So, Christmas is just over two weeks away. TWO. WEEKS. Are you right on schedule? Because I am admittedly running behind. Normally all the gifts are bought by this point, but this year I still have two important ones to find. Earlier this week I finished putting up lights in the big front window of the house and pulling out a few more favorite decorations. If you’re still in decorating mode here thirty pieces of holiday flair to either buy or DIY!
As I write up this post it’s nearly 8pm and I’m sipping a beer. Between forgetting half of my grocery bags at the checkout today (only to realize it once I got home) and trying to finish up my holiday shopping, it’s just what this day called for. If you’ve been having one – or ten – of those days this December, enjoy perusing this carefully curated selection of 66 cocktails that are sure to aid you through the Alcoholidays.
This holiday I’ve opted to keep things minimal, and from what I’ve seen online a lot of you are choosing to do the same. The living room has a simple live potted tree that’s about four feet tall, decorated with a handful of ornaments and lights. The rest of the first floor has a few decorations here and there – a poinsettia, a few wreaths, not too much. And my office has this little silver tree that’s followed me from my last design firm job over five years ago. Since I spend a good part of my days here it only makes sense for it to feel festive as I dig through my inbox and comb the internet.
Inspired by the colors in my workspace and traditional wooden ornaments I came up with these modern bells. Covered in bright paint and fresh patterns, they’re a great match for the sparkle of the tiny tree.
Materials
• wooden cones with pre-drilled holes
• wooden balls with pre-drilled holes
• craft paints
• paintbrushes in various sizes
• jute twine
This little project took me about an hour and was a great respite from what’s proving to be a hectic month. I sat down with a roll of paper towels and a cup full of water for cleaning my brushes and got to work with Christmas music playing in the background.
Once all of my cones and balls were painted, patterned, and dry I cut roughly 14-inch lengths of jute twine. I doubled each up in length and tied off a loop about 1 1/2-inches long, then pushed the loose ends through the cone and ball, tying them off once pulled through with a knot or two. If the jute got hung up I just used a wood skewer to help it through.
Your coworkers. The mail carrier. Your child’s teachers. Neighbors.
This list could easily be a mile long, it’s the one that names everyone who deserves a little something special this holiday season. And nothing says thank you for being amazing more than a homemade gift, bonus points if that gift is edible. Here are twelve recipes sure to put a smile on each and every one of those faces.
Click on each image to go to the recipe. All photos copyright of their respective sites unless otherwise noted.
It’s been awhile, but about two and a half years ago I shared with you that I’d been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. This past May my numbers finally leveled out where they need to be which was fantastic news, and it felt like something to be celebrated because a lot of hard work and self-control went into getting there. Since that first day I’ve become well-versed in not only the disease but in the ways to support a cure. Hopefully the world will see one in my lifetime, and that hope is owed in no small part to the American Diabetes Association.
This holiday season I’m teaming up with the ADA and their Gift of Hope program, an annual holiday gift catalog whose funds go to support their mission to fund research to prevent, cure, and manage diabetes. The program began in 1971 when several Minneapolis area parents of children with diabetes wanted to do something to fight back against the disease. They started selling holiday cards to raise money and since then the program has raised more than $26 million. No small feat!
This post sponsored by the American Diabetes Association. Please consider shopping with Gift of Hope this holiday season. It’s a cause near and dear to my heart that affects me directly, thank you for supporting the brands that support Design Crush!
The leftover turkey is gone, maybe the tree is up, are the holiday cards written out? I had the best intentions of writing mine out Saturday, but instead spent most of the day working (Whomp, whomp.) I love sitting down at the dining room table with a big selection and picking out the perfect one for each address on my list. Here are fifty holiday cards and makers worth a second glance, with a side note that I’ve only shared one from each so if you like what you see dive deeper!
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Amazon // all of the deals, plus a new deal up to every five minutes from now until Dec. 22, with the best saved for the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday
Goldyn // 30% off storewide Friday through Monday with code ALL BLACK EVERYTHING
ZigZagZurich // first come first serve basis deals – use code BLACK50 for 50 % off everything site wide (50 codes only) or code BLACK25 for 25% off everything store wide (100 codes only).
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you’re spending the day with friends and family, eating lots of good things and enjoying one another’s company far into the evening hours. I’m hosting the holiday at my house for the third year, and luckily the greenery and some of the flowers have held up since last weekend’s party. Check in later for our cyber week deals post and we’ll be back to regularly scheduled content tomorrow! I’m oh so grateful for your readership, friends.
