Tiny Prints Holiday Cards {Giveaway}

**GIVEAWAY CLOSED*

So it's that time of year again! My annual post on Holiday Cards! :)

I love getting holiday cards. I really do! Partly because I just love receiving "snail mail" that isn't junk or bills. I mean really, who doesn't love getting a REAL letter?? Isn't it such a treat?? But I also love hearing from friends and family that I just don't get a chance to see or talk to very often. Some folks send out beautiful holiday designs with lovely messages of holiday cheer. Others send the annual newsletter which allows you to catch up on what they've been doing all year. And others go the photo card route giving you a visual glimpse into their current lives. I love them all, but admit that photo cards are my holiday greeting of choice. I just love to see those old familiar faces as well always observe how all the kids have changed and grown over the past year. SO FUN!

I've been sending photo cards for over 5 years now. Last year I tried Tiny Prints for the first time and couldn't have been more pleased. The cardstock they use is so quality! Check out this fun video...

Now that is some high-class cardstock!! And the design options are plentiful. Here's what we ended up going with for 2011... It was a square, front and back design for which I used some photos from our family vacation out west to Arizona last summer.

Front

Back

Wasn't it fun?? I loved it!

So I've decided to go with Tiny Prints again this year. They've got such an amazing selection of Holiday Photo Cards that there is definitely something to please everyone! Here are just a few that pique my fancy this year...

I think that last one may take the cake! ;)  But, seriously, I don't know how I'm going to choose! I can't wait to get started!

I recommend you give them a try too. They have so many fabulous choices in a variety of price ranges that they are sure to have something that suits your tastes and your budget! And be sure to check out their Special Offers page HERE to find a good deal.

Giveaway time!!!

One lucky RACKS and Mooby reader will win $50 off their total order at Tiny Prints!!

(Note: Code expires 12/14/2012 – no extensions! Code does not include shipping and cannot be combined with any other promos)

Use the Raf­fle­copter form below to enter! (give it a few seconds to load!) Giveaway ends November 14, 2012. Winner will be contacted by email so be sure I can reach you!

*GIVEAWAY CLOSED - winner announced below! * I never heard back from the first winner, so a new one was selected - check your email!*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by Tiny Prints. However, all opinions are 100% my own.

Hand Sanitizer Snowman

Every year I am faced with the challenge of figuring out what to give my daughters' daycare teachers as a gift for the holidays. They've got several women who come in and out of their classrooms each day, plus the teachers for their extra tutorial sessions. Needless to say, it can really add up when you start buying gifts for everyone. While I want to show our gratitude for the care they give to our girls all year, I need to try and keep my costs to a minimum. Last year I did THIS and it was a big hit.

This year I decided to mimic an idea I had in my Pinterest files from last year. It was originally posted on Crafts and Crap and I thought it was so clever, cute and wonderfully cheap frugal! YAY!

It starts off with a bottle of hand sanitzer from the Dollar Tree. I forgot to take a picture of the 'before' but I simply peeled the back label off the bottle removing any lingering adhesive with some olive oil (I use this in place of goo gone). I left the front label (making it the back) on so the teachers would know what was in the bottle.

Next I gathered up my supplies... A large selection of ribbon, some self-stick buttons left over from my scrapbooking days and some foam stickers from the snowman craft kit I coincidentally bought last week at Michaels (using a 40% off coupon, of course!). We used the stickers from the project pack for the eyes, noses, and mouths of our snowmen.

Foam snowman project pack used for eyes, mouths and noses

Then I called in SweetPea and Boogey and let them "have at it"! They selected which ribbon they wanted to use for each teacher and I tied it on for them. They then added the eyes, nose, mouth and buttons themselves. Here they are all lined up ready to go...

Hand Sanitizer Snowmen

You can tell which ones were made by Boogey because she always puts her snowman noses straight up and down. LOL

Whose nose is whose? :)

Since the girls were very particular about which snowman was for which teacher, I added name tags on the back using my label maker.

Label Maker label identifies who it is for.

There is another label along the bottom that says who it is from. The girls did all the typing themselves (with some spelling help from mom). They love that label maker almost as much as I do!

One more pic...

Super Cute Hand Sanitizer Snowman

My only out-of-pocket cost was the $1 each for the bottle of sanitizer ($10 total for 10 teachers) since I had all of the other supplies already. Lovin' that!! And they are super cute and great for the classrooms!! And I love that my girls were able to decorate them themselves!!

What are your frugal teacher gift ideas???




Linking up to these parties:
House of Hepworths
Somewhat Simple
The Frugal Girls

Christmas Mantel - spot the difference!

So I thought I would share a photo of our Christmas mantel. I finally got around to taking the Thanksgiving decorations down and putting the Christmas ones up. (But please don't ask me if we've got our tree up yet! *sigh* We're supposed to buy one this weekend! I swear!!)

Here it is in all it's glory. Not too bad, huh? (the kids did the hearth)

Christmas Mantel 2011

Anyway, I don't think it is too different from last year. Although I did add a few new glass trees that I picked up from Target after Christmas last year (gotta love their after-holiday clearance sales!)



I love my trees



In the background, you can just barely see a Christmas card my aunt sent out a few years ago. She typed up a benediction that her pastor had once shared. I really like it...

The benediction reads...

Everything's going to be all right

and even if everything isn't going to be all right

everything's still going to be all right

- William Packard

I put my Snowflake Specimen Art from last year in a silver frame this year since my black one is tied up at the moment but I gotta say that I don't like it quite as much. I like the black better. But I do like it here on the mantel.

Snowflake Specimen Art

So there you have it... our 2011 Christmas mantel.

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Ok, so I have a confession...

...that first photo of the mantel isn't entirely "true". Before I took that picture, I made a quick "swap" of one item so it would look nicer for you folks at home. But, since I feel the need to "keep it real"... here is a photo of how it really looks right now... Can you spot the difference??

The "real deal"

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Yes, SweetPea saw that zebra/hot pink stocking at Target last weekend and just HAD to have it. Jeez, you turn 5 and you get all sorts of opinions! *sigh* So much for my nice matchy matchy stockings effect. I considered convincing her to hang that zebra one in her room or in the playroom or something. But then decided to let her have her way and just express herself. I mean, it isn't like I've got Better Homes & Gardens coming to do a photo shoot of my holiday decorations or something. And it makes her happy. So that makes me happy. I'm a mom - whatcha gonna do?

Maybe that is why I let Boogey take her fall class photo like this last month??

Boogey ~ Fall 2011 (courtesy Lifetouch)

Her Easter dress, sneakers and a crown. LOL. I figure, that is who she is right now. Who am I to control it? She'll have to "play by the rules" soon enough. Let the kids be kids, right?? Either that, or I'm just too damn tired to argue. ;) But, she does look kind of cute. :)

So our mantel is a little "off"? Yeah, so what! Ain't life grand?! :)

So be honest, have you ever "staged" a photo for your blog???

Such is my life. (aka "Snowflake Specimen Art re-visit")

Well, I have a confession to make. I haven't taken down my Thanksgiving decorations yet. *sigh*.  Yes, such is my life.

So don't even expect me to post any "new" Christmas decor ideas anytime soon. Yes, such is my life.

But... in the interest of the holiday spirit, I thought I would re-post one of my most successful projects to date originally shared last year. And it seems this post has been quite popular recently (at least according to my statcounter) so maybe you won't mind seeing it again...

Yes, it's my Snowflake Specimen Art! :)  It cost next-to-nothing to create. And you'll never believe what it's made from! Click HERE to go to the original post and learn all the deets.



Snowflake Specimen Art



I can't wait to pull this beauty out again! LOVE!

Tiny Prints Photo Holiday Cards

Do you send out holiday cards to your friends and family? Are you a "traditional" card type of gal/guy or do you opt for the "newsletter" type of greeting? Or are you like me and go the photo card route?

I gotta be honest, I love photo cards. I love giving them and I love getting them. I don't often get to see everyeone on my holiday card list so it is always so much fun to see pictures of everyone to see how they have changed/grown over the past year.

I've been sending out Photo Holiday Cards since SweetPea was born 5 years ago. And I must admit that I find a strange pleasure in scanning through all of the photos from the past year searching for the perfect selection(s) to share with our family and friends.

This year, I've decided to try a new vendor for my photo cards... Tiny Prints. Have you ever heard of them? I'll be honest that I haven't ever used them before, but I've received many invitations, baby announcements and Christmas cards made by them over the years and they are all amazing! So cute, stylish and really good quality. I'm always impressed when I turn over the card to see that little Tiny Prints identifier on the back and think "yup, I had a feeling!". :)

So this year, I thought "Why not? Why don't I give them a try?". So I headed over to their website to check out their Holiday Card selection. Boy, was I impressed - so many awesome choices. I'm going to have a hard time choosing, that is for sure! I usually try to go with a non-religious/non-Christmas-specific card since some of our friends don't celebrate Christmas and, thankfully, Tiny Prints has several options that fit this criteria. I've got a couple of photos in mind (from our summer vacation) and so far, here are some of my favorite styles...


I love the bright colors on these first two...



Bubbly Holidays



Colorful Collar



This one's "Warm Wishes" would go really well with the photo I am thinking of using...

Colorful Dreams




This one would be great for my second photo choice of my two girls...

Love and Laughter



Not sure how I'll be able to choose! How about you? Are you a photo card person like me? If so, I bet Tiny Prints may have just what you're looking for!

Legal disclosure: I am receiving 50 free photo cards from Tiny Prints for writing this post. However, my opinions on their site and products are my own and not influenced by the reciept of the cards.

Simple yet stylish present wrapping.

During my hiatus, the Heela and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. Sadly we didn't get to celebrate like we did last year (remember this fabulous time?) - boo hoo. But we did get a babysitter for the kiddos and go out for a way-too-expensive but oh-so-wonderful dinner. Since we knew we were going to splurge on a decadent meal, we agreed I decided to keep gifts to a minimum.

I have always made a point to get the Heela at least one gift that follows the traditional anniversary gift guide. (This is the site I usually refer to). For the 6th year, the tradition is candy. Another site I had looked at specifically named chocolate as the traditional gift. Chocolate?? No problemo! :)

The Heela is actually not a big candy freak (unlike me) and is pretty much content to do without it on a regular basis. But once every 6 months or so he'll "binge" and dark chocolate is his vice of choice. So I decided to pick up some Hershey's Dark for him and leave it at that. I knew it would satisfy his biannual sweet tooth as well as my anniversary present obligation. Perfecto! Minimal and delish!

Here is the end product...

Simple Wrapping Job

I have to admit my nerd-osity at the fact that I was absolutely ~thrilled~ to find that the multi-pack of Hershey's Dark bars came in a SIX-pack. I actually stood there in the candy aisle in Walmart and said {OUTLOUD}...

"How perfect! Six candy bars for our six year anniversary. What a FABulous coincidence!".

Seriously, folks. Outloud! Could I BE any nerdier?

Yes, I'm a nerd-ola.

I decided to be really cheap frugal and use the bag I got at Hallmark with my anniversary card as "wrapping paper". I just cut it down the side and turned it inside out and voila!

Free wrapping paper!

Then I added a few cutouts made from scrap pieces of cardstock (I cut them using my Silhouette but you could do them by hand) and wrapped it all up with some green and blue baker's twine. So simple but so nice. Even for a boy. ;)

Baker's twine adds the finishing touch.

And there you have the perfect anniversary present. Cheap and tasty! {That's what SHE said!}. The Heela was honestly impressed with my wrapping skills and much appreciated the chocolate (which is currently being hoarded in an undisclosed location - darnit!!).

Simple yet stylish wrapping job.

One of the things I like about this style is that you can change it up for any event. For Christmas/holiday season, you could put a cutout snowflake or Christmas tree under the twine. For a birthday, you could do a cutout of a cake. For Valentines day, a heart. Really the options are limitless!

What are your thrifty yet elegant wrapping ideas?


Also, do you follow the traditional anniversary gift guide?




This project was featured - thank you!!

Linking up to these awesome parties:

Simply Designing
Remodelaholic
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J & M's Eye Candy
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Todays Creative Blog
Organize & Decorate Everything
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Tatertots and Jello

FINALLY got our tree decorated!

Yes, I can admit it... our Christmas tree stood bare for a whole week in our living room. Well, not totally bare... it had lights on it. And the star. But that is it. No ornaments. Nothing. For a week. *sigh*  

Yes, if you've been following me since the beginning, you won't be surprised by this. It tends to happen quite a bit in this house... where things just SIT and SIT... for a while. Such as HERE and HERE. Yes, with both the Heela and I working full-time and adding 2 pre-schoolers into the mix, "free time" is just scarce. But, it IS what it IS and we've grown to just deal with it. :)

So 2 Sundays ago, we committed to getting our tree. We usually go to the local church and pick one out, but this year we decided to go to a nearby Farm/Orchard and cut one down ourselves. It was a chilly day so we got the girls bundled up and tried to convince them this would be FUN! LOL. (But it didn't really take too much convincing and they had a blast).

We found a good candidate fairly quickly so the Heela got down and dirty for the cutting. The farm provides handsaws for people to use, but the Heela had the BRILLIANT idea to bring his battery powered Black&Decker to make the job super easy and fast. It cut like BUTTA! :)

Meanwhile, the girls had fun frolicking in the field.

Showing me the cool grass (aka weeds) they found

SweetPea pokes Boogey in the eye with her grass (on purpose!!) as Mommy gets photo evidence of the crime :)

We managed to get the tree in the stand that very afternoon and later that night, the Heela got the lights on. And the star.

And then it SAT and SAT and SAT.

*sigh*

For a whole week.

*double sigh*

In our defense, we had an appointment on Monday night. Then the Heela worked late on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then I worked late on Thursday. And then on Friday we had to go to the Heela's office holiday party. So FINALLY, on Saturday evening, we were able to dig out the ornaments and get them on the tree.

TADAA!!

(by the way, those cute stars in the transom window were from the Dollar Tree and are so fun and glittery!)

As you'll notice, we don't decorate our tree in a very fancy/traditional way. There are no bows... nor tinsel... nor garland. And... the ornaments are all non-matching. And... there are only a handful of glass balls. And... I LOVE it! :)

Here are a few of my favorite ornaments:

This is a carved pod of some sort. Can't recall what kind, but I think this guy is so cute! My cousin gave him to me after a trip abroad years ago.

I have 2 of these ceramic "William" hippos from the Met. My parents have a reproduction of this statue in their house so this ornament brings back lots of good memories from my childhood.

This is a real egg that is beautifully decorated.  I bought it in Maui when I had to go there for work 5 years ago.

This is one of the first ornaments my mom gave me after I moved out on my own. It's a real sanddollar. Love it.

From a set my Mother-in-Law gave us the year we got married.

I grew up on Long Island so I love the beach. This is a real starfish, painted as Santa - so cute!

This ceramic penguin is from a set of 4. I bought the set for my first real tree after moving into my own place and they are so fun and full of character.

I made this in 1979 (yes I'm aging myself!) and wrote my name on the back. Lots of sentiments with this old guy!

I bought this glass ornament for Sweetpea the year she was born. Her nursery was decorated with Classic Pooh so it is the perfect memory for that first Christmas with her.

I bought this for Boogey the year she was born. Her nursery had a jungle theme and she still has a sweet giraffe photo on her wall.

The Heela loooooooves this Movie. He wanted a real lamp. I compromised with the ornament. LOL

Another hommage to a great movie. "You'll shoot yer eye out!"

These are my all-time favorites. My mom bought these about 30 years ago at a church fair and gave them to my aunt. Last time we were there, my aunt passed them on to me (much to my cousin's dismay!). I love love love this sweet Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

And here is another shot of the tree.

I think the kitty scratch pad really completes the look! LOL!!!

Now we just need to wait for Santa to load it up!!


Is your tree ready? Do you go fancy/traditional? Or sentimental mish-mosh like us?