I've failed, so I'm giving away!!!!!

I didn't get the last of the ornaments done. *sniff* Between me being sick, my kids being sick, and this wonderful thing called Christmas, it just didn't happen. I feel like a butt.

A few things have changed here over the holidays. I've decided how much I really love crocheting and painting. I've realized how much more gets done when I'm not on the computer all day. I've realized I can actually help people.

My New Years Resolution is to donate 10% of my crafting time to charities. I already started my first preemie/stillborn blanket to be donated. I think it's been my favorite project for a while. I hope that it can bring somebody comfort and peace. Would you like to join me?  It doesn't have to be a blanket, it could be as simple as a hat. Here are a bunch of links

Next order of business, some of you know that I would like to start a yearly project. I want to work on one holiday for the entire year. For each holiday, I'd like an afghan, a pillow, 6 crochet cupcakes, pot holders, and whatever else I can do for that holiday. I'd LOOOOVE for you to join me!!

First we have to decide which holiday to do this year
1)Halloween
2) Independence Day
3) Christmas

Please vote in the comments. If you have links, projects, or ideas for any of them, feel free to include that in your comment. I'm even doing a givaway. Whichever project gets the most votes, I will take the names of all the people who voted for that one, put them into a hat, draw out a name and send you a hand painted calendar!!!! (Pics to come soon in what will be a very large photo update)

Merry Christmas!!!!

Today's the day! What a great Christmas season this has been. We have been more than blessed. I hope this coming year to serve others as much as possible to pay what has done for me forward.

As for the ornaments. tomorrow is our "relax" day so I'll finish posting the ones I have done then. I'll also finish the last couple done (thanks Vanessa!)

Stupid Germs

Ok, I have like 4 ornaments to post, but I haven't done one tonight or last night because I"m fighting SOMEthing. I don't even know what it is, but I might go to the Dr. tomorrow. This is NOT the time to be sick. It's totally interfering w/ my schedule!!!

Don't Fret!

I will have more ornaments posted soon. I just have to upload the pics. And then i have a bunch of pics to edit as well. For some reason it's been busy lately. Oh wait! I know why.... CHRISTMAS IS LESS THAN A WEEK AWAY!! I'm SO unbelievably excited!!!

For now, I'll leave you with these pics....

Yes, this is my daughter. LOL

And my whole family (THANK YOU ABBY!)


Cute!!


(I haven't flipped it, sorry)

I believe in Santa Clause

His helpers stopped by today and left some gifts for our family. If they read this, THANK YOU!!! It means a whole lot to me and my family. More than the gifts themselves, I'm honored that someone thought about our family and took the time and effort to do this. You are truly an example to me and I hope one day to pay it forward!

Here are ornaments from the past few days:

Sorry again for the sucky close ups. Maybe I should stand far away and zoom.

Thank you Caitlin!!!

Your box more than made my day!!!!

I'm in love. The scissors are so stinkin cute. I LOOOVE the note paper! ANd I can't wiat to try the new yarn. The Red Heart yarn is SO my fav color! I mad e a bag for my niece in the super bright one and was kind of jealous, but now I can make one for me too! And I can't wait to try the hot cocoa!

A gift/craft for you

Tired of getting address books that you never use because you don't have any stamps and it's so much easier to get a hold of a person online anyway? Here's your answer.....

FLOPPY DISK WEB ADDRESS BOOKS!!!!
You'll need:
2 floppy disks (with the hole things at top)
Printer
Paper
Hole Punch
2 book rings

Print out as many of the following pages as you'd like

 

click on each individual page, right click and save as.

Cut them all out. They should measure 3 1/2" x 3 1/2". Place them in a nice stack. Put one floppy disk on top and trace the square holes. Remove disk and use hole punch (preferably the small scrapbooky ones that don't do gargantuan holes) where you've traced.  Put stack of paper on one disk, top with another. Put one book  ring through each set of holes. Vwahlah!

(I'll post pics after I get to Office Max to pick up my book rings. Right now mine are held together w/ paper clips- not so cute)

Dec 12

Last night I went to a Tooele Mommies party. It was so much fun! It was an ornament swap.  I didn't make an ornament since I knew I'd be coming home with a new ornament anyway. This is it:

Gorgeous, huh?!

Tonight I made this: I got the idea from GEEKWARE (again, because they rock)

Now I really want to make a set of keyboard magnets. How cute would that be?!

Charge!!!

Ok, my batteries are charged. I have pics of all 3 ornaments. I am going to put them in date order, which, ironically, is the order I like them in!

This one, the idea was good; hang a nail on your tree to remind you of Christ, but the pulling it off, not so much!

The next, was supposed to look like ribbon candy. Why, oh why, then, didn't I think of using.... RIBBON!?!?! I used paper. Paper, pipe cleaner, beads, and a hole punch

Last, but CERTAINLY not least, is my "ornament wreath ornament." I LOOOOOVE ornament wreaths. I will have one one of these years, I promise!!! For tonights, I did it in mini. I took a round, broken piece of jewelry that I had in a stash of "this looks promising" and hot glued some beads from a broken bracelet of Juliana's, added in a few pearls, and vwalah!


You'd never know I was a photographer by my pics. Apparently I still have yet to master macro and super macro mode, lol. At least you get the general idea.

Charging

My batteries are charging, so tomorrow you'll have pics of today and yesterday's ornaments. Today's was  cute! I may do it again using actual ribbon (it's ribbon candy looking)

I am NOT slacking!

I did make an ornament tonight, but it's hideous. Plus the batteries on my camera are dead. So tomorrow I will post 2 cute ones instead. hehehe, is that cheating?

Dec 7

Pearl Harbor Day! So I used Pearls (fake ones)

Just one more

rubber band by CriandoKits_kitcolorido (that's the kit name)
brushes by Obsidian Dawn
The rest are a collaborative effort between me & PSE 7

OH dear, look what's happening

I had to make some CHRISTMAS notepapers! Again, 4 version. These trees ARE made by me- mostly. The swirls are brushes by Obsidian Dawn.

Christmas Trees Color:

Green Variated Christmas Trees

Green Christmas Trees

Black and White Christmas Trees

Free Paisley Paper Printable

I have been much inspired lately by Tricia-Rennea, who draws ALL of  her stuff by hand. It's amazing amd adorable. Unfortunately, I am not as blessed w/ a pen. I can, however, work my way around photo shop a decent amount. So.... using a font called Paisley, I created some note paper for you. This is 8x10 paper. Click on the image to see it full sized, then right click and save image. Enjoy, there are 4 variations

Paisley #1 Teal and Blue

Paisley #2  Teal and Brown w/ smaller lines

Paisley #3 Semi Colored

Paisley #4 Black and White

A new Value!!

Ok, so I am SO excited right now!!! I just found out that the Church is adding a new Value to the Young Women's theme and Personal Progress. Now we have EIGHT Values instead of 7. The new value is VIRTUE and the color is gold. Because I'm excited, I typed up the new theme to be printed out. Everything is the same except for the addition of "and virtue". THe big change comes when we get the new personal progress books. There will be value goals for Virtue in addition to hte other 7 in existence.
I didn't make it frou frou at the time"

The color is gold and that makes me happy, too. Anyway, just thought I'd share!

Dec 6

Played w/ Felt and embroidery today. I want to do some great embroidery, but I have a few other things I need to finish, so no can do (tonight, anyway).

Dec 5

I have THREE ornaments tonight! No, don't think I did them all today. I started all three of them last night while waiting for the snowflake to starch. I put the finishing touches on them today and figured, hey! That works for today!

I am really happy with the first reindeer, but not so much the spoon. The inspiration ones HERE on flickr are GORGEOUS and mine just..... it's ok. And that's fine normally, but when you PICTURE gorgeous and get ok, it's a bit of a let down. The reindeer, though... I LOVE! They are lightbulbs from my bathroom lights that burnt out. LOOOVE them!!

Dec 4

I fixed the picture!

Snow

I think this is the first time I've ever been excited about snow (as an adult anyway). I've never been a big fan of winter. I don't like having to hide all my clothes, I don't have a cute coat (yes, I KNOW it's lame, but still!), and I can't just send my kids outside.

However, this year..... Heavenly Father blessed us with a nice "warm" November. Most days it was  around 55*. The sun was shining, weather was GREAT!Crisp, but not bitter. I think that's why I'm ok, even grateful for the snow today. I've had my turn with my nice weather. It's (hopefully) not going to be an entire 6 months of snow like last year. I even SMILED when I saw the snow. Normally I cry, lol. So, on that note...

HAPPY SNOW DAY! I think I'll make a snowflake ornament today. Perhaps I'll even have my kids cut paper snowflakes for our windows

Here is a match game I made. Print 2 on cardstock .

Dec 3

I decided to try my hand at making something from an old sweater. I decided to do the sweater cupcake. It turned out ok.....

Questionairre snag

I borrowed this from Felt Like Knitting- a blog I found today. You can borrow it too! But link back, I wnat to read other people's answers.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?  both. But mostly gift bags. I like to make all the tissue paper extra pretty!!
   
   


2. Real tree or Artificial?  Artificial
   
   


3. When do you put up the tree?  I used to say that I wanted to do it on Dec 1 every year because Roger proposed on Dec 1 with Christmas ornaments (there were 6 of them. They said, "Robyn will you marry me? Love, Roger" Love, Roger was on one ornament and it was a heart, not love) but that has yet to happen. This year we did it the Sun after Thanksgiving.
   
   


4. When do you take the tree down?  WHenever
   
   


5. Do you like eggnog?  yes, but the non-alcoholic kind
   
   


6. Favorite gift received as a child?  My 49ers blanket, or maybe it was when I got a game.
   
   


7. Hardest person to buy for?  I don't buy many presents, I make most of them. I can't think of anyone that's difficult
   
   


8. Easiest person to buy for? my kids.
   
   


9. Do you have a nativity scene? One, and it's pretty, but I really REALLY want to crochet this cute one the kids could play with
   
   


10. Mail or email Christmas cards?  both
    
    


11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Well, it wasn't a BAD gift, but when I was in YW, we picked names and I got my secret sister this notepad thing, which I thought was so cool. Then we got to the party and never showed. Turns out she had my name as well. So I got my own gift. Like I said, the gift was cool, it was being neglected that kinda sucked.
    
    


12. Favorite Christmas Movie?  While You Were Sleeping, which isn't technically a Christmas movie. But it has Christmas stuff in it. And Harry Potter, too!
    
    


13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?  I start shopping and making things in January.
    
    


14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?  Depends on your definition of recycle- given the same gift to someone else in the same form? No. Oh wait, I lied. I'm doing that this year. last year I gave Juliana a canopy for over her bed and she was scared of it. SO I"m giving it to her again this year.
    
    


15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?  Peanut Clusters, Homemade Peanut Butter Cups, Truffles
    
    


16. Lights on the tree?  is this a yes or no question or a preference question? Right now we have little white ones. I'd like the CIRCLE colored ones, they're cute. As long as they're not blinking, I'm fine. I HATE blinking lights. SUper pet peeve of mine.
    
    


17. Favorite Christmas song?  Totally hypocritcal- I hate it when people leave Christ out of Christmas, but my fav song is Santa Baby. Followed VERY closely by Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains
    
    


18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?  both. I like staying home, though
    
    


19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?  nope
    
    


20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?  family gifts at our family party on eve. The rest in the AM
    
    


21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?  too many good deals, not enough money to take advantage of them
    
    


22. Favorite ornament theme or color? I did gold for a while because of Roger's ornaments, but since 2 of them broke (they now say "Robyn, will you marry") I am torn. I like the idea of purple at Christmas. Don't know why....
    
    


23. What do you want for Christmas this year? Stamps, MY stationary, chocolate, and in dream world, a Magic Bullet.....

Dec 2

I made two ornaments. One of them, I didn't bother to measure, so it turned out like crap.

So...... I found this one at Geekware and LOVED it. My dad gave me a whole thing full of disks today, so I get to play!!


Also, yesterday I started an advent calendar for Roger. It looks pretty on my wall. I first saw the idea on One Pretty Thing, which had a link to print the numbers from Design*Sponge/d.Sharp Journal, then put them on envelopes (thanks Sarah!). I was originally going to use paper clips and tie a ribbon on the paper clips, but, naturally couldn't find my box of paper clips and was in a time crunch. JUST after I finished punching all the holes.... I found 'em.

On a very random note, because I'm browsing websites, blogs, and all manner of coolness while I'm writing this, I saw THIS at d.Sharp Journal and thought.... HMMMM... What happens if I tape together wrapping paper scraps? Might be kinda cute, eh?

Dec 1

Happy beginning of the Ornament Advent!! I finished my first ornament today. The body is made of felt, the face, buttons, and initials are embroidered on. I embroidered the edges. I crocheted the scarf and hanger. I'll end up w/ 3 of these total. Whether they will count for today's remains to be seen. I can't wait to post YOUR ornaments!!

From my Flickr group, I have found four awesome inspirations (I found a whole lot more than that, but I've decided to only post 4 a day as to not overwhelm y'all). One of them didn't show up, but I hope you'll see her cute  Clothespin Carolers on Flickr.

1. Not available, 2. Little Bird Tree Decoration (Red Flower), 3. 12_06 ornaments from felted sweaters, 4. Domino pendants! - closeup