Last-Minute Easy Christmas Garland

I know, I know, 

squeezing in one last Christmas Project into today!

But, if you're like me at all, you have several Christmas posts to put up and haven't had enough time to sit down & get them up.

Or is that just me? 

I just know that last year I didn't get them all up and they've been sitting in my 'to blog' folder all year long.Ugh.

So I had to get this one up.

And it's a project I did last week, not last year.

Pretty sure those are still in the 'to blog' folder. haha. 

I wanted a quick something-something to spruce up the kids bathroom for christmas.

It already had pops of red amongst it's usual blues & yellows but it just was begging for something.

So I snagged some extra Christmas fabric I had and went to town...

Isn't it so perfectly festive? 

I mean, add in yellow ducks & shampoo and we're good, right? 

haha. 

I'm kinda obsessed with rag garlands- they are so fun to do while just watching your favorite tv show.

one of those mindless but fun projects :) 

I used scraps of red chevron, burlap, linen & polka dot ribbon. 

Just grab a piece of twine the length you want the garland to be and tie your strips on. 

Easy peasy!

I tied on some cute glittery reindeer from the Dollar Store along the garland too for a little extra fun. 

Hang it up over a mirror, along a shelf, over a headboard...on the mantel :) 

Wherever you're wanting a little more Christmas glam. 

And don't forget some cute prancing reindeer.

Because they're a necessity of course :) 

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Our 2013 Christmas Cards!!

How is it Christmas Eve already?
I can't believe how quickly this whole year has gone by. 

And that it's nearly to a close already.

The kids are so excited about opening presents & going to Mimi's tomorrow and me & hubby are enjoying a lazy day playing with the kids and finishing up last-minute gift wrapping at home. 

2014 is going to be a big year for us & I can't wait to tell you all about it!!

But for now, I wanted to share our 2013 Christmas Cards and wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!

I always like to go my own way when it comes to design so I designed these guys myself & printed them on some gorgeous linen cardstock. Love how they turned out & how well the kids did in getting pictures done!!

Here are some out-takes from our little photo session...

would you believe me if I told you that we took these in my parent's field with just a tripod and my little brother behind the camera? 

And, nope, my brother isn't a photographer.

Could have fooled us though :)

We actually got the dogs to participate somewhat but the kids just really wanted to hang onto them :)

This is more like real life :)

No words...

And my favorite...

We wish you a very Merry Christmas, my friends!!!

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{Red & Gold} Hot Chocolate Christmas Party & Free Party Printables!!

I know I was missing in action last week but it was worth it :) 

I had a lot of things to finish up at work & wanted to spend any off time with my family. 

This week we are enjoying time off and time together.

So amazing! 

But I wanted to hop in and squeeze in one last Christmas post before it came and went.

We've made a little tradition of doing a cookie exchange & hot chocolate party around Christmastime with all our friends and we carried it over again this year!!

I also had the lovely help from the cutest little online party shop called The Little Green Wagon. Carissa sent me a fun surprise package in the mail with lots of cute party supplies to use in our Hot Chocolate bash!!

I'll be sharing some of the sweet details she provided as we go :)

I went with a red & gold theme this year with a few splashes of aqua (cuz it just can't be helped around here!).

I'm loving using gold during the holidays!!

Of course, any excuse to use my mason jars (and surprisingly, they are not too hot to use with warm beverages. We just let them cool for a few minutes before serving). 

The adorable red & green striped straws are from The Little Green Wagon! 

The plain red ones were leftovers from other parties. I love the festive feel the green & red ones brought to the party. 

Of course, I had to find an excuse to bring out my gold centerpiece from the fall mantel. 

I shared my tutorial on it here. 

Since I did the fall saying in vinyl, I didn't want to peel all that off, so I just laid a piece of black poster board over the quote. Worked like a charm to be a blank chalkboard. 

I layered a red ruffled felt wreath on top of it and hung the 'warm up at the chocolate bar' printable from the wreath with gold rope. 

Check out the bottom of the post for your own free Chocolate Bar printables!!!

I found the fun red garland at Michaels and loved how long and drape-y it was.

And it folded up easily to be used again! Score!

More cute straws filled a jar on top of a vintage crate.

I filled the crate with napkins, plates and then set out a couple more jars for utensils. 

See the cute little mini cake stand the mason jar is sitting on? 

Another cutie from The Little Green Wagon.

I can just imagine a bunch set up with cute cupcakes on them. 

Isn't anything cuter in miniature though? 

Next to the table, I set up the cookie exchange on the buffet. 

I set out chargers to fill up with yummy cookies for everyone to nibble on and try. 

The cute cups set out next to each plate are actually tiny containers wrapped with adorable red & green Damask cupcake wrappers from The Little Green Wagon. 

We used the containers to contain the votes for the favorite cookie.

I found adorable tiny gingerbread cookie buttons from Hobby Lobby and everyone got one to cast their vote with.

The cute mini tissue poms that are strung along the front of the buffet were also from The Little Green Wagon.

I love how festive & happy they look paired with gold rope and a simple green wreath. 

Another fun 'voting' printable was framed and set in the middle of the cookie set-up to remind people to cast their vote for the favorite cookie! 

Free Printables available at the end of the post!

For all the yummy fillers, I filled a gold tray with some painted glass containers. 

They were filled with all kinds of yummy goodness- mini chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, mini M&Ms, hazelnuts, and candy canes.

We also had dipped chocolate spoon stirrers and whipped cream to top it all off! 

The cute mini wooden spoons are some more cuties from The Little Green Wagon.

They were perfect for scooping out the right amount of toppings. 

I wanted to fill out the area with something fun hanging above so I used a smattering of large red tissue poms, sparkling gold ribbon and painted dollar-store snowflakes. 

They added just the right amount of sparkle & glam to the table. 

Eventually, the table was filled with yummy food & dips too :) 

And now for just a few more eye candy pictures!!

(Don't forget to check out the free printables at the end of the post!!!) 

And we can't forget the little cuties that shared the party with us!
They sure made good use of the Hot Chocolate bar!!

Whew!

Lots of pretty pictures :) 

Now onto the freebies...

I'm sharing both of my free Hot Chocolate Party signs with you!!
Because I love you and all :) 

Click below to download your free prints:

"Nibble, Enjoy, Vote" Print

 "Warm up the Cocoa Bar" Print

 Printables are intended as gifts for Tattered and Inked readers only.

As with all my free printables,

these are for personal use ONLY.

Please do not claim them as your own or alter them.

For a complete list of all my free printables,  head to this page. 

And a HUGE thank you to Carissa at The Little Green Wagon party store who provided such cute party supplies!!

I was provided with free party supplies for this post but all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

Be sure to visit The Little Green Wagon for adorable party supplies :)

You can follow Carissa here on Instagram or on Pinterest!

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Christmas Mantel 2013

It's today guys!!
I have no idea why I get so excited about sharing my mantel each season but I dooo!!!

Probably because I get so excited to start with a blank slate and come up with something entirely new each time. 

I don't get to do that to everything in my house (I'd be in trouble if I did!) 

so this is the next best thing!!

I shared a fun sneak peek of the mantel during my Holiday Home Tour but I'm excited about sharing the whole thing with you today!!

I went with touches of gold, warm woods and pops of red. 

And I'm in love with it!!

I always start with a 'centerpiece' that I've usually created in my head a couple months before the mantel goes up.

I'm weird, I know.

But it keeps me on top of things :)

In this case, we had an old discarded mirror in the garage that I wanted to transform into a distressed, acid-washed mirror. 

And I really can't take much credit for it because Hubby did all the hard work.

I gave him the supplies & the steps and he did it while I was at work. 

There may be a tutorial coming up on it...we shall see :)

I knew I wanted splashes of gold throughout the mantel so I painted the mirror gold & added a pretty gold 'merry' banner across it that I whipped up with some gold sequin paper & wood letters. 

I shared the tutorial for my pretty little cotton ball wreath yesterday. 

It was perfect mounted on my round wooden piece that I created.

You'll be seeing more on that someday...it's meant for something else :) 

 I added a few of my DIY felt & fabric trees that I used last year on the ends of the mantel for a little height.

I love my trees! 

My tall gold one was a new purchase this year from The Holiday House.

I just couldn't resist the gold sparkle. 

I also got my cute little 'wonderful time of the year' sign there too. 

If you've been around a while, you might remember my 'joy' letters I used on my mantel a couple years ago. I took them down and let them hang over a stained board. I'm still all about the 'joy' at Christmastime :) 

I also re-used my 'O Come Let Us Adore Him' framed printable I had last year.

You can find your own printable copy here. 

I'm in love with the gold mixed in with reds this year. 

So happy that I took that plunge. 

My 'merry & bright' sign was a DIY project last year. 

Sometimes I make too many things & forget to share. 

Sorry :/ 

We got a couple new stockings for our added family this year :) 

I like the mismatched look between the four of them. 

And a red & white rag garland was the perfect touch to finish everything off. 

I love pulling out my vintage Coca Cola bin every year at Christmas.

It was my grandfather's and now I get to smile every time I look at it. 

I also pull out my DIY advent calender every year and little man loves counting down to Christmas with it. 

And of course one of my favorite views is it glowing :) 

I weaved a strand of white lights through the garland and now I get to sit and bask in all the Christmas cheer it gives!!

It's even better with the fireplace going. 

Hope you guys enjoyed my Christmas mantel- it's definitely a joy to share it every year!!

You can check out Christmas mantels from years past here and here. 

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To see more of my house decked out for the holidays, check out my Holiday Home Tour!!

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