Wedding Invitation Ornament....

While on the "make handmade gifts" & "give left over items from our wedding a new life" kick I made some of these wedding invite ornaments... you can find  cute pics & DIY's for these all over pinterest and the blogosphere so I did not do a DIY for this but you can find a DIY here at weddingwindow.  These  are an adorable way to re-purpose some of your leftover wedding invites, my mother will LOVE one,  and I know I will treasure getting it out year after year when decorating our Christmas tree!

DIY keepsake wedding invite ornament

I added some of the left over ribbon from our favors and some wax seals as a charm!

Left over Wedding Napkins to Coasters D.I.Y.

So one thing that we have a huge excess of after our September wedding was cocktail napkins! Apparently people do not actually use 2.5 napkins per person as recommended by the wedding supply companies!! I hate to see all these napkins go to waste & just knew that I had to do something with them. So I decided to make some coasters. These will be a fun, cost effective, recycled, and personal gift for loved ones in our lives this Christmas.

Keepsake Wedding Napkin Coasters

from wedding napkin to keepsake coaster

Wedding Napkin Coaster DIY:

material needs:

• mod podge
• left over wedding napkins
• sponge brush
• 4" x 4" tiles
• scissors
• sharp knife (makes HUGE difference when slicing corks)
• leftover wine corks
• hot glue gun & glue sticks

Supplies needed

Step 1: Separate the layers of the napkins, you will only use the layer with printing

Step 2: Cut napkins to fit the size of the tiles

Trim napkin to size of your tile

Step 3: Paint THIN layer of mod podge over tiles

Paint modge podge over tile

Step 4:  Place trimmed napkin onto tile

Step 5:  Paint THIN layer of mod podge over napkin & let dry

Paint thin layer of mod podge over nakin

let mod podge dry until clear

Step 6: When dry repeat step 5 twice**
** Optional at this point you can add a picture or other decor to the  coaster.  Following steps 3 to 6.

Step 7:  Slice up your wine corks, try to get slices as evenly as possible

slice up your old wine corks for padding on back of coasters

Step 8:  Hot glue the wine corks to back of coasters

hot glue slices of wine corks to bottom of tiles

Step 9: Enjoy your coaster or wrap up for gifting!!

Some Smokey Topaz Quartz Pretties!

I just finished making some Christmas presents for one of my lovely Brides.  The lovely Mrs. K  got married this past September & I made earrings for her beautiful bridesmaids to wear on the wedding day.

A few of Mrs. K's beautiful Bridesmaids

Mrs. K's bridesmaid Earrings by Rock Affair Jewelry

I am so honored that she asked me to make earrings for her Bridesmaids but I am doubly honored when for Christmas she asked me to make them matching necklaces....  I tried so hard to match the stones from the original strand used for the earrings but in the end couldn't. We ended up using 3 slightly smaller stones in the same cut in a row on the necklaces.  I think the matching necklaces came out gorgeous and will compliment the earrings perfectly!

3 stone Smokey Topaz Quartz Necklace

A Wine Weekend in Paso Robles

This past weekend the new hubby and I met up with family down in Paso Robles for an annual get together. Usually we go camping however this time since we weren't going until December we decided to stay  in a vacation rental house! We ended up having a fabulous time & did a little wine tasting while we were at it.

Justin Winery

We stopped in a Justin Winery which just might be my new favorite! Their Isosceles  wine was absolutely fantastic (we bought a bottle or two) Also, they have implemented many sustainable practices such as biodynamic farming and natural pest control. It is great to know you can enjoy a great wine while being environmentally conscious!!


We also got to visit the holiday light show on Vine street after dark. Each house on the street was decked out in themed Christmas Decor. That was such a treat! It really made me feel like a kid again visiting lights, viewing the living nativity scene & singing Christmas carols...... Oh and the man  playing the Ebeneezer Scrooge was hilarious. Every few minutes he would come out onto his balcony and make funny grinchy statements at everyone such as..." I don't want you here....Go away there is no Christmas... & bah humbug!"

Ebeneezer Scrooge's House on Vine Street

Teeccino.....a coffee alternative

In November's concious box I recieved 3 samples of Teeccino. Teeccino is a caffeine free herbal coffee. The main ingredients in Teeccino are all certified organic and are carob pods, barley and chicory root.  These ingredients are all naturally caffeine free and low in acidity making teeccino a safe alternative for  drinking during pregnancy as well or for those with reflux.

I drink coffee or tea nearly all day when I am at work. The office is very cold and I feel that I always need a warm drink to keep warm. I don't like the amount of caffine I take in so....  when I recieved my samples and they came in  "tea bag" form and noticed that they were caffeine free I quickly realized that if the samples tasted yummy Teeccino could be the answer to my dilema.

Being a self proclaimed coffee addict I was a bit skeptical of  the taste of this "caffeine free herbal coffee." However I was pleasantly surprised!!  It doesn't taste just like coffee but it does taste fantastic.  I ended up ordering a box of the Maya Chocolate which  I am very much enjoying.. the chocolate flavor is very pleasant...not too overwhelming or sweet! I am now addicted =)

5 Festive & Eco-Friendly Gift Wrap Ideas for this Christmas

1. Gift Card Snow globes... 

reuse empty Jars from your kitchen to present gift cards in this adorable way!

diy @ One Charming Party

from: The Creative Mama

2. Wrap it up with the news...

Recycle the news by wrapping up gifts with your old newspapers...Don't forget to get creative with the bows

from: Country Living

3. Use a scarf...

A beautiful scarf can become a lovely & reusable way to wrap a small present or bottle of wine with this Japanese inspired gift wrap idea. You could use a scarf you already have or purchase one from the Bobo Wrapping Scarf site...

from: BoboWrap.com

4. Inside Out Potato Chip Bag...

  Wash, dry,  and cut open the left over potato chip bags  to reveal the silver lining before wrapping up a gift with this up-cycled idea....

from: Martha Stewart Living

5. Cereal Box Gift Boxes...

Up-cycle an old Cereal Box into one of these gorgeous gift boxes anyone would be delighted to get a gift in!

diy @ Creative Jewish Mom