Busy December

December is always a busy month for all of us. Me especially with all my Christmas orders and getting ready for my own family's Christmas. Here are a few projects I did in December:

Super hero cape


An Apron

And this cute blanket for a good friend. This is a close-up of the fabric.

And the full-size image. (Excuse the nasty window scene in the back. This ginormous window is a bugger to sit under in the winter time, so we put plastic over it this year and I haven't gotten around to curtains to cover it up yet.) This is the biggest blanket I have done so far. 78"x90" (full)
And the highlight of Christmas morning was this beauty and her three best friends under the tree. Tee hee!!

Did You Know?

Did you know that at Hobby Lobby you can pick up free project ideas all over the store? I normally wouldn't just go through and pick up a whole bunch of them, but I didn't know they do this and went a tiny bit crazy, but I was AMAZED!!! I love free project ideas.

Help Me Collect

My sister is collecting these. Not sure exactly what for, but if you have any, let me know. She's crafty like the rest of us, so I'm sure whatever she is doing, it will be FABULOUS!!

image from The Daily Green

Small Organ

I have this electric organ that (technically) belongs to my mother-in-law. I have it for sale on the KSL classifieds, but if one of you lovely followers wants it, just let me know. I have it listed for $5, but really I just would like to have the space back it is taking up in the living room. It is basically wall-to-wall furniture here (especially now that the Christmas tree is up). Just let me know if you are interested.

Fabric Fiend

I don't know how many of you know what talent I come from, but today I wanted to share with you my Big Sis' Etsy shop. She made these cute little boy vests. The ones pictured are all ready to ship so check them out by clicking here. She also does cakes and is the one that designed my logo. Check out her shop then come back and tell me what you think!

CSN Stores Giveaway!

Hey guys and gals, be sure to pop over to SEI Lifestyles' Blog and enter to win the $65 gift code to use on your next purchase. Click here to go to their blog and enter. Some of my good friends work behind the scenes at SEI designing the awesome paperlines that SEI introduces. I miss working with them on a daily basis. Here's a shout out to the gals and Matt in the Art Department!!

Giveaway ends on November 30th at 11:59pm MST.

So Hurry and Enter! (I already have) :)

Friday Thrills

So, I don't usually have my nieces on Fridays, but I did last week. We decided to have a crafty day and turned it into craft central at my house. First we finger painted. Whew! What a job that was. The girls had on these cute little smocks and *N* & *J* painted their little hearts out. *B* did like half a picture with a paint brush and she was done. That chick does NOT like paint on her hands. Ah, the attention span of a two-year-old. :) Then we made fun little "canned" Turkey dishes. Instructions for making those are listed below the picture.



To make one of these little guys you will need:

• 1 soup or vegetable can (these used to hold green beans) (Make sure it has been washed out with soup and warm water first and allowed to completely dry)
• 1 4 1/4"x 91/4"strip of brown cardstock
• 1 4"x4"strip of orange cardstock
• 2 Googely eyes
• 1 4 1/4"x 2 3/4" strip brown cardstock
• 4 or 5 fake fall leaves (I got them at the dollar store)
• Elmer's Glue
• Hot Glue

Click here to get the pattern for the head, wings, feet, and beak. Remember to cut 2 of the feet and wings.

First take your strip of 4 1/4"x 9 1/4" brown cardstock and wrap it around the can. Adhere to can with hot glue.

Cut a beak and two feet out of the orange cardstock, and two wings and a head out of the brown cardstock. Stick glue on the back and let your little kiddos stick them where they please. (I generally told them to put the head on the opposite side of the can from the paper seam.) Hold the parts in place for a minute or two while the glue dries. Otherwise they will fall off.

**To give the wings a dimensional look, fold back the tab and glue only the tab to the can and leave the rest of the wing free.

Glue the beak and eyes to the head after the head is attached to the can.

Once they head, wings, and feet are dried, let them pick out the leaves they want and have them point out where they want them. Use the hot glue to adhere them. They are too heavy for Elmer's glue.

And VOILA!! You've got a sweet little candy dish for your kids to enjoy on Thanksgiving.

Be sure to leave comments on the project. Feedback is always appreciated!

Carseat Canopies

Here are the carseat canopies that I have done. I know the pink one I posted before, but I needed to see them side by side to decide which one I like better, and I still can't decide.



What do you guys think? Which one do you like better?

Shout Out to the Military Men in my Life

Thank you to all the veterans in my life for your sacrifice and courage!

This is my great-great grandfather in the Danish Army in 1889 (he emigrated to America a year later and all of his children were born here).
I am so thrilled to have this picture.

My great grandfather in WWI-my grandmother's dad

Another great grandpa in WWI--My grandfather's dad
My grandpa in WWII


His brother in WWII--He was killed in the Pacific.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

History: In 1814, about a week after the city of Washington had been badly burned, British troops moved up to the primary port at Baltimore Harbor in Maryland. Francis Scott Key visited the British fleet in the Harbor on September 13th to secure the release of Dr. William Beanes who had been captured during the Washington raid. The two were detained on the ship so as not to warn the Americans while the Royal Navy attempted to bombard Fort McHenry. At dawn on the 14th, Key noted that the huge American flag, which now hangs in the Smithsonian's American History Museum, was still waving and had not been removed in defeat. The sight inspired him to write a poem titled Defense of Fort McHenry. The poem was eventually set to music that had originally been written by English composer John Stafford Smith for a song titled "The Anacreontic Song". The end result was the inspiring song now considered the national anthem of the United States of America. It was accepted as such by public demand for the next century or so, but became even more accepted as the national anthem during the World Series of Baseball in 1917 when it was sung in honor of the brave armed forces fighting in the Great War. The World Series performance moved everyone in attendance, and after that it was repeated for every game. Finally, on March 3, 1931, the American Congress proclaimed it as the national anthem, 116 years after it was first written.

Information from: http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lyrics/spangle.htm

Let's Play!

Below is a play mat I did for one of my cousins. It took me a long time, but I was so excited with how it turned out. Can you pick out the appliques that have iron-ons? There is at least one on each square but the center one.

This is the back. Nice and bright.

The next pictures are the squares for the mat.








Ta-Da!!!

Halloween

I get some sick thrill out of making our costumes for Halloween. This year we went as Phantom of the Opera and Christine Daae. My dress is supposed to be the one she wore during the Masquerade scene. I had to make it more modest. But was so pleased with how it turned out. For my husband's costume I made the cape, tie, and even his mask!


The back of my dress.


My Sister-in-Law's dress. She was a princess.
Even though the pattern called for a zipper, I decided to try doing a laced-up back and I loved it so much I did it on mine too!

What princess dress isn't complete without rhinestones?
Her matching headband.

Here's Your Sign-- Day 3

Yesterday I was informed by my 5 year old niece that I apparently do not have enough Halloween decorations in my house. So for today's deco project, I decided to do a couple of simple signs. Have I mentioned how much I love (and miss) SEI? Well, here is a great product just for Halloween. They have these FANTASTIC iron-ons that allow you (or your child) to create one-of-a-kind projects. They have this cute little witch....

Or, this handsome li'l Dracula. There is 60 little pieces to help you create whatever your heart desires. You can also create a monster or jack-o-lantern. To see all their options click here.


To begin, you want to cold peel your pieces to create your sign. Go slowly or you'll tear the iron-on. These signs are done on a piece of foam core. The witch sign measures 10"x12".
Once I had them placed where I wanted, I ironed them on to the foam core. I placed a piece of paper between the iron and the iron-on, since I wasn't sure how the foam core would react to the heat. It wrinkled just slightly. Next time, I think I would iron it on paper and then adhere it to the foam core.

To finish the witch sign I cold peeled black iron-on transfers and spelled this out. Then used SEI brand Black ink on the edges to give it that extra touch.

Then repeated all the steps above to make Dracula. This sign measures 9"x10".

Don't throw away the paper left from the iron-on transfer. In a coming tutorial I'll show you how to use those too.