DIY Stocking Holders

It seems that everyone is wanting to make their own stocking holders this year! My DIY Stocking Holders post from a couple years ago is quickly becoming my most viewed post, and since the pictures on there are really, really terrible, I decided to repost this (ridiculously) easy how-to with a picture that doesn't make me cringe!

The Supplies:

-Big ornaments (Mine were $2 at Hobby Lobby)

-Plain stocking holder ($3 at Walmart)

-Glue gun

All it takes is one drop of glue on each ornament and you have a beautiful, inexpensive stocking holder! I love this craft because you can literally find any ornament to match your decor!

Have you decked the halls yet? I spent all day yesterday making this place a winter wonderland- pictures to come soon!

I'm linking up with the Christmas Cheer party! See all of the other crafts here-

Simplified Packing

So I may be the last person on Earth to do this, but while I was packing for our trip to Atlanta for Thanksgiving, I discovered the BEST way to pack! I have always been a terrible packer. In middle school, I completely forgot to pack bathing suits for our week long beach trip. And I always overpack. And when they charge you 25 flipping dollars to check a bag, you want to pack as little as possible to cram into a carry on!

So while I was deciding what to bring for my 2 week trip to Atlanta, I realized I needed to just pack outfits, not whatever tops and pants I may possibly want to wear. And for scarves and jewelry and shoes (which I usually tend to pack all that I have just in case I may need them), I needed to pair them up with an outfit so I could really see exactly what I needed. 

And this is the best part. I had the idea to take pictures of each outfit so when I'm getting dressed in the morning, I just scroll through the pictures on my phone, rather than digging through my suitcase and making a big mess trying to piece together an outfit! 

Y'all, this has simplified my life so much. I have always despised packing, but now it's so simple and kind of fun! Again, I may be the last person in the world that does this, but just in case some of you don't, I just had to share this little tip that has made my life much easier and my suitcase much lighter!

In other news, I won my fantasy league!! My team name is The Pink Ladies just so all those guys know that they got beat by a girl :)

Night with the Lakers

For Doug's birthday, I bought Laker tickets and a couple weeks ago, it was finally time for the big game! It was the Friday before the Breaking Dawn premiere at LA Live, so we got to see all of the crazies camped out for the red carpet! They camp out from Thursday to Monday to be lined up along the red carpet. I may have been a tiny bit jealous that I wasn't going to be there for the big night! (PS- to those of you who've seen Breaking Dawn already...wasn't it AMAZING!?!? Best one of the series in my opinion!)

The game was great, the Lakers won, and I ran into my old high school friend, Angela! I love this girl and cannot wait to catch up more over lunch! 

No Lakers game would be complete without a celeb sighting. See Jack Nicholson in the front row, in the middle, with the dark glasses?

After the game, we headed over to Westwood and treated ourselves to some Diddy Riese. Best. Thing. Ever.

I loved the picture above but for some reason we looked orange in it, so sweet Michaela offered to edit it for me. She also included the version below...Snow in LA! :)

*If you want to participate in our Ornament Swap, today's the last day to sign up! Go HERE to join us!*

Blogger Ornament Swap!

Since last year's Ornament Swap was so fun, my sweet friend Megan and I decided to make this a yearly thing! 

Here's how it works:

1) Sign up will run today (11/12) through Monday, November 19th.

To sign up, please leave a comment on this post with your:

-Name

-Email address

-Blog URL

2) On Monday, November 26th, we will announce partners and y'all can exchange addresses.

3) Purchase an ornament for your partner (spending limit is $15).

4) Ship your ornament by December 5th.

5) We will have a link-up on both of our blogs on December 17th so we can show off our new ornaments!

And if you want to spread the word, here's the button!

<center> <a href="http://www.thesmittenmintons.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j451/jminton22/OrnamentButton-002.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"/></a></center>

Merry Christmas, y'all!

DIY Chevron Vases

I have a really great DIY for y'all! This is definitely my favorite project to date, and since I've finished, I can't help but just sit and stare at my beautiful new fireplace and mantle! Here's how to make a chevron vase.

Supplies: 

-Vase (I found these beautiful white vases at Pier 1 on sale for $15 each)

-Paint of your choice (I used Martha Stewart craft paint and LOVED it)

-Blue paint tape (I used Martha Stewart's and loved it, too!)

-Paintbrush

-Gloss finish spray paint (Martha Stewart)

-Graph paper, pen, ruler

-Scissors

I created a pattern using copy paper (I was too lazy to go out and get graph paper, but it would be a lot easier if you did :)  Draw lines horizontally and vertically 1" apart. Then, draw diagonal lines in 2 rows of squares, and cut it out.

Tape your pattern near the top of the vase, and place small strips of painters tape along the pattern, and make sure to press down on the edges as much as possible! 

For my vase, the diameter changes so I couldn't use the pattern for the whole thing. Instead, I used it at the top to get it started and then just did the rest by eye-balling it. Next step, paint! I did 2 coats and that was plenty. 

I painted all of the first coat, and then for the second coat, I did a few lines at a time and then took the tape off. Make sure to remove the tape when the paint is still wet, it comes off a lot easier!

Last step, spray a glossy finish on it to seal it all in!

Diego admiring my new work of art :)

For the rest of the mantle, I found this wreath at Target, ripped out the green leaves and spray painted it white, and found a beautiful frame from Michael's for half off! 

I picked up some pretty fillers from Michael's for the vases and VOILA! A beautiful new mantle that I can't stop staring at!

I'm linking up with Stephanie and Katie! I got my inspiration from this pin. She bought the vase at Kirkland's but they are all long gone, so I decided to recreate the vase myself :)

Source: honeywerehome.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

Happy Halloween!

This Halloween was by far my most favorite to date. I don't know if I've ever laughed so hard! We went to our old neighbor's house and spent the night jumping out of a box and making people scream. We brought one of our moving boxes with us and set it up along the sidewalk, and it was absolutely hysterical. Then, the boys took turns wearing it and following people around, and then when they'd turn around, they would sink to the ground and be perfectly still. I don't know if I'm describing this right, but it was the funniest thing I've ever seen. Especially when a group of little boys with swords and baseball bats starting chasing Doug (in the box) down the street. I'll never forget that moment :)

You know who hates Halloween? Our poor babies. Dressing up our animals is one of life's greatest joys for me...I laugh so hard at their misery. This was Diego's first time wearing clothing, and let's just say he was less than impressed.

Diego was Bugs Bunny, Maisy went as Porky Pig, and Pep was Pepe Le Pew. We were going to dress up as Tweety Bird (me) and Speedy Gonzalez (Doug) but decided to just scare people instead. Much cheaper and more entertaining.

How perfect is Pep as a skunk?!

And just because they are some of my favorite pictures, here's Maisy and Pep from last Halloween, as Ninja Turtles.

And finally, some ridiculously adorable pictures I've taken lately. These two just can't get enough of each other.