10 Festive Christmas Tutorials

It is the day before Thanksgiving and do you know what the means?! It means that we will be having the most delicious food tomorrow and then I can get my Christmas Decorations up {because I do not decorate before Thanksgiving}!

Today I am sharing with you ten Christmas tutorials I am hoping to try in the month of December {and maybe a few between now and the first}.  If you end up trying any of these tutorials make sure to let me know! I would love to see your interpretations of these projects! 

1. Paper Evergreens from Martha Stewart

2. DIY Christmas Platters from The 36th Avenue

3. DIY Glitter Striped JOY Letters from The Pinning Mama

 4. DIY Yarn Wreath from The Green Dresser

 5. White Chocolate Oreo Snowmen from Love This Pic

6. Envelop Advent Calendar from SnapCreativity

7. Jingle Bell Ornament from UCreate Crafts

 8. JOY Decorative Christmas Bottles from SeventhandJ

To make your own, please see this tutorial. 

9. Christmas Tree Table Runner from Bits of Everything

 10. Jingle All the Way from Kerri Bradford

I hope you enjoy all of these fun Christmas crafting ideas! I am hoping with a long weekend ahead of me that I will be able to make some of these for myself! However, I may have to fight some of the Black Friday shoppers to get the supplies.

For more Christmas ideas, feel free to check out my Christmas Board on Pinterest.

If I do not get a chance to post tomorrow, 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Princess McKenna's Fabulous Snow White Party

Hi there! Happy Tuesday! I'm excited because this is my last catch up post from my surgery!

Today's post is going to be dedicated to sharing my niece's first birthday party with you! She had the cutest Snow White themed party and it fit her perfectly because she is a cute little princess!

 

My sister-in-law did the cutest decorations and prized for the party! Everything was decorated in blue, red and yellow and my niece had the cutest outfit on that matched everything in the party.  I loved how she incorporated all of the silhouettes of Snow White into the decorations and how she included the apples and a few bird houses which drew everything together!

She also got my niece the most adorable cake!

I loved how much detail they put into the cake and it was super delicious! Personally I prefer to have fondant on my cakes, but this cake was the perfect balance of cake and frosting and if I could eat some every day, I think I might.  Honestly, I am always impressed when I see cakes that have so much detail made with butter cream because it is not as solid as fondant! Kudos to the person who made that beautiful bow on her cake.

Once everyone arrived at the party, we all enjoyed a delicious lunch of mastaccioli, salad and delicious bread.  I really enjoyed the time during lunch because I was able to catch up with some friends I had not seen in quite some time.  I love going to parties and catching up with friends!

After lunch was finished we all enjoyed watching McKenna eat her "smash" cake.  There is just something so hilarious about watching a one year old eat their first birthday cake.

At one point during the cake smashing, my niece had it in her ears! That was not a fun mess to clean up I am sure! She was a bit tentative at first but once she realized it was okay for her to get the cake everywhere, so dug right in and made a huge mess! She enjoyed every minute of it and made sure to smash every.single.inch of her cake.

After the cake smashing, she got all cleaned up and we watched her open her gifts and spent some more time with everyone at the party.

It is so hard to believe that my "baby" niece is now a year old! Such a fun day watching her celebrate her first birthday and I look forward to celebrating many to come!

Thanksgiving Table Decorations with {Free} Printables!

Hi Everyone! I trust you had a wonderful weekend filled with fun and excitement!

Today's post is going to be dedicated to all things Thanksgiving! A little over a week ago, Justin and I hosted the first annual Friendsgiving and I made some super adorable decorations for the table that I wanted to share with you! 

In this post, you will be able to print copies of the name tags, utensil holders, place mats and candy wrappers.  I will also show you a link on how to make the utensil holders.  

First up on the list is the name tags.  There are two different sizes that I am offering to you! The first size is the large size which measures 3.5" x 5" when folded in half.  

Print these here.

The second size I have is the small size.  When folded in half, these measure 2.5" x 3" when folded in half.  I used the smaller size on my table due to a lack of space.  The name tags are simple to make, just click the link provided below the picture and print enough copies for everyone coming to your party.  Cut out each name tag and fold them in half.  Fill out the name of the person you would like and place them at  There is space on the back of their name card for them to write what they are thankful for.  We did not end up doing this at our party, but it is a good idea to figure to share what you are thankful for.  

Print these here.

Next up is the place mats.  I saw on a blog somewhere (I cannot remember for the life of me which one) these super cute place mats that they had designed and I got the idea to make my own place mats for our table setting.  

Print these here.

This place mat has been automatically formatted to print at 11" x 17".  I found that an 8.5 x 11" page of paper was too small and became engulfed by all of the other decorations.  Printing the page larger allowed for the place mat to be seen and for it to be used alongside other directions.

The last decoration I used on my table was the utensil holders.  These turned out super cute and were a nice way to keep the silverware in place.  

Print these here.

I originally got this idea from Eighteen25 to make these utensil holders.  I was going to use their printable for my table, but it did not fit the color theme for my party, so I decided to make my very own.  To make these holders, print enough copies to cover all of your guests.  Cut out the picture, then cut them in half.  Once they are all cut out, use your sewing machine to sew a simple stitch along the side of the paper.  

**It is important to note that a cardstock paper, or thicker paper will work best for this project.  I ended up lining mine with an extra piece of paper to help with the thickness**

If you are looking for a few other fun decorations, check out my Give Thanks Banner and my I am Thankful For Chocolate Bar Wrapper.  I had intended on using both the banner and the wrapper but I ran out of time to cut them out and make them so I do not have any pictures of them for you to see.

Well that is all for my decorations! I hope that you get as much enjoyment from them as I did! 

For the mini hats, plates, cups and confetti please see Party City.
For the leaf felt coasters please see Bed Bath and Beyond.

Disclaimer: These images and documents are intended for personal use only and are not for resale.

1st Annual Friendsgiving!

I am excited to share today's post with you! This past weekend, Justin and I hosted the very first Friendsgiving Dinner ever! I originally got the idea from PB Fingers last year and thought it could be a great way for us to get together with our friends and do a little celebrating.

This year we had a total of seven people come including Justin and me.  This turned out to be a great number because I really only had seating for 8.  Because Justin and I live in an apartment, I rearranged our living/dining room furniture and set up two five foot tables and some fold chairs to get the "long table" feel.  It worked out perfectly and we ended up leaving the living room set up that way to get ready for Christmas.  

For decorations, everyone had their one place setting which included a place mat, plates, silverware holder, name tag, mini party hat and cute leaf coaster.  I also had my mantel all decorated for Thanksgiving and I threw some fun pumpkins and confetti on the table to add a little extra fun to the table.  I made the name tags, place mats and utensil holders myself and look forward to sharing them with you in another post.

Our dinner was potluck style and everyone brought a delicious dish to pass.  Justin and I provided the turkey, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes.  We also had two different green beans, corn salad, cranberry sauce and a mix of different snacks!

Once dinner was ready we all sat down at the "table" and enjoyed the wonderful company and food.  I love spending time with my friends and this was such a fun way to do it! We also grabbed a few pictures of us all around the table.  We were supposed to have 8 people, but Stephen came down with the stomach flu, so he opted to stay home and get better.

Overall our first annual Friendsgiving was amazing and I cannot wait to have it for many years to come!

Be watching out for a post with the decoration printables coming up shortly!

Jason's Birthday Celebration

Hello Everyone! I hope your week is going well so far! Mine has been busy, but that is exactly how I like it.  This past weekend was filled with family and friend time {exactly how I like it} and we continued our fun weekend by celebrating my step-dad, Jason's birthday.

 

Per our family tradition, my mom cooked us a delicious dinner of pork roast, mashed potatoes, asparagus, corn and salad.  Mom mom always makes the most delicious dinners and every year she makes something super delicious.  There have been years that we have just gone out to Outback to celebrate, but I personally prefer my mom's cooking.

And of course my mom made the traditional Red Velvet Cake of Deliciousness or Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake.  But I prefer Red Velvet Cake of Deliciousness.  If you have never had a cake like this, I would recommend trying one for sure.  It is a pretty complicated cake to make, but when it comes down to it, the time and energy is worth every minute.

This cake is more dense then your traditional cake and the frosting is "gritty" which is definitely an acquired taste.  Honestly, when I was younger I was never too excited to eat this cake, but now that I am an adult, I look forward to getting the cake twice a year.  

After dinner and cake, Jason opened up his presents.  Justin and I got him a One Year Pandora Subscription.  Jason travels a lot for work and is often driving long distances or travelling on planes so having Pandora Unlimited is the perfect gift for him.  My mom got him some nice shirts and  a funny sign that read. " Warning: Ammo is expensive there will be no warning shot".  This sign is perfect for Jason it is definitely good for a laugh.

After dinner, we grabbed a few pictures for Christmas cards (I really need to get those ordered).  We grabbed a few cute ones of us and the kitties, but I am not sure if I will be just doing one of Justin and me.  Once I make the decision and have mailed the cards, I will share the picture with you all! I am so excited for Christmas this year!

Question of the Day: Do you take pictures for your Christmas cards or do you do a generic card?

Typically we try to take a picture, but a few years back I made the cards myself.

Christmas 2013 Binder

Hello Everyone! I am excited to share with you my 2013 Christmas Binder.  You will notice that it looks very familiar to last years binder... that is because it is made by the same company.  I spent several hours looking around for new template and I could not find one that worked well for me so I reprinted parts of last years to use again for this year.

This year I went with a more muted theme of gray/black/red.  For some reason to me, it just screamed elegance and that is the theme I am aiming for with this Christmas:  Simple Elegance.

This year my binder had six tabs; however, they were a little different from last years. 

• Master Checklist
• Christmas Gifts
• Christmas Cards
• Party Planners
• Cleaning/Organizing
• Miscellaneous

In the front of the binder, I had my calendar for November and December that I have filled out with important information and events.  These include things like: birthdays, family gatherings, volunteer times and fun events happening in our area

Master Checklist

In this section I have the Master Checklist and the Master To-Do List.  I put these items in front because it will allow me to be as organized as possible and it will act as a friendly reminder of what I need to do and what is to come.  You will find that the Master Checklist goes as far back as September.  For me that seems a bit far to be preparing some things for Christmas, but for some people it works perfectly.  That is definitely a matter of preference.  I actually would give mad props to anyone who is that organized.  

Christmas Gifts

This section was dedicated entirely to gifts.  In this section I had the Budget Worksheet, Gift List, Shopping List, Gift Ideas Page, Handmade Gifts and Order Tracking Sheet.  I put all of these pages in one section because I felt in one way or another they were connected.  In my head, it makes the most sense to put the budget with the gifts because that is where the majority of your spending will be headed during the Holidays.  I also, once I order a gift or purchase a gift, put a copy of the receipt and shipping confirmation in the binder.  This allows for me to have quick access to all the gifts I have ordered and allows me to follow up quickly if necessary.

Christmas Cards

One of my very favorite parts of Christmas is sending and receiving Christmas cards.  Out of all of the tabs in this years binder, I spent time on this tab first because I just love them so much! The Christmas Cards tab has in it: Cards Worksheet, Address Book & Thank You Cards.   This year, Justin and I took advantage of a Groupon and bought 110 Christmas cards from Zazzle for $40.00.  I have used Zazzle in the past for Christmas cards and absolutely adore their stuff.  They are very high quality and the turnover time between ordering and delivery is very quick.  

Once our cards are ordered and on their way, I will be putting a copy of the receipt and delivery confirmation right in this tab to keep on file in case I have any issues with delivery or the actual product {highly doubtful}.  

 Party Planner

This tab is new from last year and I'm pretty excited to share it with you! Typically, Justin and I do not host a party for Christmas (unless it is an impromptu party) and it looks like this year might be the same, but I was able to use this section when I planned and hosted the First Annual Friendsgiving last weekend! It was so helpful to have something where I could keep all of my recipe and decoration ideas in one spot.

If you are looking for a quick way to manage a party, then this would be my first recommendation for a paper form to organize your planning.

Cleaning / Organizing

One of the things I liked about this planner is it gives you a pretty detailed list of things you should clean and/or organize during the holiday season.  Obviously if you are hosting a party, the first thing you are going to do is clean your house, so some of the items on the list seem fairly obvious.  However, some of them we not things I readily think about cleaning and or organizing.  I look forward to take some time and completing some of the things on this checklist.  

This tab has in it the Cleaning Checklist, Decor Inventory & Decor Storage.  Right now my decor inventory and decor storage pages are blank because I never got around to filling them out.  My goal is to fill out the Decor Inventory sheet while I put up the decorations, then fill out the Decor Storage sheet as I put them away.  This will give me a quick access point if I need to go looking for any Christmas items.

Miscellaneous

This last section was dedicated to things I had no idea where I where to put.  In this category I put the  Family Traditions & Baking Planner.  Because the majority of my family traditions revolve around baking of some kind, it made perfect sense for me to group these two items together.  I'm hoping this year we will get to try some new recipes that I have been pinning on Pinterest.  

 That is my 2013 Christmas Planner so far! It will be filled with receipts, recipes and other fun goodies as I get closer to Christmas! 

Do you want your very own Christmas Planner like this one? Check out Life Your Way's website for these pages and more! 

***

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to these printables and the views and opinions expressed are my own.  I will not be receiving any payment for this post.

Our First Red Wings Game!

Hump Daaaayyyyy! Hello everyone! I hope your week has been going well!

Today's post is going to be all about Justin and my first ever trip to a Red Wings game.  It is so hard to believe that even though we have both lived here for the majority of our lives, we have never been to a Red Wings game or a Lions Game.  Honestly, I feel a bit lame for having never gone before now.  

So of course, when we finally decided it was time to go to the game, we asked  my cousin Liz and her boyfriend Richie to take us to the game because he is a pretty big fan of the Wings.  I'm so glad we went with them because they made what might have been a bit overwhelming event very fun.

Before the game, Liz and I met Justin up for dinner.  Richie was going to try and join us, but he had to work until 6:00 and that was not enough time for us to eat and get to the game on time.  So we Liz and I made our way into downtown Detroit to meet Justin at Sweetwater Tavern.  Sweetwater Tavern was originally a hotel that was converted into a restaurant and their food is delicious! If you are ever down in the heart of Detroit, make sure to make a dinner stop at Sweetwater.

After dinner, we hopped onto the People Mover and hitched a ride right to The Joe Louis Arena.  It is so nice to be able to ride around on the People Mover and get to the major locations in the city! Plus, it was a bit chilly out so it saved us from walking through the cold.  Unfortunately, Richie had to walk over from his building and had to brave the cold weather to get there.  While we waited for Richie, we grabbed a picture of us by the bobble head in front of the arena.

Once we got into the arena, we made our way to our seats to get settled in for the game.  Once we found our seats and were settled in, Richie and Liz went to grab him some dinner because he had not had a chance to eat anything before meeting us at the arena.  I was very surprised at the wide variety of food that is available at the Joe Louis Arena! You have your traditional pizza and beer, but if you were in the mood you could get Buffalo Wild Wings! I wish I would have known that before we headed out to the game because I love Buffalo Wild Wings.  At least now I know for future reference. 

Because I have never been to a hockey game before, I did not realize how fast the game moves.  You almost have to always be paying attention to the game so you do not miss a thing! I loved how fast it moved and how excited everyone was when the Wings got even remotely close to the goal.  I always appreciate the energy surrounding sports and wish that I starting watching them at a younger age and was more dedicated to them now.  I think this whole sport thing is something that I could really get into!

After the second period, the Wings were up 3-2 so we decided that it would be best to make our way out a little into the third period to try and beat the traffic and save us the hassle of the crowds.  We made our way back out to The People Mover and back to our cars.  We got out of Detroit so quickly and I think I was able to get home the fastest I ever have from Detroit.

Unfortunately, after we left the game the Capitals scored a goal which tied up the game and the Wings lost in a shoot out.  I am definitely glad we left when we did because it would have been frustrating to stay and have them lose in the last minute.

Overall, the game was SUPER fun and I cannot wait to get back out to another one!

Questions of the Day: What is your favorite sport to watch? How often do you get out to games? 

Catching Up: Nicole and Nick's Wedding

Good News Everyone {I cannot say that without thinking of Futurama}!  I'm almost done catching up on the posts I missed after my surgery.  Phew!

Today's post is all about my wonderful cousin, Nicole's, wedding to the man of her dreams.  This year has most definitely been the year of weddings (between Tanna, Bryan, & Jamie) and we finished our weddings for 2013 off with a bang!

Nicole and Nick's wedding ceremony took place at St. Hugo of the Hills Stone Chapel.  To say that the chapel is beautiful is an understatement.  I swear I spent half of the time waiting for the ceremony to start looking just at the ceiling.  I have always had a fond appreciation for architecture and my excitement was tickled by this chapel.

Their ceremony was beautiful from beginning to end.  From the bride and her girls walking down the aisle to a live string instruments to the vows that they exchanged every single minute of the ceremony was a fairy tale.  The couple switched things up a bit by having their first kiss before exchanging rings which threw me off, but I still managed to grab a quick picture (although it is very blurry).

Once the ceremony was over, we made our way outside to the get some pictures in front of the fountain by the chapel.  I tried to get a good picture of Justin and I, but we both were squinting something fierce and it just did not look very good.  

After grabbing some pictures, we killed some time {we had a few hours between the ceremony and reception} then we all made our way to The Fountains Banquet Center.  I was very excited to see the inside of The Fountains because it was one of the places I have always wanted to see.  They had everything so beautifully decorated and they even brewed beer for each couple at the wedding! Justin and I have not tried ours yet, but we will be soon! 

 

Justin and I sat at a table with my cousin Jamie, her husband Kyle, my cousin Gabii and my brother Jared.  It was nice to sit by Jamie because I had not seen her since her wedding and Gabii had just started school at Grand Valley State University so we were all able to catch up.  Dinner was served buffet style so we patiently waited our turn to get the delicious food.  My favorite part was for sure the mashed potatoes.  I love mashed potatoes. 

Once everyone was seated for the dinner, the bride and groom took some time to have their first dance and the evening continued on with awesome dancing and great company.

Congratulations Nicole and Nick! May you have many years of happiness!