Small Wreaths of Joy for a Friend - Another Holiday Craft

The second gift I made for my Secret Santa was this little "JOY" wreath. It was simple and fun to make. I snuck into her office and copied photographs for this project. I then took them to the craft store and picked out three wreaths that would work nicely. I then got some of the fun Martha Stewart glitter in a lovely shade of medium blue and used it to jazz up the letters. The dried letters were applied to the wreaths with large glue dots. I also attached a few snowflakes that I got from the scrapbook store. I attached the photos to nice card stock and attached those to the back of the wreaths with more glue dots. I used the small ones so that she could easily trade out the photos. I then attached the wreaths with medium sage green ribbon. They seemed to slip around a lot so I then tied small bits of organza ribbon in blue between the wreaths. She was happy with her gift.

Christmas Words Blocks Crafting

Last month my brain was set on fire when I surveyed the Basic Grey November 2007 Newsletter. The first page featured these wonderful blocks that spelled out "Noel." I was on a mission - I wanted to create those blocks for myself. My local stores were out of the specific papers so I had to revision the idea and come up with something slightly new. I found these fun papers in a pad. I decided that I had to have it. I then had my father-in-law make me a mound of wooden blocks. They were a blast to make, but they came out different than I had expected. For one thing these babies are HEAVY. They could hold down your tablecloth in the event that a gale force wind swept through your house. And the took MUCH longer to make than I had expected. But, it was still a lot of fun. I used my Cricut machine to cut out the letters using the "Opposites Attract" cartridge. I used the "George and Basic Shapes" cartridge to cut out the various squares. I figured out four colors for each side and made one large square as well as one small square of each of the colors. I then glued all of the large base colors on each of the sides. While those were in the various stages of drying I cut out the letters and ran them through my Xyron machine so that they would be easy to attach. I then glued on the smaller squares. Lastly I embellished each inner square or letter and put them together. One set went to my Secret Santa at work. Another will go to my friend, Natalie. Hopefully I will get them to her sometime before the holiday is over. If you wanted to make some of these but don't have a father-in-law to make them for you check your local craft store for other options. At Michael's I saw a sheet for something similar that was done on Styrofoam blocks.

Rejoining the Blogging World

I've been away for so long that it is hard to know where to begin. I guess it is best to begin with the idea that the signs of fall are beginning to appear and with it, a more consistent rhythm of life. One that will allow me to be home a bit more. The end of summer was a wonder, fun and exhausting whirlwind of biking, going to the mountains, and stuff like that. It has been and will continue to be made busy and unpredictable with that which comes when someone you love is in the hospital. My aunt has had a difficult time dealing with the deal of her beloved husband, Joe. He died in April. Her recovery will take a long time. But I will not elaborate so that she may still have her privacy. It seems that I am sort of in that Sandwich Generation spot, and have been for a few years now. I am learning to do it with some grace.

But on another note -

When I came home today my house smelled of fall, even though we are having near record heat with almost 90 degree days. My house smelled of the concord grapes that were lolling in a bowl on the dinner table. We have a small grape vine covered walk way on the side of the house. When they are ripe it is a contest between the squirrels and ourselves to see who will get to them. This year we got more than most years. The smell is enticing. I think it would make a wonderful new scent for the places that sell lotions and candles. Behind me was a gaggle of teenage boys, my son included, all reved up for a sleepover video game fest in honor of Ethan's 14th birthday. The kids are great, they all are looking forward to having a lot of fun and my biggest concern is whether I will have enough food with seven pizzas, 36 soda and enough chips to fill several grocery sacks. We also have two containers of ice cream (vanilla bean and mint chocolate chip) to go along with the pumpkin pies that Ethan wanted for his "birthday cake." Many kids have brought their gaming consoles and televisions. My basement room is stuffed with ten boys, two brave girls, five televisions and who knows how many gaming systems. I have relative peace that allows me the luxury of surfing blogs (my version of "vegging out.") I love the food blogs. Hogwash is always wonderful. As is Cooking with Amy. Her 9/14 entry has an enticing entry about wonderful sandwiches:

From Cooking with Amy 9/14/07

I'm always tempted to stop by Arlequin for a toasted cheddar, pear and bacon sandwich. The bread is crispy and crunchy, the cheese oozes and the sweetness of the pear is offset by the smoky saltiness of the bacon. Taking that sandwich as inspiration I decided to add mustard to my version. I was sure the warm spices including cinnamon, clove and cayenne in the mustard would really be delicious with the pear but I didn't want the intensity of bacon for this sandwich. After experimenting a bit, the combination I settled on was smoked turkey, white cheddar and pear. Smoked turkey is a good sandwich choice, it adds some heft and lean protein, and is healthier than ham or bacon.

I'm thinkin' I have to try this one. I also want to try and make the candy treat that I have pictured above. The base is a small square pretzel .The middle is a Rolo (chocolate covered Carmel) that has been placed on the pretzel and heated slightly in the microwave. Then you take a pecan and press it onto the top. Sounds simple enough and they are SSSOOOOO GOOOD!

Another fun thing is that not only is my craft room table finally cleared and they have fun stuff in the dollar spot at Target. I found items that I wanted when I saw them at the scrapbooking store for around $7-$10 per package for a mere $1 here. I had to have some. It was very satisfying to lay out the lovely letters. I am kind of a fontaholic, as I have been told. These sets cried out to go home with me. What could I do but buy as many as I could? Who knows yet what I will do with them. I also had to have two containers of felt flower shapes as well as the brads with fun designs on them. I am crazy for this stuff! Now I just need to make time to use some of it!

Bunnis ala Jennifer Murphy - WIPs

On Saturday I encountered Posie's (of Posie Gets Cozy blog) photo of the bunny she had made. She offered the link from Jennifer Murphy's site where there is a tutorial. When I saw this, I knew I had to make some. I was happy to use the handy little tools I have for making pompoms. I always finding it interesting how several people can use the same information and end up with very different products. My bunnies are a bit more chunky than hers, though I think they are all very cute. Her tutorial calls for a skirt made from cupcake papers. While it is cute, I found it hard to work with. Had I been new to crafting, I would have thought myself inept and possibly quit. However, being firm in my ability to craft, I decided to sew the skirts instead. I like the result much better. Ellie is having fun designing things for each bunny girl to hold. They are not yet finish and already we have plans for more. I will be taking part in a silent auction for a friend who has a baby boy with extreme birth defects. I will offer up some of these beauties to try and help fund two hearing aids for dear baby Sean.