Christmas Card Ideas

 I recently posted about my Christmas cards and what inspired me to come up with something unique. It is something couples or families can do. After a surfing the internet I came across a compilation on the Ellen Show of some great Christmas cards. I picked out some of my favorite humorous Christmas card ideas from there. 

I hope this sparks new creative ideas or just helps you create a fun card while making great memories with yours. Happy Holidays!

Pin-speration:

The Kids

The Family

"Dear Santa, Give me everything I want and no one gets hurt."

"We hope you share our elfinity for elf culture"

 Family Christmas Card and Announcement 

Make your Holiday shopping Deux Lux!!

Hey Ladies! If your anything like me then accessories are one of your favorite gifts to receive. The past few years I have been a big fan of Deux Lux Purses and bags. If you haven't heard of them I suggest you check them out. This Christmas I plan to give and maybe receive one! 

My sister Whimsy & Wise has written a review about the bags and managed to get a great deal for her followers and I want you to benefit! Follow us and click the link below to get the coupon codes.

Coupons for December 15th and one for December 20th.

DEUX LUX 

**COUPON CODES **

Fun First Christmas Photos

My husband and I are having our first Christmas as a married couple and I thought it would be fun to do what families do during the holidays and send out some Christmas cards. Since we still don't have kids I veered away from those super cute matching outfit woodsy photos and decided we can have a little more fun and add a little more humor to our first set of Christmas cards.  Now-a-days "Ugly Christmas Sweater" parties have been all the trend, so I figured what better than to feature our great finds! I was inspired by a few funny terrible Christmas photos I saw online and Step Brothers the movie .

Turns out our family enjoyed our pictures as much as we did. What better than to put a smile on your families face without having to even be there! I figure think "out of the box" and have fun. Your results will be awesome. (Plus the people who see you on the way to the photographer will get some holiday cheer from you too!)

DIY: Ring Holder

The moment you touch your ring finger and realize your not wearing your ring. Or when you look where you thought you placed you ring and it's missing. You begin to panic a little, then you remember you took it off next to the sink. 

We often choose to take our ring off to do dishes, wash our hands, shower, etc. We often risk something happening to it. I came across a few frame ring holders on sale on easy from $15-$20. So I decided to make my own. 

Most that I have seen on sale were made with some sort of batting and a Pearlized pin. I decided to find a way to use my scrapbooking paper since I already had many options. My ring holder cost me about $3.00 because I already had most of the materials. 

                         What I used:

• Picture Frame
• Picture Hook
• Choice Patterned Paper
• Choice Accents
• Glue Gun
• Pliers

Just choose your favorite paper to match your frame. I went with a Tiffany's color scheme. I used some accent ribbon, some stick on pearls and a cute phrase.  

I just the picture hook to the size I wanted so the ring would hang just above my phrase then I used the hot glue gun to glue it down along with gluing the ribbon. 

This is my final product.

 I would love to see your finished product… post here or on www.facebook.com/crownandcapeblog where you can also see all my projects posted.

Pin-speration:

Here are a few other cute ideas!!

Blabber Blog: Thanksgiving blabbering

Two Seconds of TV Time

1) Something pretty neat happened today. I posted on Instagram what I was thankful for this holiday for Katie Couric's show and my post was on air. 

"On Wednesdays we wear pink" and "on Thanksgiving we get a thankful gift"!

2) The idea happened earlier today when my husband bought me a gift right before Thanksgiving. I posted it as my "thankful gift" and I got a few responses from my girlfriends saying they were going to make it "a thing" and get their hubbies to get them a thankful gift. I figured if enough of us go with it, we can totally make it "a thing". Nothing wrong with our significant other showing us how thankful they are for all we do for them. Right?! Haha, okay that was totally my Mean Girls moment. Blabber over. But really we need to go with it. 

Thankful Gift :)

Blabber Blog: Where I talk about some random topic or my crazy thoughts and ideas.

Wine Cheat Chart

This is for those who are like me and like the visual breakdown .

I can't vouch for it, but looks right to me. 

DIY: Whimsy Rusitc Door Wreath

I have been living in Texas for a couple of weeks now and since I am waiting to find a job until after the holidays I have had some time to do my favorite thing… GET CRAFTY! Last week my husband and I came across a Michael's Craft store while running some errands so of course I went in with no idea what I was going to buy. All I knew is that I had to buy something because once I left LA I did not have a list of local craft stores or scrapbooking stores to revert to. I was excited to say the least.  

We live in apartments and I thought our door looked a little bland so I decided to make a wreath for the door. I will admit I took the easy route since this was my first one. I went with a more neutral theme, but kind of tending to fall. I wanted to be able to use the wreath at any point in the year. I ended up with something fairly whimsy which I love!

-Wreath

-Pine Cones

-Woodland Ornaments (I cut off the loop that was connected)

-Wood Initial 

-Hot glue gun

Unfortunately, I did not take progressive photos but here is my final result.

 I would love to see your finished product… post here or on www.facebook.com/crownandcapeblog where you can also see all my projects posted.

Fashion Friday

Now that I am living in Texas excessive weather change from one day to another is something I need to get used to. The truth is that coming from southern California I rarely experienced anything other than 75-80 degrees and sunny with occasional rain during our "winter". Yesterday was the first time since I moved here that the weather went from hot and humid day to cold windy thunderstorms within a couple of hours. Totally weird for a city SoCal girl,I actually sat in front of the window and just watched nature unfold. It was quite beautiful (and scary) from the comfort of my living room of course. 

With all that being said I realized my closet is lacking in the REAL winter clothing. Something I love about living in California is that the weather doesn't usually affect your outfit choice. When in SoCal you chose your outfit and maybe grabbed a light sweater or cardigan in case it got cold. I always thought that I would not be able to survive anywhere else because it would be tragic to have to dress in the same frumpy winter jacket for a whole season. Your looks aren't the most important and I am aware of that but I am the type of girl who likes to dress up or dress cute once in a while. 

So, now that I am here I have been faced with a challenge. How do I start my weekend without tossing my style out the window? After looking over my closet i saw plaid flannel that I always thought was good for cold weather but one I hardly ever wore. Then I found couple of pieces that when layered actually look super cute (by no means am I saying I won't be wearing a peacoat with the outfit).  Here are home looks I found online.

Same idea, some dressed down, some dressed up but all so cute!  (links to images on my pinterest-Fashion folder)

IMAGE FROM POLYVORE
(http://www.polyvore.com/cozy_hot_cocoa/set?.svc=copypaste&embedder=3974858&id=98807618)

After seeing all the looks a scoured my closet for pieces that I could wear with my flannel, and this is what I came up with. 

-Thick cotton leggings

-Long white under shirt

-Long sleeve denim button up

-Boots 

 -I would have worn long socks so the color sticks out a little over my boot much like leg warmers but I  didn't have any :( You might though :)

-I never skimp on accessories, in this case a bold vintage chain link necklace/bracelet and watch. 

-The headband I made myself out of the sleeves of a shirt I cut into a crop top.  

That's it for friday fashion, good luck on your looks! Stay warm! 

Life Happens Fast

A little summery of a month ago (September): My husbands was out on mission with a convoy in Afghanistan. His squad ended up driving over an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). Fortunately, all of the guys ended up coming out alive with minor injuries, except for my husband who suffered a concussion, some fractures among a few other minor injuries. From that day on he had been going from hospital to hospital, base to base, seeing a slew of doctors. We both knew going home was very possible at this point.

Two and a half weeks ago I was in Los Angeles working my part time server job waiting for my husband to come back home from Afghanistan. I went through my normal routine day which consisted of work and going home to craft and wait to see if my husband found access to a phone. This day he did find access to a phone where he called and and gave me the best and most live changing news yet! He said they were sending him back to base in the states and he would be coming home in a week and a half. At this point I was so excited because I knew I was finally going to get to see him again after 5 months deployment. Prior to his leaving we were long distance and were married only a month before he left so we had never lived together. This news about him coming home meant a few things, life as a couple was finally going to be "normal" (not long distance), but in order for that to happen I would be packing up my belongings and driving to Texas where life is much different than what I am used to in Los Angeles. I was a little nervous and sad to leave my friends and family behind but I was so excited to see what the future had on this new chapter in my life.

A week later I packed my car, filling every last crevice (except the driver and two passenger seats) with all the clothes and housewares that I had already purchased for when we finally had our own place. Both my parents were kind enough to take some time off of work to accompany/share the drive with me all the way to Texas (over 24 hour drive).  Off we went, so many thoughts and emotions ran through my head as I saw my city get smaller and smaller through my rear view mirror. Excitement about all that was to come, about finally getting to see my husband again, fear about moving to a place foreign to me and leaving all I knew behind. Of course I would be coming back home, but for the year to come Texas was to be home for me.

Two days after our departure we were in Texas, I got to finally hug my husband and a couple of hours later we were going from store to store shopping for things for our new one bedroom apartment. This past week we have enjoyed cooking together and seeing one another when he gets home from work. It is so nice to look back and see what has gotten me where I am now, a lot that I didn't notice until now. A big reminder life is happening, and its happening fast!

   

5 Tips for Care Package Building

5 Tips for Care Package Building

1. Be sure to find out if your soldier has access to a microwave. If they do that is awesome, if not then you will have to get a little more creative. (e.g. Movie Night package; you either include multiple microwavable popcorn packages, or maybe just one bag of the already popped popcorn).
2. Find out the temperature where you soldier is deployed. Mine was in Afghanistan where temperatures easily reached 90-120 degrees. So… as delicious as chocolate is, sending it in a box that will be exposed to high temperatures may not be a good idea. 
3. Find out if there is anything they actually NEED as opposed to just snacks. Some guys didn't show up to Afghanistan with a life time supply of baby wipes like my husband did! I did end up sending socks, protein powder and protein bars. They have a lot of downtime so they tend to workout. I noticed personal health/hygiene products will most likely end up being requested (e.g. sleeping pills, baby wipes, headache medicine, etc. 
4. Make the package personal. I know my husband loved receiving my packages that were decorated with colored paper, pictures and hand written notes (no matter how bad your writing is, they know its yours). Plus, imagine being the guy who just gets the box full of stuff, and then seeing another soldier get some intricately decorated box. Not to make anyone feel bad, but I know I just wanted my soldier to feel special for at least that moment. They spend the rest of their days being equal.
5. Find things they love and make a theme out of that. It pretty much can be anything~ Shows, a type of food, favorite character, their favorite sport, their favorite team, a hobby, anything. Pick something and just go with it. Think of specific quotes, use specific colors, I often make puns out of whatever I can. I figure if it can get even a grin out of him then I did my job.

November Care Package

Hey there!

Here is yet another, much more relevant post. It is November and Thanksgiving is pretty much around the corner because for some of us MILSOS, the care package needs to be sent at least 2 weeks in advance. This is a care package I was super excited to get made because it saddens me to know that so many soldiers will not have a traditional thanksgiving dinner. So what better than to bring thanksgiving to him as best you can.

Thanksgiving in a box! Dessert and all!

 Thanksgiving dinner:

*Turkey = Turkey Jerky

*Mashed Potatoes = Instant Mashed Potatoes

*Stuffing = Mac & Cheese (best I could come up with)

*Corn on the Cob = Whole Kernel Corn 

*Cranberry Sauce = Craisins 

*Fruit = Fruit

*Chips = "whatever is his favorite"

 I made sure to include the menu as part of my box decoration.

Dessert anyone?

*Twinkies (can't go wrong with these)

*S'mores (no fire needed) = Graham Crackers, Marshmallow Cream, and Nutella! YUM!!

I remember when I was on a mission trip, out of the country for over a month, Nutella was a nice, delicious reminder of home.  Something I could put on everything!

Included Dessert menu as well!

 I wanted to give it a "home-y" feeling so I went with shades of amber/orange. I am not totally sure why but I think it worked out.  

 Yes, EVERYTHING FIT! 

I often tell myself that you have to have been good at Tertis growing up in order to be good at packing a care package perfectly (by perfectly I mean with as many contents as possible).

My final result. I always try to include a personalized note on one of the flaps.

 I would love to see your finished product… post here or on www.facebook.com/crownandcapeblog where you can also see all my projects posted.

Care Package October

I wanted to start my first post with a couple of care package ideas. I know I am a little late for October but I figure I would share, and ask you to share what you did for October.

My October care package was of course Halloween themed. My hubby and I have not been able to share a Halloween yet and I absolutely love dressing up so I decided to include a few photos of my past costumes.

I am an avid scrapbooker so I used some Halloween themed paper. I included some of my husband Victors favorite snacks and candy.

I usually add "pun-ny" notes on some snacks. Such as...

Chili Lemon Peanuts - For My Hot Stuff!

Peanuts - I'd Go Nuts Without You!

Apple Sauce - Your the Apple of my Eye. 

Banana Chips - You make me go bananas!

USB Fan - I am your #1 Fan!

Gun - Stuck on You!

Lollipops- Deployment Sucks!

Then we added the typical anonymous face glasses as his "costume".

Then on the upper blank portion I wrote him a lengthy letter that continued to the bottom portion of the box. This was what I sent, what ideas did you come up with?

 I would love to see your finished product… post here or on www.facebook.com/crownandcapeblog where you can also see all my projects posted.