredients will do the trick. The fabulous and ecclectic boutique I worked at a few years ago carried this line and all of their products are just heavenly and would make superb Christmas gifts.

And A Good Time Was Had By All

Monday night was A Winter's Night Boutiuqe, the first of hopefully many home based hand made boutiques that I hosted. The music was festive, the candles were glowing, the hot cocoa simmering and the guests were scooping up goodies of all sorts -  it was just as we had hoped!

Snowy white mums and red berries hung amidst globes with candles against a mirrored wall.

Megan of Desuet provided delectable peanut butter balls, heavenly fudge and frosty almond cookies that we all agreed looked like vintage Christmas ornaments. So tasty. Having a gourmet as a friend is just dandy.

Kara Rosenberry had a cheerful assortment of her adorable cards, including whimsical holiday packs. Her hand made garlands with little sketches of ice skates were charming and sweet.

I chained myself to my crafting room for 24 hours and emerged with a fresh crop of headbands just for the holidays.

The talented Behnaz of Behjat brought in her whimsical hand embroidered canvases and oh so cute onesies with funny elephants, hot dogs and french fries sewn on the front.

Megan's bracelets made from vintage necklaces looked so festive on a retro cocktail tray.

Betsy of Betsy Jamison Photography provided her fabulous hand made felt pillows. She's just one of those brilliant artists who can sketch, sew and shoot beautiful images likes it's nothing. Anything Betsy decides to make is always a creative wonder.

Thank you to all the dear girls who came by and patronized our little endeavor. A good time was indeed had by all.

No Craft Tuesday

I should have been crafting like a crazy crafting person all day, but no. I was tired. Had a cough. Snow is headed this way so I ran to the post office and picked me up some grapefruit so I could stay in tomorrow and not brave the cold just for fresh fruit. And instead of making headbands to beat the band, I sat curled up on the sofa with hot chocolate and fresh whipped cream and watched ... figure skating. Weird, huh. The hubby is away and cannot protest so why not channel the inner 15 year old who was long ago obsessed with figure skating dream couple Gordeeva and Grinkov . And so I had a quiet night to watch whatever silly thing I wanted and ignore the mounds of work that needs to be done come this weekends holiday boutiques...