DIY Disco Ball Wine Charms {New Year's Eve}

These disco ball wine charms only take minutes to make, which is great considering most of us are probably still recovering from the hustle & bustle of the Christmas season.

 First, you'll want to gather up your little disco balls.  I found my gold beauties in the Christmas sale aisle at Michael's. They're practically giving away their holiday items for free!  They're packaged as vase fillers, however, little styrofoam balls covered with sequined ribbon will work too.

With a large embroidery needle or wooden skewer start poking holes through the center of half of your disco balls {leave the other half unpunctured!}. Then take two of your hole punched disco balls {I used various sizes} & string them onto some pretty ribbon.

Then tie your ribbon around the base of your wine glass & cut off the ribbon tails. If you want to add more disco balls to your charm {it helps it look more festive!} then grab a few of the non-hole punched balls and adhere them to the ones already on the ribbon with some hot glue.

There you have it! Nothing like a little glitz & glamour.

I'm thinking these would even look great strung around the neck of a wine bottle for a hostess gift!

By the way, I'm writing this tutorial on my brand spanken new laptop! It was an early birthday gift from the hubz.  What a week! First, the silhouette machine and now a new computer. I'm not sure what's up with all this spoiling but I have my suspicions he's going to ask me to donate like a kidney or something soon. Or maybe my brain....I catch him every now & then admiring my intelligence. Yep, that must be it. He wants my brain.

Wishing you all the joys of the new year! 

PS. If you haven't stopped by the "Best of 2011" party yet to link up your favorite post of the year, then get to it!

Linking here:
http://thefrugalgirls.com/
http://clairejustineoxox.blogspot.com/
http://thecraftyblogstalker.blogspot.com/ 
http://delightfulorder.blogspot.com/ 
http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/

10

Showcase Party:Best of 2011 {Share Your Favorite Project or Post}

As we prepare to turn the calendar to 2012, I decided it would be fun to throw a "Best of 2011" party.  Kind of like a New Year's eve to eve to eve party. The good thing about this soiree is that you can come in your pjs if you want & it doesn't require any kissing at midnight....unless of couse, Ryan Gosling shows up. Then all those rules go out the door.

This is your time to link up & share your favorite post of 2011! But before we get started, I wanted to share two of the faves from my bloggity-blog. First up, is my "Most Viewed" project, the............

Family Sign with Tile Backsplash

Honestly, if it wasn't for this project & Pinterest I don't think any one would read this blog. Kidding. My mom would.

Now for my favorite post of the year!

This was a toughie but I decided to go with my 

Decorated Bud Vases {My "Jill Decor"}

 Truly, this isn't my favorite post because of the project itself but more because of the story behind the vases.  Everyone's lovely comments regarding my dear friend,

Jill, brought a smile to my face.

So now it's your turn..........I am uber excited to see what you got & think this will be an awesome way for us to be introduced perhaps to some new blogs or post we may have missed over the year. So party on!

If you need help on how to link to this party there's a great tutorial here.
Feel free to share a link back to this party on your most current blog post. You know how parties go, the more the merrier!

5

16 Delightful Silhouette Cutter Crafts......Seriously, This Thing Can Make Children

 Hello, lovelies. I hope you had a wonderful holiday with you & yours! Did Santa leave you anything fun under the tree this year? He did for me! I was relieved to see that Santa was a pretty forgiving man this year & was kind enough to scratch my name off the naughty list. Although, I'm quite sure my name just got moved to list C: The Grouchy But Sometimes Nice List. Sooooo, he left me a Silhouette Cameo! 

I've been wanting a Silhouette machine for eons & have spent the past few months trying to make my case to the hubby on why we needed one more thing to smoosh into our home office.  A very difficult task I may add when one has no clue what the heck a Silhouette machine even is! I didn't think my explanation that it was an electronic cutter was really helping my case. Great, so it cuts things......there's this other cool invention called "scissors".  Those can cut things too for a lot cheaper. But by time the the holiday shopping season was in full mode I was pretty sure I had the hubby convinced that the Silhouette machine could make ANYTHING! I may have even convinced him that that is where children come from.

Honestly, I'm a bit intimated by this machine. So, I decided to peruse the net to see all the wonderful things the Silhouette can create .....maybe find a little inspiration to give me a kick in the butt to start on my first project.

 {Wood Grain Lampshade from Vintage Revivals}

{Headboard Makeover from Craftaholics Anonymous}

{Gift Tags from Silhouette Blog}

{Book Bag from eighteen25}

{Monogram plate from Taylor Made}

 {Vintage Number Canisters from A Bowl Full of Lemons}

{Cupcake box from the Silhouette Blog}

{Ornate flowers from Mel Stampz}

{Quatrefoil Glass from Under the Table & Dreaming}

 {Canvas Wall Art from the Silhouette Blog}

{Etched jars from How Does She?}

 {Birthday Invites from Eileen Josephine}

{Rhinestone Applique from Make it and Love it}

{Labeling via You Say Too}

{Zippered Pouches with Iron-ons from Make it and Love it}

 

{DIY Bunting from How About Orange}

See what I mean? The possibilities are endless & now I even have myself convinced this think can make children.  

I just haven't discovered that tutorial yet.

 

Did you receive any fab gift this year?

6

4 Ways to Reuse Old Christmas Cards

I know some of you may not want to have this conversation *raising hand* but in a few short days Christmas will be over & it will be time to take down the tree, pack away the holiday decor, & mourn over the five {or ten} seasonal pounds you managed to pack on over a period of two days. 

You are also going to have to deal with all those 

Christmas cards you received but before you throw 

them out or hoard them away in some dusty 

attic consider all the great & easy ways you can reuse them:

• One of my favorite ways to recycle old greeting cards is to use them as gift tags.  Growing up, this is something my mother always did! Every year after the holidays I pack away some of my favorite seasonal cards in my gift wrap storage bin, that way the following year I don't have to scrounge for them when I am wrapping gifts. Just cut & trash the backs of the cards off, then hole punch and place pretty ribbon through the front of the card. Wallah! Inexpensive & practical gift tags! 
• Some holiday cards are so beautiful they are like pieces of art work. Save your favorite cards for the following year & you'll have free Christmas decor! Frame & use them to decorate walls or mantles. You can also use them as picture mattes to display some of your own personal family photos.
• Love DIY projects? Get your creative juices flowing & create crafts out of your greeting cards. Think ornaments, small gift boxes, or even journals! 
• Start your year off in a charitable way & donate! That's right, you can send all your holiday cards to the St. Jude's Ranch for Children, a safe home for abused & neglected children. Their Recycled Card Program has been running for over thirty years & the kids reuse the cards to make & sell new cards. You can check out more information here.  

Do you have any cool ways you reuse your greeting cards?

                 

Linking here:
http://www.somewhatsimple.com/
http://jaimelyn11.blogspot.com/
http://www.skiptomylou.org/
http://www.tipjunkie.com/homemade-projects-1227/
http://todayscreativeblog.net/
http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/
http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/
http://lilluna.com/
http://thefrugalgirls.com/
http://ornamentplace.com/?p=978

10

December's Crush of the Month: Boot Socks

{Image source via: Style Sizzle}

{Image source: The Daybook}

 {Image source: Nectar Clothing}

{Image source via: Chictopia}

{Image source: Knack}

{Image source: Made By Lex}

{Image source: Vanity}

When the hubby first saw my holiday wishlist his response was "Wow, you really like boots".  Well, apparently I really like boot socks too.  Seriously, I can't get enough of their peek-a-boo cozy effect! Wearing them with skirts and winter tights is my favorite. They're like leg warmers but wayyyy cooler.  Whether or not you choose to bust out your Jessica Beals Flashdance moves is your prerogative. I won't judge.

What are you crushing on this month?

6

It Ain't Always Pretty

One of the biggest misconceptions people have about me when they learn about my shop Delightfully Noted is that I'm a trained graphic artist. Nothing, my friends, could be further from the truth. I am actually a self-taught wannabe graphic artist and quite honestly if a REAL graphic artist ever observed how I go about creating my designs they'd probably laugh themselves into a coma. Which I'm not even sure is medically possible but I'm now thinking if life's events called for me to be comatose that's exactly how I would want to go......laughing up a storm.  

Last night I happen to be cleaning up my hard drive and came across a few of my rough drafts that I worked on per customer's requests. The humble beginnings of some of my designs can be rather hysterical. 

Meet

This

Guy

Half devil. Half squirrel.  The saddest part about this little guy is that he's apparently confused and storing his nuts in the wrong cheeks. Talk about some junk in the trunk!

Fortunately, for my customers {and my business} my designs go through lots of edits before I present them.  

Speaking of designs, don't forget to mind your p's and thank yous after the holidays!  New winter themed thank you cards are now available in the shop & they are perfect for showing your appreciation for all the goodies and gifts that will be bestowed upon you & your family this holiday season.

Better then squirrel devil, right?

6

Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

 I have to admit I'm usually not a big fan of peppermint.  I'm thinking old church ladies had something to do with it. Insisting children eat peppermint candies from the bottom of your tissue filled pocket is never a good thing.

Buuttt I was slightly infatuated with this peppermint cream cheese frosting. Then again I'm infatuated with anything cream cheese. The icing only carried a slight hint of peppermint so it quickly earned itself an A+ in my book. 

This recipe is easy & makes for a pretty presentation with its light pink color. 

Definately a new fave of mine!

8 ounces (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioners’ sugar
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
Red food dye
Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Then add the sugar, one cup at a time, and then add the vanilla & peppermint extract; mix until smooth. Mix in a few drops of  red food dye. You may refrigerate your frosting for up 2-3 days. Allow to set at room temp prior to applying to your baked sweets.

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. 

Download free Ho, Ho, Ho cupcake flags here.

What baked goodies are you making for Christmas?

Linking here:
http://www.skiptomylou.org/
http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/
http://jaimelyn11.blogspot.com/

7

Friday's Dose of Delight

 Happy Friday! We are just nine days away from Christmas! EEK! Which means were ten days away from my annual holiday withdrawal meltdown.  You know how there's seasonal depression? Well, I'm pretty sure I suffer from post-Christmas depression.  It saddens me to see all the hustle and bustle and holiday spirit disappear all in the blink of an eye. Then don't even get me started with that darn song, "Where Are You Christmas".......they play that after the holidays and I lose it emotionally, in a fetal position, under my tree screaming to my hubby at the top of my lungs "WHERE ARE YOU CHRISTMAS?!" Okay, perhaps I don't lose it that much, but seriously, this weekend take a moment to slow down and really appreciate what this time of year is really about. Be blessed for you health, loved ones, and the good memories you have made in the year 2011.

Now that I got that off my chest let's move on to this week's Dose of Delight!

"Home" Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

I know this song isn't new but I came across it again while listening to Pandora this week and I seriously have had it on replay ever since. 
The song lyrics make my heart smile & it has such a Johnny Cash feel to it.  

Play it and try not to tap your feet.

Eggnog Cranberry Whoopie Pies

Don't these whoopie pies from Crumbs and Chaos {which is what the hubby deems the kitchen after I've been in there} look delightfully delicious? Recipe here.

Hope you all have a splendid weekend!

3

Printable Holiday Wrap Around Address Labels

Here you go pretties! Printable wrap around address labels for those of us who are fashionably late on getting our holiday cards out. I created these to use for my own personal greeting cards and figured since it's the season of giving why not share them with you?

If you haven't noticed I am feeling quite generous this week so I suggest taking advantage of this freebie because after the New Year I expect to be compensated for all my printables.  Payment will be required in the form of Pinot & miniature daschunds. Kidding. About the doxie part that is. Wine is always welcomed.

Download your free labels here. You can print on label paper or regular computer paper & use double sided tape to adhere them to your envelopes.

Each label measures 8 x 2 & can be used for multiple sized envelopes.  If you aren’t familiar with how wrap around address labels work you can 

view examples from these Etsy sellers.

As always, I love to hear if you get use out of 

my printables! So don't be shy. 

How many of you haven't mailed your holiday cards yet?

    




                                                                                                                         

Linking here:
http://www.somewhatsimple.com/
http://jaimelyn11.blogspot.com/
http://thefrugalgirls.com/
http://whipperberry.com/ 
http://thirtyhandmadedays.com/
http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

5

Free Holiday Printable Cupcake Flags {Ho, Ho, Ho}

I wanted to share with you all the free holiday printable I created in case you missed it the 

other day over on the Love Sweet Love blog.

You can download your free cupcake flags here. 

Print on paper or card stock.

Then all that is left to do is cut & decorate! 

Cupcake flags are an easy way to add a little festive touch to any of your baked goods or use them on toothpicks for appetizers. I added little pom pom embellishments to the top of my lollipop sticks to dress them up a bit.

I hope you enjoy your little free treat!

I'll be sharing the yummy peppermint cream cheese frosting recipe I used on these goodies soon.

Now go stuff your face with a cupcake.

                                                                                                                                       
Linking here:
http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/
http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/
http://lilluna.com/
http://southernlovely.blogspot.com/
http://junkintheirtrunk.blogspot.com/
http://www.somewhatsimple.com/
http://thefrugalgirls.com/
http://whipperberry.com/
http://ablondesdiylife.blogspot.com/
http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

7