. . . {won't you be my} neighbor gifts . . .

. . . i'm a big believer

that if you're going

to do something . . .

. . . it might as well be cute . . .

. . . before i even knew

how pinterest works . . .

{still not sure about that!}

. . . i did know

how to look at blogs . . .

. . . and i see

sooooo many darling ideas . . .

. . . i saw this one

on eighteen25 . . .

. . . those girls are clever . . .

. . . they give directions

on how to turn this . . .

. . . into this . . .

. . . perhaps the trickiest part

of this whole project

was convincing the produce guy that

~ yes ~

~ as a matter of fact ~

~i do want to buy

the entire box of apples ~

and then some . . .

. . . it took a committee at fry's

to figure out

how to sell them to me . . .

. . . oh, brother! . . .

. . . then i gathered

all my essentials . . .

. . . and started

the assembly line . . .

. . . with three hours

of the survivor finale

to keep me company . . .

{dang! i was totally rooting for ozzie}

. . . i had labels . . .

. . . and tags printed

at americopy

on glossy paper

and cardstock . . .

. . . and no gift is complete

without a bow,

of course . . .

. . . here's is my favorite way

to package homemade cookies . . .

{helpful tip: fold cellophane like a fan

and cut edges into scallops ~ so cute}

. . . it makes a few cookies

feel a little more special . . .

. . . i thought up this tag

all by myself

when i found

some adorable

christmas s&p shakers . . .

. . . i know, i know . . .

. . . slightly on the corny side . . .

. . . it might have been aristotle who claimed:

"the whole is greater

than the sum of its parts" . . .

. . . which i believe can be true . . .

. . . especially when you put your heart,

your time,

and love

into whatever you create . . .

. . . i hope my neighbors and friends

know i think they're special! . . .