Monday, December 28, 2015

A Gift For Any Occasion

 In the past, we've given our family, friends and neighbors a little package of freshly made home baked goods for Christmas. Baking bread and making Buckeyes for a lot of people can be so time consuming, especially because  there are so many other things to do for Christmas in December.

So last year and this year Mr. DIY made some handcrafted soap with different wonderful natural ingredients and wonderfully smelling essential oils. You can read how we made it HERE if you missed that post.
One of the best things about making soap instead of baking Christmas treats is that it can be done several months ahead of time.

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

A Treasured Christmas Tradition

One of my favorite Christmas traditions holds special memories of Christmas dinner around the table with loved ones in years gone by. When we lived in Southern California near our family, we all gathered for Christmas many years at our home. Most years we were hard pressed to squeeze all of us around our 9 1/2 ft table. This tradition brings back so many good memories, especially because my parents were there.

The treasured tradition I'm sharing today is to do have each person read one of the prophecies fortelling the birth of Jesus or a verse of the Christmas Story (Luke Chapter 2) before dinner. I made special cards with the verse for each person to read.
Since we now live in North Carolina, there are only a few of us around the dinner table, so I've set the cards out around the house.

In the living room...

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Christmas In The Piano Room

How are you friends?

Hope all is well at your home and your Christmas preparations are either finished or nearly finished and that you are enjoying the season.
Here at Casa Fanatic, our halls are decked as they are going to be...
Some handcrafted gifts are made and wrapped and soon to be delivered to neighbors and friends.
Some gifts are even wrapped and under our tree.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Mason Jar Lid Ornaments

Working on a Christmas craft has a way of putting you in a good Holiday mood. Last year I spied a cute Christmas ornament made from Mason Jar lids over at City Farmhouse and have been wanting to try it ever since.



I already had plenty of Mason Jar lids and the chalkboard paint. I ordered the Bakers Twine, Stamps and Ink on Amazon. The direct links are listed at the end of the post. You'll also need a hot glue gun, which isn't pictured above.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

The Stockings Were Hung By The Chimney With Care...

Decorating your mantel for the Holidays really makes your home feel like Christmas.
Some years it's fun to use non traditional colors for decorating, but this year traditionl red and green just felt right.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

The Breakfast Room Is Ready For Christmas

This post contains affiliate links, which means, if you make a purchase through one of these links, I'll make a small commission.

Can you believe December is already here? 

My how time flies!


I didn't get a head start with our Christmas decorating since we had guests for Thanksgiving, but I started decking the halls in a few spaces around the house the past few days.
I'm not going overboard this year and we don't have a lot planned for December.  I'm trying not to overdo things since I'm starting to feel good lately and will keep the decorating to a minimum - if it's at all possible.

The Breakfast Room is the easiest room to decorate. As I've said before, it happens to be my favorite room to decorate for any season.