Ocean View Ornament + Holiday Prep Tips

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Getting ready for Christmas and the holidays can become a pretty daunting task when you start thinking about it. I start to become overwhelmed sometimes just thinking about everything that has to get done.

But today I have some good news for you! I have found a few fun things that have helped me already and I can’t wait to share them with y’all too to hopefully make your lives a little easier during this busy time of year.

Get started now!

Waiting until the last minute to start planning, crafting, shopping, wrapping, cleaning, etc. will only make things worse. If you can start planning now to do a little bit every day or when you get a chance then you will thank yourself later.

One thing I love to do this time of year is craft. That doesn’t happen if I wait until the last second to do so. Something will always seem to creep up and takes its place if I’m not careful. So this year, I am starting early with my ocean view ornament.

My ocean view shadow box that I made last year is one of my favorites and really seems to be a favorite of yall’s too to keep your summer memories alive all year. So I thought why not make it into an ornament to hang on our Christmas tree.

Supplies:

• Clear plastic, round ornament- You will want one that can open in order to put your picture inside. I found mine at Michaels.
• Pictures from recent vacation
• Sand
• Mod podge
• Foam brush
• Glue stick
• Fishing line

*You could also change this idea up a bit to suit whatever trip you had. Be sure to collect sand and seashells from your next beach vacation to use for this idea.

1. Paint mod podge on the inside of the bottom third of the ornament if your ornament opens. If you can’t find one that opens, you can also paint the mod podge on the outside of the ornament.
2. Sprinkle the sand over the mod podge until completely covered on the bottom third. Shake off any excess (hopefully over a newspaper to reduce the spill).
3. Cut a circle out of 2 pictures. Cut a piece of fishing line and place it between the 2 photos being sure to glue the photos together with the fishing line between them.
4. Place the pictures in the center of the ornament before attaching together again and tie the fishing line to the top where you would normally place the ornament hook.
5. I used a small piece of blue and white bakers twine tied in a knot for the ornament hanger.

You can now hang your ornament on the Christmas tree and remember all your trips and memories from the past year.

Now you are probably thinking this project is going to be a bit messy using sand especially with the kids involved. I’ve got you covered…

Start cleaning now!

Don’t wait until the night before or the day of a party to start cleaning your house. You will definitely become overwhelmed.

I have found something that has made my life so much easier this year. That’s the BISSELL ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Carpet Cleaner.

I know that’s a mouth full, but it has been a lifesaver for me especially since I have 3 dogs. Two of which are labs, Bryant and Mac, which shed a good bit keeping us busy vacuuming after them all the time.

Dogs will be dogs and just because they are house trained doesn’t mean they will not ever have an accident or get sick in the house. It happens to the best of them.

I am always trying to make sure that the rug in our living room doesn’t look dingy or stained either. Now I don’t have to worry. My carpets will be beautiful and smell even better after using the BISSELL carpet cleaner. As you can see, this rug keeps plenty of hair no matter how hard I have tried in the past.

The stains are also very real that I didn’t even realize it. The super clean circle you see is where the rug was sitting partially under my couch. I didn’t even know it had turned that much. I can’t wait to see how it looks after it’s all cleaned.

It even has an Express Clean mode leaving the carpets clean and dry in just an hour making it even easier in case you do wait to the last minute to start your holiday cleaning.

BISSELL also has a 2X Pet Stain and Odor Remover and Professional Pet Urine Eliminator Formula that contains Scotchgard. You aren’t only cleaning, but preventing future messes and urine from saturating the carpet.

Their Pet Oxy Boost Carpet Cleaning Formula Enhancer is what really attracted my eyes to this cleaner as well because it contains Oxy. You would use it in addition to one of the base formulas I mentioned above to remove those really tough pet stains.

You can pick up your own BISSELL carpet cleaner at Target too with a wide range of cleaning products to use with it as well while you are doing some holiday shopping. Who doesn’t love Target, really?

This cleaner was perfect for me to use after crafting with sand and glitter and all the holiday parties too. And yes, I clean in my pajama pants. You gotta be comfortable, right?

It is lightweight and very easy to push and pull. Not only that, it can also be taken apart easily to keep it clean.

Plus you can even enter a giveaway! How gracious of them!

#CleanForTheHolidays – Bissell Sweepstakes

I would love to know if you have any holiday prep tips to share with everyone. Please leave them in the comments below. Also let me know if you try the BISSELL ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Carpet Cleaner and how much you love it too.

Also if you have not already, please join me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. I would love to hear from you with any comments, suggestions, or ideas you may have.

P.S. Please share this post with others if you enjoyed it and found it helpful. We love when you pass on goodness to others.

Febreze is a trademark of P&G; with rights granted

Scotchgard is a trademark of 3M; with right granted