Gift Card Holders

Although my craft week is over, I still have so many projects on my plate right now. :) I plan on sharing them with you...hope you're ready. lol

My rule for gifts at Christmas is keep it simple & cheap. lol Especially this year, who knew a new house would suck you dry egh!? There's paint, door knobs, moving trucks & NOT to mention all those fees for breathing in the lender's office...haha!
So, I decided any child over the age of 10 will receive a gift card from us. It allows me to enjoy my holiday season-stress free and it also allows the pre-teen to choose their own gift. Oh, Bah-humbug, where's the spirit!? lol I find that most kids that age prefer money or gift cards anyway!

I decided to spruce up the four cards I plan on giving. These ideas are perfect for birthdays too! Here are 4 quick and easy ways to do so.
Supplies:
pattern paper or fabric
cardstock
ribbon/twine
sewing (optional)
embellishments (tags from our December Daily Album Kit)

I find that I am better with visuals than reading so I created a short video on the tips and tricks to these 4 card holders in case you want to know more.

Gift Card Holders from veronica milan on Vimeo.

If you have any questions please email me.
Have fun creating your own!

xoxo, Veronica

Christmas Parade

This weekend we headed out into the freezing cold air to watch the parade...it was worth it though, Ethan loved the marching band and Santa of course!
Faces in awe....his little cousin M, loved it too. Ethan swears he is going to be a drummer some day... You can only imagine his excitement to see these drummers marching.

We waited an hour for this jolly ol man!! :)

I'm currently working on my Christmas album. These pics will definitely go in them. :)

How was your weekend?

xoxo, Veronica

We have a HOUSE!!!

I can not share in words how excited I feel today. Our wish was to have a house on some acres so that we can grow a tiny organic farm. God has been very good to us. It is not our "dream" home, but at this exact moment, we feel so blessed to finally say, we are HOME OWNERS!!!

No more asking Ethan to stop jumping because the neighbor downstairs will complain.

No more small balcony for BBQs.

No more small gatherings because the apt is too little for our entire family.

No more money given to something that will never be ours.

It was a long and dreadful journey...with lots of tears, frustration, anger, lost hope and finally happiness. We signed TONS of papers this morning and will be getting keys next Wed. Albert and I are still in that state of shock. Did we really just BUY a home? Did we really qualify? lol We have been living in this tiny apt for 8 years...with no real hope to move into a house.

This is NOT at all a "brag" post, it's more of a "thank you Jesus, I must record these feelings" post. Our new house is a fixer, it's not a home many would be jealous of. lol We will work hard at making it a home. I just wanted to share my happiness with you, my friends and family! We will be making our big move before Christmas. I am SO stinkin happy.

I will be back next week with a couple of more projects I have up my sleeve, and then...I will work my pregnant booty off, packing, giving Albert orders, watching him paint, cleaning and finally resting up and starting a NEW year with awesome blessings in store. :)

We are currently finishing up orders from the last 3 days. We thank you so much for all the orders and support. Thank you!! Thank you!!

xoxo

Veronica

Christmas Project #12- Paper Ball Ornaments

These Christmas tree ornaments are very easy and fun to make! I was shopping at Target today and noticed these HUGE paper ornaments...I knew they were easy to make. So, I just had to try them myself.

Here is what you need for each ornament.
Supplies:
Pattern paper (double sided works best!)
2 brads
ribbon/ twine

Directions:
Cut 6 strips of paper (1/2"X 12"), cut those in half so that you have 12 strips (1/2"X 6"), stack them together, using a cropadile puch a hole on top and at the bottom, slide brads in and then seperate until a ball is formed.

xoxo, veronica

Christmas Project #11- Button Tree

I have failed you... I forgot to post today. So, being the lazy pregnant woman that I am. I will just show one of last year's Christmas projects.

I made one of those beautiful button trees. Looking back, I can see that I left some empty spaces...I will have to fix that once I decorate the house.

Is everyone enjoying December so far? I know we are! We enjoyed a nice walk in the cold air to Starbucks last night ans drank coffee and shared a polar bear cookie. mmmmm

Okay, I will stop in tomorrow with another project and Friday we will end our workshop. So sad.

Christmas Project #10- Snowman Ornament + A Giveaway!

****WINNER***
In honor of my BEST FRiend having her baby boy last night...Lucky Number 21 is the winner!
Cynthia B. said...
Love the snowman ornament - so cute! Thanks for the chance to win the journaling kit!

My friend had a beautiful healthy baby boy (21 inches long). In...get this...
ONE HOUR. Yes, she labored for one hour. She almost had him in the car. Bless her little heart!


Here is a quick ornament for your tree this year.

I had a ton of these tin cases left over from Ethan's baby shower favors. Yup, I never throw anything away. I now store brads in them.
Supplies:
Tin with clear lid
snow glitter
ribbon
paper (snowman & background)
I made a quick background and a snowman in illustrator, then I cut them out. Glue the background to the back of the inside and I left a tab at the bottom of the snowman. I punched 2 holes with my cropadile in the top of my tin, tied a ribbon. Pour glitter inside. Glue shut and place on your tree or in my case...let Ethan shake it like crazy!

Very simple. :)

Giveaway-
Since today is December first- and everyone is starting their daily albums, if you wanted a journaling kit, and never got around to it, here's your chance.
Leave a comment for a chance to win one.

I'll pick a winner tomorrow. :)
xoxo, Veronica

Christmas Project #9- Advent Calendar Game *FREE DOWNLOAD

Can you believe December is here tomorrow!!? Wow. The countdown begins...
I have another cute advent project, this advent calendar idea comes from my sister. She has an 8 year old son and she made this bingo Advent calendar for him last year. I'll admit it took longer than expected, but it came out SO cute! I just loved this idea that I decided to make one of my own! I'll probably use this next year with Ethan. Supplies Needed:
Tin tray, cookie sheet or sheet of metal (these trays cane be found at a dollar store).
Stickers -letters from MM falala collection
Red paint- cherry red
Ribbon
Bingo card (free download)
Embellishments (tags, rub-ons, chipboard, or buttons)
Button magnets
Empty jar - any jar of jam, honey, peanut butter etc...

Directions:
I found this tray for $1 at the dollar store. I love sweet deals!! I made sure to take a magnet with me and checked to see if it was magnetic. I spray painted the tray with cherry red paint.
Using my crop-a-dile, I punched some holes at the top of the tray, and tied a bow.
I then printed the bingo card and sewed it onto a piece of pattern paper:
After, I glued that onto the tray. I wanted to keep this simple, so I painted some chipboard stars and added that to the tray along with buttons. The letters are from Making Memories-canvas falala.

For the magnets, I adhered some buttons, paper, stickers, brads (remove backs), & stickles to the tops.

I decorated the top of my empty jar with some ribbon, pattern paper and a Christmas Icon Tag.

How to Play:
The way the game is played is simple, have your child place a magnet onto the number corresponding with the day (example: Dec 1, place a magnet onto the number 1). Your child won't get a gift until he has completed a bingo (up, down, or across). The free space is last, because it's for the 25th of December- CHRISTMAS!!

Hope you enjoyed this idea as much as I did! Please feel free to link our blog on Twitter, Facebook, forums, your blog...there is no need to ask for permission to do so. We would love the exposure and WE THANK YOU!!! A giveaway is coming up tomorrow, make sure to come back. :)

xoxo, Veronica

Christmas Project #8 Advent Calendar

This is nothing new, in fact the first time I saw this was last year on Martha Stewart's website. She made one using primary colors. Then later I saw it on AE's blog.
So, this year I was determined to make one of my own. I started off collecting tons of little boxes. I found that JoAnn's or any craft store has really cheap boxes in the baking isle. These are made for small truffles or pastries. They are perfect, because they are cheap. lol I also found some at the dollar tree-again, cheap is KEY in my book. ;)
Then I bought 2 different paints a "leaf green" and a "cherry red" & I left some boxes white too. These matched perfect with all our advent numbers. I used some from each set: Advent circles, Advent squares & Vintage advent numbers.

On some boxes I glued a ribbon to the side for some added color. Then I tacked them to the wall.
I bought 7 small toys (a wind up toy horse, colored pencils, card game-Go fish, a small car, and a Thomas the train, stickers & stamps). Ethan is eager to find out what's in each box. Some days will have a fun activity or family outing too. Here is a list I have compiled for us:

attend Horton Hears a Holiday at the Met museum (Dec 3-free)
watch the Clovis Christmas parade (Dec 5)
bake gingerbread men & decorate
wrap a toy and donate to a charity
walk to Starbucks for hot cocoa
watch a Christmas movie together-Polar Express (add yummy snacks).
walk Christmas tree lane-Dec 15 (light watching)
buy our tree at Cobb's Ranch
set up/decorate tree
make a handmade ornament for the tree
write a letter to Santa
make our gingerbread house
make a Christmas craft together
buy a Christmas book at Barnes&Noble
make gingerbread play dough together
Go to Hillcrest Farms for a train ride

I have another Advent project coming tomorrow for the older kids. My sister gave me the idea, I just switched it up a bit. :)

xoxo,

Veronica

Thankful

I'm going to take a break from our projects to reflect on everything that I am grateful for today. I can't explain in words how very blessed I feel.

I'm thankful for the blessings of being a stay at home mom. I love my crazy wild 4 year old. He is such a beautiful soul. Smart, witty, funny and just all around awesome.

I love that God has blessed me with another child. I am beyond excited to have a growing baby in the belly. It's such a beautiful thing.

I am blessed to have a wonderful supportive husband that truly cares for his family. He has loved me completely since the day we met. For that I am very thankful.

I am also VERY grateful to have YOU. Thank you for supporting us through this crazy journey. We never imagined the response we have received. We thank you for your friendship and support. We have the best customers, followers, fans, & readers EVER! Thank you! Thank you!

Now, go on...eat like there is no tomorrow. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

xoxo

veronica & albert

Christmas Project #7- 12 Days of Christmas Countdown

Well hello there! Is anyone ready for Christmas!!? lol I am so glad that this year I have a bit of a head start. We should be in our house by Christmas. It's looking good. I can hardly wait for that day. Well, not the moving part...the enjoying a nice cup of cocoa in front of the fire place with this adorable countdown garland staring at me!!!
This project was super easy and pretty cheap. :)
This can also be made with fabric or felt. I used MORE paper scraps! YAY ME!!

SUPPLIES:
paper scraps (Christmas MM)
thread (sewing machine)
Vintage Advent Numbers from our shop
mini clothes pins (Michaels-$3 a bag)
ribbon (AC-Here comes Santa)
I cut some mittens from pattern paper and sewed them together (my sewing is awful, but I got the job done). These mitten make the perfect pocket! I plan on putting little daily notes inside for Ethan. I also have an advent calendar- I'll share real soon. ;)

I used mini clothes pins and hung them from ribbon. (The light outside is awful! sorry for the dark pictures).

Here is a close up of that cute ribbon!! It's American Crafts, found at Michaels for .99. All ribbon is 50% off right now.
Hope you have fun creating your own! I would like to say thank you to all the wonderful people who leave us comments or send us emails. You truly make the sharing worth it. :) Thank you for sharing your creations as well! I love seeing them.


xoxo, Veronica