My Holiday Baking: Seeing Stars

I'm a pretty traditional kind of girl, so when it comes to the holidays we have our
family customs just as any family does, and that, of course, includes Christmas 
baking. I seem to bake the same types of cookies every year, family favorites, 
things my mother baked every year that I now try to duplicate.  

Something funny happened this year though. After rolling out ball after ball of 
cut-out dough, I realized that ALL of the cut-outs I baked were stars. Every 
cookie cutter that I used was the same shape: a star!  Yay for stars!

Ready to go into the oven!

Ready to eat!

What did you bake this year?

Inspiration: Handmade Holiday Gift Tags

One of the best ways you can add a special, personal touch to a gift is by adding a handcrafted gift tag. 

Whether you buy some premade tags from an artist, or decide to try your hand at making some yourself, 

holiday tags are a great way to make your packages extra special. 

You can make gift tags from all different types of materials. The most common are paper or cardstock. 

Upcycled materials such as old maps, old book pages or sheet music are great ways to add interest and 

charm to tags. Printed cardboard is another material that can be upcycled into a gift tag. How about last 

year's old Christmas cards? Some folks start with premade manila tags that you can find at office 
supply stores, while others cut their own tags with paper punches or die cutting machines. 

Creating your design 

Rubber stamps go together with gift tags like peanut butter goes with chocolate! What easier way 

to create tags than by hand-printing plain tags with a rubber stamp? Not only is this inexpensive, it's fast. 

Other ideas for designs are: copies of family photos and children's art.

Embellishing your tags 
I like gift tags that are simple and uncomplicated. It it's over-embellished, too busy, or simply overdone,

I tend to lose interest. It's just personal preference. Plus, super-fancy tags are harder to match up with 
gift wrap! My advice: keep it simple and stick with only one or two colors - three at most!  Some easy 
embellishments for tags include: glue and glitter, jingle bells, quality ribbon, natural elements such as 
small pine cones, acorns, twigs and sprigs, and buttons. Scrapbooking papers and fancy papers such 
as tissue paper, foil, and vellum make great additions to tags because they add texture and interest. 
When finished, use a hole punch to attach ribbon, twine, or yarn to your tag and you are finished! 

Check out some of my picks for the most pretty and unique tags, and maybe you'll be inspired to create your own!

Angel wing gift tags 

Pretty heart tag

Pretty pink trees with white holly

Cute button snowman by Scrappin' with DeeDee

Photo tags made from copies of vintage photos from Sweet Paul

Rubber stamped fabric tags tutorial from Crescendoh

Pretty paper trees by Patty Schaffer via Etsy

Handcrafted skinny tags from 2 Gypsy Girls

Stitched tags from Nice Package

Cute snowman tags by smatsunaka via Etsy

Chalkboard gift tags by The Examined Life

by TorisCustomCreations via Etsy

Christmas tree tags by Its A Stamp Thing

Joyeux tags

Organic Gingerbread tags by Andie's Specialty Sweets via Etsy

Do not enter gift tags by amaretto via Etsy

Presumptuous but kind of cute at the same time

Star tags (above and below) by noodleandlou via Etsy

Simple Peace tag via Flea Market Style

Lovely tags from folksy.com

This would be a nice way to display tags via Country Living

Musical snowman tag by Ms. Redo

The secret to making these manila office tags look old and worn: bake them in a 

warm oven. Check out my DIY tutorial for making tea stained and stamped hang tags

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What do you think? Do you make your own tags?

Upcycled Christmas Wreaths That You Can Make

The holiday season is quickly approaching and many of us are busy decorating our 
homes for Christmas. This year, why not create your own unique holiday wreath
 from things that you already have around your home? 

To get started, all you need is a wreath base (inexpensive wreath bases can be 
purchased at most dollar stores), a glue gun, and a little creative thinking.

Check out these extraordinary upcycled wreaths created from ordinary household 
objects and maybe you'll be inspired to try your hand at creating one for yourself!

Paint brush wreath by Anthropologie

Vintage bulb wreath from thompsonfamily

Use an old frame as a wreath from Blue Cricket Design

Wine cork wreath 

Another variation of a wine cork wreath from Good Housekeeping

Silver bells aluminum can wreath tutorial by Alice Lund via Eco-artware





Wood spool snowflake wreaths (above and below) from twopeasinabucket

Upcycled book page rosette wreath by AnthologyOnMain via Etsy

Tea wreath made with clothespins by Kojo Designs

Recycled traffic sign wreath by Boris Bally via Eco-artware

Vintage brooch Christmas wreath by Fiorella Jewelry via Etsy

Sheet music wreath (above and below) tutorial by Mitzi's Collectibles

Create a wreath from old Christmas tree ornaments like this one by Eddie Ross
(above and below) Simply glue the caps onto each ball and then string them onto a wire hanger

(Like this look? Check out my previous blog post on Vintage Christmas Ornament Wreaths)

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What do you think?