Christmas Countdown Printable 2014

Not to add to your stress level, but the time has come for that annual Christmas tradition - The Christmas Countdown! I decided that we needed a new one this year and designed this one in PicMonkey.

I wanted ours for the fridge so I added magnets to the back. That way it can be used either way.

Super quick and easy - just download and print, pop it in a frame and you are good to go! Our frame came from Dollar Tree (5x7) and a quick coat of glossy red spray paint makes it pop! If you have a stainless or white fridge, you could probably just leave the frame black.

This would be great to hang on the fridge if you have little ones or Grandkids and let them change the number each day. Heck, it would be great even if you don't have little ones - we all need to work on being nicer right? Especially during Christmas!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving because the countdown has begun!

Making Christmas Memorable for all the Kids

As my children and Niece and Nephew have grown over the years, I have struggled with ways to make their Christmas memorable and fun. Even though they are grown, and my Niece and Nephew have kids, I still want to make Christmas magical for them. As everyone knows in our family "If you don't believe you get underwear!" so they all still believe in the magic of Christmas.

I was recently contacted by Lilian Vernon to review one of their products and fell in love with their adorable Christmas Owl Felt Treat Bags. I just knew that they would be the perfect little gift holder for the grown and not so grown children.

Once I get our tree up this Friday, I'm going to hang these on it for all the kids to have on Christmas Eve. I think it will be something we can make part of our Christmas tradition for years to come.

They are the perfect size to fill with everyone's favorite candies and a special little toy or treat. Maybe nail polish for the grown up girls along with a gift certificate for a mani-pedi and hardware store gift cards for the grown up boys. Hey, who wouldn't love a Lowes, Home Depot or Ace Hardware card? I know I would!

The colors are so bright and cheerful and as you can tell, owls are some of our favorite things out at Crafty In Crosby.

Can you believe that these adorable little bags are only $5.99 for a set of six? I love them so much that I've ordered another set to use for the girls at the office. I'm doing my best this year to order as many products as possible online. Who wants to fight the crowds - they just stress me out, so this year I'm staying home and letting my fingers do the walking!

I'll post pictures on Friday with the bags hanging on the tree - I just know they are going to be a hit with the kiddos this Christmas and for many more to come!

DISCLOSURE: Lillian Vernon provided these Felt Owl Treat Bags to Crafty In Crosby in return for a review of their product.

Easy Fall Centerpiece

Pinterest is loaded with intricate table centerpieces for Thanksgiving, but sometimes less is more don't you think? I needed something for our breakfast table last year and threw this together in no time flat - just a candle plate, DollarTree fall leaves, pinecones and a candle. Simple and quick and just the thing for our round breakfast table.

Layer fall leaves around the candle and place the pine cones on top.

Easy and quick and still looks great this year! Are you ready for Thanksgiving? We are traditionalists here (Leigh insists) and don't start decorating for Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving. How about you? Before or after Thanksgiving? Sometimes I think that we don't give enough time to Thanksgiving, plus waiting makes Christmas just that much more special!

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

Fall Chalkboard Sign

Don't you just love it when a project turns out even better than you anticipated? This one sure did! I'd had this picture in my mind of a chalkboard sign with a pumpkin on it for quite some time and I found the perfect plastic platter at Dollar Tree for the base.

Not too bad for a couple of bucks and some supplies I already had on hand.

The platter is just a large plastic party platter from Dollar Tree that I spray painted with chalkboard paint. The pumpkin also came from Dollar Tree. We cut it in half with a sharp kitchen knife, painted the stem gold and then Mod Podged strips of torn book pages over it. Add a few fall leaves (also from Dollar Tree) and hot glue it to the platter.

When you are Mod Podging the book strips you will need to trim the overlapping edges with scissors.

You could write any fall sentiment on the platter - Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Fall, Count Your Blessings, Autumn Blessings or anything you can think of. Don't forget to prime your chalkboard by running a piece of chalk (on it's side) over the flat part of the platter, then wipe off the chalk. I also ran the chalk around the outside edge of the platter to accent the edge.

I also used one of my favorite DIY tricks on the back of the platter - use a soda can pop tab for a hanger - just hot glue it on to the platter with a generous dot of hot glue and place a small piece of paper over it to cover the glue.

 

Such an easy craft for fall and Halloween and I love how it turned out.  Two of our favorite things - chalkboards and book page crafts.

Wishing everyone a Happy Fall Y'all!

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