Getting Christmas Crafty and Thrifty!

Christmas Decor Crafts

Since this is our first year in the new house and money is tight, I decided to do a lot of craft projects to help decorate for Christmas!  I had seen a few regular decor idea's using dollar store items on Pinterest and decided I would give it a shot myself.  I went off to the Dollar Store in hopes of getting a large frame to put over our mantle and cover with Christmas Balls along with my first homemade bow on top.  What I did not realize was I would be walking out with items for not just that project but another one as well :)

Mantel Frame:

~this was my original idea and the reason I went to the store.  As of right now we have nothing above our mantle so this seemed like an easy cheap way to take up some space!  I was lucky in that I had some leftover ribbon from my wreath so I decided to watch a YouTube tutorial and make my own bow!  Here are some quick and easy tips on how to create your own piece!

Things You will Need:
1. Dollar Store Mirrors or Frames (I picked out the only mirrors they had 4 of)
2. Glue Gun & Sticks
3. Ornaments in varying sizes
4. Bow or Ribbon to Make a Bow

How to Make:
1. Place 4 frames how you want mirror side facing down
2. Hot glue bottom two together in the middle making sure to fill in all crevices & then top 2
3. Hot glue top piece to bottom piece, again making sure all crevices are filled
4. Once completely dry flip over and decide how and where you want to place your ornaments.  In my case I placed the large ones first then went in and "filled in" the empty spaces with smaller ones.
5. Hot glue ribbon to top of the frame (be sure not to place any ornaments where your bow will be going)
6. Hang and Enjoy!

Holiday Candle Holders:

These were my wild card idea that came to my while looking at mirrors.  I happened to turn around and see all of these awesome candle holders for only $1 and decided they would be great additions to the end of the mantle, they were super easy to make and to me look like something you would spend $10 a piece on, when I made them for only $2! (not including the candles of course which were $3 a piece at Walmart).

Here is how I did it.

Things You will Need:

1. 2 Glass Candle Holders (any size or shape you would like)

2. Glue Gun & Sticks

3. Ornaments (your choice as long as they have a flat spot to place onto the Candle Holder)

How to Make:

1. Place candle holder on floor

2. Remove hanger string from ornament

3. Hot glue ornament on flat spot to adhere to candle holder

4. Place ornament on candle holder and hold for 10-15 seconds until glue has time to cure

5. Insert Candle and Enjoy!

and for the last one...my first attempt at a Home Made Wreath!

Wreath:

This one I came up with just walking around Michael's.  I went in with a bunch of coupons so I was ready to go and get what I needed.  I got the wreath (fake pine) for $3.99.  While I was outside I also found a beautiful red poinsettia bundle that I used for the bottom part.  I came across the pine cones and thought they would be a nice touch and something to break up the red.  The last thing I added was my ribbon and another piece to the bundle that I cut off another red glittered bundle :).  Overall I think for my first wreath I did a good job and I am proud to have it displayed on our front door!

Thanks for reading and happy Crafting!

~Nicole~

Getting Behind!

Wow, I just realized today I missed Austins 4mo post so here it is!!  I also have a few Christmas Craft projects I completed over the past few weeks that I will put in a different post.  I will post pics and tutorials below for anyone who would like to re-create them so be on the lookout for it!


Austin = 4mo!

So first things first.  Time is flying, we are already in December and my little guy turned 4 months old on the 21st of November!  The day of his 4mo Birthday we also left to head up to Boone for our annual trip for our Christmas Tree, yes the same trip we took last year when Kyle proposed!! It is crazy to think it has been an entire year, but time flies when you are having fun right? :).

So we left on Wednesday and got up to Boone around 10pm (after stopping for dinner).  As usual Austin did great with the ride up there and slept the entire way, only waking up to eat when we stopped.  Once we got there, we got settled, I put him to bed and passed out myself, in my clothes at that. I was just so immensely tired after a long day at work then a 3.5hr drive.

Here is a picture from our 4mo old shoot!

We had his 4mo pediatrician visit the following week on the 25th which included 3 more vaccines, 2 injections and 1 oral.  He did great, although he had no desire to lay down on the table and was not happy until I could pick him up.  Luckily he only cried for about 10 seconds before he was good and ready to go!  His stats were as follows....

      Weight: 14lbs 3oz

      Height: 24 1/4 inches

Both of those were the same as his 2mo appointment in that he is still in the 25th percentile but his head went from the 25th percentile up to the 40th percentile so my little guy has a big ole noggin. Just means his brain is extra big and full of knowledge :) Besides that it was a simple appointment.  We were given the green light to start Solid foods which we had already had our first taste of Oatmeal.  Excited to get him on one serving per day of that then moving on to vegetables soon after.

4 mo Survey!

Age: 4 months and 2 weeks

Height/Weight : 14lbs, 3oz and 24 & 1/4 inches


Dr Appts : he did great at his 4mo appt and does not have to go back until his one in January!


Changes : he is getting so much bigger, my little newborn baby that looks like every other newborn is long gone and my handsome big boy is here to stay! He is sitting up assisted and we are working on letting him stand (while we hold his hands of course) as he loves to push up and try! He is also now my little tummy guy as anytime he is on his back he almost immediately rolls over to his tummy! He also tries his hardest to push up, so we might have a crawler here soon (lord help us and the kitty!) He is also teething which means more drool than I can care to handle.  The Dr felt his bottom gums and says we might have a nub popping through here soon!


Sleeping: since DST he goes to bed at 6:30pm and gets up around 6:30-7am! It is great as Kyle and I get our time together at night and he is up and ready to go when we need to leave for work.  Not so fun on weekends when we want to sleep later though but he is totally worth it.


Accomplishments : grabs his feet, can sit unassisted for a few seconds, can stand with the help of hands, attempts to hold his own bottle and knows its where his food is, grabs and holds on to toys and can also put them in his mouth, rolls over both ways great.

Eyes : blue and grey, I love his eyes they are so pretty! He is going to be a heart breaker lol

That is it for Austin! Be on the lookout for my next post with some homemade Dollar Store Christmas Crafts!

~Nicole~