Christmas Countdown 2: A Couple of Super Easy Last Minute Gift Ideas

Well, are you really running out of time (and money) and still want to make Christmas special.

Well, you can always throw candy or cocoa and marshmallows in a jar, wrap it up with a beatiful ribbon and call it a day. Or you can make an extra step and no one will ever suspect that you have not invested a lot of effort, money and time into selecting the one and only gift that is just so perfect.

That said set aside about 30 minutes (+time to the dollar store) and make those loved ones feel special.

2. For him

A key chain can range from the most boring to the most amazing gift ever. Still not sure. Check these out. 

Scrap leather with a cute spin.

Or the cork of his favourite wine (you still get to drink it anyway). Please follow these instructions before drowning the bottle down. 

1. For her

Lip balm will never ever be thrown away. Combine that with a nice dollar store locket and she will be ever grateful. 

Easy Peasy - coconut oil, lipstick, locket and stove. Still not making sense? Check out the step-by-step instructions.

If you are still not sure whether these will work, maybe you should consider a single yet elegant and somewhat precious flower.

And find out some more fun ways of gifting money on Buzzfeed.

Christmas Countdown 5: 5 Cute No Sew Felt Ornaments That You Could Make at Home

Felt is probably among the most versatile materials I have worked with. And comes especially handy if you are having holidays in a toddler-ridden home. Here are my top five picks for now sew Christmas ornaments,

5. Super simple mistletoe

4.Stacked tree ornament

3.  Nearly realistic pinecones 

2. It's not just eye-candy (and unfortunately it is not real candy either)

1. Cute little snowmen

And those of you who still want to have the go at the sewing part, here are some super cute raindeer.

And with a pattern too.

Christmas Countdown - 6: 6 Simple Yet Amazing Decor Ideas

Were you naughty or nice? Six more Thursdays to make amends before Santa packs up that sleigh.

And here are some amazing Christmas decors to make your home more inviting to the good old man from around the web.

6. Use Christmas cookies as ornaments.

You are going to be making a ton of them anyway. Why not put them into good use?

Probably not a safe idea if you have kids or pets around anyway.

5. Eat the cookies and use the cutters to spice up that tree

This one comes with a nice tutorial.

But you can even ditch the paper back and just tie them on a string.

4. Put up a display with Christmas cards

No tree, no problems, see?

Who would have guessed, you could even put those on a lighted frame.

3.  In lieu of living space, put the tree on the wall

Tape and clothespins, simple as that.

Or rolls of festive wrapping paper. You are buying them by the dozen anyway. Just use the spares. 

2. Skip the Christmas wreath 

Well, not entrirely, just sway away from those flower and pinecone arrangement. Use clothespins and washi tape instead.

Or go for a jumbo pack of marshmallows.

1. Go for a hip Christmas tree.

Those huge trees are so 2014. If you refuse to parttake in old school traditions here are some hip ideas.

Stack some books maybe, you are reading them on your handheld device anyway.

Or pillows.

Or use some wine corks (you still have some time, get that wine pouring).

And my personal favourite, a tree that would last exactly 30 seconds before being devoured.

Craft Tip Thursday: No Sew, No Glue, Felt and Burlap Wreath

So the wreath season is coming around, Haloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. And you are sick of buying and throwing away wreath after wreath after wreath.

So here is a quick and easy solution for any occasion. No sew, no glue wreath, that you can change all over depending on the season and occasion.

You will need:

• a Styrofoam wreath ring
• Burlap ribbon of significant quantity. It took me 5 yards (5 m) of 2 inch (5 cm) burlap ribbon to cover nicely a 15-inch (40 cm) ring.
• Grossgrain ribbon for hanger  
• Felt for cutting out rolled felt roses (the amount depends entirely on you - a single rose for elegant and clean design, trio of roses for all the colors to symbolize the season, or tons to cover your wreath entirely).
• Scissors for cutting the rosettes
• And the TOP SECRET ingredient... drumroll to built tension (guess again, it is not love or dexterity) ... more drumroll ... touche.... pearl covered needle pins.

Step One:

Wrap your wreath with burlap ribbon.

See, quite easy. Wrap until you have completely covered the whole ring. Cut excess ribbon if necessary.

Now flip the wreath so that you are facing the end of the ribbon.

Tuck that shabby end under the ribbon... 

...and secure it in place with a pin. Trim loose cord if necessary. 

Step Two: Secure Wreath Hanger

Take a piece of grosgrain ribbon. Its length depends on how high or low you want to put the wreath. You will be better off measuring the distance between the suspension point and wreath position, multiplying it by 2 and adding an inch (2 cm) for attachment.  

Fold the ribbon in half and lay edges one on top of the other. If your ribbon has two different patterns make sure that the backside pattern faces you.

Secure the ribbon with a pin stuck in the overlapping part.

Add another pin for extra safety.

There you go. Easy peasy.

Step Three: Add some flair

Now here is the point at which you may let your creative side go wild. Get your felt out and cut those roses. Basically you cut a circle, cut out a spiral inside it and roll. You will find tons of instructables online or simply visit my Etsy shop for a nice set of instructions and patterns.

Notice that you have this inner circle that serves as the base of the rose. Place it on the rolled part and holding it tightly place the rose on the wreath.

Take your needle pin and push it through the center of the rose. There, no need to sew, glue or otherwise engage in more time consuming slightly hazardous activities. 

Keep going until you reach the desired effect. 

And that is all. 

P.S. And don't forget I am giving away a free Minnie Mouse Birthday Invitation Tutorial available upon email subscription. 

Quick, Cheap and Easy Halloween Decorations from Around the Web

Wait what, only nine days left?

With everything that you juggle you almost forgot that the creepiest day of the year is right behind the corner?

Time to buy the pumpkin and pull the witch's hat out of the closet? (Please keep the skeletons buried there, will you?).

Well, luckily for us the web is full of ideas for quick and easy and most of all cheap Halloween decors that could be done in a flash (as if you had a magic wand ;) ).

Here are my top 5 picks.

Number 5: Wall Spider Web

Easy right, just throw some yard around and get a nasty humongous spider to adorn it. Oh, you need more detailed instructions? As it happens The Art of Doing Stuff has them all laid out for you.

Number 4: Mummy Halloween Cards

Yep, Mummy Loves You. And so do Curly Birds who have prepared such a cute little scary tutorial.

Number 3: Glittered Witch Shoe Candy Dishes

These are sooo coool you can probably wear them even in November. Beatiful set of instructions from Seeing Things on Instructubles.com

Number 2: Vampire Napkin Rings

Prepare yourself for the carnage at the table. This one was made by Lucas Zarebinski for Reader’s Digest. Splash white cloth napkins with red Kool-Aid, thread a white twist tie through a set of plastic vampire teeth, and finally secure a twist tie around the center of your napkin.

Number 1: Ghostly Draperies

These just look so simple and easy to do yet a bit disturbingly scary. And who says that have to be on your porch - windows and doors are also fair game I think. Want to know just how easy it is? Visit HGTV's website for detailed instructions.