christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope it is the best day ever!

I will most likely be taking the next week off for visiting family in other parts of NC and in Georgia. See you next week, muah!

sisters

It does not get much better than this (unless the little brother was here). Merry Christmas Eve!!

wednesday wish list

Cute stockings and garland from Milkpod Studio on etsy. Rustic, modern, perfect.


Wouldn't these be just the perfect Christmas decorations? I haven't been able to get enough of the festive decor this year!

kisses and cross stiches

Been finding a lot of sweet things here lately. To share just a few::



These shots make me happy to be a girl.

flickr:: handmade christmas

Some of my favorite finds on flickr this past week: handmade Christmas decorations::



Can't wait for Christmas to be here!

Links:

• saidos da concha (one and two)
• dottieangel
  
• domesticali
  

ready..

FOR A VACATION!!! Two more days of work before a long overdue break.

Holiday party this weekend, so excited! I will post some pictures up on Sunday (if not too hungover). Photography from here.

blah

Been feeling a bit uninspired lately. What is the trick to balancing work, personal life, and your desire to create??? Felt a twinge of jealousy, inspiration, and excitement when I spotted this handmade wooden wreath on design*sponge. Susie's husband made it as a surprise out of scrap wood!

Can't forget to mention those great paper ornaments as well!

UPDATE: I realized I didn't leave a link for this post- you can see the wreath on d*s here and the original here at Susie's Make Something Happy Blog. I also have to give a shout out to Susie for all of the helpful tips and advice she has been sending my way!

wednesday wish list

These urban outfitters BDG Saddle Oxfords. plain. and. simple.

These and these are pretty great as well.

happy place

Can't get much better than some late morning sunlight and a warm bed. This may need to sit on my desktop at work for those long, trying days...

the wild unknown

I have been seeing this gorgeous Year of Feathers calendar by the shop The Wild Unknown all over the internet for the past week. It is just too great not to share here. Printed in a limited edition set of only 100, they are handcrafted in Brooklyn. Be sure to check out the rest of their shop as well for some more precious finds.

treats for my sweets

Ok, I have to admit I feel like the blog has been all about me, me, me this week. Things I have been doing or things I just want! So today I want to share some things I have found that I would love to give to all the wonderful people in my life! Everything is from the always exciting Curiosity Shoppe.

For my sisters::
vegetable garden greeting cards.
Russel Wright sugar bowl and creamer.
mustache pencils, just for fun.

For my brother::

a pinhole camera kit and a diana camera, because he is awesome and needs to take more photos. (and draw me pictures)

For the parents::
glasses-shaped USB drive, you can never have enough space.
wooden salt and pepper shakers, because they are just awesome.

For the mister::
the sweetest book I've ever read.
a wooden flashlight, stylish and handy.
cute wooden radio, because I just know he would love it.

For everyone I know::
the "I am not a paper cup" porcelain cup. Because someone gave one to me a few years ago and it is one of the greatest things I have ever owned.

I am not endorsing this as any kind of gift guide, but just some things I love that I would give the the people I love... if I had a lot of money and I hadn't already made all of their gifts. :)

wednesday wish list

Spent some time at the bookstore this weekend (christmas shopping for a certain family member) and took a little stroll over to the art and craft section. Here are a few of the treasures I came across::
How could I resist? Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts.

This one could come in handy, especially since one of my upcoming New Year's goals is to get an etsy shop up and running this year. Craft Inc by Meg Mateo Ilasco.

I would love pretty much anything from this woman, she is so talented. Lotta Prints by Lotta Jansdotter.

I think all of these would be great for any artists/crafters in your life!

tuesday handmade

A fun project I have been working on over the past couple of days is our Christmas card. I made this paper-cut (while I was supposed to be working) and now I just need to make it into a card that I can duplicate and mail. If you know us, you know this is our little home!
I think I will be working in the media a lot more from now on, so much fun!

christmas 09

I have really enjoyed decorating the house for the first time ever for Christmas. Just having space for your decorations without everything feeling cluttered makes such a difference.
I am very picky about my decorations, though, and have been getting some slack from friends and family for not putting up mine and the mister's childhood ornaments and decorations. Is that awful? I just want everything to match my color scheme!! Ok, that does sound pretty awful. I'll let you be the judge...
The white tree!

A very special wire ornament my love made for me.


The garland I made from unbleached coffee filters (and a little bit of tissue).

The coffee table.

The gifts- with my handmade NC ceramic ornaments.


I am so excited for Christmas to be here, to actually hand out all of the gifts and to have everyone over to enjoy our new home with us. Speaking of home, I have a special handmade project to show you tomorrow!

holiday hangover

Bad blogger! The five day weekend I had last week took me way longer than expected to recover from. But now I am back into the swing of things at work, the house is clean, things are settled, and I can get myself back here. Not a great excuse, I know, but sometimes you have to prioritize. Thanksgiving was wonderful, many friends and family and a plethora of delicious food. Here are a few of the shots.

The bird (that certainly looked great).

The spread.

The dessert (delicious pumpkin cookies that I made from this recipe).

And I got some good news tonight, apparently my handmade loot is selling well up at the local jewelry/gift shop I have it at. That is incredibly exciting as this is my first venture into what I hope will be a bigger adventure. Here is a sneak peak until I get some better photos of all of my goods::