Next to fall decorating I love Christmas decorating!

Anyone that really knows me knows that I am a thrifty shopper.  I shudder most of the time to even think about having to pay full price for anything.  I am a coupon clipper, a thrift store shopper and a bargainer.  I think that is why I love Black Friday so much…I must admit that it is a guilty pleasure of mine, searching the sneak peaks online and then sitting there Thanksgiving night with a stack of sales flyers, notepad and pen in hand to make my game plan for the next morning.  Granted, I’m not really as crazy as some, like that lady from the Target commercials – ha!  I purposely slept on the couch, set the timer on the coffee pot and had my clothes already laid out and ready to go.  As I headed out and saw the parking lot for Target and Walmart (mine are in the same plaza) I thought for a brief moment “WHAT ARE YOU DOING, WOMAN???”, but then I sucked it up and went for it.  I managed to get some great deals and love the fact that Kmart will honor Black Friday prices to be put on layaway.  I treated myself to a couple of Christmas presents, because of that.

After I got home and unloaded, I decided to start decorating for Christmas.  I wanted a completely different theme this year, with more of a vintage feel and had been picking up items here and there for the last month.  Okay back to that thrifty thing…almost all of my ornaments this year where $1 or under.

These cute little reindeer came from the dollar spot at Target, the red reindeer were 2 for $1 at the Dollar Tree, the snowflakes from the a dollar store a couple years ago, the candy canes were 50% off at Michaels, the glass Martha Stewart balls were 75% off at Kmart last year after Christmas and the Santa boots were 40% off at Kohl’s and with my $10 off of $10 or more coupon, there were practically free.  I made a couple of minor splurges on Ebay this year, first was the vintage Santa topper – it was listed cheap because it was missing the piece that holds it to the tree, I fixed that by attaching it to my other plain star topper with some string, plus now it lights up.  I also got the glittered Putz house ornaments – I love them!  I got a new felt tree skirt at the Family Dollar for $5 and two new stockings there to match for $2 each.

I love to decorate, but my current apartment is very tiny, so I improvised and had to limit some of my items.  No animated Snoopy and Pooh this year, but I wrapped some of my wall art with wrapping paper and ribbon to bring the colors into a room, without taking up any space.

So far I haven’t been able to be too crafty yet, but I was able to whip together some ornaments for family members…thrifty again, I got a package of six glittery snowflakes for $1, used scrap Christmas paper to decorate and glitter letters I already had.  Quick, cheap & cute ornament & package decorations!  Plus my family loves homemade items – so I & my wallet win!

Opps! A little behind on this one!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I hope with all of the hustle and bustle, whether you were cooking, hosting or traveling that day, that you were able to take a moment to think about all that you are thankful for.

This last year for me had been a rather tumultuous one with family and relationships.  I am thankful that God had given me the strength to persevere though it all.  I am most thankful for the women in my family, mostly my Grandmother for where most of my strength comes from, my Mother for who I need to have strength for and these two little lovelies that I try to be a positive strong influence & aunt to.

I love you ladies!

I & my heart are thankful for my boyfriend the one that makes me belly laugh almost daily!

 

Ah...I love fall, fall decorating and fall crafting.  Here's a couple of small projects I worked on.  First I added a little something to a banner I picked up last year on clearance.  I just added some fall paper that I liked and some dictionary pages.  Simple & quick change, but I really like it.

 

Next here are a couple of little decorations that I had hanging around, a couple with the banner.  The cute images came from Patty at Lisa's Altered Art.  Every Wednesday, she posts a new digital download for $1.

I can hardly believe that it's been so long since I've posted. The past couple of months have been rocky ones and I have emerged from them feeling stronger and healthier than ever before. Have you ever had that moment in your life when your like "I might actually have my act together?" like you know the path you want to be on and actually make steps to get there? Those of you that are close to me have a little more insight into what I'm actually speaking off.

Well then, enough of that - I've been very busy in my hiatus with work and life. I'm back to working two jobs, but I'm a subcontractor on the one and can totally work from home in my pj's - gotta love that. The other one takes me to places like this; a steeple broke off backwards and feel straight down two stories - luckily no one was hurt.I've just gotten back into my crafty mode - I'm sure that the cooler weather has helped with that. I've even managed to decorate my new office at work.

I've made a bunch of these ornaments for Halloween. I've had the idea sheet for a while for them and finally one day decided to play around. They are pretty neat. Possibly a tutorial coming if there is interest.In another attempt to keep the creative juices flowing I joined in on the Peppermint Tag Swap at Bluebird Papercrafts / Creative Breathing. It looks like it will lots of fun. I've already started gathering some images and supplies. To think of it, I'm going to go play with them now. See you soon!

I know it's been forever since I've posted, but I will have some new craft goodies coming soon!