Inspirations by D: November 2010

Snowflake Inspired Items

Throw pillow at Sew Lucky Girl

Cupcake wrappers at Homemade Holiday Keepsakes

Gift bag tags at Rockinpapernscissors

Snowflake soap at LilAnniebell

Beautiful tutu at Twisted Tutu

Hair Clips at Sara's Boutique

Silver Plated Cuff Links at CsCharms

Angora baby Shoes at Big Little

Dog Collar at Ruffnecks

Happy Monday everyone! Today is called Cyber Monday, many sales going on right now and perhaps lots of cyber shopping. I was browsing on the Etsy site and came across some lovely snowflake inspired pieces. These are all handmade by Etsy artisans and they have many more beautiful items in their shops. I couldn't decide which ones to feature here, so drop by and take a look at their handmade beauties.

Homemade Holiday Gift Ideas

Nothing gives more satisfaction than seeing a person's face light up when you give them a gift, especially if it's homemade. This year make the gift special and make it yourself. Here are some of our favorite simple homemade gifts:

Homemade Sugar Scrub
Homemade Lip Balm great stocking stuffer!
Easy Homemade Soap
Snicker-doodle Mix in a Jar
Homemade Chocolate Truffles
DIY Camera Strap
Homemade Candle
Homemade Stuffed Animals for kids.
Homemade Pocketbook Organizer
Homemade Bath Salts

Enjoy your homemade gift giving!

Retro Kitchen Glass Magnets

Check these lovely retro kitchen magnets available at Inspirations by D at Etsy. A cute gift don't you think?

Christmas Glass Magnets

There is something about vintage images that bring to mind the simple festivities of years past. Christmas was not commercialized as it is today, it was more about family and friends gathering together in celebration of the wonderful season.

These lovely glass magnets remind me of those days. Use these simple nostalgic Christmas magnets to hold Holiday cards, use for a stocking stuffer or simply to hand out to your guests. They are now available at Inspirations by D at Etsy. Drop by the shop and see what else is new.

Giveaway!

I have been featured in Design It Chic's blog. Please go check it out and find out more about my shop and blog. You will also have the opportunity to win an item of your choice from Inspirations by D, just in time for the Holidays.

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! Congratulations to Mimi:-)

Glass Bird Magnets

I love the tiny details on this set of glass magnets, such as the brown shaped heart used for the eye and the beautiful pattern on the body of the bird. I made myself a pair and proudly have it displayed in my kitchen. This lovely bird set is exclusively available at Inspirations by D. It would make a lovely stocking stuffer, or hostess gift.

Blurry Lights

There is nothing like the soothing sound of an autumn rainfall.
I love how the rain drops on the branches were captured in this picture.
Would you like to shoot photos like this too?
Here is a tip: To get those big, beautiful, blurry lights,
use your lens with the lowest aperture value.
If you want to play with shapes, make your own Bokeh/ Vignette.
To create your own bokeh/ vinetting effect read DIY Photography-bokeh
and learn about this whole blurry light process.
Now with the Holidays approaching, you can capture your own amazing pictures
using festive lights. Have fun and hope that you enjoyed this tip.

Ever Grateful Collection

Some beauty for you today...

Don't you just love this collection, it would look wonderful for the Thanksgiving table setting.

I would love to to display messages of thankfulness with these place settings.

Beautiful, wouldn't you say?

The Ever Grateful collection, Shop the DaySpring Online Store.

These all look so fabulous, they would make beautiful gifts even for a dinner hostess, don't you think?

Shop the DaySpring Online Store

House Guest Gift Idea

Having guests over your home? Visiting friends or family out of town?

I sometimes have a small basket with little items such as lotion, soap, chocolate and a small gift.

These large glass magnets would make cute gifts.

I love these, I think they are so cute! Grab yourself a set at Inspirations by D at Etsy.

How to Re-Paint Oak Mantel

The mantel surround had a dark oak stain and although it did not look bad, it clashed with our current wood furniture, so I decided to re- paint it.

Here is the before:

Here is the After:

This project required one coat of primer and two coats of paint. I sanded it gently, just to dull it a bit, then I gave it a coat of Multi-Purpose Oil Based Primer. I used this Sherwin William low odor formula since we have asthma at my home and strong paint odor is a trigger. So this paint worked out pretty well, no odor and fabulous coating and no asthma attacks, whew!

The next day I gave the mantel two coats of paint, "Swiss Coffee" by Benjamin Moore semi- gloss and I painted the wall a "Putnam Ivory" to make it stand out a bit.

I'm happy with the new look, to finish it off I would love to change the white tile, but that's a different project. Thank you for looking.

Free Blog Flair

I made a few of these and wanted to share this with you. Grab it and put it on your lovely blog.

How to Make a Paper Leaf Garland

Create a special Thanksgiving tradition by having your kids
write down or draw something they are grateful for each day,

and for a fun activity, have them make crafts to help decorate the home for the fall.
My four year old is currently grateful for fall leaves, he loves it!

As a fun craft, he created a string of leaves.

For your child to create their own you will need:

Construction paper (yellow, orange, red, brown)
Crayons or markers
Safety scissors
tape
A long piece of yarn or any string

Template provided by "enchantedlearning"

The template provided can be printed and colored by your little one.
Use it also as a template to draw a leaf on the construction paper.
Make sure to draw a thick stem on the top of your leaf (your leaf will hang from this stem,
which will be folded over).

Cut out the leaf. Draw the leaf veins if you wish.
Fold the leaf's stem in half.
Attach the leaf to your string using the tape. Make more leaves and continue attaching them to the string. Use as little or as many as you like.