DIY Wooden Tag Ornaments

A few weeks ago Beckie from Infarrantly Creative asked us to share a gift under $10 for her Pennywise Present  series. Of course, we immediately thought of this:

But then it dawned on us....oh, she wants a handmade gift for under $10! Silly us. (Now you know what WE want for Christmas!) Anyway, last year we tried our hand at lots of different DIY ornaments and thought it would be fun to try something new this year. You can easily make a set of six or eight of these wood tag ornaments for well under $10. Customize them with monograms, favorite phrases or fun Christmas images, and you'll have a unique, one-of-a-kind gift for everyone on your list (ok, not your dad. He probably won't appreciate these.)

DIY Photo Block Display {Shanty 2-Chic}

Good morning, everyone! It's very rare to meet other blogging duos in this blogland, so when we met Ashley and Whitney of Shanty-2-Chic at Haven last summer, we were thrilled! True story: when we were checking in to the hotel in Atlanta, we were told they didn't have a room for us. So we were sitting like total dorks in the lobby (we were even dressed in scrubby outfits!), waiting for a room, when two gorgeous, personable, cheerful girls entered the lobby. We were clueless as to who they were (what? Were we living under a rock?), but it turns out they were the Shanty girls! These two are the sweetest and prettiest women you'll ever see wielding power tools. Super-talented, down-to-earth. and uber-wecoming to the two of us newbie bloggers. If you haven't been to their site, please do so immediately (after reading about their awesome project!) and you won't be disappointed. Enjoy!
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Hey guys!

We are the Shanty Sisters, and we are so excited to be blog swapping with the ECC girls today!

We had the pleasure of meeting them in Georgia last year, and we hit it off from the start! They are sweet girls, and we love that they are a blogging duo just like us! ;-)

With Christmas just around the corner, we thought it would be fun to share a quick DIY gift idea!

I love photo gifts. This is a super simple, cheap and cute way to display photos. It cost me under $3 a piece to make these... Woohoo! It makes a great gift for friends and family.

Here is how mine turned out...

Rope-Wrapped Hurricane Vase {Nate Berkus Knock-off}

 

Have you guys seen Nate Berkus' line at Target? So many cute things, it's impossible not to fall in love. We like to think we're good buddies with Nate, since we spent so much time with him last year, so we're pretty sure he wouldn't mind if we knocked off one of his items. I loved this jute-wrapped hurricane vase. It retails for $25+ but I knew I could make something similiar for much less.

Here's what I came up with;

Merry & Bright Christmas Inspiration

We're still in Europe for a few more days (you can follow along through my pics on Instagram @EastCoastCreative), but I'll be honest that I'm itching to transform my house for Christmas! 

 

DIY Glitter Placemats {Tulip Shimmer}

I'll be quite honest, unless it's something I can wear on my finger or as a dress, I'm not all that into things that glitter. However, Tulip sent us some products from their Tulip Shimmer line to try out. I DO love all sorts of metallics at Christmas, so I knew that I could come up with something and maybe fall in love with glitter in the process. Well, mission accomplished!

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

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Merry Christmas to You! {Sponsor Special}

You know what make us thankful? Besides our families, good friends, this blog and each other (of course!), it's Black Friday! So, while Monica is living it up in London and Paris this week, I'll be doing some die-hard shopping with my hubs. Love that man and his passion for finding good deals. (Would you believe he is MORE into Black Friday than I am?!) However, some of the best things you just can't find in brick and mortar stores, and that's what I'm bringing to you today. I've rounded up some red and green favorites from our awesome sponsors. Without them, this blog would not be, so show them some love and snag some good deals this weekend at their shops.

Classic, Timeless Style {FOSSIL Vintage Revivals Handbag GIVEAWAY!}

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Fossil for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

Well, you guys know by know that my style is pretty neutral. From paint colors in my home to what I wear, you'll find me loving up anything that is classic and timeless. Nothing too flashy in my world. That's what I'm absolutely in love with the new Fossil Vintage Revival Handbags. They're gorgeous bags with impeccable detailing and come in several different color leathers. I mean, these babies will never go out of style. This post is a little out of our daily norm, but Fossil asked us to take a look at their bags and come up with a few outfits that represent our style and incorporate a few of these beauties. Sounds fun, doesn't it?

Here's what I came up with for my ultimate daytime look:

 

 

Thanksgiving Leftovers Station

So, you all remember that little ol' magazine we were in last month? You know....HGTV magazine? Umm, yeah, it was a really big deal for us. You can find us on page 92 of the October 2012 issue sharing a super practical idea that your guests for Thanksgiving are really going to appreciate!

 

Favorite Things Party {Free Printable Invitation}

One of the things we're most grateful for is our friends. We've talked about them a lot here on the ol' blog, but we try really hard as a group to stay connected and do fun things (we all went to see the premiere of Breaking Dawn together yesterday!). Last year I (Jess) started what will hopefully become an annual tradition with oour girlfriends: a Favorite Things Party! 

What is that, you ask? We made a little video to tell you all about it...

 

Jewelry Organizer {The Ugly Duckling House)

Because we're always slightly afraid you'll get bored of our crazy antics, we have a treat for you today in the form of a guest blogger! If you don't already know her, Sarah from The Ugly Duckling House is stinkin' hilarious and super talented.  We love the design of her blog (which she did herself), the adorable pics of her splattered with paint, and her magical touch with liquid gilding. Enjoy!

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Hi there!  I'm Sarah from The Ugly Duckling House, and I'm thrilled to be guest posting today on East Coast Creative!  I met Monica and Jess at the Haven conference earlier this year, and I think they come up with some of the most amazing projects!

 

Where to Buy your Holiday Project Supplies {Consumer Crafts}

Can you guys believe Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK! Holy Cow, I seriously can't believe it! You might know this already, but Eric and I are headed to Europe (just the two of us!) for 8 days over Thanksgiving. I am beyond excited, but one little thing has me a bit sad... I'm going to miss Black Friday and Cyber Monday! If you know me well, you know this is a major bummer- I'm fairly hard core about it.  

So, when Consumer Crafts offered to send us some products to help promote their amazing Cyber Monday deals- we were completely on board.  It was kind of like replacement Black Friday for me.  Here's how it all went down...

(click on the little gear and change the quality to HD before you watch!)

Fabric Thankful Tree Canvas

Let's face it, with Halloween on one end and Christmas on the other, Thanksgiving often gets a raw deal. I know that when the holiday season is in full force, being intentional with projects and decor gets really hard. I find it so easy to scoot right by Thanksgiving, without a second thought, and dive right into Christmas stuff, so I decided to tackle a project that would keep my family centered and focused on being grateful throughout November. A Thankful Tree that can be reused every year!

 

 

Fancy That Design House {Giveaway Winners Announced!)

We're super excited to announce the winners of the 2 prints from Fancy That Design House & Company! We won't keep you waiting....

 

Anti-Wreath #2 {Seasonal Front Door Decor}

Welcome to Day 2 of our mini-series on spicing up your front door for the holidays! Yesterday, Jess showed you how to make your own snowman wreath, and today I'm going to give you a super fast and really versatile (not to mention, it looks awesome!) way to change things up and get rid of those old, dated Christmas wreaths- c'mon, you know you have them. I like to call it the Anti-Wreath.

 

Seasonal Front Door Decor {DIY Snowman Wreath}

Good morning! Monica and I spent some time at the Channel 69 News station this morning sharing some easy ideas to dress up your front door for the holidays (click here to see our Thanksgiving tablescape ideas from last year). We'll pop the video of the segment up on facebook sometime today or tomorrow, but for now, let's take a look at a super cute and fun way to welcome in the Christmas season!



 

Random Tuesday

Are you ready for perhaps the most random post we've ever shared?  I hope so, because this is coming straight from what's in my head at the moment.  I have about 6 projects and tutorials to share with you (all written and everything!), but since Sandy made a mess of my Proctor & Gamble timeline, I have to wait to share them with you until they give me the green light! Hopefully Soon! 

Random Thought #1  Get out there and VOTE today!  A teacher at my school shared this video with me and I love that my 4 kiddos have watched it like 15 time today and are walking around singing, "Vote for Obama or Vote for Romney- it's your civic duty. Vote for Somebody!"  We're pretty dang blessed here in the US and fortunate to be able to make our voices heard today.

Fancy That Design House & Co {Giveaway!}

 

Oh boy. I'm so excited to introduce you guys to one of the coolest Etsy shops we've seen, Fancy That Design House & Company. I came across her work through Emily at Jones Design Company and  immediately fell in love with absolutely everything Stephanie creates. It's so important to put things in my home that mean something to me and, in my opinion, there's nothing more valuable to hang on my walls than scripture. I don't know if you've noticed, but most art including passages of scripture are accompanied by lambs or a crown of thorns (not that there is anything wrong with that), but that just doesn't jive with the style in my home. Well, Fancy That Designs solves that dilemma. But, enough chatter from me, take a look for yourselves:

East from West print

We Love You Because Printables

Click HERE to download the

WE LOVE YOU BECAUSE printable:

HERE to download the

I LOVE YOU BECAUSE printable:

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The BEST Mulled Cider

 

What do you do when you have a bunch of people coming over for a Trick or Treating party following two days of widespread power outages? And stores, businesses, gas stations are still waiting to reopen after a big storm? Browse pinterest for some last minute recipes, of course! I was hoping to find a recipe for hot mulled cider (a favorite of mine for those cold Fall evenings) that I could make for a crowd using items I already had on hand. And guess what?! I found one!

Brass Fireplace Update

Even though gold jewelry is back in style, a dated, brassy fireplace can put a major damper on the style of a room!  Updating your fireplace can seem overwhelming, but let me tell you it's not as hard as it seems and if you're really determined (like me) you can get it done less than 24 hours!