Christmas wrapping paper tags

Here are the tags for this neighbor gift idea.

I took our family name off and just left the "with love" so you can sign your name.

(Just click the image above to enlarge then right click on the tags and save to your computer)

BTW we just got a new HOBBY LOBBY in Kennewick, Washington. YAY!!

I LOVE their selection of Christmas wrapping paper.

My 3 year-old thought the picture would look better with him in it...

And then the rest of the gang joined in...
Cute little stinkers. :)

Christmas Ribbon Angel Ornaments

Hello there!

I wanted to share this quick idea with you.

Our Relief Society presidency wanted to give all the ladies a small Christmas gift.

We wanted to give them an angel ornament but we had almost no budget for it so I scoured the Internet for ideas and found this one.

Since we already had the ribbon and glue sticks it cost us $20 to make 75+ of them.

Pretty good eh?!

On the back we added the quote "The errand of angels is given to women"

You can't see the paper from the front.

I LOVE how they turned out.

Neighbor gift ideas

Nannygoat was featured on U create today. How LUCKY our we?!

U create is sharing tons of great neighbor gift ideas from guest bloggers.

Here is our post...

WHAT DO I GET MY NEIGHBORS FOR CHRISTMAS???!!!

Well, here are some of the guidelines I use for my neighbor gifts:

1. Inexpensive (since I need to make so many of them!!)

2. Meaningful- whether it is personalized for them or it is something that just makes life easier (see idea #3) it is great to give something that blesses their lives in some way.

3. Easy- I hate being "crazy busy" this time of year. It takes the joy out of the season for me so my neighbor gifts HAVE to be easy.

4. Finally, it has to be something that won't go directly into the garbage after I drop it off.

Let's be honest, we have all received some of those gifts before!

With that, here are a just a few ideas for you from nannygoat.

EASY

I love to give handmade ornaments for Christmas.

These are the washer ornaments we made last year. They are so easy and you can personalize it with their name etc. Also, I always put the year on the ornament so it can be a keepsake for them to look back on through the years.

EASIER

I had the idea to make the following ornament this year...

This ornament idea comes from my favorite banners (so easy to make).

I love to personalize ornaments, in this case by using the first letter in their last name.

For more details on how to make this ornament just check out my banner tutorial here.

A little note (make sure you put the year) for the back side of the ornament.

And there you have it. So easy and so cute!
EASIEST

And finally the easiest idea (and what I'm doing for some of my neighbors this year)...

Simply a roll of Christmas wrapping paper and a tag.

The tag says, "We hope you are getting wrapped up in the spirit of the season. Merry Christmas! with love, the _____ family"
I LOVE this idea because it is something they can USE and may make the holidays just a little easier for them (am I the only one who has run out of wrapping paper on Christmas Eve?!)
Just make sure you get it to them before Christmas so they can use it and don't have to store it for a year!
Good luck and Merry Christmas!!
Thanks Kari!

Ornament Wreath

Do you remember my ornament wreath last year??? Remember how I bought all the bulbs from the dollar store and just hot glued the tops on and strung them on a wire hanger?

So pretty.

Remember when I dropped it and all the bulbs popped off??

grrrr...

I pulled out my Christmas boxes a few days ago and guess what I found...

So sad.

Where did I put that glue gun?

Christmas Burlap Wreath

I wanted to do a Christmas craft with our family over the Thanksgiving break and this wreath was just the ticket! I first saw the burlap wreath (several different versions of it) almost a year ago and made a mental note to eventually make one.It was SO easy. Just take a wire hanger and bend it into a circle then take 3 inched wide stripes of burlap and poke the hanger through the burlap while folding it back and forth until the hanger is covered in burlap. That's it!

I wanted to decorate my new wreath for Christmas so I make some red and green fabric rosettes and added a little bird and some sprigs of red and white berries.

I DIDN'T glue any of it on (just used safety pins) so that when Valentines comes around I can take off the green and add some pink rosettes etc.

Every holiday you can switch it up and be creative. The burlap makes a perfect neutral background for anytime of the year!

Christmas Mantel

I'm having so much fun decorating my new mantel (no more big screen in the middle of it!) for the holidays.

This is what I came up with for Christmas...

Something about hanging the stockings (with care) that really gets me in the Christmas spirit!

Do you have your stockings hung?

Thanksgiving ideas

Remember how my house was going to be full of 26 family members for Thanksgiving? Well, they are stuck in Utah because of road closures so while I wait and worry I thought I'd show you some of the Thanksgiving fun we've been having at our house...This is our "Thankful Tree". It is about 7-8ft tall and my girls cut out a ton of leafs and apples for us to write on and add to the tree.


I love how this helps my family remember how blessed we are!
Look how beautiful it is with all those blessings...

We're hoping our guests will be able to add to our tree.

If they get here safe and sound that will merit several grateful leafs.

We made these cute turkeys from family fun.

They'll act as a place card holder on our Thanksgiving table.

Well, that's it.

I'm off to worry and wait some more...

Wishing you a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving Holiday!!

Don't just sit there, VOTE!!

I love the United States of America.

How blessed I am to live in a free country where I can make my voice heard.

I VOTED.

Did you?

Finally Dressed for Fall

So, I'm still trying to figure out my "Fall Look" in this house.

I've never had a mantle without a big screen TV in the middle of it!

Anyway, this is what I've got so far...

Downstairs I made some chubby pumpkins and stuck them on candlesticks...


I used this tutorial (posted by my Kentucky friend Danielle, Hi Danielle!) to make my pumpkins but then added a fabric stem instead.
Yep, that's what I got so far.
Recently found out that we will have 20+ people staying in our home for the Thanksgiving weekend.
I've got a lot to do... Can't wait!!

There she is... a chandelier redo and one very happy nannygoat.

I've been keeping an eye open for my "diamond in the rough".

Checking yard sales... goodwill... thrift stores.

Finally found her here.

I saw another lady eyeing her but I swooped in and grabbed her quick as a wink.

She was a mere $15.00!

A little spray paint primer (best invention ever!).

Then I spray painted her with Krylon's "Celery" which is a light creamy green color.

Yum.


The Chandelier was missing the candlesticks that cover all the electrical so I made my own.
I bought a plastic tube at Home depot and cut it into five little "candlesticks" then I use hot glue to give it the look of dripping wax... perfect.

Finally, I spray painted the candles white so they looked like this...

We knew we wanted to swag the light so that it hung over the bed in my 9-year-old daughters room so we bought a "Swag kit" from Home Depot with extra long cord and chains.

I made a simple chord cover to soften things up a bit.

So pretty.

But, not quite there yet.

So, I added little lampshades...

MMmmmmm.... there we go.

BEFORE

AFTER

What do you think?