Hi there Just Us Four readers! My name is Laura and I blog over at The Experimental Home where I share my everyday creative experiments. I believe that I can create anything with just a little experimentation and you can too! I am so excited to be guest posting today on Thanksgiving eve. I am also excited because in two days, our Christmas decorations come out of the attic and it is time to deck the halls! I am not one of those people who totally replace my seasonal decor every year. For me, the best part of Christmas decorating is all the wonderful Christmas memories that the decorations hold. However, each year some decorations get retired and new ones take their place. This year, I know I need a new wreath for my front door. I wanted to create something simple and modern with classic Christmas style. I have been loving the color-blocked look this year, so I decided to experiment with a paint dipped wreath. It was super-simple to make and I just love how it turned out!
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Christmas Burlap Bell Wreath
I took my first trip to Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago and I was so excited. A store finally opened that was within an hour of me so I carved 2 hours out of my schedule to give myself plenty of time to check it all out. While I was there, I fell in love with a burlap wreath that had bells on it. I didn’t love the price tag though and was convinced I could make something similar for less. Luckily, being in Hobby Lobby, it wasn’t difficult to find the supplies for my Christmas Burlap Bell Wreath.
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Christmas Decorations: Frames of Joy
Decorating for Christmas is something I love and look forward to from about November 1st. I always wait until the week of Thanksgiving to actually start putting out Christmas decorations but I definitely dream about them long before that. This year, I wanted to add a few new items to our home and I decided to start with some framed words. Joy and Noel are two of my favorite “words of the season” so I picked one of those. 
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Christmas Tree Advent Calendar
Christmas is my absolutely favorite time of year. From mid-September, I start dreaming of my Christmas decorations and start to think about what this year’s Advent Calendar will look like. Last year, our Advent Calendar was a frame with little envelopes for each day. I wanted to do something a little different this year and, after a brainstorming session with Mathlete, we came with the idea of a Christmas tree Advent Calendar.
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Merry Christmas
I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful holiday with their family and friends! Just Us Four is taking a break until January 2nd but, then, I look forward to sharing all new and exciting projects and recipes!
Let’s Go on a Sleigh Ride
This post was originally shared over on Salt Tree but I wanted to share it with you here as well!
For my kitchen decorations this year, I focused on bright reds and greens for the decor.
Someone keeps eating the M&Ms out of my little bowl…thieves!
One of the newest additions to the room started with this unfinished wood sled.
I taped stripes with painters tape and painted part of them red.
Once it was dry, I taped off the other stripes and painted them green. Then, I let the entire thing dry for several days before adding my vinyl lettering to the sled.
Are you ready for sleigh rides?
I love this sleigh because, even though it is red and green, I think it can stay out for decoration all winter!
Gift Ideas for the Littles
I’m sure all you prepared parents have your gifts purchased, wrapped and under the tree. So, this post isn’t for you. It is for the parents {like me} who are still out walking the aisles and clicking on the web looking for great gifts for their kids.
Or maybe the aunt or uncle who just has no clue what to get…or the grandparent who isn’t exactly “hip” when it comes to kids’ toys.
I’ll go ahead and caveat this and say, if the kids you are shopping for aren’t {or near} 5 and 2, I’m not going to be of much help. But, if they are, read on for some great gift ideas that are readily available right now!
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Glittery Snowflakes
I’m on a big snowflake kick this year. It started with my Snowflake and Mercury Glass mantle and it has been spreading throughout our house like some kind of snowflake epidemic. Blame it on the lack of snow last year and so far this year…
The newest snowy addition to our house are these glittery snowflakes.
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I’m Traveling Today
Hey guys! Happy Tuesday! Can you believe Christmas is just a week away???? Crazy, I know.
Just a little note to let you know that I am guest posting over at Salt Tree today to share my striped winter sleigh.
I hope you will come by to check out all the details on making this fun decoration that will last all winter!
Christmas #DisneyPrincessWMT Gifts for My Princess
I’ve talked a lot about H being into all things girl.
Makeup – check {only for dress-up of course…she is only 5!}
Dresses – everyday!
Purses – Just like her mommy
And of course, she loves all things Princess! We barely get in the door most nights before she has run off to throw on a Disney Princess dress over her clothes. These days, she is really into Cinderella so I knew I wanted to give her some Cinderella themed gifts for Christmas.
I headed out to the store one morning to do some Christmas shopping and found a huge Cinderella display!
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