Ornaments...already?!

YES! Why not?!

Ok, I'll tone it down a bit. I'm kind of a Christmas nut. But serious, think about it. Halloween will soon come and go, Thanksgiving is right behind it and then you're hit with that panic to finish your holiday shopping list in a rush. Or is that just me?

Well this year I decided to start early (I may or may not "decide" this every year...this time I'm serious lol). I'm scouting out gifts now and trying to be ahead of the game, not only to beat the rush but to also stretch the gifting budget a bit more.

This brings me to the ornament swap. Did you notice the ornament swap button on my sidebar? I was soo excited when I saw a post by Erin at Living in Yellow about the ornament swap she's doing with Jessah at Dreaming of Dimples. I love swaps, you get to meet new bloggers (just met Jessah and already hooked :), you receive a surprise in the mail and you get to surprise someone else...does it get any better?







Read below and you will see why you need to register this early...let's plan ahead people!

Via Living in Yellow and Dreaming of Dimples: 

Step 1. Sign up. 

Link up your blog below to let us know you want to participate in the swap. Sign ups close at Midnight on October 31st. 

Step 2. Spread the word. 

Everyone loves getting special deliveries in the mail. Especially when it’s a super festive item like an ornament for your holiday tree. So let all of your blog friends know about the swap. The more, the merrier. 

Step 3. Get your match. 

On Thursday, November 1st, we will post the swap matches. You will contact the blogger you’re buying for via their blog, email, twitter, facebook, etc. to get their address. 

Step 4. Shop and Mail. 

On or before November 12th, purchase and mail your ornament. This means your ornament should be en route to its recipient NO LATER THAN the 12th. 

Step 5. Receive & Blog about your ornament! 

This is the fun part! Blog, Instagram, Tweet your Ornament Swapping Adventure. Be sure and use #ornamentswap on Instagram & Twitter so other Swappers can find you! 

Step 6. Link up! 

We will be hosting a Linky Party on December 1st for those of you bloggers that want to link up your posts! (This gives you plenty of time to make sure your ornament arrives & recap your adventures.) 

That is it. 

It's pretty simple. 

Sign up & send. 

Now, I know people may have a few more questions about the details, so here are some additional things you should know. 

1. You should spend between $4-$14 on your ornament. 

2. Ornaments should be new, as no one wants any “gently used” tree decorations. 

3. The ornament you purchase should be something fun, quirky, or beautiful that you’d like to receive and that you will be proud of when it is associated with you and your blog. 

4. You can purchase ornaments from anywhere. Like these handmades from Etsy or unique ornaments from Pier One or Target.

5. You will not be sending and receiving to the same person. Technically you aren't "swapping", more like a daisy chain of ornaments will be flying through the skies via the postal service. You will send to one person and receive from someone else. This way you get to know at least two people! 

6. Be sure to package your ornament in bubble wrap to ensure it arrives safely. Getting a broken ornament is no fun at all. 

7. Please do not sign up unless you are 100% sure you can fulfill the swap requirements, we would hate for someone to sign up and not participate.

Giveaway: I almost forgot! If you post the ornament swap button on the sidebar of your blog (visit Jessah's blog for the code), you'll be entered to win this cute, zebra ornament from Pier One.

Now go join! 

-LL

Butterfly Christmas Ornaments

It's February 10th, 2011. I am 6, almost 7 months pregnant. Baby Lori Darling is as active as ever in my belly. I feel and I know I am MUCH bigger in this pregnancy than I was with Vayda. Pictures coming soon...I know, I'm lagging =\. But all is going great and I'm a happy pregnant camper :).

The majority of my thoughts have been consumed by a list of crafts and projects I want to get done. Weird right? Well you may not think it's weird but I am not kidding you...I cannot stop thinking about what I want to make and have done before the baby is born. I feel kind of OCD about it...but I am going to say this is my "nesting" period of time that started really early in the pregnancy.

Now, not all my projects and crafts have to do with the baby. They are just projects, crafts, gifts etc.

Enough talk, let me share with you one of my Christmas gifts. Some of you may recognize these because you received one of them (Ritz - I still need to send yours! Sorry :\).

Christmas Ornaments:

I got the idea for my ornaments here. I found these great glass ornaments that had a pearl shine to them at Michaels. Instead of the moss like the ornaments in the link above, I decided to use this dried twig stuff I found at a craft store near our house (I didn't have the patience to mess with the moss).

When I got home and began to make the ornaments I was (still am) so confused on how in the world they got their butterflies in the ornaments with out breaking the butterflies...I'm not sure, maybe mine were too stiff? I even went through all the blog comments to find the answer (I noticed others asked the same question) and still, nothing!
All is well though, I thought the butterflies came out looking cute on the outside ;). I opened the ornaments and stuffed a few branches in each using a pencil. Hot glued them shut and hot glued the butterfly to the outside. On the bottom of each ornament I wrote (with thin black sharpie) "Merry Christmas, 2010 Love the Arreguin's". Tied some ribbon to it, and wrapped them up! Here are a few more pictures of them...excuse the bad photos. I really do need a nice camera.