A Little Crafty Christmas Village & A New Tradition

Good Morning!  Happy Monday to you all!  First off, you all blew me away with your kind comments and e-mails on Friday’s post.  Thank you so much for your support.  It means a lot.  I appreciate your kind words like I appreciate a hot cup of coffee on a Monday morning!

I had a great weekend.  The hubs and I got to have not 1 but 2 date nights!!  Woot!  So, I didn’t get my rug project finished.  Oh well.  I’d rather have fun with my man than paint a rug anyway.  😉   When your mother-in-law volunteers to watch your kids you never turn her down- right?!  Anyhow I do have a little something to share even though it’s not what I was planning/hoping to share today.

First, I’m guest posting over at Beneath My Heart today!  Do you know Traci?  She’s one of my favorites!  She lives here in Kentucky too!  She’s running a series on Simple and Inexpensive Christmas Decor and she asked me to share some ideas.  So head on over to take a look and be sure to check out the other guest blogger’s ideas too.  Also, if you’ve never been to Traci’s blog, you will be blown away at her home projects.  Her and her hub do real renovations.  You know, things like actually laying down hardwood floors!  Yeah- grab a cup of coffee and settle in because she’s filled with real-deal, diy projects and loads of inspiration for your home and your heart!

One of my simple and inexpensive Christmas decorations is the centerpiece on my kitchen table.  It’s a little crafty Christmas village that took me all of about 30 minutes to put together.

My kids are in love with this little village.  These paper mache houses all came from Hob Lob and ranged in price from $3 to $6.  All of the wreaths I found in the Christmas aisle and were on sale at 50% off.  I think I love the cinnamon stick trees the most.  They are so fun and whimsical.  I may leave them out throughout winter.

In case you were wondering how this centerpiece looks from behind……

I used puff paint (remember the 80’s?) and then sprinkled a little silver glitter over the words.  At night our little village looks like this.

Those are battery-operated votives not real candles lighting up those houses.  It does look like there is a tiny fireplace inside though, and that makes me smile every night.

I recently added some snowflakes to the chandy.

They were $1 for a pack of 10 at Michaels.  It’s hard to capture, but they are quite glittery.  So now it’s always snowing over the village in my kitchen.

Notice anything else in this picture?  We started a new tradition this year thanks to inspiration from blogland.  We have our very first advent calendar.  I really need to thank Cassie for the little push.  Since I was putting this together at the last minute – like at 5 pm on Nov. 30th – I needed to think fast and simple.  I grabbed some holiday napkins and candy at Kroger.

I just made little pockets for the candy by folding the napkins and stapling the sides together.  I printed out numbers on regular printer paper.  Then I clipped them with a clothespin to some wintergreen garland I had.

I used twine to hang the garland from the curtain rod.  This was so easy, fast, and simple and the kids really look forward to opening these little pockets every night after dinner!

I am definitely going to keep this tradition going.  I can’t believe we’ve never had an advent calendar before.  It’s so much fun to count down the days.  I can’t believe how close we are!!!

Do you have an advent calendar?  Is it a new tradition or something you’ve always done?  Anyone else in love with miniature Christmas houses?

Be back tomorrow with a visit to the North Pole.  Don’t forget the Cutting Edge Stencils Giveaway is open until Wednesday morning, so be sure to throw your name in the hat!