40 Simple and Doable advent calendar ideas

I have always loved advent calendars, but only this year I will be having my first one. The reason hides here. These days I have been reading many advent ideas from my favorite bloggers and despite being lovely, I miss the practical side of them. I always dreamed of having a portable advent calendar and not have in at my home. Somehow our lives are planned differently and not two days are the same. Usually we spend only a couple of hours as a family, so I thought having the fun ideas with you all the time leaves no chance for excuses to pass one day. Some of the ideas are meant for outside and some for staying in. Also, I thought about more universal activities, that are not limited to wintery places with heavy snow, places full of festivities and christian orientation holidays. And of course, I love the little things that bring much joy, so I invite you to embrace my humble philosophy and help yourself enjoy the real spirit of these days with the most important people in your life.

1. Make an advent calendar, as simple as 24 (or more) little pieces of paper with something written on them and keep it with you wherever you go.
2. Put some orange zest, cinnamon and other fragrances in water and bring to boil slowly. Instant holiday smell for your house.
3. Make a quick and easy desert you like and share it with your loved ones. If they like it, make a bunch for gifting. I am looking forward to try chocolate bark this year. Yes, I never thought of it.
4. Send holiday wishing cards (digital or by mail).
5. Go to a mall and buy nothing. Just enjoy the festive atmosphere and watch people be happy.
6. If hot chocolate with marshmallows is too cliche for you, try drinking cocoa, melted chocolate, flavored cappuccino or latte.
7. Go to the cinema. There must be at least one holiday movie coming out, but any movie will do the trick.
8. Look around your house for giftable things. I stock on possible gifts all year and it is a life savior for every occasion. Wrap them already, no matter how small or inexpensive they might be.
9. Make the gift list (don't forget people that you know a little, but deserve a lot, like service providers, parking guys, hairdressers and everyone who helped you and made your life easier this year).
10. Shop the gift list (if you can order everything online by December 1st you will feel so relieved).

11. If you decide to hit the shops for buying the presents, as soon as you find a bargain don't think twice to buy a few more. They will be useful for sure.
12. Decorate the house with your most favorite things. Try to resist buying too many new stuff, beside lights.
13. Buy or burn one new Christmas CD.
14. Donate food to a family in need or homeless people.
15. Watch a Christmas movie. Let your man choose one recent or his favorite movie when he was a child. This will bring you double tears, I assure you.
16. Bring out your Christmas pajamas and underwear or buy new ones, including gifts.
17. Have a treat breakfast while listening to Christmas music.
18. Make a photo book of your last holidays party, travel and happy moments.
19. Make a natural or silly wreath.
20. Sing (or listen) to favorite Christmas songs.

21. Drive around to discover a new neighborhood in your city.
22. Go shopping with friends or relatives.
23. Buy a gift or an experience for a child somewhere in the world (and your favorite blogger across the ocean).
24. Go see a festive concert, possibly in open air.
25. Get out and collect branches, leaves, stones, pine cones. Paint everything in gold and use for home decor or tabletop.
26. Visit a shelter, spend time with the people and leave gifts, money or clothes (be sure to ask what they need more).
27. Call an old friend or a family member.
28. Make homemade gifts if you are good in that.
29. Have a romantic candlelit dinner at home.
30. Have a massage, manicure or your hair done with a friend you haven't seen in a while.

31. Coffee date with someone you enjoy.
32. Go for a winter walk while wearing your big hats and gloves.
33. Try a ride at the Luna park. They are full of life this time of the year. You will feel like a child again.
34. Have a holidays photo session (with the help of a tripod, a professional, an amateur friend, a photo booth, or your phone).
35. Try a new restaurant or cafe.
36. Play board games, possibly with the holiday themes (like puzzle and throwing mini arrows).
37. Write new years resolutions, alone or together with family.
38. Have red, green or holidays patterns sheets on your bed or put a festive quilt/blanket on it.
39. Start a tradition, the simpler and the smaller the easier it is to follow.
40. Paint your nails in red or glitter or other festive colors and designs.

 Here you have all these ideas. You only need to remember these days pass so quickly my friends and it's a shame not to enjoy. Who know what next year or month or day will bring, so enjoy now :)

| Love, Lisa |

5 ways to gift someone a trip

Now I bet you all are half happy and half sad when reading the "trip" word, because I know most of people love traveling but they wish they could afford it more often (in terms of money, time, management, etc). Surprisingly, there are a lot of ways in which you can build a big gift (yes!) out of a trip and even without spending a penny.
Let me show you five of them:

1. Prepay, book or gift wrap a whole trip

This is the most obvious gift idea (dah!) and seems to be the most expensive one too, but don't be fooled yet. You might not be able to go from an US country to Italy, but you can travel easily around your place. European countries have some great deals and if you search smartly you can build and pay the whole trip for an affordable amount. If you don't want to cut back on the destination, then you can choose be more flexible on the place  where you are staying or the where and what you choose to eat, limit your shopping budget or a million other smart tricks. Just don't get discouraged. The sooner you start planning the better it is, but you can always do it, because pressure and good will work miracles :)

2. Dream plan a trip

Even if you can not book or prepay the entire trip or a part of it, consider gifting the idea. Choose something very meaningful for the other person or for you both (or all). It might be one's hometown, a place you'd always dreamed of seeing, a forgotten desire from long ago, a trip left into middle because of a sudden strike in your life or even the place you met for the first time or has a strong signification to you if you return back to it. Once the destination is a well thought gift on itself, start searching like a Google pro in order to build a plan. Just know that you are going to spend much time on this process, daydreaming, obviously. Read guides, tours, suggestions, travelogues, tips, history, official websites and anything else possible, so you can come up with the best way to reach the destination, the top things to do and see there and much more little puzzle pieces. After you have gathered all the information, try to present it neatly and in an understandable way for the gift receiver. The options are endless, starting from a simple biding, to a scrapbook, to a website, a blog, a notebook, a map, a book, small cards, calendar etc. You can always choose to make the trip for real or just daydream together over your plans, watch a related movie or an old tape from the last time you were at that destination or just hug and appreciate what you can already do and what you have to fulfill your life for the moment.

3. Make a photo book from a past trip

This one might be one of my favorites because it serves so many purposes at once. It is a pleasure for the gift receiver, a beautiful take back to you while sorting through pictures and memories and mostly it materializes the great time you had and you can relate to it more often from now on. Usually I edit the pictures and create a simple layout myself and I print it locally in white 300 gr paper. The cost is reasonable, for let's say 20-30 A4 pages (less than 1Euro per page) and its value is priceless. You can always order it online, you just have to sort the pictures, decide on the layout, material, cover and effects or trims on pictures and it comes to you ready printed after some days. Tie a ribbon around it, put it in a box or just hide it in a special place and let the other person discover it with joy.

4. Create a memory box

If a photo book is cherished by everyone, a memory box is very intimate. Usually I make these for myself and only I can open it in several months or years and still recall everything the objects inside are meant to say. The only way you can make it for someone else is if you had the trip together of course. If you can, start preparing for this while you are traveling and try to gather objects in a separate pocket or bag area. Usually I put there different things like tickets, room info, hotel cards, advertising fliers, pictures, little snacks, candies or gums, flower and leaves, guides, notes and what else you might run into. Once you get home put them in a box or plastic bag and you can arrange them later for the gift. If you have already made the trip long time ago, there might still be things around the house, believe me. Try looking for a shopping bag, a forgotten receipt, bills in your pockets, exchange coins at the end of your bag, a flight sticker on your luggage, gums, hotel toiletries, info fliers, business cards, clothes tags etc. Don't freak out, I am not that much of a materialist stalker (I just happen to be a cancer sign :P).

5. "A hen next year is better than an egg today"

If you really want to make a trip, you should start planning and saving like yesterday. I am being a little tough, but it is true. And what is a better act to do today than refuse to buy a cheap gift for the moment and save that money for what you want that gift to be in the near future? You can explain this to the other one maybe before they expect your gift, but it really depends on the situation. Especially, if you combine this act with the idea no. 2 or just a miniature of it, like a mood board (or Pinterest one) it will be so romantic and touching that the gift receiver will feel very special. The best of this situation is that you can start saving together and if you live in the same house, you might even go crazy on savings. If you end up cutting back on many things and have your trip after 2 months and be rich in a year, don't blame me, I just gave you a humble idea :) Seriously, if you are very much into trips, you will resist temptations and this is double good for you. It also teaches you, little children, your friend, cousin, boyfriend, husband or even extended family that it is better to have a hen next year than an egg today (this is an expression in my country, I don't know if you guys have equivalent ones, so please share). Experiences and memories are so much worth it and will be remembered much longer than a toy, an iphone or a jewellery.

I wish you all choose to gift and get gifts, including real and daydreaming trips :)

| Love, Lisa |

It feels so good to be proud !!

This is what Google looks like today 28-11-2012. In honor of our country's 100 years of independence they honored us with a special doodle. The double eagle is the national symbol of the Albanian flag and although not many people around the world will understand the real meaning of the doodle, it is still important for us to see it. Beside our pride and joy for cherishing freedom after being under Ottoman Empire invasion for 500 years, it gives a message of hope that if we stay united and act together we can achieve everything, just like we managed to show the whole world who we are and what we have been fighting for.  To me personally, this is the best part of the story and what makes me really proud.

Our whole country is celebrating today dressed in red and black and millions of flags and sculptures like this beautiful one above, but this doodle is the most important one for me. This is the one I choose to represent us, the Albania of 2012, who does not forget its past, reinforces it best and brings all people together into achieving what we believe is good for us and our future. 

Happy 100th year of independence and here is to the many more years of hope, humanity, love, honesty and unity to come! It feels so good to be fully proud of your country :)

| Love, Lisa |

Me vs. Holidays - A 24 years old journey

I have sweet and strangely a bit vague memories of my holidays until I was 12. My teacher always counted on my when it came to bring craft supplies, build colorful paper garlands, bring ornaments from home and send postcards to everyone I knew their name at school. Of course I looked forward to the holidays break, that I'd spend creating cookies and sweets with dough and beads, and dressing my dolls in festive clothes. The tree decoration was a favorite part of mine too. Everything felt cozy and merry, even if my family didn't have crazy traditions. To be sincere I didn't enjoy the real holidays, like Christmas, when we used to have a family lunch and nothing more special or the New Year's Eve because I didn't like gathering with my huge father's family every year and be forced to stay at someone's small house for so many people for so many hours. So I assume everything I loved about was the period in between the big days.

Then comes the period I was 14 - 18, when I moved to the capital city of my country, a huge city for me, where most people consider all holidays an opportunity to go out in the evening, go to clubs and drink until the morning, be it Christmas, Easter, New Year, or any other religious or cultural one. The overall atmosphere used to be very poor, nothing close to big European cities and the only thing reminding the season were the interior decorations and the lights on people's balconies. I am sure I wasn't crazy for the holidays that period.

When I was 19, I don't know if the city got more attitude, if people were gifted with the holidays' real spirit, or if it just me that changed drastically. Suddenly I got back my enthusiasm, my joy, I was looking forward to the season and not only the break filled with a hundred university projects to finish. The little kid spirit inside me was triumphing and multiplied as I believe I started to enjoy everything as if I were a little kid and I was celebrating for all those holidays I let go without fully enjoying.

Then I discovered blogging and I became addicted. It was 3 years and a few months before this season and it was enough to change my life. I remember that first year, I was so much into browsing hundreds and thousands of decorating ideas and gift options. Oh my, I was in creativity heaven. Believe me, I was feeling like those kids in the movies, discovering a secret world where they felt they belonged. Little did I know blogs would take away my holidays' joy that year. I spent all days and all hours searching and saving and laughing and opening my eyes with joy and I somehow did nothing of what I intended to. No decorations in my room, no projects accomplished, no special places visited. Maybe only gifts were okay. I even remember how I decided I must paint my toes with red polish at 23:30 and I was late to leave the house. So I missed the 00:00 kiss with my boyfriend who was waiting for me alone at the middle of the street. I feel like crying when I remind this, but it was just to let you know how easy it was to get into the trap of doing everything perfect and you end up not doing what you should but somehow you decide something stupid is the right thing to do.
The following year was better and last year was the best until now. Our house was more decorated than ever and this thanks to my mother too. She would decorate the whole building if she could, and I am not kidding :) I decorated, styled and photographed my festive room, hanged lights everywhere and almost nothing was missing to have a perfect holiday season. I was still into blogs, daily. But the magic inside me won, I guess. I was able to feel the spirit very early, in a foggy and cloudy early November day (maybe it was late October, I don't quite remember, really). My car music immediately changed to classics, Elvis, Bubble and children songs.

This year I am still reading blogs daily and moreover I have my own blog. I don't know what the holidays will bring me. But the spirit has hit me long time ago :) I had that "first cloudy day feeling" a month or so ago, I have listened to cheering songs a couple of times now and of course I clap my hands like a 5 years old whenever I see a decorated window or store and I am not ashamed because I am 24. My mother is looking for a new tree after having the same for many years. Decorating our house is the second thing on the list and bringing out the joyful cd-s from last years comes next.

I will let you know how it goes, whether tricky blogs and online shopping or my inner holidays spirit and willingness to enjoy the moment wins this year :) Thank you for reading this far!

I'd be thrilled to read your stories of how your attitude has changed or not towards the end of the year holidays. Do you enjoy them or are you more stressed than happy? Do you wish you were kids again to spend carefree magical days or do you only have adult memories of the holidays?

| Love, Lisa |

Frozen Fall Outfits || Navy striped dress

This is not a post I should have put on weeks ago my friends. Neither did the calendar go crazy. We still have Fall around at my country. And sometimes  it even feels like very early Fall, the one you can't even bare your tights and boots and scarves. But it gets chilly enough on mornings and evenings, so i always have to be prepared, keep a few layers on just in case. 

To continue my Fall Frozen Outfit series (you can see previous posts 1, 2, 3), I created this one based on my latest purchase, a striped navy shift dress. It is as versatile I thought it would be, it can be worn morning till evening and it is oh so comfortable. It's one of those pieces you feel like wearing all four seasons if you could get away with it.

 

navy striped dress or similar | beige cardigan | leather biker jacket |  red blazer | red sweater | denim jacket |  brown leather jacket | black and brown boots | gold flats

It is so odd when the cool months come and you want to purchase so many things, most of which you consider basic items, but in the end you find yourself in black leggings, boots and a long sweater or cardigan all over again. Now I am mostly sure that Fall clothes will not be going to change drastically from year to year, not in my closet, nor in the fashion world. Because we are more in love with the feeling and fantasies of this season than the material things. We crave the falling leaves and the crisp air, the cozy knits and sweet smells, some woods burning and of course being in love and cuddling all day. At least this is what I want myself to believe from now on, that I don't need so many new things to enjoy the magic of my favorite season.

 

Here are six ways I planned to wear the dress, including 2 pairs of boots, 1 pair of flats and maybe a pendant necklace or a light neutral scarf. 

I have only tried the first and the third combination, but I am eager to see if you come up with any other ideas. They are mostly welcome :)

May you all have a lovely week!

| Love, Lisa |

Links for the transition to holidays

It's almost the time for extra warmth at home and lots of magic around us. We are slowly becoming better people and everyone is somehow changing. For most of you this is a weekend of traveling, for others is just for resting, while a bunch are starting prepping their home for the upcoming holidays. 

To give all of you an extra hand, the links I have chosen for today are all seasonal appropriate, practical and inspirational and most importantly balancing your time between preparations and enjoying the true meaning of holidays (that blogs have destroyed - biggest paradox of the last 5 years).

May you all experience the start of transition for better this weekend!

How to make your friends happy

Endless inspiration for your special occasions

An elegant gift guide for all the special people in your life

Who doesn't like tasty food, lovely styling and genius time saving tips?

A very special gift guide made with love and packed with original ideas

What to pack your pantry with for all the upcoming holidays

What to send to everyone on the mail

Bonus: 

Never give up on your dreams

Don't forget to do something you love 

whenever you cross a couple of chores off your list ! 

| Love, Lisa |

10 Holiday decorations you already have at home | Part 1

photos via here and here

Before you get alarmed and check the calendar to see what date it is and before you give me that hate look( you know, for the early start) I am warning you that the windows have been decorated and some lights are on in my city, so I have the official right to post about the holidays joy :)

As much as there is happiness, laughs and time off during late November and December, there is always so much stress and expenses. To make it a little bit easier, I am starting the series on the easy and practical side, focusing on what we already have at home and how to use it for decorating and slowly bringing the smell and the look of holidays into our space.
Because no matter how much you enjoy shopping for new decorations, the process of bringing out the best of what you have is priceless. 

Here is the first part of this post (too much beauty to fit into one).

1. Baskets [ via here and here ]

There is no way you don't have a basket at home. Be it big or small, natural or colored, you can turn it into a festive focus point in a couple of minuted. Toss a string of lights inside and lit them to feel the magic. Fill it with pine cones, fresh or dried fruit, garlands, decorations, colorful balls or ornaments. A ribbon or a fabric stripe would complete the look.

2. Candles [ via here and here ]

I think candles are taken for granted. We all have them home, but we don't use them as often as we should. I even think we save the cute ones for a special occasion. What is more special than these wonderful days? Feel free to gather all candles you have around the house and group them to create a magical atmosphere, especially after the sun goes down when their glow will make everything more beautiful.

3. Sparkles (gold, sequins, glitter)
[ squirrel | pinecones | skull | pumpkin | dog | reindeer | wreath |  christmas decorations ]

Have you noticed how we are immediately attracted by holiday decorations in sparkles, glitter and shiny gold? I suppose it is a trick they are using to seduce us. Holidays are associated with glow and fancy stuff, shine and sparkling. Before you go spend money on new decorations, do a little hunt around you and check all stuff in boxes. I bet you will find at least a few items in gold or glitter and put together they will scream holidays, even if they are skulls left from Halloween or bunnies from Easter. And of course you can always turn anything gold yourself with a spray paint or glitter. The Midas touch has never been easier to achieve. You will be surprised how wonderful you space will look all filled in sparkles.

4. Lanterns [ via here and here ]

One of the most versatile items you can purchase are lanterns. If you run over a sale, don't buy less then a dozen of them. They make a lovely appearance on every Holiday, four seasons, cozy or formal events, put on the ground, outside, in a picnic, as tabletop, centerpieces and light providers. I prefer white as they can be styled anyway you wish to give the tone you like. But red, gold, silver and natural wood ones would be perfect for the end of the year. The styling options are endless and you can fill them with anything you have on handy (candles, green leaves or brunches, pine cones, walnuts, small pumpkins, pearls, ornaments, decorative tree balls, dried flowers or fruit, string of lights, garlands, toys).

5. Food [ via here and here ]

This is one of my favorite elements to decorate as it is honest, colorful, nice smelling and it brings back memories. Because let's not forget how strongly the holidays are associated with smells and memories. Make your home super cozy and warm by creating fruit centerpieces, filling baskets with fresh bright colored fruit, boiling spices and citrus fruit, making wreaths with cinnamon sticks or little tree brunches. In addition to saving money and being able to change things often, it will help you create your own personal traditions and help your children establish their love for the holidays and their first magical memories.

Are you ready to start searching your house for hidden treasures or are you still determined to spend money on new decorations this year?

| Love, Lisa |

Thinking of Sunday

Some of you, or maybe most of you will assume I must be crazy to treat Sunday as "the root of all things evil". I swear I want to love this day, but it makes it difficult for me every single time. Don't tell me you don't want to do something fabulous on the end of the week but somehow you run out of ideas when the time comes? Or how you want to cross off your to do list so many things during Sunday, but time magically flies away? And as the days become shorter and colder, it is even easier to let the last day of the week go by boringly, without excitement, zero productivity and too much food (this will never change, will it?). 

So my latest thought about my problem led me to the conclusion that we treat this day wrong. We all consider it the resting one, the joy of doing nothing, the ability to spend time with family and friends and of course the perfect opportunity to finish every task left in the middle. In the end we choose to do nothing of these and Monday finds us again restless, unorganized, unhappy and with much work to do. 

My genius discovery consists in planning Sunday (you might plan the whole weekend too - trust me it, will be great). Below are the plans I'd love to have squeezed into my day. Read them for inspiration and take 5minutes of your already lost Sunday to make a list for next week. 

We can do it. We can plan the great Sunday and change out fate forever :)

10.00 - 11.00
get up and stay in bed watching my favorite tv show, quick check my emails and turn laptop off

11.00 - 12.00
brunch
[use the coupon I bought 2 months ago before it expires and while weather is still sunny and dry]

12.30 - 14.30
create and shoot the blog DIY tutorial for the super simple idea I have on my mind for days
[I have the idea, the steps, the materials, everything - I just need 1hour to make everything and 1hour of photo editing for the blog post]

15.00 - 16.00
finish the movie poster [1 uninterrupted hour would be enough]

16.00 - 17.00
long bath, hair mask, face mask, a manicure freshening [anything self pampering]

17.30 - 18.00
read my favorite blogs

18.30 - 20.30
wine tasting date

21.00 - 21.30
eat something healthy at the end of a terrible eating day

21.30 - 23.00
prepare 2-3 blog posts for next week [note down any other ideas]

23.30 - 24.00
choose outfits for Monday - Tuesday and pick a fun thing to look forward to at the beginning and at the end of next week

24.00-01.00
read a book and try to sleep early

They seem pretty simple, don't they. I wonder why it is so intimidating to stick to doing what we enjoy...

For the moment grab a pen and make your list. Do it now because midweek will be busy and Friday/Saturday will be blank of ideas, totally empty. 

To changing the Sunday's fate!

Enjoy :)

| Love, Lisa |

Random Observation | 02

Isn't it funny? Here is another random observation, if you'd like to see.

| Love, Lisa |

Decorating pumpkins for Christmas?

I think we all agree that the most versatile Fall thing is pumpkins. While we don't use them widely for cooking in my country, I am a big fan of decorating them. I usually go with small ones in orange tones. They instantly boost the season's atmosphere even in small doses. Usually I keep them in my room, one or a few together. 

The most popular pumpkin decoration for all of you must be Halloween, but as it is not my favorite holiday, I skip carving and lighting up scary faces. It must be sad to throw them away if you get into the trouble of creating them though. On the contrary, I am fond of festive pumpkin decoration and it is a bonus if it is super easy to make, like the one I am showing you today. 

You can make them whenever you like, since October or as soon as the first leaves drop of in your area. Wonderful easy glitter decoration, made with a few items and likely to last even after New Year.

Here is what you will need:

- pumpkins (I have two small ones with uneven surface)
- painting brush
- vinyl glue or any other craft glue
- glitter of your choice (gold and green for me)
- paper tape or any craft tape

The process takes very little time and a bit of patience to let them sit overnight.

Choose a flat surface, like a table and be sure to cover it with something. Pour a little vinyl glue in a cap or shallow glass or even on thick paper. 

1. Depending to the brush you have, press it with your index fingers to create a circle base for your glue dots. If your brush is perfectly round, you don't need this advice. Mine was slightly flat.

2. Pat the brush on the vinyl glue, take a little and create the dots. Make sure you don't use too little glue, but not too much either. The dots can be as dense as you like them, but I would suggest not to overdue it with small pumpkins like the one in the pictures.

3. Cover 1/3 or 1/2 of the pumpkin with dots and pour glitter over them. 

4. Repeat with the left surface and pour glitter again. It helps if you hold it from little "tail" or steadily put two fingers in between dots.

5. Don't worry about the excess glitter on the pumpkin. Just let it sit on a surface with empty space inside to prevent touching to much of the dots. It can be a box or anything smart your eyes can notice around. Let dry overnight and then brush off the remaining glitter to see the blissful polka dots you are left with.

For the second pumpkin, which was orange, I went with the green glitter and a more modern and freestyle pattern.

1. Simply use a paper base tape that is easy to rip away later. Create a kind of net with it, a grid or spider web, depends on the surface and size you have. To be sincere I had a bit of trouble because my pumpkin was very textured, so I would suggest you choose a smooth surfaced one, or even round one for an easy application. Be sure to imagine the empty space between the tape covered in glitter as you create the pattern.
2. Cover the empty space with vinyl glue. Again not too much, but enough for the glitter to stick to it. Be carefully on the tape's edges, you might want to double check if it is covered entirely. Then generously pour glitter on it.
3. Let the pumpkin dry on some kind of surface like the previous one and wait until the next day to take out the tape. It might require some attention, as not to take away the glittered surface. The more even and round the pumpkin is, the less problems you will have.
4. Simply enjoy the pattern you created. If you like to correct anything, just take a fine brush, some more glue, paint and add glitter. Let it dry a couple of hours more. Easy as that.

You can enjoy your pumpkins like this, simple and beautiful or you can go on and style them a little bit more. Think that you might use them on your Thanksgiving, Christmas or even New Years Eve tabletop. I used twine string for the orange one and a black satin ribbon for my polka dots cutie. I loved how they turned out, really elegant and festive. 

They have been hanging in my room since October and I am yet to get bored. I can already picture them implemented into my holidays decor.

Here is a simple idea how they can be paired with Christmas decoration and not look like Halloween at all. The glitter goes well with everything, don't you think? 

This is an easy project to create with children too. You might even use them as a small gift for a neighbor, teachers or family members.

Are you convinced that you can extend your pumpkins' lives 'till the end of the year, or do you still think its exclusive time for pinecones and ornaments to shine after Halloween?

Here is another easy pumpkin decoration idea using glitter.

| Love, Lisa |

10 things I have learned from my mother

1. If you want to do something, do it yourself

2. Donate your stuff

3. Never believe the first thing they say to you

 

4. Love nature and flowers

5. Be loyal

6. Let your heart be touched by a sad story

7. Transform anything you don't like

8. Whatever you are buying, you should negotiate on the price

9. Keep a low profile

10. Never stop decorating your house

And here is my previous post about 10 things I learned from my father.

| Love, Lisa |