Sneak Peak

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Nov 302011
 
Being my last post in November I meant to really go out big. 
Then I spent an hour chasing Sophia through knee high should-be-a-hay-field-but-is-now-a-swamp muddy grass. And freezing. AND I lost a shoe half way through so I had to walk through really really really cold mud with only one shoe on. That basically sapped all my creative will. On a side note, is it still veal if it’s over a year old? Just kidding, maybe.
So instead of a stellar Gift Wrapping Tutorial you just get some teaser picks of the soon-to-be-wrapped gifts
What are they? Only the cutest fleece blankets ever! 
Check back tomorrow for the wrapping tutorial!

Wooden Tree Stocking Holders

 DIY  18 Responses »
Nov 302011
 
I love a challenge. So when I saw the Wooden Stocking Holder “Create with Me” project by U-Create I couldn’t pass it up. The only real limitation was that they needed to be made from wood and made in November 2011. I really waited till the last minute, the pictures are due tomorrow. To be honest my final project looks nothing like my original idea. I’m happy with how it turned out, even if it’s a little more ‘girly’ than I tend to go. I got everything for this project at Lowe’s, with the exception of the pretty little bows.
Supplies (for each):
1 4×4 Post Cap
Green Tinted Wood Stain (I used the Fiddle head color by Cabot)
1 5×5 Post Cap
White Acrylic Paint
 4 inch scrap piece of 2×4
Royal Garnet Spray Paint
Drawer Pull
Hanger Bolt
Drill with large bit and small bit
 Step 1:
Stain the top portion of the fence post topper with green tinted stain. You could use paint but I wanted the wood grain to show through. Paint the bottom ‘notch’ white with the acrylic paint.

Step 2.
Paint the 5×5 cap with the white paint. When both dry screw together using the screw on the post cap. You have to twist pretty hard.
Step 3. 
No pics, this was a scramble in the garage and the camera was MIA. Mark the center of your 2×4 piece, drill a hole using the larger bit. This will be the hole for the end of the post cap screw. Pick the front side of your holder, drill a hole for the knob. Spray paint with the royal garnet. When this dries screw it on the the bottom of the 5×5 post cap. Basically you’re making a wood kebab.
Step 4. 
Screw the non-pointed end of the hanger bolt into the knob. Screw the pointed end into the the hole you drilled into the wooden block.
You can find the hanger bolts with the screws, look for the orange section. 
Add a cute little bow and you’re done! 
I know the stockings are missing, they are still missing from the move, along with a whole lotta decorations.

My First Feature!

Queen of the Party

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Personalized Cookie Plates

 DIY  2 Responses »
Nov 292011
 
When I was little my sister and I always used the same plates for Santa. Well, her plate was for Santa, mine was usually filled with apples for the reindeer. Best Christmas Memory: Waking up and seeing the tags for the reindeer apples outside my bedroom window on the roof. Parents take note!
I don’t have kids, but I do have cousins. They have the type of first names you won’t find on a coffee cup. I know the pain. So I got creative:

Supplies:
$ Store Plates
Oven
Follow the instructions on the pens. Write/draw what ever you want. If you mess up you can rub off the offending marks with a slightly damp washcloth. Let it dry a bit first so it doesn’t smear all over the plate. 

Let the plates sit until dry. Then bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. The web site says to put the plates in the oven as it warms up so they don’t break with the sudden temperature change.
Add a signature to the back before baking for an extra special touch!
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Simple Christmas Gifts: Scarves

 DIY  3 Responses »
Nov 272011
 
I’m getting into Christmas gift mode. I feel like I’ve been crocheting constantly for the last week or so. Most of the ladies on my list will be getting handmade scarves. Don’t tell on me but I’m pretty lazy about the whole thing. I thought I’d share my old stand-by plan for super easy scarves. 
It all started two years ago. I made the Super Fluffy Scarf of Awesomeness. I got lots of compliments and people asking me to please make them one. Now that give-people-stuff time had arrived the decision has been made. Scarves for all!

This is a really basic pattern. Super basic. So basic it really isn’t a pattern. 
Instructions:
  1. Buy yarn. This is where you get to be fancy.
  2. Decide how wide you want your scarf. This will change with the yarn you use. 
  3. Start your chain
  4. Double Crochet until the first ball is gone. If it’s too short add some from the second ball.
  5. Add something fun to finish it off. Tassels, fringe or even pompoms.This is why you needed 2 skeins.
Ooo! See what I did there? Yeah. That’s the pattern. Do you feel cheated? You shouldn’t, you didn’t pay for it.
Yarn Reviews:
I’ve made my share of scarves over the years months weeks and I’d love to share my experiences with you.
Homespun by Lion.

This is the yarn that started it all. My super fluffy blue scarf of fun is made from Homespun (Montana Sky). I used Mixed Berries and Pearls for the Christmas Scarves.  One skein makes a decent scarf. I used half-double crochet for the white one, the scarf ended up being quite a bit shorter.

Cons:
The colors are pretty limited and the yarn is on the expensive side. I found it cheapest at Michael’s on sale for $4. Regular price at Joanns was around $7 dollars.

Country Loom by Loops and Threads

I’ve only made some scarf from this, it crocheted really easily, sometimes with nubby yarn you get the hook stuck in the yarn, didn’t happen with this one. I used the Hollyhock color, a really pretty true red with golds in it. I wasn’t crazy about it before I crocheted it but the color really came out once it was in scarf form. There are lots of pretty colors, I’m thinking I might need one from Solarium color. This made a thicker scarf than the homespun which was nice for the frigid winters her in good old CNY. Only available at Michael’s, it’s been on sale the last few times I’ve been in.

Cons:
One ball isn’t enough for a scarf, not even close. I’d cut what fringe/tassles/flowers/decorations you want first and then use up the rest of the second ball on the scarf. Cuts down on the extra mini-yarn balls left rolling around the craftroom

Livingroom Nativity

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Nov 252011
 
Finally got started putting up the Christmas decorations, Mike told me I wasn’t allowed to do anything until after Thanksgiving. The first step was putting away all the fall stuff. That was actually pretty sad for me. Autumn is my favorite season and it was the first decorations I put up in the new house. Now we’re moving on to the next season and it’s really sinking in that We. Own. The. House. 
The manger is from Fontanini. My grandmother bought my sister and I the main sets for Christmas one year and added on pieces over the years. I have about 31 pieces depending on how many sheep my cat has smacked off the table.

The pieces are some type of plastic, which is awesome because they are cat-proof. All the pieces are really detailed. My set is the 3.5″ scale. The only thing I wish I had was some chickens, sadly they aren’t available in this scale.
I usually just slap it on the table and pick up the pieces as Rita-zilla knocks them down. But I decided to step it up a bit this year. The whole thing is on my knotted table runner based on the one from Living with Lindsey. I made mine from a remnant and it only has 3 knots. 
I also added the “Believe” sign and a fake book. With so many characters it’s nice to put some on a different level. Mike put the angels on top and I really like how they look down on the whole scene. 
I cut the lettering from dark brown vinyl (from Pick Your Plum) with my Slice at 3 inches off the Noel card. The stars are from the Fa La La card, cut from metalic gold vinyl (also PYP) at 1.5″ to 3.5″ It was the first time I put vinyl on the wall and Mike got pretty nervous, he thought it was permanent. I really like how it pulls it together.

Down on the Farm: Thanksgiving Edition

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Nov 242011
 
Happy Thanksgiving All!

This is my beautiful boy, Gobbles. He is a 1 1/2 year old Royal Palm turkey. We currently have 13 RPs. We started out June 2010 with 22 turkey poults. 11 RP and 11 Bourbon Red. In the end we lost one poult, 2 went to friends of mine, 14 went…. in the freezer and 5 stayed with us.

A younger Gobbles and his four ladies.

I’ve been through a lot with these critters. They started out as day old poults in my mom’s garage. They moved with Mike and I to the small house we rented. Then finally with us to our new home. They predate the cows, chickens, ducks and alpacas.

Checking out the chickens. We keep the chickens separate for health reasons. It’s also the reason we may be discontinuing our turkey raising. He was really interested in the white ones.

Mean looking hen sitting on some eggs

We had some hens pretty serious about brooding but they never hatched anything.

We did a bit better with the incubator. These are freshly hatched. Turkeys are notoriously hard to breed, low fertility and hatch rate makes this a pretty good turn out for first timers. We hatched 15 but lost a bunch to unknown causes. We ended up with 8 to raise for… the freezer.

Another picture of my pretty man. Ignore his broken tail, it’s grown back now but I can’t find a better picture.

Award Winning!

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Nov 232011
 

Aside from a talent show in high school, I’ve never won anything. Not contests or giveaways or lottery tickets. Today thanks to Space 46 my luck is changing! Please, please check out Space 46, she has some fantastic projects and the best inspiration pics ever. I’m in love with her Jewelry Hooks. I’m so happy and flattered and excited to say that she passed the Versatile Blogger award on to me! This must be how it feels to win an Academy Award! ok, maybe not quite, but I am soooo excited!

 
There are only three rules for this award. If you accept you must
  • Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to the blog in your post
  • Share seven things about yourself
  • Pass the award into 10 recently discovered blog
Seven things about me:
        1. I have my BS in Wildlife Science
        2.  I have one sister, possibly the least creative person ever
        3. I started belly dancing when I was 14
        4. Chickens make me happy
        5. I have a really good memory
        6. My dad died when I was 16, 7 years ago today
        7. I love the smell of a horse barn

Now it’s my turn to pass it on!

Gift Tag Ornaments

 DIY  4 Responses »
Nov 222011
 
This is another super easy ornament. I feel like I say that a lot. There are actually 2 layers of easy to this. Super-easy and just easy. 
Super easy version: buy some fancy gift tags. Take them out of the package. Hang on the tree. 
I didn’t do this so I don’t have any pics for you.
front
Less easy version: Make fancy hanging tags. Hang on tree. 
I used my Slice cutter to make these. I chose 3 different shapes and cut them out of 3 different card stocks. Then I cut the same shapes out of 7 coordinating Christmas papers. I glued the card stock to the paper with some elmers. 
Then using the Slice I cut a bunch of Christmas shapes and words out of solid card stock and metallic vinyl. Those got glued to the front. Finally I edged the tags with a metallic gold ink pad and added a twine loop.
We’ve got an ‘A’ for Alecia, a ‘M’ for Mike, a ‘R’ for Rita the kitty and another ‘A’ for…
True story: This might not be him. They all look like bundles of cute right now
Alfred! Our new puppy! We don’t even have him yet but he will be home by Christmas. He is a full blood golden retriever. He is from the first litter of the 3rd generation of Mike’s family’s goldens. Several of his aunts and uncles are currently in training for seeing eye dogs.
Let me just say, I fully support rescue animals. Rita is a rescue from CNY Cat Coalition. We knew we wanted a dog and did consider a rescue. Due to several factors we decided it was best for us to get a puppy from Mikes mother. 
A. We know Alfie’s mother, grandmother and several aunts and uncles. They all have the personalitly we wanted.
B. We have a lot of ‘prey’ type animals running around. We need a dog that won’t kill or torment the chickens, ducks, alpacas and cows. I’d hate to bring home a rescue, lose some of our animals and then have to take it back. 
C. Rita hates other animals that are bigger than her. She likes our bunny and chinchillas. She has even chilled with turkey poults. We really hope that if we bring Alfie home when he is still shorter (he already weighs more) she won’t notice when he out grows her. And yes, my cat is that dumb. 

Encourage your Creativity in 3 Steps

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Nov 202011
 
Taking a break from the Christmas posts for a day I thought I’d share some of my ideas on how to foster your creativity. These tips may not apply to you, and you may think I’m nuts. But on the off chance I can help you here we go:
3. Tag it.
Buy some sticky flags, everytime you read a magazine flag anything that catches your eye. Most of my magazines look like they got caught in a confetti cannon. Look back over your magazines. I have a ton. I’ve looked through last years and it’s amazing how tastes change. Some pages still make me giddy for glue guns and some make me wonder what the heck I was flagging.
See the tabs?
2. Step outside your comfort zone
  If you’re a painter, try sewing. If you loooooooove neutral colors, try something in chartreuse. If you like to go completely nuts adding seven patterns, fifteen layers and glitter! glitter! glitter! try making something monochromatic. Even if you hate whatever you create you still stepped out of your comfort zone. You might even suprise yourself and find a new love. DO NOT I repeat DO NOT stop half way through because you don’t like it. Just Keep Going. Set a goal and stick to it! Challenge yourself.
See this pillow? This is not a *me* pillow. It’s got a whole lot going on. Embroidery, ribbon, ruffles, yoyos, rosettes and buttons. I spend all day running giant sewing machines at work so when I get home I love to do small hand work. But I tend to keep my everyday accessories more simple. I save the fancies for the holidays.
My pillows usually look like this or these:
Just embroidery and some basic piecing. 
To be honest I hated the apple pillow. Right up until the moment I forced the pillow form in I hated it. I kinda like it now. Stockholm syndrome maybe? It was a good exercise for me, I didn’t buy anything for it. All the supplies were dwelling in the craft room and I needed a pillow case any way… 
1. Carry a notebook at all times 
HIGHLY recommend getting one with a spiral or composition style. The tear-off notebooks are a pain, they fall apart really easily. 
Write down any ideas you have, this is the real life version of pinterest. Partial ideas, inspiration, blog posts, the price of whole corn at all the local feed stores, where progresso soup is on sale… maybe not all relevant to your life but you get the idea.
Before I started doing this I had too much in my head all the time, I even had trouble falling asleep at night because my brain wouldn’t STOP. It also helps because I can move on to the next idea. Get the stuff out of your head and onto the paper. Before I’d get stuck on one thing, worrying about forgetting. Now the time I waste spend not crafting can be used more effectively thinking about crafting. This is the best tip I can give you, ever!

Twisted Felt Wreath

 DIY  7 Responses »
Nov 202011
 
If you have a computer you know that yarn wreaths are EVERYWHERE. But because I’m stubborn like that I refuse to make one. Actually, it’s probably because I’m lazy. I hear they take forever and a day to wrap the yarn. Felt wreaths on the other hand, not quite so overexposed, and faster. Faster is key. The twisting pattern is based on these garlands from purlbee.
Supplies:
Straw Wreath form (mine was 14 inches)
Red, Green and White Felt
Scissors
Needle and Thread (or glue gun, if you happen to know where yours is)
Steps:
1. Wrap white felt around wreath form. 
2. Cut felt strips from the red and green. You need wide (~2 inches) and narrow (~1 inch) strips of both colors. 
3. Place narrow strip on top in wide strip. Fold in half and cut a 1 inch slit.
4. Pull one end of the felt through the slit you made
5. Start attatching the twisted strips to the wreath. It can be a bit fiddly but just keep going. You will have overlap in the center and just ‘kissing’ on the outside.

To make yours look like mine, alternate using red and green for the bottom strip and make sure the V’s all point to the center. The thread wasn’t too bad but a glue gun would have made it faster. On the plus side, I didn’t burn my self.
Obviously this is on a chair, not its Christmas home. T-day dinner is at my house this year so all the Christmas decorations are hiding in closets and the craft room looks like the North Pole exploded. I’ll be spending Black Friday putting up decorations and I’ll have better pictures then.
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