Santa's Beard 'Ho Ho Ho' How To

While looking through the current J Crew catalog, I noticed this adorable little boy with the cutest Santa beard {which they are not selling, neither the boy nor the beard}.

I was inspired. So I decided to make my own.

Want to make one too?

Well, go grab the following supplies:
White Felt or fleece {I used fleece}
Elastic
You'll need your sewing machine and you may need to hand sew a bit.

Using this pattern or make one of your own...

Cut out the mustache and beard. For each {the mustache and the beard} you'll need to cut 2 parts for each pattern piece.

Sew your mustache together. I decided to hide my stitches on the mustache so I sewed around the mustache leaving a 1/4 of an inch seam allowance.

I also left an opening so I could turn my mustache right side out.

With the beard, I let my stitches show, so I sewed around the entire beard as close to the edges as possible, leaving no openings.

Hand sew the mustache to your beard.  Sew it into place stitching the bottom of the mustache to the top points of the beard.

Measure and cut your elastic to fit around your Santa to be's head.  Hand sew the ends of the elastic approximately in the middle of each mustache, from the back.  Check how it would fit and where to place it before securely attaching it.

Then find a Santa that wants to show it off.

Now I just need to find a Santa hat.


And be sure to check out my other Christmas inspired posts:

Star Wars Ornaments	DIY Pottery Barn Candle	DIY Advent Calendar
Christmas Flower Boxes

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Christmas decorating

Decorating for the holidays has been an ongoing event since Thanksgiving. Each year my style changes, how could it not, with all these amazing and inspirational blogs and pinterest showcasing their Christmas decorations.

With a small house, my decorating style is more about adding holiday decor to the mix and avoiding a lot of 'decorations'. Less is more.

With a house that is almost 100 years old, we have no electrical outlets on the outside of our house. I guess Christmas lights weren't important 100 years ago {I tease}. That leaves me with my flower boxes to decorate. Using some clippings from our Christmas tree, I filled our flower boxes and stuck some ornaments in there for a pop of color.

My Hallmark reindeer are in place. Not a creature was stirring, not even a puggle {which truly is a Christmas miracle}.

Herman the head is a huge fan of Christmas. Every year, he not only gets to hold my glasses but he also gets to wear a Santa hat.

In our dining room, I tried to create a stacked book tree. I'm still looking for a few more books to give it that triangle tree shape.

My husband dared to brave those black Friday sales and as a result, I have a house filled with .99 cent poinsettias.

In my kitchen some more small touches.

My favorite, a thrift store chunky frame, spray painted white with a glass ornament hanging in the middle.

Though we have 'compromised' on the masks...this little gargoyle (a souvenir from New Orleans) is still on display. In efforts to give him more holiday spirit, he has his own stocking.

Our Christmas tree. I teased my husband it kind of reminds me of the Leaning Tower of Pisa but I guess when you have a real tree, the imperfections are what makes it perfect.

These are a few of my favorite ornaments. I am a collector of Hallmark ornaments BUT being as frugal as I am, I always wait until after Christmas, when their ornaments are marked down 75% to add a few new ones to my collection.

Our stockings are hung by the window with care.

And, my favorite newest addition to my Christmas decor, a framed picture of my dad as a little boy visiting Santa. I have no words to describe it other than love.

Happy decorating!

Goodwill Hunting Roundup

Flea Market season has come to an end for the year. So the thrifts stores have my undivided attention.

For .49 cents, I found these Hallmark cookie cutters. They were still in the original package. I can only imagine they are from the 70s. I love the mushroom. They are perfect for play dough and we might even use them to make some salt dough ornaments.

I bought this pear for $3.99. I am toying with the idea of spray painting it because...

It reminded me of a pear I recently pinned on pinterest from Antropologie for $148.

For $1.99 I bought this apothecary jar and, in Nate Burkus fashion, am now displaying a few of my scarves inside.

I have been in need for a new makeup bag. So, when I stumbled upon this Bath and Body Works bag for $2.99, I knew it was meant to be.

Ever wonder if I check out Goodwill's clothes? The answer, without a doubt. You never know what you'll find.

Goodwill goes through their donations prior to putting them out for sale. So, you won't find stained, torn or worn out clothing. I have found a number of things that are still brand new with the tags or that have dry cleaning tags affixed.

This is probably my favorite find. For $4.99, I loved the vintage feel. I also loved the inside of the coat as much as the outside. I just got to wear this on a recent date night with my handsome husband.

Jackets must have been on my radar this month because I also found this little coat for $3.99.

For $4.99, I thought this black jacket from Express would look adorable with a pair of jeans. I am sure, even on clearance, this jacket never was $4.99.

With the holidays coming up, this faux fur jacket for only $5.99, could be the perfect finishing touch for my holiday outfits.

With a blog called, While Wearing Heels, it shouldn't surprise you that I peruse the shoe section. I added these Ann Klein shoes for $4.99. The soles were in perfect condition.

I have been thinking of adding a pair of bold red shoes to my wardrobe. I am sure I'll only wear them a few times SO when I came across these for $4.99 I know I won't feel any guilt about only wearing them a few times.

If you haven't checked out the clothes at your local thrift store, give them a chance and take a look.

A few tips to consider before diving in. Be familiar with brands, there are some unbelievable deals to be had. Grab anything that catches your eye, you can always go through your cart and edit when you are done shopping. Turn over can be quick so if you think you might like it, grab it. Be prepared to look through the racks, it may seem overwhelming but that's where you'll find those hidden gems.

Happy thrifting!

An Evening Out

Being parents to a 3 year old, date nights are few and far between BUT since we had a birthday to celebrate, we found ourselves a sitter.

We hit our favorite Cuban restaurant for some ropa vieja.

Ironic, our favorite meal is ropa vieja, which translated means 'old clothes' because no one may have guess, I was glammed up in a thrifted $3.99 100% silk pencil skirt and a thrifted $4.99 wool jacket.

After dinner, we headed to Holiday, a rat pack inspired club. Pictures of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra adorn every wall. It has a very Mad Men feel, which I adore.

They also have an original 1950s photo booth. You know the kind, 4 black and white pictures on a strip.

Cheesy, perhaps but cheese appeals to me.

A local entertainment television show, 190 North, just happened to be filming while we were there.

We were approached and asked to be on camera. They had spotted us earlier, taking pictures in the photo booth and wanted us to reenact our photo booth session but my husband quickly declined.

This was as close as I could get him to being on camera.

I'd say, for not often having a night out on the town, this date night was definitely memorable, even if it did end at 9 pm.

Birthday Traditions

This weekend we celebrated my husband's birthday.

Birthdays have always been a BIG deal in my family, thanks to my mom. We were raised to really celebrate and make sure that when it is your birthday you...

In hopes of bringing a smile to my husband's face and remind him of all the fun we have had since his last birthday, every year, I make birthday signs.

I pick about a dozen or so pictures and create funny captions for each.

Then, I hide them all over our house for him to stumble upon.

And if you think he doesn't like it, every year, he continues to give me plenty of pictures to find humor in.

So, happy birthday to a man that reminds me not to take life to seriously.