Day 6: Burlap Garland

I am officially in love with my Christmas tree....now. It was looking very bare and I felt like it wasn't quite right and there was something missing. So I ventured out into making my own garland. I am really into burlap lately and I had some around the house so I decided to just start tying knots in it. And I love how it turned out.

I started out by cutting 1" strips of burlap. Doesn't need to be perfect and really I didn't care if it was fraying a little. That's what I loved about this. I am always such a perfectionist and with this I didn't care how close the knots were together or if everything was perfect. Instead I just eye balled where I needed to tie it and let the fraying begin. Once you get to the end of one string tie the two strings together with a knot. You can cut off some of your ties depending on what you want it to look like. BEWARE: burlap makes an extremely huge mess and gets everywhere and itches like crazy!

I have a 6-7' tree and I ended up needing about 60'-65' of tied garland. If you bought a yard of burlap you would be safe.

Here are what my knots looked like. Make it your own tie them closer together or farther apart. Its yours for experimenting :)

Close up of what the knots look like on the tree.

Enjoy and see you tomorrow :)

To the love of my life.

Happy Anniversary to my amazing husband. I can't believe 2 years has come and gone. I am looking forward to spending many many more years with you. Thank you for always being by my side and supporting me in whatever I do. You are truly my best friend and my soul mate.

Here's to many, many more years to come. Looking forward to sharing all of those special moments with you :)

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Day 5: Burlap Napkin Rings

A very lucky individual will be receiving these cute burlap napkin rings for Christmas. I found this tutorial on Pinterest. I mean really who doesn't love Pinterest I am addicted like need to attend meetings addicted. But it lead me to these. Please check out the tutorial here.

Supplies:

• Napkin Rings (Dollar Tree) - I had to dig deep in one of the baskets to find them. Well worth it.
• Burlap
• Ribbon
• Embellishments (Hobby Lobby) - I actually used scrapbook stickers and just glued them on.
• Glue and glue gun

Beautiful.

Day 4: Chai Tea Mix Recipe

I had another idea in mind for today but when I woke up and saw the snow falling so beautifully I decided to share this recipe with you. Nothing better than sitting inside on a day like this and enjoying myself a cup of chai tea along with some knitting. Now that sounds perfect.

Chai Tea Mix
32 Servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups unsweetened instant tea
• 1 1/2 cups powdered french vanilla nondairy creamer
• 1 1/4 cups powdered nondairy creamer
• 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup nonfat dry powdered milk
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice 

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. I used a sifter until powdery. Store in airtight container. If giving for gifts package as you desire. 

To prepare chai tea: Place 3 or 4 tablespoons of mix in a cup. Add 1 cup of hot milk or water, stirring well. Enjoy! 

See you tomorrow :)

Day 3: Ruffled Tree Skirt

Isn't this just gorgeous. When I saw this I fell in love and knew that I had to have it. We have never had a nice tree skirt so I am pumped to have this done plus I can call it my own :) And the best part you can dress it up or down. I think it would work perfectly under a tree with your childhood/memory ornaments or if you had a big glitzed up tree. The best part there is no sewing involved and it went together fairly quickly.

Check out this AMAZING tree skirt tutorial oh how to make it :)

Supplies:

• 4 1/2' x 4 1/2' of canvas
• 4 yrds cream linen
• cream ribbon
• glue gun

I got my supplies at Hobby Lobby.

Here's what its suppose to look like when you get it all cut out.

Satin Ties.

Presents to go under the tree. 

Make sure to check out the easy to follow tutorial for more detailed steps on how to make it. Have fun making this project. See you tomorrow!

Day 2: Fabric Trees

Aren't these fun! I loved how these turned out and they are SUPER easy. I saw a picture of these on a blog and just guessed on how to make them.

Supplies: 

• Various sized cones (Joann's or Hobby Lobby)
• Fabric of your choice. Wouldn't necessarily need to be specific to Christmas. 
• Glue gun
• Scissors

I cut 1" strips of fabric and started at the bottom and worked my way up to the top. Gluing as you go. Once I got to the top I just folded over the fabric so the tops would be covered and finished off nicely. There is really no right or wrong way to this. 

Display and Enjoy! See you tomorrow :)

Day 1: Advent Calendar

I can't even explain how excited I am for this. About a month or so ago I was toying around with the fact of possibly doing this and I wasn't to sure but now that its FINALLY here I can't wait. I call it LOVE SIMPLY'S 25 Days of Christmas! (creative and clever, right. ha.)  My hope is to share with you ideas I have found or came up with myself for the Christmas season. Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday of the year and I wait all year until it comes around again. So I try to take full advantage. During the countdown I will be posting diy tutorials for either Christmas decorations, gifts or other ideas and also add some great recipes you could use to treat yourself or others.

Advent Calendar: I remember as a child getting an advent calendar with the chocolates and the next chocolate would always haunt me until it was time again to open another day. Just so I don't have to go through that again I have created an advent calendar that has 'to do' items if you would call them for myself and my husband. This was a great project that even Matt helped with. I wrote out cute little ideas/things to do and he would give the cards to me and then tell me what number to put on them. That way we are both surprised as to what tomorrows going to bring. 

I found this tutorial here.

Supplies: 

• Cork Board
• Canvas
• Glue Gun/Staple Gun
• Cards
• Push Pins
• Ornaments or Decorations for each day
• Rubber Stamps

I cut out my canvas leaving an inch or two hanging over my cork board. Hot glued the canvas to the cork board making sure to pull tight. You could also use a staple gun. I found it very easy and quick using a glue gun. Then punch a hole in your cards and I hand wrote our tasks/ideas on the back (ex. watch a Christmas movie, drive around looking at lights, coffee date, peppermint mocha's). You can do whatever you want with your cards personalize them for yourself. It makes it that much more special. I decided to use rubber stamps to put on the numbers. However you could either type them or use stickers. Once you have layed your cards out evenly you can begin to decorate each number to your liking. I made mine more colorful than what the tutorial shows. Just remember to make it your own :) I found all of my supplies at Hobby Lobby.  ENJOY!

Have fun and I would love to see pictures of your finished product! Stop by tomorrow for another treat.