A Disney Christmas & some announcements

Gooooooood Morning, VIETNAM!

I’m back, I’m back, I’m back. I feel like I haven’t been online in for-eveh!

Last week we went with Ben’s entire family (18 people total) to…

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Walt Disney World!

(Pardon Travis’s hilarious face. He was squinting from the sun. This is the only family photo we took the whole week!)

The trip was such a blast, but oh so tiring! We need a vacation just to recover from the vacation. Not even a horrible stomach bug that had seven people in our party (including myself) puking our guts out kept us from having a great time. Disney really is “The Happiest (and most overpriced) Place on Earth”.

Here are just a few snapshots from our trip:

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My favorite of the four parks is Hollywood Studios, but I really enjoy all of them. Buzz and Woody are pretty much two of the best Disney Characters ever created.

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Because we went at Christmas time, the Castle at Magic Kingdom was draped in a bazillion lights that changed color and did a full light show. It was spectacular.

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We were at Disney World for 8 days and got home on Christmas eve, with just enough time to carry out our family tradition of opening brand new jammies before bed on Christmas eve.

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I started the tradition when Travis was a baby because I wanted him to look cute Christmas morning for all the photos. This is probably one of the kids’ favorite traditions and they talk about it all year. They love getting a gift before bed and having brand new pajamas to wear to bed that night. It totally puts them in the Christmas Spirit.

They were up at the butt-crack of dawn Christmas morning (hence the dark lighting). I’ll spare you loads of pictures of kids opening gifts and paper everywhere, but here’s one of them opening their first gift.

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I started a new tradition this year. I made some Monkey Bread for breakfast after unwrapping all the gifts. I found a recipe on Pillsbury.com, and I just have to say, it is seriously the BEST Monkey Bread I’ve ever tasted! (I’m gluten-free, but I did have a little Monkey Bread as a treat anyway – and I paid for it all day. Ugh. But it was srsly the best recipe ever).

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Here’s the recipe for the Monkey Bread.

The only thing I did differently for the bread is that I used pecans instead of walnuts. I think this type of food is better with pecans, and wow it was yummy.

So anyway, I’m finally back home and for the first time in about 2 weeks I have a moment to actually sit and blog. I’ve got a few announcements for you guys:

1) I have a giveaway going up tomorrow night at midnight (12/29 @ 12:01am), so make sure to come back for a chance to win a brand-new Silhouette Cameo!

2) I will be pinning all my features from my link party last week. I apologize that I haven’t done it yet. I had the link party pre-scheduled and was busy at the Magic Kingdom Thursday evening. ;)

3) If you are new here, HI! I’ve had a lot of new traffic lately, so I want to welcome you to House of Hepworths! Feel free to subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of this post (the form), or follow me on pinterest, facebook, and twitter!

I’ll see you tomorrow night for the giveaway!


     

Silver Tinsel Ornaments

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Hey peeps! I made this tutorial for Under The Table and Dreaming‘s Handmade Ornament Series last week. I’m reposting it here in case you missed it over there.

I’m here to show you the easiest ornament in the world to make, yet one of my very favorites…

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Silver Tinsel Ornaments

To make these simple sparkle ornaments you will need:

* clear glass ornaments

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* silver garland

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Hey, I said they were easy, didn’t I?

Simply cut the garland into 1″ strips and stuff into each of the glass ornaments.

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Pop the top back on and twist an ornament hook onto each ornament.

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Complete by hanging on your Christmas Tree!

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I could have an entire tree with nothing but these sparkly tinsel ornaments. They are so pretty.

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Add them to some DIY snow for beautiful decorative look:

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Thank you so much for letting me share my simple ornament with you! Have a wonderful Holiday Season.


     

50 Holiday wreaths you don’t want to miss

When you think of pretty much any holiday, what decor item pops into your head?

When I think of “holiday” I think, WREATHS!

Every holiday has them. They adorn fireplace mantles, front doors, mirrors, and hallways. Adding a festive wreath instantly transforms your space. It’s the quickest and easiest way to bring any holiday into your home.

Christmas wreaths are probably the most popular holiday wreath on the planet. People love decorating for THE Holidays (you know, like how people say “THE CITY” and it’s automatically assumed they are talking about NYC? You say “The Holidays” and it’s assumed you mean Christmas time.)

Enough blathering on by me. Let’s get down to it. Here are a bazillion crazy, awesome, fun, and festive wreaths that you guys have linked up over the past two weeks. Enjoy this festive round-up, and for tutorials on each wreath, simply click through to that bloggers online home – their blog.

Paint your own fabric wreath @ The Scrap Shoppe Blog

Yarn wreath @ Mandi Being Crafty

Dollar Store wreaths @ Decorating Cents

Burlap wreath @ Craptastic

Grapevine & rosettes wreath @ Burlap & Lace

Gingerbread Cookie wreath @ Saving 4 Six

“BRR” winter wreath @ Ode to Inspiration

Christmas ornament & pinecone wreath @ One Hot Crafty-Mama

Framed ornament wreath @ It’s Overflowing

Boughs and Bows wreath @ Turtles and Tails

Pottery Barn inspired wreath @ Ali Lilly

Poinsettia wreath @ Simply Sweet Home

Aluminum foil wreath @ Potholes & Pantyhose

Felt Poinsettia wreath @ Covered In Mod Podge

Grapevine & felt flower wreath @ Somewhere in the Middle

Yarn wreath @ Doodle Designs

Coffee Filter wreath @ Recaptured Charm

Festive Christmas wreath @ Over the Big Moon

Coffee Filter wreath @ Love Sweet Love

Cherub Wisteria knock-off wreath @ Shabby French Cottage

Oh, Christmas Tree hoop wreath @ 52 Mantels

Natural gold wreath @ Homework

Festive holiday sock wreath @ Curb Alert!

Fresh wreath @ Garden Therapy

Festive holiday burlap wreath @ Delightfully Noted

Book page wreath @ AlyssaBeth

Silver & white wreath @ Make the Best of Things

Mesh Christmas wreath @ The Project Queen

Garland wreath @ Keeping It Simple

White boa Crate & Barrel knock-off wreath @ It’s Overflowing

Shiny “redneck” wreath @ Five Days… 5 Ways

Marshmallow wreath @ Eclectically Vintage (I LOVE this one!)

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Yarn ball wreath @ Chocolate Moments

Wrapped Peppermint wreath @ Polish The Stars (one of my favs!)

Sheet music wreath @ River Critter’s Den

Fresh greenery swag @ Christina’s Adventures

Unwrapped pepperment candy wreath @ Loopy Loop Creations

Santa wreath @ The Cards We Drew

Christmas card holder wreath @ Making it Feel Like Home

Linen candy cane wreath @ Tattered & Inked

Fabric knots wreath @ Sew Rockin’

Deco mesh Christmas wreath @ Young and Crafty

Beaded wreath necklace @ Lady with the Red Rocker

Traditional festive ornament wreath @ Decorating Cents

fresh easy greenery wreath @ Copy Craft

Gold on gold tinsel wreath @ How to Nest for Less

Simple sock wreath @ 52 Mantels

Ornament & Evergreen wreath @ Miss Lovie

Evergreen monogram wreath @ Made in a Day

So, have you made any wreaths lately?


     
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