Sharing ... Just Finished Project ... Teaser!

Hi there! For the last few days I have been busily working on a project I've been making or a gift. I can't share the whole thing on here until the recipient actually HAS the gift, so I wanted to share a big 'teaser' with you so you can see I haven't just been sitting around watching Christmas movies and eating bonbons! Here you go ...

Just a collage of some of the elements of the project I've been working on.  It turned out really cute, and I can't wait to share the whole thing with you, but most of all, I can't wait until the recipient gets it!

I'll be back soon with something new ...

Sharing ... Challenge at Anything But a Card!

It has been a really long time since I took part in a challenge, but today this one spoke to me!  It is Anything But a Card's "Anything Goes ... with a Holiday Twist" challenge.  I have been working on some very cool Christmas themed goodies, and thought this one would be cool to share with you today.

 Our budget is extremely tight this year, but I still want to decorate and make gifts, and one day a couple of weeks ago I had this great idea to use the cotton muslin I had in my stash and make some muslin ribbons (wound on the spools) for a gift.  They are very easy to make and uses few 'ingredients' to make some pretty ribbons ...

• cotton muslin, preferably cut into 1 yard lengths
• scissors
• holiday themed stamps (and an acrylic block if you are using unmounted stamps)
• pigment inks 

 ... and that is it!  Take your length of muslin and find one of the two 'selvage' edges.  That is the edge that is more tightly woven to keep the fabric from fraying.  Then, about 1/4 to 1/2" from the edge, make a short cut ... about 1/2" long, down from the already cut edge of the fabric.  Grasp the corner and the side next to the cut, and just rip it down, all the way to the end.  This will do a couple of things ... get rid of the selvage, and give you a straight, raveled edge, which is what you want!.  Now, go in about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2" and make another cut, and pull down to tear off the narrow strip of fabric.  It's kind of fun once you get into the rhythm!

Next, lay your strip of fabric out flat and get out your stamps and inks.  Use whatever designs, words, etc. that you want.  If you have some mini alpha stamps you could even make a personalized ribbon for each person on your list!  On the picture above I used the sentiment "May Your Holidays Be Merry and Bright".  If you have small stamps you can put several together like this ...

Once you have your ribbons stamped, you can wind them onto cute thread spools, or just wrap them around a tag or piece of card stock.  I even covered some buttons and attached them to some printouts of some vintage button cards to match the ribbon.  A bow with a matching ribbon on top would be a really special way of embellishing a gift.

Buttons for covering can be found at your local fabric store, but I ordered a big bag of them a couple of years ago from an ebay vendor.  I simply stamped images on the muslin and covered them according to the manufacturer's directions.

I also made some more prim / shabby styled ribbons and buttons that are on my Etsy shop for sale right now.  You can click on the image in the first column to the right if you are interested.

These ribbons and buttons are reusable and could be used for years, and that is good for the planet!  Thanks so much for visiting today, and I hope you enjoyed my project for the Anything But a Card challenge!

Blessings,

Caring ... Prayers of Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!  I really do try to always have an attitude of gratitude, however sometimes life's stresses and troubles may momentarily take my attention from my many blessings.  But on this special day when all of us in the USA concentrate on our blessings and give thanks for them, I thought I would share a few of the blessings for which I am most thankful, from number five down to number one ...

5 - My crafty friends the 'Thursday's Angels' ... especially Mary, Mary Ann, Iris, and all of the girls who gather at our favorite local scrapbooking (and mixed media art) store on Thursdays to get our arts and crafts on and enjoy fun, fellowship and lots of laughter together!

4 - My 83 year old Mama, her health and the stubbornness that keeps her plugging along.  Last spring she fell and broke her neck, and came through the trauma and pain with such amazing grace and determination!  And just a couple of weeks ago she joined us for a week of camping at the beach.  Now, how many 83 year olds can say that!

3 - My husband, our home and safe haven from the world, food on the table, and 'enough' ... and that word 'enough' has become very real to us in this last few years, and this year more than ever.  After years of plenty, now we are most thankful for enough!       

2 - My salvation ... the number one single most precious gift I have ever been given ... saved by grace through faith, and most grateful!

1 - The miracle of reconciliation, hurts healed, and the joy of new life.  For a number of years the relationship between my youngest nephew had been 'broken' ... disjointed and painful.  My name for my nephew has always been "Young'un", because in my heart, he was MY Young'un!  His young life has been one of turmoil, pain and mistreatment, yet at the age of 17 he decided that if his life was to change and be 'more', it was up to him.  And in the last 9 years he has worked hard and created a life for himself that is so.much.MORE than what either his father (my brother) or his brother will ever know.  This time last year I was distraught because he was newly married and expecting his first child ... and I had no hope of being a part of his or his baby's life.  But God still uses tiny babies to work miracles!  And when my sweet baby boy, aka 'Punkin Bug' was born, my nephew's heart grew and changed and we have reconciled and become closer than ever.

My Boys!

Today my husband and I are having a quiet day and going to Cracker Barrel for our meal.  We did that last year with my mother and it was delicious and SO low stress!  Then tomorrow I'll be cooking most of the day for our meal on Saturday with our nephew, his wife, and Punkin Bug!  We are sharing the food prep, and I am doing mostly traditional family favorites ... joyfully!

So, today, my prayer for you, my family, friends and crafty fans ... love, peace, reconciliation, hope, health, joy, and ... enough!  Blessings ...