Monday Musings: Christmas Cheer

The halls are decked, the lights are up, there's hot cocoa in  my cup, gold ribbon on my gifts, snow on the ground and cheer in our hearts. There's something about this time of year that is just so amazing. Sure the malls are packed, the streets are busy and maybe you're forgetting to do the normal mundane things that are actually really important (like grocery shopping... I ate a cheese and sriracha quesadilla for lunch today haha!) but that's all part of the beauty!

The fireplace hasn't been turned off in weeks, and my parka has become a staple wardrobe item. It may be getting cold, but I'm feeling really inspired by all the effort everyone puts into the holiday season. Some of the light displays on houses and decorations in stores are true works of art! I'm going to try and convince Joel to go on a Christmas light drive tonight to check out everyone's setups! It's actually one of my favorite parts of the holiday. Remember this scene from New Girl, I cried a little the first time I saw it:

Today I feel so blessed and lucky to live in this beautiful place where I am free to celebrate and enjoy time with friends and family. With Sufjan playing in the background and my printer zipping out photos for a last minute gift, my mind is whizzing with Christmas inspirations, decorations, recipes and the sort. I'm already looking forward to next year before this one is even finished. But for now I'm just gonna watch a couple festive movies, wrap up the last couple gifts and maybe find the time to go grocery shopping, all the stores are open 24 hours, shouldn't be too hard. 

I hope you are all having an amazing and wonderful Christmas eve eve!!
XO_BITS

ps. Don't forget to enter this giveaway if you haven't already!

DIY: Custom Wrapping Paper!

Ever wanted to make your own gift wrap? Well it really is as easy as getting some paper and decorating it. For this project I used kraft paper from the dollar store for $1.00 a role, and some gold craft paint that I got in a $5 mystery bag at the art store a couple months ago, but you could use regular paper if your gift is small!

SUPPLIES:

• Kraft paper or butcher paper
• Craft paint
• Paint brushes or items to stamp: corks, toilet paper role ends, etc.
• Tape

DIRECTIONS:

I found the easiest way to do this was on the floor. You can role all of the paper out and tape it to the ground and do it all in one go. Unless you have a huge table in your house, then use that! It's important to tape the paper down so that it won't role up and smudge the parts you just painted. We were taught in pattern drafting school to always ensure the paper is "cupping" the table, this helps to keep it in place and won't pull the tape up off the ground in an attempt to curl back up.

Once your paper is taped down decorate to you hearts content! I did 3 different motifs: 1. Stripes, 2. Paint brush dabs and 3. Polka dots made with a wine cork. 

I would suggest picking a colour palette before you get started. And don't worry about sticking to a red and green colour scheme for Christmas. These days, anything works! I decided on a kraft and gold scheme: plain and classic, but still shiny. And there's something about brown packages with strings and ribbon!

Here are some examples I found around the internet for inspiration before I started. Maybe they can help you too! 

cottonandflax

 Pink, black and craft with geometric shapes and letters!? Love it!

henryhappened

Classic black, white and crafty with messy polka dotts- complete with doily, yarn ribbon and folk art tag! Amazing!

sweetpaulmag

The combo of dark navy, fresh white and bold is one of most favorite palettes. It is just so fresh and smart, and yet whimsical all at the same time. The awesome stamps are also super beautiful!

If you feel like no gift is complete without something homemade, or you're just short on cash, this is a great way to oomph any gift up to the next level. 

It's almost Christmas!! Woo! 

Thanks for reading!

XO_BITS

Musical Christmas Cards

I've never given out Christmas cards so I'm really excited to do so this year. I've had this card set for a long time, waiting to use them for something and I figure Christmas is the perfect time. They aren't exactly "Christmas Cards" per-se, I don't really know what they are for actually, but they say lovely things, so I'm using 'em!

I really wanted to put Christmas mix-tapes or CDs in with the cards, but I can't justify spending so much on CDs when I can make a list on the internet for free. I came up with the perfect solution, QR codes! It's free and weighs basically nothing so you won't have to pay for shipping if you plan to mail your cards out.

To make your own Christmas card playlists just follow these easy steps.

YOU WILL NEED:

• Christmas cards
• Printer
• Scissors
• Glue Stick or sticker paper

I used Grooveshark to make my playlist. It's free, totally legal, and super easy to use. First you have to sign up and then you will be able to make your own playlists. They have tons of music so create to your hearts content, or you can use my playlist!

    

To get the QR code I used http://www.qrstuff.com/ If you don't know what a QR code is, it's basically a barcode that you can scan with your phone to send you to a specific website. To get your QR code just copy and paste the URL of your playlists page into the qr code generater at qrstuff.com. They'll quickly make you a QR code which you can then print out and cut out and paste on the inside of your card. The perfect little addition to make your Christmas cards extra special!

I would suggest checking the code with your phone before pasting on all your cards, you wouldn't want to accidentally send the card recipients to the wrong place! :P

I hope you enjoy this little tip! Feel free to share your playlist in the comments! ;) I love hearing new Christmas music!

XO_BITS

Homemade Hot Cocoa

Hot cocoa is basically essential to this time of year. With freezing temperatures outside, sometimes the best remedy for a long, cold day of work, school, or snowball fights is a big mug of hot cocoa. Now don't get me wrong, I love a good hot toddy as much as the next girl, but nothing quite hits the spot like hot cocoa. I also love it because it's one of the things Joel loves to make. If hot chocolate isn't good enough, paired with love and good intentions it's practically heaven!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 heaping Tbsp cocoa
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tsp icing sugar
• 3 cups milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix together the 1/4 cup sugar, heaping tablespoon of cocoa and teaspoon of icing sugar. Use the back of a spoon to work out any chunks in the cocoa.

2. Add the vanilla and salt and mix.

3. Heat the milk in a small pot on medium-low heat. 

4. Paste the powdered mix (1) by adding a bit of milk(2) and giving in a good stir to get the entire mixture wet (3). This allows for easy integration later and avoids chunky, unmixed powder floating on the top of your drink.

5.Add the mixture to the pot of milk and heat, constantly stirring until hot. 

Yum! Time to wrap some presents. I made some awesome custom stamped paper and I'm stoked to share it soon!

XO_BITS

Gifting Plants: 101

Succulents are the perfect no-nonsense plant for everyone. They are super hardy, don't require a lot of sunlight or water, and are really hard to kill. This Christmas I decided to make a couple cute little terrariums for some of the awesome people in my life. 

SUPPLIES: 

-Clear or interesting planter

-Soil quick-draining is best, but any will do

-Rocks of varying sizes, shapes and colours

-Charcoal  recommended

-decorative sands,figurines, etc recommended

Hint: when shopping for succulents, look for planters with multiple plants reaching out. Succulents create offspring like crazy and it can be a big money-saver to get two, or even three plants for the price of one! 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place rocks along the bottom of the container you are planting in. Succulents and cacti retain water and therefore need to be planted in dry, well-drained soil. The rocks give excess water a place to go when it is not being used. 

2. Layer soil, sands and rocks with a thin layer of charcoal near the bottom of the planter- this is to sweeten the soil for the succulents. Only about 1 inch of soil is required in the top layer and many succulents can survive without any soil. 

3. Plan out where you want plants and other items to go. When ready, dig a small hole with a spoon and insert the roots of your plant into the hole. Pack extra soil around the base of the plant to secure it in its new home. Ensure to loosen the "cube" of soil around the roots before planting. This allows the roots to grab a firmer hold of their new surroundings.

4. If desired, add a final layer of sand or rocks and anymore final touches. The personal touch is the best part, look for little figurines at thrift stores and around, find things that your friends love and make a terrarium around them. Remember the Hobbit terrarium I made a while back, don't hold back- get creative! Give your plants a little watering, and voila! A perfect and personal gift for a friend or loved one. 

I had so much fun creating these terrariums, although there were frustrating times trying to get big plants into small planters- some things just aren't meant to be. I have a lot of plants leftover :p 

Anyone on your list that you can't quite figure out yet? Get them a personalized terrarium made by you! Trust me, they'll love it! If you need some inspiration, I have a wonderful and ever-inspiring pin board to get your gears in motion.

Thanks for reading, and I'll let you in on a little secret, I'll be hosting a giveaway before the year is through!!

XO_BITS

A White Christmas!?

It's been snowing here! The pacific northwest officially entered winter this past weekend complete with a dump of snow and freezing temperatures. Joel and I went for a drive to the boonies to get the full package of winter and came across this group of hockey players on Mill Pond. I felt super Canadian standing on the middle of the frozen pond and watching the players skate around. We don't usually get snow this early on and so I'm pretty excited about it! Now I just hope it doesn't all melt away before Christmas! 

Speaking of Christmas, I never shared my solution for advent with you guys. Instead of creating a whole calendar ahead of time, I found two cute and festive boxes and each day I put something new in them for Joel and Aber to find. And guess what? I think it's working! Joel's been putting on Christmas songs himself! hehehehehe mwhahaha, my plan is working! 

Also, I'm almost finished my lingerie project! Got my sample book all filled up and all my yardages are made, all I have left to do is sew up the garments! I love this part when it all comes together, I can't wait to see how it turns out!

I can't wait to share some of the gifts I've been working on with you guys!
Hope you're having a wonderful Tuesday :O)

XO_BITS

Advent Calendar Time!

So, if we're all being completely honest here, I love Christmas more than pretty much anything. I wait until Nov. 22, the day after my birthday, and then it's full blown Christmas magic everywhere. Tree, lights, stockings, music with bells, you name it- if it's Christmas-related, I'm all over it.

That being said, some people don't feel this way. As a matter of fact, both Aber and Joel, my roomate/best friend and boyfriend, are those types of people. Scrooges, grinches, you know the type. Aber has literally told me that Christmas music makes him furious. And you know what, that almost makes me furious. It's just delightful, loving music with bells. What is more is that we don't listen to classic,  boring Christmas music. I'm talking Sufjan Stevens, My Morning Jacket, She and Him type Christmas music- and still, he'll have none of it!

Something has to be done here people! I can't go through this whole holiday season with a couple of Christmas-hating grumps. So the only logical solution is to create a super exciting and encouraging advent calendar for each of them! One that keeps them guessing and makes them excited for the holiday and what lies behind each number. Now I know Dec. 1st is but three short days away, but I've always worked better under pressure anyway.

I don't have the gifts yet, although most of them will be small and free, like haikus or the sort, can't go into too much detail in case they read this! But I've gathered some awesome and inspiring calendars from around pinterest to get my creativity turning. 

1. lapinandme         2. hitherandthither

3. angelattable       4.sillyoldsuitcase

5. espritchampetre

6. hamptons-c

7. Couldn't find source- anyone know? 8. thesweetestdigs

9. womaninreallife

I love all of these ideas so much, I'm especially leaning toward #9 and #4, although I love the colourful whimsy of #7 and #1. Which ones are your favorites?

I really hope this just gets them all happy and warm and fuzzy, like Christmas is supposed to do.

Also! Happy Thanksgiving to all you Americans out there! Have a splendid and filling holiday with friends and family!

Thanks for reading!
XO_BITS

Operation Christmas Child

This week, as part of my Compassion Christmas Challenge, I am filling 2 Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes to give to a child in need around the globe. Operation Christmas Child is an awesome program run by Samaritan's Purse in which shoe boxes are filled with soap, toys, crayons, pens, paper, socks, candy, and anything else that you think might benefit a needy child which are then delivered around to kids all over the world. You can specify gender and age group before you pack to make it easier, and you can even sign up to help deliver the boxes if you want!

I feel so lucky and grateful to have been born in Canada with the resources that I have access to. To many of these children, it's probably the first gift they will ever receive. I can't think of a better way to spend money, especially during the holiday season, than to spread joy and help to children around the world who could really use it! 

If you have free time this week, why not grab an old shoe box and fill it to the brim with goodies for a child? Each box undeniably makes a huge difference, and if you don't have the time to get out, they have this awesome feature now where you can donate $30 USD per box ($37 in Canada) and build your box online and they will pack it and ship it in your name. Another awesome thing they do is gift cards so you can give the gift of giving: pay the price to pack the box and the person receiving the gift gets an email prompting them to build their own box for a child in need.

Such an awesome way to spread the love this Christmas!
Happy holiday season everyone! Any gifts you're stoked on giving this year?

XO_BITS

The Compassionate Christmas Challenge

image source: http://xchristina27x.deviantart.com/art/Christmas-Bokeh-343987599

Christmas is about giving gifts, feeling good, and sharing love and happiness with those around you. The rituals of Christmas usually involve buying and receiving gifts, with a couple of novelties like stockings, trees, and advent countdowns mixed in. We are basically required to get gifts for a certain number of people: family, friends, co-workers; and unless you have some sort of secret Santa method in place, things can get pretty expensive.

Whenever I feel I am required to spend money, on something that can't be avoided, such as morning coffee (I swear it's a requirement!),  or in this case, Christmas presents,  I try and find the best possible option- not just for me, but for the world around me. Every dollar we spend makes an impact on the world and the choice of where we spend our money is powerful and daunting one. Whether it's fair trade coffee, local organic produce, or independently designed products, we are given the ability to empower those who need it everyday when we pull out our wallets.

This year for Christmas I am challenging myself (and you too!) to have a compassionate Christmas. Whether that means making all the gifts, buying locally, donating in place of a gift, or buying gifts from companies that donate with every purchase made. I am committing to a Christmas that blesses my friends and family, and also others who need the help.  I've compiled a list of companies to turn to, to start your shopping. Check these out, and others like them, that support more than just blind consumerism, but blessings beyond borders!

1. Etsy

The first company on the list is Etsy (obviously). If you don't already know what Etsy is (where have you been?!) it's time you learned. It's an online marketplace that allows independent designers to sell their works around the world to a big audience, without the expense of a brick and mortar shop. Give a unique handcrafted gift, and bless somebody who is following their dreams!

2. Kiva
Kiva is an awesome company that provides micro loans to those in need. The first compassionate gift I ever received was from Kiva. A friend of mine got me a $25 gift card for the site and I was able to go on and browse people around the world who needed money to help them with their businesses and shops. Once you loan the money out, you wait a certain amount of time until it is paid back, and then you can re-loan the money out to somebody else who is in need. I loved the gift and I still keep active on Kiva today.

3.Sevenly
Sevenly is an company that picks a different charity each week. They carry an array of products: tshirts, accessories, prints and more, for women, men and children. $7 from each product purchased goes to the charity of the week. A lot of the items they sell are also made by independent designers so not only does $7 go to charity, the rest goes to independent designers- win/win!

4. World Vision, Gifts That Matter, Outreach International, Plan Canada
Another way to gift that I've always loved is to buy a much-needed gift for somebody in a developing country in a friends name. The above sites provide a catalog of options, such as baby chicks, birth certificate, mosquito nets, doctor for safe birth delivery, etc, which you can buy in a friends name and seriously change the life of somebody in another country. Talk about a gift that keeps giving.

5. Toms Shoes, Roma Boots
For the shoe lover in your life, why not some awesome and stylish shoes. Both Toms and Roma Boots are companies that match your purchase one for one. You buy a pair of shoes, they send a pair to a child in need. What a beautiful and wonderful testament to this holiday.

6. Inhabitat
For the tech savvy, why not some green gadgets. The above site provides a list of environmentally friendly and totally functional and usable gadgets for the technology lover in your life. Help your friend, help the Earth. The perfect gift.

7. Changing The Present, World Wildlife Foundation
These sites are geared toward the tree-huggers on your list. The first site, changingthepresent.org, plants a tree in New Orleans to help replace all the trees that were lost during Hurricane Katrina- for only $25 you can plant a tree in a friends honour. Worldwildlife.org has an entire marketplace of cool tshirts and gifts which impact animals around the world who are facing extinction. This would be a great place to shop for the little animal lover in your life. They would get not only an awesome gift, but the realization that they can make a difference around the world too! Maybe they'll grow up to be compassionate Christmas gift-givers too!

8. Wear Figs
Know a nurse? Wearfigs.com is a great site that provides super soft and luxurious scrubs. For each pair you buy, they donate another set to a healthcare provider in need around the world. How great is that?!

9. Baby Teresa
For that new bundle of joy, why not some super adorable and 100% organic cotton baby gear. For each baby outfit purchased, baby-teresa donates another to a baby in need. 

10. Red Earth Trading Company, Same Sky
Jewellery lovers, look no further. Both of the above sites provide beautiful and handcrafted jewelry made by artisans in Africa. Rather then a one time donation, these artisans are able to make money for themselves and become self-sustaining through these companies, who allow them a global platform from which to sell.  

11. Warby Parker
Warbyparker.com is a great website which sells prescription glasses and sunglasses. For every pair you buy, a pair is given to somebody in need. This means you can give the gift of eyesight to somebody in need around the world.

All of these sites allow you to make an amazing impact around the world, while also making an impact on a friend or family members life. They allow you to stretch your dollar and change the world, all while also blessing the person you are giving the gift too. These gifts might even change the way the gift receiver looks at gift giving, and who knows, maybe they'll try out being a compassionate gift giver next year!

I'm really excited for Christmas shopping this year, and already have some things penned in. While I know I will definitely make some of the gifts I give, I am excited to impact the world this Christmas, in the names of those I love the most.

So what do you think? Think you'll try and be a compassionate Christmas shopper this year?
Let me know if you're on board, or if you know of any other awesome sites that benefit others around the world!

XO_BITS