Search Results of "12 days of Christmas"

34 posts

T Tuesday: mixed media edition

Who knew that inspiration could strike while randomly gluing bits and pieces of paper from the scrap bin. Seriously…this is too weird. I was feeling the need to craft something…anything. I had watched a couple of YouTube videos of folks making these insanely beautiful collaged papers. Of course, the bits and pieces that they used were amazing. Pieces that I wouldn’t be “just trying to use up”. But this thought got me to put paper and glue together.serendipity background beginnings

I started with a double-page spread from a children’s music book. I added bits of paper from my scrap bin until I was pleased or in this case…just “done” with this process.serendipity background

Not bad right…not super but workable. I added some washi tape, stamping, and stickers.

Next, I took the sheet to my guillotine cutter and needed to decide how to chop this up.

serendipity background

I decided on three postcards and several tags or perhaps journal cards.

I added some paint and embellishments to the postcards before adhering them to plain paper. I then ran them through the sewing machine to make sure everything stayed firmly together.

serendipity postcard

serendipity postcard

serendipity postcard

Super fun!serendipity background

These are the completed pieces that are ready to use. The gaps are still WIP. Not sure what I’ll do with them but that’s ok.

I had so much fun with this process that I made another collage sheet.serendipity background

I have 5 postcards and 2 tags with a fun springtime vibe.

I made this sheet on Saturday…before this happened on Sunday.Merry Eastergiving

SNOW!! What a crazy weather day. Mini-me and I decided that we should say “Merry Eastergiving” since the outside said Christmas, I was making a Thanksgiving style meal with turkey, all on Easter Sunday for just the 4 of us.

The card in the collage above was made by a sweet friend of mine.  She is a tremendous card maker. I’ve been sending more cards lately. A card in the mailbox is a tiny bit of joy I can send someone. Just getting a handwritten card by a real person these days is nearly cause for celebration. We need that these days.

Distance learning continues at our house…both on the teaching and learning ends of things. chromebook styleMy school issued Chromebook is getting a workout. Stickers optional but fun indeed.

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

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T Tuesday: many things edition

This post will be a jumble…so many things in so many directions. That’s my life right now. Some days I feel a little more scattered than others. When I’m having a scattered day I am trying to be mindful and prioritize, slow down when possible and forgive myself for not vacuuming.

I finally set up my sewing machine in J’s room. Not really sure what took me so long to get back to it… perhaps lost creative mojo.

Quilting

marvin being helpful

Now that my machine is in a usable space I got out the scrappy quilt top I made before Christmas. I settled on a tie-dye fabric from my stash for the backing. As soon as I laid the quilt on the floor for basting, my helper showed up.

marvin being helpful

Making the bed is pretty much his favorite activity…well maybe eating and sleeping are tied for first then making the bed.  Of course, he doesn’t understand that laying the quilt out nice and flat and smooth, keeping it all inline are an integral part of the process.

Teaset pincushion

Since this desk overlooks the front yard, it’s a perfect spot for Marvin to do a bit of bird watching. With that in mind, I decided that the standard tomato pincushion wasn’t the right choice…looks a little too much like a ball.

teacup pin cushion

I made this teacup pincushion a while back and have finally put it to use. I love that the cup sits slightly off-center on the saucer. When I first noticed this mistake I was upset but now I realize that this is a good thing. The off-center placement allows for more useful space for sewing tools at the ready.

Week of appreciation

para appreciation week

Last week was declared Paraprofessional appreciation week by Governer Walz. Our school went all out making us feel appreciated in so many ways. Puny gifts, signs on our lockers, cards, and breakfast but honestly, the most meaningful one was drawing and note from a student that I wasn’t sure I was making an impact with.

Archery

Archery season is upon us. I love this season even with the distance we travel most Saturdays. It gives Mini-me and I some quality time in the car.

Birthday Boy

reading to friends

J turned 20 years old today!! TWENTY!! So crazy. It was hard not to be with him today. I was very distracted with thoughts of him throughout the day. I just wanted to hop in the van and drive to Duluth. I’ll be calling him shortly when his class is over…but it’s just not the same.

What else…oh yeah…I dyed my hair…mostly the underside…purple. Well…technically eggplant. Yep…totally went for it. It’s really fun and I love it. The family had a bit of a hard time getting used to it but I think they have now. If you take a peek at my about me page, you will see the new look.

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

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T Tuesday: creative overload edition

I have been so focused on creating that I completely forgot about blogging. I tend to do that. My focus shifts and I have tunnel vision. Of course, it’s always hard for me to complete each project. That’s a whole other issue of mine. Many UFOs aka unfinished projects. Amid this creative explosion, I’m trying to devote a bit of time daily to cleaning, organizing and purging unused or unwanted “crafty crap” as Mr. G calls it.

Let start here with yesterdays crafty diversion. It started with me finding a bunch of small styrofoam balls that I’d used to make knitting Christmas ornaments. I thought it might be a good starting point for a yarn ball wreath.  I dug out my bin of yarn and gathered my other tote bags and came up with my color scheme. While I had all of it out I made the executive decision to toss 3 UFOs. I just wasn’t interested in finishing them anymore. How freeing!!!

My fabric stash and sewing supply hoard are much further out of control.  I love fabric. I have gotten rid of a bit. I gave it to a co-worker whose girls learned to sew this summer. They started a scrunchie making business. They’ve earned enough to buy themselves the trampoline they were begging for. Isn’t that amazing!?! Anyway, Mini-me and I have been following their progress. Mini-me loves scrunchies too. They are not cheap to buy. Once she found some pink velvet in my stash, I knew I’d been making some scrunchies too.

We picked out some fun fabrics…now her hair accessory bin is overflowing! I don’t envy the girls at all. Those scrunchies are kind of a pain in the you-know-what. Digging through my fabric did get some other ideas going. Once J goes back to college in a couple of weeks,  I’ll set my sewing machine up in his room again.

Yesterday was HOT and HUMID! We had two rounds of severe storms…thankfully the worst of it missed us. About a 30 min minute drive from here had tennis ball size hail. YIKES! Before the storms came I was going outside to secure anything that might blow away and I saw this in the backyard…

A turkey hen and her chicks…or whatever they are called. She was much bigger than I thought one would be. And very protective. She chased a grey squirrel that happened to jump from the tree…it was pretty comical. Do you see my compost “garden” in the far left middle of the photo? The plants are still thriving. LOL

With the weather so gross I decided to have a refreshing beverage. It’s almost like drinking a mimosa to me. Pretty tasty.

The weekend was really hot as well. I decided to do a bit of work on the computer where it was nice and cool.

I’m creating some printable pages for junk journals. I’m thinking about reopening my Etsy store with digital downloads for some passive income…all to support my crafty habits.

I also got this in the mail last week. I ordered it when they had a 20% off sale. I’m super excited about this project. I have until February to complete and send it back.

So as you can see, I have been busy…just not in the blogging world. I think part of it may be the fact that I have been slack on using my planner. I was definitely more on track when I used it daily. I know I need structure in my life but willy-nilly suits me.

Next week will be a scheduled post if I am disciplined enough to get it done. I have training on Tuesday all day and them Mini-me and I are taking the red-eye to Montana! I’m so excited. I’ll have lots to share about that the following week.

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

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T Tuesday: cold collage edition

Hello and welcome to a snowy and cold edition of T stands for Tuesday. We were lucky enough to have a two hour late start for school Monday morning. It still remains to be seen what will happen later this week as the Polar Vortex invades Minnesota. We might end up with a “cold day” instead of a “snow day”….it’s happened before. If it does I’ll have plenty of time to continue making my mini collages. I can’t STOP!!!!

I honestly can’t stop…I have a quart baggie filled with them already.

It seems like the more frayed and full of strings the more I love them.

These ones will work quite nicely for a Christmas theme.

These are a bit more subdued in color scheme. So fun!!

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I began to write this post before work this morning since we had our two hour late start. Right at the end of the school day we got the news that we are off for at least the next two days!!! They are watching the temps for Thursday as well. I’m so happy!!! The thought of being out in that cold and trying to start my vehicle in -30°F (-34.4°C) temp after it has been sitting out in the -50°F (-45.5°C) wind chills (or lower) made me want to cry. Instead I’ll be home drinking lots of tea….
while exercising my creativity. :) And probably some Netflix. LOL
T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

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T Tuesday: thankful edition

Welcome to T stands for Tuesday where we share a little about whatever the heck we want along with our beverage of choice. Pretty easy rules, right?!? Here’s my adherence to the rules…

Since I am finishing up my extended break from work….6 days off… Woohoo!…. I thought I’d share a few highlights.

Wednesday evening, Mini-me and I went to MOA (Mall of America) not to shop but to pick up J.  So cool that he can take the bus right from campus to home…or relatively close.

Thursday, we enjoyed a lovely meal at my in-laws. I brought the stuffing aka: dressing as it is unstuffed. I wrapped the dutch oven in newspaper and towels just like my parents taught me when I was a kid.Later my BIL followed us home to extend our visit a bit. We hadn’t seen any family in a couple months which is sad when we are only about 20 minutes drive from one another.

Friday, we decorated for Christmas….it’s our tradition to decorate the day after Thanksgiving. No Black Friday shopping for us. Only twice in my life have I braved that chaos. No thank you!

Saturday was so quiet I can’t even remember what we did…or didn’t do.

Sunday Mini me and I made the first batch of lefse of the season. So yummy.  Of course, later In the day Mr. G and I had to deliver J back to MOA to catch the bus back to college.  Just a few short weeks and we’ll be driving up north to get him for winter break.

Monday I spent going through some totes in the storage room. I was able to reorganize and purge enough stuff that I have one completely empty tote. Mini-me and I brought a pile of stuff to Goodwill to donate. They always give a 25% off coupon when you donate…so of course we went in to see what they had. Mini-me found some yarn…she’s requesting another cowl.

I did manage to work on some creative pursuits as well during this long break.  You can check out the previous two posts for my vintage linen remake and art journal page. I also continued work on my personal journal and completed my December Daily journal. It’s all ready to go! I’m thinking I’ll do a video with a flip through perhaps. It has WAY too many pages for photos. WAY more than I need but hey…I’m still learning with this process.

The current experiment is rose gold tint for Mini-me

She’s been trying little bits of it all through the break but tonight decided to go all in. I helped her spray it in damp hair…now she’s waiting to rinse.

I think it will be fun regardless. Besides…it’s temporary. When I go, I go all in with the pink hair…permanent style.

Tuesday is back to reality for everyone.  All good things come to an end. I do really like my job, so its not all bad. I just miss my free time. My mini-me time. Gosh, it’s going to be really hard when she goes off to college. *sniff*

 

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

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T Tuesday: Happy New Year edition

2018….wow! I remember thinking as a young girl that I’d be “so old” when the millennium changed. The last 18 years have flown by and I’m not that old at all! ;)

We went to the neighbors to celebrate on New Years Eve…thank goodness it was just across the street because we’ve been in the deep freeze like much of the country. Lots of food and sweet treats as well as some games.

This was a new one to me…a Christmas gift one of the party goers brought along. It was ok but you definitely need a group of people all around the same age to “get” the jokes you had to make up with random cards.

The kids and I head back to school Tuesday. It’s shocking how quickly 11 days can go. It was so cold that we really didn’t do much outside the home. We had company for Christmas Eve and Day, Mini-me got her braces off and celebrated her birthday.

Mr. G had tried to get tickets to a play the day after Christmas as soon as he found out he was off that day. The shows that day were sold out, so instead he cleaned up the kitchen after Christmas. Best gift ever!!


There were so many dishes over a 3 day period…including the mixing bowl and bundt pan used to make this little gem. This rum cake has become a Christmas tradition at our house. We tried a different rum this year. It wasn’t bad but I think next year I’ll stick with the Captain Morgan.

We’ve been battling against the frigid temps…there are icicles on the inside of my windows…no joke.

As I sat down to do a bit of knitting while Mini-me played a video game I grabbed the remote for the gas fireplace. BRRR…no wonder I was feeling the need for my quilt. I’m sure our lovely host Elizabeth will scoff at that temp but that’s cold enough for me.

I’ve gotten a bit further on my knit hat. I’m realizing now that it won’t be adult sized. Since I’m pattern challenged and not much of a rule follower, I didn’t use the right size yarn or needles according to the pattern basically because I didn’t have any. Oh well. I’ll find someone this hat fits.

The kids start archery tomorrow after school so that should be interesting to hear about.

I’m thinking I’m going to give a photo challenge a go again now that the commitments seem to be fewer again at home. This is my challenge.

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

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T Tuesday: November into December edition

I can’t believe we are into December already!! I think its because we have no snow that I’m having a hard time wrapping my brain around it.  Although that is supposed to change in the next couple hours as I write this. I am happy to say that we at least have the tree up and the house decorated…as much as we do. We aren’t outside light people. I admire those who do…it’s just not us.

Last year after the holidays I bought a tree on clearance at our grocery store of all places….totally sight unseen. All I knew was it was pre-lit with white lights. It was such a steal that I couldn’t pass it up especially since out old pre-lit tree had a band of dead lights smack in the middle.Isn’t it pretty!?!? Not bad for $34.

Mini-me put together some new hanging decor for a bare corner of the livingroom.  I gave her a little springboard idea and she ran with it while I was busy. It turned out really cute.

Last Friday I had the privilege of supporting a couple of students on a field trip to Orchestra Hall. I hadn’t been there since Mini-me was in preschool.

It is so unique inside…and beautiful, not that my quick phone picture really captured the beauty.

I spent a good share of Saturday trying to decide between designing a photo card and writing a Christmas letter to send out this year. Who knows…I may do both.

Oh that’s right…I need to update you with my photos to finish out the November photo a day.

22. A favorite thing…..Marvin, of course

23. I made this! ……fabric star ornament (shared the tutorial links last week)

24. I need to do this! ……put all this crap away…just keepin’ it real folks.

25. Time……clock I made over a decade ago….likely should change the battery one of these days.

26. Wall…….my favorite wall especially this time of year.

27. I’m thankful for this…… Love

28. Black…….J’s school chrome book

29. So, this happened…..inflation of the new activity dome outside my school (it’s truly immense)

30. I bought this! ……not telling what’s inside though.

And with that…November is done.

This is my new challenge for December. I followed an old version of the October challenge by this same site. I’m enjoying the creative challenge of these photo a day prompts especially since most days this is my only creative outlet.

Want to see what I’ve already gotten for December?

What are you doing today?

 

T stands for Tuesday

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