holiday traditions.

(cards are top left: minted; bottom left & right: emilyley)

when the holidays rolled around the year joey and I got married I started thinking about the traditions I wanted to start as our own little family.  coincidentally, I won a contest from minted for 50 free cards and decided that framing them each year and including them as part of our christmas decor was going to be one of the traditions we started.  I know how much I loved looking back at pictures of us as kids with our parents and commenting on how silly mom and dad looked or how horrible our coordinating outfits were and seriously, WHY did shoulder pads ever exist?! figured I'd pass that fun along to beckett. (you're welcome, buddy.)

like most husbands, joey hates taking photos, and like most wives, I insist that he is going to look back on these pictures and be glad that we have them.  we're only three years in and the fights continue each time we get ready to smile for the camera, but looking at that photo above it's already completely worth it.  what I like best is that even though our first year's photo doesn't 'show' beckett- he's there.  I was pregnant but didn't know it yet when we took that picture.

what traditions do you and your family have or have you thought about starting? I'm still trying to come up with some fun, kid friendly ones. suggestions are welcome!!

gratuitous shot of little man. he is LOVING all things christmas these days.

xx 

gold, pinecones & glitter! simple holiday wreath under $10.

I love my holiday door wreaths SO HARD! glad my first try was less than stellar and forced me to start over.  so, I'll share the ridiculously easy process I used to make them. did I take photos of all the steps? no. but you won't need them. it's THAT easy. and did I mention they are less than $10/wreath? score.

let's get started!

materials:

1 : grapevine wreath 18" (buy at joanns and use one of their 40% off coupons)

2 : 10-15 small pinecones gathered from your yard (FREE!) or buy a bag at a craft store : COUPON!

3 : gold spray paint - I used the valspar above and it covered well and dried fast!

4 : box of mini ball ornaments.  I bought these from joanns and one box was enough for 2 wreaths. but maybe you want to get a little crazy with the gold balls. do it!

5 : handy, dandy glue gun. not sure what I'd do without mine. :)

6 : forgot to picture it, but you will need a wreath hanger like this one. 

don't be lazy and forget the coupons. you can print them offline or just download the joann's app so they'll be on your phone. then you can be like me and pull up the competitors websites while waiting in line for additional discounts. (michaels, hancock, hobby lobby, acmoore...)

you're welcome.

steps:

1 : spraypaint your wreath and pinecones gold.  you'll have to spray down one side and wait about 20 minutes, then come out and flip them all over to spray the other. 

ignore the silver paint. that was from the first project and doesn't apply here. love the silver? 

just replace every instance of 'gold' in this post with silver, or for that matter, whatever color you choose! 

2 : once you've gotten everything painted, fire up the glue gun and crack open the  box of mini ornaments. you're ready to start playing around with pinecone/ball placement. sounds fun, yes? 

3 : after you've figured out placement, glue away! don't be frugal here- you want these puppies to stick, so glob it up. once it's dry you can pull away any excess glue strands that are bothering you.

4 : hang that beauty on your front door and pat yourself on the back.

pretty holiday decor in under an hour and under $10. 

your wallet (and husband) thank you.

if you make one, share a link to the photo. I'd love to see what other variations you come up with.

happy holidays!!!!

xx