From Ugly to Uglier!

What's a gal to do when she has an ugly sweater party to attend, and doesn't want to wear the same sweater as last year?   

I love wearing costumes and ugly Christmas sweaters are no exception. This year we had two different "Ugly Sweater Parties" to attend. Not wanting to wear the same sweater to both parties, I decided to do a bit of a "make-uglier" to a thrift store find. The vest I found had good "bones," the wool fabric and  colors worked for Christmas and I thought I could carry through the eclectic button look with my design . Plus there was a lot of empty space to create on. 

Grabbing some embroidery floss, I went to work. I decided my theme would be "duck the halls" (bah-dum-dum-ching!) I started by adding the wording to the right side of the vest. 

I decided to embroider "free hand" because the houndstooth provided guidelines in a sense for me to follow. I simply counted checks to get my lettering right.

I then concentrated on the tree. I wanted my little duck friend to help decorate the tree. Cutting out three triangles of wool felt, I  layered them, appliquéing them with a simple basic stitch to hold in place. I then added the trimmings. For garland, I used an upholstery trim, I loved the gold and felt the loops on the trim gave it more of a "garland-y" feel. 

To continue on with the button theme, the sweater already had going for it, I grabbed some buttons from my vintage button jar, to add as ornaments. The star on top was a purchase from "Dress it up." To finish it off, I took apart, a blinking light necklace. Starting at one end I tacked it down towards the bottom, then looping around by the ducks mouth, I continued on over the tree, stitching it into place, to hide the battery pack, I cut a hole into the wool near the top of the tree, stitching it into place. To give the battery pack some extra support I used a safety pin. By pinning it vs. stitching the battery pack, it allows me easier "spinning"  to untwist the casing when it comes time to change the batteries. 

My sis-in-law, helped me put my hair up into a french twist that I then adorned with curly-q's of ribbon tied to bobby pins. (The up-do was more for the fact I was going to be serving food and didn't want my long hair to cause problems. I added the ribbon to make it more festive.) I finished off the look with a holly covered turtle neck. After all you want to "Duck the Halls" with "arms of holly" ;)  (I quack myself up sometimes! ) ...Merry Christmas!

Red Heart Yarn-Contest!

Do you remember the first "yarn craft" you made? I do! I was 4 years old and just read the book Charlotte's Web. I wanted to be like Charlotte and so I decided to make my own "web" in my bedroom. I found a skein of yarn (it was orange)  and started tying it to every imaginable surface. The idea was to make my "web" all over my bedroom and then be able to crawl on it. I worked hard on it, so imagine my disappointment when my mom came in and wasn't as pleased with me as I thought she would be. (Apparently it took almost 2 hours to cut down my "web".)

Image from "String Fling"

As I have grown, naturally  my yarn crafting abilities have grown too.  From the humble beginnings of web making, I progressed to "god's eyes," and finger weaving, to knitting. My skill level knitting wise is basic, but that doesn't stop me from appreciating the gorgeous creations of my mother-in-law and friends. I love seeing what they create and then learning about the creative process and what supplies they used. I then use those recommendations to guide my purchasing decisions.

Apparently I'm not alone what influences my purchasing decisions. In a 2012 Fleishmen Hillard Survey.  Women value the opinion of others very highly when it comes to making a purchasing decision, and half of all women consider it their role to help others make smart decisions when it comes to purchasing product.

 The "Women's Choice Award" has a goal of helping women make better purchasing decisions. This product seal is awarded to companies and products, that are most recommended in a poll of thousands of women across the united states. For 2015 that seal was awarded to Red Heart Yarn. It's important to know this isn't just the brand used by women, it signifies that women are are willing to recommend it to others. As Delia Passi  CEO and Founder of the Women's Choice Awards states:

“When a woman is willing to recommend a brand or service to others, it means that business has earned her loyalty. Those are the businesses we wish to recognize for their efforts and commitment to the No. 1consumer – women." 

To celebrate their achievement. Red Heart Yarn is sponsoring a giveaway right here! One lucky reader will win a $50 prize packages sent directly to them by Red Heart! The prize includes:

Approximate Retail Value $50 

3 Red Heart Sizzle

2 Red Heart Medley

2 Red Heart Boutique Swanky

2 Red Heart Boutique Sashay Boho

1 Red Heart Boutique Treasure

1 Red Heart Tote Bag

 

What do you have to do to win???
Leave ONE comment telling me how about what influences your purchasing decision.  How important are "friends' recommendations" to you when buying a product?  Do you solely listen to friends? Do you research and also get recommendations? What influences your purchasing decisions?

Comment by Midnight March 26th, 2015 CST. One winner will be chosen at random from all eligible commenters. As a special 'thank-you' to my followers I'm awarding all followers that comment an extra entry. (Indicate in your comment if you follow my blog.) This contest is open GLOBALLY...yes you red that correctly. Red Heart has generously agreed to ship the prize anywhere in the world.

A HUGE thank you to Red Heart for generosity in sponsoring this contest!

Order Out of Chaos!

Almost 20 years ago, I became involved with a project called "Operation Christmas Child"  OCC as it is commonly known sends gift filled shoeboxes to children in need all over the world. Shoebox gifts contain; school supplies, personal care items, small toys, hard candy and more and for some children are the first and sometimes only gift they will ever receive in their lives.

My involvement with OCC expanded to becoming a project leader and then finally an Area Coordinator for our area. I currently oversee a project called "Shoebox 1k" named from a challenge one of the boys in my children's ministry issued one year to do "A THOUSAND BOXES." Currently just working on our third year, news of our project has spread far and wide. Being the case we need LOTS of storage space. In the past I was able to have a back room in our church building, when the building was sold, the Christian Youth Center of Morris graciously allowed me to move the operation in there.

Naturally when one thinks of filling 1000 shoebox gifts you would think about how many supplies are needed to accomplish this goal. Our packing date is November 1 and being close to the date of our packing party obviously have mountains of supplies to accomplish our goal. Imagine my surprise and dread when I was notified, I had to MOVE everything over two bays in the storage area less than one month before everything was to be moved out?

Rather than just putting everything into piles in the new area, I enlisted the help of my father, my son and some other fine gentlemen to create a shelving unit able to withstand not only the amount of supplies we would need in for our project but the weight of cartons of shoeboxes. School supplies, and cartons of soap aren't light!

 It took the 5 of us 2 days and several hundred dollars of donated wood and screws to create the shelves. But the result was oh so worth it! There are 6 sets of shelves 8 feet by 4 feet. In addition we created two sorting tables, that can double as supply tables during the actual shoebox packing party!  I love the new space, and it should make it very easy to stay organized this next year.

A HUGE thank you to my father Ken, my son David, and friends Mike and Ed for all of their hard work!!!

(For more information on Shoebox 1k and how you can get involved in our local efforts, check out the link above or click on "Shoebox 1k" at the top menu.)

Something Only a Mom Would Do

As a mom you know there are certain things that only YOU would do. Saving a lock of hair from a first hair cut, or that first baby tooth that fell out, a sample of handwriting or handprints to cherish when your babies are grown. But would you save them on your wall?

My mom did. A large portion of this year was spent cleaning out my mom's house to turn over to be sold. While cleaning out the laundry room, imagine my giggle when I found this:

Yes that is my forth grade handwriting, on the wall, of the laundry room. I so remember writing that, but have no idea WHY I wrote on the wall. My mom's initials were MEP and mine were actually EAP but since everyone calls me "Betsy" I choose to initial it "BEP" to be like her. 

On the other side of the laundry room, were two handprints. I have to admit those were mine as well. I was in 4th or 5th grade and was asked to start a load of laundry and my hands were wet and wanted to see my wet prints on the wall, thinking it would just evaporate and not realizing there was just enough dirt on my hands to leave a muddy print. These too were still on the laundry room wall. The whole house has been painted several times, and as you can tell the walls got pretty grimy but mom choose to keep things "as is" vs. covering over her sweet little vandal. *grin*

Showers of Blessing

As you may know, my daughter Winter graduated from High School last night. Today we celebrated HER with a party. A friend of mine gave Winter the most adorable gift.

She was told to save the money for a rainy day! How cool is that!!! Thanks MaryLee!

The Graduate!

Today I would like to take a moment to honor my daughter! Winter is an amazing young lady! I have had the privilege of not only raising her, but teaching her as well.  She is a talented musician playing violin, guitar and mandolin and wishes to become a worship leader and music instructor someday and go back to the Christian Youth Center and work with kids providing a music program for the organization.

 She graduates from "homeschool" as well as High School tonight and I couldn't be more proud of the woman of God she is becoming!

For your listening enjoyment. Czardas by Monti

Winter has recently started a blog if you wish to read her random thoughts about life, music and the like visit her blog Synthetic Plastic

All tangled up!

Last year I was given a "Zentangle" book. I have always been a doodler but was enjoying the guidelines to make my doodles more "purposeful." I love the black on white look and enjoy just playing around with a sharpie on cardstock.  I love "tangling" during meetings. I find the doodling helps me focus on what is being said, it also calms me down when things can get heated ;)

The one problem with being down sick is that you have WAY too much time on your hands late at night after you have slept all day. This offered me a perfect opportunity to play.

Grabbing a canvas from a stack left over from a class, I started out with a giant letter "E" (for my daughter.) I then proceeded to tangle the inside. To finish it off, I added some washi tape to frame out the canvas.

The finished project was a fun canvas to decorate her bedroom. She LOVED it. 

They call me "MOM"

With the festivities of Mother's day this past weekend, I didn't have a chance to share one of my favorite pages.

The light tan is a hidden journaling spot that reads: I always wanted to be a mom, cause I had such a great one! I couldn't believe when you came into my life. One by one you changed me with your smiles and your love. Each one of you is special and amazing, every day I marvel that the Lord has given you to me and that you call me "mom"!

When I was taking this years "mother's day" photos I was thinking about this page. How grown-up all my kids are getting. They have changed in so many ways since this page was created. My oldest is now 6'4" my younger son is now taller (by over a head) than his "big" sister. But the changes have been more than just physical. Their convictions are stronger. Their passions are greater. They have new hobbies and friends. Their love has grown and expanded. I get to see the young men and women they are becoming and they are amazing people and still they call me "mom" and because of that I am very very blessed!

Supplies: MME laundry line, Prisim cardstock, MME Bohemian embossed chipboard, AC letter stickers, prima flowers, Heidi Swapp gemstones, Border from? (it's from an old MWE kit) glue dots, and fiskars adhesive.

Scrap Challenge the sequel

So when I made the shadow box canvas I had a piece of canvas left over from where I cut out the canvas to form the shadow box. I saved it because it was a nice piece of mod-podged canvas and knew I could figure out something to do with it. Today in the midst of my second round of using your scraps challenge I decided what to do with it. Since it was sturdy and covered in music, I figured it would be a good basis for a book mark for my violin playing girls.


 I pulled out my Fiskars Ultra Shape Express and my
 Journaling/Bracket template and cut out a couple of shapes and then used a smaller template to cut out tabs to hold the book mark in place. Some ribbon thread through the hole punched in the top and then a quick monogram with some velum stickers. To finish them off I added a music note I punched out of vinyl. 

My daughters being not just violin players but avid readers LOVED the combination of their two favorite hobbies!

Supplies used: Canvas scrap, photo copied music, "antiqued"(Tim Holtz distress Ink-Vintage photo), Mod Podge, Ribbon, Velum Stickers-font wordsworth, black vinyl, Fiskars- Ultra Shape Express Journaling and Bracket Template, music note punch, Crop-a-dial.

The perfect gift

Growing up was an adventure. Mom was a single parent raising two daughters on a modest income so we learned to not just improvise but create what we didn't have. Being a school teacher, mom made sure we were never short of crayons, and paper and pens. Having the initial desire to go into commercial art we were never short of art and craft supplies as well. 

My sister and I were constantly "making things." Doll houses out of boxes, paintings, finger weaving, I even recreated "Charlotte's Web" in my bedroom-granted it was connected to the dresser, and the bedpost, and the table, and the desk. My goal was to be able to crawl across it to get to things in my room. (It didn't work.) Mom helped us with school projects and making costumes and doll clothes. 

Mom also filled the house with music. Having played the viola through college, mom loved classical music and wanting to rekindle that flame took the instrument up again when I was young.  For my sister and I this led to music lessons of our own. Piano, flute, and bells for me. Oboe, Bassoon, and Cello for my sister, plus both of us were in choir and enjoyed singing. 

Our faith was also a big part of our lives. Mom was active in our church serving as Sunday School director, a member of the alter guild and vestry. Because of mom's involvement, my sister and I were acolytes, worked in the nursery. I even led the Jr. High youth group when I was older. But my mom's faith was more than just being active in church. My mom believed that what she did with her talent was a gift back to the Lord. She one time shared with me that even her music was her prayer.

So much of whom I am is because of my mom naturally the news we received in November was earth shattering; the cancer had returned, in her spine. They gave her 4-6 months without treatment 6-8 with.  I walked around in a daze, I think we all did, just letting the news sink in. I know none of us are guaranteed our tomorrows but to be told someone you love is even closer to death is devastating. 

After I came to terms with that news, another realization hit me…this might be mom's last Christmas with us! What do you get a person that means the world to you when this might be the last present you ever give them?!?

So I started really thinking about who my mom is, what she has taught me, and what she means to me. I knew I had to make her something (she loves handmade gifts) I also knew I wanted it to revolve around her music and maybe her faith as well. 

I rejected one idea after another and then I found "IT" not just any it, but the most gorgeous violin paper. I was at a craft warehouse sale and found two sheets of Autumn Leaves paper from 2000. (11 year old paper in the paper world is probably itself considered vintage.) 
I knew this was to be the foundation of my mom's Christmas present. Looking around the sale I found some 12" x 12" tiles and I knew a decorative tile was in the making.

I wanted the emphasis to be on the violin and the quote I chose so I kept decorations down to a minimum; antiquing the edges of the paper with ink then adding a touch of gold here and there. Using Mod Podge I adhered the paper to the tile and then added the quote I cut out with my die cutting machine. Another layer of Mod Podge to seal everything in finished off the piece. 

To display the tile I found a gold book easel that coordinated with the gold accenting the violin. I loved the way it turned out. The project itself was simple to do but the results were very elegant. The end result was a gift for my mom that was totally "ME." Something handmade from the heart (which she loves) and something that celebrates not only her music but her faith.

Needless to say she loved her gift. She even cleared off a spot on the piano to display it. It has even become the focal point when she teaches viola. While trying to get her students to add more emotion to their music she says, "read that," (pointing to the tile,) "now pray with your music."  So the decorative tile I created for her even helps her to pass on her musical legacy as well.


Supplies used: Supplies used: 12 x 12 tile, Patterned paper Autumn Leaves, Ink, Ranger-Vintage Photo, Stampabilities-Gold, Cricut Cartridges- Jubilee, Plantain Schoolbook, Lyrical Letters, Base Camp, and Alphalicious. Mod Podge

Birthday Pie!

Around here the birthday boy (or girl) gets to pick the kind of cake they want for his or her special day. For my husband it has always been PIE!

Normally it's not just ONE type it's two! This year's selection was his favorite, apple pie. I couldn't just leave it plain I had to spruce it up a wee bit, with some fancy knife work. Apparently I've become quite a legend at his work, rumor has it he snaps photos of his birthday treats and then "shows off" at work.

Happy Birthday Honey! Enjoy your pie!

The blooming cross!

Being the daughter of the one in charge sometimes has it's advantages. One being you get to make all the fun projects twice! Our Easter dish gardens were no exception! My daughter was excited to be able to give her duplicate garden to her grandma!


Imagine her surprise though when the grass in the dish garden wasn't the only thing growing! To make the crosses I cut down branches from a shrub in our yard. Most of the branches were dead and those that were not had all buds removed and then were cut down to 3 and 4 inch lengths. We tied these together then with hemp twine.

When mom had my daughter trim back the grass yesterday they were both in for a surprise. The center cross (the one representing where Jesus died,) made of twigs that had their buds removed and then cut into 3 or 4 in lengths and tied together with twine and stuck in a pot of dirt was GROWING!


 They both were so excited to see the growth against all odds! Even more amazing to me, when mom saw it she felt such a sense of peace! She's been dealing with a lot lately and she felt like Jesus' cross growing was a sign to her that everything was going to be ok!

I hope this Easter season finds you in a place of peace as well. Let the blooming cross be an example that you too can grow, you can even bloom, in the midst of circumstances where you shouldn't be able too. There can be life after death with the power of the cross!

Knit together...

So I wanted to learn to knit. I "kinda" taught myself several years ago. I mean "kinda" cause I only taught myself to "purl" (hey it looks like knitting from the back side) and I never learned how to "cast on." I'm going to be spending several hours at a lab every other week with my mom so I wanted something crafty to do with my hands that could also be transported easily. Thus I decided to try to finally learn to knit.

My mom knits so I thought it would be a great time to learn. Today I brought yarn and mom brought needles and she taught me to cast on :) she then helped me with my stitches knitting wise. I stiil don't "knit" I only "purl" (apparently I taught myself backwards when I "learned" several years ago.)

Anyway that was one of the things we brought to do at the lab while mom got treatment today. (it was a 5 hour day)

So as I bumbled my way through learning how to cast on, there was a lady and her care giver (might have been daughter or daugher-in-law?) that were laughing along with my clumbsy attempts. She cheered me as I finally got the hang of it, then kept encouaging me as I got better with the knitting thing. Apparently she used to knit a long time ago. Well before she left she was telling the gal she was with..."You know, I should pull out my needles, I would love to make a scarf to match my hat" (she was wearing a hat someone had made her to keep her head warm during chemo) She left planning her project.

It was fun to inspire a fellow crafter (even with my bumbling attempts)

Here are my first few rows, I hope that it will look like a scarf when it's finished :)

Vintage Scarves

December is always busy for me. As the Childlren's Ministry Director of our church the beginning of the month is always spent getting ready for our annual Christmas Program. After that it's spent getting ready for the holidays! I made several of my gifts this year (and helped mom make some as well.) Mom and I spent a whole day (and part of another) making flower pins, ornaments, and necklaces out of vintage scarves. Here's a few photos of our day together (and a result of some of the work :) You will notice mom is busily sewing away while I in usual "craftastrophy" form got my finger stuck in the ornament and yes it is turning purple and yes I did stop to take a photo before getting the cold water to get my finger unstuck..LOL

Shoeboxes!

Seventeen years ago Samaritan's Purse started a ministry called "Operation Christmas Child" the idea was to pack a shoebox with simple gifts; personal care items and school supplies and give those shoeboxes to hurting and needy children all over the world with the message of the good news of God's love for them. That first year my son was a baby and we did one box. The 2nd year I had 2 kids so we did two boxes. As our family grew we did more boxes to correspond with each child till one day those kids said "mom lets do more!" So we did 5 boxes. Then one year one of the kids said "Ya know mom, this would be great for shoeboxes, we should save stuff all year round so we can do more." That year we did 22 boxes. The next year I got my church involved, we did 30 something boxes the first year. The following year I had another gal start saving stuff all year round and we filled 70 something. The numbers kept growing till last year we did 276 boxes! And still...

Our numbers kept growing.

As our numbers grew I needed to find creative ways to support our projects. Being part of the crafting community I looked there for help. Scrapbook Expo allowed us to run their baggage check and collect supplies and have raffle tickets for a gift basket from At the Blue Barn and a new "Scrap-n-Easel" from Contain ya crafts. Many of my scrapbooking friends came out to help at the expo as well. Local crafters came out to an event again donating supplies for boxes and buying raffle tickets for another fabulous gift basket. Plus companies such as Unibind, Creative Options, Epiphany Crafts, Craftwell, Xyron, Fiskateers, Hydrangea Hippo, Contain Ya Crafts, Faithfully Yours, MemoryWorks consultant Kemi Foresteri, Close to My Heart Consultant Lori Brown, October Afternoon and more donated make and take items, door prizes, and goodie bag items to the event! All these events (and then some) helped gather not only supplies but funds to purchase supplies and help offset the cost of shipping shoeboxes.

It's no secret, I love doing shoeboxes. It's such a simple way to reach out. Things we take for granted like soap and a toothbrush are some of the kids favorite gifts to receive and for some kids this is the first present they have every received in their lives! I also love shoeboxes because of what it allows me to do within my community. When someone decides to be a missionary to another country. They start raising support, gathering their supplies etc. They get sent on their trip and we hear about it when they get back. With coordinating shoeboxes I get a chance to encourage my church, family and friends to be missionaries right where they are at!

It's incredible to be able to help kids not just my kids or my church kids, but my nephews, and friends kids and even other kids in the community to take that step to look beyond themselves to reach out to others. It's a privilege to be able to hear "wow this was so much fun...I love helping, I can't wait to do it next year." and "I'm so glad I came, knowing that one more child gets a present cause of what I did is AWESOME!"

Well I can spill the beans! This year we packed 351 shoeboxes!!! Thank you again to everyone that helped make this possible!!!

Welcome Home Heros!

My family and I were privileged to take part welcoming home some local heros. The 6 men and 1 woman were retuning Afghanistan. Also being honored were 2 of their fallen comrades. I am so thankful for the sacrifices the men and women of the armed forces make for our freedom. They are away from family and loved ones, and some even give up their lives! Considering I spent most of the afternoon in tears I'll just share some of our afternoon in photos instead!