If you're like me, your hosting space can feel a bit tight come the holidays. Thankfully, the folks at Turbo Tenant shared some of their tips and tricks for making the most of a small space during Christmas and New Year's Day.
If you have a slim hallway or lack floor space, try hanging these printable snowflakes (above) from your ceiling. Cut them out and use fishing line and tape to cause an illusion of them floating around your home. You can leave them be for a clean and simple look, or have the kids color them as a fun craft before hanging them up. This could become a unique and fun new Christmas tradition for the family!
Another easy and fun decoration idea is to frame festive signs around your home. You can use these printable festive signsand hang them on your wall or have them displayed on a side table. If you have a big blank wall, use thing signs as well as other festive wall decor to make it a holiday collage wall.
One of the easiest things you can do is deck out your beverages to make your drink-making station super festive and absolutely adorable. Break out the holiday liqueurs, spirits and/or coffee bar add-ins and use these printable beverage tags to help make it extra jovial!
Finally, if you are hosting, there’s nothing better than coming together after a delicious meal to have some friendly competition with your loved ones. Try this freefamily-friendly feud gamethat the whole family will enjoy!
Need a good chuckle this holiday season? May I suggest The Christmas Poop Log Story Book? Yes, it's an actual thing and it's hilarious!
Anyone who loves a good poop joke will adore the story of this fascinating, educational experience that revolves around a Christmas tradition celebrated in the Catalonia region in Northern Spain with roots dating back to the 18th century. Who knew?!
The practice of finding the perfect poop log in the wilderness reflects the American tradition of finding the perfect tree. Once the one that’s ‘just right’ is found, it is brought into the home and accessorized by its new family with an illustrated face and sometimes a felt hat or other festive attire and propped on smaller logs as front “legs.”
After traveling to Spain several years ago and becoming fascinated by the tradition, entrepreneur and first time author Jonathan Chastek wrote the book as a way to bring the endearing tradition to American families. And what's nice is a tree will be planted for every purchase through a partnership with OneTreePlanted.
* Note: I received a review sample. However, all opinions, images, etc. are honest and my own. This blog does not contain any content that might present a conflict of interest. Affiliate links and/or monetary compensation will always be disclosed.
My latest batch of Christmas projects all seem to have one thing in common: letter tiles.
(Merry shelf sitter)
I'm sure you already know I stock up on Scrabble games whenever I see them at our local thrift store. In fact, if there is a board game with letter tiles, I can't get it in my hands fast enough.
(Dollar Tree snowflake ornaments)
You never know when they may come in handy. And as you can see from these latest Christmas projects, the tiles are versatile and can be used on just about everything.
Tips: The book page tree I made using a tutorial on Pinterest. The shelf sitter is from a block of wood I got at Dollar Tree (I cut it in half). The wood snowflakes are also from Dollar Tree. They come unfinshed, so you can paint them whatever color you like.
I took advantage of the beautiful weather and spray painted this Target gumball machine pink. I've never been a huge fan of pink for Christmas, but once I saw all these pretty bulbs ($3) and the pink reindeer (set of 2, $3) at Target, I was all in!
Next up is this fa la la wood shelf sitter. I cut a Dollar Tree wood block in half and used one piece for this design. I simply painted it white, glued on some plaid fabric ribbon and then added my letters - which are from a random board game a friend gave me.
I love how both turned out. I'm definitely pacing myself in terms of full-on decorating. I expect I'll start breaking out the bins next weekend.
Have you been to Dollar Tree lately?! Our local store is starting to put out some Christmas decor (yay!). I grabbed this door ornament, frame and faux evergreen branch my last trip there to make this cute tabletop decoration.
They also have these great wood cutouts in a few different holiday sayings. I gave mine a few coats of white paint.
I finished up with the rhinestone embellishment and sheet music for the tree. I'm definitely grabbing a few more of these when I go back.
Remember Target's ceramic gumball machines? I could never find the red one, so I just made one myself using the white one I had. I can't wait to jazz this up for Christmas!
What have you been able to find lately at your local Dollar Tree?
I can't be the only starting Christmas projects...can I?
When you have an Etsy shop, you have to be a few seasons/holidays ahead. Amirite?
I've been trying to revamp my little shop. It hasn't gotten the attention it deserves lately, but playing around with these vintage sheet music prints got my creative juices flowing again.
They're all for sale at OkioBDesigns.Etsy.com. Save 15 percent sitewide from November 1 through December 15, 2021 using code ETSY2021.
My 14 year old son considers himself something of a popcorn connoisseur. Name a brand - he's tried them all.
A couple of weeks ago, I was flipping through an old issue of Country Living magazine and saw Quinn Snacks (yes that is my October 2012 issue above). I showed it to him and he said: "Ooooh, we should try that." For those of you who aren't familiar with the brand, Quinn has taken popcorn to a new level. They've "removed all of the chemicals, preservatives, plastics and use only real ingredients they can trace back to the source." Basically, there's no bad stuff here.
We were able to get our hands on Quinn's Movie Night Popcorn Box (SRP: $26.99 while supplies last). It was like hitting the lotto jackpot for this kid.
The Movie Night Popcorn Box (seriously, how cute is the box with all of the movie quotes?!) contains 9 bags of their delicious popcorn, 9 packets of oil and seasonings (3 of each seasoning flavor: White Cheddar & Sea Salt, Real Butter & Sea Salt and Aged Parmesan & Rosemary). You pop the popcorn, pour on the oil (and you shake, shake, shake) and then add the seasoning (and shake, shake, shake again).
Omg, each kernel is like a little piece of organic heaven. My son devoured an entire bag himself. I popped a separate bag for the rest of us and we all agree, we've never had such light and airy popcorn before. You could actually taste the goodness.
If you have the time, pop on over (no pun intended) to Quinn Snacks to see their array of good for your food. You can also find them on Amazon, of course. And if you're wondering, my favorite is the White Cheddar & Sea Salt.
Jeanine
* Note: I received a review sample from Quinn Snacks. However, all opinions, images, etc. are honest and my own. This blog does not contain any content that might present a conflict of interest. Affiliate links and/or monetary compensation will always be disclosed.
Here's another DIY in under 5...This spooky, wood bead ghost garland will cost you $2 to make. (Yup, just $2). And literally 5 minutes...
Everything you need is pictured above and it's all from Dollar Tree. I'm sure you probably have white acrylic paint sitting around in your craft room. Break it out and paint your ghosts white. Once those are dry, simply tie them to your wood bead garland. Done and done! Told ya it was easy peasy.
You know how I love sharing smart and why-didn't-I-think-of-that products with you guys. This one is a true life-saver...
Seriously, every few days I do battle with my son's favorite sleeping bag. Ya know, the one he totes to all of his sleepovers. The last few months, the zipper has been such a pain in the neck and this kid will not let me throw it out. It scrunches the fabric in a kung-fu-like grip - leaving me yanking and cursing at this poor defense-less sleeping bag. Here's where FixnZip ($10.99) comes in.
This handy-dandy device is perfect for fixing zippers on any outdoor recreation and travel items, including: sleeping bags (yay!), tents, luggag, duffle bags and even Jeep windows. It's smartly carried in the tactical kit of every Navy Seal!
FixnZip literally slides over any broken zipper and instantly replaces it as the new zipper. Not only is it super easy to use, it's also eco-friendly (made of nickel) and the parts can be taken off one item and used on another. But wait, there's more!
FixnZip is:
Easy to apply;
Fits a range of sizes;
Can start anywhere on the zipper;
Repairs tooth and coil, metal and plastic zippers;
Durable and non-corrosive surface;
Can be re-used (yay!);
Full website offers online instructional support;
And my favorite: Made in the USA.
You can find FixnZip at Michael's Stores nationwide or by clicking this link. You'll thank me later.
Jeanine
* Note: I received a review sample from FixnZip. However, all opinions, images, etc. are honest and my own. This blog does not contain any content that might present a conflict of interest. Affiliate links and/or monetary compensation will always be disclosed.
I'm just going to say it. "Take a hike summer and bring on autumn." After a couple of cooler days last week, we're back to summer part 2. And I'm done.
(Jenga block pumpkins in white.)
I want to get my autumn on and Mother Nature is putting a kink in my plans. Sure the warmer weather is great for drying spray paint. BUT, the heat does zero for my motivation.
(Blinged out Dollar Tree skull.)
I'm ready to embrace cooler days and I'm growing impatient.
(Upcycled toy tractor.)
I know I'm not the only one...Anywho, all of the crafts featured here were made with items I already had in the house or, like the skull, purchased at Dollar Tree. Scroll back a few posts for directions on how to make your own Jenga block pumpkins.
I am a small business owner by day, and mom of two boys and DIY crafter by night. You might remember me from my old blog: One Cheap B*tch. I love sharing my tips and tricks to create affordable home decor, fashion, food, crafts and more! Drop me a line at spam-proof: jeanineb4etsy(at)yahoo(dotcom). Thanks for stopping by!
Jeanine
OkioBDesigns is a PR-friendly blog. If you have a product or service, you'd like to submit for review, please email me at jeanineb4etsy(at)yahoo(dotcom).
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