Does anyone else have a to-do list a mile long?  I really really love this busy time of year, but I always make plans to do more more more, and then get discouraged when I can’t find the time for it all.  Even now as I look around my living room, I see boxes of Christmas decorations on the couch, a sewing desk that is filled with all manner of things not related to sewing, and half finished paper chains (2 down, 8 to go!).  Oh, and did you know that tomorrow is December 1st?  Big, hefty sigh.  Don’t worry about me.  I’ll make it through.  Cinnamon toast, chocolate chips, and raspberry tea will help me get there:)

One thing I’ve noticed this year, is that I really want a simple Christmas tree.  The thought of piles of glitter, ribbon, and cheesy ornaments makes me feel a little sick, so I’m totally loving these ultra simple, GORGEOUS trees:

(source and source)

In unrelated news, my husband Tristan and I went to see Blonde Redhead perform on Saturday night in Denver, and it was an amazing night.  You really do experience music differently at a live show.  Their music had an electric connection for me.  I really can’t explain it further.  It was my 2nd time seeing them live, and I hope to see them again…really soon.

Sparkly pants and an amazing white “bearded” mask.  Looks a little strange, but you really had to be there – electric.  Here’s to long to-do lists, cinnamon toast, and bearded masks.  Merry Christmas.

Happy Cyber Monday friends!  Are you busy busy busy this week?  We hope that you can take some time out to enjoy the simple things – like a good Christmas movie perhaps?   We (the sisters, May & Dae) had a jam-packed and fun weekend, and we are ready to hit the ground running!  We are still having our FREE SHIPPING sale in our shop (hurry, you only have until Thursday!), and updating with new items every day!  It is our first Christmas doing a blog AND having an Etsy shop, so we are excited, a tad over-whelmed, and very grateful for everything that is happening:)  Speaking of our blog, today is our 200th post!  Hooray!

This is an exciting and busy time for most Etsy sellers, and we  are so happy to be able to feature this batch of Etsy items inspired by the movie ELF! If you haven’t seen this movie yet, don’t be a cotton-headed ninny muggins – watch it immediately, and be sure to have lots of candy canes, paper snowflake supplies,  and maple sryup on hand when you view it.  Trust us.

May’s Etsy Picks:

(Elf print from Skahfee Studios, snow flake garland by Paper Klip Design,  coat from Dig Vintage Design,  wool snowballs by Wendy Cook, penguin from Pengulosh, elf hat on a stick by Maro Designs, Santa and sleigh from Hinds Studio, snowflakes by Bella’s Gems, snow globe cards from Architette Studios, denim Narwhal by Sian)

Dae’s Etsy Picks:

(Ninny Muggins shirt from Vicarious Clothing, Snowflakes from Pretty Paperz, Yellow tights by Weenie Dog Nation, Aluminum Santa from Carmen and Ginger, Maple syrup from Paul Bunyan Maple Syrup, Wooden narwhal by Imagination Kids, Finn elf by bumblebird, Neck ruff from EW McCall, Wool raccoon by Lori Nichols, Elf shoe ornaments by LuLu’s Apple)

Good morning lovelies!

We hope that you had a fantastic Thanksgiving and aren’t regretting filling yourself to capacity.  We had a great time with our family and friends yesterday…and are SO looking forward to leftovers!  While Stephanie May went Black Friday shopping with our dad this morning at 4 AM(she is CRAZY….!) – I still had to be at work at 6:30.  Yes, feel sorry for me.

Today will actually be quite relaxing and I’ll be getting paid to work on my Christmas projects since there isn’t anything else to do.  So with my Starbucks coffee in hand – I decided to quickly browse through my photos from yesterday and show you a few…so I can get to my handmade Christmas loveliness.  As a follow-up to this post about Thanksgiving place cards…here is what I decided on(idea found here) – and made about 2 hours before everyone came over:

Lovely fabric bunting for the ladies and a sort of faux plaid-ish striped type thing for the boys.

Oliver wanted to get in on the fun too – doesn’t he look perfect with my stitched place card?

Yeah…I think they’re kind of cute…and they were super easy – always a plus.

****In case you didn’t see – today through Thursday December 2nd at 9pm MST we are offering FREE SHIPPING to all U.S. residents and 1/2 OFF SHIPPING on all International orders from our shop!!  Click here for details and go visit our shop here….you know you want to!!****

Us “before the meal”  :)

Sorry for the later post – I thought I would have this up by this afternoon, but alas, too much turkey has made me procrastinate:)

The exciting news is about our Etsy Shop!!  We are super super excited to offer our wonderful MayDae customers FREE SHIPPING on all U.S. orders, and 1/2 OFF SHIPPING on all International orders – eeeeeek!!  This will begin later tonight, and go all the way to Thursday, December 2nd at 9:00 p.m. (MST).  We’ve never tried anything like this before, but we really want to be giving in this season, especially to all of our lovely friends (YOU!).  This offer will apply to EVERYTHING in our Shop, and we will be adding more items with free shipping daily!  Don’t you just love the Christmas season?

Did you have a good Thanksgiving today?  What was your favorite part?

Will you head over to our shop right now?  Pretty please?

Love,

(source)

From us.  We really do love you.  Really.

*Come back this afternoon for a special 2nd post, and EXCITING announcement!

♥,

I am the unofficial Thanksgiving place card provider in my family.  I’m not really sure when it happened, it’s been a few years now – but I like finding and/or designing cute place cards for our large family meal.  Every year I say that I’m going to spend more time on them the next year and do something really out of the ordinary.  Every year, I forget about it and end up printing something at work the day before Thanksgiving – and then spending hours cutting around detailed turkeys or pumpkins.  This year…is no different.  I didn’t remember until this morning that I hadn’t even thought about the place cards at all this year.

If you are a procrastinator like me and haven’t started your place cards yet – or weren’t planning on making any but would like to try – I found some super cute ideas this morning.  I still don’t know what I will end up doing for our place cards this year(especially since I have eight pumpkin pies to make tonight…yum) – but maybe it will be one of these:

Super simple can be great – especially this late in the game.  {Source}

This is pretty great but there is no way I could find a gourd or squash today. {Source}

I love the clay pine cones and acorns – so cute! {Source}

Leaves are wonderful. {Source}

Very simple but really cute. {Source}

A place card and a treat all in one. {Source}

Felted wool for the win. {Source}

I absolutely LOVE these and they would be so easy to do!  Maybe I will make my dad cut some wood for me tonight! {Source}

So sweet. {Source}

These are my FAVORITE!  The map and boats…Thanksgiving origins…yes. {Source}

If you end up trying any of these, or just have some really cute place cards in general – send us a picture, we would LOVE to see what you came up with!  Happy Thanksgiving loves!

I like to take photos of myself in the car.  A lot.  Why?  Boredom?  Vanity?  Fun?  All of the above?

Hmmmm…am I the only one who does this?

And photos of *him* driving make my heart beat a little faster.

(All photos taken by May)

Happy happy week of Thanksgiving!  We hope that you are all ready for your special meal on Thursday, and also thinking ahead to the busy and fun Christmas season ahead.  We (the sisterly team of MayDae) are pulling out our Christmas decorations this week, and brainstorming new ideas for this year.  If you haven’t tried something new in your decorating for a few years, now is the time!  You don’t have to start completely from scratch, but can definitely try to incorporate different items or a new theme that you haven’t done before – which makes it so much fun!  Even if a theme that you like doesn’t seem particularly “Christmasy” to you, it doesn’t mean that it can’t turn out to be whimsical, magical, and beautiful.  Go for it and enjoy these super cute Christmas decor finds from Etsy.com!

May’s Etsy Picks:

There are just too many good Christmas goodies on Etsy, so I decided to narrow my picks down a bit and chose to do a “woodland Christmas” theme.  Hope you like!

Love the necktie and hair bow on these adorable owl ornaments.

A fox on a wreath is really really cute and fun.

(Owl ornaments by Ordinary Mommy, wood slice ornaments from reetree, bunny garland by Nissa Lynn Home, painted fox ornament from Cool Ranch Studio, acorn ornaments by Fairy Folk, fox wreath from Knock Knocking, squirrel ornaments by Just Mare, rabbit doily ornament from I Wanna Be, bear cards by Ashley Pahl, wood acorn ornaments from Twigs and Blossoms)

Dae’s Etsy Picks:

Since I love to read, I thought I would do a book pages theme…we both did neutrals, go figure.  Note* – Books were harmed in the making of these ornaments, but they’re just so darn cute, I can’t help myself.  Enjoy!

Okay so this one isn’t book pages…but it is paper – and it’s super cute!

The colors on this are delicious.

(Comic book hanging ornaments by Bookity, Recycled Yellow Pages star from Swedish Krimskrams, Lucky star glass ornament from Halibu Valley, Miniature origami books by Signoraluna, Vintage paper Christmas tree by mindimade, Book pages birdhouse from Ferntree Studio, Glass ornament from kellixmiller, Vintage map garland by Palimpsestic, Trixie Belden book wreath from House of Belonging, Topsy turvy paper ornament by Green Trike Press)

Now I know I wrote a bit of a Christmas downer post the other day – but really…it’s JUST the music – and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, go here if you want to read my thoughts on Christmas jingles – but I am EXTREMELY excited about Christmas!  I sent a short list of things I am into these days to my family but decided to follow Stephanie May in posting some of my Christmas wishes(some I am adding but weren’t on my actual list before).

Books, books, and more books.  I think this is on my list every year – I kind of like to read…just a little.  Oh!  And The Little Prince Pop-Up Book!  It would totally go with my Little Prince collection that I talked about here.

(Photo Source, Source)

Knitted or hand sewn pouffes.  I have had the photo on the left in my inspiration folder for about 5 years.  I desperately love these.

(Photo Source, Source, Source)

Vintage mannequins, dress forms, individual parts.

(Photo Source, Source, Source)

Lots of cute socks to wear with my heels or Oxford flats – floral, plaid, ruffled, striped – any and all cute patterns.  I love this look and I feel I need to do more of it!

(Photo Source, Source, Source)

Vintage floral, plaid, patterned suitcases…Obviously I am into patterns these days – and I would LOVE to take a weekend trip with the cutest luggage around!

(Photo Source, Source, Source)

Not only do I want to start a vintage camera collection – I also am in love with and desperately want to own a FujiFilm Instax camera and also a Diana camera…I heart these.

(Photo Source, Source, Source)

Elsie’s Photo Journals E-Course….WANT.  I’ve always wanted to make my own journals but not in a scrapbook way…this is like updated scrapbooking.  Yes.

Tomorrow will be my first outing for Christmas shopping and I couldn’t be more excited!  I am way behind and have been looking forward to hours and hours of thrift shopping, coffee drinking and creative thinking for weeks!  Happy weekend loves!

I am a little behind this morning…an actual post is coming soon! :)