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Inspiring Finds

I took a couple of days off from holiday decorating and blogging in order to bake some cookies (great recipe from Bake at 350) and hang with my family watching Buddy the Elf and other classic holiday movies. But there is so much goodness in blogland, I wanted to make sure you knew about a few of the inspiring things I’ve found around the web and on the pages of Tumblr!

Creative Home Project:

Painting Stencils on Burlap Curtains! @ Tracey Interiors Blog

Gift Giving:

5 Gifts for $5 or Less @ Living Locurto

Simple but Adorable Gift for Friends & Neighbors @ 30 Handmade Days

Inspiring Finds

via Hooked on Houses

Enjoying the Holidays:

The Art of Making Snowflakes @ Here’s looking at me kid

Christmas Wassail without Booze @ Mosaic of Grace

A Sweet Cup of No Expectations @ Chatting at the Sky

Progressive Dinner and Luminaries @ Reluctant Entertainer

Festive Napkin Rings @ The Lettered Cottage

And a couple of recent parties…

Holiday House Tours @ Hooked on Houses (I think she has a new one coming up this week too, which is great because regular smaller parties mean more traffic for the linkers!)

Christmas Front Porch Party @ The Stories of A to Z

And coming up this Monday is Nester’s Christmas Tour of Homes!

Inspiring Finds

Inspiring Finds

Last but not least, I did a guest post over at Tip Junkie featuring a few of my recent simple no-stress holiday decorating projects. I’ve had such a great time making things that were easy, affordable and enjoyable! I have another little project still to show you in the coming days, plus my Christmas mantel photos, finally!

(Note: all the winners from the DaySpring giveaway have been contacted via email!)

17 Comments

  1. Layla

    Hey thanks for the shout out Melissa!
    So glad you enjoyed our Christmas craft post. :-)
    I will never forget the day Kev and I spent making those. Good times!

    Layla

    Reply
  2. erin

    I’m loving those giant stenciled burlap curtains. That is so creative. Now if I could only figure out how to make a giant stencil!

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Well when you figure that out, I’ll link to your project :-)

      Reply
  3. Mique

    Love all these ideas- thanks so much for linking up to me Melissa! xo

    Reply
  4. Pinky

    Thanks for the link to the front porch party! I also love all your ideas!

    Reply
  5. Karen B

    Hey Melissa, I posted my trailer park tradition today. Much easier and less stress than gingerbread houses. Come over for a visit. I’m all over easy decorating and crafts this year. It’s just WAY too crazy for much more than that. Hugs to you this Christmas!

    Reply
  6. Julia

    Thanks for the shout-out! That was nice of you. A day of baking cookies and watching Christmas movies sounds wonderful. It’s supposed to snow all day tomorrow, so maybe we’ll stay home in our pajamas and do just that! :-)

    Reply
  7. Mandi

    Thanks so much for the feature! I was hoping people would find that snowflake tutorial helpful. They’re such a fun winter project. :)

    Reply
  8. Cassie

    Hello! I am so thankful for the wonderful snowflake tutorial link. I am also a fan of the front porch party and the sweet little table and chairs with the “peace” I think it was. I also found an ornament idea there, too! Thanks for the great links!

    P.S. I love that hooked on houses photo, too. :)

    Reply
  9. bridget {bake at 350}

    Melissa…this is a great list! You always find the best stuff! ;)

    And, thank you so much for the shout-out! I hope you had fun cookie making!

    Reply
  10. AffirmingSpirit

    Fun blog you have here!

    While it took me a while to get into the holiday spirit this year (and last), but I did enjoy the links. The snowflake one brought back memories, as did the Wassail link (I make mine with oranges versus pineapple, with cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon, but it’s all good!). I also enjoyed your guest post…I’ve been using a 4′ tree since 1991 and love the ease of putting it up and taking it down.

    Many blessings,
    Nancy

    Reply
  11. AffirmingSpirit

    PS I forgot to mention…stencils are easier than you think, but it’s best to have mylar (clear, stiff acetate from Tap Plastics or your local craft store) and a sharp exacto knife. YouTube has tons of video tutorials.

    Basically:
    1. Draw your design on paper
    2. Mark the areas you’ll cut out
    3. Tape it to the Mylar
    4. Place on good cutting surface, design side UP
    5. Use sharp Exacto Knife to cut out the areas that will be painted
    6. Remove paper from mylar, then place mylar on wall, fabric, or other stencil surface and prepare to paint

    If you are using multiple colors, you will want to create a separate stencil for each color.

    Many blessings,
    Nancy

    Reply
  12. Beth

    Your cookies look perfect prebaked! Did they turn out well after baking. That’s the part where something always goes wrong for me and they get entirely too big and puffy. Thanks for the shout out!

    Reply
  13. Kathy

    Hi Melissa, I have just discovered your amazing blog. Thank you, you have indeed inspired me. Season greetings to you and yours.

    Reply
  14. doug

    thanks so much for mentioning our post! Happy Holidays from everyone at Tracery…

    Reply
  15. Amy

    Thanks so much for adding a link to my gift post! Great links to check out here. You are so good to make cookies with your kids. Mine want to so bad, but I’m just super lazy. Think I’ll be buying the dough:-)

    Reply

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