Loving...

What I think is the coolest crafty thing I've found in a loooong time...

t-yarn, made from recycled t-shirts.

I think this granny-style hotpad/trivet is just perfect.

It's cute, practical, and useful, too.

I get so excited about things like this.

So, I've added thrifting on my To-Do list for tomorrow in hopes

of finding some seamless tees for lots of yarn-making in the new year.

Check out My Recycled Bags.com for lots of fun tutorials and patterns.

We're Back...

It was the most perfect Christmas; one filled with family, friends, and a lot of love.

My Beautiful Holiday Memories...

-The cozy, dimly lit rooms of Grandma and Grandpa's house in the evening

-Sharing a bed with Cub in my old room.

-My brother's face when he walked into his party and we all yelled, "Surprise!"

-The crisp, chilly, nights walking up the driveway with Cub, hand in hand.

-Sitting up late crocheting a beret for myself...My grandmother telling me,

"I will stay up with you until you finish. This way, you will always

think of me when you wear it..."

-My Grandmother giving each of her grandchildren and great-grandchild something

special that belonged to her this Christmas.

-The beautiful music my brother played for our family all Christmas day.

-Cub's new silver dress with the big bow in the back.

-A meaningful visit with a special someone...

I am feeling renewed and very blessed after a wonderful holiday spent in Long Island. Now, it's time to rest-up and reflect on the days ahead...And get back to crafting!

Can't wait to make these.

In the Wee Hours...

...the VERY last present was finished and wrapped.

And just a few hours later...The biggest blessing I was ever given-

I get to spend Christmas morning with my angel.

What could be better than witnessing her pure joy when she opened the gifts under the tree?

I feel like the luckiest woman alive.

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a
Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

Merry Christmas, Everyone!
God bless you all. xo
May your day be filled with peace and joy.

All The Rage...

Salted Caramels.

According to a zillion sources they are the "it" candy of 2009.

Yes, I'm jumping on the bandwagon because they look so good and any sweet/salty

combo is BIG in my book.

This mouth-watering photo and the recipe I'll be using for these babies tomorrow can be found right over here.

But they are seriously everywhere. Although the recipe looks fairly simple, I heard they are a bit tricky. Wish me luck.

This will be my Christmas Eve challenge, along with the Gingerbread Men we bake each year for Santa.

Hope everyone is enjoying the excitement.

I know we are!

xoxo

Cuckoo For Cowls...

Now that I'm truly in the homestretch of my holiday gift-making- I'm setting-up some projects for that delicious 11-day vacation I will be sailing into shortly!

You think the Yorkshire Cowl would have satisfied my craving for a cowl? Nope!

Look at this cutie I found tonight. So excited. I'm loving the twisty look, too.

!

I've been on the search for the perfect beret and I think I finally found one I like.

I'm thinking Winter White for this.

...Just thought I'd share and keep it all in one place!
Can you tell I've been obsessed lately?

Twinkle In The Snow

The beautiful snowfall inspired me to make these ornaments last night. I have been eyeing all of the yummy tutorials. But I think this one is nicest for the holidays.

It had been a loooong day and I couldn't bring myself to work on any of the other WIPs I need to finish before Friday. So, a couple of loved ones will receive one of these. I wish I would have made a bunch sooner. They would look so lovely tied to presents.

A lengthy phone conversation with a favorite person afforded me enough time to finally make myself a Yorkshire Cowl. Yipee!!! I wore it out yesterday and was asked where I bought it twice. Hee, hee!

I LOVE HANDMADE.

I love this cowl.

Want one in all those yummy colors.

So easy to make and so warm and snuggly.

A special girl in our lives will receive one of these in the color of her choice, too!

I'm so overtired, it's not funny. But I'm having a blast with it all.

Later on, I'll get to relax at the 5:45 showing of Princess and the Frog.

Happy Sunday to you!

Lil' Booties!

After crocheting many, many, gifts this season, these by far were the most fun for me!

They whip-up fast and are just so cute. We couldn't wait to see what they will look like on Winter Baby when she arrives. For now, Baby Jenny and Mia have warm tootsies...but only for six more days!

I'm thankful for the snow, which is already coming down.
It will force me to stay in without feeling guilty. This way, I can work on finishing the last of my gifts and baking oatmeal cookies.
Caramel-making will have to be put on hold.
I forgot the wax paper.
I'm blaming it on what I now call, Elf Brain!

Happy Days, All!

Thrifty Holiday Fun

One of the best things about going to make a donation at our local Salvation Army is running through the store afterwards looking for treasures. Tonight, we did pretty well: a lovely vintage white cotton dress for my girl, a vintage puffy-shouldered jacket that ties at the waist for moi, and these two adorable holiday finds...

A Little Luvkin votive candle holder, circa 1978. I actually remember these!

Who can resist a puckering Santa? He's so sweet.

And because you never know what you're going to pull out of a deep cardboard box filled with random Christmas-y stuff....

Looky, looky!

This is just perfect considering I've dubbed this a "very crocheted Christmas!"

I've made what feels like a gazillion scarves,wrist-warmers, potholders, washcloths, etc. Actually, not that many...but it's all pretty time consuming, so it feels that way!

Hope you're having fun preparing for the holidays and/or enjoying the present one.
Blessings and happiness to you all!
These are sweet days, aren't they?

Pretty Little Trees!

PEPPERMINT BARK TREES!!

Last year, I used this recipe. It was absolutely delicious and right on par with Williams Sonoma, as Soule Mama suggested. Wow! It went pretty quickly at the family gatherings, too. But I do remember it being fairly labor intensive and a bit messy with all the melting. This one looks a lot easier. However, they will have to be made at Grandma's, as we don't own a microwave. And I'll use Nestle white chocolate chips. This will make the perfect little gift, wrapped in little cello-bags and lots of ribbon.

Thanks to Dollar Store Crafts for all of the beautifully frugal holiday ideas!

Embracing Reality

I found this beautiful image tonight and then I found this:

"I am of the nature to grow old.

There is no way to escape growing old.

I am of the nature to have ill health.

There is no way to escape ill health.

I am of the nature to die.

There is no way to escape death.

All that is dear to me and everyone I love

are the nature to change.

My actions are my only true belongings.

I cannot escape the consequences of my actions.

My actions are the ground upon which I stand."

:From, The Plum Village Chanting, by Thich Nhat Hanh

Simple Fleece Scarf

I guess my body is not used to all the rest it had yesterday, so I was up until 2:30am working on my handmade Christmas list. Finally, one of the few presents I'm making that is not crocheted. Yay! I found this over at Make It and Love It. It was a lot of fun to make and really does involve "minimal sewing," which was good for me so late at night.

We both love it.

But it is a gift for one of her cousins.

It looks so cute on her though, there may be time for one more before the big day!

Just Have To Share The Goodness

When we were growing-up, my grandma had the best vintage snow village I've ever seen. Over the years, and after all the grandkids handling 'em, they began to fall apart. Sadly, I think I only have one of two saved...broken and all.

When I saw Alicia's snow village, I became so nostalgic. She has the most beautiful mantle and the photos of her village bring me so much joy.

I'm tempted to begin collecting houses and churches, but we really don't have the room to store them, they are so fragile, too...and well, there are just other things to focus on.

We'll just add that to the "To Do" list when we have our own house with a fireplace, someday.

( Photo courtesy of Alicia Paulsen.)

In the meantime, I found this awesome Cereal Box Tutorial posted by Bella Dia, one of my favorites. We have a never-ending supply of cereal boxes around here because in my opinion, they are a MUST HAVE for so many reasons...from gift-boxes and bags to journals, bookmarks and photo-albums...The possibilities are endless. I've already begun cutting ours out. I plan to paint them in those wonderful vintage Christmas candy colors and then sprinkle with glass glitter. Hopefully, I'll be sharing these soon.

(Photo by Bella Dia)

Healing and Still Joyful...

Thanks to my dear family and close friends, I made it through the surgery yesterday.

Painful, yes- but not unbearable. I think I had the best sleep ever on that table. I remember being cranky when the anesthesiologist woke me up from a lovely dream yelling, "Your done! Who's your favorite writer?!" Ugh..."I actually wracked my fuzzy brain and blurted out, "Shakespeare!" And then there were more questions about writers. Whaaaaa! I wanted to go back to sleep!

Thanks to our Loves, I came home to a refrigerator stocked with food for the next month (seriously), a delicious dinner followed by homemade Rice Krispie treats for dessert, and a sleepover with one of our favorite people.

Cub woke me up bright and early today and I'm a bit sore...but thought I'd drop in, say hello, and thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. Hopefully, this will be the last of my surgical episodes. Keep the good vibes headed this way!

This morning I discovered that Brooklyn's wonderful BAM is celebrating 40 years of Sesame Street next weekend with a fun film festival. There were so many to choose from, but we finally decided on, "A Special Sesame Street Christmas" in keeping with the holiday spirit. Kristin and Kat, how I wish you and your girls could join us.

Peace and Blessings, Everyone.
Enjoy the weekend.

Joy

With the help of some dear friends, our tree is now standing proudly in my favorite spot of the apartment. We are so happy to see our artificial "Charlie Brown" tree and all the ornaments that are each so special in their own way. My girl was in her glory, singing, dancing, and decorating the entire tree. Our modest tree is now adorable. I am so happy to know my girl has inherited the "Ecstatic for Christmas" genes of her Great-Grandma (and Mama's) family. She is into is with her entire heart and soul and it is beautiful. I am so blessed to be able to spend these sweet days with my dear child. God is good!

And although I've been under the weather and am preparing for surgery tomorrow--I won't let anything keep me from my Christmas-elf crafting. This year, we are on a bit of a budget-so this is my gift for extended family and friends. My new favorite washcloth (crochet pattern here). It's so pretty and delicate with its ruffled edging. Each one will be wrapped around a bar of our favorite Ayurvedic soap and wrapped with pretty ribbon.
I just hope they can all dig the "hippiness!"
This year, I am only purchasing a handful of gifts. Everything else has been made with my two hands. It gives me the upmost joy to be able to make something for a loved one; knowing they will wear or use something I made especially for them.
Nothing too extravagant, but made with love just the same.

PS: Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers the next few days. I'm not great with hospitals and things like that. Thanks, Sweet Friends. xo