Santa was good to me...

Wanted to share with you one of the many wonderful presents I got while I was in KY. My family (my sisters and I) each draw names each year and this was my gift! You may remember a month or so back when I wished upon a star for this on my blog. I was tickled to get it in person!

And here's a couple more of my wonderful gifts...


Monkey Slippers from William's sister!


And a Got Crafts? Gingerbread Man from my niece and nephew!


And a purse made by my mom (it's not really that yellow, just the processing my iphone program does)

YAY! I also got a lot of other great things including...
– A panini press
– A metal letter punch number and letter set for jewelry
– A cool blogging book (lots of inspiring post ideas)
– A new wallet
– Gift cards
– A Mickey Mouse sleepshirt from my bro
– Smell good stuff
– And other cute little things!

Still waiting on William's big gifts. I have a couple more yet to open from him. He did get me some pink Sony headphones to watch TV while we were on the plane!

What did you get for Christmas?

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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The video where I get my arms stuck in a tube

I've been away for a while I know! Hopefully this ridiculous video of me after work hours will make up for my absence! Seriously, I really couldn't get my arms unstuck. I don't know what I was thinking when I put my arms into this old printer paper roll tube in the first place. In the back of my mind, I really thought that it might do the Chinese finger trap thing, but I did it anyway. Instead of helping me, Sam decided it would be fun to film me for posterity (he eventually did help me pull my shirt sleeves out of the tube). Totally something I would do. I get myself into stupid situations like this all the time!

I will be back and at it blogging this week, I think I'm off to a pretty good start with this video!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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Check me out on Pinterest!

One of my latest favorite places to visit for inspiration is Pinterest! It's a cool site with lots of cool and pretty inspiration. I swear, I could look on there at images for hours!!

And now I finally have my own Pinterest page! You can't immediately sign up for an account. They have to confirm you and this can take a few days. But you don't have to have an account to go on there and see all the great imagery!

Basically the idea behind this site is that people share different "pins". Pins are different images found around the net of everything from food to fashion to decor to crafts! People compile their pins into "boards". It's basically an online inspiration board where you can compile your favorite things by category. You can go out and find pins to feature on your page or you can just repin stuff already on Pinterest and add them to your boards. It's super easy to use and fun to put little compilations together.

On of the great things happening is that many pinners are making up their own "gift guide" boards. Pinterest featured some of these on their blog. Check it out!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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My iHeart Faces Entry: Pets

Here's my post for iHeartFaces pet photo contest. It is of my beautiful Pixie girl a.k.a. The Poop Monster. I will leave you to your imagination on that one. Haha.

I've been a busy bee tonight going out to eat with friends and wrapping gifts! I love wrapping gifts, I'm just a little bummed I didn't get more bows and gift tags to decorate my packages with! Oh well, I'll have to make due with what I have. I'll try to share some of my wrapping tomorrow!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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P.S. Here's the link to the iHeartfaces page...go on over and join in the fun with me!

Photo Booth Strip Holiday Bow DIY

Here's another super personalized gift wrap idea to give to someone you love! Have you done those silly photo booth photo strips with a friend before? Maybe you've done one in an actual booth, on your computer, or on your iPhone (that's what I did using the Incredibooth app for iPhone 4). Here's a way to make a great and really simple bow from that photo that your friend or family member will cherish and be amazed at. Here's how you do it!

Photo Booth Strip Holiday Bow DIY

Materials:
– Computer with Photoshop
– scanner (if applicable)
– Color printer
– Aleene's® Original Tacky Glue®
– scissors
– embellishment for middle of bow (I used a button and a rhinestone)



Open up your photo strip (mine came in 4 frames via my Incredibooth iPhone app) or scan in your strip. If you don't have a photo strip, but have different poses of you and your loved one together, you can make your own faux photostrip using those photos in Photoshop. You will just need to make a new layer for each photo and stack them on top of each other to be 4 different poses.

Size down the photo strip so it's about 1/2" wide. Make it's own layer and duplicate that layer and move it down the page to make one long strip. Create a new group or set and drag these layers into this set. At this point, I put these layers into a group, copied that group, and then multiplied the groups across the page.



Print out the page and cut the strips out.



Use the Tacky Glue to make loops. Let dry.



Pinch the loops and glue in the middle.



Stack the loops and glue together. I used 6 loops for my bow.



Finish your bow off by gluing on a button, rhinestone, or embellishment in the middle.


Here's a detail!



Another fun craft would to just make a paper chain with the loops. This would be so fun for a personalized tree for the family or a couple roommates!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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Five Fab Friday Finds: Random Finds I love

This actually a very random and eclectic mix of some of my favorite internet finds this week! The photo above is from Graham Atkins Hughes and I am such a sucker for balloons in photography. It makes me want to do a balloon photo shoot of my own. So vibrant and fun.


I love the simplicity of these shiny and colorful DIY wine bottle centerpieces from the Ruffled Blog. So cheap and easy to make with a big impact.


Love this U.S. Map made all from cereal boxes by Chris Kaasman. What a neat upcycled project!


This wallpaper from Wall and Deco looks 3D, but it's not. Totally cool, but you know me and my love for type.

Ellie Cryer's Use More Felt Pens is so fun to look at and study. It reminds me of work by my friend Silvia!

Hope you enjoyed these Friday finds! I won't be posting these for the next couple of weeks because of the holidays, but expect a fresh slate of them in the New Year!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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Guest Blogger: Ranch Dressing with Eartha Kitsch

I discovered my friend Eartha Kitsch 2 or 3 years ago on Flickr. She is the true epitome of the Southern kitsch lifestyle and you can follow her on her blog, Ranch Dressing with Eartha Kitsch to see just what I'm talking about! Her photos along with her amazing narratives always make me laugh (and sometimes even cry). Check out her blog and her photos on Flickr. You will be in for a treat! Without further ado, here's Eartha!

I want to thank Alexa for giving me this opportunity to do a guest post. When she asked me, I was super excited! Holiday kitsch is one of my favorite things and I'm really happy to share some of mine with you. We're going to focus on Christmas tree ornament kitsch in this post - specifically, the vintage handmade kind.

One of my favorite times of the year is when the thrift stores start putting out their Christmas decorations. I absolutely love getting elbow deep in those big bins of who-knows-what with the glitter and garland flying! One of my favorite things is to find a little handmade holiday trinket from the past. I love to preserve them and to imagine the people who lovingly created them as I display them.

I'm going to highlight some of my favorite genres here. These are some of the most common genres, but their diversity never fails to amaze me!

First up, we have the Santa Claus genre. Ho! Ho! Ho!



These are just a few of the many types that you may find. The Fun Fur Santa with googly eyes. The Ornament Santa made from a common ornament with a head attached along with Fun Fur beard and felt accessories. The other two are of the Crocheted variety - which are also often found in pin form to jazz up your Winter coats!

Next up, Snow People!



Here you'll see two of the fun felt variety (the first of which my husband calls "Boot in the Mouth Snowman" though I'm pretty sure that's a pipe!) and also a rather impressive snow lady made from cotton balls. I love her little handmade braids and apron!

Now it's time for the Fun Felt parade!



Here you see a mitten complete with pom-poms along with a tiny stocking and a glittery tree. In the back is a hobby horse of the cross-over-genre variety - he goes over a candy cane! There is a whole other category of ornaments that are made to go over candy. I'm always left wondering if I should preserve the integrity of the ornament OR get new candy! Note: Never eat candy from Eartha's tree, just to be safe.

And here is a little grouping of some other genres:



Here you'll find: The Sugar or Bead Covered Ornament. In this case, the deer is covered in beads that look like sugar. Double bonus points! The Fun Felt animal - Snoopy in this case. Finally, the Pom-Pom Critter. He gets triple points in my book because not only does he have googly eyes but he's also in a handmade basket!

Finally, I'd like to show you a genre that is a little rarer as the supplies required don't really set them up to stand the test of time.



That's right! That Pasta Ornament! This little guy is unlike any that I've ever seen. He's an angel made out of pretty much every kind of pasta that the crafting laws allow. Doesn't he look downright alien with that open mouth and wings that are nothing short of Mothra? He came missing his eyes, so I added some googly eyes. Note: I'm not against sprucing up those ornaments that come broken or missing pieces. I think that it adds to the homemade appeal and allows the love to keep flowing down through the years.

I hope that you've enjoyed this tour of just a few branches of my Christmas kitsch tree (lovingly known as "The Kitschmas Tree"). I also hope that you all have a beautiful holiday season where you'll be visited by the ghosts of Christmas Crafting past, present AND future!

Thanks Eartha for sharing your ornament goodness. I can always count on you for a hearty laugh!!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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Cute as a Cupcake Gift Bow

Here's a super simple idea if you are wanting a way to make your gift wrap custom. Instead of whipping out the pre-made bows, try making your own with a cupcake liner along with some buttons (promise me, they up the cute factor).

Here's how you do it...

Cute as a Cupcake Gift Bow

Materials
– Cupcake liners in various sizes/colors
– Buttons in various size colors to match your gift wrap
– Rhinestones
– Aleene's® Original Tacky Glue®
– Scissors

Instructions
1. Make cuts spaced out all the way around each cupcake liner. It will resemble a flower. Press down, then cut another smaller liner the same way and glue on top. For more of a visual, see the photos in my halloween cupcake liner wreath tutorial.

2. Glue buttons and rhinestones to middle of bow. Let dry.

3. Wrap your gift and adhere bow on top (I just glued it). And there you have it...super duper easy, fast and unique.

Here's a detail of the finished bow!



From my paper and wrapping style, I'm sure you can tell that I love bright colors for the holidays!! Who knew, huh?

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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P.S. I linked this to the following linky parties!

Christmas Gift DIY: Nested Photo Frame

Here's a fun photo craft project that you'll want to make several different versions of! It's a cool way to show off your photography skills and also take a photo frame beyond just another plain jane frame.

For the frame above, I used an image of my friend Silvia that I took outside an elementary school. I liked the atmosphere, texture (those marks you see are actually on the door in the photo), and artsiness of it. Having her face in the cutout area gave the photo more depth and interest.

Before you begin this project, there are a couple of things to note. This project works best using a wide edged frame, atleast a couple inches of frame around the photo. Also, you will need to take special consideration in the photo you use. I started this project using a closeup of my niece with her hair blowing in the wind. While it was an interesting photo, the frame opening cut into her forehead and it looked like I was doing mad scientist stuff to her head.

OK, here's how you make it!

Nested Photo Frame Tutorial

Supplies
– Photo frame (mine was for a 4x6 photo)
– Matte photo paper
– Black Spray Paint
– Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Spray
– Matte spray finish for Photos
– Xacto or paper cutter
– Ruler
– Pencil
– Photo editing program like Photoshop

Instructions
1. Measure and notate the overall dimensions of your photo frame and the distance of the photo opening from the top and bottom of your frame. The frame I used below was from Michaels. On a side note, I actually designed the Michaels insert you see below on this frame. It's one of the many types of projects I do in my "day job".

2. Make a document the overall size of your frame in your photo editing program. Open your photo and place into this document Using guides mark of the areas of the photo opening as seen below. You may need to move/enlarge/adjust your photo to fit the opening.

3. Print out two copies onto matte photo paper. Then lay the frame on the top of the photo and mark the open areas with a pencil. Removd the frame and using an Xacto, cut out the picture for the inside of frame.

3. Cut around the other photo. Lay the photo frame face down on the back of this photo. Align the frame to fit the image exactly and trace around the opening of the frame from the back. Carefully cut out this box on the photo.

3. Using black spray paint and following can directions, spray paint the front, sides, insert, and back of the photo frame. Let dry.

4. Flip the photo with the cutout opening over and spray the back of the photo with the Tacky Spray. Immediately line up and press onto front of frame, making sure to smooth out any wrinkles or air bubbles as you go. Spray frame with an Matte spray sealer specially formulated for photo paper to preserve photo on the outside of frame.

5. Insert photo inside frame and you're finished!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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Five Fab Friday Finds: Holiday Décor

Here's another fun roundup of 5 finds I bring to you each week. I searched and scoured the internet for 2+ hours to bring these to you this Friday :) Let me start it off with this amazing holiday pillow cover by Etsy user warmnfuzzies. I love the cropping on this photo (good photography gets me every time!) I've just recently been acquainted with this "cathedral window" method of quilting and I think it is just stunning. My mom says she has done it before, which doesn't surprise me at all (she's a super woman seamstress!).



Next up are these great fuzzy string lights from Pottery Barn Teen. What a pretty twist on traditional Christmas lights!


I just love the shapes, colors, and personality of these ornaments from CB2. Modern elements with a twist of whimsy - just my style! Cheap too!

I just love the stripes, colors, and ruffly appeal of these stockings from Crate and Barrel. The red striped ones just about match my living room rug!


And these starburst ornaments from Etsy user kissadesign mix the fun of the Sunday comics with the art of repurposing! I think they are so cool and interesting to look at!

Hope you enjoyed this Friday roundup and get inspired to get in the holiday decorating spirit!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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Interesting Videos from Etsy

Have you seen these l Handmade Portrait and There's No Place Like Here videos of artists from Etsy? They are wonderfully filmed mini documentaries and peeks inside the homes of various artists that sell on Etsy. Each video is unique to the artist and is a little character study of them. I chose 3 to feature for different reasons. Check them out. I think you will enjoy them.

Oh, and isn't the opening rad? Check out more of these videos here.

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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Personalized Name Gift Wrap

Need a totally unique gift wrapping idea this year for your friends and family? It doesn't get more personalized than by giving them customized name wrapping paper. And it is so quick and easy to do. Here's how you do it!

Personalized Name Gift Wrap

Materials:
– Computer with Photoshop
– Color printer
– Gift trimmings
– tape
– Aleene's® Original Tacky Glue® (optional)


Open up Photoshop and write a name multiple times in one line adding space in between each name. Duplicate this layer, move below and shift to the left or right slightly so that it gives a more random appearance. At this point, I put these two layers into a group, copied that group, and then multiplied the groups down the page. Really simple, fast and easy.



I printed to a 12 1/4" x 18" piece of paper, but you can create your own small packages using 8.5" x 11" paper and piecing the paper together with tape. If you want larger paper sizes, try visiting your local copy shop and you can get larger scale printouts for a couple bucks. May seem like a lot for a custom piece of paper, but then again, that's the same price as a gift bag you pick up to put the gift down in!



Wrap you gift. I accented my gift wrap with a string of red plastic pearls that you can get at the craft store. I wrapped it around 3 times and taped it to the back of my package. I then glued on a bow ornament (an ornament I purchase at Walmart for a $1 and brock off the little ring on top). Voila, a pretty and simple personalized package.

Gift wrapping is probably my favorite crafting activity for the holidays, with ornament making a strong second. I've got some more ideas up my sleeve so I intend on sharing more this holiday season!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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P.S. I added this to the following linky parties!