Get organized - 7 ways

Happy New Year! Many of you will be making resolutions today and tomorrow, and for many, one of them will be to get organized. I know my craft room needs cleaning and organizing. Here are seven ideas and DIY projects to help with that daunting task.

 

Paint stick jewelry organizer by infarrantly creative

 

 

High heel shoe rack by centsational girl

Least viewed of 2012

Yesterday I shared my top 10 posts of 2012, according to stats on views. Today I'm sharing 10 of my least viewed, not necessarily the absolute lowest 10, and in no particular order, just 10 that caught my eye when I was scrolling through the view count.

DIY mint earrings

Spider web pumpkin

Top 10 of 2012

Where did the year go? I say this every year. Nonetheless, I think it's been a pretty productive year. So what did I craft? Here are my top 10 posts, according to Blogger's views stats, in the order of most viewed.

 

Dollar tree skeleton wreath

 

Men's dress skirt to skirt

 

Merry CHRISTmas

 

 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

 

^{Wishing you all a Merry Christmas. On my list for today's "Must Do Monday" is to spend time with my hubby and to reflect on what this season is truly about. I hope you find every blessing in store for you.}

 

^{I may not post here much this week. I may make a few changes and visit a few of you but I'm taking a break from posts. I'll be back soon.}

Christmas frap bottles

I have been saving some Starbucks Frappicino bottles for quite some time. I finally used them to make some stocking stuffers.

I took some cardstock strips and made a Santa bottle. It's filled with red Hershey's kisses.

 

Then I took more Hershey's kisses and labeled them with free printable labels from Amanda's Parties to Go. I filled more bottles and then topped the bottles with ribbon and flowers from my scrapbook stash. I love how they turned out.  

 

$7 casual Christmas tablescape

I love setting a cheery table outside as much as I do setting one inside. However, I have limited Christmas table decor. I spent $7 for some dessert plates and tumblers from Wal-greens and then pulled this together from what I had on hand.

The green plates and white mats came from the Dollar Tree. The plates and these green napkin rings were previously used at Easter. I stuck a candy cane in each one to make it a little more festive.

I love the subway art tumblers.

The snowmen votive holders are another inexpensive item from Fred's that I have had for years.

The centerpiece is the same as my fall setting, just different garland and candles.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas.

I'll be sharing here:

Tablescape Thursday

And some of these places

Think Pink Sundays*Under the Table and Dreaming* Sundae Scoop* Craftomaniac Monday*Make the Scene Monday* Make It Pretty Monday*Masterpiece Monday* Motivate Me Monday*Market Yourself Mondays at Sumo’s Sweet Stuff* Pink Hippo Party*More The Merrier Monday* Make It Monday*Mop It Up Monday *Take a Look Tuesday* Handmade Tuesdays*  Tell Me Tuesday*Tuesday Talent Show*My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia* Tip Junkie*Get Your Craft On* Terrific Tuesday*From Dream to Reality*Whatever Goes Wednesday*Show and Share*Hooking Up with HOH*Blissful and Domestic* Handy Man, Crafty Woman*  Dragonfly Designs*My Girlish Whims*Sugar and Spice*Share It* Show and Share* Primp Your Stuff* Fireflies and Jellybeans* Someswhat Simple Strut Your Stuff*Catch A Glimpse *Creative Juice*Transformation Thursday* Handmade 52* A Crafty Soiree* At the Picket Fence* Tidy Mom*Simply Sweet Home*Simply Designing*Chic on a Shoestring Flaunt It Friday*Fingerprints on the Fridge*BFF Open House at The Answer is Chocolate* Creation Corner*Tatertots and Jello*Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special*Be Different Act Normal* Delicately Constructed Fridays*Friday Frolic**Shine On* Sweet Saturday*Pomp Party*Overflowing with Creativity*Saturday Seven*Feathered Nest

 

More glitter ornaments

I had so much fun making glitter ornaments that I spent some time this past weekend making more.  I made three in red for my Georgia tree (it's not up this year, but maybe next year) and I made three more for stocking stuffers.

I made another polka dot ornament

 

Then I made a white one with red dots. I combined both the floor cleaner and the mod podge techniques for this.

I made a solid red one and turned it into a Santa belly band ornament with a strip of felt and a buckle cut from silver glitter cardstock with my Nestabilities square dies.

My mother-in-law collects angels so I made a white glitter ornament into an angel of sorts by gluing some feathers to the back.

Finally I made a silver one and decorated it with a blue ribbon and rosette made from the ribbon.

 

 

These are so much fun. I had a hard time picking a favorite. Which is your favorite?

 

Sharing here:

 

Think Pink Sundays*Under the Table and Dreaming* Sundae Scoop* Craftomaniac Monday*Make the Scene Monday* Make It Pretty Monday*Masterpiece Monday* Motivate Me Monday*Market Yourself Mondays at Sumo’s Sweet Stuff* Pink Hippo Party*More The Merrier Monday* Make It Monday*Mop It Up Monday *Take a Look Tuesday* Handmade Tuesdays*  Tell Me Tuesday*Tuesday Talent Show*My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia* Tip Junkie*Get Your Craft On* Terrific Tuesday*From Dream to Reality*Whatever Goes Wednesday*Show and Share*Hooking Up with HOH*Blissful and Domestic* Handy Man, Crafty Woman*  Dragonfly Designs*My Girlish Whims*Sugar and Spice*Share It* Show and Share* Primp Your Stuff* Fireflies and Jellybeans* Someswhat Simple Strut Your Stuff*Catch A Glimpse *Creative Juice*Transformation Thursday* Handmade 52* A Crafty Soiree* At the Picket Fence* Tidy Mom*Simply Sweet Home*Simply Designing*Chic on a Shoestring Flaunt It Friday*Fingerprints on the Fridge*BFF Open House at The Answer is Chocolate* Creation Corner*Tatertots and Jello*Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special*Be Different Act Normal* Delicately Constructed Fridays*Friday Frolic**Shine On* Sweet Saturday*Pomp Party*Overflowing with Creativity*Saturday Seven*Feathered Nest

 

 

Chocolate spoons and cocoa mugs- Quick and easy gift

 

One week to go! Do you need a cute, quick gift for someone? The hubby and I made these last year for our Sunday School class and a few others. We picked up the mugs at Wal-mart for less than a dollar each and filled them with chocolate spoons and an instant cocoa packet.

You can make the spoons really festive with sprinkles and make them in almost any color scheme you want. To make the spoons, you will need:

chocolate or other flavor chips
plastic spoons
sprinkles

Melt the chips over low heat. Dip the spoons in and then lay them on wax paper to cool. Go ahead and add sprinkles before they cool, so the sprinkles will stick.

Once they are done, tie them up in some plastic. We stuck a small treat bag over the spoon and tied it with ribbon. Our complete package was placed in a festive goody bag from the Dollar tree and a tag was tied on with ribbon.  I made tags with the computer and scalloped punches using Psalm 34:8- "Taste and see that the Lord is good."

Thanks for stopping by. I'll be sharing here:

Think Pink Sundays*Under the Table and Dreaming* Sundae Scoop* Craftomaniac Monday*Make the Scene Monday* Make It Pretty Monday*Masterpiece Monday* Motivate Me Monday*Market Yourself Mondays at Sumo’s Sweet Stuff* Pink Hippo Party*More The Merrier Monday* Make It Monday*Mop It Up Monday *Take a Look Tuesday* Handmade Tuesdays*  Tell Me Tuesday*Tuesday Talent Show*My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia* Tip Junkie*Get Your Craft On* Terrific Tuesday*From Dream to Reality*Whatever Goes Wednesday*Show and Share*Hooking Up with HOH*Blissful and Domestic* Handy Man, Crafty Woman*  Dragonfly Designs*My Girlish Whims*Sugar and Spice*Share It* Show and Share* Primp Your Stuff* Fireflies and Jellybeans* Someswhat Simple Strut Your Stuff*Catch A Glimpse *Creative Juice*Transformation Thursday* Handmade 52* A Crafty Soiree* At the Picket Fence* Tidy Mom*Simply Sweet Home*Simply Designing*Chic on a Shoestring Flaunt It Friday*Fingerprints on the Fridge*BFF Open House at The Answer is Chocolate* Creation Corner*Tatertots and Jello*Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special*Be Different Act Normal* Delicately Constructed Fridays*Friday Frolic**Shine On* Sweet Saturday*Pomp Party*Overflowing with Creativity*Saturday Seven*Feathered Nest

Gift wrap- 5 unique ways

Only a week left 'til Christmas. It's time to get those gifts wrapped up. The packaging make the simplest of gifts seem extravagant.  Here are  five unique ways to wrap a gift.

I think this one is my all time favorite. Of course, it involves glitter.  I'm definitely doing this in the future.

Glitter tags and boxes

 

 

Button stamped

 

 

Pom pom gift wrap

 

 

 

Clothespin embellishments

 

 

Ribbon and candy

 

 

Praying for peace and comfort

Before I drive on with all of the fun and festivities, I just wanted to say to the victims of Sandy  Hook and their families how truly sorry that I am. There are little words to offer over something like this. You are in my prayers. May the God of peace and comfort prevail in a world that seems so bad. His heart breaks for you too and for those who make the wrong choices.

Christmas Home Tour 2012

Welcome to my holiday home. If you follow me, then this is likely just an overview of what you've already seen. If not, click the links for more details. If you're new, welcome and please say hello and let me know you're visiting. If you like what you see, won't you follow me? Let's begin at the front door.

Before we head in, we might want to enjoy the front porch and the no sew Christmas pillows.

Once inside, we'll enjoy a meal at my table set in a Christmas candy tablescape.

When we're ready to move to the living room for a visit, we'll pass by a Christmas vignette with a reminder of what's this is all about.

From the living room we can enjoy the blue and green tree and mantel.

Before you go, maybe you'd like a cup of coffee in the morning room. It got some treatment for the first time this year with the wreaths and ornament topiary.

I hope you've enjoyed the little tour. I'll be linking up here:

Countdown to Winter

Holiday Home Tour at The Inspired Room

Christmas Tour of Homes

O CHRISTmas tree, O CHRISTmas tree

This year's tree is in the same color scheme as last year, but I used less of the white and more blue and green ornaments.

 

Here's a shot where I played around with the camera to get the lights to "sparkle" or look like starbursts.

Spearmint trees and a candy tablescape

I used the gumdrop tree again this year and used the same color scheme for my Christmas tablescape, but I changed things up a little this time.

I placed candy canes in hurricane vases in epsom salts. I was inspired by The Inspired Room to do this.

Craisin white chocolate chip quick bread

Do you make it a point to bake during the holiday season, or are you just too busy? If your answer is too busy, I promise you're not too busy to try this quick bread. I've made it twice now in the past three weeks.

I adapted this recipe from  Grain Mill Wagon. I wanted to make a whole wheat cranberry quick bread but I just didn't like any of the recipes I found. They required too many ingredients or the orange juice turned me off.

Here's my adapted recipe:

3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk ( I put a tablespoon of vinegar in a cup of milk and then use 3/4.)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup craisins
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup (or more) white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl combine flours, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. In a smaller bowl, combine buttermilk, oil and eggs; stir with whisk until blended. Pour into dry ingredients and mix gently. Add craisins and white chocolate chips, mixing gently. Spoon batter into greased 8x4 inch loaf pan. Bake 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on wire rack, remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Quick breads offer an easy solution to holiday baking, and this one is worth the little effort it requires. You could even whip these up for gifts!

If you love white chocolate chips, check out my White Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins.

I'll be sharing here:

Think Pink Sundays*Under the Table and Dreaming* Sundae Scoop* Craftomaniac Monday*Make the Scene Monday* Make It Pretty Monday*Masterpiece Monday* Motivate Me Monday*Market Yourself Mondays at Sumo’s Sweet Stuff* Pink Hippo Party*More The Merrier Monday* Make It Monday*Mop It Up Monday *Take a Look Tuesday* Handmade Tuesdays*  Tell Me Tuesday*Tuesday Talent Show*My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia* Tip Junkie*Get Your Craft On* Terrific Tuesday*From Dream to Reality*Whatever Goes Wednesday*Show and Share*Hooking Up with HOH*Blissful and Domestic* Handy Man, Crafty Woman*  Dragonfly Designs*My Girlish Whims*Sugar and Spice*Share It* Show and Share* Primp Your Stuff* Fireflies and Jellybeans* Someswhat Simple Strut Your Stuff*Catch A Glimpse *Creative Juice*Transformation Thursday* Handmade 52* A Crafty Soiree* At the Picket Fence* Tidy Mom*Simply Sweet Home*Simply Designing*Chic on a Shoestring Flaunt It Friday*Fingerprints on the Fridge*BFF Open House at The Answer is Chocolate* Creation Corner*Tatertots and Jello*Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special*Be Different Act Normal* Delicately Constructed Fridays*Friday Frolic**Shine On* Sweet Saturday*Pomp Party*Overflowing with Creativity*Saturday Seven*Feathered Nest

 

No sew Christmas pillows

I changed out the pillows on my porch when I decorated for Christmas. If you've followed me this year (and if you haven't, won't you now?) you know that my favorite way to make pillows is placemats. So once again I have pillows from placemats.

Christmas on the front porch

Good morning and welcome to my Christmas porch. It's filled with traditional decor of greenery (artificial), lights, and poinsettias (also artificial).

 

 

I swapped out the fall pillows for new Christmas pillows and moved the lanterns to the side table. I filled them with glittery red led candles and poinsettia blooms. I perched some birds on top and added some berries. I love the pop of color it brings for the day time.

Gifts in a jar

Have those "hard to shop for" people on your list? A gift in a jar is a thrifty but thoughtful way to go. The unique packaging make the gift a little more special. Here are 7 gift in a jar ideas.

Bath fizzies

 

Paperwhites (bulbs) in a jar

 

Cupcake in a jar

 

Pampering in a jar

 

 

Cowgirl (or cowboy) cookies

 

 

Manicure in a jar

 

 

 

Southwestern Dip Mix