Whew.
That was tough.
Do you know how hard it is to write a blog with the comments not working?
Especially when you get to visit Joanna Gaines shop and you get the bargains of the century and all I want to do is discuss it all in the comments and talk about how amazing she is and ask if anyone saw the latest episode where Chip eats a cockroach.
Can you see why we need to talk?
But everything is fixed now.
And I”m back with the latest installment in the family handmade gift exchange.
It’s not too late….right?
I mean….it’s not even Valentine’s yet.
So this is my brother’s gift to all of us this year.
Handmade boxes with extra personality.
This guy is named Freddie.
He has glasses and eyes that sparkle and he looks like exactly like a Jeopardy contestant.
And when he opens his mouth….
….you can see his toothy grin.
And this handsome, swarthy character?
His name is Jack.
He’s just finished pillaging and plundering the open seas with his mates.
He has a hook where his hand used to be.
And a wooden eye patch.
And a mouth full of wooden teeth with a mischievous grin.
And the last in our cast of characters?
Moby the whale.
He looks a little dazed and confused.
I know….right?
Like he’s not sure about all this.
He has a wide-eyed stare and if you look closely you can see a hint of his teeth.
Just the slightest of hints.
Until he opens his mouth and then he looks like a cross-between a whale and a robot.
There’s something so endearing about him.
A dazed and confused whale robot…
…. probably because he saw just saw swarthy Jack on the pirate ship. 🙂
PS Â My brother made everyone of these boxes for us. Â They have hinges on the back and a toothy grin that opens wide to hold treasures.
I’m not sure how he thought this up.
But I’m so glad he did.
I was beyond exciting when I saw that you got to go WACO and be around the people from the best show ever!! Fixer Upper is my new favorite and I just love love love what Chip and Joanna do with the houses they find and so wish I could be one of those lucky lucky families!! and there is a STORE!! with all the loveliness they put into their renos! WOW I gotta get me to WACO!! Have a wonderful day and so glad that you are back ,,,,, your little wooden buddies are pretty cute!!
Oh my goodness I love the boxes! You are a family of rock stars!
Love the boxes! And I CANNOT believe Chip ate that roach! I have even got my husband watching the show!
Fixer Upper and YOU are new to me in recent months! I'm enjoying popping in and out here, soaking in the creative way you do life. Your energy and joy is contagious, KariAnne, and this NY girl is having fun getting to know you! ;-}
You truly come from a creative and imaginative family. I think your family got more than their share of the creative genes! DARLING boxes!
That is the cutest! I love it. He could sell those in a craft shop or something. Such a wonderful idea!
WOW... is your whole family on "TALENT OVERLOAD" ?????? Love the boxes!!!! AND ..... YES I SOOOOO WANTED TO COMMENT ABOUT "FIXER UPPER" !!!! lololol... absolutely my favorite program on tv!!!!!! I love this family... love their designs and style!!! Every single episode is so full of top notch design ideas ....family fun... just amazing!! Chip and Joanna are the bomb!! and so is Waco!! On my list of places to visit!!!! Thank you so much for sharing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Absolutely LOVE the boxes your brother made! So very creative & talented.
Your brother is an amazing talent...and I love that he makes your family's Christmas gifts....the boxes are way too cute..how can it not make you but smile.....no....laugh out loud!!!....Glad that your comments are working again...Nice to talk with you!!
So happy you are back! Now I can get back to my morning routine of Diet Coke and Thistlewood reading. The boxes are so creative. What an amazing imagination and skill set. :)
Those boxes are awesome! They have so much personality. You have such a talented family! And I must say I'm incredibly envious of you getting to go to Joanna's shop
I hope you don't mind, but I just nominated you as my favorite blogger for Better Homes and Gardens blogger of the year. I subscribe to several blogs, but yours is always the one I read last, so I can enjoy it without having to hurry onto another email!
Love my daily fix of Thistlewood Farms. Fixer upper is my favorite HGTV show. You and Joanna would make a dynamic team ( not leaving Chip out of course, he is so funny). Your brother's boxes are adorable. Such talent.
Wow, wow, wow. So cute and creative. Will he have them available in his shop? I would love to have one! I
I LOVE THOSE BOXES !!! What a creative gift. Your entire family is so gifted. I loved your blog about Chip and JoAnna. Aren't they the greatest thing on HGTV ?? I feel like they are my neighbors as I live in Plano, Texas ! We go to Waco numerous times a year. It's our meeting spot to pick up my Mother and bring her back home for a visit. Now it looks like my oldest granddaughter make go to school at Baylor so there's another excuse to go to Waco!!! Now the icing on the cake would be if I could meet up with you and JoAnna in Waco. :^) Karianne you are every bite as talented at JoAnna and for reasons I don't understand you seem like a TEXAS born girl !!! :^) Your smile, enthusiasm, and love of life is a strong Texas character trait !!! I look forward to your blogs so much. Blessings to you and your family. Betsy
Those boxes are great. I want one of each! Somehow I missed that you got to Magnolia Market. What fun! I too have been a Fixer Upper follower since the very beginning. I've never been to Waco but would move there and buy a fixer upper in a minute. Love everything they do!
It's easy to see that your family was blessed with extra creativity in the gene pool. Those boxes are beyond cute! Thanks for sharing, Suzanne Pieced Pastimes
Wow! Getting to shop at Joanna Gaines store would be amazing! I love her show and her style. I just read a post from Marian Parsons about her debating painting her brick house and then that night the episode of Fixer Upper Joanna painted a brick house! I love my HGTV and bloggers like you who share all their talent with the rest of us. I have so much fun reading your blog. Also, it looks like the talent runs full force in your family, those boxes are the cutest.
Incredible talent must run in the family!!! I absolutly loved the books !!! They were one of the most original gifts, these boxes aren't far behind though. Next time you go to Texas think of all of the Magnolia Momma's fans that are green with envy. Oh! Chip may have all of the cockroaches he wants .....I'm never going to eat one UNLESS it gets Fixer Upper to come to my house.
My daughter got me watching Fixer Upper and now I am glued to the TV when they are on. I love, love, love Joanna's decorating style (but was totally grossed out when I saw Chip eat that cockroach! ) and would love to turn Joanna lose in my house and let her decorate! And I second all the comments about loving your blog - I always enjoy it!
It's obvious that creativity runs in your family. And Chip eating that cockroach . . . . disgusting and hysterical!
I LOVE Chip and Joanna - they just seem like such cool, down-to-earth people and you just want to go hang at their house, and you just KNOW y'all could be best friends, because they're so awesome (and Chip is probably reading this and saying, "YEAH! We ARE awesome!" and then he'd show his belly and eat a roach). And Joanna would laugh and look at him like he hung the moon (because he kinda did), and he'd put his arm around her and compliment her, because she's just the cutest thing and has these mad design skills, and I want to be just like them. Or be adopted by them. Come on! They've adopted all those kittens, what's one more mouth to feed. I've had too much caffeine.
I knew I adored you before, but since I learned you are a Baylor girl I love you! We are a long line of Baylor Bears. Sic em Bears! Love your blog.
Awesome! Love them all!
I tell you, as I read the post my smile became broader and broader!! They are A H M A Z I N!!! Your brother is freakin' awesome! Tell him I said so! lol I sure wish I could duplicate one of these, but alas, I don't I can't. BooHoo. Glad you're back!
Oh my gosh, where do I start - I so missed commenting!! When you posted about going to Waco, I was so excited to post a comment... to tell you how excited I was, that you were so excited to be visiting Joanna & Chip Gaine's store?!! Even, without being able to comment, I just sat back and smiled through your whole post. And that you actually got to buy stuff. That is the stuff that gives me heart palpitations!! I am in love with that show, addicted to it. I just watched the latest episode... and that Chip he kills me, and Joanna she is so sweet. Both are so humble, and honest and real, and then if that doesn't get you addicted to the show, they fix up these houses amazingly, and every room I am oooooohing and ahhhhhhhhhing. BEST. SHOW. EVER. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if Waco, has a boom in population because of this show! lol And yes, I have been on their realtor website, picking out my very own house and dreaming about meeting Chip and Joanna and having them pull apart a giant photo of a ramshackle house, and revealing my forever house, and Joanna and I would oooooh and ahhhhhh over all the pretty details, and lovely accents she picked out. And my husband would chuckle at some funny joke Chip would tell...Oh well, a girl can dream can't she?!
I absolutely love your blog! I love Fixer Upper too, and am only wishing I too could have been at their sale!! Oh well! You always make my day brighter with your blog and I can't wait to see what you do with all your fun finds !
I love this post... I was at the Magnolia shop just a couple of weeks ago... can't believe I missed seeing you too. I got a few things from the store and posted a picture on IG. So exciting... I love the show too. No sign of Chip or Jo but the store was packed full of friendly faces... I would def go back... You have to show us what you got. Your brother sure is a talented one... those boxes sure are cute and functional. Cant wait to see what you got!
Brilliant.
Doesn't everyone love Chip and Joanna? I saw from your last post that you went to Baylor. Can that be right? When did you graduate? I graduated from there and have been around Waco through the years (I have family there). Could we possibly have been there at the same time?? Oh my gosh! Diana
What comments not working when you posted your Magnolia Farms excitement? I thought I posted a comment? Oh well I was on allergy meds. But I told my husband because we watch Chip & Joanne. Best show on HGTV in a long time. So envious you got there. I love their style and you two are a great combination. Thanks for guiding us through the store and the sale. Last night's episode showed where they had to get more storage. They have grown successful over the years. And I love seeing the children be involved and how they've grown. Lucky You Barbara Ann etsy.com /shop/barbaraannscreations
Opps! Forgot the stars of this post. Those boxes. Love them. They really have a personality. That creative gene is strong. Can you guys adopt me?
Love the boxes! So adorable and very creative! And omg I knew the minute I saw the title of the post that you had been to the store and I was so excited! Excited and a bit envious! Lol! They are my most favorite to watch! My husband and I both adore the show, we've seen every episode...some more than once! They are amazing and I would love to just spend a day with her! Can't believe how lucky you were to the there for the sale! Would love to sit and have coffee with you discussing all your latest treasures you found there! I love your blog, love the way you write and decorate of course, wish we were neighbors so we could be friends haha!
I am soooo glad you got the comments fixed. I felt like someone had gagged me and I wanted to talk and I couldn't. Whew!! Thank you. I simply love the boxes and the theme is adorable. Your family is incredibly talented and I would suspect that you all have a kinda warped sense of humor. Warped in a good way!! My youngest son and I are totally in sync when it comes to humor - we totally get it and my poor Honey kinda looks lost. Oh well! I'm glad you're back!!
Oh my gosh, you have a super talented sister and now a brother too. These box characters are so stinking cute, I wish he was my brother!
Your brother is uber talented! Those boxes are so cute! Joanna Gaines is talented too...you still haven't told what you bought have you? ;)
Just have to say bloody marvellous
love Fixer Upper and do fun that you are a Baylor girl. Two of our kids graduated from Baylor. I'm considering Waco as a retirement home and wondering if Fixer Upper is going to be what puts Waco on the map.
Absolutely love these boxes! I do believe there is a market for them! I need some! And I love your blog! The best by far!
I love your creative family! I was so excited to see you at Magnolia! I was there for my birthday! Sadly no giant sale. BUT they did have their Christmas on sale! So it sailed out with me! I tried to post my picture but I could not get it to work! Smiles, Alice
I can see that your brother is a character...and I love him already! Very cool!!! Jane x
Seriously I want the Freddie box. My hubby is named Freddi with an i not ie and when he puts on his readers he kind of resembles the box. Is your brother planning on selling any in his Etsy shop? This would be such a fun gift to give him. You are just a family of Rock Stars. I can't believe you got to shop at Joanna's store. I love Fixer Upper and Chip is such a character. I think my husband watches to if he does anything unexpected. I can't believe he at the roach. I couldn't eat my whole dates for a week after seeing him do that. They reminded me of the roach yuck!
Love the boxes! Absolutely adorable and personality plus! And Sic 'Em Bears!!!
Love the toothy boxes - they brought such a smile to my face as I eagerly raced through your post to get to the next photo. Between the boxes and the awesome pallet letters, I can't wait to see what your brother makes next! Like many above, yours is one of the blogs that I really look forward to reading. Your writing is so vibrant and your wonderful personality just shines through. Thanks for sharing with us!
I absolutely love the boxes. I would like 7 of them please. One for me, my two daughters and my four grandchildren. Do you have instructions that are printable on how your brother made these. Or a site where they can be bought. :) I know they are special gifts to the family from him. But if he is willing to sell them, I'm willing to buy them. Can I give a personality description of each of us so that he will have an idea of what we are like and might like. Not kidding. Doesn't hurt to check, right. Tell him he has a fan of his creative work. :)
These boxes have to seriously be one of the coolest things I've ever seen! Now I want one. He should totally sell them. Which one was yours?
These boxes are so cute! I try to make something personal for my sister every year. We LOVE Fixer Upper! My husband has a man-crush on Chip!!!
Holy Crap! These are adorable!
Boxes are too, too clever! Sorry I missed the post about going to Waco & being with the fabulous Joanna & Chip of FixerUpper. I'll have look back in your blog.
Hi! Recently new to your site (sometime before Christmas) and I am totally in love AND jealous! Your family is incredibly talented. I loved the books and now the boxes!! Oh I have a serious crush on Freddie!!! Did I miss what you made for your family? Love all your posts! You look fab in your lip stick!!!
Karianne, So aaaaaaaadorable! Christine