I Wish It Was Christmas Today!

(A new favourite to add to the playlist!)

Christmas is just a couple of days away and with all of the excitement in the air it is easy to forget that the holidays are a time for fun, food and family not just gifts. So while you're out finishing up your final errands don't forget to smile, open the door and help out those who need it. I hope that everyone has a wonderful, safe and magical holiday!

Holiday Cheer Gift Basket

I have been making, buying and wrapping gifts lately and as I mentioned before I love a gift bag/basket. I have been putting together a couple gift baskets and found that the perfect container is a clementine crate! Below is a basket that I put together with some stemless champagne glasses, some sparkling juice, cocktail napkins and some chocolates, perfect for a special treat.

It's important to make every gift look beautiful so to start put some tissue in the bottom of the crate, place your gifts inside and use some celo and craft paper to wrap it up.

To finish it off add some ribbons, a gift tag and something that glitters! So when you start wrapping your holiday treats look for a creative solution before you go to the store or throw it in a gift bag.

Make: Holiday Crackers

{Christmas: Idea 3}

Making your own Christmas crackers is a lot of fun and really easy. By making your own crackers it allows you to personalize the crackers to the people or the party. The crackers below do not actually crack but the piece that cracks is available for purchase at some craft stores.

Here we go:

You'll need - toilet paper rolls, scrap paper, ribbon, treats and trinkets, stuffing and items to decorate the outside of the crackers.

First, wrap the toilet roll with paper leaving a couple of inches on side of roll. Tie one end closed with ribbon and stuff the bottom with stuffing. I make my stuffing from scrap paper and ribbon run through a paper shredder.

Next, fill the cracker with candy, trinkets and a fortune and a little more stuffing. Tie the other end of the cracker closed and decorate as you see fit. If you're personalizing them make sure to add the persons name or first initial.

This year I didn't include a crown inside because I found these great metallic crowns from West Elm by David Stark but tissue crowns are always a nice touch. We use our Christmas crackers for breakfast on Christmas morning so the fancy crowns will be an added bit of glam. No matter your age a holiday cracker will add a bit of fun and whimsy to your holiday party.

An Australian Surprise!

This week has been really busy with lots of holiday prep and crafting (posts to come) but the highlight of the week was receiving a package of stationary from my friend Danielle in Australia. Danielle moved to Australia almost two years ago and is due back soon (I hope). She is my stationary partner in crime so I was so excited when I came home to find a package of notebooks, clips, pens and gift tags and cards hand picked and hand crafted by Danielle.

Danielle is a true stationary crafter (you should have seen her wedding invites), a great friend and a true inspiration and I can't wait until we're back in the same country again!

Holiday Cheer

My favorite gifts have always been bags or boxes filled with a bunch of small presents that follow some sort of theme. I have always thought it was more fun to delve into a gift where I have to open a bunch of small packages.

Below is the perfect gift bag for the holidays:

A Lanvin/H&M/Unicef tote bag, a David Stark for West Elm Flower Clip, Kate Spade Christmas Cards, Supremes Buttons from Albert and Victoria Museum, Cabled Hand Warmer's Made by me, Lime Green Pentel Correction Tape Dispenser, Mark's Notebooks and Le Pen and Kikkerland Pens.

Perfect for the Fashionista on your list.