Projects

Made myself a Harry Potter themed hanging thing.

I started with owl beads in the house colours, then added bead sets I got from Jesse James Beads and at Michael's.

I used half sheets of Shrinky Dink plastic to trace and colour the house crests and they shrank to the perfect size.

Several years ago I found a pic online of a beaded curtain with gorgeous crystal drops.  I even found and bought the crystals and curtain rod.  But they languished in the craft room, gathering dust for about 4 years before I took them out.  First I was going to string them on driftwood because I didn't think I'd have enough of the super cool beads I'd been collecting.  The original project had 23 strands and my layout only had 15.

But I grabbed a few more clear drops and did them on the curtain rod anyway.  I wrapped the top with green florist tape and then put the wire loops over that so they wouldn't slip on the metal.  After it was done, I wrapped another layer of tape to cover the wire.  My version has 19 strands and I'm happy with it.

Another key.

Eclectic altered art Altoids tin.  I just kept gluing weird stuff to it, and using glitter paper.

I found some wood slices at a craft store in Fall River when I went to visit Russell after his surgery and I broke out the wood burner.  These are addictive.  I made a whole bunch of Cape Cod cause I thought they'd sell at the craft fair but they didn't.  Some have a heart on Sandwich.

My friend Debby sent me a Seahawks Goodie Package that included a 3D chipboard 'build your own Space Needle'.  So I did that, painting it and adding a glitter coat.  I found the blue sparkly numbers at Walmart which was awesome.  The 12 being for the Seahawks fans, known collectively as 'The 12th Man'.  

I also made gingerbread cookies on a particularly cozy, rainy day and here is the Needle's cookie counterpart.

We found out that the baby (due in July) is going to be a boy, and will be named Mark Russell.  We were in the Christmas Tree Shop and he spotted the personalized stocking with Mark's name, and I found Jeff's but of course Dale & Casi weren't on there so I got 2 blanks and did them with silver puff paint.

Bday card for my stepdaughter.

At a bit of a craft standstill for now.  I am working on a cross stitch that I have screwed up so badly that it's become tedious.  Maybe I'll take up colouring again.

Dragging Towards the New Year

I was a busy baking bee in the days leading up to Christmas.  I wanted to make goodie plates for my friends as well as try a couple new recipes.  The result was:

Peanut butter fudge and Italian knot cookies.....

Banana breads and cranberry breads...

Gingerbread cookies...

Rice krispie treats....

And for Christmas Day, snickerdoodle blondies.

Took a few closeup pics of the ornaments too.  They look so pretty with the lights.

These next 2 ornaments were made by me when I was about 9 or 10.  I have 6 of them.

Part of the Putz village.  A few years ago I dyed those trees pink and added the glittery snow.

I am so glad I got this multicoloured tinsel tree.  I'm not sure where I picked it up but I'm gonna guess Fred Meyer, out in WA.  It's sooo pretty and sparkly.  I want to keep it out year round.

I lined up the reflection of the deck rail lights on the driftwood thing.

Christmas Eve was rainy which was awesome.  I got all my errands done early and had time to do some food prep for the next day and update the family photo album.  We got Chinese takeout for lunch/dinner but unfortunately it didn't set well with either of us.  Needless to say it'll be awhile before we will get Chinese again!!  

Christmas Day was cold and clear.  We visited my mom in the morning then headed home to finish all the food prep for the kids' visit that afternoon.  Russell got us all scratch tickets but only 2 of those were $10 winners unfortunately.

Some of the food stuffs.  I forgot to take a pic of the deli platter I made with the meats and cheeses. A few years ago we ordered them from Stop & Shop and were shocked at how little stuff was provided for the prices.  It's cheaper to do these myself.  It's more time consuming, but it's fun. 

Happy with his shrimp and the horseradish/ketchup sauce he makes.

My amazing and awesome stepkids and girlfriend.  

Sagieboo

The day went by really fast.  The kids left around 3 or so and we just hung out and grazed on the leftovers.  Now it's time to take everything down and put it away till next year.  Everything looks so pretty, colourful and glittery but it's time to get the house back to normal.  Hoping to have everything cleaned up by the end of the week.

Looking forward to seeing 2016 end. It was mentally and emotionally exhausting.  George Michael dying on Christmas Day was a terrible surprise.  This year took a lot of great people.  Some expected due to age, but the others weren't.  We are hoping for a quiet New Years Eve.  We're just gonna hunker down at home and order a pizza, and go to bed early.  Our days of staying up to midnight are long over!  

I'm hoping 2017 will be a better year.  Happy New Year everyone.  See ya on the flipside. 

Decorations and Cookies

This year flew by, and December was no exception.  I was very remiss in not getting any pictures of Christmas lights in town and in our neighbourhood.  Oh and speaking of lights, my totally awesome psychedelic spotlight died after just a few weeks and I had to take it back.  But they were sold out so I got my money back.  I was sooooo bummed.  Anyways, I didn't take hardly any pics and the ones I did take, I neglected to post until now. 

I shot this pic of a neighbour's house with the laser lights, but I didn't feel like dragging my tripod out so this is what I got.  It's not too bad actually.

Sunrise on Dec. 17th

I had to go to the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis for an appointment and I was pleasantly surprised at how beautifully decorated it was.  This glass sculpture was created by McDermott Glass Studios in Sandwich.  Clearly influenced by Dale Chihuly's work!  You can't see it but there are lights that change colour inside.  

I love Christmas train villages!!!!!!

This Santa sleigh rotated around in the air.

If I hadn't had an appointment, I would have been roaming around shooting more photos.  I think they said Santa comes in on weekends or something and I guess that's where he sits.

I love gingerbread cookies but it seems that no one else does, so I made a batch for me.  I got a couple new cookie cutters this year:  Seattle Seahawks logo and a Sasquatch.  The Hawks cutter is going to take some practice. 

 I love the Sasquatch one! I'm going to have to make a batch of just Bigfoot.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas.