Merry Christmas

May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope;

The spirit of Christmas which is peace;

The heart of Christmas which is love.

Ada V. Hendricks

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Love, 20 Something!



I love when my house smells like trash...

WHAT?!?! Yes! I love when my house smells like trash! That's how I know Christmas is near! Okay you all must think I'm CrAzY! And although I might be a little nutty I'm not talking about the trash that you throw away or put in a trash can (Although my mom has a large popcorn tin that is called the "Trash Can") Trash is a secret family recipe for chex mix! (Saying secret family recipe makes me think of Busch's Baked Beans... If only I had a talking dog!) It is sooooo yummy! We have it EVERY year around Christmas! Right after Thanksgiving my brother "Tom" is usually begging my mom to make it! So here's the recipe...

1 Box Rice Chex

1 Box Wheat Chex

1 Box Corn Chex

1 Bag of Pretzels

1 Box Cheerios

1 Jar of Peanuts

1 Jar of Mixed Nuts (It calls for Pecans but Mom and I like the mixed nuts better, + they are cheaper)

Mix all of that together and divide between 2 large baking dishes (I get the aluminum foil roasting pans)

Next Melt 1/4 Cup of Butter and 1/2 Cup of bacon grease

Add 1 Tbsp Savory Seasoning

3 Tbsp of Tabasco

3 Tbsp Worcheshire

Pour over Chex mix and stir! Bake at 250 for about an hour and a half stirring occasionally.

Next let cool and ENJOY! I promise this stuff is AMAZING! There is WAY too much for the hubs and me so I usually take one pan and put it in jars to give out for Christmas! I have no idea why we call it Trash... but we do! It might be because it's fun to say you're eating Trash! People really look at you like you're nuts then!

Ok so it hit me today... only 5 MORE DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS! Good thing I only have 2 more presents to buy! I still have to wrap everything but I can do it! I hope?!?!?!?! How is y'alls Christmas shopping and wrapping shaping up?!?!

You Inspire Me!

So here are some things from Blogland that I found and could not resist making!

I made this candy jar out of some Terra Cotta pots and a glass jar just like A Pumpkin and a Princess

Some Ruffle Trees like Shanty 2 Chic (The black and white tree is out of strips of a bandanna!)

Framed Subway Art that I got from eighteen25

A Monogrammed Candle from The Wicker House

And a Christmas Countdown like A Little of This A Little of That

Thank you all for the inspiration!



Christmas Banner

Yesterday I showed y'all my no sew curtains! In one of the picutres there was a "Merry" Banner. So today I'm going to show you how to make that banner!

Take some scrap paper (It's the same paper I used for my magnet project)

Turn on that FABULOUS Cricut and type in the word or saying that you want on your banner!

Next I took out my burlap and cut a strip about 6 inches tall.

Then I cut the stip into  rectangles about 4 inches wide. (Instead of measuring out every 4 inches I cut my fisrt piece and then layered it on top of my strip to figure out where to cut the next one.)

I ended up with five 4 x 6 rectangles! I frayed the edges a bit by pulling out a couple threads all the way around.

Then I used double sided scrapbook adhesives to adhear my letters to each piece of burlap.

Next I wanted to run ribbon through each letter. So I took my scissors and pushed them through the burlap in the top left and top right corners. (about 1/2 and inch in) 

Now you have a hole to thread some ribbon through!

 I hung it in my kitchen window! Now maybe I'll remember to be merry while stuck doing the dishes! :-)

Magnets!

Happy FRIDAY!!!

Since I got my birthday present early this year and I think I've figured out how to use it now I'm ready for a Cricut craft! I knew just what I wanted to do to! My fridge was looking less than festive and it was time to change that!

So I busted out my wonderful gift, some scrapbook paper, and some magnets I had left over from stocking stuffers from last year and got to work!

I used the Designers Calendar cartridge, turned on script shadow and typed in my word. Pressed cut and my Cricut went to work!

  After I cut out my word I attached some magnets to the back of each letter...

then stuck them to the fridge and Voila! New festive magnets!

  

Much more festive! Think of all the possibilities!!! You could make any word for any season! You could put them onto card stock individually or all together for one magnet! Oh I'm so excited! Much more to be done with my new Cricut!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! See y'all again Monday!!



PB Inspired Outdoor Decor

First I want to say hello to all of my new followers! Welcome! It is such a surprise to see that people actually want to follow me and see what ideas I come up with (or in today's post copy!)! Oh I am completely in love with blogging! Thank you all! Thank you to everyone who leaves such sweet comments too!!

Ok so I got my Pottery Barn catalogue a couple weeks ago and I was so drawn to this entry way!

 Was anybody else? My mother is probably thinking I am completely nuts for liking a bundle of sticks over a doorway but I loved the look of ornaments hanging from the branches! Plus there is nothing about this that I don't have laying around the house (or in the backyard)!

So I grabbed up some sticks tied them together and hung them from the overhang of my porch! I tied ribbon to all of the ornaments and tied them to the branches in all different lengths. Then I hung the branches using fishing line! I love how it turned out!

Here's the rest of my porch decor!

And at night!

I had red ornaments hanging from the swags (technical term there) but the wind blew them off and now I can't find them! Maybe next year I'll do wreaths instead...

I know I need to paint the underside of the porch roof (and the porch itself, and I want to paint the front door, and so the list continues!)

Enjoy!

O Christmas Tree O Christmas Tree!

My "how to make a scrawny tree look full" tutorial!

I would LOVE to have a big 9 foot tree with like a million tips that make it look huge and luscious but let's face it... not all of us can afford a nice huge tree. And I don't want a Charlie Brown tree either. So This is how I make my cheapo tree look full.

 First I start at the bottom when putting it together. As I go up the tree I string my lights. And I don't fluff the branches until I'm done putting all of the "limbs" on.

Another trick is to use green garland throughout the tree to fill in those bald spots!

Next I add my garland or ribbon. This year I cut strips of burlap!

 

Next start with your largest ornaments then work smaller. This way you cover all of the biggest bald spots (that you didn't already cover with both types of garland) first. As you work your way to your smaller ornaments take a step back and look at your tree ever so often. And don't forget to walk around your tree too! You want to make sure that any place that will be visible (either from inside or outside your window) is decorated!

Finish with a large bow or star to top of your tree. Then sweep/ vacuum and add your tree skirt! Your tree skirt doesn't have to be this perfectly round piece of fabric. Mine is some more burlap! It's actually a rectangle that I just positioned to look round!

Tomorrow is the first of the month and we'll have our 1st of the month feature!!! I got a sneak peak at Sarah's project and it's super cute!!! Y'all come back tomorrow!!