Along the Journey Shopping with Friends
Welcome my friend! I’m so glad you are here today! I’m sure you are as busy as a bee since we only have 9 days until Christmas so I am extra thankful that you decided to stop by!
decorating for Christmas
It’s been fun pulling out our Christmas decorations in anticipation to celebrate the birth of our Savior. You’ve probably seen some of the projects here on the blog lately. We’ve made a couple of new ornaments and we even made a Christmas tree from a tomato cage!
Here lately, I’ve been getting our home spiffed up so I can show you! Stay tuned for our Christmas Home Tour coming here on the blog and a video version over on YouTube next week.
creative endeavors
But what I haven’t shown is what I have been working on (or more like relaxing with) is this hand-painted watercolor Advent calendar that hangs on our fridge.
Being a creative business sounds like it’s all fun and games. And in many ways it is. It is a wonderful thing to be able to be employed by working on my hobby of repurposing and upcycling home decor and furniture. I was made for this job!
But I believe it is important also to have a creative endeavor that I do not get paid for. Something just for me. An activity that can feed my creative side without any expectations.
That’s where watercolor painting comes in. This is the kind of project I can work on, make mistakes (take a close look at the Christmas cactus on day 5!), and enjoy the time spent doing it just for the sake of being creative. I don’t have to think about keywords that Google searchers will find nor do I have to think about a catchy title and attention-getting thumbnail for YouTube.
I just get to paint whatever my heart desires! This has been one of my recent projects. I’ve also painted over 50 Christmas cards to send out!
find your creative side
So here I am encouraging you to find a creative endeavor to feed your creative side of life. Maybe for you, it’s making over projects like we do here at Reinvented Delaware.
Maybe, just maybe, you find inspiration here on the pages of my blog and on my YouTube channel. I certainly hope so.
BTW, I’m excited for 2024 and inspiring you to get creative with items you find while out thrift shopping, yard sale-ing, and auction shopping!
gift tags
You might need some printable gift tags for all of the gifts you will be wrapping! Don’t forget to check out the free printables I have for you! The password is in the email I sent you Click the link in the button below to get to the downloads!
recent projects
Recently, I turned a thrift store wool coat into the cutest felted wool ornaments! I also found an amazing deal on ornaments that could be painted to look high-end for only $1!
You’ll want to save both of these posts for next year, my friend!
Just tap the images to head to the post!
recent YouTube video
Here is the video showing how to paint those ornaments. Go ahead and watch while you are wrapping Christmas gifts!
Tap the image to watch!
The following post may contain affiliate links. That means if you click and then buy something, I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you! Thank you for supporting my blog. full disclosure here.
Saturday shopping
Some of my blogging friends and I are getting together and sharing our recent finds while shopping online.
You can check the links below for our faves and be sure to pop over to visit their blogs. Each of these ladies has a beautiful vintage-loving and repurposing style like you and I do. I’m sure you will enjoy reading their posts!
Reinvented Delaware – Cindy
This month I thought I would share some great gift ideas. These gifts are under $50, found on Amazon, and will be here before Christmas if you order SOON! Also, some have an extra coupon box! Look for the orange label that says ‘Coupon’ near the price and check the box next to it to add the coupon to available items. I’ve included some ideas for men, and women, and even a few for teens and kids!
- You can’t go wrong with a Yeti for anyone on your list! The 16 oz Yeti and the 20 oz Yeti Coffee mugs are the perfect size for on-the-go coffee. The 35 oz drink holder with a straw is perfect for the water drinker in your life. If you have someone who likes to take a large amount of hot or cold beverages when they go out, a Stanley Thermos is the best!
- Most men would love to have a lined flannel shirt when they are working outside during the colder months. If you have someone who brings in wood for a fireplace, a good pair of gloves is a must for their hands.
- If you have someone who travels often, a toiletry bag will make packing a breeze! A new hat, scarf, and gloves set sends all the cozy feels to the one receiving the gift along with warm Skechers slippers to keep her feet cozy when she is indoors.
- Who doesn’t need more food storage, especially during the holidays? A Pyrex 18-piece set is a great way to store leftovers. And if you have a cook on your gift list, an enameled cast iron Dutch oven is the perfect gift!
- Here are several gift ideas for young kids, teens, and others who might enjoy them. Some are toys and some are tech items. Click through them to see what might work for those special people in your life! A fun moon lamp to use as a nightlight, a toy camera, a Montessori Puzzle Ball to keep little hands busy, a colorful Bluetooth speaker, a white noise sound machine for the best night of sleep, a portable phone charger for on-the-go-charging, and a bedside phone charging station with a digital clock.
- Last but not least, offer your recipient a gift card. We have given our nieces and nephews Amazon gift cards for over 15 years. Now that they are all adults, they enjoy being able to get what they need or want after the Christmas season.
Living Large in a Small House – Lynn
These are the things that I’m buying this week.
- My kids and “Handy” still like to get candy for their stockings so I stocked up today with boxes of candy at Target
- A new year is a time for a new calendar and a new planner
- I wasn’t planning on buying Christmas Jammies because we weren’t going to be together but that all changed when our daughter and bonus son’s baby decided to make an early appearance. Everyone has Jammies on sale. There are these at Target and these at Soma.
A couple of our shopping friends weren’t able to make it this week! They have been busy too! Michele and Wendy, we miss you and we will see you next month!
South House Designs – Diane
Diane here [South House Designs] and I’m all about rounding out the stockings stuffers for our kiddos who are all grown now so these ideas are mainly for the college age and young professionals in our lives. Plus a few small treats for hostess gifts and a few special girlfriends.
- What Star Wars fan wouldn’t get a kick out of lightsaber chopsticks? Yes, you read that right. And each pair has eight different color options. No more Chinese carryout ho hum!!!
- Shower steamers all around — all genders, all ages! Who wouldn’t love relaxing aromatherapy, or perhaps rejuvenating, or maybe eucalyptus and mint for stuffy breathing relief?
- Magnetic bookmarks are great for the booklover, the skimmer or maybe the foodie.
- A fun new game is always appreciated in game-loving families. We love this stacking game, this quick card game and this wordsmith game!!!
- For the music lover or fidgeter, how about some intriguing musical spoons? I know it may sound crazy, but check out this video.
one for the road
Have a great weekend my friend! Tap the image below for more decor inspiration!
Visit my Amazon Storefront!
Click the button below and head over to our online shop on Amazon!
Until next time…
Cindy Rust
Cindy has been decorating her home with thrift store finds for 40 years. She is an avid thrift store shopper who loves to makeover the items she finds into vintage-inspired home decor and furniture. When she isn’t thrift shopping or painting a piece of furniture, you can find her making homemade butter, working in her garden, or painting with watercolors.
Hi Cindy – I love your watercolor paintings. You are so talented! Yes it is nice to be able to create without wondering about google search words and catchy titles. Wishing you a Happy New Year.
Thanks Anna!We need an outlet don’t we? Hopefully, you can find some time for a fun hobby!