'A' for embellishment

Years ago I purchased a wooden letter 'A' from Anthro. I also purchased a 'Q' in an attempt to create a unique design on my office wall! Since that time, in a fortuitous coincidence my last name now begins with the letter A. The letter Q is in a pile marked "Yard Sale"(This is beginning to sound like an episode of Sesame Street).

Inspired by a blog post I can no longer find (sorry!) I decided to update and embellish this wooden letter for the holidays.

 Firstly I covered the letter with festive material and added in some fiberfill just to pad it out a bit.

Then I cut up a lot of little circles from red felt, plus a few from purple felt just to add some interest. 

I hot glued the circles on to the material and put them really close together to create a petal effect. 

I'm really happy with the finished product which completes my Christmas mantle perfectly.

Happy Holidays from the A's!

vintage christmas decorations

The other day my father-in-law brought over a bag of ornaments that he no longer wanted.

Some of them are great and really charming, especially these little elves.

The decorations are mostly from the 60s and 70s and although some of these ornaments had long ago seen their best days and were just too shabby to hang up there were others that made the cut.

I call the one below a Samurai Santa!

Some of them were made by my husband in 1st grade - obviously keepers!

I'm trying to think of something crafty to do with a whole cast of characters like this guy that are made in wool. I've got 10 of them. Any ideas?

we have a winner

Congratulations to Desiring to be Heard on winning the MyMemories.com giveaway.

Thank you to all who entered and to my new followers.

I've got some holiday posts I'm working on so keep an eye out for them.

xx

last chance for My Memories giveaway

Don't forget to enter the giveaway I am running at the moment. The winner will be announced at 8pm CT so get your entry in now!

Even if scrap booking is not your thing you can always enter and if you win give the software to a loved one for the holidays.

There are pretty good odds at the moment so it is worth a try!

Good luck.

My Memories Giveaway!

In honor of Black Friday I am so excited to share this great giveaway with all of you! My Memories is a brilliant digital scrapbooking software program that allows you to create amazing photo pages that you can then print out. You can also use this software to make cards, videos, slide shows put to music, and even photo books.

So yesterday was Thanksgiving and I am sure you had a great time and probably took some photos of your loved ones. If you are like me you may have a long list of scrapbooking "to-dos". The guilt of realizing that I am now a year behind in my son's scrapbook is a little stressful! I was so pleased when My Memories contacted me with this offer because it has given me the chance to share how easy and quick scrapbooking can be with this program. I can now easily create pages by using photos already on my computer and then print them out, ready to be placed into my scrapbook.

There are so many options for embellishments and great designer templates that have already been created. Take a look at what I created this week.

In May I travelled with my son, husband and my parents to Marbella, Spain. Marbella has a strong connection for us and I spent many enjoyable holidays there as a child. Now, 25 years later it was amazing to return with my parents and my family to this beautiful place. Marbella is in the south of Spain on the Costa del Sol and there is sun, sand, fantastic food and most of all wonderful friendly people. We are always made to feel so welcome there and I know we will be returning in the future. It was so fun to create this page that shows photos from then and now. This software made it so easy to create and share this page and many others that I can treasure forever.

So now for the giveaway! One lucky reader will receive a complimentary software suite from My Memories (retail price $39.95). All you have to do is.....

1. If you are not already a follower, please become a follower of my blog.

2. Visit www.mymemories.com and choose your favorite digital scrapbook kit and let me know your choice in the comment box below.

The winner will be announced on Friday, December 2, 2011.

Also, just because My Memories is so cool they are providing a $10 coupon and $10 discount if you don't win and decide to purchase the My Memories Software V3 ($20 value). Just use this coupon code at the check out - STMMMS91484. 


Feel free to let your friends and followers know about this giveaway!

thanksgiving table

This table scape is actually from last year. I hosted the holiday for my American family and although I'm from Ireland (where we obviously don't celebrate Thanksgiving) I really enjoy the sentiment of the day.

I sewed my own tablecloth and napkins using this gorgeous leaf fabric and a chocolate brown to compliment. The color combination is so warm and inviting and with my gold chargers I think it really came together. 

A tip about the table runner. To add the bell tassels at the end I sewed a button to the end of the runner and then looped the tassel to that. 

A lot of the tassels are 'dry clean only' so by making it detachable it means I can wash the runner easily.

Add pumpkins and candles, some wine and the whole table really came together, now I just need some people!

This blog is linked to Today's Creative Blog.

making whoopie......pies

I made some whoopie pies for the first time today and used this recipe. I am attending a kiddie birthday party and I thought these would be the prefect mini-treat to bring along.

 Of course, since these are for children I had to add sprinkles. I also like that the recipe includes whole wheat flour. I suppose that cancels out the high marshmallow fluff content, right?

With the red and green sugar added I thought these would be a perfect treat for a holiday party. Looks like somebody thought they would be a perfect treat right away!

P.S. How much do you love those Santa mugs? I adore them.

christmas bunting

I am so excited! I have completed my first holiday project of the season and my first using felt. Felt is so easy to work with, no fraying edges, so easy to cut and to glue. It is the perfect material for applique.

This mitten bunting is a total knock-off of this garland from The Land of Nod. I got the catalogue a week ago, saw these and thought, I can do that. So I did. I made my bunting 12 mittens long and I created my own designs for each mitten. 

Although I don't usually decorate until after Thanksgiving once I put these up I found it really hard to take them down. They are so cheery and fun!

P.S. I have made another strand just like this available in my etsy shop. I am also offering custom lengths.


This post is linked to Today's Creative Blog.

cake truffles

Inspired by this blog I made these yummy cake truffles. Sweet and delicious and easy to make. My advice - just make sure you cool the truffles in the fridge for as long as you (or your kids) can wait before coating them, at least 30 minutes. I found it easier to coat them when they were chilled for a longer time. 

I used lollipop sticks on a few of the balls just to change it up and really, who doesn't love a lollipop cake ball?

happiness is....

New supplies! A box of beautiful fabric arrived yesterday from fabric.com and I was so excited. My husband looked at me as if I had two heads while I fawned over the fabric! 

I ordered this lovely stack for a quilt I am planning to make for our bedroom. 

I have been wanting to get a supply of felt for a while because I have so many ideas for it. I've already started working on something for Christmas which I will share next week. 

I also have to say that Fabric.com is awesome. Not only were the colors of the fabrics so true to the images on their site but they also sent me a free queen size quilt batting. It was as if they knew what I was planning to make. They have won my future business for sure. 

quilted laptop sleeve

I got a new laptop a couple of months ago and up until recently I have been carting it around without any protection - shame on me. I had a couple of hours to spare the other day so I whipped up this little item from some bits and pieces I had in my stash. It is so easy to make a lap top sleeve I think I will post a tutorial so anybody can make one. Watch this space...

  You need no longer neglect your laptop.

I used a free quilting technique on the sleeve. It is so easy to do and you don't have to be bothered with drawing lines or concerned about making mistakes - just let your needle run free man! 

I had my laptop at class the other night and when I took it out of my bag a classmate complimented the sleeve and asked me if I bought the sleeve on Etsy. Why no, I said, I made it myself!

How to fold a fitted sheet

Usually I try to fold a fitted sheet and then after five minutes I give up, roll it in a ball, and shove it in the closet. Seriously - this really helped me out!

How to fold a fitted sheet.

Candy Corn Hat Tutorial

Here is the hat I knit for my son. It's supposed to be candy corn! I think it's adorable but I would, wouldn't I? Want to make one for your sweetness? Here is the tutorial.

Golden Cowl

Okay, forgive my lame attempt at modelling but how else could I show this gorgeous cowl neck scarf that I knitted? I used a pattern I found on ravelry.com called Gap-tastic Cowl. Jen Geigly wrote the pattern and basically copied the cowl that is sold in the Gap. I used a different wool type than she recommended and I have to say I would have preferred a chunkier knit. I plan to make another one so I will use her recommended brand next time. I can never tie a scarf in the "cool way" so a cowl is easy to wear not to mention stylish. 

The wool I choose is Harvest Gold and I like it because with the delicate color I felt it could be a day or evening scarf. I am also going to make one for my son, easy to keep on and wrap around his little neck - no drafts allowed. It is just turning colder here and the leaves are beautiful. It's the perfect time for knitting and creating.

Johnny Cash Project

Today, while I was supposed to be working on an essay, I contributed to the Johnny Cash Project. It is a really amazing artistic experiment. I encourage you to go online to www.johnnycashproject.com and complete a frame of the video for Ain't No Grave. It is also a lot of fun to go on the site and look at the art work that has already been submitted. The tools you have are quite limited and just in black and white but some of the art work is outstanding.

www.johnnycashproject.com

glitter gourds and pimped pumpkins

I picked up the usual bag of baby pumpkins and gourds at the grocery store and I thought I would put  a classy twist on this harvest arrangement.

I sprayed two coats per veg and let them dry in between. They look so pretty sparkling by candlelight and it would be a perfect centerpiece for a fall dinner party.

Free advice - wear gloves when spraying or get a bonus coat of glitter nail polish!

little pumpkin

I just wanted to share this cute photo of my little boy at the pumpkin patch last year. I can't believe how much he has grown since then. I knitted the hat for him and I am working on one for this year too. I'll post that one when complete.

It's so easy to make this hat. I just followed a basic 4 needle pattern and then used black yarn to make the face. I love autumn.

ravelry

I just joined a fun site that is new to me - www.ravelry.com. Great for knitters. Check it out.

rainy afternoon

My little guy is learning all about colors and shapes at the moment. On a rainy afternoon last week I created a project for him to practice his new skills.

I used a large sponge to cut out stamps with various shapes. Star, circle, square, cross, and so on. He wasn't quite aware of using the correct side of the stamp but we had fun regardless.

I love the paper roll from IKEA, it makes set up so easy and there is less escaping paint!