christmas – Page 4 – emerald city diaries

highlights of 2013.

happy 2014!

i’ve said it before, & i’ll say it again!, yearly recaps are always my favorite kinds of blog posts. its a small way to sum up your year & to see how much the last 365 days have brought. as i look forward to the New Year, i am humbled & grateful by all of the wondrous events of 2013. here’s the rundown of ours:

january: I started out the new year with a bout of the flu. we hosted our first blog giveaway! we installed the west elm hanging capiz chandelier over our dining room table. I framed my diy polaroids for our bedroom walls. amanda & I met john & sherry from young house love during their book signing tour! I diy-ed campaign dressers for our bedroom.

february: I did lots of diy-ing for valentine’s day {here, here, & here} I celebrated my birthday! we bought a kitchen island. I tried to be better about getting in front of the camera!

march: I tried my hand at painting an antler {& was so impressed with the results!}. we took my 91-year-old grandmother to target for the first time! amanda & I diy-ed framed house keys on maps. we sold jez the jetta & bought a new car.

april: we updated our bathroom vanity with a converted antique sideboard. we updated the closet doors by stripping off the old paint in a crock pot. we celebrated our one year anniversary in our house & I reviewed all of the house diys!

may: we finally got some good weather in seattle! I painted the ceiling & hallway walls. we celebrated aaron’s thirtieth birthday with a beer tasting party! we had a fun-filled memorial day weekend. we were featured in west elm’s blog front & main.

june: aaron replaced our toilet. sadie was featured in the seattle dog spot blog. my parents visited for a long weekend en route to the olympic peninsula. my diy his & hers maps were featured. we finally got some summer weather!

july: we celebrated the long Fourth of July weekend with a holiday parade, fireworks, & time with friends. I made a nine layer ombre cake! we replaced our kitchen track lights with globe pendants from west elm. we road-tripped to idaho for my ten-year high school reunion. we started growing our first eggplant.

august: we celebrated our three year wedding anniversary. the blog got a Liebster Award Nomination. I diy-ed the tiniest baby hats for our friends’ new baby. we road-tripped to hood river, oregon to celebrate my cousin’s wedding.

september: we went to the husky vs. bronco game to kick-off labor day weekend complete with husky-style tailgating {via boat}. we took advantage of the warm weather & cleaned up the front yard with a fun game called love it or lose it. we celebrated sadie’s ninth birthday! I attended the Alt Summit for Everyone blog conference.

october: I attempted to start doing fashion posts again. we celebrated our two year blog anniversary at emerald city diaries! I finished up with the #embracethecamera challenge. we went to the pumpkin patch & carved pumpkins with friends.

november: aaron joined a team for movember 2013. we snuck off to hawaii for thanksgiving.

december: I reviewed some of my favorite weekend in pictures pics. I participated in A Pinterest Christmas for the third year {see this year’s projects here, here, here, here, & here}! we celebrated Christmas in indiana with aaron’s family.

reflecting back on this year, i am reminded how blessed we are & also how different this year has been than the year previous. it has been such a wonderful year & ringing in a new one is a bit bittersweet.

how was your 2013 – was it a year to remember, or are you itching to start 2014 already?

see past yearly highlights for 2011 & 2012.

my weekend in pictures.

{caught the end of the fight hunger bowl game. go huskies!}

{saw our cousin kait’s new house. aaron & oliver had fun launching arrows everywhere.}

{we drove out to lafayette to see tim, meg, & silas yesterday.}

{si was such a ham at lunch. this is his new squishy face!}

{pool party at our hotel with all of the little cousins!}

{happy birthday cari!}

{all of the littles in one pic – amazing!}

we are wrapping up our indiana christmas vacation & fly back to seattle today. it has been great to unplug & catch up with family & friends over the holiday. it seems like we have had no less than 6 christmas celebrations! plus, we finally got some snow this morning! hard to believe we are in the final days of december – where did the year go? how was your christmas week and weekend?

merry christmas {2013}

wishing you a very happy holiday & merry christmas this year!

our cards this year are from tiny prints {again!} who i love working with as there is such a great selection of cards & the shipping is fast! as this year’s card was just a family picture & not the highlights that last year’s card was, i decided to put together a fun infographic christmas letter as a yearly review.

happy celebrating!

see previous christmas cards here & here.

my weekend in pictures.

{we woke up to SNOW on friday morning. it was very, very exciting!}

{sadie does not at all look comfy, does she?}

{got a festive holiday mani on saturday morning.}

{packing…}

{sadie’s dog walker becca gave sadie her christmas present. it was a 3 foot bully stick. sadie is obsessed.}

{we had a crepe brunch with our friends cale, jessica, & their daughter jazmyne. jaz & aaron took sadie for a little stroll afterwards.}

{lounged on the couch sunday afternoon & caught some of the seahawks game.}

{again, not at all comfy sadie…}

{we went to the drug store with my grandmother before seeing a movie this evening. this is what was in her cart. all of that is candy.}

{a movie isn’t a movie without popcorn & junior mints!}

we had a fun last weekend before the big holiday which was spent spending a lot of time with friends & family. that is how the holidays should be, right? we are gearing up for some more family time & are very much looking forward to spending the holidays with lots & lots of family this year. but, geez, can you believe it is christmas already? how was your weekend?

NORAD tracks Santa!

I had grand plans to share pictures of our house decorated to every end with all of my Pinterest Christmas projects, but, alas, the week got away from me… {maybe this weekend I can get some pics & share them with you next week!}

I didn’t want to leave you with nothing to end the Pinterest Christmas series, so I thought I would share the NORAD Santa tracker. this way, you can track Santa all the way to your house on Christmas Eve!

all of the Christmas magic lives here!

happy its-almost-Christmas! are you ready for the holiday?

a pinterest christmas: glitter letter garland & chalkboard wreath.

welcome to week three {& the final project} of a pinterest christmas! {see the first two weeks of projects here, here, here, & here} i have been eyeing the glitter letter garlands that have been floating around Pinterest & the inter-webs for some time now, waiting for the perfect occasion to make one {if christmas isn’t the perfect occasion for glitter, i don’t know what is!}. i also wanted to make use of our chalkboard entry again & found a fun way to marry these two projects.

{original pinterest link – glitter letters}

supplies:

letter stencils – i made my own in Word
glitter cardstock – i got mine from Michael’s
scissors
exacto knife – i highly recommend this for cutting out the inside of the “a”
plastic straw – {optional} i used to string the letters onto ribbon
ribbon/twine/string
glue – {optional to use with straw} i used tacky craft glue

first i chose the phrase i wanted to use. “fa la la la” seemed like a fun choice! then i made my stencils using Word. i just typed in the letters i needed – F, L, A – & played with the fonts & sizes until i found something i liked.

then i cut out my stencils, traced them backwards onto the back {non-glitter} side of the cardstock, & cut out the letters.

in order to string the letters onto the ribbon i chose, i decided to give a straw a try. i cut a plastic straw into small pieces, about an inch or so {less than the width of the top of the letter to disguise it} & glued the side of the straw to the back of the top of each letter.

i then strung each letter onto the ribbon.

for the chalkboard wreath, i decided on the empty wall where i drew last year’s festive chalkboard art {see here} as it is the first thing you see when you walk thru our front door. my main goal for this wreath was to create a simple backdrop for the glittery garland.

{original pinterest link – no original link}

i started by softly outlining the shape of the wreath in chalk so that it was big enough for the garland to stretch across. then I erased the lines I drew with a wet washcloth in the circle shape that I wanted. i started to add white dots within the wet area, followed by red & green ones. I added dots somewhat randomly & then stepped back to see where I needed to fill in. it wasn’t a very scientific process & I liked that it didn’t need to be perfect {which is a lot if you know me!}.

i hung the garland across using push pins after I had the basic shape in place so I could use it for reference.

ready for some more {p}inspiration? check out these ladies:

amanda @ Without A Doubt

maggi @ Greg, Maggi, & Rodney

abbi @ The Pena Family

kendra @ The Gilbertson Family

{also, catch up on the last two years on my diy tutorials page here.}

have you been {p}inspired by any christmas projects this year?

my weekend in pictures.

{sadie made a christmas ornament at the groomer on friday. yep, that is a lock of her fur. #wearecrazydogpeople}

{a fortune after lunching at p.f. chang’s on saturday – a break from last-minute holiday shopping.}

{we got lots checked off the christmas wish list this year at nordstrom.}

{sadie is enjoying her fleece blanket in the backseat this time of year. & she is sporting her christmas bow from the groomer.}

{we visited the new anthro at bell square & I couldn’t resist trying on these fun party skirts. you wanna guess which one was an early christmas present?}

{my grandmother picked the christmas sugar cookie to go along with her dinner this evening at panera. it was the one with the most sugar, I am sure!}

it was a fun, but oh-so-quick weekend! my mom made a somewhat last minute trip into town and it was so good to see her & spend an early christmas this afternoon. we avoided the grey winter weather with lots of shopping cardio & catching up. just this one last work week to get thru before the christmas holiday & I am so excited (& so ready!). how was your weekend?

a pinterest christmas: mason jar snowglobe forest.

welcome to the second week of a pinterest christmas! {see last week’s here & here} this snowglobe project is one that i have been wanting to do for the last few years & i am so thrilled with how it turned out {& how easy it is}!

{original pinterest link – mason jar snowglobe}

supplies:

jars – i used various sizes including mostly mason jars & baby food jars
trees with wooden bases* – i picked up an assortment of trees from Michael’s
craft snow – i picked up some at Michael’s
glue – i used a hot glue gun
cardboard or paper to cover your workspace

*you can add anything to your snowglobe so be creative! i loved the idea of a tree on top of a toy car {see here} & ordered this West Elm ornament.

first, be sure your jars are clean & dry. the mason jars i used were brand new, but i had to wash & dry the small baby food jars. {note: if you are like me & need baby food jars but don’t have kids, pick baby food that you can actually use – i chose applesauce – if you feel bad throwing the food away.}

then i set out each tree to match up with each jar. i chose to put the bigger trees in the bigger jars & the smaller trees in the smaller jars. i put a glob of hot glue on the bottom of a tree base & stuck it to the thin metal lid of the jar, right in the center. i would recommend gluing all of the trees to the lids at once to make the next step easier. with the car {after making sure the car would fit into the mouth of the jar} i globbed glue all over the bottom of the 4 “tires” & stuck the car to the side of the jar.

this next part is easy, but messy, so lay down your cardboard or paper over your workspace. fill each jar with the “snow.” i found that i didn’t need nearly as much as i thought, so i would start with just an inch, maybe two. once the snow is in the jar, put the lid {with the tree glued on} onto the top and then put on the ring & close the jar. once sealed, you can turn the jar over to see if there is enough snow. if not, then turn the jar back over, shake the snow off the lid, & add more as needed. i liked having the snow line be under the bottom of the tree or else it looked like the tree was swimming, but this is completely a personal preference. also, the snow that i used had big glitter chunks in it which is fun because those chunks stick to the inside of the jar & make it look like its a real snowglobe {but sans liquid}.

amanda convinced me that i could do an entire snowglobe forest & i love the grouping of all of the snowglobes – thanks amanda! i have them acting as a table centerpiece, but sort of love the idea of using lots of snowglobes together – a good alternative to a christmas town scene!

ready for some more {p}inspiration? check out these ladies:

amanda @ Without A Doubt

maggi @ Greg, Maggi, & Rodney

abbi @ The Pena Family

kendra @ The Gilbertson Family

{also, catch up on the last two years on my diy tutorials page here.}

have you been {p}inspired by any christmas projects this year?

my weekend in pictures.

{loving that we can turn on the heat remotely with our nest to warm up the house before we get home. hating that it is in the low 30s however.}

{which wich for dinner on saturday night. keeping it classy by eating on real plates!}

{sadie was all snuggles this weekend. it was cold enough that we put on her sweater & she didn’t seem to mind.}

{picked up our christmas tree today. what, you don’t put your christmas tree in a shopping cart?}

{tree atop the car. nice work husband! it didn’t fall off, not even once.}

{the view of the christmas tree from the sunroof.}

{loving the winter dream tea from the coffee bean & tea leaf, & my new mug from the SBUX + alice & olivia collab!}

{I have learned the hard way in years past what happens when you try to string christmas lights without stretching them out first. no fun. this year was so much better!}

{while decorated the inside of the house, aaron was out putting up our outdoor christmas lights.}

we returned on saturday afternoon from a week & a half in hawaii {which is why we were noticeably absent from social media the past few days} so the first half of our weekend was spent sitting on a plane over the pacific. this was a trip that was months in the making as we started planning last spring! it was awesome to get away just the two of us for a while for a much-needed break from the real world though it was a little weird to be away from family over the thanksgiving holiday. we soaked up the sun & unplugged {well I did} which was lovely. I will be sharing pics from our trip over the next few days {once I get the photos uploaded & lightly edited}. now we are back to a very, very cold beginning of winter! brr. on the plus side, I can get to decorating for christmas this week! how was your weekend?

a pinterest christmas: gold-tipped pinecone garland.

yep, this is the second project for week one of this year’s a pinterest christmas {see the first project here} – i am planning two projects per week so stay tuned for those.

today i wanted to share a fun new garland. it is definitely festive & has some sparkle {which i love!} but could be awesome to keep up year-round too!

{original pinterest link – pinecone garland}

supplies:

pinecones – i had some displayed in our living room plus my mom mailed over some from idaho – thanks!
craft paint – i used a metallic gold paint from Michael’s
glitter – {optional} i used a fine glitter by martha stewart from Michael’s
paintbrush
twine/string/ribbon – i used this twine with gold from Amazon
cardboard or a box – i recommend this to contain the glitter

this was a really simple project that i was able to complete during a crafternoon with Amanda. it was easy enough to paint the pinecones while chatting & catching up, so you could do it in front of the tv as well.

i used a small flat craft paintbrush with a small amount of gold paint to brush just the tips of the pinecone {note: amanda used a small foam craft paintbrush which worked well too}. i avoided painting the very top stem of the pinecone so that i had something to hold onto once i started painting. i started from the top of the pinecone & worked my way around the top, moving down once i had painted the tips in the top section.

if you are adding glitter, be sure to be working at a space that you don’t mind having residual glitter for a while. i used a shallow cardboard box {Amanda got it from Costco} so that i could contain most of the glitter.

i would recommend painting just two or three tips in a section near each other & then sprinkling glitter on while the paint is still damp. you don’t need a lot of paint to coat just the tips, so if you wait until all of the tips are painted, the glitter won’t stick to the section you painted first. i used a very fine glitter so the tips weren’t encrusted with glitter, but just enough stuck so that there was a shimmer.

once the pinecones are dry – i would wait at least half a day – you can string them. one of the tutorials i found on Pinterest {see here} had instructions on screwing eye hooks into the tops of each pinecone, which is definitely an option if you are up for it. i decided just to use the twine/string that i had to see if that would work. i enlisted aaron to help & he came up with a way to loop the string around the pinecone stem & another tip which worked out so well. so this is the trick: you take the string in both hands & make a loop; pull one piece of the string thru the first loop to create a second loop; place the first loop around the stem & the second loop around a tip right next to it; then gently pull the loops to close & repeat for each pinecone.

i added a garland of gold paper tassels that i had made for aaron’s birthday party {see here} though i think the pinecones are fun on their own, especially if you had a mantle.

also be sure to check out Amanda’s pinecone DIY over on her blog here!

ready for some more {p}inspiration? check out these ladies:

amanda @ Without A Doubt

maggi @ Greg, Maggi, & Rodney

abbi @ The Pena Family

kendra @ The Gilbertson Family

{also, catch up on the last two years on my diy tutorials page here.}

have you been {p}inspired by any christmas projects this year?