Advent of the season

OK, so having kids who love chocolate calenders is normal, who doesn't love a treat every morning? but the average, hum drum, character calenders are starting to make me feel like all the excitement and joy is getting sucked dry. the kids only notice whats on the front for 2 seconds and then move on to the chocolates. so whats the alternatives? and is there really time to look at anything else now??
so firstly, to those reading this after Christmas 2014, well done! you are far more organized than i am. unless you are just like me, gathering ideas that may well be lost in the chaos. oops.
for all the rest of us looking at others preparation with envy, don't despair. There is still a few nights to save the day. so i have a small collection of fun calenders. Hopefully these will spark your creative imagination,  and without too much effort to make. plus a few for those who like other peoples handmade efforts ;)

starting with this match box garland  I just love the details!

 Just in case details give you a headache, or you are a guy (not a real man, because they love details) these frugal living tags are simple but certainly do the trick














If you happen to have 100 craft sticks lying around this advent puts them to good use!

 this DIY burlap and tags advent is a traditional choice


















 I love this little french advent with white packages and neon pink string. Perfection.

These free german printables are super cute and will win the heart of most!














Not to be confused as one of your five a day, this gingerbread advent is pretty awesome...nom! nom! nom!/

 Find the free prinables for 25 gifts christ gives to us. A great way to teach (with scriptures) and remember its not all chocolate

what would you put on your numbers? maybe someone you can call? a special treat stuck to the back? or even just a positive word? Its versatile and cute.

 This quick and simple grinch advent, just has to be done! Every child needs to feel the benefits of your heart growing three times bigger.

These Treats come in all shapes, sizes, and actions. and since it all started with a family, why not make family time the main focus every day?

So thats where all the socks went....simple easy and fun. I love it

 Be warned. Adorable viewing below.

 yes, foxes, clouds and mountains in one advent. I need this in my life right now.....








These three have won my heart. i don't know how or where but my home will make space for these. even if they are not used as advents. I think they are awesome enough to be used year round.

 But you don't have to be sucked in by the cuteness alone, and rather than focusing on treats

 how about getting up and doing something positive each day? You can even print these and use them with any of the advents shown.

   This might take the most effort but its worth focusing on the real reason for the treats and season.

 Cheers
Angie xx

Be Mine * Geek Valentine

Not everyone wants flowers and chocolates on february 14th. In fact, some guys seem to really object to you buying them flowers. I like receiving flowers (this is a rarity in our home, probably because there are no surfaces clear long enough to display a vase?) but buy me a meterorite heart and i'll be yours forever. 

Of course, we would all love something from the stars, and places like etsy are good for beautiful and unique pieces. sometimes cute pieces too.

Robots and binary I LOVE YOU, found here, whats not to love??

But what we love best are those home made tokens that are usually flawed (my imperfections make me adorable, apparently) and/or really really cheesey. Don't be fooled, some of these may be 'kids' valentines but the geek in me LOVES THEM .

well thanks to loads of creatives on line, you can get free printables like this dry wipe love note from 'a night owl blog'.simply print off image, frame it, then tick the boxes with a dry wipe pen to share a different message a day. a fun alternative is to print & frame other messages for dry wipe like 'I love you because..', 'you're the best because...' don't eat my brains today, they taste of...'. well, you get the point.

no pressure, no preparation. well not much, and so much to choose from. like....

this winner from nobiggie.net but for an added dimension you could always add a lightning bolt? and although i couldn't find a link to this snitch i think it would certainly be well within reach of even the least creatives out there.

Eat your heart (or brains) out for this zombie valentine from lolly jane

you might think minecraft is just for kids, and well kids do love it, but so do loads of guys, not to mention a lot of gals,  so hopefully you won't find these too 'creepy'....ha ha ha.... um, sorry about that, couldn't resist.... thanks over the big moon for this treat. they are definitely getting my love!

 

we can thank over the big moon for ninjago loving,    

 

  and if you visit their blog (do it, you know you want to!) you'll also find these amazing sock monkey valentines.

 who could resist some good star wars lovin'? 

i find katie cooks printables Endor-able?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   and yoda best from design wash rinse repeat

 maybe you are more enticed by the darkside?  stitchcraftcreations can help.

I keep seeing these all over pinterest and the who doesn't want a valentine from Gandalf. very printable and any reasonable middle earth woman would be made up, I recon.
 

 Honestly there are so many cool, quirky, and just down right awesome ideas out there that I could have filled a dozen posts. So there's no excuse to find the perfect thing for your one geek love.

 If you are a gamer this last little beauty, the pixilated heart card should give you a boost. And are
wise words indeed....but this is my all time favourite valentines ditty, i wish one of my kids had done it...

cheers

Angie xx

Next Big Thing/Mini trend i probably missed?

Ok. I realise I am not the most fashion conscious person on the planet and i tend to go with whatever i love regardless but it just happens that both worlds seem to have collided of late.

   so what could it be? well, FOXES, of course!

As I await the arrival of our own Fox number 5, I have been looking around at various cutie things. I am also trying to prepare for that jolly (crazy) event known as Christmas. As I don't really believe my kids will accept a baby brother as their main gift I have been trying to get everything prepared well in advance. I have alas become somewhat side tracked by my new found joy in Pinterest. Where I have been gathering my Foxy findings. Here are a few of my favourites....

Find these foxy earrings and necklace at Accessorize

The lovely Carrie Lewis does it again with this Fox necklace found here

Asda are getting in on it with this girls jumper dress which my daughter is pretty chuffed with!

You can have a lovely Donna Wilson cushion to show off on your couch from here

some lovely printable Fox bookmarks Here

have a fox join you for tea?? As found Here

A beautiful fox print as found on tumblr.com

Have a made to order crochet Fox from etsy found here

 

here

and these too!

decorate your tree with loads of these

and fill your home with these thanks to this tutorial

some other things to do your self include this Lego Fox,

 

and a bit of Foxy origami??

and these are just some lovely things to look at that i couldn't actually locate but are great inspiration.

cheers Angie xx