3 Winks Design

Happy Thanksgiving!

11/23/2017

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at 3 Winks Design! We're thankful for you all who read our blog. You're the reason we are here! We hope your holiday is filled with joy and love.

~3 Winks Team

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The BEST Printable Advent Calendars of 2017

11/21/2017

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This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for any purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Hey Alicia here again with some more advent calendars to show you.

With the busy holiday season upon us, I feel like I'm running on all cylinders trying to get things done and make this season enjoyable. As you read in my previous post, I love advent calendars, they have always been a part of my Christmas traditions. I wanted an advent calendar that would provide activities and treats for my family to enjoy together, but I feel that I don't have the time or energy to devote to making a really great one.

**Raise your hand if you're feeling the same way!**

So to avoid the burnout before the season even gets started, I found these awesome printable advent calendars. All I have to do is push a button and there it is ready to use!

Today I'll show you my favorite Printable Advent Calendars. Plus there is a free one that I made at the end of the post!

Printable Advent Calendars from Etsy

Harry Potter Themed Advent Calendar

If you know me you know I LOVE Harry Potter. So when I saw this adorable Harry Potter themed advent calendar I fell in love. The calendar has 25 different drawings on boxes that you fold and fill yourself. They are seriously so adorable!

AND they are on sale today, 11/21, for 40% off! So if you are a Harry Potter loving family, this is a great addition to your holiday decor.

I love that you can fill these with whatever you want! I might have to get some Chocolate Frogs or Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans to fill them with.

Art Journal Advent Calendar

I thought this Art Journal Advent Calendar was a really fun idea for kids who love to draw. Everyday they are given part of the nativity story to draw. It would be really cool to do this every year and see how their drawings and interpretations change from year to year.

I also love that this would be an easy a dvent calendar to travel with. A lot of families travel at the holidays and this is a great way to keep the Christmas spirit and magic with you wherever you are!

I feel I do need to include the disclaimer that these aren't bible verses but a simple telling of the nativity story so it's easy for young kids to understand.

A sampling of the pages of the Art Journal Advent Calendar.

Nativity Story and Countdown

The Nativity Story and Countdown printable package is so cute and comes with a plethora of items to make your holiday season fun and Christ-centered.

The first thing I enjoyed about this set is that you get to make your own Nativity scene. This would be really fun for young kids to do, as they get to decide where each character would go (one every day). And the cute little figures will be made of paper so you don't have to worry about them being broken by little ones who want to play.

But this package also includes stories to read together, activities to do as a family, and quizzes to test your knowledge of the nativity story!

I love that the work is all done for me and we can just enjoy the fun experiences it is sure to bring to our family.

Printable Advent Calendar from Mormon.org

You may have participated in the LDS church's Light the World campaign last year. Well, it is happening again this year and it looks like it's going to be just as wonderful!

From Mormon.org about the calendar, "Each Christmas, we celebrate the life of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. By following His teachings, we let his light shine—in our lives and in the lives of others. This year, use this calendar for inspiration as you plan your Christmas activities to help #LightTheWorld by serving those in need."

This calendar is all about serving others, which is what Christ was all about.

Printable Advent Calendar from 3 Winks Design

The Light the World Calendar inspired my 12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar. I wanted something that was small and easy to carry around for traveling, but also something meaningful that would remind me of what the season is all about.

So I came up with the 12 Days of Christmas punch card. There are 12 scriptures on the back of the card and these scriptures are to inspire an act of service for the day. Once it's done the front circle can be punched out (or crossed out, or use a sticker since making a hole in it would make it harder to read the back).

It's business card sized so it easily fits into a wallet or pocket. And 10 on a page makes it easy to give one to every member of your family and friends.

It's free to download and print! Hope you enjoy!

12 Days of Christmas Punch Card

There you have my favorite printable advent calendars for 2017! However you choose to enjoy the season, I hope it is merry and bright!

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14+ Best Gifts to Purchase on Etsy

11/20/2017

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This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for any purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

I love giving unique, personal gifts to people that I think they will love and gifts I hope will tell the recipient that I know them and I have listened to who they are and what they would like. A great place to find unique, personalize gifts is on Etsy! Have you ever looked at the shops on Etsy and felt overwhelmed by all of the many choices? Today, we have chosen some great things from Etsy shops that we really love in order to help you out! We've divided our ideas into categories to help you focus on people you may have on your list! Just click on the pictures to go to the link and order!

The Aspiring Star Baker

These personalize gift tag stamps from Save the Date would be great for someone who loves to give home baked goods, jams or jellies. Lindsey fell in love with these! You could use these stamps for so many applications!

Anyone who loves to bake would love to have a cute binder with dividers to file away the recipes they find from their favorite bloggers! These are of course from our own 3WinksDesignShop!

We love, love, love these laser cut rolling pins! They come in so many designs and sizes. This is a small floral one from Happy Rolling Pin. You can just roll out the dough with the design and then cut it out with a cookie cutter. Or, use the design on top of a pie!

I love these laser cut rolling pins! That leads us to the next category:
Special Gifts for Grandmas!

The snowflakes would look so awesome on a pie crust or cookie! These rolling pins are from Sugary Home.

I absolutely adore this owl one from Folkroll. See how they rolled it and then cut it with a cookie cutter? If you use a sweet dough, then a dusting of powdered sugar is all you would need.

Now, you may find this strange, but as a grandmother, or just because I am me, I really love clocks. I especially love seeing the inner workings of clocks. So you may be surprised to find out that I am really attracted to Steam Punk styles of things, like this clock!

Wandrstore has many versions of clocks like this one! Isn't it cool!

I also really like the farmhouse look and this large clock by RustyStarSignCompany is perfect!

I have recently started working in the Phoenix, AZ LDS Temple, and I love it! It is such a peaceful place to be. I told my husband today that I would like a framed art print of the Phoenix Temple to hang in our home. I haven't found one yet, of course, but I do know where I can find an awesome silhouette that I could download and put on a board or canvas! LastYesterday offers other great vinyl downloads as well! You should check it out!

This is the Phoenix Temple silhouette! There are other temples available, as well as Disney and Star Wars.

The Comfy, Cozy, Edgy Person

We all have a loved one who fits into this category! Maddy fell in love with these skull candles from Ember Candle Co. She says, "I like these candles because they look awesome. The pastel colors and the skull design really offset each other. They’ll be a great addition to my desk on a cold winter night." Perfect!

Maddy also chose this shirt, and I love it, too! LostCoveApparel has a ton of cute sweatshirts like this one. Maddy says, " I feel this way all the time!" She is so getting this shirt! So is my husband!

One more cozy gift choice, especially for the cat person in your life! These come from The Sleepy Cottage. So cute!

For the Writer/Journal Keeper

These marble designed notebooks are awesome! Marble is such a popular design choice right now. These journals look so sleek!

ForestNine makes these personalized leather journal notebooks or sketchbooks that are so awesome! These would be perfect for men or women. You just have to go to their site and see how cool they are for yourself.

Of course, writers need a place to hold all of their pens and pencils. Science lover Alicia fell in love with this Space Themed Zipper Pouch. Then when Maddy saw it, she loved it, too! So that makes it a winner! It is from oldflourhouse.

I know so many people who would love these glittery pens from Wonderlandplanner, including myself! Give one with a journal, or just use it as a stocking stuffer. They come in many colors.

Did you find something that strikes your fancy? Or, better yet, something that you think will strike the fancy of someone you are shopping for? I hope so! But, just in case, Etsy has some great gift guides to help you out as well! Just click the link and have some fun shopping. It is so great to know that you are helping out home crafters and designers in their small business. If you click through our link to shop, you will be helping us out as well!

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Friday Faves #40~Top Thanksgiving Choices

11/17/2017

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This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for any purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

First let me apologize for not putting up last week's Friday Fave post! Last week was Lindsey's baby shower and I just couldn't get to the computer to put up the post! But, her shower was a lot of fun and she was truly "showered" with some great gifts. I will post about that later But, today we are in true Thanksgiving mode. Earlier this week I posted about my best tips for a less-stress Thanksgiving. I called it Thanksgiving Prep 101, and even though there is even less time now, you can still pull out a super meal if you follow those tips.
One of the obvious things I suggested that you to do to get ready is to plan your menu. It is always important to include family favorites and make sure that there is something each person loves on your Thanksgiving menu. It is great to make a list and to plan your shopping list so that nothing is forgotten. Obviously there will be the turkey, but what about the rest of the dishes? That is exactly what we are talking about on this edition of Friday Faves:

What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish? (Besides Turkey!)

Madalynn loves the stuffing! Our family loves a good, savory, traditional Sage Stuffing. Maddy isn't the only one who loves it, I think that the rest of my family does as well. The secret to the stuffing is to keep it moist, not too dry, and give it plenty of flavor. I use an egg in my mix, broth, melted butter, onions and celery in my stuffing. There are never any complaints, except when it is all gone!
Alicia loves candied sweet potatoes. So does Lindsey and so does my husband. I put in brown sugar, a bit of maple syrup and top them with the traditional marshmallows.
Lindsey's first choice is the pumpkin pie, of course. She taught you how to make our family recipe on this post. Pumpkin Pie is so easy to make, and store bought is not nearly as good. The only store bought Pumpkin Pie I will eat is from Costco. But, really, just bake it yourself! Lindsey shows how to make the pumpkin puree here. Or, just buy a can of it. Top it with real Whipped Cream to make it even better.
My favorite Thanksgiving food is the Giblet Gravy! I've just got to say that I make super good gravy. I will have to do a tutorial for you one day. It isn't that hard not to get lumps! I love it with the giblets (liver, heart and meat from the neck) chopped up into it, made with the drippings from the turkey. Season it with salt and pepper. It is so good over your mashed potatoes, stuffing and the turkey itself.

If you are really not sure how to cook all of the dishes you need to cook for this Thanksgiving, you can always turn to Panna and watch their teaching videos so that you can make an amazing Thanksgiving dinner. I have shown you some of the things that I have learned from them on posts here and here. It is so enlightening to cook along with a famous chef! They have classes to cover all of your favorite foods!

Remember, once you print off your recipes from your favorite bloggers, keep them in a binder to keep them all organized for a later date. You can use our printables from our shop to make your Bloggelicious Binder to keep all of your baking recipes in one place. Not only is it practical, but it is so cute, too. An organized binder like this one would make a great gift for the holidays!

Also, up in the collage, I included our free printable from last Thanksgiving. "Eat Your Pie!" It is still available and would be a lot of fun to put up on the dessert table! The picture is a short cut to the PDF file! Just click on it to print.