a kitchy wreath

I leave early Friday morning to drive up to Los Angeles to help Margie set up her booth for CHA.  This is her second year designing her own paper and so it is really exciting to see how people flock to her booth and drool over her products.

She really is an amazing designer.

Anyway, I made a few decor items for the booth.  I thought I'd share one with you.  I used the papers from Margie's "Kitch" line to create this wreath.

It is large. Probably thirty or so inches across.  I really wanted to capture the feel of the paper which is, well, kitchy. So I dug out some of my vintage hankies and old pop tops.  I made carnations (the kitchiest flower around) out of muffin cups. And as I always say, everything is better with pom poms.  Oh Lordy yes.

The overall theme of Margie's booth this year is going to be very festive so I wanted to stick with that and make this wreath seem like a party on the wall.

Don't those polk-a-dots just give you a happy feeling deep down in your soul?  If you will be at CHA I hope I get to say hi. I will be at the show on Saturday, but then I must come home and take care of all my little chickies.

the gathering season

Well it's here. It's offically the gathering season. That special time of year when I start to gather up all the little gifts for the kid's advent calendar. Tis' the season that I love so much.  I'm constantly on the hunt for small, inexpensive tokens to fill each day in December.  Sometimes it's sweets. Other times I find little trinkets like a yo-yo or lip balm.

Every door in our advent calendar contains a little note. A cryptic messages as to where the children might find their treasure.

This year I am using my Girl's Loft kit to make each gift special.

Do you have an advent calendar in your family?  Here's some ideas of small gifts you can get to fill the days:

yo-yo

lip balm

stickers

cocoa mix

chocolate gold coins (gelt)

christmas socks

silly putty

ornaments

books

Cracker Jacks

Pez

movie tickets

character band-aids (my kids love these)

trading cards

gum

animal crackers

friendship bracelets

fun pencils

Hot Wheels

Crayola tub tints

bouncy ball

candy canes

bottled soda

kazoo

nightlight

sprinkles and cookie cutters

card game

craft kit

Christmas DVD

dreidel

marbles

gingerbread house kit

bubble bath

Check the dollar bins and Target and Michael's.  They always have a bunch of fun stuff. Also, coupons for ice cream go over well in our house.

You got some ideas? Let's hear them! Like I said before, I'm on the hunt.

I also used my Girl's Loft kit to create a paper Santa to stand sentry at the advent calendar.  We have some sneaky kids in this family.


The November kit is full of The Girls' Paperie "Tinsel & Twig" line.  If you buy a kit and you would like to make your own paper Santa, email me and I'll send you the pattern.