Gift Wrap Ideas: Day 1

I am so excited to share some simple and frugal ideas for gift wrapping presents that can be ideas to use throughout the year!  I am still not done with the week's line up but I plan to have a few tutorials throughout the week showing you how to make some easy little gift adornments.

Gift Wrap Ideas Coming Soon!

 

Oh My Word Y'all!

I can not believe we are upon the HOLIDAY SEASON!

I mean...

THANKSGIVING is TOMORROW!  

And I don't know about any of you but we decorate the day after Turkey Day which is so fun that I almost want to climb up in the attic and haul everything down right this instant!

But I will maintain some self control since THAT job belongs to the HUBSTER.

I will just makes things pretty. :)

In the meantime, I have been trying to come up with some fun ideas for gift wrap.  

Are they all practical?  

Maybe.  Maybe not.  

Some may be a teeny tiny bit ambitious.  

Some are a bit whimsical.  

Some are just unique and simple.

But totally worth checking out.

 Here is a sneak peek of day one...

Oooohhh...I can hardly wait!

P.S.  Don't forget to enter the giveaway 

for 

$50 from Pretty Things for You

(Leave a comment for each entry)

Last Minute Turkey Craft for Kids

Today, us girls had a play date with my good friend Jenny and her sweet as pie kids.  Yes, I am mentioning once again that my good friend Jenny is the one who did the UP costume on Halloween.  Officially, this is the last time I will mention it. The end.

Anyway, her adorable kids came over and we played outside but stopped to do a quick craft for Thanksgiving.

 Wooden Spoon Turkeys!

I originally got the idea from the great blog Ramblings of a Crazy Woman.  I was excited to do this and only changed it up slightly from what she did.  I am planning on bringing this craft for all the kids to do on Thanksgiving Day.

It is super easy if you prepare it ahead and put all the materials in separate bags.  Then, all you will need is glue for the actual craft on Turkey Day. My goal is to NOT use paint.

GIVEAWAY: $50 Gift Certificate from Pretty Things For You

I am all giddy with excitement over doing this giveaway.

Why?

Because all of you are wonderful.  

And you bless me daily. 

So I get to give one of you precious friends a sweet little goody from my friend Keren, who you may know from Free Pretty Things for You with this fabulous giveaway!

First off, my sweet friend has mad, creative skills.

Secondly, she does this weird thing like...gives people freebie printables on her blog because...well, just because.

So she is at it again but this time she is giving away $50 dollars to her ADORABLE Etsy shop of handmade, vintage lovelies. And I mean ADORABLE!  Here, have a peek...

So beautiful and sweet.

I love this little girl theme.

And looky there...You could buy the whole collection and then some if you win this giveaway!

This one I keep coming back to over and over again.  I just love the colors.

I am completely digging the collegiate, preppy feel of this collection.


Look at this precious invitation!!!!
(or it can be a simply sweet note card too)

   

And these thank you tags...seriously?

They are beyond adorable.


This is my ABSOLUTE favorite one. Just lovely.

OK. How To Enter Giveaway!

(#1 and #2 are required and leave a separate comment for each)

1. Peek in on these sweet treats over at Pretty things For You and come on back and leave me a comment telling me what you liked best.

2.  Become a fan of Free Pretty Things For You on Facebook 

To obtain additional entries...

1.  Become a follower of Two Shades of Pink (if you are not already).

2.  Become a follower of Keren's blog, Free Pretty things for You and drop a comment to say hello.

3.  Blog, tweet, or facebook about this giveaway.

GOOD LUCK and DON'T Miss this great GIVEAWAY!

Our Thankfulness Tree

I know, I know.  

It is ANOTHER thankfulness tree. 

There are so many of these out there but I really wanted to do one. I say that every year yet I never do it. And I wanted this to be about the kids so it is nothing fancy yet I think it is one of the most beautiful trees EVER because we did it as a family.

Last Sunday, we decided to stay home from church in order to heal up since all of us seem to have a cold of some sort. So we had Family Church with a theme of thankfulness.  Cati is learning this theme this month at school so we decided we SHOULD ALL focus on it too.

We sang songs, read a bible story about the 10 men healed from Leprosy and only one came back to thank Jesus. (Luke 17:11-19) We read books about being thankful (which I think was my favorite part).

We wrapped it up with a craft and made a thankfulness tree.

 We made leaves out of coffee filters which we colored using washable markers.

Now I Can Tell You My Fun Little Secret!

I HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED!

Can you believe it?

I must say that I have always wanted to do something in the book or magazine world with both my writing and my crafts.  I have prayed about it and still have never received a clear answer on what I should pursue.

But recently a new magazine has been launched in our local area and I was beyond excited when they asked me...(yes, me!!!) to design some handmade thank you card ideas for kids to create in a time where we face the increasingly lost art of handwritten communication.  

I was ecstatic yet a bit nervous since card making is not exactly my craft.  But as I brainstormed ideas that did not pigeonhole a certain age group, I had loads of fun coming up with unique ideas which still hold true to my style of crafting.  

Click on the cover of the magazine  to see the cards.
I would love it if you would let me know what you think and if you will use any of these ideas.

Below are a close up of the cards and additional photos not included in the layout.
All the directions and materials needed are in the actual article.

Balloon Pocket Card

Fingerprint Thanksgiving Card

Yarn Handwriting Card

I have been so excited to share this with you and I had to wait all week until I could! I thought I would BURST!

P.S.  Do you remember my friend who did that brilliant UP theme costume for Halloween? 

That's Jenny on the cover in the upper left hand corner with her brother, sister, and parents.  

Her Dad, who is one of the most amazing people, wrote a moving article for this issue.  He has a rare blood disease and his faith is so astounding and inspiring that I am consistently inspired by the strength God gives him.  You can read his story on page 38 of the magazine.

Thanks to all of you for visiting me here and being there for me...

I truly mean that.

Links:
 

 

Blog Makeover and Exciting Stuff Happening!

I have found a new creative obsession.

It is not like I was unaware digital scrapbooking existed.  Of course it does.  But I decided to experiment with some stuff after all the fun I have had with the amazing goodies Meg works so hard on over at Shabby Blogs. I wanted a new look that had more of my own personal spin on it and I came up with...

My New Header!

Do you like it?

I can't stop downloading all this stuff out there in the webasphere.  Way fun!  I will be making changes as I go because the girls have to eat.  So I can't do it all at once.

But I had a very fun feature happen this week. I am so excited to tell you...

(Can you tell I like this stuff?) 
click here to see my eyeglasses case on their 

 Also, I have another big thing happening that is a 
dream come true.   
I can't tell you yet...though I spilled the beans to some of you bloggy friends that I email.  

But I am so excited!!

I try so, so, so hard to  zip these lips until the time comes but I can hardly wait!