no more Christmas...

We "undecorated" the house today :( It looks very empty and sterile. I love Christmas. I love the lights, the scents, the warmth, the colors, the feeling I get when the tree is lit and it seems like every wall in the house glows, too. But it was time.

This year I wanted to do a Blue Christmas theme. Not because I love Elvis, or the song. But I have some gorgeous scrapbook paper that inspired me, so I totally rolled with it :) During my "blue Christmas" Google search, I came across a project that Martha Stewart did a year or so ago (really, what hasn't she done?) and I LOVED that it combined Christmas, recycling (sorry...upcycling), and glitter. FABULOUS!

As I was folding...and folding and folding...a memory seemed to resurface. I've done this before! Girl Scouts? Sunday School? Who knows, but a bit of my childhood came back to warm my heart.

This is so easy! All you have to do is break the spine of the magazine (open the mag way up and fold it back on itself), then fold the top corner of the magazine page into the center where the pages meet. Then take the folded edge you just made and fold it towards the center as well (think paper airplanes). You'll have a triangle at the bottom that you'll fold up and inside the bottom edge so it stays put. Do that for each page of the magazine. It will spread out and stand up on its own but you might have to encourage it or paperclip the front and back covers together. If you decide to embellish it, spraypaint it first, then spray it with spray adhesive (in a well-ventilated area blah blah blah) and add glitter. The one in the back is a black and white magazine and I didn't want to paint it but I will add glitter to it. The colored magazines are the ones I painted.

It's a great project to do with kids, but know that they won't make it through the entire process. But they can fold a few pages and sprinkle the glitter. The folding took me about an hour, but it all depends on how thick your magazine is.

So go ahead and start saving your magazines...you know you wanna make these next Christmas!

Why I don't get manicures...

Every time Meghan and I go for mani/pedi's, the sweet lady I can't understand asks me "you want manicure too?" and I sadly shake my head and say "No, just the princess over there". As much as I would LOVE for my nails to be beautiful and shiny, all one length and hangnail-free, they never will be.

The reason? My addiction to pounding and polishing these little silver beauties. The first photo shows the raw, unfinished rough silver piece. The second photo (top right) shows it stamped. The third photo shows it antiqued. Here's where it gets messy ;) The fourth photo shows it in its first stage of polishing.


Each pieces gets polished and loved about 4 times. The pictures below show the piece in various stages of being finished. See my beautiful grey fingers? That's silver dust. I polish each piece by hand...no tumblers or machines here. As much as I know it would save my fingers, I actually like polishing by hand. It adds a personal element. Everyone likes a little DNA with their jewelry, right? ; )


Maybe one day I'll splurge and get a mani with my pedi. But then I can't wash dishes or scrub sinks either, so somebody else is gonna have to get on that...

Happy New Year!!!

Today is the day when we all decide what we're going to do differently with our lives this coming year. Some call them "resolutions", some call them "goals" or "lifestyle changes". Whatever you call them, the key is sticking with it longer than 15 days.

Tim has a weight loss goal. It sounds daunting, but broken down a little every month, it's not so bad. I have several goals. 1) do better at remembering people's names. It's embarrassing to forget someone's name you just met, not to mention it makes that person feel completely unimportant when I can't even remember the most identifying aspect about him or her. 2) do better "playing" with Meghan. I'm so bad at imaginative play. I'd rather paint, color, play a game or do a project or have my leg hairs pulled out one by one but PLEASE don't make me play My Little Ponies or Polly Pockets. So I need to work on that. 3) Read the Bible. Not just front to back just so I can say I did, but in a context that makes sense and shows just how relevant the Bible is to every day life. I've already read all of Revelation so I'll probably start with Daniel next. Then maybe study one of the women of the Bible. Wherever I feel led...I think that's the Holy Spirit guiding me to what I need to learn next.

I'm sure there are other changes I'll make throughout the course of the year (get outside more, dust off my Pilates videos, do better at time management), but I'm a firm believer in baby steps...taking on too many changes at one time is overwhelming and only leads to burn out.

For my business, I have an income goal I'd like to meet, and a purchase I'd like to save for. I'm off to a good start already so as long as I can control my urge to buy more stamps or sparkly new stones, I'll be ok ;)

If nothing else, I hope everyone takes this year to really focus on what's important. If you have faith, family, health, and people who love you, you're doing better than 90% of the people in this world. Don't take it for granted. Wishing you health and happiness in 2012!

~ Jen

Project of the day: Tshirt Scarves (as promised!)

Today I made two super easy scarves from a couple of tshirts that were less than flattering on me. The first one is just a 6" strip cut from the bottom of an old tshirt (minus the hem) and stretched out so the edges curl. I'd suggest using at least a size large women's shirt. Doubled up or left long, it's a cute addition to an otherwise drab outfit:


The other one was slightly more time consuming but totally cute! I cut 15" circles out of the front, back, and 2 sleeves (it was a fluffy 3/4 sleeve) and then cut 2" spirals from those circles. Stretch out your spirals to make ruffled strips and then cut the ruffled strip in half. I took a scrap piece of tshirt material and tied the bunch of strips together tightly at the center. The finished product is a little more feminine and can be embellished with a brooch or fabric flower:


The best things about these projects are that they require no sewing (yay!) and it really doesn't matter how neat you are with your scissors. So if your kiddo is ok using sharp scissors, this would be a good mother/daughter project.

One Sweater...Five Projects

I've been accumulating a pile of clothing in the corner for a while now, all destined for Goodwill. However, thanks to my new Pinterest addiction, I saw a cute idea for sweater-sleeve wine bottle holders, and thought "I can totally do that!" My sewing experience is limited and that's an understatement. Anyway, here's the before:


And here are the finished products:


A pillow, two wine bottle holders (one not pictured) a koozie cover and a bottle snug. Whew! I was quite proud of myself for using pretty much every bit of usable square space out of this sweater. It now looks like someone ran over it with a lawnmower, and it's destined for the trash instead. I also got to know my sewing machine REALLY well. We're tight.

There's still a stack of sweaters back there...but I think tomorrow I'm going to try the t-shirt scarf ;)

Two and a Half Years...

...Since I last posted something on this blog. Sigh. In those 2 1/2 years, so much has happened! But in an effort to preserve my time and space on Blogger's servers, I'll keep it short:

~ we moved. twice. we are done moving.
~ i expanded the hairbow hobby into a booming bow and silver jewelry business. yay me! you will probably get really tired of seeing pictures of my stuff. hehehe...
~ the CR-V has been traded in on an even more sensible four-door family sedan. one step closer to boringsville.
~ Tim and I celebrated 10 years of wedded bliss. yay us!
~ Meghan has grown into a smart, beautiful first grader, 6 going on 16! you'll probably see a lot of her on here, too ;)

Part (ok all) of the reason I quit blogging was my full-fledged immersion into Facebook. Ugh. It's ok for some things, but I'd really like to get back into being crafty and I realize that not everyone on my Facebook friends list appreciates the ramblings of an overly-crafty mom.

So, hopefully I'll get back into this and it won't be another 2 1/2 years before I post again :)

Who Wants Hairclips????

'Cuz I've made a bunch and have them for sale in my Etsy shop, http://www.meghansmom.etsy.com/. I started out making some beaded ones for Meghan, and that morphed into ribbon-covered clips. Now I'm loving these things. If I could get away with wearing them, I totally would ; )

Here are a few of my favorites: