secret santa scarves

I crocheted two secret santa scarves this month ...

a blue one for my sister's bookclub secret santa exchange

and a red one for my own bookclub exchange

We used Elfster, so I was able to sneakily find out that red and pink are Mary's favorite colors. What a great site! It made setting up an exchange really easy.

I was lucky enough to have BreAnna as my secret santa. She made me a basket filled with a beautiful cinnamon stick candle, a bundle of bath salts, and Christmas mugs filled with hot cocoa. Thanks, BreAnna! You are the best.

hand dipped chocolate pretzels

I've been making stuff, I swear! I'm at least 10 projects behind on posting. I'll get to them very soon, hopefully - maybe I'll do a post per day until the end of the year?

Things have been BUSY around here. My sister, her husband and her two little boys came to the city for a visit and we had way too much fun. I'll let her do all the work and just point you to her blog to read all about it: http://melaniehenrich.blogspot.com/. You'll get tired just looking at all the photos. I miss them already! In other news, check out my other blog to read about Saturday's walking tour in Chinatown.

I'm going to jump out of chronological order and show you what I just made because it looks so Christmas-y. Tonight I dipped about a million chocolate pretzels. It was nuts. Pretzels everywhere. I started out just planning to make a few bags for people at work, but it was fun, so I of course got a little out of control. The good news is, I now have loads of last-minute Christmas gifts.

dark chocolate mint

chocolate with Andes mint chips

chocolate with sprinkles

peppermint

(red) white chocolate with Andes peppermint chips

All bagged up, just waiting to be handed out!

ornament swap: part deux

I sent off my contribution to the ornament swap on Thursday. Let's hope the ladies of Group 52 like glitter as much as I do!

In the store I thought I was purchasing red ribbon, but it turned out to be hot pink. Luckily, I think it is the perfect accent!




I made a fun blog sticker to put on the back of each package. Gotta love label paper. I'll post photos of the ornaments I recieve when they all arrive. I've received two so far, and it has been so fun. I can't wait to participate again next year!

polka dot elephant

It was another craftacular evening at my house tonight. The secret Christmas crafts are moving right along, I packaged up my ornaments for the ornament swap, and I made this little polka dot elephant. Cute, no?

yellow + polka dots = ultra cheery

I dug up the same pattern from the last time I made one of these guys.

Is it weird that I don't put eyes on my elephants? I like them better without.

It got bundled up with the shoes and some burp cloths for a former co-worker. I hope she likes it!

I packaged it up in some fun new wrapping paper. Again with the polka dots - my new craze.

homemade cloth baby shoes

I have deadlines to meet ... a secret santa gift to be ready by Saturday, and ornament exchange that I need to package and mail off. So, why am I sewing baby shoes?

I printed out this pattern months ago from Stardust Shoes, but never tried it. I came across it again while organizing my craft supplies over the weekend, and it is all I've been able to think about!



This is attempt #2 - the first try turned out ok, put looked plain without the ribbon and had more frayed edges than I cared for. So I just made a few small changes to the pattern by finishing off a few extra seams to clean it up a bit. Also, instead of using fleece for the sole, I used the same suede fabric and floral lining with warm n' natural batting in between.

It is a quick, easy and extremely satisfying project - I highly recommend it! You can find the pattern here.

I foresee this project becoming an addiction!

Christmas Craft Saturday

I have the BEST bookclub. The conversation is always interesting and the girls are so much fun. Every once and a while, we all get together for a different kind of activity. This past Saturday, BreAnna organized a Christmas craft super Saturday and taught us how to make all kinds of fun crafts.

I made a country bell:
And cinnamon-scented sachets:

These smell like a cinnamon dream! They are making my living room smell delicious.

Other projects included wreaths, bath salts and baby tag blankets. It was so much fun to get together and chat, craft, eat Alicia's delicious peppermint bark and listen to Christmas music. Thanks, BreAnna!


I shared a beloved tradition - a gingerbread countdown-to-Christmas chain. A family at my church would make these and hand them out on December 1st every year (Dixons, if you are out there reading, I love these!!! Thanks so much for always starting off the season so deliciously). I come from a large family (8 kids) so it was always a special day when it was your turn to eat the cookie. With just Jared and I here, we'll have plenty. I alternated gingerbread boys and girls so we'll always know when it is our cookie day. :)

The chain looks long now, but it will be Christmas before we know it! I can't wait to go home and visit my family. It is going to be great.

I've been making lots of crafts and presents and have quite a few more to go before I'm ready. It is so hard not to post photos early, but I don't want to spoil any surprises. I guess that means I'll have plenty to post about after the holiday!

'tis the season ... finally!!!

I had such a fun December 1st! I started the day right with a NY walking tour with Megan, where we headed down to the South Street Seaport. Then I headed to my friend BreAnna's for a Christmas craft super Saturday - so fun (and a separate post).

Then it was time for the afternoon I have been waiting for ... finally time to decorate for Christmas!!! For some reason, Jared was adamant about NO decorations until December 1st this year. I am more of a just-after-Thanksgiving kind of gal myself. But, I held out and now the apartment is bedecked for the holidays.

I covered my french doors with doily snowflakes. I have a hard time free-hand cutting pretty snowflakes (I always overdo it and they look terrible). This year, I had a pack of doilies on hand, so I turned them into snowflakes by cutting portions of the design out. They look so intricate and pretty, and were a real cinch to make.

In one entryway, I strung five large glittery snowflakes. I printed off a template from Martha Stewart, and traced and cut out the pattern onto a stiff piece of cardboard (an old gift box or cereal box works well). Paint with a thick layer of glue and sprinkle with glitter. They look lovely dangling overhead.

I refashioned this wreath using leftover gold ornaments. They came with a set of red ornaments that I bought last year, but I didn't want to use them on my silver and red tree. Since they were too pretty to leave in the box, I decided to depart from my silver theme a bit and make a gold wreath.

Here are my glittery trees that a posted about a few weeks ago. They finally made it off my craft cluttered dining table. I feel like this little centerpiece is lacking a bit, but can't think of what to add. Any ideas?

The homemade addition to my tree this year are these little glittery stars (can you tell I love the glitter? I went a little overboard. My apartment is covered floor to ceiling with glitter!). I bought 3-D cardboard stars at Lee's Art shop and glittered them.

And here is my tree! I love it - my living room looks so bright and cheery when it's all lit up. I found a new corner for it this year and am working on a bunny-barrier to go around the bottom - last year Buns kept chewing on the lights.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am going to take a blog break for the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!



Aunt Nancy's Famously Delicious Rolls:

1 pkg. active dry yeast

¼ c. warm water

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 C. milk, scalded

¼ C. Sugar

¼ C. shortening

1 tsp. salt

3 ½ C. Sifted all-purpose flour

1 egg

…………………………..

Soften yeast in warm water. Combine milk, sugar, shortening and salt; cool to lukewarm. Add 1 1/2C. of flour; Beat well. Beat in yeast and egg. Gradually add remaining flour to form soft dough, beating well. Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease the surface. Cover and let rise till double. Punch down and shape as desired, placing on greased cookie sheet. Cover and let raise till double. Bake in hot overn (400) for 12-15 minutes, or till golden brown. Makes 2-3 dz. rolls.

NY {good} Times

Long time best friend, Megan, and I started a rather silly blog about our weekly walking tours in NYC. The plan is to see 50 neighborhoods in 50 weeks. Read all about our shenanigans and see lots of hammed-up photos here: http://beeboppinnyc.blogspot.com. It is a work in progress, but we have two neighborhoods up so far.

glittery Christmas crafts

I've been a little glitter crazed lately, preparing for the holidays. First, I glittered some 3-d cardboard star ornaments from the craft store (I got mine at Lee's).

I also glittered a few styrofoam cones for a Christmas centerpiece. I, of course, used my favorite Martha glitters - they are the best.



I've been working on my ornament swap as well, but I think I'll keep those a secret until I mail them out.


This is what I look like when I'm in the crafting zone - iPod blasting, giddy expression ... you get the picture.

Outlook cookies

I made these for the IT dept. at work (we all got switched over to Outlook last week).



It was funnier in my head. I guess its the taste that counts.

Quick Hostess Apron

After work tonight I had the opportunity to go to a sewing class and it was just delightful! All of the supplies were provided and we had a great teacher. The project of the evening was a hostess apron. It was a simple project that only took about an hour and a half and produces totally cute results. I think it would make a really cute Christmas gift paired with a cookbook or supplies.

Here is a group shot of the class:

Aren't we cute?

When I got home I had to model it again for Jared:


It was SO easy!

Supplies:

22 inches of fabric
2 yards of coordinating grosgrain ribbon
a 5x5 inch square of coordinating solid fabric for a pocket (optional)
a sewing machine, thread and scissors

Instructions:

1. Fold the bottom of the fabric ¾ in. and press. Repeat (to hide the raw edge of the fabric

2. Top-stitch the bottom hem

3. Repeat steps one and two for the side hems

4. Using a ruffle foot on your sewing machine, gather the top of the fabric (we had it on the 1-setting). Our teacher said you can also achieve the same effect by basting the top edge and pulling on the back thread to gather the fabric (I am going to have to try this out, since I don’t have a ruffle foot for my machine).

5. Find the center of your 2-yard length of grosgrain ribbon. Fold in half horizontally and press (about ten inches on either side of the center)

6. Pin the folded part of the ribbon to the gathered side of the fabric and topstitch across

7. Add a pocket, if desired

8. Enjoy your sassy new hostess apron



It was also a happy day because I came home to a new box of cookie cutters from Off the Beaten Path. I really love their cookie cutters - they are a real bargain and you can find every shape imaginable. I got a set of snowflake cutters, a gingerbread boy and girl, a winter hat and mitten, a Christmas tree, ornament, candy cane and a snowman. Whew - I can't wait to make some cute holiday sugar cookies!

Ornament Swap

I’ve been in a craft funk … hence the lack of posts. Sometimes (while it is a rare occasion), I am just not in the mood! Well, I came across a swap today that totally pulled me out of it: The 2nd Annual Holiday Ornament Swap hosted by freshly blended and cake & pie!

I am so very excited about this – l love making ornaments and I love swaps. For this one, you will receive an email with a list of 8-10 people who you then send a homemade ornament to. Then, you get 8-10 homemade ornaments in return! Very exciting. I really love this idea, and the motivating deadline it gives me to make a fabulous craft.

If you want to join in on the fun, head over to freshly blended for the sign-up info. The sign-up deadline is tomorrow, November 9!

Happy Halloween!

I'm not in a writing mood tonight, so the text on this post is going to be sparse. I had the pleasure of helping with Halloween party decorations on Saturday. ALL of the ideas are from Martha:

Flyaway Favors (filled with candy)

glittered pumpkins

spooky silhouettes

glittery hanging spiders

a pumpkin shaped cheeseball
(all the great buffet decorations were by Breanna and Sheena)

Witch's Curtain

more silhouettes

(and more table decor by Sheena and Breanna)

After the party, I moved the decor to my apartment, which was fun because I never really decorate for Halloween:

I was "Halloween Pam" from The Office.

Happy Halloween!