The Interwebs is Broken!

Oh, noes! The Internet is Broken!  Aaaarrggghhh!
Image Credit - http://www.makingmoneyontheinternetfree.info

What on earth has happened to the internet this past week?  Is it drunk?  I'm have a Dickens of a time working online because everything is broken!  Every singe site I use to work is being buggy and weird.

My Site Stripe on Amazon has been broken for four days now.

This very blog is duplicating a post when I hit the UPDATE button.

My Zazzle interface is doing all sorts of high strangeness like not allowing me to change the font, not allowing me to change text size and my ADD IMAGE button is not functioning either - all in the last five or six days!  I've also had some system message that pop up, like the automatic save notification, that sticks and freezes and I can't click anything it's in front of.

Grrrr!

And now back to fun Christmas stuff!

Christmas Cupcake Tree Ornaments - Dollar Store Project!

 

Last year my Holiday theme was a Hard Candy Christmas.  I absolutely LOVED making the ornaments for it and I was so pleased with the way my tree turned out.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to do the whole shebang like I wanted - all of us in the household came down with Bubonic Plague (that's what it felt like, at least!) and we were sick for weeks with lingering bronchitis and sniffles.  Yuck.  We even had to cancel our annual Christmas Eve Open House we have every year.  I'm pretty sure this is the first time since before I was even born that we've not held it.  But this year I'mma do Christmas like a Boss!  You see if I don't!

Anyhoo, I wanted to share one of my tree ornament projects from last year with you.  These Christmas Faux Cupcakes came out really well and they looked good enough to eat hanging from my Christmas Tree.

With the exception of Sprinkles/Decorator Sugar, ribbon and Mod Podge, all of which I had on hand in my craft cart, I bought everything for this project from a dollar store.  Hope you like them - be careful not to eat 'em though!  They look so yummy!

* Note : The Candy Cane and Peppermint Stick in the photo above are not the ones I used when I made them last Christmas.  I used dollar store candies.  Because the candies go soft and sticky after a few weeks on your tree, you have to remove them to store your ornaments for next year.  The one pictured above is an Organic Candy Cane I had left over and used for the pictures I took today, 07/16/2016.

Reason for the Season Christmas Decor Theme - 2014

I like to do a different Décor theme every year, not just for my Christmas Tree, but the whole house.  As I've said before, the dollar store is your BFF!

In 2014 my theme was the Reason for the Season.  I handmade all my tree ornament from white and terracotta air-drying clay, and hand-painted clear glass baubles.  I picked up a whole box of beautiful clear glass baubles at a yard sale for 50 cents!  Score!  I pick up a lot of my art and craft items at yard sales.  I've found some incredible things at yard sales and garage sales. 

Last summer, I scored an incredible haul of Christmas ribbon at a yard sale for a couple of bucks.  There was about ten full reels of ribbon which are usually around $3 - $5 a piece, and a bag of partial reels and off-cuts too.  I also picked up some art canvases at the same yard sale - for $1!  There was one large on I snagged with the original price tag on it - it was $24.99!  Another score!  Wo0T!

I loved the way my clay ornaments turned out for my Reason for the Season theme, and the wall art canvases looked so good too.  I was surprised how good they all turned out.  Simple, easy and inexpensive, and you have something absolutely unique that nobody else in the world will have exactly the same as you.  Special ornaments for a special theme.

Here's my creations and how I made them.

Hope you guys like these and they inspire you to make your own special ornaments for this Christmas.  If you do, leave a link in the comments so I can check you out and give you a pin on Pinterest.  I love seeing the ideas and creation all you Crafty Divas come up with!


x Holly-Anne x

Get Ready, Ladies...More than Half Way There!

So, it's 14th July - almost Christmas again! 

Before we know it'll be the Eve of Christmas Eve and we'll be freaking out because there's only one shopping day to go before Santa comes.

But here's a few tips and tricks to spread the cost, reduce the cost...and beat the stress!

Ready, Set...Go!
Starting now, each time you go to a major store - for regular grocery shopping or a department store, or even shopping online for things you normally buy, add one extra item to your cart and stash it for Christmas.

It can be anything - maybe a major or main present you want to buy outside the usual costs we all have during the Holidays, or smaller items like candy, or stocking stuffer items.

Be Prepared!
There's always one person you forget to buy a gift for, right?  I like to buy a couple extra, low-cost items for just in case and stash them under the tree, just incase somebody unexpected drops by with unexpected presents.  It's the Holidays - expect the unexpected!  These are all great for Secret Santa gifts at work, and as Hostess gifts too.

Emergency Gift Ideas -

Hot Chocolate Emergency Kit...
Buy a Holiday coffee mug (dollar store always has awesome selections,) and fill it with a couple individual Hot Chocolate packets, a few Candy Canes, a handful of Peppermints and a festively-wrapped candy bar.  And Hey, Presto!  A lovely sweet Christmas treat for a couple bucks!

The Spa in a Jar...
Another dollar store star!  Take a pint (or quart if you're feeling generous!) canning jar and fill with inexpensive self-pamper items - toe separators, exfoliating pads, washcloth, mini bubble bath or shower gel , nail clippers, hair ties, nail polish, Holiday nail stickers, combs, barrettes, hand cream, lip balm - the list is endless.  Lots of different kits are available from the dollar store and you can buy a few and mix and match the items to make several Spa Jars.  Throw in a relaxing lavender scented candle too.  Tie a Holiday ribbon around the neck and attach a hand-written gift tag.

The Sweet-Tooth Stuffed Stocking...
This is one for everybody who loves all those sweet Holiday nummies - the Sweet-Tooth Stuffed Stocking.  Buy a selection of wrapped Holiday Candies - Candy Canes, Peppermints, festive foil-wrapped candy, Swirl Lollipops. Marshmallows - the list is endless!  Buy a large dollar store stocking or a small one.  Fill the large ones with boxes of candy, and fill the smaller ones with individual candies and you're good to go!

The Christmas Cuppa...
This one is for all the tea-drinkers out there.  Fill a dollar store Holiday mug with individual wrapped tea bags in a selection of flavors.  And of course, stick a Candy Cane in it too!

The Dollar Store is Your Friend!
I LOVE the dollar store, but you can probably tell that from above!  It's a treasure trove for cheap craft supplies and stocking stuffers.  Of course, it's the dollar store so there are many things that look at best meh or at worst downright bleh in the store, but there are so many ways to glam them up!

One of my favorite things to do is to buy some cheapie dollar store Christmas village houses and accessories, like lampposts, benches etc, (which are usually quite hideous!) and up-grade them to something unique with a dose of  wow! 

The Dollar Store Winter Wonderland Village...
1.  Take a dollar store Christmas ornament (a Holiday house, for instance.)

2.  For a lasting finish, use a spray primer first.  Let dry thoroughly.  Paint it with two coast of white acrylic paint or spray paint.  Let dry thoroughly.

3.  Working in sections, paint a thin layer of school glue or Mod Podge over the ornament and sprinkle with fine, white glass glitter. 

Et voila! The beginning of a your Winter Wonderland Village!

Of course, you can use the same simple method with any color of paint and glitter to match your own Holiday Décor theme this year.


x Holly-Anne x

CHRISTMAS CRAFTS! - Fast, Fun Family Craft Projects...



It just wouldn't be the holidays without home-making and entertaining Diva extraordinaire Martha Stewart, would it?

MarthaStewart.com is my go-to craft and decorating resource for tips and ideas for the holidays, with hundreds of recipes, craft projects, festive decorating ideas and more.

Find out all you need to make the adorable little fondant snowmen pictured above and lots of other fun Christmas crafting ideas.  The link will take you directly to the Kids Christmas Crafts Gallery, just click on the frosty little guys!

Get crafting!

x Holly-Anne x

Exclusive Poem : What's in that One Present?

 

  What's in that one present?

The one behind the Christmas tree,

It's big and huge and massive,

And the gift tag says...for me!

What's in that one present?

In the gift wrap with holly-clad bells,

The one that doesn't rattle,

And doesn't have a smell.

What's in that one present?

It's too big to be something to eat,

It's too huge to be clothes or pajamas,

Or something to wear on my feet.

What's in that one present?

I just cannot say,

But I know it's for me, and I'll find out,

When I tear it open on Christmas Day!

x Holly-Anne x

 

Mini Movie Review : Holiday in Handcuffs (2007)

 

 BUY THE DVD ON AMAZON!

Trudie Chandler (Melissa Joan Hart) has one passion in life - art, but right now she's a waitress at Taj's Diner Deluxe.

When her boyfriend dumps her two days before Christmas, she just can't face what her over-bearing mother who is expecting to meet her future son-in-law will say. In her desperation, Trudie kidnaps the gorgeous David (Mario Lopez,) a customer in the diner.

Although he spends most of the next day trying to escape from her, he beings to sympathize with her – her parents are both critical of her life and her passion for art and want her to get a real career.

Melissa Joan Hart is adorable as the hapless and hopeless Trudie, and Mario Lopez is excellent as kidnap victim, David. Markie Post and Timothy Bottoms are wonderfully infuriating as Trudie's unreasonable parents.

Great performances all round. Holiday in Handcuffs is a really cute movie, funny, poignant in places, and is suitable for all the family.

x Holly-Anne x