Holiday wreath giveaway!

If I haven't convinced you yet on how easy my very vintage-y DIY wool felt looped holiday wreath was to make, I'm giving my brand spankin' new one away, because you know what?  I'll just make another one.  Ha ha!

Entering to win is easy, too: Simply leave a comment to this post with your email address by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday night, and I'll announce the random winner on Friday morning.

Oh, and if you tuned in last week and read about how my dog got skunked and made my house smell not-so-much-like-Christmas, have no fear: this is a skunk-less smelling wreath because it was created in the safety and smell-free zone of my studio. 

Get loopy: DIY Wool Felt Holiday Wreath

Call it a 'Christmas miracle' because I actually crafted something AHEAD of the season.  Presenting my DIY Handmade Wool Felt Looped Holiday Wreath:

To give you an idea of its lack of complexity, know that standing in the cutting line at the fabric store on a Saturday morning two weeks prior to Thanksgiving probably took longer than the actual execution of this project. 

Here's what you'll need:

+  3-inch x half-inch strips of multi-colored wool felt (if using three colors like me, plan for approximately 120 strips of each color).  I like wool felt because it has a vintage look about it.

+  8-inch foam circle

+  Hot glue gun

+  Satin ribbon

Glue the ends of your strips together to form loops.  There will be approximately five kabillion of these little loops when you're done.  Rest assured, you'll need nearly all of them.  

After all your loops are made, it's time to glue them to your wreath.  I started at the center and then filled in toward the inside and outside of the circle.

When it's all filled in, tie a colored satin ribbon (I used chocolate brown) to hang and you're done!

I'm thinking this might be a nice little gift to giveaway later this week.  Check back for details!  :)

DIY personalized gift glasses

I'll be the first to admit: I'm perpetually behind on the holiday gift-giving eight ball.  But check out the great holiday gift idea one of my fun friends asked me to help her with: personalized bathroom drinking glasses.

Is this not a super ridiculously cute idea (for children who can handle glass cups, obviously)?  Put in a few dental accoutrements, tie a bow, and you're in the gift-giving business.  You can find my quick tutorial here and other gift idea here.

Of course, then comes the real feat of getting your kids to quit faking and move to real brushing:

Making a list and checking it twice

Now that Wavey is getting better with recognizing letters and has a real desire to learn how to spell, we decided it was time for her to write her own wish list this year.  With Daddy's help, she included some toys she'll hope to receive from Santa and also understands that not all may arrive under the tree "because Santa can't bring every toy or else his sleigh would be too heavy to fly."  Take that, Zhu Zhu Pets.

After she was done, she decided that Daddy needed a list, too.  She also decided that she would dictate what she believed Daddy should ask Santa for.  Here goes:

Can we talk about the second item from the bottom that reads "Prince Eric hair" for a moment?  Let it be known that my husband is neither bald nor balding, so why Wav was inclined to wish "Prince Eric hair" (from The Little Mermaid) on his behalf is a hilarious mystery to us.  And please, please note that the adults in this house do know how to properly spell "helicopter" but in this case were *forced* to spell it her way, not necessarily the right way. 

I do hope Santa brings Daddy a popstar for Christmas.

Christmas through the years

It wasn't until I pulled these photos together did I realize that we're only on our second Christmas with Griffin!  Feels like we've been a complete family forever and I can't imagine (or remember) life without these goofballs.  A really nice feeling.

This upcoming weekend is somewhat 'the calm before the storm' here, but we're geared up and excited for Santa to visit. 

Have a great weekend!

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

We waited WAY too long to get our Christmas tree and the result: the weensiest tree ever is now in our home.  To give you some perspective:

• The tree only took one (one!!) measly string of lights.
• Only about 45% of the available ornaments were used because of lack of branches.
• It's so little, I could probably easily lift it with one hand including the metal stand
• Wavey could practically touch the top if she raised both arms
• What you don't see behind Wav is a giant gap where it's all trunk, no branches.  I can put my head in the space and be far from the touch of any branches, it's that massive (and so is my noggin).

Sigh... It's so wee that it's laughable.  And we're laughing. 


In other news, Wavey woke up screaming the other night.  Her nightmare? "I was put on the naughty list!" she cried. 

A funny story now, but not-so-funny at 3:30 a.m.

Holiday cookie tags

Growing up in Southern California, our next-door neighbors always had these amazing, classic Italian cookies on-hand which were my introduction to the lovely, subtle and spicy anise flavor.  In the 16 years I lived next door, I can't really recall a moment where they didn't have a beautiful cookie to offer as a small treat.  So, when a client recently asked for a gift tag design to include a recipe, it brought back wonderful memories of childhood cookies.

Holiday party invitation

It's all Christmas, all the time around the Good Gravy! studio these days.  We're still finishing up some last-minute custom orders and working feverishly to get them out the door so our clients can officially say that their cards were in the mail before the big day! 

I want to share this holiday party invitation designed for a client which reminds me how I'd love to host a dinner party, not just around the holidays since it's a pretty insane time of year for me - though the season is indeed perfect for this kind of event.  Check it out:

Personal information has been modified for privacy.

Holiday deadline extended

By popular demand, I've extended the ordering deadline to Thursday, December 17 for holiday delivery.  All you last-minute shoppers looking for a personalized, unique gift for everyone on your list, now's the time!  Visit the shop today.

108 biscotti cookies

I'm attending a family cookie exchange soon and have to make a whopping nine dozen cookies.  The payoff?  Receiving nine dozen assorted cookies in exchange from amazing bakers.  Yum.  In past years, I've made chocolate-candy mint cookies, lemon pillow cookies and this year, I'm making King Arthur Flour's black-and-white biscotti.

For the test batch I made this weekend, I topped half with coarse sugar sprinkles (as seen above) and the other with white chocolate.  Oh, the goodness!  I baked the sugar sprinkles right with the batch, and here are the "undressed" cooled cookies prior to the drizzle...

..and then drizzled with the white chocolate:

Christmas card cheating?

No Christmas tree in the background, no matching outfits, and unapologetically summer:  I'm proudly using vacation photos we took at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, this past year for our photo montage. If you can recall how well my attempts at a well-orchestrated Halloween photo shoot went, you'll understand why I've chosen this path.

The full reveal of the holiday card design coming soon!

Free shipping on orders over $25!

Start your holiday shopping in style with free shipping on any order over $25.  Visit the shop now to find great gifts for everyone on your list, including teachers, co-workers, friends, family and more!  But hurry, this offer lasts only through Wednesday, December 2 at midnight (EST).

An open letter

Dear 10-lb bag of potatoes,

You.  Me.  Tomorrow.  Masher.
 
xoxo.
PS: Happy Thanksgiving!

Custom Christmas card: Penguins

As we slide quickly into the holiday season, I'd like to share this recent custom Christmas card order which specifically asked for a motif I hadn't considered before: penguins.

I've created cards with snowflakes, Christmas trees, ornaments and more common holiday elements, but never penguins.   But hey, they're cute, cuddly, and there's a penguin representing each grandchild in the client's family.  Winter-y, indeed!

Custom table place cards

Last year, a client asked me to create custom place cards for her Thanksgiving Dinner gathering.  Delighted, I design a set for her, she sent me a photo of her table afterward, and we all proceeded through the holidays. 

Imagine my surprise when she recently said, "I need two more," as in she saved last year's placecards...in a drawer...all neat and put away for the next event!  It hadn't dawned on me until now that her guests usually remain constant (family is always family, after all), so why not keep the existing cards and simply add on when necessary?  Kudos to the well-organized! 

Custom Christmas card: Beijing style

When our good friends Elise and Doug told us they were traveling to Asia this past spring for a little work and a lot of vacation, we were jealous... and then even more so when they shared a beautiful panoramic photo of rooftops in The Forbidden City to use for their custom Christmas card.

What I love best about how this design turned out is not only the the arrangement of the image, or the play-on-words with "up on a rooftop reindeer pause...," but rather that Myko - their beloved Siberian husky - "signed" the card.  Myko has amazing penmanship.

Holiday baking ideas

In the grand spirit of pretending to be on top of things when it comes to my own personal planning, it is my mission this weekend to start thinking of the numero uno: holiday baked goods.  Because nothing says, "I've thoroughly enjoyed the holidays" like moving up a pants size in my book. 

On the consideration list:

  
Pie in a jar recipe from lloydandlauren.com.  I mean, come on.  Pie?  in a jar?  Packaging kittens in a jar would probably be the only thing capable of surpassing this idea's cuteness.

Black and white biscotti from King Arthur Flour.

Cheesecake pops from Bakerella.

Decisions, decisions...

Images from top: lloydandlauren, King Arthur Flour, Bakerella

Making a list and checking it twice

Whether you buy from Good Gravy! or anywhere else, December 5 is a pretty decent all-around deadline for ordering holiday corresepondence.

Meanwhile, I've been referencing Real Simple's handy holiday checklist to stay ahead before I get behind.  Can you believe that the holidays are just about here?!

He knows if you've been bad or good...

Let's face it: Santa has a real knack for making his handwriting look just like yours. 

Give the big guy a break this year (and hedge off any authenticity questions) with these personalized scalloped gift labels imprinted with the gift recipient's name and Santa's, too. 

Thanks to Jessica for the great idea!

Holiday tip: Buy your stamps now!

I hate waiting in long lines, especially those at the post office where time somehow rolls backwards.  So, here's a tip to get a jumpstart on your holiday planning: buy your postage stamps now (and online!) to avoid the holiday rush.  Your sanity will thank you.