We just bought a new home and I am so looking forward to decorating it for Christmas. Of course, I'm the the type who likes to decorate the day after Thanksgiving and keep everything up until New Year's Day so I need winter themed items as well.

I was recently sent to Personal Creations with a gift card to use toward whatever I saw fit. Immediately, I saw this sled and knew that I HAD to buy it for the front porch. This is the Welcome Snowman Sled Wall Hanging and it sells for $39.99.

 My home is OLD so it has 2 doors on the front porch. One door leads to the front parlor {and is never used, waiting to be caulked shut} and the other door is just beside that clay pot you see in the first picture. Anyway, I thought it would be cute to place the sled on that unused door to dress up the space a bit.

I love the look of the sled. It's made of wood and is painted but the personalized text is done in vinyl letters. There is also wire hanging from the top of the sled in case I'd prefer to hang it on the wall. Seeing my family name on it, though, got me all excited. It makes the space officially ours. :)

I had some money left over so I bought my son a Webkinz Turkey. The ribbon on the turkey's neck is personalized to say "Gobble, Gobble" on one side and "Alex 2012" on the other. I didn't get personal images of the turkey but here's the stock image for reference.  This sells for $7.99 on the website.

He promptly named his turkey "Z-Turkey" and plays on my computer with him when he's earned time to do so. He really loves it...and I may have opened a can of worms with this purchase. LOL

My total for both items and shipping was under $65 and I'm confident that both items will last for quite some time in our home. I think I spent my money wisely! How about you? Are there other things on the Personal Creations website you'd prefer over what I chose?

**Thanks to the PR firm who supplied the gift code to purchase the reviewed items in exchange for an honest review. In this post I share my opinion and experience. Others may not have the same experience or may have a different opinion.

Personal Creations And My Shopping Experience {review}

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There's a chill in the air and the seasons are changing. For some of us, that means rain, or snow, or freezing temperatures. The cold seasons drive us indoors in search of fun but I prefer setting up stations in an effort to have a place for everything.

What I'm about to show you is not an original idea, but one I copied from a friend, who may or may not have found it on a website somewhere. {I have no links to reference for you, is what I mean to say.} HOWEVER, it's a great idea and has such a tiny price-tag, I just had to share it with you.

Eliana had inherited some Disney Princess gowns that my mom made for my nieces and Alex had his own bit of wardrobe for make-believe time and I needed it all in one place and easy to maintain. I went to IKEA and bought the Bygel rail {39 1/4" long} for $3.99 and a 10 pack of S-hooks for $ .99. I already owned the toy box {APA Storage Box - $14.99} so I set that under our garment rack to hold extras/accessories. 

Really, though, the hanging wardrobe for only a $5.00 investment is well worth it. It's also very easy for the kiddos to get to and use. We set it at a height they can reach and screwed it into the walls {using wall anchors}. It was just that easy.

When we move into our new home, I'll be setting this up in the room we've designated as the playroom. I'll have to remember to update this post with pics from that space.

For now, the wardrobe is centered under our Historical doll collection from American Girl and some vintage baby clothes I have. {Caroline is actually in the place of Josephina since her arrival...just in case you're wondering.}

DIY Dress-UP Center {Inexpensive and Easy}

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I wanted to give something personal for Mother's Day this year. {Yes, I'm 32 and still making "crafts" for presents.} I saw great garden totems at an antique shop that sold for $40 a piece and my creative brain knew I could make my own for far less. {Try $40 for 2!!}

 I started by gathering glass pieces at my local thrift store. This takes a bit of time and looking at things differently, but it certainly is do-able, fun, and worth every minute.  I grabbed a bud vase first and went on from there to create 2, one of a kind designs for 2 very special moms.  You'll have to turn things end on end to see how they can work together. {I'm about to show you how I created mine.}

After bringing home my glass pieces, I hand washed them, making sure to remove the stickiness left behind from the price tags.

Once the pieces were dry, I took a cotton swab and cleaned all the surfaces with rubbing alcohol. {You don't want anything left on the surface where you will be using the adhesive.

Speaking of adhesives, I decided to go with Loctite since it works on glass and is OK to get wet {i.e. rain}.

Now the fun begins! I stacked up my pieces and figured out how I wanted them to look when they were finished. Knowing the finished look I was going for, I began to glue pieces together. Now, this is a process that takes all day long as the glue takes 2 hours to set {and 48 hours to cure} so it's done a little at a time. I split the glass pieces into sections on the totem and glued them together.

The top of one totem

The bottom...

 And pretty soon, I had parts of the totems waiting to be added to others.

 What you see above {from left to right} is

• a shot glass in a bowl
• a votive holder in a dish
• a shot glass on the bottom of a votive holder

For one totem, I wanted the top to look like a flower. I took a small shot glass, turned it upside down, and glued it to the inside of a votive holder I found. That votive holder is glued to the bottom of a shot glass and the top of that glass is glued to the bottom of a glass dish. The totem is beginning to come together. 

Here, the totem is ready to be glued to it's base {a plate on a bud vase} as soon as the glue is set.

 Here's a photo of the second totem I made. From top to bottom, I used a sugar bowl {glued shut}, a bowl, a shot glass, a plate, and a bud vase.

The finished totems! 

I should add, I purchased garden stakes {the kind that are used to stand up trees or tall plants}, had the hubster cut them down and paint them. Then, we wrapped clear tape around the middle of the stake to help keep the vase from bobbling around.

And for added inspiration, once I had the knack of the glass totems down, I realized I could do a lot more things with different pieces. For example, here is a candle holder I made. A little imagination, a little glue, and a little spray paint go a long way in creating a whimsical gift! {I bought a small votive holder to go inside the mug as it's easier to clean out when changing candles. I also finished the piece with a clear coat to keep the paint from chipping.}

**Helpful Hints**

• Look for pieces that fit together well and will stand sturdy
• Look for pieces with flat bottoms or flat tops. These help when gluing things together
• Think outside the box! Play with things and see how they can fit together.
• Have fun! Really!

Dress Your Garden ~ DIY Garden Totem

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Are you looking for a completely cute but inexpensive gift to bring to a teacher, friend, or hostess? I have JUST the idea for you {and it's not too shabby, if I do say so myself}.

I wanted to come up with something clever that was my friend's style so I could have something to give her when my family went to her home for a visit. I know she likes the paint chip DIY projects on Pinterest and I prefer to bring flowers. Combine the two things and, "Voila!" you have yourself a neat little DIY gift.

What you'll need:

• Paint chips {good news! These are free! Just don't go crazy, mmmkay?} I used the Behr paint chips that are short and wide.
• Scotch Tape
• Floral Tape
• Straight Drinking Straws
• A Vase {I picked mine up at the dollar store!}
  
  And should you choose to make a little personalized note like I did, you'll need a machine that can embroider letters.

1. Take the paint chip and cut some fringe on this. Now, I did this by hand with scissors but some crafters have handy, dandy paper cutters that may be able to do this a lot faster.
   When I cut the fringe, I tried to make sure the cuts ended at the same point and were about the same width. 

    2.   Tightly roll up the paint chip, colored side in, along the portion that was not cut.

  3.   Holding the rolled up paint chip tightly, tape it into place.

  4.   Gently pull out the separate pieces to open up the flower  and then run your thumbnail along the back of each piece to give it a slight curl.

**For variation in size, I cut some paint chips to be a little smaller.

**Now...it's time to grab your floral tape and straws.

  5.    Put the straw in the bottom of the flower and...

tape it into place.

  6.    Twist the floral tape tightly around the base of the flower and all the way down the straw.

At this point, your flowers are good to go! I had to add a finishing touch to my project, though, as it was for a dear friend. So, I grabbed yet another paint chip and headed to my Brother Laura Ashley Innov-is  machine. 

This is what I made. {The scripture referenced here says "I thank my God in all my remembrance of you".}

  

So, by selecting "Character/Decorative" on the touch screen, I found letters to use, 

typed it out,

and that was it! I trimmed the threads, cut it down to size, added a couple hole punches, and tied it with ribbon to the vase. 

And that is my finished look!

Alright, now. Go create some of your own and have fun!

Paint Chip Bouquet DIY

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I just had the most fun experience with my little Mikayla and I, like a good blogger, wanted to come here and share it right away.

Before I get to the sharing, though, I want to just chat about little "Mik" for a moment.

This girl...

She is her mother's daughter.

She looks like me and I'm beginning to see sparks of my personality in her lately too.

In a conversation the other night, the hubster was talking about the difference between Mikayla and Eliana. Our Eliana is a sweet, sweet girl. She's very loving, loves to take care of everyone around her, and has this contented spirit about her. That's not to say her big brother can't ruffle her feathers and get her mad from time to time. That's just to say, she's overall a very pleasant little girl. {And she's a girly girl too!}

Mikayla? We describe her as being "pure joy". She just oozes this essence of joy and it is very contagious. When she smiles, look out. If you were trying to stay in a bad mood, you just can't after Mikayla smiles.

What is so wonderful about the hubster and I landing on the word "joy" when talking about Mikayla is a memory of mine from my childhood. I had some pretty cool Aunts, Uncles, and cousins growing up but one of my favorite homes to visit was that of my Dad's sister Carol and her family. This family knew how to have fun and knew how to laugh...oh, how we would laugh when we got together.

I remember this one time we arrived at their home. I went up to say "Hi" to my Uncle Eddie and he smiled and said "Hi, Joy". I laughed and corrected him to which he responded that I was the one who needed to be corrected. When he saw me, he saw joy.

Now, I was very young when he said that and as you can see, I carried that with me throughout my life...even through those really ugly times. When my Uncle saw me, he saw joy. I hope people still see joy when they look at me but I'm just tickled to see it in my Mikayla.

Speaking of "Joy", I was supposed to share some with you. {My apologies for it being so shaky. I was laughing so hard. LOL}

enJOY!

Her Essence Is "Joy"

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Ha!
Right after typing that, I thought, "Everyone's probably going to assume I'm pregnant again or something".

If that's what you're thinking,

• rewind
• don't go there
  and
• try again

When I think "Duggar" or "Duggar family", I think of many children and HOMESCHOOLING.

Allow me to key in on that last word for the remainder of this post.

Homeschooling.

The hubster and I have thought about this in great detail. We've discussed it, visited schools, and ended up deciding that we will be homeschooling our family. Alex will begin kindergarten this fall and Eliana will be introduced to preschool where she'll go at her own pace {she wouldn't begin preschool for another year in a formal school}.

No, I don't think schools are evil. No, I don't think less of those who send their children to school. No, I don't want to raise my children in a bubble. No, I don't want to brain-wash them. No, I don't worry about "socializing" my children {I plan to keep them active and give them a healthy world-view}.

The truth is, I've wanted to be a teacher since I was little. Well, I wanted to be a teacher and a mom. I believe God will show us what we're to do with our lives and I'm excited that I have an opportunity to do both things at the same time. Not to mention, I was taking college classes to teach. If  I was willing to go to the trouble of planning for and teaching a whole classroom of children, it only made sense that I would be willing to do the same for my own children.

Is this a forever thing?

Believe me, I kind of start hyperventilating when I think, "I'll be teaching in my home for the next 18 years". What's the sense in that kind of pressure? My husband and I decided to have a conversation at the close of the school year. In that chat, we'll decide if we should enroll our kiddos in school the following year or do another year at home. We've talked about trying to teach from home until junior high, but WOW...that's a long ways away. It's better that I focus on the year ahead of me and nothing more.

I'm currently shopping for my curriculum and had an opportunity to take some workshops recently. I know that we're doing the right thing for our family and I'm SO excited about it. When we find a home to move to {yah...still hunting}, I'll be setting up my classroom and will share all of that with you too. I've been drawing a lot of inspiration from Pinterest for activities and such.

I know there are going to be hard days. I know on some days, my husband will come home to find me walking around with eyes as big as saucers and hear about how I've hit a wall. "Mama said there'd be days like this". But with the good comes the bad and with the path we're taking comes work. The benefits are worth it.  My kiddos are worth it. My family is worth it.

**Someone screen shot that and save it so you can remind me when I hit a wall. Mmmkay?**

Do you homeschool? Any helpful hints? {I'll take all the advice I can get.}

Don't Think "Duggar"

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I recently made a trip to my local Kmart store in search of items to use in decorating my table for Easter. I also needed to get Easter baskets for Eliana and Alex. I know this is a store I can count on to offer me a great price and the pre-packaged baskets can prove to be quite the time-saver for this mom of three.

In our home, holidays like Easter are a pretty big deal and just packed with activity and visiting. I enjoy adding things to my home to make it feel festive and get the kiddos excited for the day. And since the table is somewhere we spend plenty of time eating/snacking, I like to dress it up while still making it kid friendly.

Anyway, I found everything I needed at Kmart and enjoyed all of the deals I found while I was there. 

I have to admit, this wall of pre-made Easter baskets was quite wonderful. They had all different styles, sizes, and price points to choose from. As you can see, the ones in this picture were all $9.99. There were also a few other price points gathered on the shelves and I believe they went up to $19.99 in price. 

I found the Celebrations by Radko line of accessories to be super cute. I bought a few different items from this line to use on my table. They're great for Easter but I also thought they were perfect for a family table. They're really nice to have out but they're not too formal for little ones. Everyone can enjoy these.
{...And seriously, look at how darling that candy dish is.}

I was spoiled by my company when I was shopping too. Eliana loved helping me pick things out for Easter...especially candy. She told me what she liked and didn't like and even chose to sing a few songs to me while we shopped. It doesn't get any better than that. :)

If you'd like to read more about our shopping trip, please see my Google+ album. 

Once I got home, it was time to unpack my bags and start decorating! {I LOVE this kind of thing!!}

I was able to turn all of this...

into this. 

The Celebrations by Radko dishes looked so sweet at the center of my table with my DIY centerpiece.

 Yes, I love candy and I thought it would be fun to put it out on the table prior to the big, holiday meal being served. And really, jelly beans are harmless. Right?

This is as close as I get to having my own Easter basket this year so I wanted to "go big". ;)

You must take a look at the Celebrations by Radko egg holders I found for Alex's and Eliana's plate. The little girl matches my candy dish perfectly and the little boy is a perfect compliment to her. For now, I placed the Easter eggs I purchased in the holders but these will be holding the eggs we dye soon. 

On Easter morning, Alex will find this basket at his seat 

and Eliana will find this one.

 The toys in these baskets are things I just know my kiddos are going to like playing with, the price of $9.99 a piece was PERFECT, and there are just a few, small candy items at the bottom of the basket for them.

At the end of my shopping trip, here's how I did. {Drum Roll, Please...}

 I received a $5 gift card to the store and saved over $20 otherwise. I also stored up a lot of rewards points and I'm very excited for that! Many of the Easter items I purchased gave me double points. If you're not familiar with the Shop Your Way Rewards program, you have to check it out. It's free to sign up so you have nothing to lose.

PS...Keep up with Kmart on Twitter and/or Facebook to find out the latest and greatest deals.

Now, did you want to see how I put together my centerpiece?

I started with a glass pitcher {$6.99 at Kmart} but you could use a glass hurricane or vase if you like.

Put a pinch of Easter grass in the bottom of the pitcher.

Pour a bag of jelly beans over the grass.

Using the bunny Peeps, stand them up at the inside edge of the pitcher. I used 2 rows of attached bunnies and one bunny from the third row in the package.

Here's what it looks like looking inside the pitcher.

Stuff Easter grass in the middle of the bunny circle and let it spill over the top of them.

Pour a bag of jelly beans over the top of the Easter grass. 

Phew! All of that work made me want to sit down. When I sat down, my new candy dish offered me some jelly beans.

"I don't mind if I do, bunny. I don't mind if I do."

**This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. The opinions and experience shared are 100% my own. #CBias 

Decorating My Table The #KmartEaster Way! {and a tutorial} #cbias

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