Xmas Decor

Here's what Christmas is looking like at my house!

Star from Big Lots (Thanks Mom!)

Tree & Ornaments from Target (last year)

Wreath from Marc's

Who's a pretty boy? Tyson!

I spray painted these deer. My mom got them from Glenn's Surplus Store in Shelby, OH. They were a brown/black color.

Ornaments from Old Time Pottery.

Davey got me this owl for Xmas!

Jar from Marshall's. Owl from Marshalls that I spray painted silver.

Trees & Bows & Garland from Marc's.

Frosted Wine Bottle w/ bottom cut out for candle. It was a party gift from our friend's wedding last Fall.

Glitter Star!

Mmmmkkk

Lantern from Ikea.

Painted deer.

I love how the tree reflects in the glass of the door.

Reindeer ornaments were a gift from a co-worker (Target I think). Snowflakes were from the dollar bin at Target last year and Icicles and Glittery Acorns were from K-mart this year. M & K's were from the dollar bin at Target this year.

It's taken a few years to gather all the things to decorate my house for christmas.

Kiki's passed out on the couch sideways. Too cute.

**Update** We opened up presents early and Mikey got me a canon speedlite flash for my camera, so I just had to test it out on the puppies! You can actually SEE Dante now. Lol. Please excuse his bone guts on his chest and his wet beard from drinking water. He did not prep for this photoshoot.

The beautiful Kiki

She was being weird and wouldn't look at me.

Maybe she didn't like the flash?

Happy Holidays everyone!

How to make your own Bath Bombs

This blog post is dedicated to my new friend & co-worker Annamarie! I was excited that my cellphone picture of my bath bombs was repinned on pinterest. My very first repin. I did however express disappointment that I didn't get around to writing about it so that everyone could learn how to do it. She agreed and was equally bummed out, I didn't wanna be one of "those" people! So here it is!

I've been meaning to make bath bombs for the longest time now. I bought the citric acid months ago and never got around to it. I figured what better time, than now for the holidays? I made some for all the special ladies in my life. I scented them w/ this fragrance oil that mimics my favorite perfume exactly, Pink Sugar!

I got this recipe from Wellington Fragrance: Homemade Bath Bomb Recipe

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1/2 cup citric acid
• 1/2 cup epsom salts
• 2 teaspoons Fragrance Oil (I used Pink Sugar from Wellington Fragrance)
• 2 1/2 Tbsp sunflower oil or Almond oil (For this batch, I used Apricot Kernel Oil)
• Mix equal parts of water and glycerine. You will need approximately 3/4 teaspoons of this mixture.
• 1/4 teaspoon borax (an emulsifier)
• Add Colorant (I used food coloring - one drop of blue, and one drop of green for the tiffany blue colored ones and just one drop of red for the pink ones)
• I also added in some non-toxic glitter for some fabulous fun!
• 3D Plastic Molds (I got the circle & heart shapes from Wellington Fragance)

Step One
Put all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix together making sure the citric acid is thoroughly dispersed throughout. You'll want the citric acid and epsom salts to be in a granulated form. If you find they are too chunky, place them in a small coffee grinder to get a finer grade.

Step Two
Combine oil, water/glycerin, fragrance, borax, and colorant in a separate bowl and mix well.

Step Three
Slowly drizzle the oil/water/glycerin mixture into the dry ingredients. You DON'T want the mixture to fizz as you drizzle, so take your time. Don't drizzle the wet ingredients too fast, but be sure to miix the dry and wet ingredients thoroughly.

Step Four
Once mixed, pack the mixture into each 3-D mold half. It's OK to overfill each half. You want the mixture to have the texture of slightly moist wet sand. The mixture should hold together when squeezed in the palm of your hand.

Step Five
Refrain from twisting the two filled halves. Instead, firmly push the two halves together. Remove any excess mixture from outside of mold with your fingers or by wiping the perimeter with a paper towel.

Step Six
You will want to unmold 1/2 at a time by gently tapping the first half of the mold a few time with your fingers. Let the bath bomb fall out of the mold one half at a time. Do not use forced or twist.
Should the bath bomb crumble upon removal, do NOT discard. Instead, add a small amount of oil (1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon) and reshape the mixture into the mold.

Step Seven
Once removing from molds, allow bath bombs to air dry undisturbed for 3 days on a clean kitchen dish towel or on waxed paper.

I designed these tags and printed them out on my home computer and I got the cute snowflake bags from the dollar store.