Sandberg Ramblings

Giftwrapping, especially at Christmastime, is an obsession of mine.  I LOVE it. It must be the creative side in me,  but I'd rather wrap the gift all pretty than shop for the actual gift :)  I love coming up with and finding new ideas to use each year.  The bonus is that they are a great addition under the tree :)  I've rounded up some of my favorite ideas for you to try out yourself.  Some of these I will be trying out this year myself  and some are tried and true from last year.  The best advice I can give you is to buy a couple rolls of brown kraft paper.  You can get it at any craft store  or I found  this website  where you can buy it in bulk online  if you really have a lot of gifts to wrap :)  I have almost completely stopped buying patterned paper  unless I find something really unique that I love,  because you can do so many different  and creative thi...

I'm starting off my DIY Gift Series with these cute little guys... Say hi to the Caravan Shoppe Ollibots ! If you haven't discovered Caravan Shoppe , you're missing out!  They have a variety of cute printable downloads to make your own toys, holiday decor, and more.  I made these cute blocks last year.  All you do is purchase the download, print it at your local copy store, and assemble.  The download comes with great step by step instructions and tips. I plan on keep a couple for Mr. Ames, but I'm also going to gift some as well.   If you're going to try making these guys yourself, here's a few tips I have after doing it myself… 1. Have the download printed on full sheet label paper like they suggest.  It makes assembling them so much easier!  Then you can just cut the pieces out, stick them in place, and mod podge over the top. 2. Watch your magnets as they are drying!  Magnets are at...

We all know those people who are hard to shop for.  They seem to already have everything, or if they need it, they go buy it.  These are the perfect people to create something original and homemade for. Those of us on tight Christmas budgets  can also appreciate homemade gifts that cut the cost of giving,  but still allow you to give a meaningful gift.  If you need a few ideas,  I've made a few for my own friends and family this year that I'll  share with you throughout the week. And to start off this week's homemade gift series,  I've rounded up a few of my favorite ideas to get your mind going… 1 - Scarf Camera Strap 2 - Gold Leaf Monogram 3 - Wood Photo Transfer  4 - Stenciled Tote Bag 5 - Wood Slice Quote   - (you can buy these wood slices at Michael's!) - 6 - Silhouette Artwork

I'm so jealous of all of you living in Salt Lake right now!  The West Elm at City Creek is hosting some really fun events  this November that I'm going to miss out on,  but I thought I'd let you Utahns know about them so you can go enjoy them for me :)  The flyers below tell you how you can RSVP.   {  First, on November 2 there will be an Etsy Pop Up Shop there!  That means lots of fun goods  and a great time to do some Christmas shopping! } { Then, on Nov 14 there will be a paper amaryllis workshop   with the talented Brittany Jepsen  of The House That Lars Built.   If you haven't checked out her blog you're missing out.  She will be also be one of the Etsy sellers at the Pop Up Shop. }  Man I'm so sad I can't go, but hopefully I'll be holding a new baby and I won't care :)  All photos via  Also, don't forget to enter the jewelry giveawa...