Christmas Craftiness

I know. No post for months and now 3 in a row. I can't even explain it myself.

So, we (me) are in charge of the McCarrel Family Christmas Party this year. I have been thinking about it since midnight October 31st. I would like to have it all planned and ready by the end of this month. I have visions of how it will all be, and while it probably won't turn out as I picture it in my head, I am getting a good start. My first vision was of a dessert and hot chocolate bar with a cute banner hanging over the tables. I finished the banner today and couldn't wait to show it off!

Thank you mother for my Cricut machine and thanks to my sweet neighbor Emily for the use of her cute cartiridges. Bonus, I can hang it in my house until the night of the party!

Give Thanks

Our computer was out sick with a nasty virus, so I'm a little late with all this. But this blog is like my journal, so here goes.

Dear Journal,

I am super thankful for crafts. Just Kidding, I'm no TAMN.

Okay on a serious note, I really am thankful for a bit of craftiness. I am no professional, but I do good enough to get by. I have a plate rack in my kitchen that rarely has a plate in it. After I took down my super cute BOO sign, I was sad that I didn't have anything Thanksgivingish to put up. However, I do have a plethora of cute paper, so I went to work on this:

I am really good at cutting rectangles and then pasting them in a line. Really good.

Speaking of really good, the desserts I made for our Thanksgiving dinner were REALLY GOOD!

I am not really a pie person, so I signed up for a pumpkin cheesecake and accompanied that with white chocolate-raspberry cheesecake bars. 5 packages of cream cheese. Yum. Plus they made super leftovers to eat while I watched The Biggest Loser. Not kidding about that.

Here are the recipes:

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

WHITE CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!

Teacher Appreciation Gift Idea

I know, you probably could have used this like a week or so ago. Sorry 'bout that, now you have it for next year! But don't you fret, I came up with another idea you could use it for. I found this EASY idea off Becky Higgins blog, she used it as a favor at a baby shower.

I used it as a gift for the boys teachers, then I used the extras for the "sisters" I go visiting teaching to. I know, it's like I was channeling Pioneer Party or something. I just wrote the message on the first page and dropped it off on the last day of the month (just like a good visiting teacher should)!

Here's how to make them. I bought 5x7 notepads at Walmart, they came in a pack of 6 for $2.44. I bought the pack of 6, because a pack of 3 was $1.44, and I did the math and was like for a dollar more I can get 3 more notepads. Then using my plethora of scrapbook scraps, I cut a 2 inch by 5 inch piece of cute paper, glued it over the top of the notepad, slapped on a coordinating flower and jewel, and WA-LAH! Cute, easy and CHEAP, just how I like things! I would love to hear more ideas on things to use them for, otherwise my "sisters" are going to have a year supply of notepads.

Quick and Easy

I am a forgetter of birthdays. There it's out in the open. This being said, I received a call last night(just before 10pm) from my sister-in-law inviting us to cake and ice cream for her daughter. Sunday at six. Great we'll be there, crap no present. So I headed to Target this afternoon in hopes of finding a great gift, instead of the lame just sticking money in a card. I like to give practical gifts, like books or something else totally practical, not just the first toy I come to. But I don't know what a 10 year old likes to read, or if she even likes to read. This is why Target is the best store ever. After wandering threw the isles for a while, I ended up by the scrapbooking stuff. The next isle over was photo albums and they had some real cute ones. I found a small one that hold about 30 pictures. It was $1.99. I picked up a disposable camera and was on my way. When I got home, I decided it was kind of lame. I decided I should make it into an "all about me" book that she could fill out and add the pictures. Then I remembered I had pages of questions all ready that I had printed from Simple Scrapbooks. Sweet. I just copied some of them, printed them on paper that matched the front of the photo book, added some quotes about family and laughter and being happy, and sporadically placed them throughout the book. Waalaa. Birthday present for under $10. Here's some pics and here's all the Simple Scrapbook questions, which by the way will make super cute scrapbook pages. That is my next project. Will show results when it actually happens.

*Bonus points to whoever can tell me the name of the movie where SPORADICALLY is used as the word of the day.*

The Tale of Two Hoodies

It was the best of hoodie towels, it was the worst of hoodie towels. Why didn't someone remind me that I don't get along with my sewing machine? It really would have saved me some grief. I got a call yesterday from a neighbor in Eagle Mountain (we don't live there anymore, but yes they are all still my neighbors) they are putting on a baby shower for a friend who lived across the street from me. She just adopted a 2 week old baby boy, and she's 12 weeks pregnant. Yes you read that right, she's pregnant. Now let us all have a moment of silence for her.........

Okay, so I guess that's the way it happens for some. You try and try and when you give up trying, BAM!! two kids 7 months apart. Since I'm so happy for her and so glad it's not me, I decide to forgo the group gift and maybe make her something. Albeit, that was a silly idea since the shower would be tomorrow. Tomorrow in my story, but today on my blog. My first thought is crocheting baby burpers as my crochet needles do not argue with me, they do as I say, and I can get them done fairly quickly. But the stupid baby burpers store was closed yesterday. So I headed to Target (torture) in hopes of finding something great. They had a little bath set with soap, lotion etc. so I picked that up, found a hot water duckie, some wash cloths and then a small voice told me a brilliant idea. Make a hoodie towel it said. And I listened. I picked up this lime green towel and hand towel. It would be so cute. It would be so cute if it wasn't such a pain in the butt. This is the worst part of the story. I got home, Molly was asleep, so no better time to whip up my hoodie towel then now. Got my sewing machine out and started to sew. Now, Josh will tell you that the only reason I bought this sewing machine was to sew on my scrapbook pages. And he is correct. I have successfully sewn on my pages. It is delightful. Sewing on fabric is somehow a different story for me. I did make these pillowcases for Christmas presents this year and here's the proof, they turned out so cute.

So this hoodie towel should have been a piece of cake. I lost count how many times I re-threaded my machine, even the times before I broke the needle and had to go get a new one from my mom (thanks mom!). I did not properly install the new needle, which was part of the problem, but didn't realize this until today, while sewing a SECOND hoodie towel, and reading the instruction manual. The first towel I finished was enormous, Owen thought I had made it for him. I payed no attention to the size of the towel when I bought it and since I had used a hand towel instead of a wash cloth, it was HUGE. So here it is, lime green hoodie towel that is now Owen's.
This picture does not do justice to the hugeness and the lime greenness of it at all. This towel would smother that poor baby boy. So on to towel #2. I run to wal-mart first thing this morning to select a new towel. I got a smaller one with a washcloth this time, in blue. Come home, Molly is playing happily, start sewing. Then the same small voice tells me another idea. Hey remember that super cute fishy ribbon you bought years ago for some project and never used? well you should sew that along the edge of the towel it said. And I listened. Why did I listen? Because seriously, how hard can sewing on ribbon be. It's probably not that hard, you just have to not be a spazz to do it. So I get my ribbon sewn on the washcloth. The fish are swimming upside down. Not a huge deal, keep on truckin'. Start to sew the ribbon on the sides of the towel. Get excited that things are going so much better than yesterday, cut ribbon on side of towel too short and I have already sewn 2/3 of it on. Well at least my needle hasn't broke. Spoke too soon. Nevertheless, I finish the towel and manage to fix the side with the short ribbon. And it looks pretty cute. See for yourself.

I decided to put everything else inside the towel, roll it up and hang the ducky from the ribbon on the front.

How cute. Now just pray with me that it doesn't fall apart the first time she washes it.