Merry

Christmas!

Raising the totem..

 

This past weekend I had the privilege to go to the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh for the unveiling of their new Tlingit totem pole The Hunt.  Carved by Tommy Joseph.  This summer when I was in Alaska I had the chance to meet Tommy Joseph at his shop in Sitka and we talked about the totem he would be carving for the museum.  So it was great to get there and see him unveil the finished project!

 This is Tommy telling the story of The Hunt and about working on the pole!

And this is a close up of Raven on the bottom of the pole!

A little more fruity....

 Here are a few more tiny fruits destined for some barrettes. And I changed it up and added ice cream this time.

Now mind you I am not a mint chocolate chip fan but it is a pretty to look at ice cream!

Merry Friday before Christmas!  And remember when the holiday has you down, God sent his son to save you!

A little fruity....

I've been coming up with ideas for small quick and cheaper craft show items... this is my newest creation.  Tiny crochet hook, embroidery thread, and wal-la tiny fruit.  I just love anything fruit and veggie related.  These are done in pairs and will be put on barrettes.  How cute will they be in a little girls ( or big girls) hair!

A few cards....

I needed three cards for a gift that we got for a few people that really had nothing to give with it.  We purchased flocks of baby chicks from Samaritans Purse.  You make a donation and a flock of chicks are given to a family in need somewhere around the world.  The chicks are used for income and food.

Little chicken I stamped on the inside!

Harbor Scarf

Took on this project to see if I could duplicate something someone saw online and do it for less cash!  Well I'd say I was a success!  Scarf looks almost identical and cost about half the price!

The buttons are made from coconut and I just love the way they look and feel!  It's true you can find anything on etsy!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

 I've been on a crochet kick lately... and I've decided that I'm going to make a ton of snow flakes to have ready for craft shows next winter... Great big year long goal!

 This little red one is adorable I just love the heart pattern.

 

 A pretty purple beauty!

 

And not a snow flake but a pretty star for a friend of mine who really loves stars!

The only problem I've been having is when I stiffen them up.  There is extra hanging on around the shapes when it dries and it looks gross!  And ideas on who to make that stop?

T-Shirt Time

So I've been eying up all the cool projects out there with t-shirt yarn and thought well I have a huge pile of t-shirts that I was going to donate but hey why not make my own yarn out of them.  So I found a tutorial for making my own continuous yarn and got at it.  I made several of these balls of yarn and it was super easy.

 

 My crafty area is red, white, and black.  So I decided to use those colors to start a project for my room.  I haven't decided if I'm going to continue it on into a rug, or create one of those cool floor poufs ottoman things.  But here is the progress I've made so far.  The only downfall so far is that the plastic hook and the yarn make a grating squeaky noise when you are crocheting with it.

 

 

And when you cut the hem off of the bottom of the t-shirts it makes a great kitty scarf!  Here is my pretty girl Zoe sporting her red scarf!

 

Beading Bliss

This summer when I was in Yakutat Alaska on a mission trip we visited a small gift shop called Hummingbird Beads and Gifts.  While there I picked up this bead kit.  I used to be many long years ago and wanted to get into something a bit more involved and this kit really appealed to me.

 

 I just started on it a couple weeks ago and here is the finished beading.  Well not quite finished but all the main beading is done until I decide what I'm going to do with it!  I just love the colors and how it turned out.

If you are interested in one of these great kits and want to support a small artist shop visit Hummingbird Beads and Gifts

In a snap.....

 

A friend and I recently spent a weekend away scrapbooking.  It's been so long since I've been to a crop and I was super excited about it.  I decided that I would tackle one project in an attempt to limit the amount of stuff I had to bring with me.  I decided that I would work with the We R Memory Keepers pocket pages and the new Simple Stories Say Cheese line.  

 Boy am I glad I chose that combination.  I was able to finish our whole Disney trip from 2013 in one weekend.  That is unheard of.  I will most certainly be using these pages again.  I can't believe I finished in one weekend... that has never happened for me before.  

I added a few pages here so you can see that they look great as well as being easy.  I would recommend some of these pages and these papers (which come in all styles) to anyone!  I was actually able to start on my Christmas cards as well, which you got to see in yesterdays post.

Thanks for looking.

I wish you a very Merry Christmas.

 

Here is a sample of my Christmas cards for this year.  Two slight variations based on available supplies... different ribbons and two different colored gems.  Haven't yet chose my sentiment stamp for the inside but I'm sure I already have something in my stash.