You remember the extreme limitations imposed upon my family gift-giving this year, don’t you? After trying and failing at a few different ideas for my siblings and their SOs, our highly scientific thought process went something like this:

Without further ado, our Crafty Christmas:

To set the theme, I made booklets for each couple that were printed on cardstock, hole-punched, and tied with holiday ribbon. I forgot to take a photo of the finished products, but here are ...]]> Subtitle: When All Else Fails, Get Your Siblings Drunk!

You remember the extreme limitations imposed upon my family gift-giving this year, don’t you? After trying and failing at a few different ideas for my siblings and their SOs, our highly scientific thought process went something like this:

Without further ado, our Crafty Christmas:

To set the theme, I made booklets for each couple that were printed on cardstock, hole-punched, and tied with holiday ribbon. I forgot to take a photo of the finished products, but here are the jpgs. Read them vertically, and click for a larger version.

“Sugar” – Vanilla-infused vodka and homemade vanilla sugar

“Spice” – Jalapeno-infused vodka and a mini Zing Zang bloody mary mix

The spread at my sister’s house the next night, where the goodies were liberally sampled:

Being the Photoshop wannabe that I am, I had a blast making the cute labels (thank you DIY blogs with your endless inspiration and templates!). Admittedly, we went over the $20 limit (even before I shipped everything to NC… trying to get past security with four bottles of homemade booze in my purse wasn’t my idea of a good time on Christmas morning), but I think it’s the effort that counts, don’t you? With more advance planning, I know I could’ve found cheaper vodka bottles and vanilla beans, which were the big expenditures (thanks cheap booze that tastes great when flavored!). Here’s the breakdown:

Sugar and Spice Gift Box
Sugar jar: $1.25
Sugar: free from my pantry
Vanilla bean for sugar: $4.99
Two glass bottles for vodka: $9.00
Vodka for both flavors: $7.50
Vanilla bean for vodka: $4.99
Jalapeno for vodka: $.50
Mini Zing Zangs: free (we had these on hand, but they retail for about $5 each)
Printing/cardstock/labels: free

Final cost: $28.23
Crafty Christmas with boozy sibs: Priceless

PS: My sister promptly entered the One-Upsmanship Hall of Fame by opening up her booze box from us and then gifting a painting of our niece on canvas to my brother. I made labels and added things to stuff. Lisa painted Taylor in a beach scene, walking down to the ocean’s edge. Food for thought.

© Elizabeth Anne Designs Living, 2010 | Permalink | Comments | Add to del.icio.us | StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: christmas, crafts, drink, frugal, paper

Join us here too! EAD Weddings, Message Boards, Bulletin Board, The EAD Library

In 2007, the year of our ...]]> I love getting Christmas cards in the mail. Photo Christmas cards are my ultimate faves and of course, anything handmade makes me squeal in excitement. So I decided that as long as I can muster up the energy, I will be hand making our cards each year. So far so good. Next year, with a 9 month old? Not so sure it will happen. But for now it’s one of my favorite projects each year.

In 2007, the year of our wedding, I had to use a wedding picture. What newlywed couple wouldn’t love to showcase a photo to family and friends once more? If you are a newlywed I say go for it….even if you think everyone is sick of seeing your wedding pictures, they probably aren’t:)

So I picked one black and white picture, then chose a bunch of fun Christmas printed paper and went to town:

The whole process goes something like this: get neutral colored paper for the background, cut a ton of basic cards from this paper, then cut even more printed paper to fit on top. Then you’ll need to print off your text onto regular paper, print your photos, and glue it all together. Yes, it does take time but it’s so worth it! I always use at least one Christmas stamp somewhere on my designs, usually on a bright red envelope, because I adore rubber stamps:) This was my pick for 2007:

When 2008 rolled around, I knew I liked my general process of printed papers on top of neutral ones, combined with a photo. Here are all of my papers pre-cutting:

And here is the final 2008 project: this year I used a little more digital scrapbooking supplies with my frame around our picture. I also used two different papers for the front of the card. Oh, and for both 2007 and 2008 I hand wrote little messages inside the cards to each family. THAT didn’t take long at all for our 75 addresses….yeah right!

For this year, I decided to use multiple pictures and forgo the handwritten note inside the card. Here are the pictures I chose and again, I used more digital scrapping supplies for my frames and typed up the text directly onto the image this year:

I stuck with one print on the outside of the card, then when you open it up you see the larger two-in-one picture on the inside. All I have to do now is stuff the cards in envelopes and address/stamp them all. I need to get on it!

My best piece of advice if you are going to DIY for Christmas Cards? Keep it fun. I could not handle staring at the same print over and over 75 times while I fold, cut, paste, etc. So I always use a variety of printed papers to keep things entertaining for me. I also roped Nate into the fun this year and had him help me cut the papers and even glue a few pictures down! Team work is totally awesome, btw.

Does anyone else love making Christmas cards as much as me? Any tips I’m missing?

© Elizabeth Anne Designs Living, 2009 | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us | StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: christmas, crafts, paper

Join us here too! EAD Weddings, Message Boards, Bulletin Board, The EAD Library

Materials needed: -Kraft paper cards and envelopes (Michaels or other craft ...]]> Not going to lie, this next craft is a labor of love.  It’s a bit time consuming, but it’s a great thing to keep your hands busy on a cold night in front of the fireplace!  These hand-embroidered cards make a great gift for friends (I made them for our holiday swap…hope you enjoy them, Cyd!) , not to mention that they are far cheaper than purchasing them in the store…

Materials needed:
-Kraft paper cards and envelopes (Michaels or other craft store), about $8 total for 20
-Embroidery thread (about $0.49 per color, which will be more than enough to make 10-20 cards)
-Crafting needles (found in sewing aisle)–try to find one that is long-ish and thin, with a big enough head to thread embroidery through
-Whatever you’d like to stamp the envelopes with. I used clear embossing powder to emboss them with a subtle evergreen stamp.

These also make beautiful  Christmas gifts as a stationary set for your paper-loving friends!  Just tie them with some raffia and place in a box to keep them from getting bent.

Directions:

-Use a cookie cutter or hand-draw a pattern onto the cards, lightly, with a pencil

-Thread embroidery thread onto craft needle

-Embroider over pattern with a simple whip stitch (simply going in and out with the needle!)

That’s it! It’s so super easy, and makes a thoughtful card that is GUARANTEED to be unlike any other your friends will get this holiday!

Evergreen stamps decorate the front of the kraft envelopes…

The back of the envelopes are embossed with a Noel stamp to continue the festive feel throughout!

Here’s a closeup of some of the patterns I used.  The snowflake was freehanded and took more time than, say, the candycane or Christmas tree.

I hope you enjoy these cards! They can be personalized with any pattern: snowman, a monogram, or anything you can come up with!

Happy crafting!

Much love,

-B

{all photos by me. Please link to EAD if posting!}

© Elizabeth Anne Designs Living, 2009 | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us | StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: christmas, crafts, holidays, paper

Join us here too! EAD Weddings, Message Boards, Bulletin Board, The EAD Library

“These quaint little decorations, known as ‘putz houses’ or ‘putzes’, were found on tables, mantles and under Christmas trees in homes across America for many decades starting around the early 1900’s.” (-LittleGlitterHouses.com). The blue one above as an attempt at a model ...]]> I might be a little behind in getting on board the glitter house boat (I believe they became re-popularized in 2006 by Martha), but some people still haven’t heard of them so…  Here are two little houses I made.

“These quaint little decorations, known as ‘putz houses’ or ‘putzes’, were found on tables, mantles and under Christmas trees in homes across America for many decades starting around the early 1900’s.” (-LittleGlitterHouses.com). The blue one above as an attempt at a model of my own home.

I think glitter houses are adorable for Christmas and a fun craft project.  You can check out Martha’s instructions and templates here.  The pink, yellow, and green house I made is from LittleGlitterHouses.com.  It’s simpler than Martha’s, so it’s a good one to start with if you want to give this craft project a try.

A few things the tutorials didn’t mention: For the windows, I use red clear cellophane that’s like the stuff you wrap Easter baskets up in.  For the light inside, LED tea lights work perfectly.  If it won’t fit in the house, stick it in the base and make a hole for the flame part to come through.  You could also run a string of twinkle lights across your mantle or wherever you have your houses set up, but I couldn’t bear to see the cord. I’m trying again on my house soon – with lollipop sticks for the porch railing.  Wish me luck!

If you like these but don’t want to get quite as involved, check out Martha’s Train Station kit, available in lots of craft stores (I’ve seen it in Michael’s and AC Moore).

Have you tried these before?  Any tips?

P.S. Bonus – I’ve started blogging about the Baltic cruise Ami and I went on with our husbands over on my travel blog.  Come visit!

© Elizabeth Anne Designs Living, 2009 | Permalink | 1 comment | Add to del.icio.us | StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: christmas, crafts, decor, holidays

Join us here too! EAD Weddings, Message Boards, Bulletin Board, The EAD Library

source

Last week, we moved. Again. Not for the first time, but ...]]> Where did we leave off on the house hunting story? Oh, yes. We lost out on our #1 country house choice. And Me and Mr. D didn’t see eye-to-eye on our 2nd and 3rd choices. We were dying to get back to our lives in New York. Since we were at a stalemate over the house, we acted on the one thing we could both agree upon. We rented a little City apartment!

source

Last week, we moved. Again. Not for the first time, but for the third time this year. Three New York City apartments in one year! Don’t forget our 4 month sabbatical in the Mid-West – Can you believe it? I literally left the gym yesterday evening and could not remember where our apartment was. I am not kidding you!

source

I am a little depressed that I am not prepared to do my traditional holiday bakery sessions, nor will we be decorating the new place with glittery lights. Heck, we have boxes upon boxes of the stuff and it is all packed away in storage. Why – you ask?

source

When we moved out of Soho last Spring, the movers marked each box with which room it came from, not what was in the box. Boo. That means we have 35 dishboxes marked “kitchen.” Not knives, pots, plates, glasses, etc. What was our major score at the storage facility? My winter coat, boots and a few hats, our bed pillows and duvet were also found. YAY.

source

Oh, how I would love to go out, buy some decorations and make the place pretty for the next few weeks. However, given that we had to buy several items that we were not able to find in storage – it seems like the money would be best spent on pots, pans and kitchen utensils. I broke down crying in Macy’s the other day. We have so many beautiful serving dishes, crystal, vintage china – and there we were wasting our money on Corelle dishware and cheap cutlery. I absolutely hate having to spend money on items when I already own and love my own. Not to mention, I can’t stand buying items that I don’t actually want.

source

Don’t get me wrong. I am 100% so entirely thankful to be back home. To actually have a home is the best holiday prize I could ask for. I have savored every moment since we’ve been back in the City. To think, since last October we have thought we were going to move somewhere else. Somewhere far, far away. First it was London, then it was Miami. After that it was San Francisco, which then switched to Los Angeles sometime mid-Summer. To say our life has been hanging in the balance for over a year is no understatement.

source

Fingers crossed, by this time next year – not only will Mr. D have found work but also maybe we’ll have bought our country house, put up a tree, and I will be doing my holiday bakery and sipping homemade eggnog by the fireplace surrounded by the familiar things that make it feel like home sweet home.

You can read our moving to the City story here and get a tour of the new place here. All the images in this post link to where you can buy the Christmas decor featured. Enjoy!

© Elizabeth Anne Designs Living, 2009 | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us | StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: christmas, holidays, life

Join us here too! EAD Weddings, Message Boards, Bulletin Board, The EAD Library

For instance, both my husband and I grew up in homes that celebrated Christmas with yearly ornaments. That ...]]> I’ve always been a fan of crafty projects and what better time of year to bust out your inner Martha than with the holiday season? There’s nothing like personalized touches in your home and a lot of times I choose to make our decorations instead of buying them because I love having full control over what we display. Saving money doesn’t hurt, either:)

For instance, both my husband and I grew up in homes that celebrated Christmas with yearly ornaments. That means that every year of our lives, from birth until we were ‘on our own’, is well-represented via ornaments. My mom and mother-in-law gave us all of the yearly ornaments last year and it is SO much fun to go through year by year and relive the memories. This is something I want to do for our family, too, and so beginning with the year of our wedding I’ve made a family ornament to hang on the tree. I just used a picture, some cardboard, glittery glue, some string, and any other little details I can find and voila….a yearly ornament!

2007:

2008:

And I have yet to make 2009 but I have my ideas:)

Then I got the idea of making a letter banner for Christmas, and what better word to use in the Great Artic of Wisconsin than ‘SNOW’? I used some ribbon, buttons, hot glue, snowflake ornaments, cardboard, and paper to make this baby:

I always have a hurricane vase out on display and usually it houses our vast collection of wine corks. This time of year, however, I put away the booze theme and pull out my ‘girlie’ ornaments that I used to hang on my ‘feminine’ tree before we were married. Now my pink, aqua, and purple theme is not overly welcome on our family tree but I just had to save the fun ornaments somehow:)

For our stockings, I looked everywhere for cheap ones and finally found very basic styles at Michaels. For Nate’s stocking I added ribbon, ‘masculine’ buttons, and a monogrammed pin for his initial. For mine I used left over lace from my wedding veil (which was also DIY), ribbon, sparkle glue, and another monogram:

And for my favorite stocking, little Henry got an adorable bone charm from the local pet store, ribbon, a plastic candy cane, and sparkle glue. Ta Da!

Last year I made this wreath after deciding the store-bought ones were just way too expensive. I found a plain greenery wreath on sale for 50% off, found the ‘berry wreath’ for another 50% off and combined the two with a few pine cones and ribbon to make it pop. Separately the two wreaths were puny and ugly but together I quite like!

And finally, for my last DIY project, if you squint really hard past this adorable pissed off Santa, you will see my tree skirt. I found a plain red felt skirt for about $5 and then added buttons, those same snowflake ornaments from my ‘SNOW’ banner, and glitter glue. Once we get all of our presents under the tree you can’t see it anyway, but I love when the little details show through:

And just because I can’t stop with one Henry picture, here you go: This could very well be our Christmas Card photo, don’t you think?

More on card ideas later….now I’m off to whip up some more DIY projects:)

© Elizabeth Anne Designs Living, 2009 | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us | StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: christmas, crafts, decor

Join us here too! EAD Weddings, Message Boards, Bulletin Board, The EAD Library

However, like many, I have some creepy Martha Stewart desire to decorate our house in everything tinsel, and I squeal with glee anytime I see something covered in Santa Clauses.  Hey, I’m not proud of it, but there you go.

So during my daily Anthropologie browse ...]]> Welcome to the first installment of Craftmas (or Craftukkah or Craftzaa, whichever you celebrate)!  I don’t know about you gals, but we are super tight on money this year and that is ESPECIALLY true around the holidays.

However, like many, I have some creepy Martha Stewart desire to decorate our house in everything tinsel, and I squeal with glee anytime I see something covered in Santa Clauses.  Hey, I’m not proud of it, but there you go.

So during my daily Anthropologie browse a couple weeks ago (ah, but to dream), I stumbled upon a beautiful tree ornament. I won’t show it here (again, scared of copywright ramifications…thanks, lawyers, for screwing with my craftiness), but you can probably find it on their site.  Anyway, this little item happened to cost a pretty $398.  Um, yeah.  Here’s my interpretation of the same tree topper, with exciting step-by-step instructions!

This project cost me about $20…only 5% of the store-bought cost!

Here’s what you’ll need:

-small grapevine wreath (I think this one is 6 or 7 inches in diameter)
-bundles of sticks and other decorative items of your choice
-glue gun and glue sticks

Step one: cut your bunches of sticks into separate twigs of varying length, but no longer than 5 inches.

Step two: use the glue gun to attach the twigs all the way around the grapevine wreath.

Step three: continue with other twigs and curios.  I liked this swag with pinecones and thistles in gold tones, it added some whimsy.

Step 4: Continue glueing on twigs and branches until grapevine wreath is densely decorated.

I found these great little decorating pieces to add.

I also added some gold holly leaves around the bottom to make it look a bit thicker.  You can go pretty crazy with this craft and use either gold or silver branches.

I mean…it’s not an exact replica, but come on! An hour and 5% of the cost of the original? Not bad friends!  You could  fill it with evergreen branches as a centerpiece or use as a tree topper.  Or wear as a crown on Christmas Eve after too much eggnog?

Much love,

-B

© Elizabeth Anne Designs Living, 2009 | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us | StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: christmas, crafts

Join us here too! EAD Weddings, Message Boards, Bulletin Board, The EAD Library