Oh, Christmas Tree

How corny of a title, right? Well, I couldn't think of anything more fitting. =) I decided it was about the time to post our little tree. I've had this faux tree since 2005. It's starting to look pitiful, and I didn't realize it until this year. It's thinning really bad. I mean, you can see right through the tree. So, I've decided, I need a nice, full, new tree. One day! Anyways, on to the tree. Last year, our tree was silver and red. I still love those 2 together, but I wanted something fun this year because our son is 18 months, and he's more active and all that this year. So, after Christmas last year, I decided I wanted a Grinch-ish/Whoville-ish looking tree. I don't think it's quite there, so we'll just say I was going for bright red, bright green, and white. Surprisingly, I'm having a hard time finding plain, white bulbs.

Here we go. 

My lil man LOVES, I mean LOVES Spongebob. He can spot him from a mile away. So, I knew I had to include him in the tree, especially after my mom bought him this adorable ornament at Kohl's. Of course lil man put him on the tree, but I decided to move him up so everyone could see him. 

 This ornament I made for my son. I want him to have an ornament every year. I just decided to make him one after I saw the clear, plastic balls in Michael's for super cheap. All I did was paint on some red, green, and white dots. Then, I added his name in vinyl to the front and the year on the back. Super easy! 

 These Santa boots are probably my favorite part of the tree, next to the topper. I think they are SUPER adorable. I would have NEVER thought to put them that way, until we saw a tree with these on it in Kohl's. I had to have em. 

The next few pictures are just some of the different kinds of ornaments on the tree. I think they're all adorable.  The simple red and green glitter balls and the red key are from Walmart along with the bright green glitter picks. The white balls with red dots, swirly stick things, the green letter T with red dots, and the candy shaped ornaments are from Hobby Lobby. The ribbon that the bows are made out of is also from Hobby Lobby. 

And, now for the whole tree. If you're wondering where I got the tree topper....my mom got it for me at a Cracker Barrel right after Christmas last year. It was the inspiration for the theme of the tree.

Behind our tree on the bookshelf, hangs our cute elf stockings that I got from Michaels for $3 each, plus I used the 40% off coupon on 2 of em. SUPER cheap! I didn't even do anything or add anything to them. I just hung our initial ornaments over each one. I would like to get some white iron-on initials for each one though. Maybe for next year. The stereo behind it is wonderful, right? Lol! We have nowhere else to hang them. I'm in the process of trying to make one of those signs with the hooks that says "the stockings were hung," but I have so much other stuff going on that it was put on the back burner. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed looking at our little tree. Won't be long before I have to put it all away again, so I'm gonna stop fooling with it. 

Child's Artwork Board

When I saw this cute idea over at Brown Paper Packages I knew I had to/wanted to make one for my lil man who started drawing. It was so super easy, and free! I had everything on hand. My parents let me have the scrap wood from a project they had just done. I also had the clothespins, paint, and the vinyl. It's a super simple project. Paint the wood and clothespins your choice of color. Then cut out what you want it to say in vinyl. Then, attach the clothespins to the board using hot glue, E6000, Gorilla glue, whatever. Put the vinyl on it. Sand the board and clothespins if desired. Add picture hangers in the back. Well, that's what I did. You could hang this several ways. Add your child's artwork. Then, stand back and admire! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I know this, too, is a little late, but I didn't want to forget to wish everyone a 
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

This is a picture of our lil man last year for Halloween...

Cute little golfer!! He was 5 months old. 

This is him this year at 17 months old. 

My little biker dude complete with mohawk, torn sleeveless jean jacket, and tattoo. He was too adorable. He even kept the sunglasses on for pictures. 

What did you or your kid(s) dress up as?

I hope everyone and their kiddos had an awesome and safe Halloween...now on to Thanksgiving and Christmas!! 

Batty for Halloween!

I got this SUPER cute idea from Crap I've Made. I LOVED the idea, and it would be perfect for our Halloween  party.

After I saw this, I went straight to the Cricut, found an image of a bat online that I liked, and then saved it as a picture on my comp. Then, I went into the Cricut, traced the image into the Sure Cuts A Lot program, and copied about twenty little bats, and then waited impatiently as they cut out on the machine. 

After that, all I did was place them in no particular pattern on the chandelier over the dining room table. Easy peasy. Then, I just draped some fake spiderweb material over it as well. 

Halloween Banner

This is my 1st "crafter" post. I am starting off this blog with a SUPER simple craft/tutorial. I didn't take pictures of the steps, but it's so ridiculously easy you won't need them. Even though it is a super simple craft, it is totally cute and usually a conversation piece. People think you bought these, and when you tell them you made it, they think it's amazing....if they only knew! ;) 

So here it is...an adorable "TRICK OR TREAT" banner. 

This was the easiest banner I've ever made. 

All I did was choose some Halloween scrapbook papers. I stuck with black, orange, and white because those were the theme colors for our party. I then chose a basic font, and cut them out on the Cricut using Sure Cuts A Lot. (I don't know what I would do without that machine...lifesaver for sure!) Then, I taped the letters to a simple 3/8" black grosgrain.

It was placed on our spooky...ish entry table. I was actually please with how it looked for it to be that simple, and it got many compliments that night.

These types of banners can be made for ANYTHING. I will post later on the banner I did for my son's 1st birthday. If you don't have a Cricut, all you have to do is trace your own letters onto scrapbook paper or print them out from your computer, and attach to whatever ribbon you like. 

So easy! 

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