a little gift for me

Dutch ovens and gravy boats are two things that my grandma keeps telling me that I need.  For the first few Thanksgivings that I hosted at my house, she probably mentioned dutch ovens and gravy boats at least ten times a piece.  She said things like, "If you had a gravy boat, we wouldn't have to use a bowl and spoon for the gravy," and "This would have been a lot easier if you made it in a dutch oven."  

As graciously as possible my replies went something like this, "Grandma, I'm a vegetarian.  I've been a vegetarian since I was 12 or 13, I don't find myself in need of a gravy boat very often.  A spoon and bowl work just fine for the one day a year that you all come here and someone else makes a turkey in my kitchen," or "Grandma, I don't even know what a dutch oven is, let alone how to cook in one."

So what's my point? 

In the last few months I've done two giveaways in conjunction with CSN Stores.  I've been thrilled to do them because the truth is that I LOVE to give people stuff . . . you may have already figured that out since I'm spending an entire year making gifts to give to people.  I have a few more giveaways coming up in the next few weeks, and I am really excited about them.  

However, today I get to tell you that in the midst of all the giveaways for others, I'm actually going to get a little gift just for me . . . well, it will probably be for my entire family, but still . . . it's a gift that I get to keep because CSN has given me the opportunity to review a product from one of their millions of stores.  Okay, they don't have millions of stores, but if feels like they do because in the over 250 stores CSN provides, they pretty much have anything and everything my family needs . . . or wants.

Truth be told, I could probably get on of these:

or one of these:

But I probably won't because I still think a spoon and bowl work fine, and I have yet to learn what it is a dutch oven does.  Can anyone enlighten me?

So . . . stay tuned for my review of the mystery item from CSN.  In the meantime, go check out CSN for yourself . . . maybe you are in need of a dutch oven or a gravy boat.  ;)

Craft on!

tuesday's true confession

My eyes are watering.
My nose is running.
My chest is full of gunk.
My throat is raw.
My head is pounding.

Yep . . . I'm sick.  I hate being sick.  (And I never use the "h" word.  It's a strong word reserved only for rare moments.)

While I could leave my confession at that, being sick has given me the opportunity to learn something about myself that I'm going to confess to you today.  I think I've known it for a long time, but a moment of drug induced clarity (Is it possible for Sudafed to bring clarity?) has made it impossible to avoid. 

By nature, I'm a skeptical person.  I won't go into how I came to be this way, but I am slow to believe anything unless I've experienced it, seen it or researched it.  My skepticism drives my husband nuts because whenever he tells me something, I usually say something like:

"Are you sure?"
"Did someone tell you that or did you see it for yourself?"
"Hmm . . . that sounds fishy.  I'm going to have to look into that."
"I don't know if I believe that."

My point is that in the midst of my complete skepticism about almost anything, today I watched the infomercial channel (Did I mention that I was in a drug induced state?) for about an hour.  I only let myself watch two infomercials - one about a hair care product and one about make up.  I watched and I was mesmerized. 

Maybe, just maybe if I had that hair care system, my hair could look like silk and flutter in the wind like butterfly wings.  And maybe, just maybe I could spend only 5 minutes on my make-up every day and have flawless, younger looking skin too. 

Yep, in the midst of all my skepticism, I confess that I believed that I too can look like the models/actresses in their very early 20s featured on these shows if I could just get my hands on those magical products. 

Thankfully, when I picked up the phone to dial, I remembered that I'm skeptical about ordering things over the phone and giving my personal billing information to a stranger.  Unbridled, drug induced weakness barely avoided . . . thank goodness.

Hopefully, I feel better tomorrow . . . I'm not sure I'll be able to resist another infomercial.  

How about you?  Are you a skeptic?  Have you ever purchased something from an infomercial?  ;)

Confess on! 

pretend and play diaper bag tutorial

I couldn't leave well enough alone!  I had to add a little something more to the doll bassinets that I made for my girls.  And I'm so glad I did.  I am loving this pretend a play diaper bag.  It's easy to make . . . even for someone like me.  It's cute and it can be used for other things besides playing mommy.  (I'll let you in on a little secret . . . I came across the method for making this by totally messing up my second doll bassinet.  I ended up throwing part of that bassinet aside and starting over.  Today, I pulled the part I tossed aside and decided to make it into something . . . this is what I came up with.) 

Pretend and Play Diaper Bag

**Goes with matching doll bassinet carrier**

Here's what you need:
1 - 30 x 9 inch piece of fabric for the outside of the diaper bag
1 - 30 x 9 inch pieces of fabric for the inside lining of the diaper bag
1 - 30 x 9 inch pieces of quilt batting for the diaper bag
1 - 16 x 11 1/2 inch piece of fabric for the flap
1 - 8 x 11 1/2 inch piece of interfacing
1 - 28 x 4 1/2 inch piece of fabric for the strap
**I also used two extra squares for a pocket

Here's what you do:
1) Pin batting to wrong side of outside of the bag.

2) Sew long straight lines every inch down the 9 inch side.  In other words, you will be sewing eight long straight lines all the way down the 30 inches of the fabric piece.  (I must confess that I'm THE WORST at sewing straight lines, so I used an fade-away fabric pen that disappears after a few hours to draw straight lines on the fabric . . . LOVE IT!)

3) Fold in half right sides together so that you have a 15 x 9 inch piece.  Pin.  Sew along three sides leaving one long side open. 

4)  At one corner seam, fold piece inward so that the right sides of one of the short-sided seams and the long-sided seam touch.  Pin.  Measure from corner about 1 1/2 inches.  Sew.  Cut off corner end.

5)  Do the same thing with the other corner.

6)  Now, pin and sew a seam seams on each side of the bottom of the bag to create a boxy bottom.

7) Do steps 3 through 6 with the lining piece.  Except when sewing around the three sides in step 3, leave a three inch opening for turning later.  (See second picture down.)

 
8)  Take 4 1/2 x 28 inch piece for strap and fold in half length-wise right sides together.  Sew down to form a tube.  Turn and top stitch on both long sides.

9) Pin strap to inside of quilted part of the bag.

10) Take interfacing and fuse to wrong side of one half of the flap piece of fabric.  (I also added a pocket after adding interfacing.)

11)  Fold flap piece in half right sides together.  Sew around leaving two inch opening for turning.  Trim corners, turn and top stitch around closing up opening to turn as you go.

12)  Pin flap to inside of quilted part of bag.

13)  Insert lining so that right sides are together.  Pin.  Sew around edge.

14)  Turn using turning hole in lining.  Sew up opening.  Stuff lining into bag.

15)  Pin around top edge.  Top stitch around edge.

Done!

Coming soon . . . diapers and other fun accessories.

Craft on!

I may link to these great parties.  Check them out by clicking on the blog name below or visit my "I like to party" page.
Weekend - a little lovely, Craft Envy, Under the Table and Dreaming, Be Different Act Normal, A Vision to Remember, 504 Main - Tickled Pink, Funky Junk Interiors, Tatertots and Jello, I heart naptime

Monday - Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, The Girl Creative, The Trendy Treehouse, CRAFT, Making the World Cuter, Mad in Crafts, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Between Naps on the Porch, Tools Are For Women,  It's So Very Cheri, Skip to My Lou, Sew Can Do

Tuesday - All Thingz Related, Sugar Bee, New Nostalgia, Creative Itch, Lucky Star Lane, Hope Studios, These Creative Juices, My Delicious Ambiguity, Today's Creative Blog-Get Your Craft On!

Wednesday - It's So Very Cheri, Beyond the Picket Fence, Blue Cricket Design, Trendy Treehouse, Tea Rose Home, Someday Crafts, My Backyard Eden, Sew Much Ado, Night Owl Crafting

Thursday -  Fireflies and Jellybeans, Life As Lori, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Seven Thirty Three, The Train to Crazy, PonyTails and FishScales, Black Kat's Design

Friday - The Sabby Nest, A Little Knick Knack, Fingerprints on the Fridge, It's Fun to Craft!, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Kojo Designs, Amy Lou Who, A Few of My Favorite Things, Simply Sweet Home, Frou Frou Decor, Remodelaholic

sunday kids' craft: buttons of fun!

What is small, round, colorful and has the ability to occupy a child's attention for at least an hour?  A button . . . well, actually lots and lots of buttons.  If you haven't invested in one of those $4.00 bucket of buttons from your local craft supply store, then you are missing out.  Hundreds of buttons equals loads of entertainment and education.

Here are some of our favorite button activities.  (Remember buttons are small, so this activity is not appropriate for very young children.  And if you have children of any age who have a tendency to put things in their mouths or up their noses - I'm guessing at least one person reading this has been to the emergency room for a nose extraction ;), very close supervision is necessary.) 

1)  Counting and sorting - Practice counting and sorting by grouping buttons by number in color.  See how high your little ones can count.

2)  Biggest and smallest - Practice size recognition and early math skills by finding the biggest buttons in the bunch and then the smallest buttons in the bunch. 

3)  Count the color - Pick one color and count all the buttons of that color.  We have 42 black buttons in our bucket of buttons, and my five year old was so proud when she counted all of them.

4) Color identification - Perfect for two and three year olds who are learning their colors, but my five year old still likes this as well when I use more complex color names like salmon rather than pink.   

5) Button pictures - Create button art using the variety of colors and button shapes.  The best part?  The buttons can all go back in the bucket to be reused. 

Simple, easy, educational and cheap . . . can't get much better than that.

Craft on!

I may link to some of these great parties.  Go check them out by clicking on the blog name below or visiting my "I like to party" page.

Weekend - a little lovely, Craft Envy, Under the Table and Dreaming, Be Different Act Normal, A Vision to Remember, 504 Main - Tickled Pink, Funky Junk Interiors, Tatertots and Jello, I heart naptime

Monday - Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, The Girl Creative, The Trendy Treehouse, CRAFT, Making the World Cuter, Mad in Crafts, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Between Naps on the Porch, Tools Are For Women,  It's So Very Cheri, Skip to My Lou, Sew Can DO

Tuesday - All Thingz Related, Sugar Bee, New Nostalgia, Creative Itch, Lucky Star Lane, Hope Studios, These Creative Juices, My Delicious Ambiguity, Today's Creative Blog-Get Your Craft On!

Wednesday - It's So Very Cheri, Beyond the Picket Fence, Blue Cricket Design, Trendy Treehouse, Tea Rose Home, Someday Crafts, My Backyard Eden, Sew Much Ado, Night Owl Crafting

Thursday -  Fireflies and Jellybeans, Life As Lori, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Seven Thirty Three, The Train to Crazy, PonyTails and FishScales, Black Kat's Design

Friday - The Sabby Nest, A Little Knick Knack, Fingerprints on the Fridge, It's Fun to Craft!, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Kojo Designs, Amy Lou Who, A Few of My Favorite Things, Simply Sweet Home, Frou Frou Decor, Remodelaholic

feed me friday: glazed carrots

How has your garden harvest been?  We don't have our own garden.  It's one of those "someday" dreams.  However, until my dream becomes a reality, we have a few family friends who pass on a garden goody or two now and then.  I'm always trying to come up with new things to do with veggies because I seem to mostly steam or roast them, throw on a little seasoning and serve them up.  Here's a super easy and yummy carrot recipe that is sure to please your family as much as it does mine. 

Glazed Carrots



Here's what you need:
-1 t. olive oil
-1/4 cup Catalina Dressing
-1 1b. carrots chopped into short sticks or baby carrots
-2 T slivered almonds or cashews

Here's what you do:
1) Heat olive oil in skillet.

2) Add carrots to the skillet.

3) Pour dressing over carrots and stir to coat.

4) Cover and cook on medium heat 12 to 15 minutes or until slightly tender. Stir regularly while cooking.

5) Add cashews or almonds and cook for two to three more minutes until desired tenderness.

I first shared this recipe over at A Vision to Remember during the 30 Day Food Challenge. 

Cook on!

I may linke to a few of these great parties.  Check them out either by clicking below or on my "i like to party" page.
Weekend - a little lovely, Craft Envy, Under the Table and Dreaming, Be Different Act Normal, A Vision to Remember

Monday - Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, The Girl Creative, The Trendy Treehouse, CRAFT, Making the World Cuter, Mad in Crafts, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Between Naps on the Porch, Tools Are For Women,  It's So Very Cheri, Skip to My Lou

Tuesday - All Thingz Related, Sugar Bee, New Nostalgia, Creative Itch, Lucky Star Lane, Hope Studios, These Creative Juices, My Delicious Ambiguity, Today's Creative Blog-Get Your Craft On!

Wednesday - It's So Very Cheri, Beyond the Picket Fence, Blue Cricket Design, Trendy Treehouse, Tea Rose Home, Someday Crafts, My Backyard Eden, Sew Much Ado, Night Owl Crafting

Thursday -  Fireflies and Jellybeans, Life As Lori, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Seven Thirty Three, The Train to Crazy, PonyTails and FishScales, Black Kat's Design

Friday - The Sabby Nest, A Little Knick Knack, Fingerprints on the Fridge, It's Fun to Craft!, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Kojo Designs, Amy Lou Who, A Few of My Favorite Things, Simply Sweet Home

a CSN winner and another giveaway

I've been pretty upfront with you about my immense success in the skill of procrastination, so it should come as no shock . . . none at all . . . that it has taken me OVER A WEEK to finally get around to announcing the winner of the $65.00 CSN gift code giveaway.  Over a week?  Yes, I know . . . I even disgust myself sometimes. 

Congratulations to Emily who wrote:
"Oh guilt is a hard one! I agree with you on the good guilt and bad guilt. I struggle with the mommy guilt, even though I know I shouldn't, it's still hard. Definitely something I'm working on and thankfully God is helping me see past it and enjoy my girls and my time away from them. It's healthy for all of us!! :)"

Thanks to everyone who entered, and congrats to Emily! I will e-mail you your code ASAP . . . which in my world means within the next two days.


And that leads me to another giveaway that might not be quite as cool as a $65.00 CSN gift code.

Did you see that cute little ad up on my left sidebar? If you click on it, you will hop over to seven thirty three: custom blog design. Kim is the creative genius behind the craft blog seven thirty three: a creative blog, but she is also the creative genius behind a number of blog designs. Check out her portfolio. (Just for the record, she didn't do my blog. If she did, it would look A LOT better than this because this blog is self-designed . . . and it shows!)

To kick off my foray into the world of sponsors, I'm going to giveaway a spot up on the left sidebar for the rest of September and all of October . . . almost two months up there with Kim at seven thirty three: custom blog design. Woo hoo!

Whether you are trying to promote a blog, a website, an etsy store, I would love to be a partner in that journey.

Here's how to enter: (1 entry for each)

 

1) Leave a comment telling me you are a follower or you became a follower of twelve crafts till Christmas. 

2) Leave a comment telling me you are a follower or you became a follower of seven thirty three: custom blog design.

3)Visit Kim's portfolio page and leave a comment back here with your favorite design job on the portfolio page.

4)Leave a comment telling me you "Like" twelve crafts till Christmas on Facebook.
 

 

**Only family friendly ads, buttons, etc. will be accepted.** Giveaway ends Tuesday, September 7 at 11:59 PM (Central). Winner will be announced on Wednesday and button/ad will be put up as soon as the code is sent to me.

 

 

it's september 1 . . . do you know what that means?

Yesterday, my Monkey found a dead ant on the floor in our kitchen.  Normally, I would go into major cleaning mode - sweeping, mopping, wiping down every surface in the kitchen - over the site of this dead little invader.  But this time was different . . . this time my Monkey (she's 2 1/2) knelt down on the floor beside the dead ant and said, "We should pray for her."  I knelt down beside her (and the ant), and she began in her 2 1/2 year old sweetness praying, "God, thank you for the ant . . . mumble, mumble, mumble . . . She was a good ant, and I loved her." 

My heart melted.  My little Monkey who is non-stop action, movement, chatter from the moment she wakes up until the moment she goes to bed paused for a moment to notice the tiniest of creatures. 

(Here's a pic of my sweet Monkey.)

How often do I do that?  In the midst of my busy day and all that needs to be done in a day, how often am I attentive enough to notice the small things? 

Where am I going with this?

Well, I feel like my little handmade Christmas goal is one way I've been noticing the small things.  I've been paying wide-eyed attention to what my girls like and what makes them tick so that I know what to make them.  I've been listening closely to other friends and family members as they share the details of their lives that may point to clues about what I should craft for them.  Making someone a gift that is just for them is akin to practicing the art of listening and paying attention to the small things. 

I'm thankful for that reminder from my Monkey. 

So it's the beginning of a new month and that brings me to another gift - another month of paying attention . . . noticing the small things to make something that has been labored over and loved on.

First, here's the second bassinet that I completed a week or so ago. 

I'm still working on the pillow, blanket and a possible diaper bag to go along with each bassinet.  As you know, I'm not one for actually finishing my craft till Christmas in the month I started.  ;)

However, I am going to do something rare . . . I'm going to announce my fourth craft till Christmas on the first day of the month.  Amazing . . . unheard off . . . baffling!  I'm feeling a bit proud of myself for being so on the ball with this. 

Truth is that I've already made my girls WAAAAY more gifts than I usually give them.  Last year we gave each girl two gifts plus stockings.  I have a ton more ideas that I would love to make for them.  However, I have to cut myself off; otherwise, I will never get to gifts for grandmas and grandpas, cousins, etc.  

So I'm moving on to . . . handprints.  I wish I could be more specific, but I don't even know exactly what I'm going to do yet.  However, I do know two things about my fourth craft till Christmas:

1. I will be making gifts for grandparents.
2. It will involve handprints . . . and possibly children's art.

I will also be finishing up a few odds and ends on all the gifts I've made up to this point.

What will you be working on this month?  Only four months left to make a gift or two for your family and friends so . . .

craft on!