a sweet rosette ring at a sweet price {last minute gift and stocking stuffer}

Today I found myself in panic mode. I'm leaving for Utah for Christmas in less than a week, and I am still looking for last-minute gifts for friends! Yikes! Then I saw this deal over at HowDoesShe and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Today these adorable Petite Rosette statement rings are on groopdealz for only $4. I am in love with these rings!!

This chic petite ring is a great way to accent your outfit, and add a pop of color!

AND they're adjustable! One size fits all!

TODAY ONLY: You can snag a rosette ring of your own for only $4!! ($7 regular!)

These little cuties will be shipped out to you by Dec. 17th, which means you should get them before CHRISTMAS! I'm having mine shipped to Utah so I'll have them for my girlfriends' brunch!

These also make sweet stocking stuffers!

And guess what?! Shipping is only $2 no matter how many you order! You can buy 1 or 20, and you will only pay the one-time $2 shipping charge! Woo hoo!

This deal is offered in five lovely colors you can choose from at checkout.

Grey, Floral, Ivory, Tiffany blue and PINK



Remember, this deal is only good for today through GroopDealz, so GO, GO, GO!

christmas gift tag exchange {easy christmas gift idea}

Last week I joined my cute friends from Lasting Memories for a tag exchange party. We each made 12 tags and traded them while enjoying lots of good food (my contribution coming to this blog soon!) and good conversation. Tags also make a great gift, because everyone can use them at Christmastime!

Here are my tags for the swap. I just punched a circle out of sheet music scrapbook paper, punched a star out of plain card stock, covered the star with glitter glue, and dunked it in my german glass glitter. Then I popped the star up with a pop dot and added a little tinsel and a jingle bell. Festive, eh?



Here are all the tags I received at the swap. Amazing, right?


These are a few of my favorites. My friend Annette went all out with these gorgeous tags featuring an accordion fold circle (see the tutorial here).


This tag was made of thin wood, washi tape, sequins, and a hilarious mustache button by my talented friend London who makes killer chipboard buttons (check out her shop right now!).


This glitter tag by my friend Kim looks so fancy, but it is so easy to make! Martha Stewart makes a great glue stamp pad that allows you to stamp your image with a stamp and then sprinkle glitter on it. That's it--it's that easy!


My vintage-loving-friend Marilyn (the recipient of this cute vintage button jar) make this beautiful tag with stamps and buttons in her favorite colors--red and aqua.


My friend Kayleen and I got together a couple of weeks ago and had a tag-making day. We each made 5 of 5 different tags (okay, she made 6 and I made 5--I'm slow). Then we put 1 of each in a cello bag and tied it with a little ribbon and a tag for a fun gift for a brunch we put on last week. It was almost a gift for ourselves because we got to spend quality papercrafting time together AND we each ended up with a set of the tags for ourselves!

hot chocolate syrup or wine bottle scarf pattern {easy christmas neighbor gift}

This year some of my friends got a bottle of peppermint hot chocolate syrup/flavoring with my famous homemade marshmallows. To dress up the bottle a little, I crocheted a tiny scarf to tie around the neck of the bottle. They only took 2 minutes to make and they looked adorable! This would make a great hostess gift, too. I found the syrup at my local restaurant supply store (Cash & Carry for all your Seattleites). They have about a million flavors!


Hot Chocolate Flavoring Syurp OR Wine Bottle Scarf Pattern

Size H hook
Worsted weight yarn

Ch 50. Hdc in 2nd ch from hk and in each ch across. Ch 2, turn. Hdc in each st across. Fasten off and weave in ends.

That's it!

To go with the syrup I gave a cute plate filled with homemade marshmallows. Now I have to brag. Can you believe I found these beautiful plates for only $1 each?! I went to the Rosanna warehouse sale in Seattle and scored. I love that they are not specifically Christmas-themed and can be used all year. Quite a steal.



Here they are all wrapped up.


I was able to make the tags quickly in Photoshop using Cosmo Cricket's Jolly By Golly Elements digital tag set from Jessica Sprague's store (which is all 20% off right now, by the way!). I used the "replace color" feature in Photoshop to match the color of the tag with the plate. I know, I'm a little over the top. But it really was quick and easy!



The tag reads: May the spirit of the season (and a little hot chocolate!) warm your heart this Christmas.

So glad to have my gifts all done and out the door! Now I can relax!