Another Believe sign & more

Well, Christmas is over & the holiday craft shows are done, I have a little bit more time to add some projects that I've done on here. If you don't have a blog, you may be surprised at the time it takes to keep it updated, in addition to creating the projects to post to them. Take into consideration that I have a 6 year old pc & you've just quadrupled that time because of how slow it is & I don't have the highest DSL, not the slowest, but not even middle of the road speed either. And Heaven forbid if it's doing a virus scan! (which is what's happening right now...) this process could take a few hours. LOL!! JK-sorta

Anyway, if you remember the Snowman themed "Believe" sign in an earlier post, this is the same sign, but done in a somewhat vintage Santa theme & MUCH simpler in design. I liked it, but would have liked to have added a bit more to it, but I did this the night before my craft show, so I was doing good just to get it done the way it was. I know, call me stupid or a glutton, or both, but it worked out since it did sell. You can click on the image to make it larger to see more of the details, but it also says "In the Spirit of Christmas" on it.



















This is a set of jingle bells that I added some vinyl snowflakes to with letters to spell JOY. Surprisingly, these were pretty good sellers & if I come across more next year at the flea market I found them at, I'm getting more. I have one left that I didn't add vinyl to & I guess that's why I still have it. It wasn't prettied up. This one looks like it had some issues with the bells not lining up better & they sort of didn't, but I was able to get them straightened out more, I just didn't do it for this shot. Oh! And I also added tiny snowflakes on the strap between the bells too. I think I might try bigger ones next time so they're more noticeable.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas, that is if you weren't snowed in somewhere or spending the next few days after stranded at an airport. Oh, those poor people who have been enduring that, but it's no one's fault, so I hope that these people aren't blaming the airports for their predicament. What a mess!

I might start to feel inspired to craft again now that all the rush of Christmas is over & everyone is getting settled back into routines & I might even try to find my craft room again - at least for a little while. ;)

I did want to mention that I love to watch the birds that visit my feeders in my front yard, especially when they frequent it heavily in the morning hours. Yesterday & today I noticed a new bird taking over the one suet cake feeder. It's called Yellowshaft Flicker. It's a larger bird, about the size of pigeon & sort of resembling one too, except with unusual markings & a somewhat yellow underside. I've not ever seen one of these at my feeders in the 3-4 years I've had them & from what I've researched online, they're actually a woodpecker that is a bug & ant feeder. I guess I think it's odd that it's wanting seeds, but cool none the less! It appears in this picture to be feeding at a pile of seeds (I retrieved this pic from the internet), so I guess they'll do when ants & bugs are not available. I sure hope they stay & work on the over abundance of ants we have around here in the summer! THAT would be GREAT!!





















So that's it for today. Nothing really exciting to share really otherwise. Thanks for letting me babble on like I do.

God Bless & have a great day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful & happily memorable Christmas! We are getting to the point of winding down here & assembling the new & getting rid of some of the old (my big new comfy computer chair & the flat, ragged old one, for instance!)

We had a great time with just the family & then spent the day today with my side of the family for a delicious brunch! Too much good food & lots of great conversation. But, it gets to point that all in all, it's time to go home & finally wind down. Ahhhh.....

I just wanted to share a couple of very simply decorated pocket calendars that I made for my step mom & step sister. I forgot to add the little red jewels to the yellow scallop like I did on the green one, but I added it before giving it. It definitely needed them. They were simple & I just used the blingy pearl-like paper that you get in a pad at Walmart for the yellow & green portions. The pattern papers are from a 6x6 pad from Cosmo Cricket. CUTE stuff!! The little bling hearts were Mary Engelbright stickers from Michael's $ bin! Too cute & cheap to pass up, don'tcha think??

They both seemed to really like them quite a lot & I'm glad they did.





























Well, I want to keep this short today so, here's hoping all went well with you & yours this holiday & that you all have a fantastic & very blessed New Year!!

Only days away....

from Santa's big scene! Are you all ready for his arrival? I'm almost there, but even as early as I start most years, & I did start a little early this year, I just seem to be doing tons of last minute stuff & still searching for that one gift that seems to elude me. This year, its a smaller version of a George Foreman grill with removable plates for my son. First, I debated about even getting it for him, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was something he could use for years to come. He loves to make grilled chicken breast wraps & that might be something he can take with him to college next year. I figured if it had the removable grilling plates, he might be more likely to wash it after each use, but that is still up for debate. You would know what I mean if you saw his bedroom. I already feel so sorry for any of his future room mates & future wife. LOL!!

I will have to try to remember to take some pictures of our tree & house lights. Our tree is not done any kind of elaborate theme, except for maybe family traditional, but I think it's beautiful every year & Brooke is already starting to expect certain items to be on the tree year after year. She is in love the animated Angel that tops the tree. I've had her for at least 18 years & fear that she won't have many more years left in her.

I have a bit of crafting to do today, but the projects aren't nothing much. I'm altering a couple of those pocket/purse calendars for my step-mom & step-sister. So far, I'm drawing a blank for the designs, but maybe once I get going, something good will out of it. LOL!

I don't know if anyone has been able to open my blog, I got a message from my friend Andrea that she can't get it to open, so maybe that's why I haven't had any replies to my posts lately. I don't know what the problem might be unless it's the new wintery background I changed to. so, if you're able to read my blog, please leave me a little message letting me know you've been here. Otherwise, I guess I'll change my background again to see if that's the problem.

Thanks for stopping by & if I don't get another post up before Christmas, here's hoping that you & your families all have a safe & gloriously memorable Christmas & a very blessed New Year!

Something I may have missed....?

I don't think that I posted this at the time that I actually finished it, but I could be wrong. I didn't see it when I did my search.

However, if I am repeating myself, then that's OK too, since this is season appropriate right now!
(If you want to see it in a larger view, just click on the picture)








This is a word sign that I altered for a GOOD customer of mine. She wanted it done with a snowman theme. It took me FOREVER to complete because at the time of her order, I knew I wanted the Bazzill Diamond Bling card stock. Wouldn't you know that it was not available anywhere!!! I mean anywhere too! My local scrapbook store had it on back order for months until they closed their doors, then I went to another store & they had it on back order for-ever! I searched every online store I could find, big & small & they either didn't carry it or it was on back order with them too. What was the deal here? The real catch was that this exact color was being pushed in every scrapbook magazine since before I even needed it & yet no one had it to begin with. So frustrating & bless my customer's heart for being so understanding in the looooooong wait. Lucky for me, it was going in a room that she has dedicated to snowmen all year round, so she wasn't really pushing the issue. But still, who wants to wait almost a year for something like this?

Anyway, a 3rd scrapbook store that was an hour away, that had closed their doors at the exact same time as when she placed the order (go figure!), had reopened under new owners & by the time I finally got to go check them out (3 months later) they had it in stock! Woo hoo!!! I literally had to go to town on getting this baby done. Since I had waited so long to get the paper I needed, I nearly forgot what my original plan was for the design. Memory, don't fail me now! If it did fail me, I may have over compensated for it in the end. LOL!

She seemed totally thrilled with it. She even gave me a $5 tip & a huge hug! I thought I would cry when she gave me the hug.

I don't think I would, or even could, make another like this one again. Some of the stuff I used on it was a couple of years old & I had to do some serious digging to find enough snowman things to put on it. Lots of long hours on the Cricut machine too.

On a sort of different topic, yet not, the kiddo had a 2 hour delay today because of lake effect snow. It was the delay she needed to hopefully help her recoup on her sleep after not getting enough at her friend's birthday sleepover on Saturday night. She was definitely feeling some jet lag, without the jet! LOL! We didn't get much of the snow on Monday, but apparently overnight we got hit pretty good & it's been almost non-stop today.



















Brooke & I managed to get a small batch of sugar cookies made last night, but I know it won't be the last. These are her favorite to make & eat. I make the cookies so big & a bit thicker that one batch of dough doesn't make very many. Brooke likes to use her own little mini cutters & rolling pin. They're really good if you put mini chocolate chips or the mini M&M's on them. Of course, everything is better with chocolate, don't you think? ;-) Oh, & now I might get to use the 1st failed fudge recipe as frosting, since that was the consistency it had.

I suppose I'll end this post for now. I have some things to get done & a few errands to run before I go pick Brooke up from school.

God Bless & have a great day!

I'm linking this up at House of Hepworths

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

How is the weather in your neck of the woods? If you're in the Eastern half of the United States, then it's probably cold & snowy! Right now, we're in a break with the beautiful sun shining and blue skies peaking out of the wispy clouds, but that can all change in a heartbeat around here in Northern Indiana. We're so close to Lake Michigan that it's not uncommon for us to get hit some threatening snow storms all because of a condition called Lake Effect snow. We haven't gotten it as bad as they were predicting, but there's still another day of it possible, I guess.

I haven't posted any pictures of anything I have made in a while. And to be honest, I haven't made anything since my craft show. I also don't like to show too much of the stuff I sell, since there are so many people out there looking for ideas themselves - myself included! So, I like to keep some of my best kept secrets a secret. I already know I'll have many copy cats of my things next year. It's just easier to copy the stuff than buy it.

So, here's a card that I actually made earlier this year & never got around to posting. I just love the Teresa Collins stuff! This line, and I can't even recall which one it is, was perfect for making cards, since the sentiments are already made up on the card stock!

It's not easy to tell in this picture, but the scalloped sentiment is pop dotted & then I cut out diamond shapes from the same line of coordinating paper & black card stock from the Provocraft Jasmine cartridge. I really liked the slight curve of the lines. I added the butter cream colored flowers to match the same color of the bottom layer design & some black pearls for centers finished them off. I think the bottom layer had some other kind of sentiment that didn't work with what I had in mind, but I love blue & yellow together, so I was able to make it all work with layering one sentiment over another. I embossed the center black diamond shape in the herringbone design to repeat the printed pattern of the other diamond shapes.



















I was just out & boy, has the wind really picked up & it feels so bitterly cold now! Ugh! I think tonight would be the perfect hot chocolate night snuggled up on the couch with my family with a big crackling fire going in the fireplace watching some fun holiday shows while eating freshly baked Christmas cookies. Mmmmmm.....sounds perfect & even hubby's unemployment can't dash this kind of fun.

God Bless & have a great day!