FF: Shelly of The Queen in Between

Hi y'all! It's Friday, so you know what that means... Friday Favorites! But this week we have a twist...we have a guest blogger - Shelly of The Queen in Between! We are so excited to introduce you to Shelly. She is one amazing lady. She is fun, funny and trendy. But more importantly she is a lovely person inside and out. And we met because of this blog...how fun is that! The internet can be a mean ol' scary place, but it can also be a wonderful welcoming community. Enjoy reading Shelly's favorite things about Christmas!

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Get Organized!  I don't care how many lists I jot down or how many excel spreadsheets I've created over the years, I always, always end up somewhere without my list which leads to frustration.  I love buying gifts ahead of time but y'all, am I the only one who has forgotten what I purchased in July only to figure it all out the day before Christmas when I start wrapping and pull everything out? Worse yet, sometimes I remember that I purchased it but have no clue where I hid it from myself the kids and hey...there ain't an app for that!  Blowing the budget is also an area I excel in and since I am a visual person, having an app that will show me right there in color how much I have spent keeps it on my mind.

Last year, I found the Santa's Bag - Christmas Gift List.  I was a little late in finding this last year so I did not use it to the full potential but I loved being able to set up a list for each person and track what I was purchasing along the way.  I also loved the password options so that sneaky little eyes who way too often grab my phone cannot be naughty and sneak a peek.

One of my very favorite gifts to give is the gift of time!  I don't know about you but my kids pretty much have all they could ever want.  I feel like every year the grandparents are spending time trying to find the perfect gift that will create lots of smiles but truly, once kids are a certain age it becomes harder and harder to get the wow factor.  Instead why not give the gift of your time?  This works for your friends, your children, the husband and even for hard to buy for parents.  The gift of time also works with every budget!  Here are some examples from one extreme to another but at the end of the day the end result is great memories and you can't really put a value on that.  Here are a few ideas! 

•   Tickets to a sporting event you can attend together! My sister-in-law gifts Dillon a ticket to the bowl game in the years A&M is lucky enough to go.  It is a special treat for him and a special memory they will always have together.  

•   Coupons for mommy & me or grandma & me dates for painting or pedicures 

•   Plan a year worth of date nights for you & your significant other.  Read about how our very own Merry Momm, Katy, planned this last year here.  

•   Buy tickets to a concert or a play for a mom or grandmother to attend with you.  

•   Prepare a meal to deliver to a friend as a special Christmas treat.  

•   Plan a trip!  This is obviously a bigger ticket item but enjoying time away at a cozy cabin in the mountains or a condo on the beach would definitely make for a lot less stress and fun memories all the way around.

Everyone loves a good party right?  The holidays are always full of invitations and opportunities to gather with friends, family and even coworkers and celebrate the joy of the season.  Does your calendar begin to feel overwhelmed?  One thing I always struggle with is getting the shopping and gift wrapping accomplished while still making time to celebrate.  Could there be a way to make both happen simultaneously?  I love, love, love the idea of hosting a gift wrapping party.  All you would need is to set up plenty of tables and provide the tape, paper and ribbon and invite your friends to stop by!  Adult beverages are always an option and would definitely help the packages to be a little more creative and of course some light snacks and sweets.  You could even "hire" a few little helpers to provide the actual gift wrapping service.  Here are a few ideas I found! 

•   Holiday Wrap & Yap 

•   Love all these ideas from Elena at 'a Casarella

•   I love the idea of an invitation that is worded like a "Rap" but  a normal invite idea here

•   No time for a party?  Offer to a kids day out and let your friends drop off their little's for some playtime while they wrap up their shopping! 

There are Christmas card people and then there are not and there is room in the world for both!  I happen to be a lover of the annual Christmas card.  I love creating my card and I equally love receiving the cards from all my friends!  During the holidays my cards are part of my Christmas decor and I love seeing them displayed around my house.  Here are some creative ways to display Christmas cards during the season and save them from year to year that do not take to much time.  

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Love the idea of using the shutters!  Painting them red adds to the holiday decor and is funtional!

  

Thyme is Honey has a super cute wall display created with Washi Tape & clips that I think the kids would have a fun time with. 

I am really digging this display as it would be perfect in my breakfast area or living room.  

When it comes to the Christmas card itself, I'm a sucker for a good play on words.  Something that can grab attention and give a little glimpse into what might be going on in our family.

Seriously, how cute is this idea for a busy family?  I absolutely love this idea.  Be sure to visit the source to see how she pulled the entire card together.  

Probably my very favorite card of all time!  Cheap, easy to pull together in a short amount of time and we finished baking cookies together when we were done!  Don't worry, no husband was harmed in the making of this card it only appears he is unhappy about it.  #thisishisrealsmile

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Lots of great captions on this page!  

I won't spill the beans but this year my card will definitely use a play on words to portray our year!  

Hint #Baseballismyseason

Thanks so much for inviting me to guest!  This was a treat. 


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Awww...Shelly! Thanks so much! We loved reading your post and can't wait to see your Christmas Card (Go Astros!) (Y'all Shelly's son is a for real professional baseball player...so cool!) Question, can we be invited to your wrapping (or rapping) party? And you know we LOVE a spreadsheet! And don't be surprised if you get a card from one of us that says, "We're hanging on...for dear life!" Ha! And one more question, can we go in Dillon's place if he is too busy for the bowl game? Thanks Shelly! WE ADORE YOU!

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci

FRIDAY FUN - Guest Post from Kathryn

Y'all…this blogger world thing is amazing! You may recall last week we hosted Britt of The Fisk Files…well, one of her friends - Kathryn - email us to say hi and in the first line of her email she mentioned that Christmas cards are her LOVE LANGUAGE. Y'all. The MERRY MOMMAS just about died. Died. Christmas cards are so very much our love language and we were so so happy to talk to "one of us". Well, turns out Kathryn is a blogger and an Aggie - clearly we have to be friends. We chatted a bit more and insisted she be a guest blogger for us and she said yes…

So without further ado here's Kathryn of Team Whitaker!

Be sure to follower her! AND, check out this post!

If Christmas cards are a love language, then they are most certainly mine.

Since my husband and I married 18 years ago, sending out annual cards has become a family tradition. The list has evolved as we’ve moved to different states, made new friends and added family members to the tree.

For me, it’s always been about the connections. While I love a good card with a beautiful photo, I absolutely adore the updates from friends and family members. Hearing about job promotions, vacations, special family memories and great stories is the highlight of our holiday season. And, being able to pray for someone who has had a particularly difficult year is our family’s honor. I’ve even been known to hunt down the perfect Hanukkah stamp for my Jewish friends.

You see, in an effort to help our kids know why these people, with all the smiling kids and cute pets, send us greetings every December, we hold on to those cards all year. At dinner each night, we pull out a card or two, re-read it, reminisce and pray for that family. Trust me when I tell you there is a race to pick out “the” card each evening. Bruises may, or may not, be involved.

In an age of social media and instant gratification, some may say that cards are so passé. I beg to differ. I’m a graphic designer, so putting together our card is a labor of love. But, the true joy comes from gathering the kids together to help me assemble them and then placing all that joy in the mailbox. Well, let’s be honest, the boys just want the glory of mailing them, the girls are my workhorses. We skip to the mailbox everyday to see what new update awaits, which smiling faces will greet us and how we can witness the love and grace of Christ in other people’s lives. For us, Christmas cards are an experience to be cherished and loved, not a checkbox on the to-do list.

We share bits and pieces of the kids’ year, often with a re-cap of an ER visit or our annual family vacation. There are lots of photos and our traditional wish that everyone has a healthy, happy, family-filled, Christ-filled new year.

It really is the most wonderful time of the year, isn’t it?

(Photos by Shannon Cunningham of Photo Frolic)

Mommas here - how AWESOME is their tradition of keeping the cards out ALL YEAR LONG and using them to pray over families. We love this idea - anyone else do this or something similar? Let us know in the comments below!

WWLW: Guest Bloggers - The Fisk Files

You know WHAT WE LOVE (Wednesday)? Guest Bloggers! Today's guest blogger is Britt Fisk of The Fisk Files. The Merry Mommas have known Britt since college and we absolutely adore her and her precious kids, and Jeremy, too!

Thanks so much for sharing Britt…

Thanks for letting me guest post today, ladies!  I've always been a huge fan of Christmas cards.  I love sending them, but I love receiving them even more.  When Jeremy and I first got married, we sent a card of the two (well, three!) of us, announcing our pregnancy that first Christmas together.  Then year-by-year we did a few things differently here and there. Sometimes the card included the whole family, others just the kids.  However, I've seen a theme emerge.  I'm a one-picture kind of girl.  I love collages from others, and I think the accordion style Christmas cards are so fun, but this is us. 

This year, it's a photo of just the kids...it's just easier for me that way.  I can snap the pic, and we're good to go. So, at the end of October, we headed down to the creek.  Jeremy helped me get the bench (and the kids!) set up.

This one was a contender...

This was a bit too far away for me...

And, I almost went with a black and white.  Gosh, I love a good black and white.

But, this is what we chose...

I'm a sucker for a foil pressed card. 

Plus, I love to give a tiny update, directing friends to more on our blog.

This year, I even uploaded my addresses I had on hand at the time so Minted could print my envelopes (for free).  It's a time saver for sure.  I bought a few extra envelopes, thank goodness, because I have already found a few misspellings on my end.  Oops!

The cards hit the mail this week, and we wait for the afternoon mail delivery to see what cards we can open together each evening...one of the highlights of our days this Advent season.

Throughout the year, Your Merry Mailbox gives hundreds of ideas for your next Christmas/Holiday card.  They've picked amazing ones to showcase, and reading the posts feels a tiny bit like the joy of ripping open the envelopes that hold those priceless cards.

They asked what makes me merry...hugging my little ones, a warm cup of coffee, the support of my loving husband, the assurance that there's a greater plan, a cozy blanket on the cold Winter days, messages from sweet friends, and letters in the mail...among many others.

Merry Christmas to you!

Merry Monday from the Stamps Family

Hi friends!  Does this family look familiar? I am going to assume that 99% of you said YES because it is the KELLY STAMPS and her family from the famous blog - Kelly's Korner.

Yep! Kelly loves us enough to send in her card! (Hint, hint...Erin and Melanie! ;))

Who: Scott, Kelly, Harper and Hollis Stamps

Where: Bentonville, Arkansas

Clothes: Kelly and Scott shopped their closet and Kelly scored these darling Trish Scully dresses off of Zulily.

Designer: Paper Coterie

Photographer: Bethany Blair Photography

Kelly's Comments: I chose the card because I love chalkboards and the verse was a special verse this year and one that I memorized this year.

Kelly's Favorite Thing: I just LOVE Christmas cards. I love being able to share my family with all of our friends and getting to get their cards and save them and pray over them throughout the year.

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Merry Mommas' Thoughts: EEK! We just posted Kelly's card! Just so you all know, we really are friends with Kelly.  Okay, okay, friends may be stretching it a bit, but we met her at a Jesus conference for moms (DotMOM - it is an amazing conference.) and she knows us and knows we aren't psycho stalkers. (Just regular nice stalkers. :)) Anyway...more on Kelly and blogs in a bit. The card is just precious, just like Kelly. The family pic on the front is sweet and simple. The family is coordinated, but not matchy-matchy. We love the cowboy booted darling little girls on the back. And sharing your favorite bible verse is always meaningful. Thanks for sharing Kelly!

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Blogs - Y'all. Kelly's Korner is the blog that started us on the blog bandwagon. I'm (MM Cindy) not sure where or how I first saw Kell's blog, but I shared it with MM Katy and we became obsessed. Maybe obsessed isn't the right word, but really really intrigued. We started reading and finding other blogs. Then we started our own blogs. MMK still has her personal blog - Katy - The Queen of The Kings - and it's adorable. And then of course we started this blog...and the rest is history. :)

I think we could all debate the good, the bad and the ugly of all forms of social media...But today I want to talk about the good.

Katy and I started reading KK about the time we had our first Merry Littles...and yes, it is a Mommy Blog, but it also a place of community. We would nod our heads at her stories, laugh at the antics of babies, then toddlers and feel welcome. Other blogs have inspired us and let us join their communities and we are thankful for them. We love our local communities - school communities, work communities, church communities, etc. and we love the online community that blogs bring together. Blogs share ideas, laughter, fun and even heartache. Being part of a community means that you open yourself up to love and friendship and well that might as well be the Merry Momma's theme song because after loving Jesus, our hot hubbies and our darling kids and awesome families - friendship is our #1 pursuit. And we love the friendship found in blogs...so to our favorite bloggers - THANK YOU!

Kelly Stamps - Kelly's Korner
Melanie Shankle - The Big Mama Blog
Erin Carroll - Blue-Eyed Bride

What's your favorite blog? Comment below, we are always looking for inspiration!

Merry Monday from the Markeys

Who: Pete and Samantha Markey and their twin daughters, Avery and Camille

Location: Bryan, Texas

Props: Christmas lights

Clothes: Pete's sweater is from Kohl's, Samantha purchased her dress from TJMaxx and the denim jacket is from Old Navy. The girls our outfitted by Target (fave!). 

Photographer: Chantal Bergeron of Whimsy & Style Photography

Samantha's Comments: I chose our colors because I wanted photos I would enjoy seeing all year long. 

Samantha's Favorite Thing: The photo, the light, the GOLD!

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Merry Mommas' Thoughts: We love the family picture and the individual picture of each girl. As twins, they probably get LOTS of together attention, but we love how this card lets them have their own space. And, as much as we do not like glitter in our houses, we LOVE LOVE LOVE glitter and sparkle on cards and we love how the glitter/sparkle on the card helps highlight the lights in the trees behind the family.

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How can you recreate this card? The Merry Mommas know you are busy, so here are some direct links to help you make a card like this your own!

GLITTER & SPARKLE: Y'all, if you find a card website that does not feature GLITTER & SPARKLE, let us know. We can't. GLITTER & SPARKLE are the it thing this year. In fact, the folks at Pear Tree Greetings have an entire section dedicated to it. The designers at Minted are specializing in foil pressed cards and Tiny Prints has lots of both. Our favorites are below!

Minted

 Pear Tree

Tiny Prints

HEADBAND: If you are an avid reader of Your Merry Mailbox, then you know we love an accessory - specifically hair flair! They just make photographs pop. Samantha did a great job using two different headbands in our featured card today - way to go HOT MOMMA!

Icing                              Anthropologie

(one of these headbands maybe showing up in a Merry Momma Christmas card!!! Which one do you think it will be?)

CHRISTMAS TREE: Want a card that features Christmas trees?

 

Love this POST CARD from Minted. Yes, we said POST CARD.

(Click on the link, come on...do it!)

 Color. We love color.

SWEATERS FOR HIM: Pete's sweater rocks! Let's all order something for the men in our lives today. (And if you are a man reading this, order yourself something!) (And we have a price point for everyone.)

                              $                                                  $$$                                                   $$                

Get PINspired:

Bright clothes, we have some ideas for you!

Nothing says Merry Christmas like Christmas trees and lights!

To "dye" for Christmas card

Who: Chad, Lamar, Emory, Anne Carson, Andrew and Luke Ontko

Location: Bryan, TX.  Field off Hwy 21

Props: Bench- borrowed from a friend

Clothes: Most clothes purchased on ebay and from our closets. (Which is something the Merry Momma's LOVE...SHOP YOUR CLOSETS, dear readers!) I got the scarf at Maurice's.  Emory's shirt is from Justice, Anne Carson's dress is Children's Place.  I believe Luke's shirt was originally from Target (however, I got it at Once Upon a child).  My shirt was from Ebay, and Chad's was from his closet.  I prefer finding items we already own, if possible and consigning for as much as we can.

Comments: I really enjoy designing cards myself.  I got the "paper" as a free download.  Then I used a bit of the color in Chad's shirt to match us up.  I wanted to emphasize what Christmas is really about with our card.  Sarah rocked the pictures, so I wanted to show them off. 

Designer: Me!

Photographer: Sarah Burns of Butterfly Chaser Photography 

Favorite Thing: Being IN the card.  As a fellow photographer, I'm NEVER in pictures.  I love how effortlessly Sarah engages our family and gets true emotions from them. 

Blog: A Time to Dye

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Merry Mommas Thoughts: First of all, we think that a family of 6 looks amazing together. They just look stunning and so happy. These colors work so well together and are just timeless. Lamar did a great job of coordinating everyone without being matchy! We love the individual shots of the kiddos that capture their sweet personalities in this one tiny moment of time. 

How can you recreate this card?: Have four babies and still look 20 years old. No? The key to this is to be in your element. Nothing fancy or over the top - just simply be you! We love this card so much! We don't even know this sweet family (formally) but we feel like we do because they welcomed us in! Thanks, Ontko family!

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Get PINspired: We were inspired by Lamar's blog and business (if you didn't click on that link, then go do it now. Seriously. Go. She dye's her own yarn and it's beautiful!!!) so we looked for images and cards that had some type of yarn ... 

1. You can use yarn to display your card
2. Yarn bombs? You've never heard of them? Us either and how sad we are... they are PRECIOUS!
3. Yarn for Rosco and yarn for babies
4. Frosty the Yarnman
5. Words in yarn
6. And check out this fun idea for yarn embellishments

Cookie Christmas and Photo Friday

Christmas really isn't complete without cookies. Just ask Megan and Maleigh...

Who: Megan, Maleigh (4)

Location: Home Kitchen

Props: Cookie Ingredients (heavy on the flour!), aprons, mixer, etc. (Cleaning supplies to clean up all the flour-- I mean but cute pictures are worth it, right?) 

Clothes:  Sweaters: Gap Kids (including mom's), Black Pants, Red tights, Tulle bow, Aprons (hand made by grandma!)  

Comments: The flour bomb (and accompanying flour EVERYWHERE) was a complete accident! Megan (the mom) and I (Meg, the photog) were flipping though a few of the pictures on my camera and Maleigh took the photoshoot into her own hands! 

Photographer & Designer: Meg Cady Photography 

Favorite Thing: Each picture shows such a different side of Maleigh's personality or Megan and Maleigh's relationship! 

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Katy's Thoughts: I think this card captures the spirit of Christmas. FUN! That middle picture of Maleigh reminds me so much of Merry Little E and all the energy and joy she brings to our days and this card and these images are the perfect way to spread the magic this season! 

Cindy's Thoughts: Y'all.  Mad props to Megan...she wins MOTY (mother of the year) in my opinion.  I am not into mess.   I know, I know I have three little girls and I should let them get messy...and I do (sometimes).  Anyway...this card is just a hoot!  It automatically makes me think about making cookies and all that traditions that my family participates in during the holidays and I love that.  I love cards that make you think, reflect and then smile.  Cards spreading the MERRY.  It's awesome!

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How can you recreate this card? Have fun, be silly, and don't be afraid to do something different! Let your kids be kids. Throw away the rules and just see the results! :) (Says the women with a tiny bit of control issues.) 

Get PINspired:

1. Remember this card from Merry Momma K? Do something unexpected!
2. Cookies and Christmas just go together! Try something like this, this or this for a fun lifestyle shoot!
3. Cookies would also be cute to use for a special announcement at Christmas. 
4. And, well, if we looked like Kate while baking... we would definitely send this card. 
5. There is just something about mothers and daughters. Just click here, here and here for proof!

And if that doesn't inspire you enough, then get ready for...

Because today we have a MAJOR treat. Meg is giving away a 1.5 hour portrait shoot in the Houston/College Station area with a disk and image rights to 40-50 HQ edited photos.

Y'all. This is HUGE!

Meg is one of Merry Momma K's former students/current friends. She is precious, creative, fun and has killer style. (Check out her personal blog here.)  

Check out how fun her work is!!!

You don't want to miss out on this one - enter to win even if you are reading from Dallas, Austin, or in between! Totally worth the drive!

We told you that these 12 Days would be full of MERRY! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

** Don't forget - you may only win ONCE during the 12 Days, so if you are already a winner, please don't enter.**