Free Printable Merry & Bright Gift Tags

December 2, 2016

Happy Friday! I’ve got big plans on my weekend to-do list including getting my Christmas shopping done and my holiday cards made. I’m also planning to do some gift wrapping which you all know is one of my favorite things to do.

I know that many of you will be wrapping gift too so I created these fun and festive gift tags that you can download for free {link at end of post}. Print the tags on glossy photo paper, card stock or even sticker paper so you can use them as envelope seals or on other paper goods.

The circle tags are oversized (about 2 3/4″ in dia) so they would stand out on a gift.

The rectangular tags measure 4″ x 1 1/2″. I recommend using black ink or an extra fine white Sharpie Paint Pen to write on them.

To make your tags extra fun, I recommend two-color twine to attach the tags to gifts. The more color, the merrier!

via

Next Wednesday, in part 2 of the Merry & Bright Holiday Home Tour I’ll share my holiday gift wrap including how I’ve used these fun tags.

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Download Merry & Bright Printable Gift Tags

Have a great weekend friends.

this post contains affiliate links

Reindeer Recipes Blog Hop–Holiday Cocktail Bar Cart

November 29, 2016

The holiday cheer is in full swing today at ConfettiStyle. I’ve joined 8 of my blogger friends for a fun & festive Reindeer Recipes blog tour hosted by Heather from Totally Tailgates. If you’re coming over from Positively Southern, welcome? I’m glad you’re here with me today.

While most of the bloggers on today’s blog hop are sharing one of their favorite holiday recipes, I put a little spin on things and I’m sharing my holiday bar cart. Plus I’ve got a few tips to help you style your bar cart for the season.

Every season I change the decor on my mini bar. During the holiday season I love to dress it up with a few festive touches.

Creating a holiday cocktail bar is all about pretty glassware, fun cocktail accessories and cheery Christmas decor.

One of the decorative pieces I love using on my bar cart is a small decorative tray. An acrylic tray is ideal because it’s clear and keeps the look light and airy.

tip: It’s also fun to add a decorative paper liner to your tray for an easy holiday update. I’ll share more about my tray next week.

If you have a small bar cart like mine, use petite glasses instead of regular size wine or martini glasses. I love these and these.

tip: use glittered washi tape to dress up plain glassware for a holiday party

Stemless goblets and cordial glasses which are perfect for serving up a signature cocktail like a Cranberry Blueberry Cosmo. In my book cocktails can be served in any style of glass so don’t let you glassware limit your cocktail offering.

Every holiday bar cart needs fun cocktail swizzle sticks. I’ll be sharing how easy it is to DIY these cocktail stirs next week on the blog.

Cocktail napkins are another bar cart essential and since my Christmas decor is all about color this year, a stack of colorful napkins adds a pop of color to my cart.

Thanks for stopping by today friends. I hope you enjoyed my holiday bar cart!

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The Reindeer Recipes blog hop fun doesn’t end here! The next stop on the tour is M. Jones Style so hop on over to Marsha’s blog for more holiday merriment.

And be sure to head over to the other Reindeer Recipe participants on the tour their yummy holiday recipes and tablescape inspiration!

Positively Southern|| M. Jones Style || Swirls of Flavor || Clutter Cafe

Life At Lydia’s House || Brittany’s Pantry || Totally Tailgates

DIY Fabric Gift Tags

November 27, 2016

Because I’m a designer, I have always have a pile of fabric scraps lying around. A few weeks ago I was in the middle of cleaning up my office and preparing for The Art of Gift Wrapping workshop when an idea struck me. Why not makE gift tags out of my fabric scraps?

This is a super easy project that I know you’ll love so continue reading and check out my cute tags.

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Creating The Perfect Holiday Gift Basket

November 26, 2016

Hi friends! I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and survived all of the Black Friday madness. I woke up with the chickens yesterday morning and popped into a few stores. I’m happy to say that I was able to snag a couple of really great deals (for the hubby) but sadly I didn’t get anything crossed off my Christmas gift list 🙁 Oh well, I still have 28 more days to get my shopping done, right?!

Yesterday I mentioned my 30 Days of Holiday series. I’ve been doing this series for a couple of years and I’m excited to bring it to you again this year. From now until Christmas Eve I’ll be sharing loads of holiday inspiration with you including the 2016 Merry & Bright Holiday Home Tour. This is the second year for the tour and over next 3 weeks I’ll be joining an awesome group of bloggers to share our fun and festive holiday homes with you. Stay tuned because the tour starts Wednesday, Dec. 30th.

Today I’ve got a fun post, all about holiday gift baskets. During the holidays, gift baskets can be a fun gift to give especially for that hard-to-buy-for person. I also thing gift baskets are great for family gifts too. If you’re looking for a creative gift, follow these tips that will help you create the perfect holiday gift basket.

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CREATE A THEMED BASKET

It’s easy to build a themed gift basket if you think about the hobbies and activities someone loves. Fill a basket with art supplies for someone who love to draw or paint. Or create a book lovers basket filled with new books, a throw blanket and a pretty tea-cup. A holiday themed gift basket can be just about anything you can think of so let your imagination soar.

via Style Me Pretty

USE A FUN & FUNCTIONAL CONTAINER

One of the things I love most when creating a gift basket is finding a unique container. Any item that can hold things is an option for a container. How about a vintage urn filled with a candle, design magazines and small decorative tray for someone who loves design? Or stuff a pair of cozy slippers with beauty products as a ‘pamper yourself’ gift basket. When I’m building a basket, I always find my container first and then find items to fill it.

via Vitamin-Ha

FILL YOUR BASKET WITH FUNCTIONAL and FUN ITEMS

What you put in a gift basket is key to making it great. Fill your container with a mix of functional items, fun items and something unexpected. If I were creating a gift basket for a man I might use a leather tray as the container and fill it with socks, beer and a collection of movies or video games. And if my basket was for someone who loves fashion, I’d fill a cute tote bag with jewelry, a scarf and fashion magazines.

via Style Me Pretty

USE A DECORATIVE FILLER TO FILL YOUR BASKET

Once you have your container use a fun filler to prop your gift items up. Mix metallic and plain shredded paper or use fabric and linens in a food or drink basket. And I love using wrapped candy like peppermints to fill a basket at Christmas.

tip: create your own shred by running colored paper through your home paper shredder

via One Kings Lane

ADD A SWEET TREAT

Don’t forget to add a sweet treat to your gift basket. Put candy canes in a cocktail themed basket (they can be used as drink stirs) or add a jar of holiday chocolates to a baking themed basket.

via Style Me Pretty

PUT A BOW ON IT

Naturally if you want to hide the contents of your basket you’ll need to wrap it in a decorative bag or paper. If not, tie a bow around some of the items or on the container to make it festive. And don’t get a fun gift tag to finish it off.

via Craftberry Bush

source unknown

Better Home and Gardens

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I hope these gift basket tips and ideas will be helpful with your holiday gift shopping. As always, thanks for stopping by… & happy gift-giving!

Holiday Gift Guide–For The Decor Lover

November 21, 2016

When we all sit down to enjoy Thanksgiving this week, the day will also mark the official kick-off to our holiday season! In the weeks ahead you’ll be celebrating at parties, decorating your homes and searching for that special gift. And all this week I’ll have some fabulous suggestions to help you do all that.

Today I’ve got a gift guide for the design lover in your life. As a design enthusiast myself, a decor themed gift has to be unique, stylish and functional. All of the items on today’s list check all those boxes and more. Happy shopping!
***warning, you may find a piece or two that you need for your own home!

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2016 Holiday Gift Guide For Decor Lovers

Quatrefoil Tray–This hand-carved mango wood tray is a great style statement for a coffee table or bar cart.

Blue and White Ceramic Plant Stand–I love the look and price of this blue and white garden stool. It’s the perfect piece next to a chair or as a pair tucked under a console table.

Brass Bamboo 2-Tier Bar Cart–During the holidays and beyond, this chic brass bar cart will be a sure hit for anyone that love to entertain.

Venus Foo Dogs–A pair of ceramic Asian Foo Dogs will make a great accent on a bookshelf or console table. Set of 2.

Clear Glass Candle Lantern–One or two of these gold framed lanterns will look great as a centerpiece accent on a dining table.

Gold Trivet–I love this decorative and functional pineapple trivet for a stove top or kitchen counter. It’s also available in a chic matte black.

Black Flokati Stool–A faux fur stool is the perfect accent piece in a reading nook next to a cozy chair. Also available in blush, ivory, charcoal and taupe.

Hearth Candle by Nest–Everyone loves candles and you can’t go wrong with Nest. The hearth scent is the perfect fragrance for the winter months.

xo,

Holiday Hostess Gift–DIY Gift Tag Jar

November 20, 2016

Is your holiday party calendar is already booked up? If so, I know you’re on the hunt for creative hostess gift ideas. I’ll be sharing my Holiday Gift Guides starting Monday but today I have a fun and easy DIY hostess gift idea to share.

No matter what type of holiday party we attend, my criteria for a hostess gift is that it needs to be creative, fun AND useful. This year I came up with the idea of creating a Holiday Gift Tag Jar filled with an assortment of gift tags and ribbon. What I love about this gift is that it only take a few minutes to pull together and you can find all of the supplies you need for less than $12! Everything you see here came from TJMaxx.

I used a glass jar for this hostess gift but you could use jsut about any decorative container that you want. The jar is purchased has a pretty embossed snowflake pattern on the outside but you could add a sticker to a plain jar to get the same effect. And I purchased boxed sets of ribbon and gift tags which included enough of each that I am able tome two jars.

Lay out all your ribbon and tags and mix and match so that you jar includes a variety. Fill the jar so that you can see everything inside and then tie a bow around the lid as a finishing touch. It’s that easy!

In addition to being a great hostess gift, a Holiday Gift Tag jar would make a fun gift for a girlfriend, co-worker or someone in your posse like your hair stylist or manicurist.

p.s. A Holiday Gift Tag Jar isn’t just for Christmas. You can make a year round version filled with all occasion tags and ribbon.

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To make your own handcrafted gift tags, check out this post. And you and get tips on building your own gift tag collection here.

Favorite Posts, Pins and Products (of the week)!

November 19, 2016

Enjoy your weekend and my favorites from the week.

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FAVORITE POSTS

If I do life all over again, I’d live in New York for a few years and my apartment would look something like Emmy Rossum’s Manhattan home.

Here’s a fun and inspiring interview with designer Christiane Lemieux.

Loved this easy idea to glam up holiday garland.

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FAVORITE PINS

With Thanksgiving just a few days away and Christmas right around the corner, I’ve been thinking a lot about holiday table settings.

Here’s a really fresh take on a holiday tablescape. You’ll definitely want to click here to see the other elements that were used on the table.

I’m loving this black and white table setting and those turquoise candles are a perfect unexpected pop of color.

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FAVORITE PRODUCTS

These initial stickers are such an easy way to UpStyle a tote, handbag or just about anything else you can think of.

This is just one of the great holiday prints available from this Etsy shop. And they are all between $2.00 and $5.00!

I spotted the adorable Pineapple Tumblers in Bed Bath and Beyond the other day and immediately added them to my wish list. Set of 2 for $19.99!

Enjoy your weekend friends. I’ll be back tomorrow with a fun and easy DIY hostess gift idea.

Design Guide: Tips for Trimming Your Christmas Tree

November 17, 2016

When to put up your Christmas tree has become a big debate these days. Some people (like me) put their tree up early to savor every single bit of the holiday season. And on the other side of the fence there are people (like my brother) that wait until Thanksgiving to put up their tree. I can appreciate both viewpoints but the one thing I do know is that anyone that puts up a Christmas tree wants it to look great.

I’ve been decorating trees professionally for years, first at my home decor store and then as part of my design business for clients. Over the years I’ve learned a lot about the art of decorating Christmas trees. My latest Design Guide, Tips for Decorating Your Christmas Tree shares my tree decorating secrets so you can decorate your Christmas tree like a pro.

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