Meg vs. Christmas: Family Photo Ornaments

As time goes on, I find myself wanting Christmas to be simpler; less about spending and running around and more about family and simple giving. I mentioned the other day that I have taken a liking to putting up sentimental ornaments instead of designing a fancy tree, but I didn't share my favorite ornaments! Drumroll please...

This tradition was actually started by my mom being embarrassing. See that little 2006 ornament? My mom gave that to John and me for Christmas right after we started dating. Clearly she was excited that I finally had a boyfriend. Oh, and my sister also made us matching mugs with that same photo plastered all over it. Yikes! Thankfully John wasn't scared away, and still proposed to me a few months later.

The next year my mom received the beautiful glass snowflake frame and asked if we wanted it. I thought our wedding photo would go well in it, and the tradition went on from there.

My main tip if you'd like to do this: go to Michael's after Christmas and stock up! They always have frame ornaments, and they go on sale for about a buck in the weeks after Christmas.

Seeing how our family has grown and changed as we decorated the tree was a good reminder of how blessed we are in a season where it is easy to get caught up in the trifles that we might want.

Meg vs. Christmas: DIY Felt Ornaments

I am just a little excited for the Christmas season. We put up our tree this weekend and the smell is heavenly.

Growing up, we liked to pick a theme or color scheme for the tree each year and do something fancy with it. That is what happens when the girls plan the Christmas decorating. But since we've been married, John has insisted on multicolored lights, a multicolored star, and a variety of multicolored ornaments. I'll admit that I thought it was a bit cheesy at first, and John has since said that I could do the tree how I wanted (though that would require buying all new lights and ornaments, which we can't afford), but our eclectic tree has grown on me.We try to pick up Christmas ornaments to represent the places we've gone and the things we have done together, so decorating the tree is like a walk down memory lane.

Last year I wanted ornaments to commemorate John starting med school and us buying our house, but couldn't find anything that I liked, let alone that we could afford. So I decided to get crafty in the name of Christmas, and made up some felt ornaments that were exactly what I wanted. They are super easy to make, if a little time consuming. Just cut out two of your chosen shape (one for the front and one for the back). Then cut out the shapes you'll need to adorn your ornament and sew them onto the front. when you are done, use a blanket stitch to attach the front and back pieces together and a hanging ribbon to the top, stopping before you close it all the way to add a little stuffing to give your ornament some dimension. Ta-da!

I used gold thread because I thought it gave the ornaments a more vintage, Christmasey (that is a word, right?) feel. They remind me of my grandmother's old felt ornaments that we had on our tree growing up. On the back of the first ornament, I embroidered (in my sloppy way) "First white coat, 2011," and on the back of the second, "Our first house" and our address.

And as an added bonus, these ornaments are fairly toddler-proof (knock on wood), which is essential in this house. We have already lost three ornaments this year, and the tree has only been decorated for just over 24 hours.

I am already brainstorming what ornaments I will make this year, and I have a few other projects up my sleeve to share here soon.

Meg vs. Giveaways: Christmas Prints from Little Boston Print Shoppe!

To be honest, I am a little ambivalent about gaining followers on this blog. I mostly started it to record our progress on the house and keep myself motivated, but then I felt silly writing to myself so I thought I would write to, well, some readers. I am not particularly creative, or handy, or thrifty, or chic, and I blog in spurts. I don't even own a glue gun.

But I do enjoy sharing what we do around here and pretending like it's useful or interesting to someone else. So I'll just focus on sharing. And right now, I am going to share a set of these fun Christmas prints made by my awesome friend Emily, who blogs at Everything for the Love (where I occasionally blog as a guest) and sells her adorable prints at the Little Boston Print Shoppe!

My boys love, love, LOVE Christmas, and these festive prints are a perfect way to add some Christmas Spirit to your home! So fun and festive. There are lots of things you can do to win a set, and you don't even have to follow my blog (unless you want to). =) My treat, a Christmas present to some lucky friend. Just pick one or more tasks from the entry form below and you're entered to win! The more you do, the more chances you have to win. (And you can do some of them once per day.) The giveaway will be open through Friday night, and I'll announce the winner on Saturday.

Good luck, and Merry Christmas!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

p.s. To make it easier on you, I didn't require verification for most of the tasks. Enter on your honor!