Have yourself a merry little Christmas...

Christmas mantles

So here's the thing. I LOVE Christmas. I love the festive spirit, I love gathering with family, I love watching the faces of my loved ones as they open gifts, I love holiday TV specials and I love decorated mantles. My mantle? Not decorated (aside from stockings). *sigh* In order to get my fix, I went searching Flickr. Here are some of the pretty pictures I found.

 | boxwoodcottage |

 | megrje |

 | boopsie.daisy |

 | PollyPainting |

| bancroft&ivy |

Is your mantle decorated? Post a link to a picture!

Merry Christmas!!

Joy, peace and love

If you read any of the more popular personal blogs out there you'll know that there are a ton of inspiring people out there doing amazing things.  Today I am beyond inspired by the generosity and spirit of Jenny aka The Bloggess. Today on her blog she offered up $30 Amazon gift cards to the first 20 commenters who were in need. She also put the call out to other bloggers feeling fortunate this holiday season to help in any way they can.

I've had a pretty good year. Sure, we have financial worries like anyone but my husband and I are lucky enough to own a home and have a healthy family. I donate to charities I care about and take canned goods to the food bank but there is honestly nothing I love more than making someone happy.

So here's what I'm going to do. Leave me a comment telling me how a $25 gift card from Chapters (limited to Canadians) could make a difference to your family this holiday season and I'll use random.org tomorrow evening to pick a winner. If you feel that you don't need the gift card but know someone who does, nominate them instead! Or, if you win and you'd rather have the money go to charity, let me know who you'd like the $25 to benefit and I'll donate it in your name. I really wish I could offer more than one gift card but we all do what we can. The only thing I'm hoping to gain from this is making someone smile and to make their Christmas a little brighter.

And if you are feeling particularly inspired this Christmas, spread the joy!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Emma! I've made a $25 donation to the Winnipeg Christmas Cheer Board in her name.

Friday finds ...family...

For me, there is no better gift than a lovely piece of art. Yes, art is highly personal and subjective, so this is a gift best given to someone very close to you. Whether you are looking for a unique take on a family tree for your sister, or a print to show your mother, aunt or partner how much they mean to you, or just want to find something for your favourite cousin who loves hedgehogs (and really, who doesn't?) there are many options on Etsy that symbolize

...family...

| cozyblue |

| Ashley G |

| Tush Tush |

| Matte Stephens |

| living with art |

Printable gift tags

So you've picked out the perfect gift for everyone on your list, you have the wrapping paper and ribbon but you are stuck on the gift tag. You'd really rather not use the cheesy Christmas gift tags found in department stores and don't have the time to make your own. Why not download some awesome gift tags from your favourite artists for free?! You'd be amazed at the great options out there. Some come out with a new set every year but some of my favourites are several years old and standing the test of time.

Just choose your favourite and print on either card stock (punch a hole and attach with ribbon) or a whole page label and cut them out.

 West Elm has four different patterns available including this cute animal suite.

Their gift tags can be downloaded here.

These whimsical gift tags from A Fanciful Twist are available to download as a PDF here.

Crafty Carnival has baking labels and gift tags available. You can find the PDF for the gift tags here.

Camilla Engman offered gift tags in 2006 & 2007 and again this year.
The 2010 gift tags can be found here.

Bucklette is another place that you can find gift tags in various patterns. See them all here.

These cute tags from The Black Apple can be found here.

I love these bird tags from Creature Comforts. The PDF can be found here.

Then, of course, there are these colourful tags from Martha Stewart. The PDF can be found here.

These graphic tags from Paper Crave come in three different colourways. The PDF for the red and teal tags shown above can be found here.

These festive tags from Delight.com can be found here.

Last, but certainly not least, come these adorable tags from one of my personal favourites, Ashley G. She has two different sets available and the PDF for the set shown above can be found here.

Happy wrapping!

Calendar : My Owl Barn

Ok, one last calendar. :)

If you are an owl lover and are looking for a small calendar to hang on your office wall or keep in your purse, this is exactly what you are looking for.

Not only is it FREE! to download, there are 30 different images to pick from so you can customize your calendar with your favourites.

Shivani, who is the author of My Owl Barn, wanted to create a custom calendar for owl lover's and put out the call to some of her favourite artists. These are just a few of my favourites.

Download your own Owl Lover 2011 Calendar at My Owl Barn.

Calendar month wrap-up

I missed finishing off the month yesterday because of a variety of factors, so here is a round-up of some of the calendars I didn't get a chance to feature. Happy shopping!

 | behappynow |

 | Michelle Brusegaard |

| Sycamore Street Press |

| Wolfie and the Sneak |

| Nella Designs |

| Freya Art & Design |

| English Muffin Shop |

| Pistachio Press |

| Flora Douville |

| Creative Thursday |

Friday finds ...Black Friday...

There are a ton of Etsy stores that are having sales so I've rounded up a few of my favourites for

...Black Friday...

| Perry Finalia | All items are 10% off and she is offering free shipping.

 | vol25 | Offering 40% off with code SAVE40

 | Dimmalimm | Items already discounted 17-20% and get free shipping.

 | Oh Dier | 15% off all purchases with code ohdierthanks

| Little Bow Teek | Get 10% off with coupon code BlackFriday2010

Calendar : JHill Design

Because, with this crazy winter cold snap, I'd rather be anywhere but here.

Available for purchase (in desk and wall size) from JHill Design.

Calendar : Capilano University

When I lived in Vancouver I always purchased the new calendar put out by Capilano University's IDEA (Illustration/Design; Elements & Applications) program every year. I loved the paintings and the Vancouver imagry and I liked supporting talented student artists.  Funny thing is, I had completely forgotten about the Reflections Vancouver calendars until Emma reminded me of them. So with that reminder how could I not include it in my calendar month?

Available for purchase from Reflections Vancouver.

Friday finds ...comfy, cozy...

It's been a cold week here in Calgary.  It's difficult going from relatively nice fall weather to a deep-freeze overnight and still having to get up and go to work, when all you want to do is hunker down at home. With the weekend here (yay!) I think that is exactly what I will be doing - staying

...comfy, cozy...

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