top ten post {2011}

I’ve seen these top ten list around blog land,
& I thought it would be fun to do my own Top Ten of 2011 post. :)

So here they are my top ten:



10. “Real” Santa Letter
Now this is definitely not a post that I would of put in my top ten list.
(I stole the pictures from our family blog from last Christmas!)
Buuuut thanks to a feature from Someday Crafts
& pinterest this little post got around this holiday season!
Annnnd in case you were wondering….
my kiddos did get another “real” letter from Santa this year, too!

9. Laptop Cover
I got this idea from Lindsay over at Artsy Fartsy Mama.  Thanks, Lindsay!!! 
Annnnd thanks to a recent feature over on Copy Cat Crafts
this one made it into my top ten list. 
I have tweeked mine a little since I posted this. 
Apparently me & iron on velcro do not get along…
I’ll have to do a follow up post in 2012. :)

8. Coffee Filter Wreath
My coffee filter wreath brings in the most traffic through google searches.
Apparently “coffee filter wreath” is a popular thing to search for.  Yay!  I’ll take it!  :)

7. New Laundry Room Sign
This is one of my favorite projects I’ve done!
Still loving it!  It was also the first project I used my new Cameo on!

6. Smelly Jellies
These guys are popular…don’t know if it’s the catchy name that does it or what? ;)
They are easy to make & make a great gift any time of the year.
(I also made the CSI Top Ten List one week with these.  Yay!)

5. DIY Jewelry Organizer
Now this one is another one that surprised me by being in the top ten!
It was super easy to make, nothing fancy, but it does the job!  Still using mine today! :)

4. Easy Mother’s Day Craft
I made this craft when my blog was brand new! 
It was one of my first post that got featured on another blog.  So exciting!
Annnnd what a big blog it was, Tip Junkie, featured this for a Mother’s Day gift idea.
It brought in TONS of traffic to my little blog!  Yay!  Thanks, Laurie!

3. Family Wall
When I first posted this one of my words was misspelled! 
Embarrassing!!  So did YOU catch it!? 
Thank you to one of my readers for letting me know, so I could fix it! :)

2. Chore Sticks
Another surprise….our boring ole chore sticks! :)
Who knew they’d be so popular??
I’ll have to tell my kids they’re famous…
maybe they’ll have a better attitude about their chores! ;)

1. Handmade Nativity
My Nativity Blocks are the most viewed link of 2011!  Wow!!!! 
I just posted this less than a month ago, & it has left all my other post in the dust!
It’s been pinned, facebooked, featured & guest posted all over!

I am very grateful for all the support
& kinds comments I have received this year.
I am grateful for the friendships I’ve made.
I am grateful for each of YOU!
Thank you for visiting my little blog throughout the year!
My blog journey has been amazing! 
I’m looking forward to an even better 2012.

Happy New Year!

I’m linking up here:

  Someday Crafts

Southern Hospitality

TT&J

Christmas Break {recap}

A big thank you to all my holiday guest!

Johnny in a Dress
stockings

How to Nest for Less
tinsel Christmas trees

Blissful & Domestic
holiday printables

The Pless Press
stockings

A Little Creativity
penguin ornament (kid craft)

A Step in the Journey
DIY Christmas canvas

That’s What {Che} Said
frosted luminary wine bottles

Sew Rugged@Bear Rabbit Bear
no sew knitted ornaments

Twiddler House
super hero gifts

Artsy Girl Connection
holiday bark

Polish the Stars
holiday favorites

Raising Memories Blog
Christmas favorites

My Favorite Finds
homemade ornaments

Kissed by a Frog
festive holiday mantel

Just Us Four
Christmas tree how to

Rae Gun Ramblings
winter favorites

Inspired By….
coffee filter Christmas trees

Decorating Cents
advent calendar

Sunny Side Up
festive holiday decorating ideas

Home Day Brook
pinecone door hanging

Domestic Deadline
holiday favorites

Hope YOU all have a happy & wonderful New Year!

Domestic Deadline {holiday favorites}

Hi all!  I'm Emily from Domestic Deadline, my little piece of the bloggy world where I show off my crafts and other projects that get in the way of me actually keeping a tidy house...  I'd love for you to stop by and visit.

I don't know about you, but the holiday season has just flown by.  My mind raced with projects and pinterest only added to the list (is there a 12 step program for this addiction yet?).  One of my on going goals is to only keep the decorations that are sentimental and if I get something new, to either make it or buy it hand made by someone else.  So, while I got rid of a few Christmas decorations this year, I of course had to make some new ones.  I thought I'd share a few of my favorite ones this year.  Oh, and I try to only use craft supplies I have on hand since they are burring me alive!

Mitten Pillow inspired by Ballard Designs

I love to crochet and have been making tons and tons of hats this year. 
Since there is always scraps left over, this pillow was the perfect way to use
some up and pull the colors of my first floor together.

 

Drift Wood Tree

Linwood Park in Vermillion, Ohio is my FAVORITE place in the world.  I collected drift wood from there this past summer.  This isn't at all what I had planned when I got to work, but I'm thrilled with how it turned out, plus it looks great on my "mantle."

 

Colorful Forest

 

My "mantle" is the top of our entertainment center, we don't have a fire place.  Our house is short on space, so multitasking is a must... and most of these trees were made for other holidays.  Since we have a lot of teal/turquoise in my house, it was fun to make it work for the holidays too.

I hope you'll stop by and check out some of my other projects.  2012 is going to be an exciting year, I've got big plans and you're invited!  May your holidays be merry and bright.

 

Peace be with you,

Home Day Brook {pinecone door hanging}

Hey, there! I’m Jennifer from the Home Day Book.  I am beyond excited to be doing up Christmas Break here at Ginger Snap Crafts. I love Ginger's blog, as well as her {Wow Me} Wednesday link party. Besides linking up, it's great to see so many projects in one place! I have a unique door decoration to share with you today. Obviously, during the holidays, we see many different takes on the traditional wreath. It is such a great staple in decorating and crafts....and not just for the holidays. However, I do like to change it up a bit and buck the system! Here is an easy pinecone door hanging that goes from Christmas through the winter...all the way to spring!

It is super easy and inexpensive to make. All you need are some pinecones, a few yards of grosgrain (or your choice) ribbon and a glue gun! To start, lay your pinecones out on a flat surface. Cut your ribbons in varying lengths, leaving a bit of extra ribbon at the end for length adjustments. To attach the pinecones, you use the glue gun to put a bit of glue in the little "hole" at the bottom of the pinecone. Press the ribbon in there and let it dry!

Once you have done them all, gather all of the ribbons and hold them up in a bunch. This is when you will want to adjust the lengths so that some of them are longer, some are medium-length and some are shorter. Once you are happy with the arrangement, knot the ribbons near the ends of the ribbons. Trim the ends so they look tidy.

Even though I have my door hanging pictured on with my Christmas things, once January comes, I change out the lights and red berries for more pinecones and greenery. This keeps some interest in my porch pots, but takes away the Christmas element. Two things I love about this door hanging....the first is the non-traditional shape! I like the alternative to the wreath shape. The other? You can pick whatever color you like for the ribbon. Depending on your door color, you can choose a ribbon color to really pop during those long winter days. I chose a lighter grass green just for that reason. I hope you enjoyed hanging out at Ginger Snap Crafts for Winter Break! Have a great holiday!

Sunny Side Up {fun & festive holiday ideas}

Hi everyone!  I'm Erin from Sunny Side Up and I'm so excited to guest post at Ginger Snap Crafts today!  December is such a magical month and we definitely live it up around my house!  I thought I'd round up some of my most popular Christmas posts to share today.  Even though the holidays are winding down, it's always fun to get new ideas for next year!  I blog about a lot of things like decorating, fashion, scrapbooking and my family, but my true passion is organizing!  This year I converted my scrap space into a Christmas wrap station to stay on top of gift wrapping.  Worked like a charm!  :)

(Just click on the links to see the full post)

{Christmas Wrap Station}

Every year a good friend of mine throws a "Favorites Party."  It's a tradition we all look forward to and such a fun party idea!

{Favorite Things Party} 

Our family has a fun tradition of making Christmas Pretzel Hugs for friends and neighbors.  Such a tasty and simple treat!

 {Christmas Pretzel Hugs}

Of course I always love coming up with fun, creative ways to wrap up our hugs too...  

{Christmas Gift}

I love displaying our past Christmas cards each year. 

Last year I came up with a fun way to display them...

{Photo Garland}

I love to decorate and change my decor with each season. 

Here is a peek at my Christmas decor from 2010...

{2010 Christmas Decor}

This year I went in a completely different direction!  You can check out my blog to see how the rest of my house is decorated but here is a peek at my mantel this year...

{2011 Christmas mantel}

I love scrapbooking and wanted a way to keep and display past Christmas cards but was overwhelmed with so many cards.  Here is the solution I came up with...

{What I do with Christmas Cards after Christmas}

                       We LOVE to read at our house and especially love Christmas books! 

                                                                 Here are a few of our favorites...

{Our favorite Christmas Books}

So there you have it!  A peek at some of the fun things happening at Sunny Side Up this Christmas season!  Thanks for having me Ginger!  I sincerely hope all of you enjoy this special time of year with the ones you love.

take a look at you {christmas ideas for next year}

It’s my favorite day of the week…I get to feature some of YOU!  Yay!
This week’s party is still going on so feel free to link up {here} if you haven’t yet!

Thank you all so much for sharing each week!
{For TONS more inspiration click here.} 

 Last week’s top viewed link by far was this cute
Dollar Tree Christmas plate from A Step in the Journey! 
Great job, Laura Beth!

Here’s some more of my holiday favorites!

Snowflake Cake Pops from Pint Sized Baker

Snowball Fight Invitation from Ode to Inspiration

Scrappy Christmas Tree from JAQS Studio

Scrap Wood Christmas Tree from Signs by Andrea

Easy Neighbor Gift from Truly Lovely

 

JOY Holiday Yarn Sign from Changing My Destiny

Glitter Ornaments from Crafting in the Rain

Free Gift Tag Printable from the Precious Sisters

Paper Doile Christmas Trees from Small Home Love

Christmas Tree Headband from Loopy Loop Creations

Thanks so much for sharing, ladies.

If you were featured feel free to grab a featured button!

<center><a href="http://gingersnapcrafts.com/"><img border="0"src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8EfmNNUs8fr8SItYeJtglRjBI9bUFPzRHgGGy3-A7Gaes87nxMqKPOWQfQDprNdM6yb7EpzdG4bhaDRRWV7srpVj4ZJtjOsCTdc5aRrUlEiJrYq1QHLoRWdG4oYM6PIkIkWU5Y4pYpVhL/s1600/Ginger_Snaps_Feature.p"/></a></center>   Don’t forget to link up to this week’s party if you haven’t yet. :) {Link up here!}  

Decorating Cents {advent calendar}

Hi, I'm Andrea from Decorating Cents.  On my blog, I share my home decorating adventures and DIY projects. 

 

It's a pleasure to be joining Ginger on Christmas Break.  Today I am going to share my easy Advent Calendar.  My daughter is really into Christmas this year.  She spots every Christmas tree when we're out and is asking for every toy she sees on TV.  Since this is the first time she seems to be interested in the holiday, we wanted a way for her to count down the days.  I decided an advent would give her something to look forward to each day.

Supplies used:

foam core board

scrapbook paper

glue stick

scissors

1. Cut scrapbook paper into 4 inch squares. 

2. Fold 1/2 inch on 3 sides.  The pocket ends up being 3x3.5".

3. Glue pockets onto foam core board.

4. Cut 1 inch circles, label with numbers, and glue onto squares.

Fill your pockets with activity cards or small gifts for each day.  This is an easy way count down the days with the family. I would love for you to drop by Decorating Cents to see some of my other projects.

Thanks Ginger for letting me spend Christmas Break with you.  Happy Holidays everyone!