thankful countdown mini-album

Hey all! This is my last post for about 2 weeks- going to be spending time with family for the holiday season. But not to worry, I'll be back again at the start of December!! :)

So in counting down to Thanksgiving, I decided to make a little "thankful" mini-album, or gratitude mini-album! So I counted down to Thanksgiving by counting down the ways I'm thankful for my DH ;)

I used PTI's mat stack 3 for the basic shape. For the covers, I die cut some thin cardboard leftover bits I had. Then I covered them in some Making Memories Autumn Splendor DP! Love that line :) The inside pages I die cut some more DP and some pages from an old book. For the numbering, I used a stamp from PTI's 2009 Holiday Tags. I added some scrap pieces of paper on each page to make a space for journaling. I finished it off with a few word stickers and some ribbons!

This is the last page, inside the back cover :)

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Veteran's Day

THANK-YOU

to all our Veterans for serving to protect the freedoms of this great nation.

May God bless you and keep you.

I encourage everyone to thank a military service member whenever you see them. They sacrifice so much and often receive little thanks. Trust me when I say that it is always a humbling experience and often brings them to tears when someone goes out of their way to say a simple thank-you.

Thanking God for my Veteran DH today and everyday!

Handmade Gift- cross stitch ornament

So I'm not one for skipping holidays- Thanksgiving is actually one of my favorite holidays because both sides of our family always get together each year for big turkey dinners :) Love that it's a holiday that has really become about great food and great family!
With that said though, I did want to share this ornament that I'd made for a Silent Auction gift basket I donated! I'm getting started on Christmas gifts already too, since some require a bit of time to make- like a few other cross-stitch gifts I'm working on (I'll share once they're done!). This is a great gift- handmade and pretty cheap to make!

• embroidery floss- $1 each color
• cross stitch fabric- already had, recently bought some more at $6 for a big sheet
• frame- $1 at Michaels
• ribbon (to hang)- already had, ~$2.50 for a whole roll

So you can see how you could make a lot of these out of one set of supplies!! :) You could also dress it up with some beads for the holly berries or a twine/floss bow on the wreath!

This pattern was from Just CrossStitch magazine, but recently I've found a lot of beautiful patterns for free online. Cross stitch is really easy to learn, and make for some great personal handmade gifts :)

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Frugal Fridays @ Life As Mom

Handmade gifts :: framed diecuts

So here's a super simple DIY handmade gift! And the best part is, depending on what diecut you use, it could be perfect for any holiday or occasion! Customize the shape for the holiday, season, or maybe what your giftee enjoys- use their favorite colors, if they like dogs you could find a cute doggie cut out, if they like sewing you could use great buttons instead, use umbrellas for a baby shower or wedding shower decor, the sky's the limit!

.: materials :.

• frame
• background paper
• die cut (or other items to frame)
• 3-D pop dots

.: instructions :.

{1} remove glass from frame

{2} cut background paper to the size of your frame

{3} measure your die cut, and approximate how many will comfortably fit in your frame

{4} cut out die cuts, if needed

{5} attach die cuts to background paper using 3-D pop dots **

{6} assemble frame and gift away!

** a few things I found useful during this step...

- I assembled this with the frame around the background paper, not attached in the frame yet, but just resting on the table around the paper. It helped visually space the die cuts.

- I also assembled this with my Olfa sewing cutting mat under my project. I aligned the frame/background paper with the measurements on the mat so I knew I was roughly spacing the die cuts evenly. You could also simply put a ruler along either side to help with spacing too!

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autumn mantel

So this home is the first {and likely last for a while!} time that we've had a mantel!! Usually housing for DH's rank doesn't get fireplaces, so we're relishing in it while we have it :) hehe... anyways, so I'm new at this decorating a mantel thing- but I'm pretty pleased with the outcome! Let me walk you through what I have on it... most of it is frugal or DIY!
So first up we have....

• great glass leaf plates made in Italy :: $3 from The Christmas Tree Shop
• autumn scented candles :: $5 for three, on clearance at Kohl's
• woven basket {always reminds me of apple picking!} :: $2 from Goodwill
• yarn balls- I change out the colors every season :: DIY, so cost just for the yarn and the time to wrap the yarn!
• great crystal bowl :: $16 from Main Street shop in Disney's Magic Kingdom
• framed pumpkin :: DIY, tutorial {here}
• twigs in a vase :: $20 for the various twig bundles, vase inherited from my late grandmother

And on the other side we have...

• glass jar of acorns :: $2 jar from Goodwill, $5 box of acorns on clearance at Kohl's
• candle display :: $1 for bag of beans, $2 for grapevine at Michaels, candle from above mentioned set
• framed leaves :: DIY, tutorial {here}
• fabric wrapped balls :: DIY- fabric strips wrapped around styrofoam balls, adhered with hot glue or straight pins
• more great glass leaves :: again $3 for little one and $6 for big one

We're not currently using the fireplace because it's not really autumn or cold weather yet here in the south! Of course our first home with a fireplace and it may never get cold enough to use it! *sigh* oh well, it still provides a great smell and look- depending on the day, we can often smell the burnt wood that's been baked into the brick over the years :)

• autumn scented candles :: $6 each on clearance at Kohl's
• candle holders :: $6-12 each on clearance at Kohl's

So there ya have it! A little look into our home and our fun autumn mantel :) Thanks for visiting!!

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