Staying Warm During the Blizzard and Finishing Up Projects!

Okay, so I'm not really one for blizzards, especially in March!  Today is my second day off from work and I am enjoying having time to finish up some of my projects. 

I started this throw a couple of years ago and although I used to do a lot of crocheting, I don't do much anymore due to some problems with my hands. 

Over the years I've made a number of afghans using the ripple stitch, however this time I used 2 strands of yarn throughout, rotating the colors to give this throw a variegated look.  I saw this idea in a book from Vanna White and thought that I'd give it a try.

In this photo you can see it better.  Each time that I changed a color, I crocheted in the back loop only to create a raised line to give the pattern some interest.  The edges were a bit curly so I crocheted a few rows around the entire blanket and that made them lay flatter.  The outcome: a beautifully warm and oh, so soft throw to put on when I sit to watch tv in my family room!

Here's my view while I'm finishing it up!  Don't you just love finishing up old projects?  What sort of things are you completing that have been sitting around for a while?

Succulents are Everywhere!

When I first looked at the new Occasions catalog that Stampin Up puts out in January, my eye was immediately drawn to the Succulent Garden page!  I've seen succulents in the stores, and they are everywhere!  To think that I could make some myself was very exciting to me.  (This may not seem too exciting for you, but for a crafter, it's like paper-crafting heaven!)

Here I am using the Succulent Frame dies that I cut out with my Big Shot.  I have to admit, making them is a bit time consuming.  But the reward is worth it! 

My friend, Kathy, making succulents with me, was loving it just as much as I was. 

I picked up this frame, it's about 10" square, at one of the craft stores last week.  I think I was at Hobby Lobby but I'm not sure.  I just knew that this is what the succulents would look good in.  Another friend, Cindy, suggested that I put the lace in it and I finished it off using an image from the Layering Love stamp set.

I just love how it came out!  Now to just find something else to put succulents onto!  :)

Avant Garden Card Set

Today I had the day off from work due to the Blizzard that we are having here in upstate New York!  I've wanted to work with this Avant Garden set for a while and I was so glad to have a couple of hours to play around with it!

I started out making the Card Holder using the Envelope Punch board and a 9" square sheet of designer paper.  I chose the Carried Away paper in the Sale-a-Bration catalog.  I added a thin band of designer paper in gray and then tied a ribbon around it.  Using the sayings in the stamp set, I made a circle flower and added a saying next to it.  This is so cute, it can be given as a gift! 

Then I added a couple of pretty cards that matched using Watermelon Wonder and Peekaboo Peach cardstocks.   I got the idea from stampinbj.com.

I also used the Delicate Details from Sale-a-Bration to add a line on the edge of the cards and give it some visual interest.  I love how these came out and the bright and happy colors that I used.  It brought some cheer to this bleak, snowy day.  :)

Hope You're Feeling Special Today

This week I made some projects using one of last year's stamp sets that I never got to use, A Nice Cuppa.  

I started with this cute tea pot card and took out the saying,"I hope you're feeling Special today... because that's just what you are!"  I made this card last year at a fellow SU demonstrator friend's house.  I modified it just a bit to coordinate with the Succulent Garden designer paper colors.

Next, I made a square tea cup card to match that says, "You are totally awesome.  And I am totally grateful."  I was feeling quite positive and I wanted to use some sayings that would make the recipient feel loved.

The tea-bag holder made with the envelope punch board was a quick and easy envelope that you can put in a tea bag, a small gift or a note to someone.   It says, "You are Tea-riffic."  Cute, huh?  I got my ideas from Belinda Blom and Pootles.com.  

Then I finished it all up with a large clothespin that I made into a magnet for the fridge that says, "It's a good day."  When I was all done with the projects, I couldn't even decide which one that I liked best. 

I guess I just liked them all.  :)

Craftin' in the New Year!

Over the holidays I ordered some little calendars for paper crafting on a website called Taylored Expressions.  I added them to a sweet little desk calendar that I made using the new designer paper called Succulent Garden.  I love how the Sugar Plum and the Tip Top Taupe colors work so well together.

Then I added some flowers from Grateful Bunch.  The flowers are stamped in groups of three and then punched out with a coordinating punch, my favorite kind!

I loved working with these colors.  They're so refreshing.  Check out my next post to see more of what I made to coordinate with my calendars.

I found the idea on Pinterest from Erica Cerwin.

On the Road to the Adventure of Life

I love when January comes each year-
Number 1: The holidays are over and now we can live life at a slower pace and have time to catch up on all of the things that we didn't get to in December.
Number 2: It's a perfect time to celebrate new beginnings.  I love taking the time out to plan my life's dreams and goals for the upcoming year.  I never really get to all of them, but I guess just having a new year ahead that can be full of all kinds of adventures is exciting to me!

I got a new Journal to start out 2017.  I love how it says, This way to Adventure!  I'm all about the journey of going places.  So what sort of things am I looking forward to this year?

This year I'd like to do MORE of so many things: 
More creating and crafting (duh!),
more reading and relaxing,
more  travel and getting together with my friends and family,
more time hiking, camping and being outside and
more time spent in prayer and with the Lord. 

And then there are things that I'd like to do LESS of:
less time stressing over things,
less eating junk food (ha ha),
less time wasted watching tv.  

I listed all of these things in my Journal and look forward to logging my victories and perhaps even my struggles.  It's not a list of resolutions, it's a list of how I can better myself each day, a little at a time to become more of the person that I want to be.

How about you, what sort of things are you looking forward to in the New Year?  Do you have any dreams or goals that you'd like to work toward?  It's a brand new slate.  Don't you just love that?

Hosting an Ornament Exchange

This December I hosted an Ornament Exchange with some of my crafty friends. :)  The idea is to have 8 friends (your number can vary) each make and bring 8 handmade ornaments to the party.

Then serve food, make a small craft together, drink hot cocoa while listening to Christmas music and exchange the ornaments.

Each participant gets to talk about their project - the struggles and victories, fun, etc of making them.  At the end of the evening, you get to keep one of each of the crafts to put on your tree for years to come.  What an awesome time that we had!






This year I chose a rustic woodland theme for my Christmas decorations.   I put burlap ribbon on the tree and added lots of little woodland animals.

It was fun to go through my ornaments from years past and pick out things that would match the theme for my tree.  I found some pinecones and added them to complete the rustic look.









I wanted to keep with the woodland theme for my exchange, so I sewed some burlap heart ornaments and added some rosettes and other embellishments to them.  Each one is a little different.

The ornaments that the ladies exchanged were all incredible!  It was fun to see all of the thought and effort that went into each of them.  There were cinnamon stick trees adorned with ribbon, light-up tea light snowmen, origami trees, wire stars, gnome bottom holders and more.  I wish that I had taken more photos.

Look at these cute little pinecone stars embellished in the center with a burlap flower.  My friend Melissa picked these pinecones out of her yard to make the ornaments.  I thought it was ingenious.








My friend Carol sewed these lovely red birds made from felt pieces with contrasting fabric for the wings.  They're so tweet, I mean sweet. 

And look at all of these dominos that Tammy made.  We got to each pick two for our exchange.

After we finished up with the appetizers, I prepared a small craft for everyone to work on.  I wanted to keep with the rustic theme, so we did some rubber stamping on birch log slices.

We sanded the logs to make the surface nice and smooth and then added woodland themed stamps and added some red and jute ribbons to finish them.

I love how they turned out!  Simple, but very cute.  They're going to look great on my tree.

All in all, we had a great night, spending time together during this busy season.  Good food, crafts, lots of creative ideas and most of all, good friends.  :)

I can't wait for our party next year!