Tuesday tunes.

The Weepies is hands down the best concert I have been to, and I have been to a lot. I saw them at a little place in Austin that held no more than 100 people and we sat indian style on the floor in the front row. Pretty great... it felt like they were my aunt and uncle or something just singing to a group of my friends in my living room. Anyway, I have now turned Stone onto them and we are constantly playing their one Christmas song right now. Hope you enjoy!

xo.

Weekend wrap up.

Well Stone and I had a pretty mellow weekend. Not at all what I thought or wished for it, it just kind of ended up that way. So mellow in fact that, on Saturday, I found myself sitting at home watching Home Alone 2 and making a new Christmas wreath :) I cannot complain about a little down time though, it is good for me. Anyway, we did go on a really great beach bike ride yesterday, in the sunny 80 degree weather (crazy, right?), I even wore my swimsuit!

Hope you all had a fun and Christmassy weekend, we have now watched a total of 8 Christmas movies, we are on a roll and I am loving it!

I thought I would share with you the wreath I made, because it is easy and looks great!

You will need a styrofoam wreath, yarn and some decorative paper.

Double wrap the yarn around the styrofoam wreath (this takes a good while), then cut 1/2 inch to 1 inch strips of paper folding them accordion style. Circle the two ends of paper around and glue them together to make small flowers. Affix to wreath and add a pretty bow! So simple, I have been using mini clothespins to put our Christmas cards onto it. Enjoy!

xo.

Stone's Christmas Wish

Hello all. Stone here (Shelby's oh so sweet husband). I thought I would break into her blog and inject a little masculineness. I was thinking that Shel puts all kinds of gift ideas for girls up (which has come in VERY handy when I want to get her a gift), but not a whole bunch for the dudes in those girls lives. So ladies, here are a few of my most desired items for this Christmas season (hint hint Shel). Some are crazy life dreams for if Santa is feeling especially wild (ie. Land Rover Defender), but all are totally bad to the bone (in my humble opinion).

So here they are ... hope you enjoy. The links are below.

Row 1: Coal Beanie, Bodem 8 Cup French Press

Row 2: Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L, Raen Lennox

Row 3: Vans Era 45 Cali Sneaker

Row 4: Nixon's "The Mellor", Leica M9 Rangefinder Digital Camera

Row 5: Eames Lounger, The Pacific HBO Series

Row 6: FCD Fish Surfboard, Swedish Fish, CREW Mint Shampoo, Sansdisk CF Memory Cards

Row 7: The Quotable C.S. Lewis, Richard Avedon's Portraits of Power

Row 8: Nixon's 51-30 Chrono, Land Rover Defender

11 Resolutions for 2011.

I love these resolution postcards, just a funny little idea to send to friends when 2011 rolls around! Unfortunately I usually have hopes of following the Hi-Res type resolution, but fail and end up in the Low-Res category.

Andy Babb’s 11 Resolutions for 2011 postcard set plays off of the New Year’s resolutions people typically make. Working out more, drinking less, losing weight, you get the idea. Andy illustrated each one, then took it to the next level. On the reverse sides there are two options for carrying out your goal: Hi-Res (high hopes) and Lo-Res (cynical). Via Design Crush

DIY Advent Calendars.

This is the first year for Stone and I to have an Advent Calendar. I love it, because, as you may have read in previous posts I am a fan of making paper chain countdowns and this is quite similar except with our calendar this year we get chocolate each day and who can complain about that? But, I have come to find out that there are so many different things to do for an advent, I have never had one, so I am just used to seeing the ones with edible treats inside to buy at stores. But really, the history of the advent calendar is just to receive a small gift a day leading up to Christmas to add excitement and anticipation for Christmas day. Anyway, I know it is a bit late in the game, but I gathered some of the ideas I have seen recently to share with you, it is only the 8th, you can still start one today! xo.

Cone Advent Calendar Banner

Boxed Advent Presents

Advent gifts in a pouch for above the mantle.

Snowing Presents Advent Calendar.

Tins filled with candies and toys.

Tiny artwork.

Have you heard of the artist Dalton Ghetti? Well, I just read about him yesterday, and his extraordinary talent of creating artwork from pencil lead. Think of the crazy amount of patience this would take? In the article it says that all of his pieces that have broken while he was working on them have been put into a box that he calls his 'graveyard collection'. I can imagine that there are a ton in there.

Stone and I were also marveling at how perfect his eyesight must be. It is hard to stare at anything for too long, let alone something as tiny as pencil lead. I think he should do a collection in colored pencils to spice things up a bit :)

Here is a bit of information about him from the article, and you can go here to read more!

Dalton Ghetti is a truly incredible artist. This 49-year-old carpenter from Bridgeport, CT has been carving utterly stunning miniature sculptures, without the aid of a magnifying glass, for more than a quarter of a century. Every amazing piece is carved from the tip of a lead pencil. As a child, he began by carving tree bark, but moved on to other things, like soap to chalk before deciding that graphite was his preferred medium.After so many years and so much practice, this method of sculpting has become second nature to Dalton now, and to do the vast majority of his work, he needs nothing more than a sewing needle, a razor blade, a sculpting knife and a carpenter’s or No. 2 pencil. He says of the art he produces: “The pencil tip is great; it’s like a pure, very homogeneous material. It cuts in the same direction, not like wood, which has a grain. But when I tell people how long it takes, that’s when they don’t believe it. That’s what amazes people more, the patience. Because everything nowadays has to be fast, fast, fast.”

Tuesday tunes.

Love everything about this little video, and I hope you do to!

Weekend wrap up.

We had a whirlwind of a weekend! With Stone's parents in town and it being one weekend closer to Christmas there was a lot going on. Stone and I loved showing Scoot and Wendy around our new home, cooking with them, going to the beach and just spending time together. Stone got to surf with his dad, which I know they both loved. We also went to the Encinitas Christmas parade one night after grilling pizzas, it was really all families and little ones, and was so fun for us to kind of get a better feel of the community in Encinitas. I also attended a Christmas cookie party, nothing is better than star shaped sugar cookies, colorful frosting and never ending sprinkles :) Scoot and Wendy left yesterday and we were already talking about more things to do with them the next time they are here.

We cannot wait for them to come back!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend as well. xo.

Have a warm weekend.

I meant to write a little post for my sister's birthday on Thursday, however, I was sick all day and did not even get on the computer!

Anyway, happy birthday Linds! Hopefully you are getting my present today (which is also a little late... sorry!) and having a fun celebratory weekend. I love you tons and cannot wait to see you.

What are your plans this weekend? Stone and I are so happy to have his parents out here visiting us! We cannot wait to show them around out new home and Stone is dying to get his dad out on some waves. Also, there is the Encinitas Christmas parade this weekend and I hear that it is supposed to be pretty good, hopefully just enough cheese, but not over the top :)

Below are some links to a few Christmas craft ideas. I am going to a craft party this coming week where you pick out your own project and bring your own materials! I am so excited for it, the host sent us some great ideas and I also gathered a few and thought I would share just in case you were in a crafty mood too. xo.

A monogrammed wreath that uses a bit of nature.

Time to tear apart your favorite Christmas book, in the name of design of course!

Ruffles and felt, two of my favorite things.

Gold pom pom holiday garland... love it!

A lovely rope holiday wreath.

A great idea for all of your Christmas cards!

Shimmer & Sparkle.

The Holidays are the perfect excuse to wear sparkles, and even layer those sparkles with MORE sparkles. Right? So I found some of my favorite shimmery things of the season and thought I would share them with you. My favorite thing of the group are the bloomers, I would just love some party bloomers :) So, have fun at all of your Christmas parties this season and don't forget to sparkle! Enjoy.

Top Row: JCrew Sequin Mesh Bell Skirt, Alice + Olivia Sequin Bustier Dress

Middle Row: Urban Outfitter Glitter Oxfords, JCrew Starry Night Cardigan, Kate Spade Glitter Emanuelle Clutch

Last Row: TopShop Sequin Boomer Shorts, Kate Spade Pop Rocks Ring, Deborah Lippmann Glitter Polish, Anthropologie Past Echoes Dress

December's Playlist.

Here are some of my favorite Christmas songs to keep you singing all December long :)

Enjoy! xo.

A Christmas card offering.

Stone and I love Christmas, and as a fun way to get into the holiday spirit we designed 6 cards that can be customized with your own color, photo and wording! If you are like me and are always a little late getting these things out, then have us do it for you this year.

I know it is hard to see the cards on my blog, so you can email Stone at info@stonecrandall.com for details and ordering.