Harry Potter World & Christmas Gifts Continued

Last week Aaron and I got to go to Harry Potter World in Orlando, Florida! It was so great. If you didn't know, I'm a huge Harry Potter fan!! :D And in light of my recent vacation, I thought this clip was only fitting for this week's post:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

If you haven't been to Harry Potter World, I highly recommend it! However, I would suggest going after next summer when they complete the expansion. From what I have read, in addition to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade that already exist in Harry Potter world, Universal Studios will be adding Diagon Alley, King's Cross with platform 9 and 3/4, and the Hogwarts Express that can be ridden from the current Harry Potter world to these new additions! It's going to be SWEET! :)

Another tip for you anxious travelers: the fall is the best time to go! DO NOT try to go in the summer or during prime holiday seasons. If possible, avoid these times at all cost or you may not enjoy the parks as much as you should!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from this last week:

Aaron and I standing in front of Hogwarts!

Aaron and I hanging out in Hogsmeade.

Can you tell I'm excited?!

Hogwarts! 

Cool shot of Hogsmeade

Fish and Chips & Butterbeer!

I got a wand! 

Excited for what's to come! 

Christmas Gift Idea #10: Wall Decorations

 

These wall decorations were a gift to me from my bridesmaids a little over a year and a half ago. They made these for my bridal shower. These decorations would make great Christmas gifts for your friends/family.

All you need is either a canvas or cork board. The flat canvas is pictured in the photo to the left and the cork board is pictured to the right. Personally, I would recommend the cork board. You can get a package of these square cork boards from Walmart or Hobby Lobby. You can use push pins to tack on the pictures. If you get the canvas, you have to use double-sided tape/nails to get the pictures and paper to stay.

Then you will need some nice looking fabric, buttons, letters for the name, and some dimensional stickers like you see in the pictures (the hearts and flowers).

Step One: Wrap the fabric around the cork board or canvas. Staple the fabric on the back of the cork board or canvas so it stays.

Step Two: Order the pictures you want to put on the cork board or canvas. Use push pins (for the cork board) or small nails (for the flat canvas) to make the pictures stay on the board.

Step Three: Add the lettering/sticker dimensions onto the boards.

Step Four: Hot glue the buttons onto the board wherever you think they look best.

And that's all there is to it! Until next time...

Christmas Gift Idea #9: Felt Wreath

Christmas is drawing ever closer! I've actually already seen Christmas lights up on houses in town. I'm not one of those people that gets up in arms about that kind of thing because I love Christmas so much, but I was still surprised to see the decorations up at the beginning of November. This Christmas gift idea I'm about to show you will make a great Christmas gift, but it will also make a great Christmas decoration for your own home that you can make for the holidays!

I'm very excited about Christmas! Last weekend I had a Christmas card-making class at my house that was a lot of fun. We listened to Christmas music, had Christmas cookies and apple cider, and made Christmas cards! What a day! These are the cards we made at my card-making class. I'm planning to post a couple of these sets on my Etsy shop either this week or next if you or any of your friends and family are in search for some cute Christmas cards! 

It's time for another Christmas movie clip. I have to say that it has been a lot of fun watching different clips from my favorite Christmas movies to find just the right clip to post here. 

Home Alone 2 is the one sequel that I prefer over the original movie. Don't get me wrong, I still really like the first Home Alone movie, but Home Alone 2 is my favorite of the two. 

Christmas Gift Idea #9: Felt Wreath

I'm sure by this time of year you have started thinking about Christmas gifts, but hopefully that's not a stressful thing for you. Christmas gifts don't have to be a stressful thing, especially if you are a crafter or want to craft. In that case, it can be a lot of fun! You get to take your craftiness and make some really great gifts for your friends and families. This week's gift idea I'm going to show you is a felt wreath. My friend Aaryn showed me how to make one of these. She made one for me that I really love! I did mine a little differently but the concept was the same. This gift is fun, cheap, easy, and a lot of fun to make! 

Your felt wreath will look like this at the end: 

I had someone in mind when I made this so I used the blue felt. You can choose whatever colors you want for yours! Here's what you will need:

Felt Sheets and Pins

Felt Sheets and Pins. You can find the felt sheets and pins at Michaels or Hobby Lobby. You can also find the push pins there, but I also found some at Target when I went to pick up a few groceries.

I needed two packages of pins. At target they cost $2.00 for a package. I didn't use all of the pins in both packages, but I did run out of the first package and needed another one.

For the felt sheets, I had just enough. I got ten felt sheets (5 of each color). They cost 29 cents per sheet.

Foam Ring

Foam Ring. A large foam ring. I found this one at Michaels. I believe it was priced at six or seven dollars, but I used a 40 percent off coupon, which you can find in the free Michaels app at the app store. 

Once you have your products then you are ready to begin! I dunno how you will feel when you are putting it together, but midway through I was ready to go get another wreath so I would have another wreath to make when I finished this one. It was a lot of fun and was really pretty in the end! You could also add a letter to your wreath at the end if you want to. When you are getting these items from the store, make sure you remember to think about getting a letter while you're there. 

Step 1: Cutting Your Felt Sheets

There are a few different methods I used to make this wreath. You'll want to cut big squares for your flowers like I did in the picture to the left and small circles like I did in the picture to the right for your petals. 

There's not a strict size you have to cut these, just use your best judgment. Cut one square and one circle out and then use those to make your flowers and petals like I'll show you in the following steps. Once you test that out, you can see if you need to make these smaller or bigger. 

Step 2: Making Flowers from Felt Squares

Once you have cut out a few of your squares, cut a spiral into the square like I did in the picture to the left. This is going to allow you to twist your square into a cute flower for your wreath. You'll just start in the middle of the square and then wrap the rest of the square around the middle to form a rose. You can get an idea of what I mean by seeing the picture to the right. 

After you have done a couple of these, see if you like the look of them. If not, cut your next squares smaller or bigger depending on what size of flower you are hoping to make. The end result of this square should look like the picture to the right. 

Step 3: Making Petals from Felt Circles

 Fold your circles in half twice so it looks like what I did in the picture to the left. It may not look like much by itself, but once you have decorated your wreath with these, they look great! I especially like the looks of these along with the flowers I made in the previous step.





Step 4: Pin Flowers and Petals Onto Wreath

This is where the push pins come in. After each flower or petal you make, pin it onto your wreath so it stays. For the flowers, you will be able to put the pins in the center to pin them to the wreath. For the petals, you will need to pin toward the bottom of your petal and play around with it until it sits how you want it to on the wreath.

You are going to decorate the face of the entire wreath with your flowers and petal so in the end you get the wreath I posted in the beginning. 

And that's all there is to it! You'll make some great wreaths for $10 and under. 

Until next time...

Christmas Gift Idea #8: Picture Box

One of my favorite Christmas movies growing up! I could only find the trailer for it. If anyone finds a clip from this movie, please post in the comment section below! If not, then I guess you will all have to just watch the whole movie! :)

Christmas Gift Idea #8: Picture Box

This is a great little gift I received from a friend of mine one Christmas. It's a neat, personal gift you can make for your friends and family.

You'll need:

A cute cardboard box (You can find these at Hobby Lobby. They have different shapes like this star.)
Paint
Paint brushes
Double-sided tape
Mod Podge
Jewels/gems
A few select pictures

First, paint the box whatever colors you or the recipient of the gift would like. Let it dry.

Second, tape the pictures you want to use on the box. (Use double-sided tape!)

Third, glue or stick the jewels or gems onto the box for added effect.

Fourth, mod podge the entire box and let it dry.

Then you're done!

It's pretty simple, but it makes really cute gifts! You can also use it as a gift box you can fill with other gifts you have for your friend.

Until next time...

Christmas Gift Idea #7: Cupcake Socks

I apologize that this post is so late tonight. I forgot it was Monday! What a day!

This is a classic movie that you should definitely watch this Christmas season—White Christmas. This is my dad's favorite Christmas movie. We always watch it every year and sometimes not intentionally. It comes on TV and so my dad gets hooked, which gets the rest of us hooked. Not sure if I'll get to see a white Christmas this year since I live in Texas now, but at least I can still see them in the movies, right? Enjoy!  

Christmas Gift Idea #7: Cupcake Socks

I can't take the credit for this craft! My aunt made these for my mom and me a few Christmases ago and we loved them. So cute and so easy to do. All you need are:

• A pair of socks
• A couple of cupcake liners
• One colored cotton fluff (They sell these in local craft stores)
• A pair of scissors
• Tape
• Hairband/rubber band

STEP ONE:

First, lay your socks out flat, one on top of the other. Roll the top sock down until it looks like a little hot dog and then roll the other sock around it. 

It should look like the picture on the right when you are finished rolling them together. Keep in mind you want to make this look like a cupcake! That should help you as you're rolling them together. 

STEP TWO:

Second, wrap the hairband or rubber band around the bottom of the socks to hold them together. 

Keep in mind you won't be getting that rubber band/hairband back so if you have a lucky hairband or something (Some people might, I dunno?!), then I would find something else to hold the socks together. 

Once you have finished with this part, set it aside for a moment.

STEP THREE:

Take your cupcake liner and cut down one side until you get to the base/bottom of the liner. Then cut around until you have cut out the base/bottom of the liner (you can see that on the right side of the photo—the little circle). Feel free to discard.

You'll notice the cupcake liner looks like a C in this picture. I'm going to be using that as a way to explain this next part. Cut slits starting from the inside of the C going out. Don't cut all of the way through. You only need to cut about half an inch up. You do this about an inch and a half apart all along the liner (just the inside of the C). This will allow the cupcake liner to straighten out a bit so you can wrap it around the socks. 

STEP FOUR: 

Wrap the cupcake liner around the bottom side of the socks, keeping in mind you are trying to make this look like a little cupcake! :)

You will need to use the tape here to tape the liner together once you have wrapped it around. 

STEP FIVE:

I then took another cupcake liner, cut a small section out of it (maybe an inch and a half in width) and taped it together again so it would fit snugly around the cupcake socks. This will be a judgment call on your part regarding how much you need to cut out to make it fit together. 

STEP SIX:

Finally, use double-sided tape (or fold regular tape to make it double sided) to put the cotton fluff on the top of the socks to make it look like a cherry on top. 

And there you have it! The cupcake socks! Doesn't look as gross as it sounds, huh? :) So go find some cute socks your friend or family member or coworker will love and make them into this little cupcake to give as a gift. 

Until next time! :)

Christmas Gift Idea #6: Beaded Silverware

Before I share with you Christmas Gift Idea #6, as always I want to start off with a Christmas clip. I really enjoy this movie! I make sure to watch it every year at Christmas. This scene in particular is pretty spectacular. If you haven't seen the Santa Clause movie, put it on your to-do list this season. It's a great movie. Also, I'm sorry this clip isn't better quality. It was the only one I could find of this scene. The sound is still pretty good though so I hope you enjoy it all the same!

Christmas Gift Idea #6: Beaded Silverware

I learned this great idea from a women's event at my church! We had an event where we learned about great Christmas gift ideas for under $10. (Sound familiar?) Don't worry though, I've been creative with this blog. I haven't used any of those ideas until now. Although if you read my blog before the Christmas Gift Idea series, you may remember a post featuring the knitting loom I use to knit scarves and blankets—I was introduced to that idea at this women's Christmas event. But hey! Taking what you've learned, applying it to your life, and sharing it with others is a great practice to keep. :) I hope that you will take these ideas I'm giving you in my post, apply them to your holiday gifting activities, and then share these ideas with your friends and family! 

But back to the post! I will be taking you through this step by step. 

Materials: You will need a serving fork and spoon. I believe I got these from Walmart for a buck and a half each. Then you will need some wire (pictured to the left) and some beads. For my first set of these, I used purple and blue beads and it turned out great! Pick out whatever beads you think would be best for the recipient of your gift.  

1. First, take your wire and wrap it tightly around the end of your utensil. It's okay if it slides because that will get corrected once we have finished

wrapping the beads.

2. Second, divide your beads in half. You will use half for the spoon and half for the fork. (I'm sure most of you know that, but I know that sometimes when I start crafting I lose sight of even the simplest of things because I'm so caught up in what I'm doing!)








3. After you have strung your beads on the wire, wrap the string of beads around the utensil until you make it to the base of the head. Then, wrap the remaining wire around the top of the beads you ended with and continue to wrap the remaining wire around the other beads to make it hold tighter.

4. Then repeat with the other utensil. My mom is in town visiting this week so she helped me put together the spoon tonight. You can see that the two look different, but when you are making your own, you can make them look the same. Each person might have a different look to theirs depending on the order of the beads and how they arranged the beads as they were spinning them around the utensil.

Now all you have to do is wrap them up! If you would like to add more to this gift, perhaps you can find a pretty salad bowl and kitchen towels to accompany your serving fork and spoon, or some other kitchen serving dish.

Until next time! :)

Christmas Gift Idea #5: Canvas Photo

Today I will be showing you a fun trick I found on Pinterest, which would make great little Christmas gifts for your family and friends! As always though, let's start with a fun Christmas clip to get us in the Christmas mood! :)

Christmas Gift Idea #5: Canvas Photo

Aaron and I got married a year and a half ago. We have quite a few wedding pictures and some family who have requested a couple of photos of us. With this fun Christmas gift idea, you take a wedding photo, a family photo, or a photo with your friends and then mod podge that photo onto a canvas. It's a great way to mount your photos and create cute little gifts. Here are the two I finished:

These didn't really photograph all that well, but they look great in person, trust me! :) For the first photo, I followed The Sassy Pepper's instructions.

She even adds a cute little element to the side of the canvas by using a few pieces of scrapbook paper to make a sort of frame. Here's how mine turned out:

As you can see from this photo, my picture was too small for this canvas so I used gray paint to create a frame-like look to it. I also need to go back and add maybe a cute ribbon that I can use to hang this. Since it is a canvas, I can always hang it up that way, but a ribbon might give it a little something extra. 

All you need for this craft is Mod Podge (you can find this at Hobby Lobby or Michaels, and I'm sure other craft stores), the photo you want to use, a sponge brush to use for spreading on the Mod Podge, and a canvas. The paint (and a paint brush) and scrapbook paper is optional. 

Get creative with this and be sure to check out Pinterest for other ideas similar to this. You can make some great gifts using photos, canvas, and mod podge. It's simple, it's easy, it's personal, it's inexpensive, and your friends and family will love it! :)

And please, if you do any of these crafts, share your creations with all of us! I believe you can just post the picture in a comment in the comment section. I would love to see what any of you come up with! 

Until next time...

OU-TX Weekend

For starters, I would just like to share with all of you that I successfully made it through my first week at my new job! I have to say I'm loving it so far. Not a fan of the traffic, but I'm sure I'll adjust or figure out alternative routes that aren't as congested. I'm learning about some great stuff at work that will not only help me with my new job but should help me with this blog as well, which is a bonus!

I've been thrown back into working life and realize now—with my first week behind me—just how little I was actually home this week. Wake up, drive to work, work, drive home, make dinner, eat dinner with my husband, chill on the couch for a little while, and then it's time for bed! Then we wake up and repeat! But alas, now it's the weekend and I get to experience some more free time! Time to play! And what will I be filling this weekend of all weekends with? OU-TX of course!

I should explain what OU-TX is for those of you who live far away from this Red River Rivalry. Well, that's just it. It's the Red River Rivalry, big football game, between the University of Oklahoma (Norman) and the University of Texas (Austin). The two teams/schools meet in the middle (Dallas) for an epic game!

Now I don't get to go to the game this year, but I am planning on attending a watch party for it with my hubby and some coworkers/friends. And who is going to dominate this year? OU, of course! To get you into the spirit of OU-TX, a little video:

Oh yeah, that's my alma mater! Love it! :)

I also wanted to post some pictures from my previous OU-TX experiences. I've had the privilege of attending the OU-TX game twice. The pictures I'm posting here are from the first time I attended the game. Unfortunately, this was one of those years where we lost, but it was still an incredible experience because it was my first time going to the game. The second year I attended the game we won, which was awesome, but my friends and I were in some pretty terrible seats then so I thought this would give you a better representation of my OU-TX experience.

Our team gettin' pumped! 

Seriously, we were very close to the action! Here was our kicker, Stevens, warming up!

Pretty much on the field. Put me in the game, coach! Totally joking. I would be hospitalized within seconds of getting on the field. Ha ha! 

Boomer Sooner! 

Sammy B! Great quarterback for our team. I was really upset, as most Sooner fans were, when he was injured in this game. But he did recover and was able to play in the games following this. He's now in the pros. 

One of the great things about OU-TX is that the fair is right outside of the game, so afterward—yep! that's right!—we got some cotton candy! 

 Oh and then we had to get some QuickTrip coffee before we headed home. (We don't have QuickTrips in the OKC/Norman area, so this was a must!)

Well, there is my OU-TX flashback! I'm excited about watching the game tomorrow. I feel confident we will do well. 

See you back here on Monday for Christmas Gift Idea #5!