I'm waaay Behind!!

OMGosh...I have been so bad at not keeping up with my blog! Had lots of personal things going on, but am doing much better now! As for crafting...I have been making some stamped, tumbled tile coasters & love it! Easy & fun, plus a GREAT little gift! I'm posting some here for you to see! I have been really getting into the paper bag albums, as well! I promise to start updating more & will share more photos soon! Hope everyone is gearing up for summer! NOT my favorite season, but I know most people love it! Ewww...too many bugs!

A cute lil' project to share!!

Oooh, I have let 2 weeks come & go without posting! Ooops! T o make up for it I am going to post a little tutorial for the pretzel wreath pictured here! I'm not sure if the photos will come out in order or not, but they are clickable & self-expalanatory for the most part.

These are very cute & really pretty easy! Here's what you'll need:

Some wax paper, small pretzels (16 for this size), Elmer's glue, a can of polyutherane(from WalMart-small can lasts a long time!) or shelac (much more expensive) and any embellishments you want like ribbon, buttons, flowers, candies...you name it! E600 glue or a hot glue gun, also.

Now, lay your wax paper down & arrange 8 pretzels salty side down in a circle...with the sides touching each other. Once you have them arranged, you take the Elmer's glue & just run a line of glue where each pretzel is touching. Let dry for a few minutes & then you will start your second layer. This time the pretzel will be facing salty side up----put a little glue on the flat side down around the bottom of the pretzel and place it overlapping the ones below it...see the close-up photos for this. Then just keep doing this until all the pretzels are on. Now, go back & add the glue to the side sams like you did on the first layer. Now allow the wreath to dry for at least 2 hours or more. Next, take a peice of thread & put it through one of the pretzel rings & dip the wreath into you polyutherane. I poured mine into an old tupperware bowl & it worked really well. Make sure it is completely staurated & hang on a rod of some sort to dry. A wooden spoon over a couple of tall cans will do...just make sure you have something underneath for it to drip on. Let dry at least an hour or more, then dip it again. Let it dry again & then you are ready to add your embellishments! If you choose to use jelly beans, candy corn or any other "real" candies to decorate, glue them on before you dip into the polyutherane to seal them, as well. This keeps them bug-proof! You can just feed your ribbon through or just make a bow & attach with glue. For embellishments you will want to use a hot glue gun or E6000 glue. They are stronger for the embellishments. Use your imagination! You can make teacher wreaths, baby wreaths, holiday wreaths & much, much more!

You can also use just 12 pretzels (6 each layer) to make smaller ones for the Christmas tree or even magnets. On the same token you can use more pretzels to make larger wreaths! You decide! I hope you enjoy this craft! Send me photos of your finished product & I'll post it here on my blog! Hope your New Year is off to a good start! More later....

Happy 2008!

Can't believe it's upon us but I do hope your 2008 will be great! I don't really have any resolutions--just always try to do the best I can with whatever comes my way! Looking forward to a new year of crafting and hope to continue to share with you thru my website & blog! Happy New Year! More later....

It came!!!

Yep, Christmas came & it is now just after midnight & gone!! Sat night was our "real" celebration where we all met at my Mom's...it was aunts, uncles, cousins, etc & we had a ball! I truly enjoyed it! We sang, ate & laughed the whole evening away---just what I think Christmas should be! HOWEVER, for the real Christmas day I spent it in bed. I woke up in horrendous pain & really could not move. This comes from over-doing it & it is a hard price to pay! I didn't get to go to my Mom's for our traditional Christmas breakfast & I didn't get to go to my Mother-in-Law's for our traditional Christmas dinner. I was miserable all day & now I'm wide awake! LOL But, I am looking forward to the new year...it's almost here! Hope your Christmas was Merry & Bright! More later....

It's almost here!!

I can't believe we are just 10 days from Christmas! It's really my favorite time of the year! I got some last minute orders in & they have been keeping me busy, but I have still been able to sit back & enjoy some Christmas movies (My husband & son call them "girlie movies") and drink hot chocolate, watch the fire in the fireplace, (yep, we have had a few so far!) & just look at the Christmas tree all lit up! I love listening to Christmas music in the car & stuff, too! Our Christmas play is this Sunday at Church & I am singing Mary Did you Know in between scenes. Our Church also had a float in our town's Christmas parade this year & that was fun! Well, gotta print up lots more candy bar wrappers...more later! Oh, and I'm posting a pic of our Christmas tree!

It's closing in on us....

OMGosh---22 days till Christmas?? Where is the time going?? I've got to make lots of craft items for a Christmas Festival I'm doing this Sat, the 8th!! Panic is setting in...breathe, breathe...nah, I'll be OK....whatever gets made, gets made & whatever doesn't, doesn't!! :0) Hope all is well in your corner of the world! I know once this festival is over I'll feel better & can enjoy the season a little more. How are you all doing on your shopping?? With our children being adults now, we just give them money & then a couple small things to open, so it's not as stressful...also, not as fun! I miss having little ones at Christmas...so....I have "adopted" my good friend Lori's 3 kids & can't wait to have them over to see the decorations & see what's under the tree for them!! More later....

Back From Florida!

Wow--I am behind on posting! But, hubby & I went to Fl to visit our daughter, Jamie, for Thanksgiving! We had a great time & I did pretty well with my limitations. We drove down & it takes roughly 12 hours, so it got a little uncomfortable, but was worth it! Got to see my brother & Step-Mom, too, as well as meet Jamie's Boyfriend's family, which was great! I also got to meet with an online friend from one of the chat forums I am on...Jo...& that was lots of fun, too! We ate so much the entire time we were there! I need to get serious & cut back some before the Christmas meals arrive! LOL! So... now I have to get ready for 2 upcoming shows & then I will be done crafting for the rest of this year...I will take a break to enjoy all the holiday festivities! Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving & counted all your blessings...more later!