Advent Calendar Frame Wreath

This is the more wreathy {wreathy?} version.

 It took me two days, but I have finally finished my advent calendar!  I wish I had a better camera, this one really doesn't do this project justice {and the lack of natural lighting isn't doing anyone any favors}.

All the cool craft bloggers have already posted their gorgeous Silhouette advent calendars and I was feeling a little left out!  I want to hang out with the cool kids!

I wrapped cardboard with yarn, attached a clip and WA-LA!
I love that I can still use the frame as a frame.
Switch the picture out whenever the mood strikes!

I don't have a Silhouette Cameo {yet - it is on my Christmas list} so I had to go a different direction.  I have a few boxes of 2in x 2in steel tins left over from our fantabulous wedding {we filled tins with a variety of spices/rubs, wrapped
them with embroidery thread and adorned it with a vintage crystal button and a little thank you tag} and I wanted to find some use for them.  Well, here it is!

I used a few different solid color card stock and patterned paper, along with a few scraps of duck cloth and handfuls of random crafty goodness from my closet of surprises.

Each tin is decorated differently {do you know how hard that is!?} and at some point before December 1st, will be filled with leftover Halloween candy, teeny tiny ornaments and strips of card stock with fun, family activities to partake in.  Can't wait!

I had Maia draw a picture of her and her sister with Santa for now.  Might switch out the art for other Christmas pretties or family photos as the season progresses.

Here are a few close-ups of some of my favorites {as I took the close-ups I realized that most of them are my favorites...}.

I was really unhappy with this one at first, then I added a little sparkle and BAM - LOVE IT!

The bell came from a pack of 9 bells from the dollar store.  I LOVE things that are only a dollar.

I hand painted those itty bitty ornaments.  I was pretty proud of myself.

I am in love with it!

My next big Christmas project is going to be a baby jar Christmas chandelier.  I've got boxes {and boxes, and boxes...} of empty baby food jars so expect to see me using them whenever I possibly can!

**This project is linked at:  Tatertots & Jello, Whipperberry, Naptime Crafters, Family Ever After, Young & Crafty, Skip to my Lou, Sumos Sweet Stuff, I Gotta Create, Rae Gun Ramblings, Measured by the Heart, and

 

Check them out!**

Two Months of Marital Bliss {and we haven't even tried to kill each other once}!

Photo by Dana Pleasant.  She is an outstanding, rockin', knock your socks off photographer!  Check her out!

Today marks two months of wedded bliss for us.

Dana blows my mind.

If you haven't clicked on the link yet, now is the time.  Dana Pleasant is amazing!

Yes we are beautiful people, but it still takes a superb photographer to take photos like these!

There are about 500 other photos that I would love to post right now, but I shall save them for another time, or maybe another several times.  

**Deep, happy sigh**

Ok, so to mark the momentous occasion I baked chocolate chip cookies, my least favorite things to bake - BLECH!  Weird right?  Who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies?  Well, I don't, and I eagerly await the day that I meet another who shares my awesome opinion.

Anyway, our wedding vows consisted of promises written by the other that we were not privy to in advance; one of the vows my love wrote for me was a promise to bake chocolate chip cookies at least once every other month {our vows were kind of perfect in every way}. So here we are two months in and right on schedule - as promised - he has his revolting precious cookies.  They definitely look delicious and per Miss Maia, they taste as good as they look {I will take her word for it}.

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie.  Recipe from AllRecipes.com.

I'm not really sure how anyone eats these things, but hey, we all have our things!  Anyhooo...

Sneak peak alert!  

Tomorrow I will be posting my first ever advent calendar!  I am super excited about this project and cannot wait to share!  Here is a glimpse ...

Ask and You Shall Receive {Children's Shelves}

Over the weekend, as my husband sat watching football and monitoring his fantasy football team on the Mac simultaneously for the second day in a row {same story every weekend}, I told him he has a problem.  His response - I watch football as much as you "internet."  I'm not really sure that I what I do is called "internetting" {I will be sure to google it as soon as I'm done here}, but I suppose I know what he is referring to.  I, on occasion, have found myself opening up the laptop to pay a bill and 45 minutes later realize that I have yet to pay the bill and have somehow ended up engrossed in iheartorganizing or tatertotsandjello or etsy or pinterest or {as is the case the majority of the time} all of the above.  Don't worry, I do snap out of it and pay the bill eventually.

Alright, so Jennifer, what do shelves have to do with your husband's football obsession or your internet addiction?  Well... you see I was asked by a fellow crafter to work my internet magic to find some unique children's shelving ideas for DIY Christmas gifts.  As an "internetter" {starting to push it here} I love me some google image search and, of course, pinterest!

I have had enough with the anecdote now.  Look at all these super cute ideas I found!

This image is all over the place.  I found this one in particular at Lyring.com.

Original Photo and Design by Kidtropolis.

Photo from apolkadotmoonblog.com

From Countryliving.com.  This could easily be adapted to fit into a kiddy's room.

Image from Bookshelff.blogspot.com. Use some classic children's stories and WA-LA!

Classic Shelving from Pottery Barn Kids.  Simple goes well anywhere.

DIY Log Shelves via DesignSponge.

Cloud Shelf from Great Green Ltd.

Fleur-De-Lis from Bedfordgiftshop.com.

Tube shelving DailyCandy.com.  Different!  Could do some fun colors.

These may or may not be exactly what you are looking for, other people's creations most often are not.  But when you are looking for the perfect idea, waiting for the little light in your head to suddenly spark {or at least when I am}, I find myself most successful when I have an exhaustive list of what I like and what I would do differently in other designs.  So hopefully these ideas get the wheels turning and the ball rolling on it's way towards your own unique masterpiece!