Hello friends, and happy weekend! Hope you’re out tooling about, enjoying fun Christmas activities today. Exciting things are going down at Through Her Looking Glass this weekend!

Several years ago, on a frosty December morning, I came down and discovered this sweet scene…

So we’re having a fun Christmas Photo Caption Contest  for the above picture, complete with an awesome prize pictured below:

Christmas gift package from Through Her Looking Glass:

• Yarnball Christmas Ornament    http://throughherlookingglass.com/?p=1530
•  “An Orange for Frankie” by Patricia Polacco  http://throughherlookingglass.com/?p=1677
• Vanilla Bean Maple Syrup    http://throughherlookingglass.com/?p=1156
• Homegrown Mint Extract
• 2 Christmas DIY Bookmarks   http://throughherlookingglass.com/?p=1133

CHRISTMAS PHOTO CAPTION CONTEST Rules:

(Yup. We got rules. Just like “Always (!) Follow the Rules”. Did you miss that funny post? Click here…  http://throughherlookingglass.com/?p=1076 )

• The Christmas Photo Caption Contest runs from the publish of this post, Saturday, December 6th until Sunday, December 7th, 2014 at midnight. Entries after Sunday night midnight don’t count.
• You may enter twice per person. (Additional entries after the second don’t count.)
• My hubby Jon will be the impartial judge. He’ll judge all entries, but won’t know who authored them.
• A winner will be announced on Monday, December 8th, 2014 on the Through Her Looking Glass blog post. Also on Facebook. The winner will also be notified by e-mail.
• My immediate family (my five guys) may submit entries, but are disqualified from winning the prize. (Sorry guys, I’ll bake you a cake or something. Or peppermint bark?)
• Other relatives can participate. (Why should you be penalized just ‘cuz you got stuck in my gene pool?)
• The only entries that count are comments listed here underneath this post, in the order they are received. (Facebook comments, e-mails and Tweets don’t count.)
• Don’t be grinchy, share the fun! Let your friends and family join in on this Christmas Photo Caption Contest. Share this on e-mail, FaceBook, Twitter and Pinterest. Get in the Christmas spirit, the more the “merrier”!

Can’t wait to see your clever captions! AND GOOD LUCK!!!

Update:

Many thanks to all who took time to think of so many fun, creative captions for the Christmas Photo Caption Contest this past weekend, December 6-7, 2014.  It was so entertaining to see your entries come in.

Big congratulations to Linda (pictured with husband Jack) for her winning entry:  “I’ll just close my eyes for a minute…”  

The post Christmas Photo Caption Contest appeared first on Through Her Looking Glass.

Don’t you love these whimsical DIY Bookmarks? A perfect dose of cheer, they make me smile. I’ve been making, using and gifting them for years. The receivers seem to appreciate and use them too. There are many uses besides holding a book page. Here’s how I use mine, I’m sure you can add to the list.

• Gift tag for wine bottle
• Party favor
• Luggage tag
• Stocking stuffer
• Gift tag
• Diaper bag tag
• Attach to a wooden skewer in a flower arrangement or plant
• Party place setting
• Care package
• Stuffed in a card/letter
• Christmas ornament
• Refrigerator magnet

Here’s the best part: I use my day to day calendar as the source of the artwork/quotes, saving my favorites as the days pass. Every so often I spend a few hours, make bookmarks in bulk, and keep a pile ready to add to cards, meals, gifts, etc. A small calendar works great because there are so many seasonal scenes, holidays and quotes. I usually have a book mark on hand for any occasion.

MATERIALS:

• A small day-to-day tear off desktop calendar
(I love Mary Engelbreit – fun artwork, whimsy & great quotes http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Engelbreit-2014-Day-Calendar/dp/1449428509) or other artwork or day-to-day calendar of your choice
• Gros grain ribbon (8-9”) that coordinates with colors
• Laminator and laminating sheets
• Hole punch
• White all-purpose glue, small paint brush

DIRECTIONS:

• Trim your calendar page to the desired bookmark/tag size. (If you want to personalize or add a name/address on the back, do it before laminating, or use a sharpie pen afterwards.)
• Place in a laminating pouch, and run through the laminator following manufacturer’s instructions. (I can usually get 6-8 bookmarks out of one 8½ X 11” laminating sheet.)  If you don’t have a laminator, you can go to an office supply store like Staples or Office Depot.  (Our local UPS store laminates.)
• Cool, then trim plastic evenly around each bookmark.
• Punch hole in the middle at the top.
• String 8-9” of gros-grain ribbon through the hole. Tie a knot. (I keep both ribbon ends together, make a loop, and pull both ends through that loop to make a tidy knot.) Play with the knot ‘til it’s to your liking. Leave tails long or short.
• Angle the ribbon ends or cut a “V”.
• Using a small paint brush, dab white glue on the cut edges of ribbon and set aside to dry. (The glue dries clear and keeps the ribbon from fraying.)

(In honor of my mom!)

TIPS:
• I use and gift these bookmarks often, so it was a no brainer to invest in an inexpensive laminator and laminating sheets. I’ve never regretted it.
• If you don’t have a laminator and don’t want to buy one, go to your local shipping or office supply store that laminates.
• If you’re on a shoestring budget, consider neatly applying clear packing tape to both sides of your artwork, carefully matching seams. Then trim and finish off following directions above.

Have fun making, using and gifting these bookmarks/gift tags. Let me know how you use yours!

The post DIY Bookmarks appeared first on Through Her Looking Glass.