christmas – Page 5 – emerald city diaries

a pinterest christmas: envelope advent calendar.

welcome to a pinterest christmas 2013! for the past two years i have done this blog series of DIYs during the holiday season – the first season you can see here & the second season you can see here. there are a few other bloggers participating in the series whose blogs & posts are below.

i love the idea of advent calendars & it seems fitting to kick-off this year’s series with a calendar to count down the days of december. there are lots of ideas for advent calendars & i wanted to do them all {see my pins here}, but i decided i wanted to go with the minimalism look & to do festive daily activities {rather than toys, ornaments, etc.}.

{original pinterest link – advent calendar}

supplies:

24 envelopes – i made my own & created this template
printed paper – only if you make your own envelopes
gluestick or double-sided tape – to assemble envelopes & attach envelopes to board
foam-core board or cardboard
kraft paper – to cover the board
scissors and/or paper trimmer
activity cards – i made my own & created this template

i started by making envelopes. i picked up a package of christmas paper at jo-ann’s & made my envelope template based on the size of the paper. then i traced & cut out an envelope from each page, choosing which printed side i wanted for the outer envelope. {note: if you want some part of the printed envelope to show, it needs to be on the outside of one of the four envelope flaps as the flat side of the envelope (where you would usually write an address) will be glued or taped to a board – does that make sense?} then i assembled all of the envelopes by gluing a small strip of paper inside each envelope flap.

i arranged by envelopes on the foam-core board to determine how i wanted them to be laid out. i liked the more square shape & cut the board accordingly, leaving a ½ inch around the perimeter & a ½ inch between rows. then i cut & attached a piece of kraft paper to my board {as it was black & would have looked terrible with the envelopes}.

lastly, i printed out the activity cards – 24 in all – on white cardstock. i cut out each of the cards using the paper trimmer. {note: if you print out my version, trim all around the perimeter first & then trim vertically down to get two long columns or else you won’t have the cutting guides that i added.} then i just randomly placed one card into one envelope!

i chose activities for each day of the advent calendar & did so based on activities that i thought would be fun for aaron & me. i liked that i could change out some of the activities over the years that seemed more relevant {like once we have kids, etc.}. be sure to put in festive activities that your family likes to do!

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?

highlights of 2012.

{via}

happy 2013!

i love reading yearly highlights on other blogs & even though i try to keep up on the updates via this blog, there are hopefully a few fun things to share that you haven’t heard before. here’s the rundown of 2012:

january: i donated blood for the first {& last} time. we dined at emmer & rye in queen anne with my friend beth ann who was in town visiting. we survived snopocolypse 2012. the repairs on the jetta were finally completed from my rear-ending in november. sadie had surgery to get a small lump removed & have her teeth cleaned.

february: we took a trip to new england & managed to visit all six new england states. we spent a long weekend in boston. i celebrated my 27 {yikes!} birthday & valentine’s day with my love in manchester, new hampshire. we celebrated thanksgiving in february with my law school friends {this is a reoccurring event in which my friend miriam cooks up a big thanksgiving dinner at various times of the year}. we celebrated leap year!

march: my mom visited for a long weekend. i oversaw work to the townhouse {new venting for the dryer}. we house-hunted on the weekends with our realtor padraic. i started & completed all three books in the hunger games series. we saw the hunger games at the IMAX. we saw {& were disappointed by} king tut at the pacific science center {no tut, just his stuff}. aaron took a work trip to vegas. we made our first {& only} offer on a house. our offer was accepted!

april: we took a post-offer tour of our new house. we celebrated easter dinner with my grandmother. we showed the townhouse to potential new tenants. i co-hosted a baby shower for amanda. we packed up all of our belongings for the big move. we closed on our house after signing lots of paperwork & handing over a very large check. we moved.

may: we were rear-ended {this better not become an annual event}. my mom & dad visited for a long weekend & helped with some house projects. we celebrated my grandmother’s 90th birthday! we celebrated aaron’s 29th birthday! i took on my first pro bono case with VAIJ. we hosted a small dinner party with old idaho friends kami, travis, & their adorable daughter olive. we spent a night on the town in bellevue at aaron’s organization’s ship party with lots of aaron’s co-workers.

june: we saw dia frampton in concert at chop suey. we hosted a small dinner party with my law school friend marcus, his then-fiancée katy, & their beagle maggie. padraic & his partner justin threw us an awesome housewarming party! we ventured down to alabama for andy & hailey’s wedding. i had lots of phone interviews.

july: we attended herschel’s first birthday party {the son of one of my law school friends}. we celebrated the fourth of july! i started going to fitness classes with my neighbor leanne at community fitness. we hosted a small dinner party with andy & hailey, just back from their honeymoon! we attended thanksgiving in july at miriam’s. sadie & i drove down to idaho. i got my haircut & had drinks with my CBC {high school} girlfriends. we loaded up the car & took a roadtrip {sadie included} to stevenson, wa for marcus & katy’s wedding. we saw the dark knight rises at the IMAX.

august: we celebrated our second wedding anniversary with a picnic dinner at greenlake! we attended our first neighborhood potluck & met lots of our neighbors. we joined a summer bocce ball league with ben & sarah. i did yoga in the park with our neighbors – the friends – & tens of other people. i shopped & noshed with my friend ashley who was in town on a work trip. we attended the pratt’s housewarming party {a couple i met & befriend while i was in americorps}. we attended padraic’s wig birthday party. i met my pro bono client. i was offered a position doing media license management & started working. my bff carlie came into town – our first house guest! we attended a moroccan dinner feast at ben & sarah’s house. aaron’s parents visited seattle for a week.

september: we attended a final farewell summer bbq. we visited indiana to see family & surprise meg at her baby shower. we attended a colts game with our friends colt & erin. we celebrated sadie’s eighth birthday!

october: we visited peru & got to hike around one of the new seven wonders of the world machu picchu. my mom & sister anya visited for a long weekend. my friend meg was in town to visit! aaron made an unexpected trip back to indiana to attend his late grandmother’s service. we attended ghouls near greenlake, ben & sarah’s annual halloween bash, as a somecard. we celebrated halloween with our very first trick-or-treaters!

november: aaron attended a week-long conference for work & stayed downtown. i watched the election results while painting the bathroom trim & texting aaron updates. we hosted our first {vegetarian} thanksgiving. we spent the long holiday weekend working on the house.

december: we attended a housewarming party for amanda, george, & madeleine. we brunched with our neighbors – the friends – at the 5 spot in queen anne. my mom visited for a long weekend. i brought back a pinterest christmas & recruited some friends to join in on the fun. we celebrated the holiday season with six holiday parties with friends & co-workers. i won rookie of the year at work. we enjoyed a double-date night in bellevue with some newly engaged friends. we loaded up the car with presents & made the trek to idaho for the week of christmas. we celebrated christmas! we made it safely back to seattle only one day delayed. we plan to ring in the new year with friends & watch the space needle firework show.

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 2012 – was it a year to remember or are you itching to start 2013 already?

see highlights of 2011 here.

a pinterest christmas: etched mason jar monograms & ornament cluster.

welcome to the fifth & final week of a pinterest christmas! {see the first, second, third, & fourth week posts}

i would like to share two final pinspiration projects with you before the end of the year {eeks, that is close!}.

first up, etched mason jar monograms. i adore monograms {as you can see here} & have been wanting to try glass etching for a while now. it seemed perfect to make our neighbors monogrammed mason jars for fun christmas presents.

{original pinterest link – diy etched glass}

supplies:

mason jars {i used the smooth sided ones}
armour etch
painter’s tape
sticker letters/sticker paper
paintbrush
plastic gloves
optional: hot cocoa mix, marshmallows, crushed candy canes

this was a pretty straight-forward project & the linked tutorial above is pretty good. the armour etch didn’t have a lot of instruction with it, so i followed the tutorials recommendation & left the armour etch on for 10 minutes which seemed to do the trick. my guess {though an untested one} is that the longer you leave the armour etch on, the darker the white etching will be.

the etching was difficult to photograph, but you can see it, right? i liked the two initial monogram, but also think a big letter would be cute {like in the original tutorial}.

my last pinterest christmas project is an ornament cluster. an ornament cluster you ask? well, if you don’t know what this is, i don’t blame you. i made it up because i needed a name to call this craft!

{original pinspiration – pottery barn catalog cover}

when i saw this pottery barn catalog, i knew i wanted to make a similar cluster of ornaments. i happened to have five pink ornaments {old from cost plus world market} lying around – perfect!

supplies:

ornaments
ribbon or string
optional: 3m hook for hanging

1. i cut five lengths of ribbon that were around 1 foot in length – some were a few inches longer, some a few inches shorter, some were 1 foot. then i threaded each ornament onto a length of ribbon.

2. after all of the ornaments were strung, i gathered up all of the ends of the ribbon. then i pulled the ornaments up or down depending on where i wanted them to hang {in relation to the other ornaments}.

3. then i took a length of ribbon & tied the ends of ribbon group together. then i tied the ribbon in a bow. i bent back the ends of the group of ribbons {my ribbon was wired} to hide these ends {you could also just trim them}.

4. i hung my ornament cluster using a 3m hook!

& so marks the end of another pinterest christmas. it was fun to see all of the projects these crafty gals completed during an already busy holiday season. until next year!

{thinking about taking on this project? feel free to leave questions in the comments, and i’d love for you to comment with a link to projects you make inspired by mine.}

ready for some more {p}inspiration? check out these ladies this week and throughout the month of december:

{mondays} amanda @ without a doubt – bunting tutorial

{tuesdays} sally@ chacha and mogo & kendra @ The Gilbertson Family – santa hat brownies & christmas cards

{wednesdays} – michelle @ this grey house – giant smores stuffed chocolate chip cookies

{thursdays} –maggi @ Greg, Maggi, & Rodney – yarn trees & abbi @ The Pena Family – pinterest christmas wrapup

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

a pinterest christmas: magazine bows & chalkboard art.

welcome to the fourth week of a pinterest christmas! {see the first, second, & third week posts}

even though it is the day after christmas, i wanted to share two projects with you because it is still the holiday season, right?

first up, magazine bows. every year i try to re-use as much as i can when it comes to wrapping presents. last year i wrapped all of our presents in re-used paper grocery bags & added real red ribbon for a festive touch. this year i knew i was going to wrap in paper grocery bags, but i wanted to make my own bows.

{original pinterest link – recycled bows}

supplies:

magazine/newspaper/catalog/book pages
paper cutter or scissors
double-sided tape
ruler

you start by cutting the strips of paper. for each bow you need nine strips in all: the three long strips are the original length of the magazine page; the next three strips are one inch shorter than the original length; the two strips are two inches shorter than the original length; and the shortest is three-and-a-half or four inches.

once the strips are cut, you will start looping & taping. {i started with the longest & went down in size order.} take a strip & fold it in half. open the strip back up & put a small square of tape on the middle of the fold. loop the top part of the strip & attach the end to the tape square; add another tape square on the taped end of the strip, loop the bottom part of the strip & attach the end.

repeat with all of the strips. make a circle out of the shortest strip. to assemble the bow, start with one of the biggest strip loops & add a square of tape to the middle. stack another big strip loop on top of the first one, alternating the direction. add a square of tape to the middle of the top loop & add the last big strip loop, alternating the direction. repeat with the remaining five loops being sure to alternate the direction of the loops to form a bow. finally, add a tape square & attach the paper circle to the center. ta-da!

second up is my chalkboard art i added to our chalkboarded entryway. there were lots & lots of pinspiration posts for this project. {see my christmas pinterest board here}

i knew i wanted to put a fun holiday phrase on the wall & scoured pinterest for ideas. once i figured out what phrase i wanted – may your days be merry & bright – i sketched a few ideas of fonts & form. i also decided to add color for a bit of a pop!

{my initial sketch of the letters & layout – sorry for the blue picture, my white balance was off!}

{the festive art as you walk into our house.}

{thinking about taking on this project? feel free to leave questions in the comments, and i’d love for you to comment with a link to projects you make inspired by mine.}

ready for some more {p}inspiration? check out these ladies this week and throughout the month of december:

{mondays} amanda @ without a doubt – Christmas Cards & Wrapping

{tuesdays} sally@ chacha and mogo & kendra @ The Gilbertson Family – mistle toes

{wednesdays} – michelle @ this grey house – sock vase

{thursdays} –maggi @ Greg, Maggi, & Rodney & abbi @ The Pena Family

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

happy christmas!

we hope you all have a very merry, happy christmas this year wherever you are celebrating!

i worked with tiny prints this year & LOVE our cards. tiny prints has such a great selection of cards that i had trouble picking just one! {they will also stamp & mail your cards too if you have no time!} i have always wanted to send out a christmas letter to update our friends & family about the happenings of the lower family, but every year i sit down to write it it sounds like the cheesiest, most narcissistic thing i have ever. hence why we have never had a lower family christmas letter. but, then i found this card that had the highlights of the year & it was perfect! i like the idea of doing a version of this card every year.

i hand addressed each card with a little fauxligraphy & used our address stamp to make the envelopes a bit more festive.

do you send out christmas cards or letters each year?

happy christmas!

merry christmas eve house tour.

this holiday season has been so fun decorating the house for christmas. i was able to use all of our old decorations {see some of last year’s décor here & here} in our new space. we don’t have a fireplace like we did in our townhouse, so it has been a bit of a challenge to decorate without a mantle. {i guess the trade-off is that instead of a four foot christmas tree we could have a nine foot one!}

nearly all of my decorations have come from two series worth of a pinterest christmas. {see the first post from last year here & the first post from this year here} i enjoy making the decorations to fit the space that we are in. even after a month of a pinterest christmas projects i am already thinking about what i can make for the house next year!

i hope you enjoy a quick tour of our house all dressed up for christmas.

is your house all dressed up for christmas? if you have a blog, please share a link in the comments!

merry christmas eve!

a pinterest christmas: paper tree forest.

welcome to the third week of a pinterest christmas! {see the first & second week posts}

this is a project that i completed over thanksgiving weekend with amanda during our crafternoon date. {see amanda’s tree forest in the blog links below}

{original pinterest link – handmade christmas trees}

the original tutorial mentions that you don’t have to buy the paper cones, you can make your own from cereal boxes {i used both} but there is really no instructions. it is pretty straight-forward, but i am a visual person & like to see pictures of the process!

{flatten out a cereal box* & cut off the sides & bottom}

{start to roll in from one corner & gently bend the cardboard}

{unfold the cardboard & add glue – i used hot glue – to the edge & fold the cardboard in}

{once you have a cone shape & the glue is dry, cut the bottom of the cone so that it will sit level}

*you don’t have to use chex cereal boxes, but they are thin enough to bend without buckling.

tinsel tree:

this tree was the easiest tree to make. you just add lines of {hot} glue around the cone & stick the tinsel to it. then trim the excess tinsel. i especially became an expert at making this tree since i had to make two {see explanation below}.

feather tree:

i followed the tutorial for this tree, but found it much harder to make than it looked. plus, be aware that there will be feathers everywhere after this project. {thanks amanda for letting me feather up your craft room!} see finished pictures below.

newspaper tree:

i followed the tutorial for this tree & found it to be pretty simple & straightforward. instead of bookpages, i used newspaper. see finished pictures below.

cloth tree:

i followed amanda’s lead on making my cloth tree as she finished her cloth tree first. i just lined up the fabric the way i wanted it to wrap around the cone & added lots of {hot} glue. then trimmed the excess fabric. be sure to double-check where the cut edge will be before you cut because amanda & i both ended cutting a bit too short! see finished pictures below.

when i first got my trees home i set them up on our entertainment stand. we didn’t have many decorations up at that point, so it was fun to have something festive up!

then we came home from work following the long thanksgiving weekend to find this:

apparently sadie didn’t like the tinsel tree which she told us by tearing it to shreds. she also started into the cloth tree but didn’t completely destroy it before we go home. the interesting thing was that these were the two trees that were made out of chex mix boxes. that dog is way too smart for her own good sometimes!

i re-made the tinsel tree & set up my paper tree forest on our sideboard to celebrate the holiday season!

{thinking about taking on this project? feel free to leave questions in the comments, and i’d love for you to comment with a link to projects you make inspired by mine.}

ready for some more {p}inspiration? check out these ladies this week and throughout the month of december:

{mondays} amanda @ without a doubt – christmas tree forest

{tuesdays} sally@ chacha and mogo – a stocking for mogo & kendra @ The Gilbertson Family – diy yarn trees

{wednesdays} – michelle @ this grey house – yarn trees!

{thursdays} –maggi @ Greg, Maggi, & Rodney – odds & ends & abbi @ The Pena Family – pinterest christmas

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

my weekend in pictures.

{sadie got a christmas scarf & was posing in front of her christmas stocking.}

{it is fun to get packages in the mail this time of year that aren’t christmas presents!}

{got my stocking stuffer shopping done on friday night at the u village, including a stop at madewell. boy is it hard to walk past cute things for me that are 30% off when i am supposed to be shopping for other people!}

{the christmas cards keep rolling in – love it!}

{aaron made a delish pizza on friday night – half veggie, half bbq chicken.}

{there was lots of wrapping of presents this weekend.}

{on saturday we took a family trip down to ikea! it is amazing how fast you can get thru the store if you don’t stop & look at everything.}

{this is how sadie spent her time while i worked on some pinterest christmas crafts.}

{the holiday party we attended on saturday night included a “bite” contest – this was the first round. yum!}

{this 10 foot santa was quite the sought-after present at the greedy gift exchange. we lost the santa, but came home with a snowman right out of the 80s.}

we had a busy weekend filled with last-minute holiday errands & lots of holiday socializing with friends in town. we had a blast, but need another few days to re-coup! luckily this is a short work week for both of us. can you believe that christmas is next week? where did december go? how was your weekend?

a pinterest christmas: clay ornament & pom pom santa.

welcome to the second week of a pinterest christmas {see the first post here} – very exciting!

this week i was able to add more ornaments to our family christmas tree.

first up, a house key clay ornament. i really liked the idea of preserving our first house key as there is a {slight} chance we won’t stay in this house forever.

{original pinterest link is unknown}

there wasn’t a page that linked to this pinterest {hence no source link above} but it was a pretty easy project to figure out.

instead of buying white clay, i followed this recipe to make a simple clay.

supplies:

3/4 cup water
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup baking soda
glass – to make round ornament
key
plastic straw – to make hanger hole
parchment paper
cookie cutters – optional {i used ones from the trader joe’s christmas sugar cookie kit}
ribbon/twine/string
thin marker/Sharpie/paint pen

once the mixture started heating up, i stirred it often in order to scrape up the cornstarch that would stick to the bottom of the pan. once in the bowl, i let my clay cool for a couple of hours before i rolled it out on the cutting board.

i had a little trouble with the dough crumbling & had to make a few round ornaments before i got two that i liked {i made two in case one didn’t turn out}. i also found that moving the round circle of clay to the baking sheet before imprinting the key was much more successful! {sidenote”: on the snowman & christmas tree there is unevenness – this is because when i was rolling out the clay, pieces stuck to the rolling pin. i liked the texture so i left it.}

after the ornaments had cooled, i added the string. on the house key ornament, i wrote our first house 4.27.12 – i used a sharpie marker. the clay was a bit soft, so the pen made an imprint where i wrote. in hindsight, i would try a thin paint pen.

i also made this cute little pom pom santa!

{original pinterest link – pom pom santa}

supplies:

knobby white/cream yarn
red felt
ruler
small wood beads
red embroidery floss
needle with large eye
glue – i used hot glue
scissors

the original link has a really great tutorial. the only thing i did differently is how i made my yarn pom pom – instead of using the fork method, i used the method kendra used last week for her pom pom wreath.

i trimmed up my pom pom, but didn’t worry about it being a perfectly round shape. this is supposed to be santa’s beard & i liked it to be a little uneven. when i made the felt hat, i didn’t use a compass – instead i measured out the 3 inches along the bottom & side of the corner & also from the corner, making marks. then i cut along the marks i had made.

these were the only small wooden beads i could find at michael’s. i sort of like the idea of making santas with different racial backgrounds!

i love this pom pom santa – he was easy to make & so cute! i only made one for our tree, but i am planning on making them {without the hanging string} as placecards for christmas dinner {perhaps adding a name sign to the hat or something}.

since this is my christmas ornament post, i will also share the pinecone ornament i made out of a pinecone i saved from our now-gone cedar tree {see timber details here}.

{this pinecone is nearly 4 inches tall & weighs a lot, so i rested it on a tree bough along with hanging it!}

{thinking about taking on this project? feel free to leave questions in the comments, and i’d love for you to comment with a link to projects you make inspired by mine.}

ready for some more {p}inspiration? check out these ladies this week and throughout the month of december:

{mondays} amanda @ without a doubt – diy ornaments & alternative christmas tree

{tuesdays} sally@ chacha and mogo – ornaments & junk & kendra @ The Gilbertson Family – diy ornaments

{wednesdays} – michelle @ this grey house – ornaments & scrabble

{thursdays} –maggi @ Greg, Maggi, & Rodney – ruffle tree skirt & abbi @ The Pena Family

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

my weekend in pictures.

{apparently malia obama & i have the same stylist: see here. even though this anthro coat was a steal i found last year, i still adore this coat!}

{aaron ice etching at his company holiday party.}

{a & m forever!}

{i think i found a chandelier for our bedroom! just kidding, this guy was about 15 feet tall.}

{we played some craps. & by played i mean watched for an hour & still have no idea how to play craps.}

{o’ christmas tree! he needs a few more lights, but we have a picture perfect christmas tree window!}

{we lunched at elemental wood fired pizza with my mom who was in town this weekend.}

{sadie snuggling in her sweater while i worked on christmas cards.}

{these are the newest additions to our christmas tree – an adorable whale & pig from crate & barrel. thanks mom!}

{when sadie gives you this face it is really hard to get anything done!}

{we wore the mustaches i won at a white elephant gift exchange to my company holiday party. #imustacheyouaquestion}

{i won rookie of the year at my company holiday party. that bottle of champagne was my trophy, apparently.}

{christmas cards done & done! #weknowthismanypeople?}

{only the best weekends end with a trip to target.}

the holiday season is definitely in full swing with no less than five holiday parties to attend this weekend! my mom was also in town which was a fun treat. we have been enjoying the holiday festivities, but are trying to balance that with a bit of rest & relaxation. how was your weekend?