Show 'N Tell: DIY Stocking Holders

So I'm the girl who gets most (if not all) her Christmas decorations after Christmas. What can I say? There are some things that my mom just knew what she was doing. She would squirrel away whatever $$ she could (even if it was just $20) and go hit those after-Christmas sales!

As expensive as all those beautiful Christmas decos are, I just almost have to do it this way to have cute stuff around the house. (Some of you know what I mean...)

Enter After Christmas 2008. I only had about $13, and I wanted to make it last. (Also, enter the fact that I had just discovered the art of decoupage and wanted to decoupage EVERYTHING!) Went to Hobby Lobby about 3 weeks into January, and couldn't BELIEVE the stuff they had at the entrance for 90% off! They literally just wanted to get rid of stuff! I was able to buy stocking holders for $0.90! Yup! Here is the ridiculously gaudy looking thing here:


Yes, yes...that is silver, bulky, and weighs about 5 lbs. And since I'm hoping (praying) and expecting to have a larger family, I bought 6 of them. (:-) I kid you not. All along, I had this dream of decoupauging them and making them super cute.

Christmas 2009 came and went. I do think we used them for our stockings, but we used them as is.

Well, this is my son's first Christmas with us, and this was one thing I wanted to have done. So I have been diligently repainting these suckers this week and then used some fun paper and made these:

I know, right? They're totally fabulous! We each picked our paper out (except Gil, of course...we haven't figured out how to get the mut to talk yet!) :-) And yes, that is sugar cookies on mine...if I can't eat them maybe I can look at a cute pic of them! And yes, that's Dillon's all covered in presents! He insisted that I get that paper for his!

This was my first experiment with the Matte Modge Podge, and let me just say - I {love} it!

So I must put the overall effect pics up, and then I promise I'm done for the day.

Hopefully Santa can find them since we don't have a mantel...(And yes, that's the reason I put them right in front of the front door!)

Merry Christmas, everyone!