Here's to the New Year!!

Oh, how long it has been!!! I know, I know, a month since my last post...I guess it just goes to show that I am NOT Superwoman!!! :-)) I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday season...we are off and running into 2011!!

I will start out the year with a little project that I did in December, and used as a gift!! So I thought I would wait until after the gift-giving was actually done to post about it, so as not to ruin any surprises! :^)

I started with this little guy as inspiration...I found him at a flea market as is...



Then I assembled some complimentary fabric, some buttons, and coordinating trim...



And using the bits and pieces, I covered a little cardboard box...I thought it turned out darn cute if I do say so myself!!! :-))







I tucked some jewelry into this little lovely as part of a gift, and it can be re-gifted, or kept to hold jewelry, keepsakes, office stuff, etc, etc...


Here's to a GREAT NEW YEAR!!! Looking forward to lots of wonderful things to come!! :-))

Here's to Chalkin' it Up!!!

We had a LOVELY winter day last week and I was able to work outside on a few projects, so I thought I'd share one of them...

I got this frame-thingy at a thrift store awhile back, and knew that I wanted to make it a chalkboard...



It was 99 cents...:-))



It was made to accommodate an insert, so I measured the inside dimensions and cut a piece of board to slide into it...it was a super thin (about a quarter of an inch, I think) piece of plywood that I got at the local hardware store for about $4. It was actually for a different project and there was just a lot left over...then I painted the cut piece with chalkboard paint...



I was *honestly* not painting in my driveway in the middle of the night!! It was dusk when I took the pics, and turning on the flash just made it look darker...really!!! I did the recommended two coats, and then just decided to be done because I am so impatient like that!! And it works fine, but since it was unpainted wood, it would look better with more coats, so I might try to do that next spring. (Really, I should have primed, then the two coats would have been fine!!) So here it is...



I love the red color on this, and it will go great in my living room when the Christmas decorations come down!! Two more weeks!! Aaack!! :-))

Here's to Holiday Crafting!!

Ahhh...so much time, so little to do...

Wait...other way around!!! (I love that movie!! :-) So here it is, what, two weeks til Christmas???!!! And all the little loose ends to tie up, last presents to find, traditions to keep! :-)) In the middle of everything, I thought I would try making some cute holiday servers, kind of a take-off on the cake plate I did as my very first post!!

I used super glue for glass, although I just used regular super glue the first time around, and it worked great!



Then I gathered some really cute holiday plates, votive holders, aperitif glasses, whatever caught my eye, and started playing around til I thought something worked...







These would all work as really cute candle holders, but you could also put little faux or real flower arrangements in them for use as centerpieces or decorations. I also made these two tier servers that could be used to serve dessert, appetizers like crackers and cheese, or for holding jewelry, or arrangements for a centerpiece. There are just a ton of ways to use these little beauts. That's why I thought I would make them a little more generic...





Hope your December is going just swimmingly and everyone is enjoying all the great sights, tastes, smells, and sounds of the season!!! :-))

Here's to Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!!

I haven't been in much of a spooky mood lately...I've only done a little fall decorating this year...



I even let nature decorate my pumpkins...



But really...I couldn't have done better!! :-)))

My leafy outdoor bouquet was about as Halloweeny as I got...



But I did have a lot of fun making these autumn cards...I used an old Mary Engelbreit desk calendar that I cut up then added a little embellishment...







I am definitely not selling these (actually, if you are family, you might see one soon!! :-))...so don't worry, Mary, no copyright issues here!! :-)) It was a fun way to recycle some adorable little images and spread some autumn cheer!!