a first at mbs

So we made a video! Our very first ever and I'm so excited about it!

I think it came out pretty darn good for our first try. Even with our bare bones equipment (read - homemade camera arm mount) and one really camera shy lady. Baby steps, I keep telling myself.

Here's some behind the scenes shots.

Yes, that is our disco ball in the top right.

Our birch branch Christmas tree we got from our dear friend's woods.

Couldn't have done any of this without my son. Yep, he's awesome like that. (proud mom)

I hope you all like it!

xo

holiday sale and new stuff

There's a few new things over at MBS that I'm really excited about. I've worked with Dylan Goodman, (my son!) to create some Christmas DIY Craft Kits!

The idea for these kits came to life while reminiscing about all the Christmas ornaments my kids and I made when they were young. Felt, glitter, popcorn, cranberries and lots of laughter where just a few of our ingredients. These are cherished memories and it inspired me to make something that could be a starting point for others to create their own memories during the holidays.

One kit makes Christmas tree ornaments and the other makes paper chains. Each has hand painted watercolor designs (painted by me) and diagrams and step by step instructions (created and designed by Dylan). There's even a recipe for our favorite hot chocolate to get you started!

Each kit has beautifully designed packaging, making them great for an inexpensive gift. So much thought and effort went into these little kits and I'm so happy with how they came out!

Even cooler is that the kits are available as an instant download too! I thought they might be an awesome, last minute diversion for little ones, anxiously awaiting Santa! I have another Christmas clip art download, shown in the above photo, that can be made into a banner or gift tags or anything you can imagine. I plan to keep adding to this new section in my shop. I'll keep you updated!

Even cooler than all that is the sale going on right now at MBS. Use code JOLLY10 now through Monday, Nov. 28th, for 10% off. While you're there, you can also sign up for my email list for special sales and freebies, if you like.

I hope, to those who celebrated, that you had a Thanksgiving filled with family and friends, love, laughter and plenty of leftovers! Going to heat mine up right now!

xo

christmas wishes

i'm having so much fun making this home made wrapping paper!

here's some supplies. the paper we're using is a huge roll of contractor's paper found in the painting section at lowe's. there were 2 thicknesses and we got the thickest. better for painting on, a little harder to wrap with.

wishing you the merriest, happiest christmas, warmed with light, laughter and loved ones.

xo

getting our christmas on

or at least, starting to...

made a banner from old scraps of painted papers to get us in the christmas spirit.

happy merry everything!

my pinterest fail

so i wanted to make this beautiful hanging chandelier that i saw on pinterest. it calls for a hula hoop and icicle lights as the 2 main ingredients.

i had an 8" embroidery hoop and a brand new regular strand of christmas lights.

this is what happens when you use what i had.

i also used the same strings that i tied to the dining room light, to hang the fortune cookie wisdom calendar from for fun, below.
the calendar pages are light and float in the breeze.
the christmas lights are heavy and sink to the table when you don't make the knots tight enough.

you might ask yourself, why bother to start a project if you don't have the right ingredients. all i can say is i'm an impatient sort of gal.



this is what it looks like if you actually put some effort into it.

dizzy maiden

don't you just love it?

not sure where i'm going to find a hula hoop in december in upstate ny but i'm determined to find one.

gratitude

you know, i had this long, witty post planned where i talked about why i haven't been around much (nasty colds all around, somewhat unexpected but much anticipated burst of business) and then i talked about our christmas (family, love, food, presents) and described all the delicious food we had for christmas dinner (cola glazed ham, risotto, pears poached in amaretto disaronno and ice cream) but short and sweet feels better tonight.  

i hope you had a wonderful christmas filled with the love of your family and friends, laughter and good food.  i feel so grateful to have had exactly that.

here's our first real snow. beautiful.

and i'm so grateful to these websites for featuring my humble calendar which i'm sure is part of the reason i've been so busy.

run 2 the wild
paper crave
brit + co.
design crush

2nd annual humble hand drawn fortune cookie wisdom calendar

xo,
lisa

a little bit of christmas

here's the last bit of our gluten free chocolate bark that we made for christmas.  i saw a recipe at poppytalk by lyndsay sung of coco cake for pretzel toffee chocolate bark and was inspired.  while out shopping, i managed to remember the gluten free pretzels (we used glutino) and the chocolate, but not the toffee.  oh well.

salty-sweet and chocolaty, what's not to love?

happy new year everyone!

christmas wrapping

i took my shop out of vacation mode on etsy and started making treasuries with a vengeance.  here's one for my favorite christmas song - christmas wrapping by the waitresses.  tried to be clever about it - maybe it's so clever it's unrecognizable?  hope not.  anyway i had fun making it.

enjoy!