As 2016 draws to a close, and as tradition has it, we're rounding up a few 'Best of posts' this week. For our 2nd post, we bring you boutique style hotels that we loved.  From quaint rental airbnb-style spaces to more official hotels.  Here's the countdown below.

2016 was a busy year here, and we've collected a few of our more popular posts from the past year. From a twist on a classic recipe to a 5-minute DIY project, here's a few posts our readers loved!

Last season we made this mini camp of gingerbread houses made from a few gingerbread house kits from IKEA. They were so fun to make, (especially melting hard candies into large windows for a couple of them), and loved how they turned out.  Check out how we made them below.

We've been fans of Permanent Press Editions for a few years now, and have been meaning to share with you their newest editions. We also just found out today is last day to order unframed prints for holiday delivery (12/23/16). Order any and all sizes for a unique and inspired gift.

This post is sponsored by Staples Print & Marketing Services. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Poppytalk.

If you're looking for a bespoke gift this holiday,  photo gifts are a great option and surprisingly, easy to make. We collaborated with Staples this holiday season to make a few gift ideas using their Print & Marketing Services.

I was happy to see they now make tote bags that one can customize, and so for a fun twist, I added some text to my photo to create a fun bag for a good friend (who is a true feminist).  Here's how we made it.

Every year we like to offer up ideas for 'Gifts that Give", and one project we are huge fans of is the Obakki Foundation. Founder Treana Peake is very passionate about her foundation and works hard to make lives better in both South Sudan with water wells and in Cameroon with an orphanage/school. For the water wells,  the Obakki Foundation sells scarves. (only $29 ea). This year's colours are very beautiful and each colour represents/supports a different well. Also, right now Treana and a team of volunteers are there renovating an orphanage in Cameroon for children who would otherwise be homeless.  Both ideas would make very special gifts for a loved one, friend or co-worker. 100% of donations go toward The Obakki Foundation's humanitarian efforts. Check out the options below.

In the village of Koutouloufari on the Greek island of Crete sits Villa Zoé, a small boutique hotel made from two old restored Cycladic houses. The white minimalistic architecture is filled with an assortment of souvenirs from the owners’ travels like silver plates from Marrakesh and shells from the South China Sea. We also love the worn drift wood pieces (benches, towel ladders), that add a coastal feel to the space.  Would you take inspiration to style your home like this? (We'd take that bedroom)! Let's take a look!

@jonnajinton

December 13th in Scandinavia is Lucia Day (Saint Lucy's Day); a beautiful tradition celebrating light and represented usually (in modern times) by an elected Lucy (in schools among students) and a even a national one for Stockholm each year.  The origin of this tradition falls on the story of a young girl Lucia who was said to wear a crown of candles upon her head to free her hands so that she could serve persecuted Christians in the caves to where they were staying. And more today it is said Saint Lucy's Day if celebrated, will help one survive the long winter days with enough light. College students also use this day as a day to celebrate with friends before heading home for the holidays.

This post was originally posted a couple of years back by our then contributors,  Emily Hirsch and Erick Steinberg are blogging duo behind Heidi's Bridge.  Since it was such a lovely project and perfect for the holiday season, we thought it was worth resurfacing.  See the how-to below.  ~J+E

Now that the days have gotten darker with winter settling in, we've been keeping a lot of citrus on hand to add a bit of sunshine to our routine. Not only does citrus brighten any meal, we also love to decorate with it during the holidays, too. In honor of our winter tradition, we wanted to create a festive citrus wreath that you can keep up even after the holidays. Read below for the tutorial.