SYTYC, Toy Society Drop, and UCreate award, apologies, and other year-end wrap-ups

Hi friends!  I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and other happy holidays.  I really didn't mean to take most of the month of December off ... it just kind of happened.  With the new year rapidly approaching, I figured it was time to get back on the horse!

First, an update on So You Think You're Crafty.  Today is the last day to vote on this week's theme, Gifts.  I really enjoyed making my project this week.  With only four crafters left in the competition, I think it is getting easier and easier to spot who made what.   Which project is your favorite this week?

In week 5, I made the "Snowed-In" Ornament, and in week 6, I did the Printable Mitten Gift Tags.  I know the holidays are behind us, but I'll be posting the printable (which actually could still be appropriate during the winter months) and the tutorial for the ornament in January.

Speaking of tutorials, I owe some of you an apology.   Many readers have requested the Plush Tractor tutorial from my first week on SYTYC, hoping to make it as a Christmas gift.  I am really sorry that I didn't get it up in time!  The problem was, I lost the main tractor pattern piece ... I looked everywhere for it and finally decided it must have been thrown away.  But good news!  I started taking down my Christmas tree, and found the pattern piece hanging out in one of my Christmas decoration boxes.  Happy day!  So I am working on that and plan to have it up next week.  Better late than never, right?

This year I participated in The Toy Society's Worldwide Christmas Drop.  You can see my toy drop here.  We walked up to the Santa Barbara Mission and left a Black Apple doll hanging on the fence post at the nativity (which was awesome and included a sheep, goat, and our very favorite ... a mini donkey and baby mini donkey.  eee!)

 Not to rub it in, but this is what Santa Barbara looks like on Christmas Eve:
(photo courtesy of my sister-in-law, Holly)

I missed having a snowy, wintery Christmas for about 5 minutes, and now I'm over it and enjoying the sunshine.

In other happy news, my Quiet Book Templates post was named one of the Top Ten Tutorials of 2009 on UCreate.  What a fun surprise, and I'm in such great company!  Check out the full list for some great tutorials to add to your to-do list.

Finally, can I just say thanks for reading my blog this year?  There are a lot of places to go on the internet, and certainly no shortage of craft blogs these days, so I'm really honored that you stop by to visit mine.  Thanks for your encouraging comments, your lovely emails, and your bloggy friendship.  It means a lot to me!  Happy New Year, and here's to a crafty 2010.