Feed aggregator
Just in Time for Valentine’s Day
Free printables for Valentine’s Subway Art. There are so many cute ones out there. Here are three of my faves!
Love is…..This is a great one from: The Girl Creative! She has so many cute things you’ll want to browse around while you are over there!
This one is cute as a button and she has them for lots of holidays. Head on over to Bunch of Craft.
This one from Pixels and Paperie comes in Vintage looking font, distressed and aged or brown paper. They all look super nice….it will be hard to pick just one!!
Any of these would make a super cute Valentine for Teacher….so print and frame away!!
Christmas Book Bags
If you love books as much as I do, you probably have quite a collection of Christmas books. One year when Evan was younger, I gave him a book a day during Advent. They were wrapped and he opened one each day. Obviously I couldn’t give him 24 books EVERY year so now we just put them in a red basket during the holiday season!
Then I discovered this little idea the other night while looking through holiday ideas! I love it!
They’re little (or big if need be) book bags. These stay under the Christmas tree with a book tucked inside each one! A family member picks a bag each night and that’s the story they read. You can make 24 if you want to do a story a night or fewer if you perfer to have some nights for other activities instead of a story. I have over 24 books but this would allow me to rotate books and use a few different ones each year! The bags look so festive and pretty. Thanks to Design Dazzle for such a cute idea!
Cupid Poop Gift Tags
Will you surprise a special loved one on Valentine's Day? Try Cupid Poop!
Nothing more than a handful of candies or marshmallows in seasonal colors, this gag "poop" gift is easy to make. Place the candies in a food storage bag or treat bag, then decorate with printable Cupid Poop gift tags. '
Each page contains gift tags with a colorful graphic and the Cupid Poop poem. Trimmed and folded, they can be used as a bag topper or as a two-sided gift tag.
With three tags per page, it's easy to make in multiples for workplace gifts or classroom treats.
Spread the love!
It’s Crafty Kits Month!
February is Crafty Kits Month here at Magical Holiday Home. Time to set up your crafting kits so you will be ready for Christmas 2012 and actually get some things finished rather than them lingering in the “to do” land of crafts!
Here’s the task for February. Set up crafty kits! First step: Decide how many crafts you can realistically make throughout 2012. This will vary from person to person based on time and other factors. Your crafts can be things you are making for gifts or simply crafts that you’d like to try, possibly some decor items. As I have done above: determine the number and make a crafty kit label for that many. Obviously you might add along the way so keep it small at first! At this point you may not even know the craft….simply decide the number. I realize some projects are big and some small but at least with a number you have a goal set.
Next if you know the actual projects you’d like to tackle…then create labels for each one. You will notice that I have a couple Halloween projects too. That’s fine because once September hits things will be moving fast! BEFORE you do this part…think about what craft supplies you already have in your home…things you meant to make but never got around to. Those are the ones to start with. For example my JINGLE project is some wooden letters that I have had for about three years and never managed to complete. I still love the idea and hope to actually DO them this year!
Next decide on storage containers. No two crafts are exactly alike….so some will fit in a manilla envelope like I have pictured above and some will need a box or even a tote for bigger projects like afghans. I want to keep mine as uniformed as possible so even if they do not fit in an envelope, I create an envelope for them anyway. Inside the envelopes are 5 x 8 index cards with a supply list, notes about a site where there are examples of the project, directions if torn from a magazine etc. Also on the card I note where the actual supplies are…in a tote in gift closet, under bed in a storage box, in a gallon zip loc bag stored on a shelf in the office or where ever! So when I look at my Crafty Kits envelopes they show me ALL the crafts I have planned whether they are inside the envelopes or else where.
I’ve just started my crafty kits….so I could share the idea with you but they aren’t all together and stored away yet. I’ll post an AFTER picture when I get them set up. Some of my projects I still need materials for, as I’m sure you do too….so while you are getting them ready…start a MASTER CRAFT SUPPLY LIST….so you can tuck it in your purse and be ready to pick up some supplies as you see them on sale or even in resale shops!
Christmas Art Journals
(Picture from my Christmas Journal 2011)
I know it’s just January….but I wanted to share with you my thoughts on art journaling Christmas. Back in 2007 I took a class called Journal Your Christmas. It was an awesome class. The people in that class are some talented people! I loved looking at their pages. I loved the daily prompts but I never did finish that journal. I think I made it through about a week! I still have it…I still mean to go back and finish it. Maybe it will make a good Christmas in July project!!!! The great thing about the Journal Your Christmas class is after you take it once…you get the prompts every year after that for FREE in your in box! There’s also a wonderful forum where people share ideas.
(A page from the Journal Your Christmas site)
This year I decided to just “do” an Christmas art journal. I LOVE the idea and the creative process. As you know December can be hectic so I decided I would make mine from December 1-25. I also did not have a budget that allowed investing a lot of money into materials. I still have some items from when I was “into” scrapbooking so I wanted to “make do” as much as I could. I must say I didn’t have much faith in myself to finish it. The first problem was a journal. I had several scrapbooks but I really didn’t want to use them. Now that I am more into art journaling….scrapbooks seem sort of blah! I happened upon a set of Index Card Divider pages…
I decided to use them as the pages…A-Z in the set were exactly 25 pages so that means the cover became December 1st! Throughout the process I tried to use different things…paint, collage, real photos, journaling, old Christmas cards that I used as inserts. I also tried to use items from different events, like the bulletin from church and the program from Evan’s preschool program! I kept up pretty well until about the 15th or 16th, creating a page a day. I wasn’t too worried because I had allowed the week between Christmas and New Years for “catch up” so I could finish it! The journal started to become a visual reminder of Christmas 2011. It’s not the best artistic creation out there but I love it!
(A page from the December Dailys site)
Now all this time I am receiving the Journal Your Christmas emails but I decide not to look at them. I am afraid that the topics and the great work of others might actually hinder the process. I saved them all though because they are GREAT!! Later I want to open them all and look at the beautiful ideas.
Also along the way I discovered another creative Christmas journal process called December Dailys. This is another inspirational “class”. It is free and runs from December 1-25th just like the journal I was making. Again these are talented people making super great pages! I did browse this site a bit but tried not to compare what I was doing to all the great ideas. It’s easy to become frustrated because you don’t have materials to create a certain look or because things you make just don’t look as good as the examples. My journal was a personal process and I decided to let it be as messy and as imperfect as I am!! I definitely like a couple things about the December Dailys. I like the 1-25 format although I also like the idea of 1-31st. I also like how she looks for a “focus” for her pages from daily life, like a child’s art project or cookie baking day etc. Another thing I like is that she suggests making some base pages early so that in December you are just adding the details, journaling etc. I have decided to go back in July and look through all of her pages and prompts to inspire my own work. NOT to copy it, I doubt I ever could….but to get inspiration!
(my Christmas art journal 2011)
I finished the journal! I feel so happy and I love looking at the clunky chunky pages filled with love and memories! Christmas 2011 was awesome! Partly because I organized with all my friends here at MHH so I felt more “in control” and partly because I was surrounded by great family and friends! We did some amazing things for the holidays! If you would like to see all the pages in my journal and read about the process…I am posting them over at Rudolph Ramblings.
January Rudolph Club Meeting
By Cynthia Ewer, Editor
Organized Christmas
Welcome to the Rudolph Club: your once-a-month meeting for an organized Christmas!
At Organized Christmas, we know that the holiday season can be fast and furious. Solution? Take a day once each month throughout the year to plan and prepare for a more-organized holiday season.
On the 25th of each month, we'll bring simple assignments and easy tips to try now for a simpler, more joyous holiday season.
Over the year, you'll tackle planning and preparations to make the season lighter, brighter and less stressful come December.
Happy Rudolph Day January 2012
Happy Rudolph Day! Since January is Christmas Notebook Month, you still have plenty of time to get your notebook in shape before the end of the month! It’s also a good time to organize your thoughts about Rudolph Days for 2012. Make a short list for each of the Rudolph Days 2012. Try to remember to include ONE thing for fun…ONE thing for organizing, and ONE thing to actually DO. I hope your 2012 is off to a GREAT start!!
Goalposts: What Football Players Know About Setting And Reaching Goals
By Cynthia Ewer
Editor, Organized Home
Wheeling my shopping cart down the aisle at the supermarket this week, I was forced to take notice that it was, indeed, football season. With my attention distracted by a flashing soda display, my cart crashed into the corner of a miniature football field, constructed entirely out of beer cases.
Untangling my cart (and trying to shove the cases back into line before anyone noticed that I'd creamed the goalpost), it occurred to me that I could learn a lot about goals from football players.
Chill Chaser: Winter Warmer Jiffy Pop® Popcorn Topper Craft
By Cynthia Ewer, Editor
Organized Christmas
It's a cheery gift for a dreary day: a Winter Warmer Jiffy Pop® Popcorn Topper!
Add our free printable template to a package of Jiffy Pop® brand pop-in-pan popcorn for an inexpensive "popcorn topper" craft gift.
Paired with Snowman Soup, you'll bring warmth and fun to a wintry day!
How To Make Jiffy Pop® Popcorn Toppers
Winter Warmer Popcorn Topper Template
It’s Christmas Notebook Month
Whether you use a simple purchased notebook like Kate over at Wannabecrafter or a binder like Fawndear it’s time to think Christmas Notebook!
There are so many pretty crafty ones out there….if you are inclined to create one:
At Poppypaperie there are step by step directions to creating this one with a little composition book. So cute.
At Eighteen25 more step by step directions for creating a notebook!
At Forever for Always No Matter What you can take a peek inside her notebook to examine the different sections and see the lists and pages she uses!
It’s time to think notebooks!!!
Jumpstart January For An Organized Year
By Cynthia Ewer
Editor, Organized Home
Face it: it's January. Dreary weather is matched only by the dreariness of a house stripped of holiday decorations. Children slog through the great dull stretch between New Year's Day and Spring Break, no longer distracted from their schoolwork by the excitements of the holiday season.
December's crowded calendar gives way to January's social slump. Video rentals soar as comfy sweats replace dress clothes on Saturday nights.
Take heart! There's another side to January!
The freshness of a new, un-scribbled calendar. The clean lines of household furniture, freed from December's tinsel, trash and clutter. The sweet silence of a second cup of coffee after the children mount the school bus. The delicious feeling of energy to spare, energy released, but not expended, by December's holiday frenzy.
Tap that energy to get organized in the new year!
Post-Holiday Debriefing: Get Organized for Next Christmas
By Cynthia Ewer, Editor
Organized Christmas
It's over for another year!
Wild and woolly or sane and sedate, we've passed through the holiday season and into a new year. Breath caught, it's time to debrief.
You know debriefing, right? The astronauts do it, spies do it, pilots do it: a measured after-the fact evaluation of the mission or flight.
Smart holiday planners should do it, too--because taking time now to note what worked, what didn't will be a road map to a more organized Christmas next year. Here's how:
Rudolph Day Notes
Traditionally Rudolph Day runs from the 25th of one month till the 25th of the next month. Then here at MHH we decided to give every month a focus..like January is “It’s Christmas Notebook” month. So I’ve been talking with the ladies in the Magical Holiday Home forums and we decided that calendar months work better for us as far a monthly topic/area with a special focus along the way on Rudolph day itself. So if July is “Stocking Stuffer Month” that runs from July 1st to July 31st. Rudolph Movie Club picks will still be posted on the 25th of each month and we will have special little ideas of things to do on Rudolph Day itself.
I’m looking forward to a GREAT 2012 with a little holiday prep all year long. I must say 2011 went splendid..so now let’s keep moving forward!!
Keeping New Year's Resolutions: New Year, New You!
By Cynthia Ewer, Editor
Organized Christmas
New Year's Eve ... a festive beginning to a new year. It's a good time to take stock and decide to move toward a happier, more organized life.
But too often, what looks so easy as the minute hand approaches midnight falls away in the cold light of January days.
For most of us, New Year's resolutions die a slow and quiet death. They're tossed aside, along with the party hats and noisemakers.
As January winds down, so does motivation, energy and desire for change.
New Year's resolutions wither along with the Christmas poinsettias because they lack strong roots in real life. It's not the resolution that's at fault--it's the follow-through! New Year's resolutions are easy to make, but much harder to make real in the noisy bustle of everyday chores and concerns.
Stop! Don't let those resolutions slip away so quickly! Each one represents a longing of the heart, a reach toward better health, happiness, knowledge or wisdom. Try these concepts to revive and strengthen your New Year's resolutions.
Five Tips to Get Organized For Next Christmas
By Cynthia Ewer, Editor
Organized Christmas
It's the day after Christmas, and every year at this time, the e-mails in my inbox tell the story: "I wish I'd found this site earlier!"
Each year, I hear from scores of readers who came looking for holiday help at the height of the celebration-and faced with the reality of Christmas chaos. Stumbling over our site, they see that it's possible to be organized--and joyous--during the holidays. They just wish they'd found us earlier!
So say you're starting now, the day after Christmas. What's the secret to a stress-free season? Plan ahead!
Try these five tips to get ready for next year.
Get Organized for the New Year: Post-Christmas Clean-Up!
Ready to start the New Year from a clean and clutter-free home? Try these post-Christmas clean-up tips from sister site, Organized Home.
These simple, do-it-now strategies can reduce clutter and conquer Christmas chaos. We like this one:
Sort Before You Stow
Once the New Year arrives, most families take down holiday decorations and store them for the following year--but too often, there's a sense of "sling it in there and worry about it later" when it comes to putting away Christmas ornaments, holiday linens and outdoor lighting.
This year, pay it forward: sort and declutter holiday decorations, linens and specialty cooking items as you store them. Cut the non-working, the tattered, and the tired from the herd as you put away holiday decorations. Has-been decor items can be recycled or donated; stained linens can be repurposed as cleaning cloths.
Streamline holiday decorating next year: sort before you stow!
Post-Christmas Clean Up: Clutter Cutting Ideas for Year's End
By Cynthia Ewer
Editor, Organized Home
Christmas Week is here, and New Year's Eve is on the horizon!
Even in the midst of holiday cheer, it's time to look ahead to a clean and organized New Year.
Ready to swing into the coming year from a clutter-free and organized home?
Try these year-end tips to cut clutter and start the New Year on an organized note:
Holiday Grand Plan: New Year's Week
Ready to ring in a fresh new year? It's New Year's week at the Holiday Grand Plan!
We'll record Christmas memories, prepare for New Year's celebrations, and begin to look ahead to a new start in the new year.
New Year's Week at the Holiday Grand Plan
Houseworks Holiday Plan: New Years Week
All good times must end; it's time to wrap up the Houseworks Holiday Plan and move into an organized New Year.
Sunday sees the arrival of Christmas Day. In the coming week, we’ll tie up the season’s loose ends, make New Year’s resolutions, prepare to store holiday decor, and set the stage for next year’s celebration.
Follow the Houseworks Holiday Plan on Facebook and Twitter to get a jumpstart on the 2011 Houseworks Holiday Plan. See you next year!