The Stockings were Hung.....

The Christmas I was seven I got a very special gift from my mom, a felt stocking that I have now had for 32 years! Who knew that this stocking would impact a tradition important for my own family.

Over the years, I have made quite a few felt stockings. The only one pictured below that I did not make is my own. This year I made more stockings in one year than ever before. Starting in September I made one a month for a total of three. Cocoa's was first, then one for my mom (not pictured), and then the one for Jack.

All of our furry babies, past and present, are represented with the stockings. Even though I have made several of these over the last few years, I learned some lessons this year. First, even though the directions for Cocoa's stocking indicated to only use two strands of thread for personalization, I feel like three or four strands would make the name pop more. For future stockings, I will use at least three strands even if the directions call for less. I anticipate that I will redo Cocoa's personalization, because it is one of those things that will nag at me until I fix it.

Jack's stocking also provided for a learning experience. I have made approximately 10 stockings over the years. The kits I have purchased in the past have always had the pieces printed on the felt. So you can imagine my surprise when the first stocking I planned to make for Jack had paper patterns that then had to be cut out of the felt. Not only would this be incredibly time consuming, but it would make the placement of sequins and satin stitching incredibly challenging. So my advice is for anyone planning on making a felt stocking to be sure the kit indicates that the pieces are printed on the felt. Needless to say, I decided to find a different stocking for Jack. To be honest, it worked out for the best, because I like this one much better.

One of my favorite places to find stockings now is at Merry Stockings. They have lots of great stockings available, and the delivery turnaround is excellent. 

Go Glitter!

I have been eyeing these glitter ornaments on Pinterest for a couple of years. I planned to make them as Christmas gifts last year, but it just did not happen. This year, however, I was determined. The glass ornaments were purchased at Michael's. The various glitter colors that I used were purchased at Joann.

I read several other blog posts before I tackled this project. Following this, I went on the search for clear floor wax that could be used to glitter the inside of the ornaments. I have to tell you I probably agonized over which floor wax to purchase more than anything else. This seems crazy, but I wanted to make sure the glitter would stick. I usually hate glitter ornaments because they tend to leave glitter everywhere. This way the mess is only in the beginning. One key lesson here is to be sure that the wax covers the inside of the entire ornament adequately. There is no going back once you have applied the glitter.

I gave out these ornaments with names on them to many of my friends this year.

I went through quite a bit of my ribbon supply as well. I found that the wider ribbon was much more difficult to tie on the ornament. However, it seemed to stand out more. However, I could tie a nicer ribbon with the smaller size. The Cricut cartridge Cursive 101 was used to create the lettering. The vinyl I used came from a variety of places. The cheapest I found came from Joann Fabrics. It was less than $6 a roll on sale. I was very excited with this discovery. Since these include a $5 coupon for Cricut digital images, I think I got a great deal.  

In addition to making these ornaments, I also made some special ornaments with pet names. I used the same font cartridge, but I also used a paw print (for dog ornaments) and a cat silhouette. The paw print was composed of a couple of different images, because I did not like any of the Cricut paw print images that I had. 

Layering the vinyl on these ornaments was easier than I expected. One issue that I had though was bubbles along the edges of the cat and paw print cut outs. I am not sure this is avoidable, but I do plan on doing some experimenting to see if I can get the images to lay flat on the ornament. Next time around I plan on cutting the edges of the vinyl sheet to see if I can bend it more to the shape of the ornament. We will see if that works. If it does, I guess I will issue a recall for those who received one of these. :)

Christmas Scraps

I always have good intentions with Christmas cards. In fact this year I have been pinning Christmas card ideas like crazy. I had every intention of making really elaborate cards this year. Obviously, that fell through. I have such a full container of scrap paper that I just wanted to use some of the leftover paper scraps I had there. I was actually able to make 32 cards using predominantly scraps. I did have to cut the base of the card using brown paper, but all the rest could be found in that overflowing drawer.

I rarely use stamps on cards. I feel like I just do not know how to make the most of them, but I do think these turned out nicely.

The cards are A2 in size. I used the brown paper as the card base and the background for the stamps. On some of the cards I added red bling for a Rudolph effect. I could not decide if I liked the cards better with or without the red nose, so I included it on only about half of the cards. I also used ribbon on the cards. I have an abundance of ribbon that I never use, and I really wanted to incorporate that on the cards as well. I was able to use about three rolls of ribbon to make these cards thus opening up space on my ribbon dispenser for one of those many rolls that reside in my closet.

I really think that my resolution for the New Year needs to be to use the plethora of supplies that I already have. I have been trying to break myself from buying whatever paper, stamp, etc. that I see on sale. It is getting easier, but wait, what is that I see? Christmas paper on sale. I really have to have it. Wow, this might not be easy.

Sunburst Cards

Tried a new card technique recently -- sunburst cards. They process looks more complicated than it really is. I used the following video to learn the process.

Putting the cards together was pretty easy once I got the hang of it. One of the biggest problems I had was with my paper cutter. It just is not cutting very straight, and seems to be worse since I replaced the blade. Might be time for a new cutter, and this was obvious while putting together these cards.

I had a pack of 6x6 paper in coordinating colors, so it was easy to pick matching papers. After putting the cards together, I just stamped them on the front with the greeting.

I really like the way these cards turned out. It could be a great way to use scraps in the future. 

Baby, Baby

I recently attended a baby shower for a good friend of mine. They don't know the gender of the baby, so gender neutral colors were in order. If you have ever looked for shower decorations in greens and yellows, it is harder than you think. Anyway, I decided to tackle two new projects. I created my first banner and bouquet for the shower.

I tried taking a picture of the banner hanging, but the light from the window made it impossible to see. 

The background shapes for the banner were created using Accent Essentials and the letters are from George and Basic Shapes. I used a brown marker to make the dots around the edges of the shapes, and everything is tied together using a sheer yellow and light green ribbon. I used grommets for the outside center portion to run brown ribbon through to hang the banner. An important lesson emerged from this experience..... Do not, let me repeat, do not run the ribbon for hanging the banner through the center. This makes it very difficult to get the sections to hang correctly. I would definitely run the ribbon through the top next time. I added stickers that I purchased at Michael's to embellish the banner.

The bouquet was much more challenging. I did not use my Cricut on this project. I used stickers that I already had and cut paper to match the size. I also added ribbon for embellishment. Since this my first time creating a bouquet, I tried to keep it simple. I purchased the bucket at Wal-Mart for $1 and inside I placed floral foam. I attached each piece with tape to a skewer and arranged.

You will notice there are also sugar cookies I made to match. Don't look too closely. Eventually, I will make an icing that does not run. Sigh....

Hanging Folders

So, I go in phases with using Pinterest. Currently, I am in a Pinterest phase, and I am quite inspired to create. It all started when I finally found some fabric to make a valance for my office window. Let me be clear, I will not be making this valance. I am leaving that up to my mom, because I have no skills with a sewing machine. Regardless, it has inspired me to get back to sprucing up the office (a space I share with the cat).

This space is quite small, leaving little room for places to store stuff. I have found myself piling things up on my desk, because there is no space left to store folders. Finding this idea on Pinterest helped solve all my problems.

I created these hanging file folders for use in my office.

I followed directions 1 and 3 from the link provided above. After that point, I used a few modifications. First, I took paper and covered the original folder. Being unable to find folders in the colors I wanted, I just created my own. I did not glue my folders together. I just used the grommets to secure the folders together. I placed a grommet through the folders I was joining together and a grommet in the ribbon I was using. I then laced a different ribbon through all the grommets to allow the folders to hang.

I purchased the ribbon first, so it is really too dark for the paper that I chose. If I could go back, I would probably buy a lighter color ribbon or use a darker brown for the tops of the folders. I am trying to come up with a way to bring that darker brown into it with a little more significance to tie it all together. Not sure where that will lead.

Other than that, I love this method for opening up storage for important papers!

Wishing for Spring

Woke up this morning to a little snow in the front yard. This was actually the most snow we have had all winter. The problem is that it is the second day of Spring. At this point, I am wishing for warmer weather to stick around. My desire for Spring really inspired me to make some cards for Easter.

I have stayed away from my Cricut these days. Not because I don't love my Cricut, but because I have oodles of stickers. I have been trying to break my habit of purchasing stuff if I don't have a plan for it. The easiest way to do this is to stay away from craft stores.

I created these simple cards by cutting 1x1 inch patterned paper and matting on 1.5x1.5 inch textured card stock. I spaced 6 evenly on the card background and used one of the larger squares to mount a sticker in the center.

This was a quick and easy way to create cards and use some of those stickers.

Here's wishing for Spring!