Untangling Christmas!

Wow, I'm really not very good at this blogging thing.  Months go by and I seem to forget I even have a blog however, there are many blogs that I love to follow daily.  Anyway, I guess it's that time of year again.  The time of year that I know I should be happy and thankful and festive but I always end up being grouchy and crabby and so stressed out I don't know what to do with myself.  Hey, I'm being honest.  Actually, I love what Christmas means, what it stands for and Who it's all about but I let myself get sucked into the "world's" idea of Christmas and that is when I find myself sinking into the "bah humbug" attitude.  
Well, as I was looking through all the blogs that I follow I happened to stumble upon this book that I am going to have to read.  It looks fantastic and hopefully it will help me focus a little more on the real meaning of Christmas.  I"m also planning on reading our church's daily advent Scripture passages for the the month to help keep me focused.  Here is a link to the new book titled Untangling Christmas.  Sounds like just the book I need.  

  http://www.untanglingchristmas.org/

Oh yeah, I am working on a little Christmas project and if I ever finish it I'll be posting that later on.  I hope you take a look at the book and join me this year in slowing down and focusing on CHRISTmas!

New Gooseberry Patch Cookbook

I enjoy cooking and I love Gooseberry Patch Cookbooks.  I just found a new cookbook that is coming out this month and it looks amazing.  It's there Big Book of Home Cooking and I found a blog that is doing a giveaway so head on over and sign up for this awesome cookbook and some other prizes from Carmen's handmade gifts. 

http://oldhousekitchen.blogspot.com/2011/09/gooseberry-patch-review-and-giveaway.html


Also, if you're visiting my blog, don't forget to become a follower.  I'm still doing a giveaway for one of my frames when I hit 33 followers. 

My First Giveaway!!

My First Giveaway!!!

Yay!! I 'm so excited to do the first giveaway on my blog.   I'll be honest, it may be my only 

giveaway if no one seems interested in it or I just totally forget about my blog and never mess with it again (which could happen but that's not the plan ;)  ).

Anyway, I've been making these little personalized picture frames for myself and a few gifts here and there and I've really had some good feedback on them.  I'm in the process of getting a few finished for purchase but I'm just trying to figure out the best way to go about it.  Here are three that I made for my mom this last Christmas.

I would love your feedback, but to be entered into the giveaway all you have to do is become a follower of  my blog.  When I hit 33 I will use Random.org to choose a winner.  Why 33? Next week I'll have my 33rd birthday and what better way to celebrate than having a little drawing for my blog friends.  Oh yeah, I guess you'd like to know what the giveaway is for.  Here's a little "sweet" frame I made for summer (I'm very sad it's almost over).  It takes a 3"x3" photo. Just make sure there is a way for me to contact you if your number is drawn. 

Here's the frame that's up for grabs.

Merry Christmas.....

Ok, I know it's a little early but I've been wanting to get a few ideas for my Christmas cards this year.  I'm determined to do them and I definitely need to start early to accomplish my goal.  I decided to make this card so I could use it in the Peachy Keen Challenge #58.  I really like the way it turned out.

I used paper from JoAnn Fabrics and the Merry Christmas stamp was from Hobby Lobby a few years ago.  I used Stampin Up ink.  I only have a few Cricut cartridges and had to be a little creative to get the exact card shape I had in my mind.  I"m sure there is an easier way but I used my gypsy to weld together two pieces.  One from Gypsy Wanderings and one from Tags, Bags and More.  Hope you enjoy!! 

Peachy Keen Sketch Challenge #57 w/ a Twist.

I love Peachy Keen Stamps and when I saw this challenge I knew I had to give it

a try.  The twist of this challenge was making the card sketch with a color palate of coral, robin's egg blue and honeydew.  These colors remind me of vintage kitchen fabrics that I absolutley love.  I also needed to make a birthday card for my mom so I couldn't pass this opportunity up.  Anyway, here's my recipe....

Pattern Paper:

DCWV Paper Stack Nana's Nursery Baby Girl

Colorbok Pattern Paper Pack from Walmart Earth Tones

Solid Cardstock from Hobby Lobby

Circles cut from Cricut Cartridge Doodlecharms

Strawberries cut from Cricut Cartridge Indie Art

Happy Birthday tag cut from Cricut Cartridge Wild Card

I also inked the edges with ink from the dollar bins @ Michael's

Pop Bottle Gift!

I've been eyeing this super cute idea for a while now and when my daughter was invited to a friend's birthday party, I knew it would be a perfect time to try it out.  I was very pleased with the outcome and it ended up being a big hit.  Here's the finished product...

I used Joy's instructions from Joyslife.com. 

She is amazing and here is link to her directions 

http://joyslife.com/how-to-make-a-2-liter-bottle-with-gifts-inside/

I used cricut cartridges Wild Card, Alphabalicious and Indie Art from my Gypsy.

I also used markers with my Cricut for the first time and I absolutely loved the results. I think this is my new favorite thing and 

 I can't wait to try out some Cri-Kits. 

                                                            

It's been a while since I've posted anything on here

 so I hope you enjoyed my entry and

if you get the opportunity, give it a try. 

Don't forget to visit Joy's Life.  Seriously, she's the best!!

If you happened to stumble upon this blog post from another blog, please visit my most recent post on My First Giveaway!  All you have to do is become a follower of my blog to be entered into the giveaway.  When I reach 33 blog followers, I will choose a winner through Random.org. 

First Challenge!!

Ok, whew.....here is my first "real" post.  This is a card I made for the Peachy Keen Tuesday Challenge.  I used my Straight From the Nest and Doodle Charm Cricut cartridges.  Our family has so many birthdays coming up in the next couple of months so I'm excited to find a special person to send this to.