Puzzles and Cards

Over the past few weeks we have been dumped on with snow. Not near as much as those in PA and WVA but we have had our fair share. In the process of waiting to be melted out of the house the kids and I did some puzzles. We took pictures of two. We got them from the Goodwill and the top puzzle had four pieces missing. Do you know how hard it is to do a puzzle when there are mystery pieces missing?

This puzzle below had all the pieces. It was a thousand piece puzzle as the other one was "only" five hundred pieces. They both took us a couple days to complete. I tell you, my smallest child is the one with the most patience to complete the puzzles. She does a good amount of the work on them too.

Below, I have a few of the Valentine's Day cards I made. The top is just a general one.

These are the cards I made for the kids! They turned out great and the kids love the handmade cards.

This Valentine's Day card below was to my wonderful husband.


This is a close up. I just love this stamp.

This was a 'warm up' card to get the juices flowing. I hate this one. I don't think I did very well and because of that I just kind of stopped and didn't finish it. I am not really sure why I took the picture of it either. Oh well.

Christmas Crafts

In my last post I mentioned that I had been sewing Christmas tree skirts and napkins. I thought I would post a few pictures of these crafts.

This is the first one that I did. The poinsettias in the middle are machine embroidered.

And this is the second one. I altered the pattern slightly so that the top piece isn't there. I love this one.

And this is the napkin. It is two pieces of material cut in a 15 inch circle, sewn together. Then I trimmed it with a fancy stitch trim and the Christmas tree part is just in the fold.

It's reversable!! See!!

Have a crafty day!

Happy 2010

I am back. Not sure for how long but I am back for now. I started a new blog today for my Project 365. You can find my photo of the day here at http://photodayinthelife.blogspot.com/ . I have already posted my first day there.

Well, I haven't been blogging but I have been crafty in the past several months. I have been sewing a bunch and took a few sewing classes. We have made lots of things too. The most recent things we made were Christmas Tree skirts and napkins that fold into a Christmas Tree. You have to see it to believe it. We put the napkin sets up at the local pharmacy to sell and they have all sold. I think we had 20 sets total up there. They sold quickly too.

In November I started my Disney 2008 album and am about 1/3 done it. I had wanted to get the whole thing done before we went to Disney in December but that didn't happen. BUT it did get me moving on it. As I said, I am about a third done. This one won't take me 7 months to complete though. Well, it better not!

I am still making and selling my princess hair ribbons and need to make more. I am still crocheting and knitting too. While on our trip to Disney I made little neck scarves that cross just in front and don't have all the weight of a long scarf. They are fun and I gave one to my MIL for Christmas. She seemed to like it.

I have some crafty goals for 2010 this year.
1. complete my project 365-photo of the day blog.
2. make a quilt
3. complete my Disney 2008 album.
4. get a complete list of birthdays, anniversaries, etc for all of the family and make sure I send a card for every one.

Okay #4 isn't very crafty but it is necessary. I am so remiss in sending cards to people. If you are family and you are reading this I am sorry. It is never my intent to forget your birthday or anniversary but somehow I find myself doing it every time. I intend to be better this year.

Do any of my two blog readers have crafty goals for 2010???

And today I made those Covered Pens.

I bought a package of pens with the clear center and filled it with scrapbook paper. I used size 1 inch by 3 inch paper. I rolled the paper up and inserted it into the tube. I think they turned out GREAT. But you tell me what you think.

Would you buy one for 50 cents??

Don't forget to enter for the give away in the entry two posts down. Deadline is August 16th.

My Paper Clamp Angels

I couldn't wait to try these paper clamp angels. They turned out so cute and it is so super quick to do. I would totally recommend making these for Christmas gifts either for a tag decoration on a gift or make a few for your coworkers or neighbors.





Not only will they work as Christmas gifts but also for first communion, baptism, or for a newborn or shower gift for a baby. Of course it is not a toy but the mom could hang it over the baby's crib or in their room.

If you want some and are not ambitious enough to make them yourself, I would be happy to sell you some. I am thinking a $1 a piece. Leave me a comment with your contact info and I will get in touch with you.

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.

Tried and True Knit Washcloth Pattern

This is a tried and true knit washcloth pattern. It has been handed down through the ages and makes a great washcloth for the bath or kitchen.

Step 1:

Cast on 3 stitches. Rows 1-3: Knit 3.
Step 2:
Row 4: Knit 2, yarn-over(YO), K 1.Row 5: Knit 2, YO, Knit to end. Continue with Knit 2, YO, and Knit to end until you have 44 stitches on your needles.
Step 3:
Next row: Knit 1, Knit 2 together, YO, Knit 2 together, knit to end. Continue Knit 1, Knit 2 together, YO, Knit 2 together, and knit to end until you have 5 stitches on your needles.
Step 4:
Next row (with 5 stitches): Knit 1, knit 2 together, YO, Knit 2 together. Next row (with 4 stitches): Knit 1, Knit 2 together, knit 1. Next three rows: knit 3, Cast off and weave in yarn.