Around the Office

{An old stack of frames I would like to paint white and hang in my office}

{Several people gave us their used tissue paper for shipping. This is just our white/cream pile}

{The beginnings of a lobster gift/party set everything you need to host a seafood feast}

{Our little office Christmas tree}

On The Road Again

{Slick roads as we headed into Southern IL}

It's Wednesday afternoon (the day after Christmas) when most people are relaxing with their loved ones or traveling home from visiting family we left our home behind in Illinois to travel to Nashville, Tennessee for a little get away. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year. 

Friday Inspiration: Stop and Enjoy the Lights

I'm excited to take a break from all the hustle and bustle now that my Christmas shopping and wrapping is winding down. I plan to kick back this weekend and enjoy the festivities like looking at Christmas lights. I don't know if there are houses this decked out for Christmas around me but I would sure like to find out.

Image source

DIY Packaging

Creating a pretty package is one of my favorite things to do if time allows. This year I decided to wrap all my Christmas gifts in kraft paper and use bakers twine to attach the tags. I found this download online to print (I used white card stock to print them on) plain yellow tags. After seeing so many inspirational packaging images on Pinterest I decided to (since all my packages are already wrapped) start embellishing them. I found two other tag downloads online. This one lets you print large tags with movie quotes on them and this one has several Christmas sayings that I also added to some of my packages. They could also double as tags if you prefer. The possibilities are endless and sure to wow your loved ones before they even open the package guaranteeing yours to be one of the first presents reached for under the tree. 

{elements from nature, twine, a jar of ribbon, tape, pen, sissors, washi tape, labels, and bakers twine}

{A few of my finished packages}

Friday Inspiration: Keep Christmas all the Year

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." - Charles Dickens

My favorite line in one of my favorite Christmas movies (that I love watching each year) but also a good reminder to try and keep the joy of Christmas all year long. 

Image source can be found on my Pinterest 

DIY Advent Calendar

I was looking for ideas on easy to make advent calendars when I came across this tutorial. It's so simple and cute all you need is a jar or container to put the paper slips in and the rest can be printed from their site. Now after printing and cutting out the paper slips comes the fun part deciding what to do each day until Christmas! Since I don't have children at home I didn't worry about purchasing the pom poms or coming up with anything too elaborate, like treasure hunts or rhyming. I kept my activities pretty simple like bake cookies, watch a Christmas movie, or wrap presents. With an advent calendar this simple there is no reason why you can't start one today.

I Am Thankful For You

In the weeks of November I have been writing about what I am thankful for. Not only have I told you how thankful I am for my family, and my country, but I'm also thankful for my many loyal customers over the past years. Without you I would not still be in business. Hope I can continue to serve you in the coming year of 2013. In the next few weeks we hope to offer more new products and if there is something you would like to see us carry we would love to hear about it.

Image source can be found on my Pinterest site.