{inspired} gift guide and a giveaway!

What are you guys wishing for for Christmas? I feel like the older I get, and the more I appreciate what this time of year is TRULY about, the harder it is to make a *Christmas list*. And when it comes right down to it, I would way rather give gifts than receive. Do you guys know what I mean?

Of course, that doesn't actually stop my family from demanding to know what I want for Christmas. It's sweet because they want me to be happy with my gifts. So I did put a little thought into what I'd like. Want to see what I asked for? And, make sure you scroll down to win a little holiday treat for yourselves :).

Top row: Purse, Storage Bins; Middle row: Portland Print (to add to the gallery wall), Schoolroom clock, Graphic Clutch; Bottom row: Black rimmed dishes, Camera bag (I know, so many bags! But, I'm sure you all know, they're a necessity :)

And, that brings me to you guys! One of the things I'm most thankful for this season is YOU. My awesome readers. Thank you for hanging in there with me each week as Chris and I navigate the fun, but sometimes scary and slow, process of turning our house into a home.

I don't really do give-aways here. But I did a give away last December and loved it. So, in the spirit of the season, and to THANK YOU (!) all for the amazing year, I have a little gift to give away: a $50 gift card to Anthropologie*. That way, you can buy yourself a little something sweet this season :).

So, the rules:

What: A $50 Giftcard to Anthropologie

How to enter: Please leave a comment on this post and your email info, and let me know: What is your favorite holiday tradition? OR what is the #1 item on your wishlist.  To double your chances, blog or tweet about this giveaway and leave a second comment.

When: I will announce a winner next Friday, the 16th. 

Have a great weekend friends!

*Anthropologie has NO idea who I am and is not sponsoring this post. I'm just doing this because I like you all!

{holiday} mantle

Whereas my everyday decor is more on the restrained side, I tend to go a little crazy at Christmas. I can't help it. There are GREENS! And SPARKLES! And, how am I suppose to restrain myself. While I'm no where near done, I did pull together my mantle. 

As I said last week, I wanted to keep my decor more on the neutral side. So, I kept the mantle to doses of green neutrals, with pops of gold and red. The only color not in my original color scheme is blue, but I have an idea on how to incorporate that, and I'll update you all when I do :).

A sneak peek of our tree in the mirror!

Here are a few of the  book snowflakes I posted about on Monday.

And a few close-ups.

The garland on the fireplace is a mixture of the felt garland I made last year, and a simple twine rope.

And, just for fun, the whole thing lit up in the evening.

I'm linking up to the holiday home link party and Ten June's mantle party. Make sure and pop over to see everyone's gorgeous mantles! :)

{create} book *snowflakes*

A couple weekends ago, Chris and I fled to the coast to relax before the upcoming holiday craziness began. We don't have cable at home, but our beach house does have cable. So while we're there, we catch up on as much HGTV as possible. That weekend, Emily Henderson's holiday special was airing. And friends, it was amazing. So, so, so inspiring. I think it's coming on again soon, so make sure to catch it if you can.

One of the crafts she made for the episode was flowers/snowflakes out of old books. I LOVE them. They're so very Anthropologie-ish. I went online to see how she did it, but I couldn't find a tutorial - or even photos - anywhere. I wanted to incorporate them into our holiday/winter decor, so I set about recreating them this weekend. And took pictures, just in case you all are interested in creating a few. :)

Gather up a few old books. I actually went to Goodwill and bought a few random, super cheap books. I apologize to any Koontz fans out there ... I'm sure his books are amazing. But, I prefer them in flower form :).

Then you do the unthinkable ... you break the spine. Gasp! In a couple different places. You need the spine to easily form a circle.

Sorry about the totally creepy finger photo! Ugh!

Then gather up a bunch of pages to form the first *petal*, and fold them into the book. Play around with the amount ... it will totally depend on how thick you want your petals. If you gather too many, it'll be harder to glue. Add a couple spots of hot glue to the page where you're folding into.

Keep moving through the book, folding pages inward and gluing until you have a flower!

The one part that tripped me up with the cover. I recommend removing it before you get started. Or, when you get to having only the cover left, cut the pages way down and glue together.

Which will look like this.

Once you have a bunch made, they look really beautiful in a grouping. Clearly, they look more like flowers, but Chris keeps calling them snowflakes, which is adorable. And fitting for this time of year! So, that is how you make holiday snowflakes.

And, here is how they look in our decor. See more of them here.

Did you make any holiday crafts this weekend? Have you ever destroyed a book in the name of crafting and decor? I felt a little weird doing it, but I love how they turned out :).

Update 12/12: I'm linking this post up at Centsational Girl's holiday craft party. Pop over to check out all the amazing crafts!