Not sure what to get that special someone??

I love giving gifts....my pocketbook however....doesn't like it quite as much. I struggle to find inexpensive gifts for those friends who I don't necessarily exchange gifts with but I would like to give them a little something to say "Thanks for being a friend". There is a fine line between inexpensive and cheap junk.....

Lucky for me, I love to craft and bake and cook....and these skills can come in handy at Christmas time - not only for me but for my friends! This weekend coming I'm participating in a cookie exchange - I'll be making these lovely yummies. I can't wait to try them.

For my running friends and some others that I will be seeing during the holidays, I decided to make a "spa" like gift. I love sugar and salt scrubs, especially after I've been out for a long run and I found this recipe to make my own - purchased salt and sugar scrubs can be quite expensive but making them homemade is quick, easy and inexpensive! Kosher salt from the bulk store is very cheap to buy....essential oils are a little pricier but if you consider that you only need about 10 drops of oil per batch - the oils will last you several batches of scrub! The little jars came from the bulk store as well - for 99c apiece, you can't go wrong! I'm sure the dollar store has some cute containers as well! So for under $3 per jar, my friends are going to get to pamper themselves this Christmas!

I'd love to hear about some of the gifts that you're making for the friends on your list this year!! Happy Holidays!

Christmas crafts!

Gosh - it's been forever since I've posted....and probably longer than that since I've created.  I just can't seem to find the time.  Lately, I've made myself find the time.  I have so many great ideas saved as favorites on StumbleUpon that I need to get working on something!

My first glance of this craft was on this website.  I loved how the wreath looked with all of the paper roses on it...so beautiful.  I had some old books recycled to me but try as I might, I can't get those darn flowers to look just right.  A while back, I received an email in my inbox from this website that I subscribe to.  The roses on this one are made with felt and though she made hers orange for Halloween, I instantly thought of how nice this would look in red for Christmas.  Off I went to the dollar store in search of felt and to Michael's in search of grape vine wreaths.  Truth be told....I looked at about 5 different stores before I broke down and headed to the craft store to find the wreaths.  All told, this project took me about 4 hours and approximately $12 to make.  Felt from the dollar store for a project like this is no different than felt from a craft store and costs less - about $8.75 total to make all the roses - Michael's had a fantastic deal on their wreaths - only $3.25 and the ribbon that I bought was 70% off plus I had a 25% off your entire order coupon on top!! 

I was so very happy with how this project turned out.  I also made a few cute items with the roses - a headband and some matching barrettes and I've been commissioned by the little girl who was the recipient of the headband to make a few different coloured ones - haha!  I bought 3 of the wreath forms from Michael's so now I'm working on one in white!  I'll post pictures when it's done.  Thanks for visiting!


 

Celebrate!

Another card made to give away to someone at work who is moving on.....seems these days I only make cards when I absolutely have to....not just for fun!  LOL!  I have made one of these centre step cards before....at a card party - but the card was already cut and folded and all the DSP was cut to size for me.  Which - I have to say - makes things far easier for me!  I am a horrible measurer (is that really a word?).  I don't know why - I use the markings on my paper trimmer.....I'm really not sure why half the time nothing comes out the length or width that I think it should!  I joke with my husband that my eyes are lopsided.....and everything I cut or hang on the wall is lopsided too!  Haha!!

If you'd like to make one of these cards yourself, I'm sure you can google the instructions - but why don't I make it a little easier - here are the directions that I used.  Within the comments, there are also measurements that you can use to make an A2 size card - that is the size that fits in a regular sized mailing envelope.

Here's hoping that the beginning of your summer is wonderful!!  Thanks for visiting!

Thankful

We got a new puppy 2 weeks ago today - unfortunately, we had to have our 14 year old terrier mix put down a while back and we were feeling the void.  We have been a 2-dog home for quite a while.  We were lucky to find the cutest little toy fox terrier/shi tzu mix puppy and had to have him!  He's doing well in our house....but it's almost like having a baby again!  I'm often up in the middle of the night to let him out to do his business.  I know it won't be like this forever....he's just little...it will take time.

Unfortunately, having a puppy can be stressful too.  Last weekend, I let him outside and it slipped my mind that he was out there.  When I went out to call him in, I noticed that the side gate had been left open.  I called him and called him and he didn't respond so I went to  my next door neighbour and asked if their daughter could help me.  Without hesitation, they were all out with me searching the cul-de-sac for him....then another set of neighbours from down the street  joined in.  We eventually found him - he had come back in the house at some point.  I think maybe he was hiding under the deck and didn't hear me calling him.  Needless to say, I was relieved and quite thankful for all the help that my neighbours were willing to give...so I brought each family over some homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and this card.  The inspiration came from a page from the June 2010 Scrapbooks Etc magazine (page 62).

Presents!

The weather is finally warming up and I am finally getting out of my winter funk!  I've finally felt like getting back into my craft room and creating - which means I actually have a few things to share over the next few days.  Finally!!  No new scrapbook pages but I have made some cards and this cute gift bag!

I've had my eyes opened to this amazing website called Stumble Upon...if you live under a rock as evidently I do.....this website asks you to indicate your interests and then when you click on "stumble my interests", it does just that....it automatically brings up website after website containing only the things that you are interested in.  If you like the website, you just click "I like it" and it files the site automatically into a favorites file for you.  Amazing!  Obviously, one of my interests is crafting and one of the sites that Stumble Upon brought up for me was Under the Table and Dreaming with the page opened to the most beautiful wreath made out of recycled book pages!  Can you even believe it?  I love it!  I thought I'd start small and made 3 flowers out of scrapbook card stock.  I then traced a chipboard letter onto coordinating card stock, cut it out and glued it to the bag as well.  A few Heidi Swapp plastic leaves and voila! a custom gift bag for the birthday girl!  I plan to make the wreath too...now that I know how easy (but slightly time consuming) the flowers are.  As a side note, Stephanie uses hot glue to adhere her flowers together but I just used Scotch Quick Dry adhesive and it seems to be working just fine.  I will use a glue gun when I make the wreath however.

Enjoy!

Photograph the everyday

I've embarked on a new project this year called Project Life - this is a great idea by Becky Higgins that is right up my alley.  It's going to help me with a few things this year - improving my photography, printing and cataloguing more pictures, taking photos of the every day things that I should be thankful for but sometimes seem "ordinary"...until they are photographed.  Becky always maintains in her blog that you should use Project Life however you like...in whatever way you find most useful and satisfying.  Some people take part in "picture of the day" but I've found that a little overwhelming right now - I mean, with work and kids activities plus trying to stay fit and healthy, get back into reading and keeping my house clean, sometimes the day is over before I remember that I should have taken a photo!  I've decided that I'm going to do a layout a week.....I'm sure that sometimes a week may take up more than one layout but this way seems to work for me right now.  Here are a few photos of what I've included in my album so far....my daughter's skates because sometimes I think she's in them more than she's in shoes....my son's craft desk at home and it's constant state of disaray and creativeness.....a new recipe that I tried this weekend (pico de gallo) including the recipe above it so I'll never forget.  It's so important to me to capture what we are doing at this point in time.....when I think back, I realize how much I've already forgotten!  Thank you Becky......this is going to be a great year! 

If you are interested in ordering a Project Life album and the cost is scaring you a bit, let me tell you from one penny pincher to the next.....this is well worth every penny! 

Valentine's Day is on its way!

Wow - can it really be that it was September 29 the last time I posted? I guess it's not as unrealistic as it sounds - we've been busy in our house! The thing that gets left behind of course is the scrapbooking and card making.....who has the time? I've made a card here and there and have photographed a few of them and will post them soon.

I've decided that this blog is going to move in a new direction - so that I can post more and maybe create more! I am going to start posting neat ideas that I find on the web (sometimes these are courtesy of other great bloggers and I will always give credit where credit is due)....sometimes I'll post cards or scrapbook pages that I've done (when I get that chance).....and I'll be posting too on craft projects that I'm working on including my new project "Project Life" (you can find more about this at www.beckyhiggins.com). I am hoping that Project Life not only encourages me to catalogue more photos, but also to work on my photography skills (my new camera has so many options that I still have no idea about) as well as document "the everyday".

I wanted to show off the cute valentines that I am making for Ethan's class at school - the idea is not original but it's so easy! I took a photo of Ethan with his arm outstretched - added some words in Photoshop (oh yes - I'm learning how to use that great new program too!), had them printed on 4x6 photo paper at my local pharmacy, cut a slit at the top and bottom of his fist and slid in a lollipop....adorable! I'll have him sign his name with a sharpie before they're all assembled and then I'm going to glue them onto a red backing. You can find the original post for this project here.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll be back to check out some more great ideas from this everyday mom!