Defrump Me: 50 things to do at Christmas {25 Days of Christmas} The best way to spread Christmas Cheer, is singing loud for all to hear.
~Elf Ooohhhhhh my goodness!! I. LOVE. CHRISTMAS. And I love contemplating how all of this peace and goodwill is because of God's amazing love for us in coming to be with us in such a visible and vulnerable way. Because this time of year is so special to me, I love to celebrate for WEEKS. One thing that I learned though is that kind of thing doesn't just happen. After you compile your list of ideas, sit down with your family and rate them on a scale of 1 to 5. Christmas Activities For those of you around Northwest Arkansas, I included some links and dates to local events. Do you have any favorite Christmas traditions or plans? Follow my Christmas board on Pinterest to keep up with everything I'm finding on the internet! Linking up at: New Nostalgia's Anti-Procrastination TuesdayRaising ArrowsHomemaker on a Dime's Blog Hop. Holly Jolly Christmas Party. Etched Hot Cocoa Jar {Creative Carousel} It's my turn on the October Creative Carousel!
This month's theme is Handmade for the Holidays. There have been some incredible ideas already shared at Every Creative Endeavor , Sew Dang Cute , and Lil' Luna. Here is my handmade Christmas gift: An etched hot cocoa jar! With all of the fixings for your friends and family to create their own hot cocoa! This would be fun to make in an assembly line and create jars for all the neighbors! Let's get started! I found this jar at Wal-Mart and quickly went to work cutting a monogram stencil out of contact paper. I followed the directions on Armour Etch to brush the cream over the stencil. Etching is SO quick and easy! Let's be honest here. I wanted to create some marshmallow sticks to use to stir the hot cocoa. I have to admit that I made plenty of extras. I wrapped everything up in cellophane tied with ribbon. --- Mini marshmallows (Can you ever have too many marshmallows with your hot cocoa?!)
Gift ideas. Bottles Full of Light. The other day, I wrote about attempting to drill through glass and I finished up the project this weekend. I think it turned out beautifully — I love the idea of bottled light! These would be pretty by a wintery window or under an entry table. I like the way the gold paint makes the bottom of the bottles look misty and glow-y, even during the daytime.
I’ve got a ton of images and DIY instructions below if you’d like to try this too. For tools and supplies, I started at my local True Value. I started with these apple juice bottles from Whole Foods. Next, I used my handy scraper tool to take off the label. Once the bottle was clean and label free, it was time to drill through the glass. [UPDATE: Hah! Next we painted. I used a disposable sponge brush and Liquid Leaf paint — but any metallic enamel paint should work. Once the paint was dry (it dries very quickly), we started stuffing the lights in. And that’s it! This is another project as a True Value Blog Squad Member. How to Make a Snow Globe - Martha Stewart Holidays.