Work Christmas Party

One of the most difficult jobs I have even had is being a mother.  While I absolutely love every single second of being on maternity leave with the Boss, this job is definitely not 9-5, nor does it ever let up for a coffee break.  As the Christmas season approached I was feeling sad that I would not have a work Christmas party to attend.  While the government is kind enough to issue a bi-weekly maternity leave cheque, they don't find it necessary to throw a fancy Christmas party.  I thought about all my Mommy friends who would be feeling the same way so I decided I would through a "work" Christmas party.  Last week I invited a bunch of my Mommy friends and their little ones to come over.  It was super fun to get in the Christmas spirit and let all the little ones play together.  I tried to keep it as kid friendly as possible but had to show off my fun sugar cookies to match the fun frosty table cloth I found.

Christmas Table Display

 As our family grows it is harder and harder to get us all around one table at Christmas time so we celebrate a week early to cut down on the Christmas chaos.  As always we had a wonderful time and lots of fun as a family.  We are not foodies in the least, therefore the most important part of the dinner becomes the table decor and food presentation.  This year the seating plan changed to accommodate more people.  The table was moved into the living room, which was a perfect back drop for the whimsical winter theme.

Here is Wendy (my Mom), the host.  Her table is just a teaser of how beautiful her entire home is.

Place cards to show guests where to sit....

...and fun snowmen for the babies.

The best part is she decorated the entire table with supplies from the dollar store!!!  This just shows you that it doesn't cost a fortune to make your table as beautiful as the guests that are attending.

DIY Sheep Ears

This weekend the Boss was a sheep in our church nativity play for Christmas.  Even though she is only 6 months old I was elated that she was going to be a part of it.  After attending the first "practise" I offered to make the sheep ears for the baby girls.  There were three baby sheep including the Boss so I knew I could just whip them up.    I was able to make all three of them for about $1 each!  I got the black fabric from the ends section, cut them into sheep ears and sewed two together to give them some substance.  Then I sewed them to a white stretchy elastic, tide on the yarn and attached a pretty pink bow, of course!  The girls loved them and they look so precious!

The Boss

Me being a stage Mom....loved every second of this big moment in "our" life!

Seating Plan...

With Christmas just around the corner and the addition of two new babies this year, my Mom decided that she needed to get a second highchair.  Since this chair won't be used everyday she didn't want to spend a fortune on it so we went to IKEA and found the perfect chair.  We choose this Gulliver chair due to it's simple, sleek style and great price.

IKEA also has a pillow you can buy to put in the chair to help smaller kiddies sit up better.  This pillow definitely did not match my Mom's decor so we bought some fabric from IKEA and I  recovered the pillow for her.  Here is the transformation.

Needless Christmas Tree

I was visiting my younger sister the other day when I noticed she hadn't put up her Christmas tree.  Since mine has been up for about 3 weeks now, I was shocked (and slightly horrified).  When I asked her about it she said it was so much work for just her and she just wasn't feeling up to it this year. I totally understand.  It is an awful lot of work for just yourself.  So, while I totally understand not wanting to go the whole nine yards, this is no excuse for zero Christmas cheer what-so-ever.  I knew instantly what I needed to do.  You might remember my post about my friend Joel who works for House and Home magazine.  I first noticed his work on this project in the December issue.  Ever since I saw it I wanted to try it but didn't have anywhere for it in my house, I have found the perfect spot...my sister's house!  Here is her new tree that will be delivered and set up tonight!

I used material I had left over from another project, a piece of driftwood for the top, and twine to hang it with.  All items I had around the house.  The only thing I had to buy was the chalkboard paint, but I have been wanting this for awhile anyway!  For Joel's tutorial on how to make your own click here.

West Elm Purchase #1

As you read in my most recent post,  I attended a West Elm and Style at Home shopping party.  I purchased three items to add to my holiday and home decor.   The first item I added is a small hammered metal bowl.  West Elm carries them in a number of sizes as well as in the form of a serving tray.  For the centre piece I had already started I just needed the small one.  So $5 later, I had the perfect finishing touch.

Here is the finished project.

West Elm with Style at Home

One of my favourite home decor stores when living in the States was West Elm, so I was over the moon thrilled when they opened their first Canadian location in Toronto, 60 minutes from my house.  I have visited this store a number of times and introduced all my design friends to this great store.  With all this love for West Elm and love for home decor, you can imagine my excitement when one of my favourite blogging buddies and fellow shopper, Hare Styling,  invited me to a "get in the holiday spirit shopping event" put on by Style at Home and West Elm.

This event was a lot of fun.  I loved seeing the table displays and gaining inspiration for my home, not to mention we felt super Chic to be at such a classy event.  There were food and drinks served for the guests and editors from the Style at Home magazine were walking around.

This sign on the door added to our excitement.  We had to RSVP to this special event.

This picture was taken off the Style at Home blog.  How excited was I to see myself and Mrs. Hare-Styling on their blog.

 We had a wonderful time!  Stay tune to see when these great new items show up in my holiday decor.  Thank you Hare Styling for the fun date!  Can't wait for our next decorating adventure!

A Sweater and a Snowman

If you remember the photo from this post you will remember the cute little sweater below that I picked up on one of my thrifty shopping sprees.  That's right this little sweater cost me $2.75 and since the Boss is way too spoiled and has more clothes than I know what to do with I picked this up for a craft instead of for her.

I started by cutting the arms off the sweater.

Next, I flipped the sweater inside out and sewed the top, the arm holes and the bottom half shut.  Remember to leave a whole at the bottom to stuff your snowman.  Once it was all sewn up I flipped it back to the right side out.

Next I started to stuff my snowman and tie him into sections with twine.  I wanted him to be a traditional 3 ball snowman so I started with the turtle neck for it's head, tied it off,  then made the body tied it off, and finished the bottom.  Once you stuff each section pull on the sweater below the twine to make it tight and play with the batting to make your snowman the shape you desire.

 Once I finished filling him, I sewed the bottom shut and used buttons for the buttons and ribbon for his scarf.  I haven't decided yet if I will add sticks for arms or not.  Right now, it stands well and I think the sticks might get in the way of further decorating.  You could add a face, carrot nose and stick arms if you want to.  I think he is adorable just the way he is.  I have not found his permanent home as of yet but I am sure he will find a suitable one in the next few days.

On the table as the center piece

On the side hutch

 If you try your own please send me a picture.  I would LOVE to see how yours turned out.  I think it would be cute to make a family of snowmen using different types of sweaters.

I've shared this idea here,  feel free to share your ideas here too!

Etsy = Easy

Each year I look forever to find the perfect Christmas card to send to all our family and friends.  I check all the traditional places (photoshops, drug stores and Walmart).  My fear every year is that I will send the same card as other members in my family and since our family is so unique I want a card that shows our personality.

This year I checked Etsy.  I have purchased baby girl hair bows on there before and found other unique items, but never did I think they would have christmas cards.  It was so easy!!!!  We used Conveying You Designs by Kim Nelson.  We selected the design we liked, emailed a picture and our proof was sent to us about 4 hours later (they say 24 to 48 hours).  Once we approved the print, a jpeg was emailed to us and we were able to get them printed at our local print shop.  In a matter of 24 hours (faster if we were on the ball) we had the perfect Christmas greeting ready to be mailed out.  The design cost us $15 and then we could print as many as we wanted where we normally print photos.  This is awesome since our list seems to be growing each year but the choice between 25 or 50  (the number most online christmas cards offer) is too big of a jump.

Take it from a girl that has shopped around...these are the best looking Christmas cards for the price.  We are so thrilled with them.  Even the Mr. approved these, now that's a good Christmas card!  Now that the cards are out, stay tuned for other fabulous Christmas projects!

Joel Bray of House and Home

Where have I been????  

I guess in the process of living in the states, then making the move back to Canada and having a baby I lost track of my friend Joel.  Last time I saw Joel was at my wedding, and while I knew he would one day be hugely successful I had no idea just how quickly he would do it.  For those of you who are avid House and Home readers you know exactly who I'm talking about.  Joel Bray is a design editor for House and Home magazine, and how did I find out...I saw him in the December 2010 issue of the magazine.  I started yelling out loud "Joel...it's Joel".  Luckily I was at my Mom's who also loves House and Home (and my friend Joel) so she appreciated this monumental moment in my life.  Not since the Boss first said "Dada" have I been so proud (she will regain the title when she says "Moma").

So how did I spot him???  Well I loved this cute needless christmas tree idea.  Here is the DIY image that introduced me to Joel's success.  See the project video here.  Adorable!

Congratulations Joel on your success!  I am so happy for you and can't wait to follow all of your great design tips!

Joel and Me on my wedding day!

I love....

I've seen different sayings and different versions of this popping up everywhere.  One of my favourites though are by Jen Ramos on Made by Girl.  You can order her I love blogs and coffee here either in print form or unwrapped canvas.  Such a cute piece of art for the blogger in your life.  If I was to order one I would need it to include "Jumperoo".

Dear Fisher Price, 

Thank you for inventing a toy that not only keeps my child occupied while I catch up on my blogs, but also tires her out so she is ready for a nap when I am ready to DIY.

Love, Chic Momma

* This is not intended to be a copy of an original design but instead a fun take on a great piece of art!  This piece is not for sale but to purchase an original visit Jen Ramos at Made by Girl

So Sweet...I Feel Honoured

Thank you so much Sarah @ The Birds Papaya for this award!  It was so sweet of you and I hope you get as much inspiration from my blog as I get from yours!  I have no idea how you accomplish all you do as a mother of THREE!!!  You're awesome!

Rules for accepting this award are:

1. Thank & link back to the person who awarded you this.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pay it forward to 15 recently discovered great bloggers.

4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award.

 Here are 7 things about me!  Much harder than you'd think.

1.  I'm a middle child...enough said.

2. One of my favourite things about my husband is how much he enjoys shopping with me.  While he would prefer to be watching football or doing anything else sports related, he is always willing to take me shopping when I want to go.

3.  I enjoy watching sports almost as much as my hubby does!

4.  My Starbucks order is a tall, soy, chi-tea latte OR a double tall, no whip, toffee mocha (if I need the caffeine...anytime I am out alone with the Boss).

5.  It's my goal/ dream to one day be on HGTV doing something fabulous!

6.  I would rather be in labour than be pregnant! 

7.  I am pretty much useless in the kitchen.  Even following a recipe rarely works out for me. Infact, given the option I would eat pasta everyday.  There is nothing about food that really interests me.

These are the blogs I would like to recognize.  Unfortunately, I don't follow 15 blogs yet (still really new to this) so I would like to highlight just a few of my favs!

Melissa @ Hare Styling for her amazing sense of style for your home and being my partner in crime!

Mrs. De Vore @ Dwellings by De Vore for her inspiring thrifty finds that turn into must have pieces.  Cannot believe the way she re-purposes old furniture.  Not sure she is recently discovered but still a must check out blog!

Christi and Rebekah @ Y Pastor's Wives for their inspiration and encouragement.

Jen @ Jen C Designs for her creativity and fun digital scrap booking materials.  If you like to scrap book this is a blog you must follow!

Hair Bows and Letter Art

I recently completed two projects for the Boss' nursery.  I created a frame to hang her hair bows and I spiced up letters above her crib.

First, I started with the yellow frame seen in this picture.  I picked it up at a thrift store for $2.  I disassembled it and sprayed it white.

Next, I cut a piece of cardboard to fit in the frame.  I then glued batting to the cardboard and covered it with material.  I then glued pieces of ribbon to the board in an X pattern and glued buttons to where the ribbons crossed to add detail.

When this was done I put the finished product in the frame I sprayed and hung it on her wall.  It looked great and was perfect for hanging all her bows on.

The second project was her name letters.  These are her letters pre-makeover.  I felt like they were boring and didn't really add anything to the look of the room.  Let's also talk about how they hung awkwardly on the ribbons.

I traced the letters onto scrapbook paper and then cut them out.  I then mod-podged them to the painted letters and trimmed off the excess.

When they were dry I hung them on her wall. I know, the second "E" needs some adjusting.

To see her full nursery feel free to check it out on Project Nursery.

LOVE Lonny

www.lonnymag.com

I LOVE Lonny because Nate Berkus told me too.  I was catching up on the Nate Berkus Show yesterday while working on hair bows for a baby shower my sister is going to this weekend (that's right, I was making them and she is going...somethings not quite right).  Anyway my love for Nate Burkus lead me to  a new love for Lonny.  He spoke with the Editor in Chief Michelle Adams and featured designs from Lonny alumni Antonia Thompson and Ari Heckman.  Some of the images they feature I have seen on other blogs but hadn't paid too much attention from where they were coming from.

Lonny was launched in October of 2009 as a bimonthly online magazine featuring articles on lifestyle and home decor.  This online mag has been designed to make decorating easy and accessible.  When they post images you can scroll over the items in the picture that you like and instantly order the product online.  They make it super easy to get the look you love.  Previous to the launch of Lonny Adams worked for Domino, which I also loved.  Here are a few featured rooms that I love.

Love this colour pallet and this headboard by Antonia Thompson

I love this kitchen by Ashley Putman.  I really want a dining space with a rustic table like this and modern chairs.