Pretty, Pretty Pleats

Quite a few people asked me how I made the tree skirt from my previous post. It all started when I spotted a similar no-sew ruffle skirt project on Pinterest, pinned it, and decided to give it a try. I chose to go with pleats instead of large ruffles in order to achieve a more tailored look. Pleats always remind me of my wedding gown :)

This was a relatively easy project, but it did take a fair amount of time to complete. The most tedious part was carefully measuring and cutting 4 yards of fabric into 3" strips. I used shimmery blue-grey linen in hopes of creating "waves" under the ocean section of our tree. The best part about this project is the fact that it doesn't require a stitch of sewing whatsoever! All you need is a glue gun and a bunch of glue sticks, and you're good to go.

I didn't make a tutorial because there are already tons of fantastic ones out there. Here's a great tutorial if you're interested in making a tree skirt of your own!

Wonka was very curious and tried to keep me company, but he got sleepy a few hours in.

7 hours (and several burnt fingers) later...

Voila! We have a tree skirt!

Bow Wow

One of my favorite things about presents is the part where I get to wrap them up! Pretty packaging simply makes a gift feel that much more special. I've been having such a blast wrapping, tying, taping, gluing... and checking everyone off my list :)

Since paper is usually destroyed during the unwrapping process, I prefer using plain brown craft paper (super affordable and eco-friendly) and placing more emphasis on trimmings. This year, I'm experimenting with different styles of poofy bows and doodads. Here are three simple projects that are guaranteed to give your presents a bit of extra oomph! Click the photos for tutorials. Happy wrapping!

Gift Bows - I tried making felt & canvas variations of traditional paper gift bows, and was quite pleased with the results. Love that they're reusable!

Yarn Pompoms - These are incredibly easy to make and add a whimsical touch to anything! Tip: For smaller poms, try using a serving fork.

Paper Flower Poms - These paper flowers are just tinier versions of these. Simple & romantic!

Can't wait to share these gifts with some very wonderful people.
By the way, what do you think about our new tree skirt? I made it myself!

Let Heaven & Nature Sing

Hope you guys had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday! Chris and I were truly blessed and thankful for all the quality time spent with friends, family, and each other. Our friend from India, Sanjiv, joined us for the weekend, and we had such a blast setting up our Christmas tree together! We did not expect this tree to look so humongous in our apartment. I got chills when the lights came on :)

I mentioned a while back that I wanted to create a themed tree. Well, we finally decided on a "Nature" theme! We've split the tree into three tiers - Air, Land, and Sea - and are slowly collecting ornaments that represent various habitats. Here's a peek of what we have so far~

Air:

Land: This section has been the easiest to put together. Not sure which biome to classify the Sock Monkey under...

Sea: All we have right now is a lonely walrus. I picked up some dried starfish from Evolution to nestle in the branches and keep him company in the meantime. This section has been a bit harder to collect for, but that's part of the fun!