creative christmas.

well, i've finally given away all my christmas gifts, so i can blog about what i've been working on for the past... embarrassingly long amount of time.

homemade christmas gifts.

for me, a big part of the season.

not as big as the jesus part, though.

i have my priorities in order.

so, here it goes... 
(oh, and beware. terrible photography coming your way. i took pictures randomly as i was making these things, thinking i'd take better pictures later, which i obviously never did. that's what i get for setting my expectations too high.)

paint chip calendar

homemade scarves (i made them once before--check here for a tutorial!)

christmas decoration paintings.

be kind. they were freehanded.

also, that tree next to the painting? made my an elementary-aged husband of mine.

meaning him when he was in elementary school. jeez.

and could be my favorite decoration of all time. 

 burlap christmas placemats

 burlap monogram for my newly-engaged brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law

again, freehanded... it's the creativity that counts, right?

also, don't you love my feet in the photo?

handprint ornaments from micah. ish. because one year olds can't use ovens or paint beyond splatters.

chalkboard to hang in a room (made from a frame)

also, a few not pictured homemade gifts

• chalkboard coasters (basically, chalkboard paint on tiles and then mounted felt on the bottom)
• engaged ornament for brother
• wedding countdown frame for brother
• mini scavenger hunt for matt (with each clue written on a piece of micah "art." haa) to find his gift
• oh, and it's not homemade, but lots of carol roeda gifts. look it up here

oh, how i love crafts.

pin-nesting.

welp... still no baby.

i'm getting impatient.

but, to help me get through this waiting game (10 more days until this baby is due, in case anyone's counting...), i've been crafting!

some simple things i've made...

(excuse the terrible picture quality... the good camera is packed and ready for the hospital and i was too lazy to get it out!)

this is a simple craft that turns

 any blanket into a breastfeeding cover. 

it cost me next to nothing to make and then i can just use whatever blanket is around, much less to worry about! i followed a tutorial from here, but you pretty much just do this:

1. cut a random piece of fabric into about 18 inches by 4-5 inches.

2. iron in half and iron under a 1/4" edge, so that the edges look nice once sewn. i tapered in on both ends about 3 inches from the end.

3. sew all the way around.

4. feed a drapery ring through each end and sew it on.

i bought drapery rings from target for $7, used spare fabric, and made three of these straps! not too shabby. 

pinterest craft, anyone? 

super simple and great--wooden letters, painted, hot glued to ribbon... ridiculously easy, and once they're actually sitting as they should be (these are clearly not spaced... i just put them up there to show what they will eventually look like), very merry.

i bought the letters from just over $1 each, ribbon for about $3, total of $8 (minus my teacher discount at michaels!)

other dream crafts i'm getting to?

-scrapbooking for baby.

-lots and lots of diy christmas gifts.

-a christmas wreath.

pinterest saves christmas.

just when i think pinterest can't do my life any more good, it does.
because i actually use it.


check out this glorious scarf i created and gave to some incredible people!


it's a chunky braided scarf (want a tutorial? i'm so glad you asked!)

i apologize in advance for the lack of pictures. i didn't think about it until this exact moment.

1: buy 1.5 yards of any color jersey knit fabric and .25 yard of wide lace
2: cut six 1-2 inch strips for the width of the fabric 
3: cut one 6-8 inch strip of fabric
4: braid the skinny pieces--you'll create two separate braids.
5: gather the ends of the braids and the wide strip of fabric and sew them together.
6: hand stitch lace over the seams to make it end nicely.


i even made one for myself, they're so nice.


(p.s. don't these pictures look nice? thank you, new canon rebel t2i. yep, gigantic splurge via bonus and family christmas kindness :))


(p.s.s. follow me on pinterest!)


(p.s.s.s. my blog is all new and different--now you can click a word to describe my post and you can even get emails of my blog without a google account... oh, and you should follow me!)

fun card and pinterest obsessed.

i'm officially pinterest obsessed.

i'm using it in my classroom.

i'm using it in our home.

i'm using it for christmas presents.

and i used it for cards.

check it out.

 that's super dark. but they read "happy birthday" and look cute in person.

fun, eh?

me gusta.