Gotta Make It: Muffin Gift Box December 19, 2007

“Being happy doesn’t mean everything’s perfect.  It means you decide to see beyond the imperfections.”

I SOOOOO wish I could take credit for this super cute and clever idea…but I can’t!  My mom purchased this at a Holiday Bazaar in Washington State and unfortunately the talented  and creative mind behind this didn’t leave too much information for me to give her credit.  All I know is her name is Regan Denke and she goes by Ms. Crafty’s Creations.  Like I said…I wish I had more info.  She made a tag that said “You’re getting…muffin for Christmas!!” and in the inside of the box she included directions for Blueberry muffins along with the mix and some holiday cupcake liners.  The papers she chose are adorable and she used bells on the bottom of the box as little leg stands…how clever!  She gets an A+!!!!

If you’ve seen an adorable and clever ideas please share and email us at inspiremecrafts@yahoo.com.

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!!!!

Gotta Have It: Glitter Letters November 30, 2007

“It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air”

We declared after our holiday traveling fiasco last year that we were not traveling this year.  And guess what?  A lot of family is coming to us!  This is my first time hosting a Christmas and to be honest…I’m losing sleep over it.  I keep thinking of all the “To-Do’s” and have to constantly remind myself to relax…its not that big of a deal.  But to me it is.  I want it to have a nice Christmas feel, for our guests to be comfortable, for our home to be everyone’s home away from home, and to cook a kick-ass Christmas dinner! (this is where my mother would tell me that no boy would want to marry me with a mouth like mine….see – moms aren’t always right). 

We really haven’t accumulated a lot of decorations since we are a young married couple so I am looking for decorations while making sure we have enough sheets, towels, and figuring out how to make a turkey…ahhhh!!!! And keep in mind we are budget conscious.  So not only am I here to share some Christmas ideas, but when I find some good deals I HAVE to share them with you too because I just get so excited.  So in the picture you see my little “JOY” creation.  Two stops – JoAnn Fabrics and Dollar Tree.  The glitter letters are from JoAnn Fabrics and were a dollar each.  They come in gold or silver.  For some reason they were all spread out in our store so I did have to do some hunting to find the letters I wanted, but for that price it was worth it.  The round cranberry wreaths were found at The Dollar Tree.  Now I originally didn’t buy these Christmas decorations for this project.  The cranberry wreaths were hanging as just some decoration.  I tried hanging the “JOY” letters with ribbon around one of our windows but it just wasn’t working for me.  So that is when I had my ah-ha moment.  You know you get those…you just have to think outside the box.  I took the ribbon and tied it to the cranberry wreaths and voila!  A quick, easy, and inexpensive Christmas decoration. 

I’ll tell you now.  Go to the Dollar Tree.  Go with out the kids so you can take your time going through there.  There are some great basics that help you make adorable inexpensive gifts (you’ll see in the days to come) and decorations that won’t break the bank.  Who wants to spend loads of money on decorations that you may change next year?

Until later….

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun! 

Gotta Have it: Unique Christmas Cards November 12, 2007

“Everyday is a gift”

Its that time…where your mailbox starts overflowing with Christmas cards and those infamous 2-page letters of all the good things their family has been up to start pouring in  (Well, at least its time to start thinking about what you are sending out). I think this year, I am going to write all the “stupid” things we did…everyone will enjoy that more and definitely get a laugh because we are never short on stories that make fools out of ourselves. But if you are looking for a humorous idea for this Holiday season you can do what we did a couple of years ago.  The title of our card was:

“Top 10 Reasons Why Christmas will be Different for the YOUR LAST NAME Family this Year…..”

Have fun with this!  Here are some examples of our 10:

1.  Marty’s mishap on the “to be faithful line” in the wedding ceremony was not a Freudian slip and not a cause for annulment.  We are still happily married 9 months later….

2.  Cougs win National Championship…well, at least on PlayStation 2.

3.  Went to St. Croix on our honeymoon and found out that you can replace water with beer and still survive.

4.  Since TyAnne’s eating for two, she won’t feel guilty going back for seconds thirds at Christmas dinner.

5.  We have been working to take four letter words out of our vocabulary.  Oh….get your mind out the gutter!  We mean words like jerk, dumb, Dawg, Duck. (You’ll get this if you’re a fan of any Pac-10 teams)

You get the point.  Make them fun, but they still give everyone a hint of whats going on in your life. 

If your looking for more “mainstream” Christmas cards consider checking out finestationery.com and tinyprints.com.  Here are some examples that I love from those two websites.

The following cards are from finestationery.com:

The below darling Photo Christmas cards are from tinyprints.com:

 

OK – I better stop there because I could go on and on. Like I’ve said before…I LOVE stationery and cards and could get lost on both of these websites FOREVER!  I hope you find something you like!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!!!!

Gotta Have It: Family Traditions Book November 10, 2007

“Family – forever, for always, and not matter what”

The Book of New Family Traditions:  How to Create Great Rituals for Holidays and Everyday by Meg Cox is great for any young family!  I can’t remember how I first came across it, but ever since I reference it quite often.  They’ve got ideas for everything from your normal Christmas holiday to celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday.  Its an easy read and a great reference book to have on hand when you are looking for fun and easy traditions to start with your family.  This book would make a great gift for a couple who are expecting a child. 

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Have It: Wedding Mugs November 5, 2007

“It doesn’t matter where you go in life….it’s who you have beside you.”

These adorable mugs make the perfect bridal shower or wedding gift!  The inside of the mugs say “happily ever after…..” – how cute!  I’ve used them as a shower and as a wedding gift and created my own “gift basket” by adding my favorite coffee, coffee pot, chocolates, biscotti, etc.  You can really do anything with it. I then add a note saying something about how busy our lives get, but that you always have to put your marriage first and make time for each other so enjoy a cup of coffee together in the morning….blah, blah, blah.  You get the idea.

Oh yeah….I almost forgot to tell you where I purchased them.  Silly me!  I found them at Hallmark in the wedding section.  I’ve also found the wedding anniversary set, but they are a little harder to find.  The outside of the mugs say “I still do” and “I still do too”.  I can’t remember what the inside said, and like I said I have only seen them at one Hallmark and it just happens to be the one all the way across the country.  That’s convenient!

If you have any perfect wedding gifts you would like to share please send them to inspiremecraft@yahoo.com or leave a comment!

Have a fabulous day and be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Have It: Picture Postcards October 25, 2007

The postal service delivers mail six days a week to nearly 140 million addresses.  Every year this number increases by 2 million.  – Joe Baca      WOW!!!

…….

I love these photo postcards!  I found them at Wal-Mart in the photo paper & accessories section.  You get 8 in a package for $1.77….you can’t beat that!    Print your favorite photo at a photo kiosk and then stick it to the self-adhesive front, fill-out the back with your personal message and mail!  It is so easy and everyone always loves to get a surprise postcard.  I use it to send out pictures of our son to family and friends since we live on the other side of the country from them :(.  This is sure to put a smile on anyone’s face when they open up their mailbox and it is so quick and easy! 

Gotta Have It: Halloween Invitations October 17, 2007

Planning a Halloween party this year?  If so, you have to check out http://www.finestationery.com/index.cfm.   They have pages of fun, spooky, and cute halloween invitations. I personally loved the one below and the blank stock is compatible with most laser and ink jet printers.  If you love stationary like I do…you could get lost in this website so allow your self some free time to look around! 

I also came across this family friendly party idea at Better Homes and Gardens….the link to this particular party is  http://www.bhg.com/bhg/slideshow/slideShow.jsp?slideid=/templatedata/bhg/slideshow/data/1186079880050.xml.  It is so simple and has so many great ideas like “Mummy Dogs”, easy S’mores,  Spiderweb soup,  and more.  But the idea I love best is that they typed up all the recipes from that evening and rolled them up as party favors for the parents (you can see them toward the back right in the picture).  Genious!  Guests are always asking for recipes after a great party and this just makes it so easy. 

 If you’re having a party I would love to see pictures or hear some of your personal ideas that we could share!  Be sure to check back tomorrow for a sweet halloween treat!