Capturing Christmas... {Frapp Bottles With The Amazing Veronica}

Good morning lovely friends stopping in today. Hope everyone is having an exciting Saturday..

I can't get over how close it is to 2012!! It still feels like fall outside yet Christmas is but 

7days away!! WHEW!! It's been SO exciting to have lovely guests from various amazing 

blog's stop in and visit with me here this Christmas! Sincere thanks to all the crafty and 

talented "Capturing Christmas" guests.. You GALS R O C K!!

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I'm Living Life In The Thrifty Lane Today! 
......You can find me HERE today, featuring these lovely
Napkin Rings For Christmas!

* * * * * * 
I am VERY excited to introduce you to
one of my amazingly talented bloggy bff's Veronica from  

Life In The Thrifty Lane!

If you aren't familiar with Veronica's blog, you MUST stop in and be WOW'D 

as much as I have been for a few months now!. She's SO creative and ABSOLUTELY 

FANTASTIC!!  Veronica is also one of my lovely sponsor's. I really hope you enjoy 

her lovely tutorial here today as much as I am. Without further due, please 

welcome her by sitting back and indulging in her fun feature!!

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Hello ArtsyGirl Connection Readers!

I'm Veronica and I blog over at Life In The Thrifty Lane. Today I'm guest
posting here and I would like to share with you a project I made last
year for Christmas: Altered Frappuccino Bottles.

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I LOVE those little Starbucks bottles and altered them in many occasion {HERE} and {HERE} 

Usually I only alter the single bottle but in this case I used also the carry box:

The most difficult part of this project is cutting the
paper (got mine from Joann's) for the container box.

I used a big piece of paper that covers front A, the bottom of the case and front B.

1 piece for each side and 1 to cover the handle.

I did lots of cutting and used Mod Podge to cover everything.

I adorned the box all around it with green ribbon and a small red one. The 

tag is made out of cardstock and a Stampin' Up stamp.

I painted the caps of the bottles and added a circle of white cardstock stamped with the
same X-mas collection from Stampin' Up and added some glitter. Little jungle bells for
each one of them and inside : hot cocoa mix, mini marshmallows, mini candy canes
and peppermint chocolate patties.This can be the perfect little gift
for teachers, co-workers and neighbors.

Thanks so much Marilyn for having me here today!

Hope you all stop by at Life In The Thrifty Lane to say Hi!

Happy Holidays.

Veronica
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Isn't she WONDERFUL..? I adore the idea of upcycling fun bottles into awesome 

Christmas treats! I adore the top's to the bottles.. SO FESTIVE and FUN.. I can't wait to 

use this tutorial soon! Very clever and really unique.. THANKS SO MUCH for 

sharing Veronica.. Please stop in and share in SO MUCH more crafty and 

creative goodies via her amazing blog Life In The Thrifty Lane,  and 

also join her on FACEBOOK, TWITTER & PINTEREST! 

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THANKS SO MUCH AGAIN VERONICA!!
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Join me and lots of bloggy friends all around capture Christmas in "12 Hours 
of Christmas Cheer!". KICK OFF TOMORROW!! Joyous photo memories to 

warm your heart this Christmas. 1Post - Photo Series {Capture 3things close to your heart this 
Christmas} & share a bit about those special moments featured.. ALL NEXT WEEK!!
It is Christmas in the heart that puts 
Christmas in the air.  ~W.T. Ellis

Thanks SO much for stopping in today.. Hope you enjoyed my lovely guest!
Wishing you an amazing weekend...
* STAY ARTSY * 

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Capturing Christmas... {Mini Tree's With The Crafty Myric}

Good morning artsy friends stopping in today. It's officially FRIDAY!
 Thanks SO much to all who came by yesterday to link to

Pin'Inspirational Thursday.. Another GREAT and CREATIVE party!!

I'm always inspired and SUPER thankful to have you take a moment
to share your fun creations and seasonal craftastic specials here!

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*10 Day's Till Christmas *

May the Joys of the season. Fill your 

heart with goodwill and cheer

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I have a wonderful bloggy friend stopping in today from the wonderful blogspot Petite Passions. Myric is an inspirational and unique bloggy friend with SO much original creativity and style. She's craftastic and her talent shows in all that she shares over at Petite Passion. I Absolutely love stopping in and being inspired. Hope you will all take a moment to hop over, say hello!

Without further due, please welcome the lovely Myric, featuring a WONDERFUL Tree tutorial! 

Myric: “
I am easily pleased and find entertainment in  almost everything. I love writing, food, photography and my mother-in-law who is my inspiration in creating crafts. I believe my urge to create and express myself through any medium available is a character I inherited from the       Great Creator which he formed in my heart that turned into my Petites Passions

***
To some, Christmas season demands           monetary spending for decors to gifts and   abundant holiday feast. It defeats the message of what Christmas is all about demonstrated through the simplicity savior's birth in a humble smelly stable. Mary and Joseph had to be creative using what they have like a manger for a crib.

Of course everybody wants the ideal perfect Christmas. After-all, its a very meaningful occasion. I myself want to spoil my home with a festive-holiday decors. oh it would really be nice to buy all those beautiful decors I see online, malls and stores but we have a tight budget to follow and we rather spend our money for gifts than decorations.  It could be frustrating sometimes. But on the brighter-side, it challenges me to be more resourceful and creative like using recycled dryer sheets!

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Pin'Inspirational Thursday.. #12 ~*Linky Party*~

Hello artsy friends stopping in today. It's another awesome

Pin'Inspirational Thursday Linky Party Day

and I'm VERY thrilled to get to indulge in awesome new finding's and

creativity from YOU.. NEED INSPIRATION..? Stop in and recap all the

 lovely features linked up per last week's amazing party.. OR hop along and join
in at my "Special Christmas Soiree" happening here all month long..
SO many fun seasonal creativity and LOTS to see and be JOLLY about!! 

* * Add Pin It Button To Your Post's HERE * *

Create, Share & Show Off!! 

*~Here are the fun favorites from last week~*

Happy Pinning.. All Featured On My Pin Board!

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ReMadeSimple ~ Whimsy Heart Ornaments

I absolutely ADORE these!! Pin 'It

Twigg Studios ~ So Cozy & Chic!! Pin'It

Anthropologie Style Ruffled Throw

Sweetology 101  {I ❤ THIS!} Pin'It

Rice Krispie Treat Christmas Lights

Brown Paper Packages ~ Pin 'It 

*So Darn Creative* Lolly Ornaments 

Honey And Fitz ~ Super CaaaaUte!
Glitter Letters Christmas Garland ~ Pin 'It

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So many FUN and inspiring Link's from last week. 
Share in my Pin'It fun by simply clicking Pin'It!!

READY TO SHOW OFF TOO..? PLEASE DO!

LETS P A R T Y!! THANKFUL FOR YOU SHARING!

TEENY RULES

Please BE a Follower of me and my co-host Jane
*Adventures In Dinner*.. {LOVE MY FRIENDS}
Please feature my button on your post/somewhere on your blog
Please No Giveaways!!! Only Crafts, Recipes, Photography.
Links to ACTUAL Linked Up Projects Pweease
Browse around/ Spread the word/VISIT & be Inspired by friends!!
*Stay Artsy*

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Capturing Christmas... {Wreath Tutorial With Ashley}

Good morning lovely friends stopping in today. I am VERY excited to introduce you

to one of my amazingly talented bloggy bff's Ashley via A to Being Creations! !

If you aren't familiar with Ashley's blog, you MUST stop in and be WOW'D as 

much as I have been for a few months now!. She's SO creative and ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!! 

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Ashley : I'm a "jack of all trades"!  Who says you can't do it all?!?  Some days I think I can, and some days I miserably fail. Nonetheless, welcome to the place where things go from A to Being Creations!  I'll occasionally throw in adventures in Mommy land, and baking treats too.  Thanks 

for joining the ride!  

My Blog (work in progress)

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Cork Place Cards .....{Capturing Christmas}

Good evening friends stopping in today. I'm absolutely loving all the wonderful

Christmas Creativity all around the blog world. SO INSPIRING!! I've 

had an amazing time going through all the terrific linky party's everywhere!! Need inspiration..? 

link up to "A Special Christmas Soiree", share, be inspired and CREATE!! 

Capturing Christmas... 

         {Dinner Time} 

Today, I decided to get a head start towards our annual Christmas dinner. I wanted to add a little 

touch of "ME" to the table setting this year. I came up with these amazing Cork Place Cards. I have to admit, I collect corks and have a zillion in a fun jar I keep in the kitchen. I use them 

for little things here and there but this year, I decided to create fun little place cards for our 

dinner table. These place cards are very easy, fun and will add a bit of jazz to any place 

setting. Hope you enjoy my tutorial here today and maybe get to create a few of your own.. 

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* Tinsel Fun Items Needed *

Some Of The Items I Used 

Some Red Ribbons

*Tree Branch (the dark ones are from my yard)

*Corks (Either collected or you can buy them at Michael's)

*Tree Branch (The Green are plastic ones from a little tree I have at home)

*Any red festive plants (These pictured are frosted red berries I 

bought at the dollar store in the Christmas plant aisle)

*Plain white paper (I used a decorative edge scissors to cut 

them along the edges for some texture and a fun touch)

*Decorative Christmas Letter Stickers

(I found them in the dollar bin at Michael's)

* * * * 

* Lets Craft Elfs *

(I did these in a little 30min break I had to myself before rushing to pick up the 
children, so please pardon the lack of photo's as I usually produce.. I SAWEEEE!!)
- To begin, cut and glue your ribbon around your cork, right underneath the top -

- After your ribbon is securely in place, glue on your red berries and your branches

at an angle towards either the middle or side of your cork (I did both on different corks)

- Cut your cards out into squares using your decorative scissors for fun edges -
- Stick on your Christmas letter's on each card and set aside -

 - Slit a line on top of your cork using a xacto knife carefully, just
deep enough to slide your cards into place. Slide the tip of
your cards into the slit at an angle.
(Repeat until you have all the place cards you need)

Tinsel ---- How adorable..? I {HEART} them!! These fun little corks remind 

me SO much of Christmas and I'm very happy with how they turned out. I'm sure there

are a million way's to tweak them to perfection for any table setting!! Happy Crafting!

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Thanks SO much for stopping in today. Please come back this week for some FUN
guest's and a lovely linky party to share your creativity on Thursday
{Pin'Inspirational Thursday's}..
Linking With
Romance On A Dime
Tip Junkie Tuesday's
Todays Creative Blog

Have A Jolly Week!
~Stay Artsy~

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* Tree Reveal & Traditions * A Special Christmas Soiree..

Good day lovely friends stopping in today, it's been an awesome weekend here and
actually not bad per weather either! Yesterday, I took Sia as part of our Christmas tradition to
the "Enchanted Village" hosted by Jordan Furniture here in Boston. It was SO pretty to see

Our Tree This Year..2011

all the kids, the fun Christmas scenes and the village all lit up and decorated for Christmas.
Do you have an Enchanted Village in your neck of the woods..? They are SO magical!
*  *  *
It's Officially the last
round up week of "A Special Christmas Soiree Series".. This week we are hosting a Christmas Tree Reveal ...
Is your Christmas tree UP and decorated..? If so, share your tree with us via our week long "Tree Party Linky". Share your story behind your fun ornaments and traditions you carry along each year during the holidays!!
* * * 
Tinsel Jolly Times & Traditions
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I've had a lovely time reading about the awesome and lovely traditions shared within various homes around the blog world this Christmas. One of my favorite things this year has been the "Elf On

Every year since I moved out, I've had these Ornaments, they are cute little gift
boxes I place on the tree with a special gift and note--Now for the children, I leave
a note they read dated with a special small gift, a bracelet, an earring this year for
Sia. The notes are LEFT in the box, and each year we get to read all the years
accumulated. It's Sia's 2nd year, and Caley's 5th! (Our Tree This Year)

 Shelf" series spread around the blog world. So adorably cute and funny! We REALLY wanted to get one but decided to wait till next year instead. SO hopefully, I'll have a fun elf and some amazing elf stories to share next Christmas.. Around here, Christmas is SUCH a big deal, my fiance is a HUGE Christmas fanatic. I have to admit I always wasn't a Christmas fan, but since having children, it's been a lot of fun sharing little loving traditions with them each year, and helping them understand what Christmas is really all about. Since Caley was born, each year, we have a special Christmas tradition of spending his birthday {Christmas Eve} with the whole family on my fiance's side. We all go over Nanny Norma's, share presents, and bring a dish. It's a really grand time that we always look forward to. It's special in so many ways to each of us. We get to see family member's we haven't seen in a while, 

crack some jokes, pray together as a family, and most of all, CELEBRATE Caley's birthday 

together. He really enjoys the idea of having a special time of the day set aside for him that 

We always have fun treats like decorating a reindeer with bells, each
child gets to try to fit as many bells as their age on their reindeer. Sia's
the easiest these day's, she only has ONE.. : )) 

evening even though the whole day is focused on making sure he 100% feels the special joy's of celebrating another year in age.  It s really one of my favorite times of the year.  

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* * * 

ORNAMENTS

Another new tradition I picked up this year is adding my ornaments with secret stuffed candy for the everyone. They aren't aware their burlap ornaments are stuffed with a bit of their favorite candy, some money and a lovely note.

It's going to be really fun to watch them take a moment to open the little intricate extras at Christmas. It's always such a funny moment to see Caley's face when I tell him, THE IS M O R E! 

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MOVIES

Another fun tradition we have is watching Christmas movies all month long. We do this around Halloween too. It's a lot of fun. We've watched Prep and Landing more then 10times already!!
One of my FAV movies of all time is the first edition of Home Alone. I watch that each Christmas with the family. The kids LOVE it.. I also LOVE watching The Family 
Stone. It's absolutely hilarious and such and great movie to catch at Christmas.
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Giving Back is another tradition we uphold within our home. We always take a moment to
wrap up two gifts with the children three day's before Christmas to drop off at our local shelter. I
allow Caley for now to pick a toy and a book he REALLY loves and thinks a child around his age will want. All year round, he chips in towards this gift and we put up the rest of the funds and purchase the items we choose. I usually drive him down to the shelter or charity of our choice to donate the toy and book. Its a really rewarding and warm feeling to know that we gave back with love and most of all that Caley actually helped buy the items we gave away. This is really
one of my FAVORITE traditions
we have that I hope the kids
can carry on someday.
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What fun traditions are you sharing with your family this Christmas..? Care to share with me..? How warm and enchanting is the Christmas tree once up, lit and decorated
at home..? I LOVE it.. T'is really the season to be jolly. Please join myself and
Jenn in sharing your Christmas Tree via our linky this week. It's also open to Christmas crafts,
gifting, tutorials and much more.. We will LOVE to see your festive and creative seasonal
goodies you's been whipping up as we all await SANTA..

CHRISTMAS TREE REVEAL LINKY PARTY 
{Please fee to link up all your Christmas goodies as well}

~ STAY ARTSY~

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Capturing Christmas... {Gifting At Christmas With ELISE .}

Good morning lovely friends stopping in today, its been really

awesome capturing Christmas all month long with amazing linky parties everywhere.
* *15 Day's Till Christmas * * 
The perfect Christmas tree?  
All Christmas trees are perfect!  
~Charles N. Barnard

Tomorrow, A Special Christmas Soiree continues with
"Christmas Tree Reveal Tomorrow". 
Stop in and share your Christmas tree's with us!!
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* ~ Home Made Gifts At Christmas!! ~*
How are you gifting this Christmas..? With the economy, it's been hard on a lot of my friends

Caramel In A Jar - Thoughtful Simple Gifts
Via Pinterest / Squidoo

and family in terms of simply giving all they
want whole heatedly without feeling a bit of financial burden. Well, Christmas isn't and shouldn't be all about the "GREAT GIFT"that simply breaks the bank. It's really all about the little
intricate and thoughtful things that you can gift to totally warm the heart of other's.
A gift to scream "I thought of YOU!"
, a gift suiting the need and not necessarily the commercial want of a loved one. It's really simply about the THOUGHT you placed into
giving a bit of LOVE at Christmas!!
What's on your list this Christmas..? 
Mine REALLY includes 24 Hours of SLEEP with NO interruptions! A date with my hub's to be WITH no KIDS but just us two! (Hardly happens!!) A day of CRAFT glory with a friend! I JUST WANNA CRAFT IN PEACE! 
A show on Broadway I've been dying to see, and If Santa thinks I'm deserving I REALLY would LOVE a Cricut!! 
I have a FUN guest stopping in to share 
a bit on Gifting At Christmas Today! 
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ELISE  ON DIY Christmas Gifts on a Budget!

Elise is a guest post author who is sharing her DIY Christmas gift ideas for those 
on a budget today.  In addition to her hobby of guest posting, Elise also works 
for a website where she offers her tips on personal finance and educates followers 
about payday loans.  You can find Elise via her awesome, creative and 
VERY informative blog Embellishments By SLR!!
 I am loving all the wonderful tips she gives below on how to gift with love and FUN but 
stay frugal and manage with your own budget the BEST you can this Christmas.. 
Join me in welcoming the lovely Elise. Hope you snag a tip or two from her.. 
...........Gift-Giving At Christmas

With Christmas just right around the corner, it’s time to get all of your gift-giving plans in 

order.  And like most of us in today’s world, you might be planning your Christmas on a 

budget.  Well the good news for the festive yet money-conscious giver is that you can 

create gifts for friends, family members and others who are dear to your heart in a do-it-yourself 

fashion!  Not only will these gifts help prevent you from falling into a pit of financial 

doom at the most expensive time of the year, but because you took the time to 

do-it-yourself, these gifts will mean much more to the recipient than 

just your typical store-bought present.

Here are some DIY favorites to get 

crafty with this Christmas season:

Recipe Book

  If you’re a master in the kitchen and your 

friends are always dying to know your secret recipes, what better gift to give than a collection 

of your best dishes!  Type up your most famous meals and display them in a scrapbook, photo-album or even just a paper booklet.  Each time 

the recipient of your gift whips up some of 

your good-cookin’, they will think of you 

with a full belly and a smile on their face!

Teacup Candles

Another easy do-it-yourself gift that everyone 

loves is a teacup candle!  All you’ll need are 

craft-store wicks, wax (or even old candles that 

can be melted down) and old teacups.  If you 

don’t have old teacups stashed away in your cupboards, hit up your local thrift stores 

where they can likely be found for less than 

a dollar! Simply melt the wax in a double boiler then stand the wick in the teacup while slowly pouring in the melted wax and voila!

Personalized Calendar

  This is a fun way to give someone something they will be able to use every day of the New Year!  To create your own calendar, use a computer program’s templates or pick up some calendar blanks from a craft or office supply store.  Made-From-Scratch Cookie Kits

  If you have someone on your list this year who has a sweet tooth, give them the unbaked mixings to make a batch of homemade cookies!  Gather the dry ingredients to your favorite cookie recipe along with a mason jar, a note card and some cute ribbons.  Layer all the ingredients in the mason jar and print the recipe in a fun font on the card, 

using the ribbon to tie it to the jar. 

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Now that you know some of the best do-it-yourself ways to show your loved ones how much you care this Christmas, you will be able to relax and enjoy the holiday season knowing that you’ll be giving thoughtful gifts that don’t break the bank! 

Christmas remains about the LOVE & Thoughtfulness!!

Hope you enjoyed Elise here today. Please stop in and say hello sometime. She's got SO 

much to share and Very awesome fun findings via her blog!!  THANKS SO MUCH for 

stopping in and sharing with us today Elise.. I sincerely appreciate it and LOVE all the 

great idea's you brought along with you.. SO many fun treats!! 

CHRISTMAS TREE REVEAL is TOMORROW!!

Please stop in and share your BEAUTIFUL and festive 

A Special Christmas Soiree continues tomorrow here and Via Jenn's! 

Create, Share, Indulge in awesome findings and inspiration!

Wishing you an inspirational Sunday!

~Stay Artsy~

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