Holiday Gifts & Decor Ideas!

Hi Everyone,

Things have been a little quiet on the blog and a little crazy outside the blog!  It’s all good!

I wanted to pop in and share a few things I have been working on for the shop.  I love my Cricut Explore and these projects were made using stencils I designed with it.  Of course, you can make similar items with store bought stencils, but I wanted to design my own and Cricut Explore Design Space allows me to do that!

The first is a subway sign featuring all the “Words of Christmas”.  We used MDF (medium density fiberboard) for the actual sign (it’s much more stable than pallet wood and doesn’t warp) and  Fusion Mineral Paint in Casement for the background color.  I designed and cut my stencil on the Cricut and stenciled the words in gold, green and red!  It’s distressed and absolutely adorable.  I’m really happy with the result.  It measures 11 x 23 inches.

The next sign is our “Countdown to Christmas” sign and features a small chalkboard area to count down the days till Christmas.  It measures approximately 12 x 15 inches and had a just rope for hanging.

For both of these signs I designed a stencil with my Cricut Explore and then handpainted.  Of course, I could have used vinyl for these signs and simply adhered the words to the board, but I wanted a more distressed look and that required some sanding, so paint was the way to go.

A beautiful verse from Emily Dickinson!

This sign measures  11″ x 23″ and is hand stenciled using a stencil laid out and cut on my Cricut Explore!  This sign as well as the other’s are available in our shop on Etsy at www.nesteddesigncompany.etsy.com .

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this little machine is a game changer.  I can do so much more than ever before.  I don’t have to search for stencils to make what I want, I simply design, cut and done.  If you’re a crafter you owe it to yourself to take a look at what this little machine can do–much much more than simple stencils.

Have you finished your Christmas Shopping?  I’m nearly done, thank goodness.  I don’t know about you, but I totally stress myself out worrying about what to get for my family.  I want it to be special, something they really want.  It’s silly really, because they’re always happy with my choice of gifts for them.  Just another of my type “A” issues I suppose!

If you need ideas for teenage girls or crafters, I’ve put together a couple of gift guides that may help you out.

GIFTS FOR CRAFTERS                          GIFTS FOR TEENAGE GIRLS

I intended to do more, but just got my computer back since the end of October and I wasn’t able to post anything other than the posts I had written ahead of the time my computer broke.    The good news is they “junked” the computer and refunded me (again) and I now have another NEW computer!  Finger’s crossed that computer #5 is a good one (yes 5 computers in the span of 1.5 years-corrupt operating systems in 3 and hardware issues in two).  I swear, if I didn’t have bad luck with computers, I would have no luck with them at all!!!

Did you catch the “Handmade Holiday with Young Living Essential Oils” Facebook Party ?

It was so much fun and we had a huge attendance.  You can see the projects above and many more by clicking on the links at the end of my scented candle post below.  All of the blogs are listed at the end of the post-just click on the blog name and you will be taken to their post showing the gifts they made with Young Living Essential Oils.  You can see how to make your own oil scented candles and check out all the other projects here.

In case you’re looking for some rustic cottage Christmas inspiration you can check out last year’s post here!

Our Rustic Cottage Christmas Home

This year we finally got a new tree!  I’m working on photos of this year’s decorations and will be posting that soon.  There are only a few changes, because I love my decorations and really don’t change much.  Most of my pieces have great sentimental value to me, but I do occasionally change things up a little!

I have a few guides for Rustic Lodge, Coastal & Vintage Christmas decorating ideas too!

I hope you found a little decor inspiration and some great gift ideas!  Time to start thinking about baking some Christmas Cookies and maybe start wrapping gifts!

See you soon,

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