Tuesday, January 18, 2011

We're moving!

The list I posted at the end of the last post IS coming, I promise. We're just in the middle of packing up our apartment to move into a lovely new place on Friday. That, coupled with an exceptionally busy previous week, means I haven't had time to write up anything worth reading and neither has Mr. S. But fear not! We'll be back after our move. And thank you in advance to family and friends for their help in this endeavor - we greatly appreciate it! :)

~Ms. S

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Welcoming in 2011


How were your holidays? Ours were delightfully spent with family and friends. Christmas was split between Iowa and Minnesota (which was wonderful, but exhausting), and New Years was spent with our potluck crew - probably the most fun Husband and I have had on New Years Eve. Now that the holidays are past, I can finally share some of my crafty projects with you!

First up, Christmas stockings! Admittedly, there is no reason why these couldn't have been shared earlier. This lady was just busy, busy, busy and very tired. Anyway...I think they turned out perfectly!

Here they are under our tree. I didn't get a picture of them hanging before Mr. S packed them away.
After reading an article last year about different ways to decorate for Christmas (I cannot for the life of me remember what magazine this was in - Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, or Martha Stewart Living), Mr. S and I had a conversation about what color we wanted to emphasize in our decorating. The article mentioned how there is usually a large focus on red, but there are so many other ways to decorate for Christmas that incorporate some red without letting that color take over everything. So we decided on green, a color both of us like a lot.

I knew I wanted to make our stockings, so made a trip to my local Joanne's and found a McCall's pattern I liked that looked easy enough. The hard part was finding the fabric. I've mentioned Crafty Planet before - they're my favorite fabric store in the Twin Cities. Without a doubt, I wanted to get the fabric for our stockings there, but it took a lot of patience and multiple trips before I found what I wanted. Nice, Christmasy greens were hard to find, so I decided on a slivery gray for the main body that would allow me to easily accent with green. The final result was so satisfying! The only problem - I only made two. Here's hoping Crafty Planet stocks the same fabrics around Christmas time next year so I can make two more for future children. However, I'm open to kids' stockings being slightly different from ours. We'll just have to see.

Next up: Secret Santa gift! We did a Secret Santa/Snowman exchange at work in December. Being in a crafty mood, I decided to make the first gift for my gift recipient. This clutch was made using two matching quilting remnants I'd picked up from Joanne's a few years ago. I sewed a simple rectangle, tacked up one half, sewed the sides, and added a button from my button box. Needing a little extra touch, I found some pretty green yarn from my stash and two extra ornaments to add a bit of flair. Inside, my recipient found some dark Lindt chocolate with a hint of orange and almonds (SO yummy!) and a Christmas cd of an artist she enjoys.

"A little music to make the mood merry,
A little chocolate to make your day bright!"
Secret Santa
Now Christmas is over and presents have been given. Not to worry, though! The need to craft isn't gone. In fact, we'll be moving to a new place at the end of the month and I already have plans for curtains, place mats, table cloths, maybe a shower curtain, and such. Oh, and did I mention we'll be within walking distance of Crafty Planet? Mr. S is (understandably) concerned about the effect that will have on our pocketbook. I, however, am not! :)

Things to look forward to in the coming weeks:
1) Pictures of the monstrous snow storm we had the weekend before Christmas
2) Guest post (maybe two!) from Mr. S
3) Organizing and cleaning tips for moving
4) How to be creative with living spaces
5) A little surprise! :)

Keep coming back! I've missed this place.

~Ms. S