Thursday, July 22, 2010

Its Beginning to Feel Like Christmas?

Christmas is only 5 months away!

Can you believe it!?

Get festive with our Christmas in July Blog Hop!! A group of papercrafting designers, etsy shop owners, and fabulous crafters have gotten together to bring you fun Christmas ideas to jump start your creativity. And the best part is, we're each doing a little giveaway!! So keep on reading to see how to enter to win one of the prizes we've posted :)

First, I have to tell you Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday. I love the opportunity to spend time with family and friends with lots of good old Holiday cheer. And I love the chance to give little trinkets to those who are a part of me and my family's life. One thing I have found to keep the stress out and to keep the joy of giving in Christmas is to be a bit organized. Gift giving can get a little crazy but it doesn't have to be expensive if you put a little time into planning and truly think about the receiver.

So I wanted to share with you a couple tips I use and plan to use this year to make my gift giving a little more fun!

I stumbled across this fantastic little project a couple years ago and I will be implementing this year. It is a Christmas Planner that I found on www.easycraftprojects.net. This is a fantastic way to get organzied for this year but if you use binder rings you can add sheets for upcoming years as well. Think about totally avoiding giving someone the same gift twice or heaven forbid regifting to the original gifter! Beyond gifting think of things and traditons you do each year and make notes on how to do them better the following year - jot down things like "Note to self, those red sprinkles from such and such brand stain more than teeth - avoid buying next year."

Christmas Planner Directions

I also shop all year for Christmas so having a planner where I can jot down what I have already purchased in July for someone helps me to not buy for them twice that year. Also shopping year round is a great way to get great deals on gifts that are very personalized. If your brother is an outdoor nut, finding a great deal on the bike accessory he really wants in December is a little tough, but shopping those end of summer season sales you may make a big score. Back to school time is a fantastic time to buy crayons, paints, and other art supplies for the young ones in your life. Last year I bought 25 boxes of 16 count crayons for 25 cents a piece. I then checked the dollar section through out the year for inexpensive workbooks and coloring books and pads. These items paired with my handmade Crayon/Pencil rolls were perfect gifts for my daughter's playmates and cousins.





Gifts don't have to be extragavant to be appreciated and everyone loves to be thought of so keep a few inexpensive gifts available for those who maybe come by unexpectedly during the Holiday season. I keep plenty of my hairclips on hand and wrap them in girly paper for impromptu gift exchanges. Do the same for boys and wrap in boy paper. That way no one feels left out.





So would you like to get a head start on building up your gift supply a little early? I am giving away either a HAIRCLIP PAIR or a CRAYON ROLL of your choice!

Here's how to enter:

Start the blog hop from any one of the participating blogs. Here are the links to each blog:

Hydrangea Hippo Blog: http://hydrangeahippo.com/
Hydrangea Hippo Shop: http://hydrangeahippo.etsy.com/

China Doll's Blog "A Blog of Thoughts": http://chinadol1.blogspot.com/
China Doll's Shop "Spiffy Things": http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChinaDo11

FeFiFun Blog: http://fefifun.blogspot.com/****YOU ARE HERE****
FeFiFun Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/fefifun

Trendy Scrapper Blog: http://www.trendyscrapper.typepad.com/
Trendy Scrapper Studio Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/trendyscrapperstudio

tammy i Blog: http://www.tammyi.com/
tammy i Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tammyi

Donna Salazar's Blog: http://donnasalazar.typepad.com/my_weblog/
Donna Salazar's Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/donnasalazar?ref=seller_info

Scrappin' Kitty Blog: http://scrappinkitty.blogspot.com/


When you visit each blog, go to the etsy shop listed with the blog, choose a favorite item, and then come back to that blog to post a comment about an item you liked in that shop. Please post your comment on the post about the Blog Hop (if you post it other places we won't be able to find your post to enter you into the drawing).

Click here to get to my etsy shop Fe Fi Fun Shop
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You can then go to the next blog on the list OR do any of the things listed below for more chances to WIN! Just a reminder, you have to comment on THIS blog post--you can't comment on a different post that is not about the Blog Hop to be entered to win.

* 1 entry for each comment left on each blog about their fave item from each etsy shop
* 1 entry for sharing about the Blog Hop on Facebook (just tell us you shared by posting a comment here)
* 1 entry for sharing about the Blog Hop on Twitter (just tell us you shared by posting a comment here)
* 1 entry for sharing about the Blog Hop on your own blog (just tell us you shared by posting a comment here)

Be sure to post your comments and share the good news about the Blog Hop by July 31, 2010. We'll post the winners of each prize on August 2, 2010.

Happy Hopping!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Welcome to FeFiFun

Hi there and welcome to FeFiFun, my little blog about little things with giant appeal.

Just a little about me, Nancy, I am a creative homemaker and mother to a wonderful daughter and a wife to an equally wonderful husband. I love to create but not just for creativity's sake, I want what I create to be used everyday. When my daughter was a baby I started making little felt flower hairclips. I loved them because the were great for everyday wear and they didn't slip out of her fine hair and they just added that touch of whimsy that I think every baby girl needs. Friends of mine loved them and wanted to buy them. So I started selling them at fundraising functions and craft shows, they were a hit.

As time went on, I would get these great ideas for cute little fun things like crayon holders for the kids to take on trips, a cute little doll to hold my daughter's growing supply of hair accessories, a fun workbook for preschoolers to practice their handwriting and more. With the encouragement of some of my very good friends, I decided to open my Etsy shop, FeFiFun, to share these goodies with others. We just opened today, and I am still loading inventory so check back frequently for new items in the shop.

Here on the blog, I want to share some of my creativity and thoughts with you, as well as news on new items, sales and promotions at the store. Actually there is a fun one coming up next week so be sure to tune in on July 22!! A little hint...my belly is shaking like a bowl full of jelly!

'Til next time, be sure to have a little fun each day!