Christmas Decorating in the Wallace Home!

Jon and I were finally able to get around to "decking the halls" in our little apartment. It looks so festive and I'm already counting down the days until Christmas (only 25 days away!!) Gifts for my family and friends are starting to come in the mail and it's almost time to start wrapping. :)

Here are some photos from our home:

Have you started decorating for Christmas yet? Have pictures on your blog? Send me a link! I'd love to see. :) 

PS -- It's time to announce the winners of the two November giveaways!! Winner of the Hodgepodge Arty Solo Feature Fingerless Gloves Giveaway is #10 Jenni Austria Germany & the winner of the November Sponsor Giveaway is #35 Tarino Bambino!! Congratulations ladies! Please contact me at MaieDae@gmail.com with your shipping information. :) 

Fancy Shmancy: Holiday Gift Guide #3

1. For Like Ever Poster from Super-Rural

2. Mini Wreath Holiday Card DIY by {frolic!}

3. Alder Branch Garland & Love Note by Shanna Murray Illustrated Decals 

4. Upwardly Mobile Satchel from ModCloth 

5. A Beautiful Mess Necklace from ModCloth

6. High Resolution Heel from ModCloth 

7. Merry & Bright Holiday Cards by Sugar Paper

8. Cheerful Camera Straps for DSLR/SLR by iMoShop

9. Return Address Stamp with Custom Calligraphy by Perchpapiers 

Cyber Monday Sale!! -- Nov 28-30

Get 25% off your entire purchase today through Wednesday by using coupon code: CYBERMONDAY at checkout! This is the only holiday sale we will be having for MaieDae Handmades, so be sure to get your Christmas goodies purchased in time for the holidays!

We have tons of new products and special customized pieces. Each purchase comes packaged beautifully, ready to give. :) Not sure what to buy? Take a look at our Holiday Lookbook for inspiration! Happy Christmas shopping to you!

PS - Looking to pick up a few pieces from our Closet Sale?? Use coupon code: BLACKFRIDAY50 to get 50% off of your entire purchase! We are closing up the closet shop soon, so be sure to pick out a few of your favorite pieces! 

Weekly Wrap-Up

This week was full of Thanksgiving festivities, Christmas shopping, and driving! I think Jon and I calculated a total of 30 hours on the road in the past two weeks (not including our commute back and forth to work)...I think it might be time for a driving break. ;)

As I mentioned in my last post, Jon and I celebrated Thanksgiving part II at my parents' house yesterday. We had so much fun visiting with my family and their significant others, playing card games and eating another delicious meal. After Jonathon and I got home. we spent the rest of the evening deep cleaning and organizing our kitchen. We've decided to go through each room in our home...re-organize it, clean it, find items we want to donate, and throw away any trash. It feels so good to have things organized and clean! I think we'll spread out the rest of the rooms over this week and next week. :)

Snapshot of the Week: The Oreo Cheesecake I made for my family's Thanksgiving!

5 Favorite Blog Posts this Week:
* DIY Holiday Stars by EliseBlaha :: enJOY it
* Joy the Baker Cookbook! by Joy the Baker
* 5 Tips for Designing by Mallory Makes Things
* Surprise! by Hue & Hum
* Now Offering Custom Stamps by Oh my Deer

3 Things About Yours Truly:
* My favorite Thanksgiving dish (besides dessert) are the candied yams. :)
* One of my goals for 2012 is to plan ahead and cook better dinners for Jon and I.
* I definitely had a Xanga and MySpace account waaaayyyyy back in the day.

Thanksgiving

Jonathon and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! I loved being able to visit with his family and enjoy Uncle Harby's delicious cooking for the first time! Jon and I decided to forego breakfast on Thursday morning so there would be plenty of room for the thanksfeast and dessert! After practically putting ourselves under a food coma, we took a walk around the beautiful downtown Georgetown area. It was seriously so stunning and peaceful...everything in me wanted to pack up and move to the quaint little town. I admittedly tugged Jon's arm a couple times telling him how much I wish we could move to South Carolina. :)

To wrap the wonderful evening up, we all gathered in the family room and played a couple of intense (and hilarious) rounds of Jenga.

Here are a couple peeks into our Thanksgiving weekend...

1. Beautiful display in Jon's Aunt and Uncle's home...I was drooling everywhere over their historic place.

2. Frances setting the "kids" table on the sun deck.

3. Our table. :) 

4. My cheesecake! Vanilla salted caramel, so yummy!

5. Delicious food. 

6. Family!

7. Pictures from our walk in downtown Georgetown. 

8. Wrapping up our trip with the traditional stop by Melvin's BBQ. So good!

Tomorrow, Jon and I are taking our Oreo cheesecake over to my parents' house for Thanksgiving part 2! AND to make things even better...we decorated for Christmas this evening! It's so festive in the Wallace household right now. :) Have I mentioned how much I love the holidays?!? 

I hope the rest of your weekend is wonderful!

Listography: 25 Things I'm Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving!! Jon and I are in Mount Pleasant, SC, celebrating Thanksgiving with his extended family. This is my first year celebrating with Jon's side of the family, so I'm very excited. I tried my hand at baking a vanilla salted caramel cheesecake (found here), but I'm nervous to see if it will be a success or complete failure...I don't have a ton of confidence in the final product, but I'm dying to try it! We're heading back to Atlanta on Friday night or Saturday morning and having a Sunday Thanksgiving with my side of the family (which I am way excited about too!). Two Thanksgivings?? Yes please!

25 Things I'm Thankful For:
* How Jon and I value family and special time with each other.
* Our two fluffy kitties.
* Good health.
* A good job and the ability to pursue MaieDae on the side.
* Giving gifts.
* Delicious french fries.
* My supportive and adorable husband.
* Family and new family.
* Marriage.
* Technolo-gies!
* Self motivation.
* Faith.
* Hot bread and olive oil.
* Nesting...and re-nesting...and nesting again.
* MaieDae, my creative outlet and passion.
* Dr. Pepper.
* Fellowship with family and friends.
* The most magical place on earth....Disney!
* My girls: Kelsie (sister), Jenny, and Anica.
* Starbucks.
* Online shopping.
* Date Day!
* Christmas, seriously my most, mostest..favoritest holiday. ;)
* TV Show marathons with Jon.
* Never-ending inspiration.

Announcing the MaieDae Holiday DIY Party!

I'm am so excited to officially invite you to the MaieDae Holiday DIY & Giveaway Party! Jenny and I have been working hard to come up with some great holiday related DIY projects to share and get you in the spirit for Christmas! We have some creative great gifts ideas, home nesting inspiration, as well as some simple DIY fashion! We will be featuring 12 DIYs over 7 days on both my blog and Jenny's blog. 

We also have 3 incredible giveaways to offer during the week! We'll be giving away a copy of Design*Sponge at Home, loot from Martha Stewart Holiday crafting goodies, as well as a special holiday surprise from one of my favorite bloggers!!

I can't wait!! -- Mark your calendars for December 5th! Hope to *see* you there. ;)

Solo Feature: Hodgepodge Arty + Giveaway!

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I'm Karen Elizabeth Blackburn.  I live in Chicago with my husband//love, Josh, and our dog, Nora.  During the day, I teach preschoolers and in the evenings, I love making things.  When I was a child, I was always making something...fancy dolls made from toothpicks (see here), friendship bracelets, recreations of food and meals in felt with a magnet stuck to the back for the refrigerator, little drawings of ballerinas, and stories about mice.  I learned how to knit and sew when I was in elementary school and never stopped.  I had a creative and influential mom who was always making things and making things beautiful.

2. What made you decide to start your shop & blog?
I wanted a little place for friends and family to find my makings.  I'm still exploring what goes in it, and it does seem a bit of a hodgepodge sometimes, but that's ok.  I continue to explore and challenge myself to make things that I truly love and explore patterns and fabrics that I'm drawn to.  I also like displaying my photographs.  They don't really sell, but that's ok.  I like that people look at them and can enjoy them.

3. What are your favorite things to blog about? Favorite posts? 
I'm still learning to find my blogging voice (taking a course on it at the moment), but I really enjoy blogging about DIY projects and showing people how to make things.  I think it's the teacher in me...I like organizing the steps to create something!

4. What are your favorite things to make for your shop?
The knits are my favorite...all of them!  The fingerless gloves are a blast to make and it's fun coming up with ways to embellish them...I try to make it something that will make people smile.  I also enjoy designing cowls with different patterns like this one. Influenced by my work teaching preschoolers, I'm working on more dolls and puppets for the shop, too.

5. Favorite pass-time?
Movies...in crowded theaters, in quiet theaters, at home, or in the park.  Old or new, movies are simply the best.  They give me a chance to keep my fingers busy...I'm always knitting or making something while we watch them.

6. What is on your current wish-list? 
Any knitting patterns by Jane Richmond.  I adore her.

I have two, but would love more tutus.  The best ones are found here.  They are lovely to work with and you can literally choose from dozens of colors and design your own.  I wore one for my wedding and think they're just magical.

A sewn print from Tastes Orangey...any one of them.

7. Favorite blog reads?
DIY from A Beautiful Mess
Doll techniques from Wee Wonderfuls
Beautiful images from Little Brown Pen

8. If you had three wishes what would they be?
I think they change everyday.  Some days I don't need them :)

9. What's your favorite part about the holidays?
I love that "the holidays" are literally about 40 days of festivities, with something to look forward to everyday.  It's a tradition that we don't do anything Christmas-y until Thanksgiving.  But once that magical November Thursday hits, it's Christmas until early January in our home.  My husband and I make a list of everything we want to do and tack it to the fridge.  From decorating our entire apartment to making gingerbread houses to spiking our hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps, it's all so wonderful and lasts so long.

10. What inspires you the most?
Children's stories and illustrations, the rainbow of yarn colors in a small yarn shop, traveling, and a really good movie.

Find Karen Here:
Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/HodgepodgeArty
Blog: http://karenblackburn.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HodgepodgeArty
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/HodgepodgeArty

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Giveaway Time! -- Karen is offering MaieDae readers the chance to win a pair of her adorable "hi" fingerless gloves from her shop! Details on how to enter are below. 

Main Entry:
1. Leave a comment on this post sharing your favorite item from Karen's shop!

Bonus Entries (please leave one comment per entry):

1. Take a visit at Hodgepodge Arty's blog and leave a sweet comment!

2. Become a follower of MaieDae via GFC (on the left) or Bloglovin

3. Tweet about it! Just copy & paste this: Win adorable fingerless gloves from @HodgepodgeArty on @MaieDae! http://maiedae.blogspot.com/2011/11/solo-feature-hodgepodge-arty-giveaway.html

One winner will be selected at random and announced THIS Saturday!! 

New Items in the Shop + Holiday Deadline

Along with our Holiday Lookbook, we've also loaded up the shop with lots of old and new pretties for Christmastime shopping! We have a couple new pieces, that I'm loving, as well as some different variations of older beloved pieces. :)

If you would like to purchase a MaieDae Handmade piece for someone you love during the holidays, we've set a holiday shopping deadline in order to make sure your gift arrives in a timely manner. All U.S. residents need to purchase their items before December 14th and all International residents need to purchase their items before December 5th. Some of our items are made to order, as well as customizable, so we want to give ourselves plenty of time to make your pieces, package them up all pretty, and send them safely to you. :)

Here are a few of my favorite new pieces in the shop! Above, we have our romantic "Darling & I" necklace that you can customize with you and your sweetheart's name and to the left of that, we have our new custom silhouette necklace that will resemble you and your love! 

1. Recycled Vintage Key Rings - Choose from several styles and shapes.

2. Vintage Buffalo Nickel Necklace

3. Men's Bow-Ties - Made from vintage fabric and clip-on, also way cute for women.

4. Bullet Necklace - Comes in silver and brass. 

5. Chicago Earring - Our bestseller feathered Chicago earring now comes paired with a raw amethyst or citrine stud. 

6. Double Quartz Rings

7. Geology Rings - Another bestseller now in Glitz and Rubies! 

All items can be found in the shop here. Happy Christmas shopping to you!

PS - Looking for some extra clothing?! Our MaieDae Closet Shop is running an early black friday sale! Get 50% off your ENTIRE purchase by using coupon code: BLACKFRIDAY50 at checkout!

Sponsor in December!

The best month of the year is coming soon! I have lots of fun and exciting plans for MaieDae during December, including a HUGE holiday DIY//giveaway party, an amazing inspirational post series, plus 2011 reflections, and new goals for 2012! -- People are gearing up for their Christmas shopping/vacation time, so what could be a better month to advertise your shop or blog? 

All sizes (only small & mediums available), rates and stats can be found on my Sponsorship Page. -- This is the last month I will be running at my current rates and sizing. Starting in January, I plan to revamp my sponsorship program and offer new sizes! 

If you would like to sponsor MaieDae during the month of December, please contact me at MaieDae@gmail.com with your preferred size.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!

Weekly Wrap-Up

This week has been both tiring and exciting. We launched our very first lookbook for MaieDae Handmades and completely updated the shop for the holidays! A huge thank you to everyone who left sweet comments and took time to look at our lookbook! Your support and encouragement means the world. :)

Jon and I drove from Atlanta, GA, to Charleston, SC, on Tuesday to attend his grandmother's funeral. It was a beautiful ceremony and, even though it's been emotional for Jon's family, we have loved talking about old memories and looking through her amazing collection of family photographs. Jon and I went ahead and drove up again for this weekend to see how we could help. So...lots of driving happening over here! Just two works days this week and then Thanksgiving! I can't wait. :) We are celebrating with Jon's family and then, next Sunday, we will have a special dinner with my family. 

Snapshot of the Week: Pictures from grandma's collection. (Top left: Jon's grandfather. Top middle: Jon's dad, Charles. Top right: Jon's grandmother. Bottom left: Grandmother, dad and aunt. Bottom right: Jon's grandmother dancing.)

Five Favorite Posts this Week:

* PR + Marketing E-Book by Little Chief Honeybee

* The 15 Friends Project by Hue & Hum

* 12 Days of Cheer by Oh, Hello Friend

* DIY: How to be a Successful Creeper by Scathingly Brilliant 

* How to Knit Strait (In the Round) by Kyla Roma

Three Things About yours Truly:

* Started Christmas shopping yesterday!

* I'm planning to seriously dye my hair this week. It needs to happen.

* Bought this adorable bow. :)

Videoclip of the Week: Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you a wonderful end to your weekend. :)

November Sponsor Giveaway!

Giveaway time! Win some pretty goodies from my sponsors! Perfect to help along your Christmas shopping or just keep for yourself. ;) One winner will win all the prizes below!

BLOG // SHOP // TWITTER

BLOG // SHOP // TWITTER

BLOG // SHOP

Main Entry:

* Comment letting me know what you would buy with your shop credits!

Bonus Entries: (please leave one comment per bonus entry)

1. Visit each of these lovely ladies' blogs and leave an encouraging comment! Afterward, comment on this post letting me know you took a visit! -- If you'd like, feel free to become a new follower of theirs too!

2. Become a follower of MaieDae via GFC (right column).

3. Like MaieDae on Facebook. 

4. Tweet about it! If you'd like, you can just copy and paste this: @MaieDae is having a November Sponsor Love Giveaway! One winner, three prizes! http://maiedae.blogspot.com/2011/11/november-sponsor-giveaway.html

One winner will be selected at random and announced within the week!

MaieDae Holiday Lookbook is Here!

This has truly been a labor of love! Jenny and I have spent many hours visualizing the look and feel, making jewelry, scheduling and organizing the photo-shoot, and taking hundreds of pictures of our fabulous models. We want to send a HUGE thank you to our models: Madi Thornton, Hannah Ausband, Anna Ward, Wes Sherwin, and Christian Turner. They were absolutely fabulous to work with, so helpful, and were extremely enthusiastic about the shoot and our products. :)

We've had an amazing experience putting this together and are thrilled with the results! And now, I proudly bring to you, the very first MaieDae lookbook! Enjoy!

Like what you see?! All products you see in the lookbook are now available in our shop, just in time for Christmas!

More photos from the lookbook will be uploaded to our Facebook page later today!