Jumping on the bandwagon with this one but they're so cute I just couldn't help myself. One of the many things I made during the holiday season this year was a new ornament for our tree.

Styrofoam ball? check! Random red yarn? check! Ribbon and a couple fancy toothpicks? check! Ah yes, the perfect recipe for a yarn ball ornament.


It's so simple but I love the color and the way it came out.

Impass

I can't decide what project to start next. There are quite a few to complete in the next 2 months in order for me to be ready for Christmas. Perhaps I should start with the slightly more ambitious ones and get them out of the way, like the thread crochet or cabled items. What if I just bang out the easy ones and be done with them but then potentially not have time to finish the bigger items? Man, I'm really horrible at this whole decision making thing... Maybe I should just put them all in a hat and draw names. :)

Wait! By jove I've got it! I know how to start! By getting off this damn computer! lol

Ants in my Pants

I'm really dying to get my hands on some new fiber!!! I don't have a stash like most spinners- at the moment I'm stuck purchasing just enough at a time to keep my wheel with something to spin, which isn't hard since I limit my spinning time to make what I have last for a while. I'd just loooove to get to the point where I have at least a small stash of lovely things to play with and experiment with. I'm off today so I plan on finishing the rest of the Redwood Forest since I got too busy last week with my grandma going into the hospital. After I finish with the Redwood at least I have about 2-3 oz. of the Corridale left. Whew!

I also want to finish at least ONE Christmas prezzie this weekend. I'm not doing so well in the gift making so far, being slightly obsessed with getting, cleaning, and learning about my new loom the past couple weeks. :-) Oops. I can probably make a lot of progress on the set of butterfly washcloths for Stefani though, I just wish I could remember what color her bathroom is! (insert rolling eye emoticon here) I'd like to start on the filet crochet breadcloth as well. I'm looking forward to seeing how it comes out using black crochet thread instead of white as shown in the pattern picture. I need to grab up a couple skeins of some bulky weight yarn for Annemarie and Brittney's gifts too sometime in the next week too. Those should be fun- I love playing with cables!

Speaking of Annemarie, I finally found the tablecloth I started for her!! It somehow got lost in the move last spring and I'd been trying to find it all summer. Well last week while looking for green felt to make my little sis her Peter Pan hat for Halloween I found it buried in my craft closet. Woohooo! Thankfully it's a little farther along than shown this pic! :-D

Christmas...

It's coming along and this year I'm hoping to get ahead of the game. Normally I don't start projects and prezzies until it's almost too late. This year I'm taking the initiative and starting on things NOW. I'm done with my list for friends, now comes the tough part of family members. Luckily since everyone in my family is pretty artsy/craftsy they'll appreciate the time and effort of handmade gifts. With my work schedule I should have enough time during the morning and early afternoon to craft and maybe for once get my gifts done before Christmas Eve!

25 Days of Christmas

Here's the latest Scrapfreak blog challenge:


1. Eggnog or hot chocolate? - hot chocolate with marshmallows
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? - everything is always wrapped
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? - both
4. Do you hang mistletoe? - not normally, but now that Brian and I have our own place I should.... ;)
5. When do you put your decorations up? - Decorations are brought out the weekend after Thanksgiving. We have a lot to put up and it takes a while to get everything situated.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? - turkey
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? - having my cousins up from Nashville and all 7 of us kids opening gifts together. It was always CRAZY.
8. Do you collect anything for your Christmas decor? - I don't but my grandma does and that pretty much fills the house.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? - yes, but you can only open one
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? - I usually put it up and do the lights and Nathan puts on the ornaments
11. Snow! Love it or dread it? - Don't mind snow, just hate the wind and slush that has to come with it.
12. Can you ice skate? - yes but I prefer roller skating
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? - anything my dad has ever made me, those are always the best
14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? - being able to show my family how much they mean to me
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? - Death by Chocolate
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? - putting all the decor AWAY
17. What tops your tree? - an angel that was my great grandmother's
18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? - giving. I hate getting gifts.
19. What is your favorite Christmas song? - silly: I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas, serious: Little Drummer Boy
20. Do you send Christmas cards? If so, handmade, store bought, or photo cards? - nope
21. Favorite Christmas movie? - A Christmas Story... a total classic and as an extra bonus - set in Cleveland!
22. What do you leave for Santa? - cookies
23. Have you ever shopped on Christmas Eve? - guilty as charged
24. Red or green? - red
25. Do you get ready before opening presents on Christmas morning or do you go straight to the tree PJs, bedhead, and all? -PJs and bedhead all the way

Two Years.....

This Saturday is me and Brian's two year anniversary. I can't believe it's been that long already. It seems like just the other day that we were at 80's Night and I was waiting all night for him to give me that first kiss. :)

I think I'm gonna scrap this pic as one of his prezzies. We haven't had a picture together that hasn't been on a cell phone for MONTHS.

Christmas. A week away.

I hate the holidays. Hate them. No, I'm not a scrooge, I just have this thing where I don't like being obligated to get gifts. It seriously makes me loath the coming of Christmas day. I love giving them, I'm totally fine with that part. I love picking them out, wrapping them up and seeing the recipient (hopefully) enjoy them. If I could do just that part I'd be fine. As it is, that's not the way it works. I'd really just like to go away for the weekend and come home to Christmas being totally over with. That would be nice. This year more than ever though. I'm just too poor to give the people I love anything but maybe a hug and I'm hating every second of it. Yeah, I know the season is about being together but it's become too commercial to not feel that if you don't have something to give back you're kind of a shmuck. And I WANT to give, but I just can't so I'd like for next Monday to just be skipped over entirely.