HAPPY NEW YEAR!  I’m jumping on the bandwagon and sharing my top 10 posts of the year.  I ranked my posts based solely on page views.  How many people actually read the post.  Some posts were more popular on Pinterest or Facebook, but these were the ones that got people over here to my little ole’ blog.

So, without further ado… A Countdown of my 10 most popular posts: 

Something I love the most about the holidays is the spirit of giving that it brings out in most people. From Thanksgiving until New Years people just seem to be more aware of the needs of others and more able to be grateful for the many blessings we all have.

And now that that holidays are over it is easy to fall back into our old ways.  Charitable donations fall drastically after the holidays, but as winter approaches there are many people whose needs for warm clothing is just beginning.

That is why I was so happy when Burlington Stores asked me to join their Warm Coats and Warm Hearts Coat drive.  This is the 8th year that Burlington has run this campaign and so far more than 1.3 million coats have been donated.
Now that my kids have received new clothes and jackets for Christmas, it is the perfect time to go through the closets and donate the ones that don’t fit anymore.  Since we live in California, and the weather is pretty mild, our coats are practically new!  I love the idea that our coats could be keeping someone warm this winter.. someone who otherwise wouldn't have a new coat.

I made a short video of our donation adventure.  (It features some really cute kids if I do say so myself, I’d love it if you would take a minute and thirty seconds to watch it!)

Merry Christmas!  I know it is Christmas Eve, but I wanted to give you a quick update on all the charitable projects I’ve been working on.

This past weekend I finally installed the silver and gold Christmas tree for the Christmas in the Community campaign. I posted about the tree earlier, and the install was a wonderful experience. 
On behalf of ChristmasTreeMarket.com I donated the tree to the Mary Isaak Center, a shelter for homeless children and their families.  You can visit the COTS' website to learn more about the program and the people they serve.

image courtesy of COTS

I have been holding onto a bunch of wine corks since I always thought I would use them in a craft project...

But I also have a few souvenir corks that hold a more significant meaning.  Those from bottles of wine we drank on special occasions.  So this year I finally figured out what to do with them.   I used them inside some ornaments, so that every time I look at the tree I am reminded of all those great times.

If you are like me, you probably have people in your life that ‘have everything’ and tell you not to buy them anything during the holidays.  My grandparents live in retirement homes and have very little space for anything I gift to them, so I am always on the look out for ideas that are meaningful but practical.  I often send them food gifts (cookies, fruit baskets, candy) since those are appreciated and don’t take up space, but they seem a little impersonal. 

If you follow me on Twitter you KNOW I am a real estate reality TV junkie.  I cannot get enough of those houses that feature people shopping for their first homes, or fixing up the space they have.  There is something so personal about a person’s home. It says so much about them and taking a peek into the part of their lives that relates to their home really strikes a chord with me (obviously).

Today’s post is extra special because it has so much more meaning to me than just decorating my own home. I was so flattered when ChristmasTreeMarket.com gave me the opportunity to decorate a Christmas tree and donate it to a local charity of my choice.  As part of their Christmas in the Community campaign, they sent me this beautiful 7.5 foot Asheville Slim Pine to give away. (Seriously, this tree is beautiful.. It looks so real!!)

As part of the campaign, I personally got to select which charitable organization I thought was worthy. Originally I had hoped to donate it to our local Veteran’s center, but due to logistical issues it didn’t work out.

Because I’ve had so many inquiries into how I get my garlands to look the way I do, I have decided to do a thorough tutorial on making the most of your fake plastic garland.  It is really hard to find “off the shelf” garland that is full and beautiful (without paying an arm and a leg) but I’m going to teach you how to get that look without the huge price tag. You are basically going to assemble your own, which also let you control exactly the look you get.

I admit, I’ve become a garland snob and it makes me cringe when I see a sad thin wispy garland adorning someone’s front door.  When you see pine garlands in magazines and in high end hotels, they are usually really full and often filled with lights, like this:

But in reality, most people end up with something that looks more like this:  (which just pitiful)

I am so excited that my parents are coming for a visit this month and in order to make their stay more enjoyable I thought I would assemble a welcome basket of items they may need.  You often hear of wedding and hotel guests getting little collections of essentials when they stay for a visit, so why not do that for people who stay in your home?

For my welcome basket I collected a few things I thought my parents would enjoy or possibly need:

I’m not actually going to give a whole “Christmas Home Tour” this year, but I did want to share my front entry way since I do that every year and this year is no exception.

I personally think your front entry is one of the best places to decorate for the holidays since it sets up the rest of your house as you walk through the door.

I know I already shared a great giveaway today.. but I have ANOTHER one!  Yes!  I know, I told you I was feeling like Oprah.  (Details on how you can win this awesome stuff are at the bottom of this post!)

But first I have to show you my latest Silhouette project for this month’s Silhouette challenge.   A dollar store charger that I turned into a chalkboard countdown calendar! 
I am actually including the cut file for this design (already laid out for a standard sized plastic charger) so when you win the machine, you will already have your first project ready to go!

I am so excited to be doing my first ever "Favorite Things" Giveaway.   Not a sponsored giveaway, but a bunch of things I specifically went out and got because I love them and I want YOU to have them too.

22 amazing bloggers from 2 countries have gotten together to offer 22 prize packages for this year's Christmas Wish List Giveaway! Each blogger has gathered some of their favourite items from their own wish list and put together a gift for you!

Visit each blog to see what items are included in their prize.  Every blogger has a separate giveaway that you must enter on their own site, to win their prize package.  You might win more than one!

Here is what is included in MY gift package (all the other bloggers' giveaway packages are listed at the bottom of this post.. make you sure you go and enter there as well!)

So what am I loving so much right now I just had to give it away?  

As promised, I am sharing my more rustic Christmas mantel.  I normally don’t post on Sundays but there are some HUGE things coming up next week (seriously, come back tomorrow** and check out the awesomeness!) and so I didn’t want to delay getting this post out.

Today is one of those posts that I am just so excited about, I am sharing it with you less than 12 hours after I finished it.  I just can’t hold out!

Now that my first Christmas mantel is complete, I am moving on to the other side of the fireplace.  Since I just updated it with stacked stone, I wanted a really rustic look (similar to last year) and so I knew I was going to make another one of my (infamous) pallet signs.

Assembly was exactly like the previous versions, and once again I stained the wood dark brown so the design would show up well.

So far I’ve only stenciled and painted the previous designs so this time I wanted to do something more dimensional.  I had a couple bags of wood slice vase filler left over from my dollar store wood slice pumpkin project and I thought they would be easy to work with.

My first Christmas Mantel of the season is finally complete!  This year I wanted to do a design that was a little more modern and stream lined vs my typically more rustic or kid friendly versions.  I decided on highly graphic stars and I love how they stand out.
I countered the non-traditional star grouping with the line “The Stars Are Brightly Shining” from the Christmas Hymn “O Holy Night."