DIY Holidays: Grocery Bag Wrapping Paper

We're 24 hours away from Christmas Eve! And we're putting the last minute touches to all of our holiday accents: presents, decor, goodies. With all the planning (and let's face it, a little bit of stress), you might have found yourself a little overwhelmed. Tonight and tomorrow, we're going to share a few  totally last minute, easy-to-do, holiday ideas that hopefully come in handy!

First up is such a quick idea it might not even be an official "DIY": grocery bag wrapping paper! For a quick, customizable, and eco-friendly way to wrap your presents, just grab your left over Trader Joe paper bags. We made three different kinds: a polka dot (with white acrylic paint and a foam circle brush), a doodle (just a sharpie!), and a doily+ twine.

DIY Holidays: Homemade Ugly Sweater

Hello, Darlings! How are your holiday plans going? Our's are filled with peppermint, bows, glitter and a lot of shopping (but who's complaining about that?)! We are our first Ugly Sweater Party this year and we made our own outfits. With supplies from the dollar store and $5 sweatshirts (turned upside down) from H&M, we played our favorite holiday romances and got to work creating the most festive, most gaudy, most FUN sweaters we could. And we had a blast!

DIY Healthy: Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

Is anyone thinking about their New Year's resolutions yet? And how many of yours are to eat healthier? That one is definitely at the top of our list. But don't wait until January 1st- start ASAP! There are so many ways to substitute ingredients into your favorite dishes, snacks, and treats to make them healthier. Today's "clean" carrot cake muffin in for our dad (who LOVES carrot cake!)- so he can join in on the healthy train while still satisfying his taste buds. We're using a mixture of spelt and whole wheat flours and non-refined sugar sweeteners for this recipe, but feel free to pick and choose what you like.

DIY Holidays: Homemade Cards

Darlings, why hello! One of our favorite DIYs to do are homemade greeting cards. The holiday season is all about the cards, the feeling, the cheer, so send your loved ones customized holiday cards this year.  This is one of the easiest crafts that you'll do and is an amazing bonding activity for your family. Just gather up your supplies and go crazy!

***Warning: Your surface, your clothes, your fingers and probably your hair will be covered in glue, glitter, and fake snow by the end of this craft.

DIY Eats: Butter Pecan Cheesecake

The holidays get a little crazy and hectic, so you need all the help you can get. This quick and easy, no bake dessert is perfect to whip up and your guests will have NO idea that it's so simple. We just discovered the pretty ingenious use of coffee creamer to add almost any flavor to your cheesecake. It's pretty concentrated, so your dessert will be so flavorful. We can't wait to try a peppermint mocha or pumpkin spice! These cute little pedestal dessert cups are the perfect size and style to amp up the presentation of your treat.

But the best part of this recipe? The bowl you get you lick at the end! :-)

DIY Home: Lavender Eye Pillows

Hello, Darlings! Is everyone getting excited and ready for the holidays? We sure are! Here are some of our favorite thing about the holiday season. 

Sonali: Christmas carols, cozily watching movies on the couch while it snows (and not feeling guilty, because Baby, it's cold outside!), and wrapping up in a big old scarf to head to Starbucks for a hot coffee! 

Anika: All things peppermint (lattes, hot chocolate, truffles and even ice cream- YUM!), the Hallmark Channel's 24/7 broadcast of cheesy (in the best way possible) holiday romance movies, and our family's annual trip to Longwood Gardens to see the beautiful lights. 

We're 20 days away from Christmas and that means that gift shopping is sure to be underway for everyone. Why not DIY some of your gifts this season? We're going to be bringing you some easy and fun gifts that you can whip up in your own house with easily found supplies. 

Today we're sharing a quick DIY that is perfect for ANYONE on your list. These lavender-scented eye pillows are just what that workaholic or busy bee in your life needs. Lavender is most known for relieving stress and improving sleep (it lowers anxiety and even your pulse)- so your lucky recipient is in for a treat. And while you're sewing away, make a couple for yourself.