Ah yes, another holiday is another reason for my to switch up my mantel. As I may have mentioned, I am not typically drawn to pink. Sometimes I adore pink like on babies or my sweet friend Kelly who adores pink and wears it so well but mostly I like earthy colors. Except that one blue. You know, the one that seems to be everywhere as of late. A bit of a light turquoise/robins egg/grayish blue. It’s somewhere in that color pallet and I <3 that color. My obsession with blue is not what this post is about though so let me move on …

Home Stories of A to Z is doing a fun lil’ Valentine’s linky party. I love linky parties! My color pallets was cream, red and black. I saw this fun art piece at Homegoods and just had to have it. The best part? My friends come over and act like they are taking an eye test. It’s quite comical watching them cover an eye and read the letters. They think they are pretty funny

I also added a fun chalkboard {thanks to a thrift store frame that I turned into a chalkboard for under $2}

And one of my favorite parts? The pennants I added using some jute, burlap ribbon and then I cut out some black hearts to tie it all together.

So there you have it ~ My Valentine’s mantel.

Tis the season ~ and my how fast it is going! Insert sigh. I get so sad at how fast this time of year is. How about you? Are you all about the season or ready to see the craziness end? I never seem to do all that I want to do. Thanks to Pinterest I am reminded of the million and one ideas that I’d LIKE to do. It’s OK, I seem to do plenty and it is all so much fun! The kids are officially on Winter Break as of 12:35pm yesterday. After two days of parties and some very cute renditions of Christmas songs and The Night Before Christmas, I am ready for things to slow down. No schedules and time with my kids to be Merry & Bright. Of course on the list is some holiday crafting! Some of the below we will do and others are on the future holiday to do list. Enjoy!

Whole Living Magazine shared this idea for herbal firestarters. A warm, cozy fire that smells good? Sign me up!

Oh Martha — she just has some of the best ideas! You can find so many ideas on her site but I will share some of my faves with you.

Pipecleaner candy canes. Too cute {and easy!}

Seed packet ornaments. My in-laws would get a kick out of this idea! What a fun way to decorate for an avid gardener.

 A great way to use old buttons.

I have wanted to do this idea for a couple of years. I even bought the cookie cutters but that is as far as I have gotten

Homemade lip gloss? Yes really. This cute idea came from Cheeky Kitchen.

I heart wood blocks and all of the things you can do with them. I really love this idea for wooden photo holders over at Under the Table and Dreaming.

I also found these fab no sew wine bags on Under the Table and Dreaming. I have the felt but I have not made them … yet!

Every year we make plates of treats for the neighbors. As part of our gift, we also prepare a bag of reindeer food for the little ones in the house. The boys help me assemble these bags. The Idea Room had a little blog post and a printable for this sweet idea today.

Once again Pinterest strikes ~ this time I saw these glizty cardboard stars on a site called Make Something. They are so fun! Apparantly they were used in a store front window display but hmmmm, they sure would add to my decor. Perhaps strung loosely across the ceiling? They are fun and simple.

Do you have any holiday crafting or easy gift ideas? I’d love to hear them. Happy Holidays. May they be full of all things happy for you and yours.

I see so many ideas of crafts I’d like to do. Especially now that Pinterest has become a part of my world. I do {heart} Pinterest!! I recently hosted a little Holiday Open House to showcase some of my crafts. It was first attempt at hosting such a thing and I think it went well. I sold some, had requests for other things and learned a lot! I had some other fabulous vendors here as well. Curious? Here are the Etsy links:

Buffalo Hill Designs {hey, that’s me!! My shop doesn’t have a lot at the moment due to holiday events and keeping my home stocked to sell.}

K Andez It’s a Bow Thing {who happens to be my cousin as well — craftiness runs in the family }

Love Your Body Essentials

Lumen Candles

The Local Honey Market

Now aside from all the fun I had at my Open House, I wanted to share one of my creations with you. Maybe it will inspire you to get crafty or at least do an Advent Calendar with your kids. Or maybe you will contact me and say, “Hey, I’d love to buy one of those nifty advent boards you made.” Which by the way, I have not listed them on Etsy but they are $35 {shameless plug over here!!} Regardless, I wanted to share them because I think they came out so cute! Instead of goodies, I put little notes in each day that gave something to do. These are special things to do as a family. Won’t you remember the moments instead of candy? I found this idea on Pinterest, click here to see the original.