Corker Bows

I love these bows on my daughter and I've been paying $5/each for them. Well not anymore! :)

At Jo-Ann's today I got two 1/4" wooden dowels for $0.59 a piece and four rolls of ribbon totaling $2. I already had clothespins, so I was ready to craft!

Roll the dowels with ribbon, secure with clothespins. Toss them all in a pan, I lined it with parchment paper, but the instructions I found didn't mention any lining. Bake at 250 degrees for 20 minutes.

Let cool. (Took less than five minutes.)Unwind the ribbon and have a litte fun playing with the coils. :)Now this part is where I deviated from a lot of instructions I found: They say to wrap an elastic around the ribbons and hot glue down...well, my daughter showed me the errors of that method. I got her all ready to go somewhere, and in the car ride over she pulled out each individual ribbon from both pigtails. Hmph. Lil Stinker. So I took a needle and thread and went through all ribbons numerous times before hot gluing down.

(Excuse the model (me!), Miss Charlotte is with my sister for a few days, hence the time to craft!)

Crochet part 2

So one of my original pattern inspirations for learning to crochet was this little shamrock. I found it a couple of years ago (before Missy Moo came along).

Anyway, with St. Patty's day coming up, I thought it'd be perfect! I had to learn a new stitch, trc, but it was a cinch!

Here's my first attempt (on a can I covered with yarn):

Here's the 2nd, on a headband for Moo or Maddie, not sure yet:

Baby Gifts: part 1

My sister, Erin's, babyshower is tomorrow, the 27th. We'll be showering her with all things pink, ruffled and adorned with ribbon for the newest addition to the family (due 4/1), Maddieson.

I found some cute onesies on clearance, couldn't pass them up, so I threw them in with my handmade gifts.

Gift one (no picture) is a 8x8 scrapbook. I filled each of the 20 pages with pink, brown and green patterned paper. I also included coordinating embellishments.

Gift two is a hair "pretties" holder. I love it! (Mommy confession: my own daughter's pretties are in a wipe box! Have been since day one...26 months ago! LOL)

I better get on one for Missy Moo!

Linked this project up with:

Crochet

Hi my name is Chelsea and I'm a knitter. :) LOL I learned how to knit...almost 4 yrs ago and have made a dozen projects in that time. But from time to time I'd come across a crochet pattern that was just too cute! I really wished I knew how to crochet as well. So, while making an elefante for my penpal's new baby, I realized I needed to crochet those big ol' ears. Hopped on youtube and taught myself how to crochet! It is SOOOOO easy! It's so quick too! That was Tuesday night.

Last night I made this:

And tonight, a matching one for dolly:

Aren't they adorable together? :)

Valentine's Crafts

I finished a holiday craft BEFORE the holiday (and not the night before either. :)

I made this cute frame...(now to find a picture of my kidlets)

Supplies:

I forgot to take a picture before I started gluing...:)
Sorting the candies, and banishing the "reject" ones, lol. My helpers (they ate the "rejects"): At first, I was going to do one row of hearts...then I liked two rows... But I love the way 3 rows look:

This V-day picture was taken 2 yrs ago. :( My daughter was only 1 month old, Andrew was 2.25 yrs. :)

I got this idea from a Too Cute Tuesday post on Funky Polkadot Giraffe. When you click on the thumbnail it takes you to Simply Crafty. There's another version on a blog I already follow, Yesterday on Tuesday. Mine is a combo of the two.

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This is the base of my next Valentine's craft...but what to write on the side...my husband suggested Be Mine...I love it B. Mine :D.

NYE 2011

I went to a small gathering at Kayla's (my youngest sister) house last night. There were 7 adults and 4 kiddos (age 4 and under). Here are some pictures I snapped @ exactly midnight:

Kalvin (8 months)

Austin (21 months)

Charlotte (23 months)

Andrew (4 years)

I find it funny that the youngest is the most alert and happy (used to those late nights, I supppose) and it decreases as you go up in age. My sleepy lil boy crashed around...10:30 pm, I'd say. :) Charlotte crashed sometime after 1 am. I left at 2 am, and my sister was just then headed to bed with two still very awake boys. (Kalvin was dozing on and off all evening.)

My only resolution (which applies to MANY, MANY areas of my life) is to GET ORGANIZED. :)

Happy New Year 2011 everyone!

Merry Christmas!

(scanner wasn't working, had to take pictures of it, not very good, sorry!)

Front:

Inside:

Happy Holidays from our family to you and yours!

Holiday Crafty-ness :)

I got chosen to be a host of a BIC sponsored holiday craft party. They sent me 72 markers in wonderful colors. So far every project I've tried them, has been perfect. Here are my goodies:

This scarf is finally finished! I started it two years ago for a gift for my brother's GF, but when Christmas was upon us, and it still wasn't done, I rushed to Bath & Body Works and picked up some yummy goodness in her favorite scent (which happens to my favorite too!). Now, I'm attempting a make-it-up-as-I-go hat for myself to match. (I'm keeping the scarf!):

And this lovely fabric was my goodwill find. $3.99 for both! Love the print on them. I'm thinking Mommy-and-Me reversible aprons for Charlotte and I.

Christmas Countdown: 33 days!

I'm trying to not procrastinate this year. :) I've got my black friday list/route all mapped out and am ready to go!

But before that I'm working on the Christmas cards. My little family will be all dressed up on Thursday for Thanksgiving, so why not pose for the Christmas card photo?

In the past I've made all my Christmas cards, but honestly it's A LOT of work. And it doesn't save me any money, either. All those supplies add up. My friends all send of the photo cards they order from Shutterfly, Costco, etc. I'm looking in Shutterfly this year.

When someone mentioned the folded cards, I thought, I don't want to write a message in 50+ Christmas cards! I hate my handwriting and can not think of 50 original heartfelt messages. :) But Shutterfly has the answer! On their folded cards you can insert pictures and text! YAY! So I get to send a Christmas CARD not just a enchanced image, and I don't have to cramp up my hand to do so.

Here's the some of the ones I'm thinking of:

Photos in sepia, just perfect.

Just look at the inside of this one! All the insides are customizable based on what you want. This would be perfect for showing off pictures of the year's highlights!

This card is great because the inside looks like a timeline of your year. Love it!

So now the hard part...choosing ONE card and then narrowing down the pictures to use. :)

Here's the link to shutterfly if you all want to get a headstart on your own cards: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery and while you are there, how about a calendar for next year? http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars

They make great gifts for grandparents...I think that is what I'm doing for my parents this year.

Oh! They also have desk calendars, perfect for my Husband's new office!

Andrew's Doodle

I have SO much to catch up on, but in the meantime, here's Andrew's latest masterpiece. :)