christmas gifting.

after buying all my crafting supplies these are some of the things I put together as gifts this holiday season..

homemade coasters.  I found a few tutorials on pinterest and kind of made up my own convenient way of doing it and they turned out great.  you need tiles(from home depot), scrapbook paper, sticky felt(michaels), mod podge and clear spray paint. 

I also made this cookies n cream peanut butter using this recipe then adding crushed up oreos to the mix. yum!!

finally, for the stockings I made this homemade granola- simple and cute idea and there are tons of granola recipes out there to try.

I also made this little gift for derek... I used a deck of cards, hole punch, scrapbook paper and binder rings to put this little gem together.  I wrote out one thing on each card that I loved about him.  he loved this little gift and I really enjoyed making it.

also, since derek and I set a limit for gifts and we didn't do stockings I decided to get a few little gifts and wrap them each separately.  each one had a time written on it.  for example, 9.25, 10.25 etc.  on the 25th minute of each hour he got a little stocking stuffer type gift.  this idea was also a success- D enjoyed having something to open each hour until late afternoon.

other highlights from christmas included talking to my brother who I miss like crazy, an afternoon walk with D and some lazying around.  it was nice to not have to rush the entire day- much more relaxing.  such a fantastic christmas.

hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.

holiday gifts.. on a budget.

homemade soy candles..

source

homemade body scrub...

incredibly adorable cookies in a jar

hot cocoa cone..

these are just some of the homemade gifts I have stumbled across... of course, the ones I am actually making for my friends and family will stay a secret until after christmas! 

happy homemade gifting!

diy projects.

first: adorable packaging from oh, hello friend: you are loved

source: oh, hello friend: you are loved

second: organize loose teas, spices, etc; oh, hello friend, you are loved

source: oh, hello friend: you are loved

third: washi tape notebook; oh, hello friend: you are loved

source: oh, hello friend: you are loved

fourth: sawhorse desk; from the aisle to aloha

source: from the aisle to aloha

happy friday!

a new adventure.

recently, I have taken up knitting. this is my very first project(which I have restarted 3 times) it is going to be a pretty pink toque and I can't wait to actually wear it.. hopefully it isn't summer by the time I finish. a friend of mine has started teaching me and the other day we were knitting at our favourite coffee shop and there just happened to be a knitting club in there also. they invited us to join them. so this week we took them up on the offer- I can't believe I'm in a stich and b*tch club. so fun! the women were great and once school slows down I think we will both make a regular effort to get together with them.

some of them were extremely talented. making sweaters or 12 socks at the same time!! but they were happy to have a rookie join their group and were very inviting. knitting gossip is a whole new world!

I can't wait to start on new projects. etsy has loads of fantastic patterns and yarn for knitting. we are going to the

west coast over reading break for d's bday/valentines and there is apparently a great knit shop there and I can't wait to check it out! D is going to pick out some yarn and I am going to knit him an exceptionally awesome scarf.

yayy for new hobbies! (now if only I had more time to pursue this hobby) there is always summer!

happy knitting!

--m

jewelry making business: started.

my sister and i have recently really got into making our own jewelry.  we kept on talking about making more of it to sell, but were always putting it off.  today, we decided was the day, so after a slightly stressful 4 hours shopping trip to wholesale craft stores and of course michaels, we had $75 worth of supplies to start our business.  here are some pics of a few pieces we made tonight, earrings and necklaces.  our goal in the next bit is to put together a little catalogue to distribute to friends and friends of friends, as well as maybe set up an etsy account.  here are some previews on a few of our pieces!

*this last necklace is my favorite! it has a hoop half way up one side, that the other strand is threaded through, so it is very adjustable and can be worn a variety of ways and lengths!

*cA

2 days til christmas: wrap it up

now that everyone has finished their christmas shopping, it is time to wrap it all up!  i love wrapping presents, and even through i admit i definitely go over board, i know my hard work is appreciated. 

instyle's december issue had a great article on innovative wrapping.  they got very creative and used things like flowers, leaves and branch arrangements as an alternatives to bows.  check out a local craft store for a wide variety of ribbon selection as well as some other accessories to wrap up your gifts! 

here is a few pictures i found of some great present wrapping:

2 more sleeps :)

*cA

times running out!

have you sent out your christmas cards yet?  better hurry, times running out.  here are some adorable and super crafty christmas cards available online:

bip&margot cards from topshop $6 for 4

tree trio cards from cardmaven on etsy $4 for 2

3d xmas tree card from kate's paperie $16 for 8

or, if your feel really creative (and have some time on your hands) you could make your own!

*cA

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* red fridays is a non-profit canadian organization that helps canadians send christmas cards to soldiers away in mission.  all you need to do is set aside an extra christmas card, address it to "a canadian soldier" and write a message of thanks and seasons greetings.  then put it in an envelope and send it to:

     

          Red Fridays Foundation of Canada                

          Christmas Cards to the troops
          PO Box 31063 Westney Heights RPO
          Ajax, ON
          L1T 3V2