Can we start talking about Christmas yet?

I know that the stores don't have the Christmas decorations up just yet but I think I need to begin thinking about Christmas presents and decorations and such. This year will be a lean year in our household. The economy has decreased our household income by almost 50%. So I have begun to think about who I will be buying for and who will appreciate handmade gifts. I have begun making my lists and checking it twice (laugh) and assigning projects and gifts.

I was blog hopping today and found this blog: http://craftsonawhim.com/. It is so cute and has a great many easy projects. One of the things I like about this site is that it has a difficulty factor with each project.

Here are a few I love!

Beaded Angel: Check this out. I will be making a ton of these (going out today to get the supplies for it and will be working on them tonight). How easy are they??? I am thinking that these will be nice gifts for my co-workers, as gift tag decorations, for kids to make for their teachers and perhaps to sell at the next craft show I am doing.

I found these through a link from AMR that Nicole posted and love these little clothespin magnets. I am thinking that these will also be fun to make and sell as well as for little gifts. I want to make my girls bulletin boards for their room and if I use some metal frames for them they can use these magnets too.

And what about this idea? I love the idea of putting scrapbook paper in a tube of a pen. You could do Christmas paper and give as a gift. You could do fun paper and they can be a great first day of school gift to the kid going off to middle or high school. OR for the teacher, just make it a RED pen (laugh). Oh, I think I need to make some of these too!!!

So, what are you making for Christmas gifts? Leave me a link to your blog with the ideas you have or leave your ideas in my comments, but I will tell you I can learn best from a picture!!!

You leave me a comment with some ideas or other sites that I can go to for more great homemade stuff no later than August 16th at 6pm eastern time, and I will put everyone's name in a hat and get one of my kids to pull it out and I will send you a goodie.

The kids did this project!

We are all in the holiday spirit. The kids want to help as much as I want to do it myself. So I bought these foam kits for them to make a little ornament for the gifts as a topper.

They still need a string and some glitter but I think they did a great job!

I am working on a gift basket to give to some family, neighbors, and other sundry friends. I am brainstorming what to put in them. I bought a cute little basket, and it is not big.

Isn't it cute??? The basket is about 8 inches wide by 6 inches deep and 4 inches tall.

And I bought these cute little tins with a curved top.

Wow, the tins look huge in these pictures but they are only about three inches tall and 5 inches wide. They are as tall as they are deep.

So here is what I am thinking. We will have some fruit from Florida so an orange and a grapefruit. I was thinking a jar of apple butter, some sugar cookies, some bourbon balls (maybe) or peanut butter bars, and a handmade washcloth or a potholder. Do you think that is a good gift? Is it enough? Oh, I forgot the ornament I made too. (See the blog entry from Saturday).

Well.....what do you think? do any of you make baskets for Christmas? What do you put in it?

It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!!!

Yes, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas at our house. We have already put our Christmas tree up and we are in the midst of getting the gifts and packaging ready. It is a very exciting time of year. I just love the Christmas spirit!

In that light, I woke up this morning and decided to embark on a new project. I wanted to paint Christmas ornaments. I know what you are thinking. With really only two weeks for us to be completely and utterly ready for Christmas, I begin a new project when I probably should be working out the recipe list, gift list, and shopping.

You are in luck this time. I took pictures:

They were super easy and done with paint pens. Of course I didn't have any of the supplies so I had to go out and purchase the paint pens and ornaments. These ornaments are not the shiny ones. They have a matte finish. I have limited it to a few designs that I felt confident free-handing.

I think these will become gifts for teachers, neighbors, and friends.

the holidays are approaching and a CONTEST!!

and I am getting excited. Last night I finished making 23 Christmas cards to send out this year. This is the first time I have made my own Christmas cards and I am excited about this endeavor. I think I need some more, so I will be working on them tonight as well. I will post a few pictures in the coming days.

With the economy in a slump and my husband worried about our finances this year we are paring back our gift buying. We are focusing on the kids and making sure they are covered for gifts but I will be making many of our gifts for family and friends this year.

Some of the ideas I have are:
1. A gift basket of homemade goodies, like cookies, jams or something, breads and fruit from Florida.
2. Crocheted or knitted items, someone might be getting a poncho made with a 'thick and quick' yarn. Perhaps some fleece items to make someone snuggy and warm.
3. personalized card sets, like monogrammed or with a special stamp. Watch out this gift may be yours!!! (read below)

So in honor of the spirit of giving and to help rein in my excitement of the holidays, let's do a little contest. The prize is a set of holiday cards you can mail to others or keep for your self. This set will have a Christmas theme and will have a sentiment on the front and be blank on the inside. You can tuck a note in a gift for the teachers, or use them to spread some holiday cheer, or give them as a Christmas card to someone. OR you can take the whole set and use it as a gift to someone else. However you like this set will come in handy.

Here is what you have to do: Scan through my blog here and get a feel for my craftiness and then leave me an idea or two for other gifts that I can make (quickly or easily is always great) to either include in a gift basket or for an individual gift. And then tell me what you will be making for others this holiday season. I will wait until Thursday evening and then put everyone's name in a hat and get one of my kids to draw the winner! good luck!!

A Sneak Peak

Well, not a real peak but just a little snippet about what I have been up to. Check in a day or so here and you will really see what I have been doing!

I am not sure if you know but we got a dog about 6 weeks ago. Now this puppy is just too too cute and the kids love her and she loves the kids. She is a Golden Retriever and she is a perfect pet for our family. My bunch love to pick her up, carry her around, dress her up, and generally touch her constantly. They even pet her when she is eating. In fact, the other day my smallest one was holding the dog's jaw as she was eating (the dog was eating). Well, most breeds I know wouldn't stand for someone holding their mouth while they were eating. They would growl, bark or even BITE at the person interfering with their ability to partake in chow. This dog, however, just let her do it, not barking, growling, moving away, or biting. Nothing. Just kept eating. I don't know of a nicer, kinder, gentler breed of dog. She is perfect for us.

In honor of this wonderful addition to our family, I made her some dog biscuits, well lots of dog biscuits. I have adjusted the recipes that I have found and created some of my own. So now we have more treats than she could ever eat. Thus was created Annabelle's Edibles! I will be introducing a whole line of whole foods treats for dogs of many sizes and shapes and health issues. If your dog has fleas, I have a treat for you. If your dog is small, I have a treat for you. If your dog is large, I've got you covered. If your dog is diabetic, even you can find a treat with me. All are healthy and tested by Annabelle!

Annabelle was also getting bored with her puppy toys and I happened to be making some blankets. I used some of the fleece that I had leftover and made some rope tug toys for Annabelle. Boy, did she go crazy over these! And yes, I went a bit overboard too. She now has way too many and so these will be for sale too. They are perfect for puppies of all sizes and ages. They come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes to fit your personal tugging needs. Annabelle came to me yesterday with her navy blue one and dropped it at my feet. when I didnt move, she picked it up and dropped it in my lap. She wanted to play. Now these tugs are the first things she goes to for playtime. Doggie tested, they don't shred like thread rope bones and they can easily be thrown in the washer and dryer. They hold your scent on it so the dogs love it. And after the workout she gave that tug last night with my husband, they hold up to some pretty strong tugging!

So, please check back here and at the store for cool toys and treats for your perfect puppy! Oh, if you read this and are dying to get your hands on some treats or tugs and the store isn't open yet email Annabelle at annabellesedibles@yahoo.com, I am sure she has a few (hundred) to spare.

New Hairbows

Yup, that is what I have been working on. They are ribbons on ponytail holders and look so super cute on a ponytail. I have posted these two in my etsy shop and have several more in many different colors and styles.

I have sold two more card sets this past week, not through my etsy store which I am a bit disappointed but from showing them around and them seeing them in person. I think you just have to see the cards to appreciate them. My pictures do not do them justice in the store. I am slowly working toward the Labor Day craft show at the campground again. I will be working on more hairbows and hair ribbons for that as it was a big seller. I will also be working on more card sets, and plan to enter a craft show in the fall here in town. I just hope that I will have enough stock to handle it.

Craft Show Cards

I signed up to be in a craft show this past weekend. I did pretty well, came out with $100 in my pocket to fuel my paper addiction!! I had made individual cards like these:






And card sets of four:



And hair bows! I made these last year and had intended to sell them on line and at a local shop. I never got around to it and so Kenneth suggested that I take them with us and see if they sell. He made the peg board display for me and they sold like gangbusters!

And I also sold my zucchini relish (tastes just like pickle relish). I sold all but two jars and those I gave to my mom when she came by.

The individual cards didn't sell as well as I would have thought and I probably won't put these out next time. The card sets are the way to go as well as the hair bows. That is where I made most of my money. I actually got a couple orders for a few card sets too!

Well, now I have a bunch of cards left over and card sets. So I am officially opening an etsy store to sell my wares!! Card sets are $10-$12.50 and hairbows are $4.50 each! Once I get it all up an running I will post a link to the etsy site. I am signed up for another craft show Labor Day weekend too and plan to do a few more in the fall.

Two scarves

I bought the Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Thick and Quick size in both navy blue and black. Okay let me back up a bit. I first had one skein in my stash in navy blue and thought, hmm, I am going to make a scarf with this. So I begin knitting on size 15 needles, casting on 15 stitches. I did the knit one purl one pattern throughout the entire scarf giving it a seedy bumpy feel. I was going to give it away and when it was almost done my husband asked, "who are you knitting that one for?". I asked if he wanted it and he said "YEAH!" So it became his.

The next night my mother and step-father were over and my mom picked up the scarf and said "Who's is this?" and I told her my husband had already claimed it and she said it looked very manly and that maybe she would make one for a nephew. It got me thinking that I hadn't knitted anything for my step-father and had planned on making him a scarf in a brown and black varigated yarn but thought he might really like one of these in black.

So Wednesday I had to take my husband to the dentist to have some work done on his mouth and while I was waiting I ran over to the yarn store and grabbed two skeins of this wool-ease in black and came back and whipped out 3/4 of the scarf sitting waiting for my husband to be done in the dentist. I finished it last night and it looks great!! I can't wait to give it to him tomorrow when I see him next. But, before I give it away I will take a picture of it and post!!

Maw's Shawl

We gave Maw her shawl on Thursday evening. She seemed to like it but didn't put it on or wear it like I had hoped. I didn't get any pictures of her in it then either. Oh well. It was pretty though.

Christmas Gifts

Today I got two new knitting books and I am so excited. I am a huge fan of Debbie Macomber and about a month ago I got one of her knitting along with Debbie books "A good Yarn" and I love the patterns in it. I have already made two scarves from it and want to make a baby blanket next. So a few weeks ago I was on line and found two more that I would like, so I ordered them and when the box came I gave the box unopened to my husband and told him to wrap it up just like that and give it to me for Christmas. I opened it today and while I knew what was in it, I was so excited to get them finally and look through them. I got the Back on Blossom Street and Cedar Cove Series, Knitting with Debbie. I have now found three more patterns I am dying to begin.

I gave two gifts that I made this year and my mother loved her scarf I made. I haven't given the prayer shawl yet to my husband's grandmother but we will get it to her soon. It was such an easy pattern and worked up so quickly that I am tempted to make another one and keep it.

While we were traveling on our trip to Disney World and back (14 hours each way) I did a lot of handwork. I finished the prayer shawl and made a scarf for me (a first project in over a year for me only!!) and I began a matching hat.

Now with the sales beginning tomorrow I am looking forward to sneaking out of the house for a little time in a yarn shop preparing for my next project, a baby blanket. My sister and brother in law are having a baby in July. I think I am going to make one in a bright green and yellow yarn, by Bernat called Tropics.

I will post some pictures soon!!

One down, One to go.

I have one gift done and now only one to go. The first one turned out GREAT. So great that I really want to do one for me now. My husband and I were out last night shopping for last minute people and we were working on an idea for his grandmother. We always get her a gift certificate to a supermarket and she really appreciates it because she is on a tight budget and she usually spends her food money on gifts this time of year. But I also wanted to get something else for her. So we are sitting there and I came up with the idea of making her a shawl to wrap around her. We happen to be in a restaurant next to Michaels Craft Store and so we went straight from the restaurant to the store and my husband helped me pick out the yarn. I am making the shawl that is featured on the front of the Prayer Shawl Ministry booklet. It is a popular pattern made in Lionbrand Homespun yarn. In fact the Lionbrand website gives it away as a free pattern online. So we came home and after the kids went to bed I sat down to work on it. Wow does it work up easily and quickly. In about an hour I had done about 10 inches on it. I should have it done in no time. Now I understand why they use this as a common pattern. It is crocheted in a V-stitch pattern.

51 chains to start and then starting with the 6th chain (dc, ch2, dc) in the same chain. Skip two chains and (dc, ch2, dc) in the next chain. Do this to the last chain and dc in that one. Ch3, turn and *(dc,ch2,dc) in each 2 chain space to the end and dc in ch after last dc. Ch3, turn and do follow from * until it reaches 36 inches in length. Then start again on the original starting chain and do the same for another 36 inches.

I will post a picture of the shawl when it is done. We chose to do it in Homespun Prairie color. I can't post a picture of the first gift because it will be given to someone who reads this blog and I don't want to give it away.