In a season of gift giving and receiving, it is always important to say thank you---and nothing says thank you quite like a proper note. To help you express your gratitude, here is a free downloadable thank you card. The front features a Christmas tree design that says thank you in many different languages and dialects. The inside has the message "Many Thanks." The card prints 2 up on a standard 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper and the finished card fits a  standard 4 3/8 x 5 3/4 invitation envelope.  Go ahead and print some out and have them on hand for when those gifts start rolling in…unless you are on the Naughty list this year!

Free Christmas Thank You Card Download-Outside

Free Christmas Thank You Card Download-Inside

Oh! And dont forget to download the free matching Christmas Card as well!

There must be some kind of mad mistletoe shortage in these parts, which is weird because mistletoe is native to NC and it grows everywhere along the coast, but regardless, I have not been able to find a single sprig of it around here this year. And being a DIY kinda gal, I decided that surely I should be able to make some. Most of the time the stuff found in stores more closely resembles a sprig of eucalipitis with some glued-on white plastic berries. This is my result.

I used the Cricut "Joys of the Season" cartridge and cut out five leaf boarde r( )shapes at 1.5 inches in width, using two different shades of plain green cardstock. I then used a standard hole punch to punch out the round white berries. After gluing the berries to the leafy paper stems with a glue stick, I gathered the stems at one end and tied them with some silver glitter ribbon that I had left over from my wreath. And tada! Instant Mistletoe!

Hello lovelies!

I am all about spreading some early holiday cheer, so just in time to get them in the mail, I have for you a free Christmas card download. My design features the saying "Merry Christmas" in 20 different languages on the front in the shape of a whimsical tree. The inside message reads "Merry Christmas to All" and the finished card fits a standard 4 3/8 x 5 3/4 invitation envelope.  Enjoy!

Free Christmas Card Download

Free Christmas Card Download--inside text

Hello lovelies! I wanted to share my new DIY Christmas Stockings made from painter's drop cloths. Yes, you read that correctly. I have learned a lot of fun treats to make with this surprisingly pretty and durable fabric out there in the blogosphere. Here are a few examples:

Drop Cloth Curtains from Lovely.Crafty.Home.

Drop Cloth Dust Ruffle from Between You and Me

Drop Cloth Upholstered Headboard from Apartment Therapy

Not only is this fabric super duper cheep (you can get a 'contractor' pack that contains 2 hemmed 9 ft x 6 ft panels for $9.99), but it is the most lovely shade of neutral taupe-y gray and has great texture. I added a multi stripe cotton ticking fabric for the lining, grass green ball fringe as trim, a jingle bell for the toe and iron-on rhinestone letters to complete the look.

I just kind of whipped these guys up by free-hand drawing the elf toe stocking shape on to the drop cloth fabric and going from there. However, if you are looking for a more structured approach,you can check out the complete tutorial for this very project over at Tater Tots and Jello or Lovely.Crafty.Home. Congratulations on the sweet guest post by my good friend and partner in crime, Rachael!

 For more inspiration, check out this Tip Junkie post. I think I contains a link to every DIY Stocking tutorial on the web.

Oh, and a special thank you to Jen from Make, Do & Review who was kind enough to send the iron-on letters to me in a care package. Thanks Jen!!!

Hello Lovelies! It's that time of year again...when my Christmas cookie baking is in full swing. I bake a lot for the holidays because a) a really enjoy it and b) cookies make wonderful and inexpensive gifts. I have been asked several times this year for some cookie recipe sugestions, so I am making a three part series all about it. I started this years baking off with three recipies I'd like to share:

Martha's Idea Sugar Cookies 

Let's face it, no one does baking quite like Martha, dahling. And although some of her recipes can get a little fussy, her ideal sugar cookie recipe is a classic. I've used this recipe for years and it always gets rave reviews.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons brandy, or milk

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar; mix until light and fluffy. With mixer running, add egg, brandy, and vanilla; mix until well combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add reserved flour mixture. Mix until just combined.
2. Transfer dough to a work surface. Shape into 2 discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.
4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes, and transfer to prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch in between. Leftover dough can be rolled and cut once more. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes; do not allow to brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
5. Decorate with Royal Icing, optional.

Yield: about 2 dozen

I always let my dough rest in the refidgerator over night to be sure it is easy to work with. This recipe was orginally published in The "Martha Stewart Living Christmas Cookbook" cira 2003. You can find a copy here at Amazon.

And, naturally, you've got to decorate these lovelies with Martha's Royal Icing recipe.

Ingredients

1 box confectioners' sugar (1 pound)

5 tablespoons meringue powder, or 2 large egg whites

Food coloring

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar and meringue powder. Mixing on low speed, add a scant 1/2 cup water. For a thinner consistency, usually used for flooding, add more water. A thicker consistency is generally used for outlining and adding details. Mix until icing holds a ribbonlike trail on the surface of the mixture for 5 seconds when you raise the paddle.
2. Tint with food coloring as desired.

Yeild: 2 1/3 cups

I use egg whites rather than meringue powder because that is normally what I have on hand. After your cookies are iced, let them sit out a bit before storing and the royal icing will become firm and shiny.

Betty Crocker Thumbprint Cookies

Ahhh, Betty Crocker, oh how I love thee. I can always turn to you for tried and true recipies likes these tumbprint cookies. So delicious and festive, these buttery short bread cookies are topped with a touch of jelly for flavor and color. I like raspberry jelly, but you can choose your favorite.

Here is the recipe as it appears from Betty:

Ingredients

¼ cup packed brown sugar

¼ shortening

¼ cup butter or margarine, softened

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 egg separated

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup finely chopped nuts

jelly

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350ºF.
2. Mix brown sugar, shortening, butter, vanilla and egg yolk in medium bowl. Stir in flour and salt until dough holds together.
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Beat egg white slightly. Dip each ball into egg white. Roll in nuts. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press thumb deeply in center of each.
4. Bake about 10 minutes or until light brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Fill thumbprints with jelly.

Yield: about 3 dozen

I made a modification to this recipe and skipped the nuts and egg wash. Rather, I rolled the chilled dough and use a small daisy shaped cookie cutter to cut-out the cookies. Then I pressed the center with a mellon baller, to give a nice round uniform dish, and baked according to instructions.

Aunt Baby's Checkerboard Cookies

And finally, from Oprah, Aunt Baby's Checkerboard Cookies. A pretty combination of chocolaty and buttery flavors (really how could you go wrong with that), these cookes are pretty simple to make and look lovely on a cookie plate. Because of their square shape, they also pack and ship well in the mail.

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (1 envelope) nonfat dry milk

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or shortening , softened

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs , well beaten

2 Tbsp. cocoa

Directions

Note: For more colorful cookies, substitute red or green food coloring for cocoa.

Sift together flour, dry milk, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and stir in vanilla. Gradually add sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Add well-beaten eggs, blending until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Divide dough in half. Stir cocoa into one half, blending well. Shape each half into a rectangle, about 2" x 2" x 6". Tightly wrap in waxed paper. Chill at least 30 minutes.

Unwrap dough; cut each rectangle into quarters, lengthwise. Alternately place dark and white quarters side by side to form checker design. Rewrap in waxed paper and chill slightly.

Slice dough into 1/8-inch pieces and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes.

Yield: about 5 dozen

 Happy Baking!

as seen on the gypsys conrner!

Another fabulous free download to share, this time from Bake It Pretty! The ladies at Bake It Pretty are kind enough to share two colorways of this festive holiday bunting, - cinnamon & snowflakes and pistachio & pink! Each PDF has the entire alphabet, numbers and punctuation to allow you to create a custom holiday message---how fun! Head over to bake it pretty for the downloads and more information. Enjoy!

Saw these and had to share. Be sure to visit Eat, Drink, Chic to download these free printable gift tags. Dont you just love?

A Christmas classic, popcorn garland is simple to make and gives your tree a sweet vintage-y vibe. To make this craft you will need:

½ cup popping corn

¼ cup cooking oil

Sewing needle

Light colored thread

Fresh Cranberries (optional)

Start by popping your popcorn on the stove-top.  With microwave popcorn's popularity, this simple task seems to be a bit of a lost art. It doesn't take long at all and the result here will be a dry popcorn with no butter or salt, perfect for stringing. Add ¼ cup of oil to a large heavy pot with a lid. Add popping corn, cover and heat over high heat until kernels start popping. Shake pot on burner to keep kernels from burning. Keep popping until there is a 2 second lull between pops. Remove from heat and keep shaking the covered pot for a few moments to allow for any extra pops. Remove lid and transfer popcorn to a large bowl. Thread needle and being stringing popcorn, alternate with cranberries as desired. I put a group of three cranberries every two feet or so.

This project also does not take as much time as you might think. I completed garland for our seven foot tall slim tree in less time than the broadcast of this evenings Monday night football game between the Colts and the Chargers. Happy stringing!

I'm excited to post some new holiday card designs! In addition to the Seasons Greetings snowflakes design I posted about yesterday, I have these cuties to add to your Christmas cheer. Mix and match any 5 designs for $8. Each cards measure 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" and are blank inside for your message. Each card also comes with a fully lined white envelope in a fun polka-stripe patterned coordinating paper.

Good Day holiday cards are here! Hooray!

This wintery design features three cut paper snowflakes with a crystal embellishment in the center of each and a fully lined envelope. Cards measure 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" and are blank inside for your holiday message. Set of 4 cards for $8.

More designs to come!