A Little Nativity all the way from Poland

I wanted to share my favorite nativity with you all. Some friends living in Poland gave it to us a couple of years ago, and I doubt they even realize how much I love it. It's hand carved and painted (I'm a sucker for all things hand-made!) I absolutely love the simplicity of it. It just may be the best nativity ever.

Christmas, Instagram Style

Feeling Christmas-y around here.

Chalkboard Gift Tags

I made some Chalkboard Gift Tags this weekend. These are going to look amazing on our Christmas presents!

They couldn't be easier to make. Just some chalkboard spray paint and little wooden tags. I got mine from Joann's.

And, in honor of Cyber Monday, I'm offering free shipping on everything in my shop all week! Use the code cybermonday to receive free shipping until this Friday, Dec. 2nd at midnight. Click HERE to shop!

Our Jesse Tree

My husband and I made our first Jesse tree this year. If you're not familiar, an Advent Jesse Tree is a collection of Scripture and devotions that can be read daily to prepare your heart to worship Christ at Christmas. There are ornaments that can be hung on a tree that coincide with each daily devotion. We're reading The Advent Jesse Tree by Dean Lambert, illustrations by Ginger Meador. You don't have to buy a book to use the Jesse Tree as part of your Christmas celebration. There are tons of free resources online.

We decided to make our own ornaments this year. I bought some glass ball ornaments, and had originally planned on cutting vinyl to place on them, but my first attempt looked a little scary. Then my husband had this idea. We photocopied the illustrations in the book we're reading (with permission), cut them into circles, and placed them inside the ornaments. If you're an artist, it would be pretty awesome to draw your own illustrations!

To make your own, you'll need:

clear, round ornaments

circle cut- outs of the illustrations (we used the end of a cup as a stencil)

a pencil, or long stick- like object

Take the top off of the ornament.

Roll up your illustration and carefully slide it inside the ornament.

Use a pencil or stick to uncurl the drawing.

Voila!

We're using a small, 3 foot tree to display our Jesse Tree ornaments. I'm really looking forward to celebrating the gift of God's Son this year, and teaching Gibson about the Joy of Christmas!

Vroooom!

What does Gibson think of the new vinyl truck decal I put on his wall?

I think he likes it!

Family Cookbook Project

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Family Cookbook Project for Social Spark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I've been planning on collecting my husband's favorite recipes and compiling them into a book for about five years now (basically since before we got married). So far, it's about 0% complete. That's why I was really excited to hear about the following deal.

Family Cookbook Project is an online site that compiles your recipes into a professionally bound book. It's simple to use. You simply set up a free account on their website, upload your recipes and photos, and use their templates to customize your book the way you want it. Select the cover, dividers, page layouts, write an intro and edit your recipes. You can also invite friends or family to contribute recipes.

The book takes about 2- 3 weeks for delivery, so you still have time to order some as Christmas presents.

Right now, Family Cookbook Project is offering a discount. You can order your cookbook for only $39. They usually retail for $99. That's a 61% discount!

Just click on the link below to get started!






Bicycle Art

I made some art for my shop this weekend. I've had this canvas lying around for quite some time now. I painted it yellow a while back, but just wasn't sure what else I wanted to do with it. I found a bicycle image I loved and was hit with inspiration. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the design on vinyl and slapped it on the canvas!

I'm torn! I'm pretty enamored with it, but also feel that I should post it in my shop and sell it. Decisions, decisions...

Feelin' Fally

Enough said.

20% off in my shop!

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm offering a discount of 20% off in my shop this week only! You have until Friday 25th at midnight to order. Just use the coupon code: thankful. I've added some new things, so you should be able to get some Christmas shopping done! Click HERE to shop.

chalkboard labels

My chalkboard vinyl came in the mail yesterday! I used my silhouette cameo to make some snazzy little labels for some of my canisters. Whew! No more confusion now when I open my pantry! Now I'm daydreaming of all the different shapes of chalkboard labels I can make!

Tiny Prints Talent Search Contest

Our Christmas card (ummm.... when we finally take it ;) is definitely coming from tinyprints this year. We received a coupon to use at tinyprints a while back from Gap for purchasing some clothes for Gibson, and I was over the moon!

Yesterday, I heard about a talent search tiny prints is having. They are looking for the cutest photo in the following areas:

Cutest baby (0-24 months)
Cutest kid (25 months -10 years old)
Cutest Family
Cutest Couple
Cutest Pet & Owner

The grand prize includes $1,000 cash and a $500 tinyprints gift certificate! The contest ends Nov. 21st, so you'd better get to it!

To submit your photo and enter to win, click HERE.

For official rules, click HERE.

Winner of the Sofia the Owl Giveaway!

And the winner is....

Karyn Hughes! Yay! Feel free to facebook me with your address, which color you'd like, size, and if you'd like to add a name!

An Attempt at a Christmas Card

Well as I mentioned yesterday, our attempt at a Christmas card didn't really materialize. My precious husband set our camera on a pile of books acting as a "tripod", and set our camera's timer on 10 secs. It seems like every time the camera beeped signaling it was about to take our picture, Gibson would decide he had had enough and would inevitably squirm in protest.

Even still, we got a few shots that capture some fun and festive memories. We liked this one the best, but still not sure if it is "Christmas Card worthy."

Ben caught me distracted. Here's a behind the scenes shot of me working on my chalkboard frame. It was a fun way to spend our Sunday afternoon.

DIY vintage-inspired framed chalkboard

I've been working on this framed chalkboard for about a month now.

This is what it looked like when I bought it at a yard sale for $5. Yep. $5.

I took it apart and spray painted the "picture" with chalkboard spray paint.

Then I spray painted the frame periwinkle.

I glued the board to the inside of the frame. Because the board is warped, the glue didn't really hold too well, but the board seems to be staying in fine. So far.

I used the chalkboard as a prop in our Christmas card. Hence the Merry Christmas message.


Christmas cards are very hard to orchestrate when you have an active 13 month old. It was more like a fiasco. A very fun and festive fiasco.

Don't forget to enter my Sofia the Owl Onesie giveaway! You only have until Wednesday. Click HERE.





Sewing Nook

So I've been a little lazy when it comes to sewing lately. I can count on one hand the things I've sewn since my son was born (13 months ago)! Some of my laziness can be attributed to genuine tiredness, but I'm sure more of it has to do with a lack of sewing space.


So, yesterday I decided I've had enough and organized a little sewing nook in our guest bedroom.

It's a little mis-matchy. Kind of like me. :)

But it's my little area, and already I am loving it! Gotta go. Time to daydream of Christmas projects to sew.

P.S. Don't forget to enter my current giveaway for the Sofia the Owl Onesie! Click here!

Sofia the Owl Giveaway!

I'm having a giveaway! This little onesie is so cute I had to share! I'll be giving away one customizable onesie to a lucky reader! You pick the color (purple, black, red, green, blue, orange), the size, and feel free to add a name! This onesie would make the best Christmas present!

To enter:
1. Leave a comment below mentioning your favorite Thanksgiving tradition.
2. Share the giveaway on Facebook, or your blog. Leave an additional comment letting me know!
3. Like the My Owlet Facebook page! Click HERE. Leave another comment letting me know you liked the page!
4. Become a follower of this blog. Don't forget to leave another comment!

Giveaway ends Wednesday, November 16th at midnight, and the winner will be announced the next day, so don't forget to check back!

Sofia the Owl Onesie

I received my Silhouette Cameo in the mail last week and I'm proud to show off my first creation! I call it the "Sofia the Owl" Onesie! This little beauty will be featured in my shop soon, so you can buy a few for Christmas!

Homemade Cream of Whatever Soup Mix

I found a recipe for Homemade Cream of Whatever Soup Mix. This is a dry mix, and I kind of like that. The last "Cream of" mix I attempted required cooking the mix and storing it in the freezer. It also required tons of ingredients. This recipe requires fewer ingredients. I like it a ton better. I just store the dry mix in my air tight mustache jar, and I'm ready for any casserole or crock pot dish that calls for it! Yay! For the recipe, click HERE.