25 Days of Christmas Day 13: Christmas Wreath

Happy Friday!!

I thought I would share another Christmas wreath.  This is the one that is hanging on my door.  I have a storm door, and I have been working on a wreath that will fit the storm door without getting smushed.  With this one, I succeeded.

This has been an exciting Christmas.  It's the first Christmas in our new house, which means new Christmas decorations.  Now, we are doing the red, green, and white thing.  Of course, I had to make a wreath for our door.  Therefore, I made it red and white.  I found some really cute flowers at hobby lobby...and here's what happened...

What is your favorite Christmas memory?  have a fantastic day!! See you tomorrow!!

25 Days of Christmas Day 12: Diaper Tricycle

Hello again everyone!!

Over the past year or two, everyone I know has been getting married and having babies.  I started by making diaper cakes.  While looking at pinterest and other blogs, I found diaper tricycles, and I have never looked back.  It consists of great gifts, such as diapers, receiving blankets, bottle, socks, washcloths, and a stuffed animal.  It is also certainly an eye catcher and looks great as a centerpiece.

Here is one I made for a good friend of ours.

The giraffe on top is named Larry and is the baby's favorite toy.  She takes a picture by it every month.  

What is your go to thing to give at a baby shower?  Any fun games, tips or ideas?

See you tomorrow!!

25 Days of Christmas Day 11: Welcome Wreath

Hello!!

I hope the weather is holding out for everyone!!  It has been quite cold and snowy here.  Monday was our first snow day.  Well, the county in which I work had a snow day, which usually means I get one too!!  Our agency is pretty fantastic about closing down when the weather is bad.

Onto today's crafty project...Another wreath!!  Obviously I have been making lots in preparation for my Etsy store opening.  I am making sure I have all of my ducks in a row before I start to sell things.  I'm not going to lie, opening my own etsy store scares me a little bit.  It's a big step from just blogging about the stuff I make.  However, I also like the new adventure.  These 25 days of Christmas have allowed me to practice marketing and learn how to use different social media sites.

This is a wreath I made for my in-laws.  My better half and I thought it would be fun to make them a wreath for Christmas.  All the information I got was the shudders and roof was burgundy.  From there, I went shopping on my own.  At first, I did not think I would like this wreath very much, but it has quickly become one of my favorites.

I love the browns and the burgundy colors.  I had a hard time visualizing how this wreath would go, so I just mixed and matched in the store.  Looking back at the pictures, I would say the pictures do not do this wreath justice.  I kept the puffs smaller because they have a screen door; however, the floral elements make this a little bigger (I really have to work on that).  The "welcome" sign gave the wreath the country feel I was hoping for, as my better half's family lives out in the country. 

Above are some more detail shots.  I really hate how off color all of the elements seem.  I will have to work on that.  It really is more of a brown/burgundy color scheme, which is difficult to see in these pictures.  

I hope you enjoyed today's wreath!! Have a fantastic day, and check back tomorrow with more, exciting crafty things.  

25 Days of Christmas Day 10: Imaginisce I-Bond Hot Glue Gun

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to day 10!  I cannot believe there are only 15 days left until Christmas.  I still have several presents to wrap.  Luckily they are all purchased!!  Now I just have to figure out how to get them all in my car with me, my better half, and my puppy.  It's going to be crazy!!

Today, I thought I would do a product review.  You know, change it up a little bit.  I have recently discovered the amazingness of a hot glue gun.  I use hot glue a lot on my wreaths, and it works much better than the floral wire I was trying to use.

I had one that I purchased a while back.  I loved it (it is zebra); however, the cord kept getting tangled, it would never stand up properly, and it was a pain to feed the hot glue sticks.  Then, I discovered this:

It is a wireless hot glue gun.  An Imaginisce I-Bond.  Not just any wireless hot glue gun, a PINK one!!  It is awesome!!  This has all of the awesome features of a wireless hot glue gun, namely that you don't have to deal with a cord and can move all around your project without having to get tangled or be next to an outlet.

For starters, it has an LED light on the tip so you can see exactly what you are gluing.  It lights up automatically when the glue gun is on.  Therefore, you can also know when you glue gun is on from a distance. 

Also, the glue feed is fantastic.  There are a few moments when you have to push the second stick in the feed; however, it mostly just feeds itself and you don't need to worry about pushing in a new glue stick while trying to glue something.  

The kick stand also works fantastically.  It stands up where ever you need it to with no questions or problems or fancy tricks.  

I highly recommend this to anyone who uses a glue gun often or just needs freedom of no cord.  Leave me a comment with your favorite product!!  

25 Days of Christmas Day 9: Funky Christmas Wreath

Hello Everyone!!

I want to start by apologizing for not posting days 5-8.  My grandmother passed away last week and I have spent some time dealing with that.

Moving on to wreath business.  A good friend of mine was very complimentary of my wreaths and offered to help me with my business.  She has been spreading the word to several people and has always been in my corner.  Therefore, I decided to make a wreath for her as a thank you.

I love all of the funky Christmas colors.  The purples, pinks, blues, greens.   Knowing my friend, I knew she would enjoy these colors.  So, I went to the store, picked out what I wanted, and here's what happened...

I thought I would try something I have never done before and added ornaments to my wreath.  I found these ornaments at Hobby Lobby, and they were too fun to pass up.  

Hope y'all enjoyed today's post.  Let me know what you think or any tips or tricks you want to share!!

25 Days of Christmas Day 4: Dog Treat Containers

Hello Again!!

Today I thought I would share a different project I made.  Believe it or not, the other day I pulled out my Cricut and my vinyl to do a project.  First, a story...

My better half and I have been together for seven years.  For the last five, we have been wanting a puppy.  However, we were unable to get one because my better half had a job at a University where we lived in the residence hall.  Sadly, the residence halls do not allow us to have pets.  This year when we moved into our new home, we bought a dog!!  Her name is Sadie, and she is the cutest puppy you have ever seen!!

Of course, with a puppy comes puppy treats!  we purchased plain, plastic, airtight containers from Wal-Mart, and I thought they needed more pizazz.  So, we purchased other containers.  The other containers we purchased started to break, so I thought it was time to dress up the ones we bought.

I used my word collage cartridge that I have wanted to use for a while.  I had some difficulty with the vinyl as it was REALLY sticky and would not cling to the transfer tape.  That's why some letters are a little crooked.  There are also A LOT of letters, and that was kind of a pain.

I think they turned out fairly cute, and they work really well for doggie treats.  They were fairly easy to make as well (aside from the stickiness).  The moral of the story is, don't forget your pet on Christmas too!!  See you tomorrow!!

25 Days of Christmas Day 3: Fleur de Lis Wreath

Hello Everyone!! Welcome to Day 3 of the 25 days of Christmas!!

I have a confession: I am a fleur de lis freak and so is my family.  My family is from (and continues to live) in the New Orleans area.  I remember going down there the Christmas after Katrina hit.  The town was grey and the waterlines were over my head (and my dad's head).  We spent that Christmas in a hotel room.  Because most of my family was displaced, we had a big family Christmas at the deli where my grandmother works.  That way, everyone could be there for Christmas.  About half of my family was affected by hurricane Katrina and had to rebuild their homes.  We are blessed that everyone made it out of New Orleans safe and is now able to be back in their homes. 

After this tragedy, the fleur de lis not meant more to people than ever (as it is the symbol of New Orleans).  It meant faith, love, trust, and (probably most of all) hope.  Now, most of my family decorates with it and uses it as a reminder of what happened. 

My mom came to visit as I was starting creating my wreaths.  As we were in Hobby Lobby looking for supplies, she found a picture in a book called Deco Mesh Wreaths of a fleur de lis wreath.  My mom said, "I want that one," and here is what we came up with....

There were some gold balls and feathers we added later; however, I was very excited with the way the wreath turned out.  After making this wreath, I learned a lot about the possibilities of wreaths that I was scared of trying previously.  

Also, my mom was pretty excited about it!!  Thank you for looking at my wreaths!! Look forward to seeing you tomorrow!!

25 Days of Christmas Day 2: Stampin' Up Seasonal This and That Journal

Hello Everyone!!

Welcome to day 2 of the 25 Days of Christmas.  As y'all may or may not know, I am an organizational FREAK!!  I love to organize things and know what I have to do and when I have to do it. 

My mom is a Stampin' Up demonstrator, so I get all of the Stampin' Up magazines.  As I was looking through this year's seasonal stuff, I found the Seasons of Style This and That Journal.  This has several different features (and accessories) that allow you to stay organized all season long. 

It comes plain (with a design on the chipboard) for you to decorate.  There are additional packs and embellishments you can purchase that coordinate with it.  I decorated mine for the 2013 season. 

The journal itself has five different sections so you can organize effectively for the holidays. 

• This first section is a calendar.  It goes through two months; however, the months are blank.  So, you can have a personal calendar and a social calendar or whatever you want. 

• The second section is a card section.  It comes with a graphing paper and list space so you can design everything for your cards.  The list will help you remember what items you need (and how much you need of it).  Also, it allows you to make a list of people to send cards to and if you have received a card from that person.

• The third section is for decor.  It looks very similar to the card section, except it has room for decor items.  It helps you label them according to people for whom you are decorating, such as family and friends.  

• The fourth section is a gift section.  This way, you can write down everyone you need to purchase a gift for, what you are going to purchase, and check off that you have purchased it.  Also, you can design your own gift wrapping/tags here too!! 

• The fifth section is the entertainment section.  Here, you can plan your entire party from your guest list (and who RSVPed) to the food and other items you will need (and if you have purchased them). 

I was surprised by how much use I get out of this little book, and how much it has helped me stay organized this holiday season.  I LOVE it, and have had so much fun decorating it and such that I had to share it.  I know it will be back next season as well. 

If you are interested in purchasing this journal, please contact your local Stampin' Up demonstrator.  If you do not already have one, please consider going here and supporting my mom. 

See y'all tomorrow with more Christmas fun!!  

25 Days of Christmas Day 1: Shoe Wreath

Hello Everyone!!

I have decided to do a 25 days of Christmas leading up to my easy store opening in January.  Some of these will be wreaths, and some will be regular crafty projects.  However, we are going to start with a wreath.  

This wreath is a fun, everyday wreath.  I made it with a friend in mind, so the peacock feathers and shoe detail are meaningful.  It includes two types of deco mesh (1 printed, 1 solid), deco tubing, ribbon, and various pics.  

I love the fullness of the wreath as well of the colors.  This was another one of the first wreaths I did, and I have learned a lot since then about placement as well as how to secure the pics to the wreath.  hot glue has become my friend.  

I have enjoyed learning and practicing how to make these wreaths.  I think I am growing with every wreath I make.  While I have been pretty "creative" in the past, for this I have to rely on my sense of color and pattern coordination, which is something I have had difficulty with.  However, I have been getting lots of compliments and requests.  

I look forward to seeing where this journey leads!!  Please visit my store, which will officially open in January and my Facebook page!  

Thanks for all of the support!

Back with a Brand New Craft

Hello Everyone!!

I has been a while since I have posted.  To be honest, I haven't been very crafty in the time I have been gone.  I have gotten a full-time job at the mental health agency for which I was an Intern, I recently (June) purchased a home, and I have a new puppy!!  Things have just been crazy, and my craftiness has most definitely suffered for it.

Now, I have a new home with a new craft room/office/gym that I have recently re-organized to fit my paper crafting along with my new hobby, which I will get to in a minute.  I have also been on a fitness journey that has been somewhat successful, although I have had A LOT of ups and downs associated with that as well.  If you would like to follow my fitness journey, head on over to my fitness blog and check it out.

Onto my new venture....

While I have not been crafty for a while, I continue to visit craft stores and look.  Lately I have been seeing a lot of the deco mesh wreaths.  If you haven't seen these or don't know what they are, google it.  It's amazing.  I saw one I loved and thought "I can make that."  So, I went out and purchased a few supplies, and here was the turnout.

I made the wreath in EIU colors as we are so close to the University and it was almost homecoming.  After making this wreath, I fell in love with the process.  Looking back, this is not the best wreath I have made, and I notice several mistakes I made in the process; however, that did not stop me.

The colors of ribbon are not quite right, and I used ribbon that was not wired, which gave them a "droopy" look.  Again, it's not the best wreath I've made, but it's my first and there is something to be said about that.  

Because I have gotten into this so much, I have decided to open my own little store.  For those of you who have been long time followers, you know this is a long time dream in the making.  Currently, I am trying to navigate through the legalities of it in order to get everything set up and ready to open, but things are moving along.  

I don't know that things will be moving in time for the Christmas season, but I want to be up and ready for the mardi Gras/Valentine's Day season.  I am also hoping that I will be more motivated to make non-wreath items as well (i.e. getting my cricut out more).  As I am researching and playing, I will keep ya'll updated on my progress.  

In the meantime, please follow me on Facebook and Pinterest.  Things don't look really exciting yet, but hopefully they will soon.  Hope your day is full of creativity and craftiness!!