Creative Gift Ideas for Grandparents

Our oldest son was 6 months old for his first Christmas.  Jim and I were living in Florida and we were trying to be "creative" with our Christmas gifts to our parents. I was racking my brain one day about what to buy them when the idea came to me to paint his hands and feet to make a reindeer.  I bought two canvases, painted a red border to make it look like a frame, and then put his handprints/footprints in the middle.  The grandmothers loved it and a new tradition was born!

I would paint his hands and feet for the next six years and give them to his grandmothers.  We made reindeer, Santas, angels and Christmas trees over the years.  We soon added our niece, nephew and our second and third sons to the collection. I would also make one for myself and my sister-in-law.  I wish I had a picture of the very first one so you could see how they have evolved over the years.  I love displaying them each Christmas and the boys like seeing how much their hands and feet have grown.

I have painted them for many friends and have enjoyed creating these keepsakes for their families.

Below you will see my latest collection.  I was inspired by a plate that I saw on Pinterest.  This is my version on an 11"x14" canvas.  I created the garland border with four shades of green and then added white highlights at the end. 

I then added the red berries.  I love how they pop against the blue.

Isn't this the cutest little foot that you have ever seen?  I love baby toes!

Here is an example without the angels.  I love how this turned out!

Here are some examples of what I have done with my boys over the years.  Every year I display them somewhere different.  One year I hung them on my cabinet doors.  Another year, I had them hanging on the staircase wall.

This is a very easy project for anyone to do, and your children will love creating it with you.  It would be cute with just a solid color background.  I am sure you could use scrapbook paper somehow to make it even more interesting.

I hope this give you some inspiration.  If you decide to give it a try, please send me a picture!  I would love to see what you come up with!

Thanks for stopping by,

Our Southern Nest

Easy Holiday Centerpiece

I did this quick and easy centerpiece last Christmas and decided to do it again this year.  Here is what you will need:

• Clear glass vases of different sizes
• Oranges, lemons, limes, cranberries
• Evergreen clippings
• Floating candles
• Water

First, you will want to layer a few cranberries at the bottom of the vase.  I like to see the red cranberries throughout the arrangement.  If you do not add some to the bottom, all of the cranberries will stay at the top.  (I used two bags of cranberries for three arrangements.)

Next, you will add a couple of sprigs of greenery and then the citrus fruit.  I alternated between the greenery and the fruit.  I put an orange in first to help keep some of the cranberries at the bottom and then added two limes and a lemon.  I then added some more sprigs of greenery, an orange, one lime and two lemons.  I like to use an odd number of lemon and limes.

(*A note about the greenery-  You will need very little greenery.  If you use too much, you will not be able to see the fruit.  You can either clip it from your live Christmas tree/garland, or you can use what you have in your yard.  If you do not have access to either, you can go to Home Depot or Lowe's and ask them for some of the clippings from their Christmas trees.  They usually have a big bin with a pile of greenery that has been cut from the bottom of the Christmas trees they have sold.  It is FREE and I will usually go a  couple of times during the holidays to replenish my greenery throughout the house.)

Last, you will want to fill the vase with water and top it off with a floating candle.  You can find the floating candle at most craft stores.  The arrangement will usually last 5-7 days.  You will notice the water will start to become murky.  I will drain the water when this happens and replace anything that is starting to look bad.  You can also do this arrangement without the candle and it is still just as pretty. 

The best place I have found to purchase the vases is TJ Maxx.  They are super inexpensive and they will have a variety of sizes.

I do another version of this arrangement without water.  I layered another vase I purchased from TJ Maxx with gold ornaments and greenery.



If you would like to see more pictures of our home during the holidays, please click HERE.  This is a link to the 2011 Candlelight Tour post.

Thanks for stopping by,

Our Southern Nest

More Pictures from Candlelight Tour

Here are some pictures of our master bedroom during the Candlelight Tour.  I did not get them uploaded the first time around.  One lady asked me where we purchased our bed.  She said, "I bet you got that wonderful bed at Scott's Antiques."  I laughed and said, "No ma'am.  We found the bed on Craigslist."  She just laughed and walk away. :)

2011 Christmas Candlelight Tour

Last night we opened our home for the Candlelight Tour benefiting our local hospital auxiliary.  There were five homes being featured in our neighborhood.  It was a beautiful night and we had a wonderful time.  I would first like to say thank you to my husband, family, and friends who helped me pull it all together.  I could not have survived without them.  I would also like to thank all of my friends who attended the tour.  It was so great to see everyone of you and I wish we could have had more time to visit during the night.  You will just have to come back again before Christmas is over! 

So here we go!  I will just be posting pictures (tons of them), but if you have any questions please feel free to email me.  I will try to post some how-to's at a later date.

I would like to mention that the fabulous paintings in my keeping room and dining room were done by local artists, David Boyd Jr. and his sister Bonne Boyd Beddingfield.  I wish I could say that we owned them, but alas, they were on loan for the evening.  David and his wife, Julie, are great friends of ours and we are forever grateful to both of them for helping us out.  You can view David's work online at Compelledtopaint.blogspot.com.  You can also find him on Facebook.  Bonne is also a sweetheart and is not only a talented painter, but makes the most beautiful cakes you have ever seen.  You may remember that she is the one who made the fabulous pirate cake for our youngest son's birthday.  You can view her work at dreampainter.blogspot.com or at fondontopia.com.  Thank you Boyd family!!!

So there you have it!  Sorry for all the picture, but believe it or not, I still have more I would like to share.  I will try to get to it later this week.  I hope you enjoyed your tour! :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Our Southern Nest