Lotte's Advent Calendar

I did a guest post over at GLUESTICKS on Friday.  I was going to wait awhile to post this here, but it is dated material, if you will.  I told you about it in my thankful post, but if you didn't take the jump and see it, here it is....


Lotte is 2 and a half and it is the first Christmas she is able to understand the magic of it all.  So I wanted to give her a calendar of her own to help countdown until the big day!

This cute little guy is in her room above her bookcase.

I didn't want it to be too expensive or too heavy to hang so I made it out of Balsa board.  It is only $3.00 from the craft store, and it can be found in the modeling section.

I used Martha Stewart glitter paint (AMAZING STUFF) on clothespins that I already had in my stash.  Everything is hot-glued together in a sort of random fashion.  The circles where cut from my Cricut and I hand drew the numbers on.

I couldn't find the "perfect ornaments" so I picked up a bag of vase filler from the craft store ($4.99 with a 40% off coupon!).  I made them into ornaments with a straight pin, some glue and ribbon.  If you have ornaments around those would work too, or making them out of felt would add a great touch.

Every day in December she will wake up and put a new ornament on her mini Christmas tree.

This advent calendar is something we will have for years to come and I can't wait for the many Christmases filled with wonder and excitement!

Linking my advent calendar up to these jolly good hostesses!
Strut Your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple
DIY Under $5 @ A Little Tipsy
12 Days of Christmas @ Keeping the Christmas Spirit Alive, 365

No Nonsense November--Let the CRAFTING begin

My list is nailed down.

My budget is set.

Let the CRAFTING begin.

I'm going to start by showing off THE. GREATEST. YARD. SALE. FIND. EVER.

Here is one of Lotte's {and I guess eventually Brother too} Christmas gifts.

It was on the side of the highway at a Ghhheeetooooeeee yard sale.

I made the Mister turn the car around immediately.

It is real wood, handmade and in EXCELLENT condition.

{sink with movable faucet and "dog dish" sink}

The man said he is asking $140 for all three pieces.  I said "No, but we could do $100."

{stove with plexi glass on oven and microwave, turning knobs and shelf inside oven}

He said, "SOLD!"

{I started taking the fridge apart to paint before my "before" picture...but it also has 2 shelves inside}

With a little A LOT of help from my mom we were able to take it home.

So I have worked a bit this weekend and will continue this week to doll this beauty up to its full potential.

HERE is my Pinterest Board "Pimped Play Kitchen" that I have started in order to gather some of my ideas for all of the kitchen goodies.  Do you have anything I should add?  I LOVE good kitchen finds!

Christmas Organizer & Make Your Own Tabs

This year I have printed out and am going to be using the Organized Christmas planner.

They have over 40 different printables that help you organize your Christmas Planner.

Some examples include:
Budgeting
Party Planners
Weekly Planners
Ornament Journal (My favorite...keep track of yearly additions!)
Decor Planner/Inventory/Storage
Gift Ideas and Master Gift List
Card List
Black Friday Planner
Meal Planners

I put all of my planners into a 1/2 inch binder and made a little cover page.

On the inside I separated my planner into 6 different sections.
Lists-all of my to do lists
Money-budgeting
Mail-card mailing lists
Food-baking and menu planning
Home-decorations and home chores
Journal-ornament and traditions

I am in love with how organized my Christmas is going to be.  It makes me feel relaxed and happy.

Do you like my tabs for my organizer?  I made them myself...sorry for the terrible pictures!  It was LATE!

Here is how I made them...I cut circles from my card stock and folded them in half.

I measured and drew a straight line where I wanted the tab.
Then I used my exacto-knife to cut that line.

Slip the circle into the cut line.  I used zots to secure the folded circle together.  Quick, Easy and perfect for my organizer!

I'm linking my Christmas Organizer to these LOVELY and GRACIOUS hostesses!
Get Your Craft on @ Today's Creative Blog
Strut Your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple