I have a lot of very talented friends. One of these talented friends, lindalee_, makes and sells incredibly beautiful jewelry. This is stuff I'm dying to buy, but must wait until I have a job. However, that doesn't mean I can't share my love of her talent with all of my friends!!

Please, visit her Etsy site. Buy from her. Stop by her journal and tell her how awesome you think her jewelry is! :)

Lots going on right now. Need to make a list. Beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed and need to compartmentalize.

Garden: We'll be going to a few nurseries in the area to find plants, hopefully some of them (or all of them?) organic. I got out the Texas gardening books today and need to dig up the websites so we can figure out what we're going to do. I know B is mainly focusing on the vegetable garden, but I really want to fix the front flower bed as well.
Guests: My parents might be here starting this Saturday for a week. They won't know until about mid-week when my mother's coworker is supposed to return to work after surgery.
.
Minnow Minnow Pea: I need to work on cutting out material to have saved up for sewing sessions. I also need to work on a design for a website, finding a graphic for the logo, deciding on a font for the logo, and laying out the pages I want to have. I'm trying to decide if I want to forward the blog there and lock this one down to friends only. If I do that, I'm trying to decide if I should bother putting the recipes over there as well. I will definitely have the crafts blog over there and then just dump ChaCha. I really need to get the tags/labels ordered, too.
Crafts: On a related note, I need to complete the boat blanket for Maddy (one cable panel left, and then whip stitching it together and knitting the border). I also have plenty of bibs to finish. They're just needing snaps. Gifts need to be given!
House: Lots of cleaning I want to get done. Our bedroom still has piles of artwork from when we moved... two years ago. I also want to make a final decision on the color in the bedroom and the dining room. We'll probably paint the dining room next since it's so easy, and I'm pretty sure we're sticking with the brown chip we picked out last year. I thought we had finally decided on red for the bedroom, but now I'm torn. I love the blue in the guest room so much I think I might want that in the room back there. I'm so frustrated now.
Job Hunt: I am still rather beat down about this whole job hunt. I have my fingers crossed on one position, but it isn't even open yet. I also received an email from a recruiter in Georgia for a remote position and I keep forgetting to call him back. I get a few minutes when Sophie is sleeping and my brain just shuts down and I forget about all the other things I need to do until she gets up again. I hate that.
Craigslist: I was able to get a few things sold from the last big listing I did, but not much. I took more pictures of items today and will be posting those soon. This stuff needs to be gone!
Weight Loss: I have been overweight my entire life. I am tired of being overweight. Unfortunately, I like food. My portion control isn't bad, nor are the foods I eat, normally. However, my metabolism is in the toilet and I really need to work on giving it a good jump start. I need to focus on drinking more water, getting better sleep at night, and cutting out the things I eat/drink on a regular basis that are detrimental to my overall health. I also need to figure out an exercise plan that I can manage with Sophie around.
LJ: This is low priority, but still something I want to work on. I changed the layout and it's okay, but I think I'd like to find a different one. I really like the three column layout, so I don't want to give that up. That limits the layouts that work for me, of course. I also really want to work on my user icons and setting up various mood themes. Of course, I'm fairly behind on comments right now, so I'd like to get those cleared up as well.
Future posts: I have a few ideas running around in my head regarding future posts. Some of these are posts I have said I'd be writing for over a year now, some of these are newer. I am horrible about writing these down or actually getting around to writing them. Meh. Some of these ideas include posts on children's books, working from home, various movie and music reviews, various tips and tricks in the kitchen (such as how I store my bacon, exciting I know), as well as the picture and video posts I keep promising.


I think that's about it for now...

I believe I have settled on a name:

Minnow Minnow Pea

It's how Sophie used to say "lmnop" as she was learning to say the alphabet (it actually sounds like "lmnop" now). It's not a huge story or anything, but it is something unique and special to me.

Now... I'm trying to decide on a graphic to go with the name. I'm thinking two minnows and a pea (go figure), but with the pea in the middle and the minnows facing the pea. It probably would look a little along the lines of something like this: ><> o <><

If anyone artsy out there would care to draw something for me or piece something together from clip art or whatever, I'm game for looking. I'm pretty excited about the name.

Thanks to all of you who have offered suggestions and reality checks. I appreciate it all very much. You all are so wonderful to me. :)

• I am about to post a third part to the Friending Frenzy. If you want to take part of it but haven't yet, or if you want to be listed again, please let me know! If you missed it earlier, check out Part One and Part Two.


• This is probably one of the best personal ads I've ever read. I love it.


• If anyone who reads these entries is interested in a few used baby items, say the word. I'd much rather ship them to someone I know for the cost of shipping that bother with listing them on Craigslist.


• Back to the whole tag/label question: I've decided I definitely want to sell on Etsy. I want a catchy name for my handcrafted items. I plan to be all over the place with what I will make and sell (bibs, wet bags, pin cushions, stuffed toys, toothfairy pillows, stockings, anything really). I don't want to limit myself to one thing, so I want something that isn't just about babies or just about holidays, etc. Now, it's been brought to my attention (and I completely agree) that going with anything related to sm00bs would most likely cause confusion since even a lot of my friends don't realize those are zeros in my name. It's also been brought to my attention (again, I agree, which is why I asked about it in the first place) that the Sugar Nook names tend to make people think of sweets of some type (or porn...). Names like Tiny Treasures have been used a bajillion and one times, so I'm trying to look for something original, but my creativity is suffering from severe... emptiness, I suppose. Once again, I'm going to ask for your suggestions. Feel free to ask questions if you think it will help you help me brainstorm.


• I feel quite blah today.

That is all.

• I have to say apparently many of the fans at Nationals Stadium are twelve because it's pretty rude and disrespectful of them to boo the president. I can't think of many things I like about GW but that doesn't mean I'm going to disrespect the man and boo him off the field. Didn't these people ever learn manners? I don't like Hillary, but that doesn't mean I'm going to boo her off a field (or anywhere, for that matter).
• Keith Olberman is a little too bitter and angry for me.
• .
• Wal*Mart is the devil.
• The Kritter gets cuter and cuter. Things she's been doing lately:
• We had the most disgusting poop experience we have had yet with her. This is total payback for not having to deal with nasty poops when she was little. I'll post details behind a cut, though, as this isn't very cute... at all.
• I woke up this morning shortly after 3:30 to Sophie nursing. She went to bed in the guest room and I honestly have no idea how she managed to crawl into bed with us. It's a little higher than the other bed and she has a difficult time getting into that bed without help. She then asked me to change her diaper (I obliged) and when I tried to put her back to bed in the guest room, she wanted to nurse again. I absolutely will not nurse in the middle of the night anymore (I'm SO tired of nursing, really), so I told her she could have a cup of milk instead. She actually wasn't too difficult to get to sleep after that. She asked me to rub her back and then she asked to cuddle.
• She has not only been signing words lately, but has been taking the time to tell us how to sign words (dessert: you take two "d's" and tap them!). Cracks me up.
• She says, "Mommy, you're beautiful" and "My favorite Mommy" and "Friends with Mommy." Makes my heart melt. She also tries to sign friend with me where she hooks her finger with mine. Too cute!
• She loves to make shapes with her Play-Doh. We have lots of fun rolling it out and using my cookie cutters.
• We say prayers together at night and she alternates lines with me instead of repeating me. The child remembers so much!
• Before prayers, we read books, and she's able to read along with us (thanks to her memory, I'm sure). She gets very involved in every book we read (always the same books), including 10 Little Ladybugs, Henry Builds a Cabin, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Knuffle Bunny, and The Perfect Purple Feather.
• She loves to play in the sand. She calls it snow. She says she's making snowballs. I'm not sure why she would do that since we've never played in the snow before. Crazy kid.
• Last week we had a picnic lunch and she talked about it for days. We only took the picnic basket to the front yard but she thought it was the best fun she'd ever had. To complete that day, we took her out to Chili's with us and she talked about going to the restaurant for days afterward as well. Sometimes she really amazes me with the things she remembers.
• I hope the chicken pox disappear soon. Sophie has two new spots and I have no idea how many I have. Mine have mostly been in my hair and on my back (haven't had a lot, but enough to drive me nuts). I don't normally go many places, but I hate being confined by something I can't control. I have things I want to do this week! JoAnn Fabric is having a sale on all of their sewing notions and I want to pick up a few things. I also want to get some material for a few outfits for Sophie.
• Bibs are coming along nicely. I have more to cut out, but they're getting better and better.
• I need to pick up my needles again soon and get the blanket for my niece finished. Gah.
• I also need to get my Craigslist stuff listed. B is tired of seeing it (as am I) and we could use the money.

I think that's about all there is for now. I've forgotten things I wanted to mention, as usual.

( Poop - TMI )

I am trying very hard to not let this take over my life, but it's not easy. I have decided I'm very interested in owning these books at some point. I most likely won't buy them all anytime soon, but eventually I'd like at least a couple of these books on my shelf.

• Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing: Patterns and How-To for 24 Fresh and Easy Projects
• 24-Hour Sewing Projects
• Amy Butler's In Stitches: More Than 25 Simple and Stylish Sewing Projects
• Home Decor Sewing 101: A Beginner's Guide to Sewing for the Home (101)
• The Ultimate Sewing Book: Over 200 Sewing Ideas for You and Your Home
• Sewing Edges & Corners: Decorative Techniques for Your Home and Wardrobe (An Embellishment Idea Book Series)
• Easy Embellishments for Creative Sewing: Terrific Techniques and Decorative Details
• More Fabric Savvy: A Quick Resource Guide to Selecting and Sewing Fabric Completely Revised and Updated
• Marketing Your Sewing Business: How to Earn a Profit
• Pricing Without Fear
• The Business of Sewing: How to Start, Achieve and Maintain Success, Volume 2

I own Start to Sew, Sewing 101: A beginner's guide to sewing, and Bend-the-Rules Sewing: The Essential Guide to a Whole New Way to Sew so far. msbluerasp, the Sewing 101 book here is the one I think you'd like. It's pretty nifty.

Also, I need to find more sources for fabrics and notions. Thanks to msbluerasp, I learned the goodness of Etsy, but I have to admit it scares me a little. I'm afraid it will become an addiction, especially with all the many choices!

louenn brought up a good point in a comment, and I'm curious to know how many others agree. So, a poll!

Poll #1156638
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

When I hear "Sugar Nook," it conjures images of...

Even though my first visual impression of the "Sugar Nook" phrase may be different, I could see purchasing one or more of the following from said store

Okay, here we go again with the poll...

First, a little explanation as to why I'm changing the options.

lindalee_ mentioned that using 00 in whatever name I select might lead to confusion, and she's very right. Ever since I've been using this name, there's always been a bit of confusion. I don't want to carry that over to a possible website or something for people to search since they might not realize they're zeros.

I believe pensivesea mentioned that Tiny Treasures is a little overused and she's very right. I was actually doing a search on it as she was typing her comment and I found a mess of sites all related to baby items or daycare and don't really want to have to compete with that (or run into legal issues with it, for that matter).

Now, that out of the way, I suppose we'll be starting over here. I'm so anxious to get these ordered! I think my biggest problem right now is coming up with a cute logo. Any artist out there care to offer up any cute and adorable designs? :)

Poll #1155642
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

Which name would you suggest for tags for sewn items that might possibly be sold at some point?

If you selected Other, please list your suggestion here.

---

Also, don't forget the Friending Frenzy! If your name is listed in the main entry, make sure you've added a comment about yourself. If your name is not listed in the main entry but you're interested in joining in the fun, let me know because there will be another round.

I need to do a post about a few Bzz campaigns I'm doing. I'll be giving away some coupons for free products if anyone is interested. I haven't decided if I want to do a trivia quiz or just a first comment first serve type of thing. I need to do it soon, though!

I have videos and pictures to post if I ever get around to it. We're either having issues with our router or our ISP and any pictures we host here cannot be seen by anyone else. It's becoming highly annoying.

winter_in_asia has posted an entry about no content in his journal for those of you upset by recent LJ changes. I know at least one or two people on my f-list are upset by this, so please take the time to check out his entry and join in if you wish. It might be a slow day for the Salmon....

Does anyone have ideas for other items I might be able to sew quickly and sell? Thanks to msbluerasp, I've added zippered pouches and pincushions to my list of things to try. I'm guessing I could probably do placemats and napkins as well. I've also considered making simple purses of some sort. I'm really thinking about setting up an Etsy account and selling the bibs and all the stitch markers I've made so far, and was trying to come up with anything else I might want to add to the mix there.

We'll be fish sitting this week for Thomas the Beta, our neighbor's fish. Exciting, no? I think it will be interesting for Sophie to see another fish other than the ones we have at least.

Okay, I think that's it for now.

Okay, poll time. I took the highest answers (added a new one as well) and have changed the style of the poll. Since you'll only be able to vote for one, I'm hoping I'll be able to narrow this down a bit. I think I know what I'm going to go with, but I'd like to see what everyone else picks.

Poll #1154727
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

Which do you think would work best on the tags for the bibs (keep in mind, these tags might be used for more than just bibs)?

Ideas for logos?

Other posts to check out:

• Friending Frenzy - Don't forget to check through the comments to see what people have posted about themselves. Don't forget to post something about yourself if you're part of the main entry! If you're not listed but would like to be, let me know. I'm already compiling a list for the next round.
• Quiz Cheating - Please help me with the answers to boyzici's weekly quiz.
• Vote for Bren! - All the info is in the first paragraph of the entry. She'll appreciate it greatly!!

This goes back to the request I made for creative assistance. Thanks to all who offered suggestions. If your suggestion isn't listed in the poll and you really liked it, let me know. It's possible I just missed it.

Poll #1151187
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

Which do you think would work best on the tags for the bibs (keep in mind, these tags might be used for more than just bibs)?

Other suggestions for tag/label wording?

Ideas for logos?

Any other logo suggestions?

• Two green links to share:
  
  
  • Low Impact Living
  • True Green Confessions


• I submitted an entry to the craft blog last night. I'm still waiting for it to post. It has pictures of the bibs, but I'm going to post the pictures here as well (click images for larger view).
  
  
  • 
  • 


• .


• I'm going to invest in a few books (probably mostly used) listed in this list of top 50 children's books (thanks kingdavey).


• The Great Wolf Lodge sounds like a seriously cool place to spend a weekend. One of my friends took his family this weekend. I can't wait to hear how it went since it really seems like it would be a blast.


• A friend of a friend is trying to raise money for an emergency situation. She takes beautiful photographs. Please check them out. holding_on, would you like to share some information about pricing and how to order here? I'll edit the entry if you do.


• For those of you mystery shoppers out there, I have another legitimate mystery shopping site for you to check out.


• For those of you still blogging for money, PayU2Blog is another site that seems to be legit (I have another friend who uses it). I haven't really checked it out, but I trust her.


• For those of you interested in the whole BzzAgent thing but still not sure, I just signed up for three more campaigns. One is for the Scrubbing Bubbles shower spray, one is for some sort of Oust spray, and one is for Chili's burgers. I'll be posting separately about these later, but thought I'd share a little now.


• B is playing in a Hafla tomorrow night. I'll most likely be taking Sophie unless she's a serious turkey tomorrow and doesn't nap at all.
  
  


• TMBG is less than two weeks away!

Hmm... I've really got a lot of nothing.

• Sophie is currently sleeping in her own bed. B moved her into it about an hour ago. She hasn't stirred.
• I've applied for yet another job but haven't heard anything from them yet. So freaking tired of job hunting, seriously. It's such a drag and my confidence is shot to hell. What a whip.
• .
• My mother called to inform us that she's planning to take the entire family on a vacation next spring for her anniversary. She suggested the Dominican Republic or the Bahamas or Mexico, but then said it's possible we might only be doing Bear Lake (fine by me, I love Bear Lake). B said if we do that, he wants to go across the bridge (meaning the Mackinac, of course). At that point, I told him we should lobby for a week on the island instead of Bear Lake. I've never been to Mackinac Island before and I honestly think that would make for an excellent vacation. I'm not so sure anyone else would be up for that.
• I've been working on sewing bibs, and while the first one wasn't perfect, it certainly wasn't bad. I'll have pictures up in the craft blog shortly. There are four more bibs ready to be top stitched and have a snap added, and I'm very pleased with how they're looking so far. Let's just hope my finishing techniques improve a bit.
• On top of the impetigo, Sophie now has some sort of little red bumps that have developed sometime within the past few days. She has a few on her back and one on her leg. They're not large nor are they intense red. They almost look like little flea bites, just a hair bigger.
• She's started saying "Where's Sophie Kritter" now whenever she has her head covered (when we cover her head with a towel or are getting her dressed, or when she covers her face with a book or her hands, etc.). It's one of the cutest things she does. I love it.
• Phone Scoop - Looking for a new phone or a new carrier? This site is actually very cool in that it lets people search and compare, reading other reviews and even contribute their own reviews. I wish I'd known about this when we got our last phones.
• StumbleUpon - Yes, it's another social bookmarking site, but this one is supposed to work a bit like Tivo and learn your preferences. I haven't signed up yet, but I probably will soon.

And with that, I'm off to bed... a childless (for now) bed that will allow me to snuggle under the covers with my husband without fear of one of us being kicked in the side.

Debbie Krumpos has an absolutely fabulous website offering many scrapbooking supplies as well as links and various tips. Scrapbooking for Beginners really is an excellent place to start when taking the scrapbooking plunge. I have to be one of the least experienced scrappers around (I'm late to jump on that train), but her site has made it easy for me to find what I need and has given me some great ideas (now just to put those ideas to good use!).

At this site, I found step by step help with techniques and scrapbook layouts (I need all the help I can get!). Debbie also offers FREE downloads for digital scrapbooking as well as layout ideas for many occasions (callita623, thinking of you here!). There is a fantastic collection of supplies available from: Picaboo, Scrapbook Superstore, Scrapbook Max, Paper.com and Scrapjazz. It is the ultimate place to fill all your school-bulletin board, scrapbooking, baby, wedding, vacation, and holiday paper needs.

Debbie is a stay-at-home mother of three young children. She was a registered nurse for 20 years and decided the hectic run around for three active children was just not what she wanted. Because they're so active, she has had many opportunities for taking photos and has been doing a lot of scrapping to keep those photos out of shoe boxes tucked in the back of a closet. Thankfully, she has had plenty of experience with good (and bad) scrapping products and is willing to share that information with anyone interested to help them find the good and avoid the bad. Scrapping can be a pricey hobby, and Debbie's experience makes it all a little less painful.

She was kind enough to send two products for me to test and I have to admit, I absolutely loved them. Both of these products can be used for purposes other than scrapping, too (leave it to me and my active, non-scrapping imagination to come up with other uses, of course).



The first item I opened when I received the box was the Arccivo Scrapbook Page Saver. I have to admit, even though I'm not a scrapper, I am seriously in love with this product. I was so in love with it that I had to show my mother while she was here. If any one single product could make me more interested in scrapping, this would be it. Someone was really thinking when they came up with this idea. A zippered folder with magnetic sheets to cover each side so scrapbook pages stay in place while in progress, even if they're transported, is one of the most intelligent and useful products I have seen for scrappers yet. Sure, all the stickers and papers can lure a person in, but it's products like the Arccivo that will really keep me scrapping. What's really cool is it comes in four different colors!

My mother mentioned the fact that it would be useful for her as a quilter as well. She could see using something like that for all of her quilt blocks. I could also see how this might work for people who make cards (so close to scrapping anyhow). Having a dedicated space (or rather lack of dedicated space) is one of the reasons I have avoided scraping, card making, and quilting. The Arccivo would be an excellent work around for that issue, leaving money as my only issue (other than B getting upset with me for buying more "junk").



The other product I tried was a Xyron 150 (Create-A-Sticker). Talk about fun! Had I really had time and been able to plan a project, I seriously could have gone hog wild with this little item. As it stands, with Christmas right around the corner at the time I received the package, I pulled out the Christmas tree paper punch and all the green wallpaper samples (yes, wallpaper samples... I saved them from college, believe it or not) and went to town. After I had a few trees punched, I put them through the Xyron (so easy), peeled the clear plastic layer off the strip, and then stuck three of them on the little plastic case for my paper punch. What's cool about these little stickers is there are two types of adhesive rolls, a permanent and a temporary or movable adhesive. I love the idea of being able to make my own stickers. What a way to personalize! I'm very tempted to get one of these, although I might get one of the bigger ones since they're not terribly expensive. I suppose I'll wait until I go back to work, though.

Both items can be purchased by going through Debbie's website. For those of you scrappers, seriously, check out her website and these two products in particular. I really had fun with them!

So, somehow in the most recent pattern repeat (I ought to go back and check all my panels now), I found what could possibly have become a hole in the blanket. Thankfully, I just ripped back to the lifeline (17 rows). Normally I wouldn't bother with a lifeline for a pattern like this, but working double stranded and having Sophie around, it makes it much easier to recover from curious hands (haven't needed to yet, but just in case...).

I was able to recover the 17 rows that I ripped out, but that means I didn't really get anything accomplished last night. Well, that's not entirely true. I did a little knitting before I noticed the hole last night, but only about five rows. I told B I had a hole and had to frog the last few lines (rip-it, rip-it... yeah, knitters are pretty darn witty, no?) and he asked if the hole was in the boat. I told him I wasn't sure but I thought so. He told me it was a good thing I was fixing it then, otherwise the boat would sink. Daaaaad!

I've noticed it's not safe for my knitting if I knit while watching Stephen Colbert. I can knit during Alton Brown, but not during Stephen Colbert for some reason. I don't understand it. I also knit a lot slower when I'm watching television (for those of you non-knitters, 20 rows isn't very much at all... especially when there are only 24 stitches per row). I seriously don't know how people manage to knit and watch TV, or knit and read, or even knit and LJ!

Anyhow, I plan to attack a little more of the blanket tonight. I am almost done with the last panel of boats and should have it done in the next few days if I keep plugging away. I really want to get this finished before Maddy's first birthday. I am such an awful aunt.

Things are crazy busy here and probably will be until Christmas is over.

• Christmas cards haven't been started yet - still have to make labels.


• Two of the knotted blankets are done - still have one left.


• Decoupage boxes are almost done - need to spray it with some clear acrylic sealer and let it dry.


• The ornaments for the girls are all done - pictures are up (one more to add) in the crafting blog.


• Baking is under way. I cheated yesterday and made three snack mixes and two candies. I should have done at least one harder recipe, but was whipped by the end of the day.


• Chui ran off as we were going in the house after getting the mail, so that took up a big chunk of my afternoon.


• I made chicken stock for chicken noodle soup (the soup itself will probably have to be made tonight after Dream Dinners).


• I haven't started wrapping, but that won't take me too long. That can wait until Christmas Eve if it has to.


• I have to make the Christmas Eve soup (might be eaten on Sunday, depends on the in-laws), Cranberry Waldorf salad to go with the soup, pumpkin pie for Christmas dinner, and sweet potatoes for Christmas dinner.


• I am waiting on one last gift to arrive and the decoupage boxes to be dry before shipping off the Christmas package to the Great White North. I think I'll be spraying the boxes today while Sophie is napping and they should be dry in time for shipping tomorrow. I hope the gift arrives today. I don't really want to send it late, but I might have to just print off a picture of it to send with the package and then send that gift later (annoying because I could have just had it sent directly there).

All of this is put on hold until I get some Sophie playtime in and then get her down for her morning nap. I need to get some pictures and video posted of her again. Her talking has exploded again. It's so much fun!!

I really wish I had taken the time to get progress pictures today while making the latest of my Christmas crafts. First, a little back story: My family (sisters and parents) has decided to draw names for Christmas this year. Along with drawing names, each person actually made a wish list that was emailed to everyone because we're keeping the names secret until Christmas. This pretty much stinks for me since I live so far away and don't get to share in the fun on Christmas Eve when they're all together, but it makes it easier since I just have one set of people for whom to buy gifts (we decided to draw couples and then buy for the family or the individual, buyer's choice).

Some of the choices we all put on our wish lists were gift cards. Since gift cards travel well, this is what our giftees will be receiving. One of the cards came in a nifty little box that pops the card out of the opposite side that's being opened. I didn't want the other recipient to feel left out, so I decided to make a quick gift card holder. It isn't anything fancy by any stretch of the imagination, but it turned out very well, better than I expected, even.

Today, I sewed my first cuffed mitten without a pattern. The gift card fits in the mitten perfectly. I'm still rather amazed I managed to do this without any sort of instructions, to be perfectly honest. I wish I had taken the time to take notes while making the mitten since I would be able to write my own directions then. I'm pretty impressed with myself for figuring this out, however, I'm slightly annoyed with myself for second guessing my original design since I think I created extra work for myself. It's all part of learning, I know.

I think my sewing machine hates me now, though. I used fuzzy felt and it was pretty thick going through the feeder. Some of the fuzz wanted to catch every now and then, but for the most part I made it through without too many problems. What's even more amazing about the entire project is that my seam actually managed to remain even! Yay, me! My sewing is improving! Now I need to remember how to thread the silly thing so I can change the color of the thread. Thank heavens for the manual!

I really do wish I could be there for the recipient to open this gift. I think it will be much better received now that there is a little gift card holder made by yours truly, or at least I hope that's the case.

Specific to me, of course!

I have mentioned previously that Christmas ornaments are probably one of my favorite Christmas crafts to make (overall favorite, for that matter - Christmas just happens to be my favorite holiday).  I was thinking about this the other day and realized I've made a lot of different ornaments through the years.

Just to list a few:

• paper bag ornaments (sounds crazy, but very simple)


• felt shape ornaments


• felt and fabric ornaments


• quilted ornament balls


• fabric shape ornaments


• wooden and fabric ornaments


• cinnamon applesauce ornaments


• photo ornaments


• recycled Christmas card ornaments


• painted glass ornaments

The list could go on and on.  I think I might have pictures of some of these ornaments somewhere, but if not, I'll have to ask my giftees if they can take pictures for me since I always have given away the nicest of the ornaments.  My sisters were the recipients of the majority of my ornaments, and now I will be making ornaments for my nieces.

Because of the ornaments I want to make for the kids, I think I'll try to make an ornament every month or so.  It will be like Christmas all year long!  I have a few ornaments I want to make already, some from the recent issue of Crafts n Things and some from a few books I have here.  I also think I want to attempt knitting some mini stockings and hats, but I'll have to find a pattern first.  I'll have to pace myself or I'll wind up making too many ornaments and there won't be enough room on the Christmas tree for all of them!

In any case, here's to getting started early for next year!  Yay for holiday crafts all year long.  :)

I am so glad B comes home tomorrow from his training in New York. I am hoping to get a lot more done with him home, although I'm not entirely certain that will be the case. At least I can take a blanket with me to the airport to knot in the car on the way home.

Speaking of B coming home, instead of working on any Christmas crafts tonight, I worked on cleaning up the house a little and spent a rather lengthy time talking to him on the phone. He talked to the baby on the phone as well and amazingly, she actually rambled on and on. Usually she clams up on the phone, but tonight the child was just out of control. She's so cute right now with all of her new words, and it was very obvious she was excited to talk to her daddy.

B will be frustrated to see many of my craft supplies are sitting in boxes in the guest room, but I don't want to put them in the closet just yet. I really would like to get some sort of storage system going in the closet other than huge boxes, but that will have to wait for a bit. Perhaps after the new year I'll make a trip to the Container Store and get my supplies organized again. I'll probably put the boxes in the closet sometime this weekend, though. I think I am going to try to use the boxes as a gift wrapping surface, but I'm not sure that will work. It's certainly worth a shot.

I worked on the ornaments last night. The blankets are still staring at me, sitting in a pile on my sofa waiting to be knotted. I took advantage of Sophie being asleep last night and sewed up all of the ornaments so they're ready to be stuffed. Out of all the crafts I have ever done, holiday crafts are always my favorite, and out of the holiday crafts, ornaments rank at the top (I seriously wish I had pictures of all the ornaments I've made throughout the years - I should ask my sisters for pictures of all the ornaments I've made for them). That's probably how they managed to get worked on before the paper mache boxes and the blankets, although I don't have sealer for the decoupage yet, so that can wait another day or two.

I sewed three sets of three ornaments each. I'll take pictures of all the ornaments once they're finished, but for now I focused on the Christmas tree. These are some of the easiest ornaments I've ever made (usually I use the blanket stitch around the edges or some other hand-sewn detail), and the first ornaments I've ever made with the sewing machine. I wish I'd made them a wee bit larger but I don't think they'd look good on the tree if they were too big. As it is, this ornament was probably my smallest at roughly 1"x3".

I'm not terribly fond of the rickrack I used for the Christmas tree hanger, but what's done is done. Since this is the first time I'd ever sewn anything like this and I wasn't using any sort of pattern, it took me a few minutes to figure out how to get the rickrack so it was facing the right direction to work as a hanger when I was done. I took the time to pin down the rickrack and then pin the two fabric pieces together (the green is felt, the Christmas tree is simply cut from some Christmas fabric I purchased at a local craft store). I ran into an issue while sewing with the pins in place and wound up having to remove the pesky ones that were in the way of the presser foot, but that wasn't too often

I have to admit, while I like sewing with the machine, I don't really care for sewing small items such as this. Not only is it frustrating because of all the stop and go, but the size made the ornaments difficult to turn out once they were all sewn up. I do like, however, the fact that it cut my sewing time by eleventyhundred hours. Had I thought about what I was going to do for my nieces for Christmas earlier in the year, I would have gotten a jump start on the ornaments and probably would have done them all by hand. Oh, who am I kidding. I would have planned it and probably would never have gotten around to it and would have skipped the whole thing altogether had it not been for the sewing machine.

I did remember to leave a bit of a gap so I could turn the ornament, which for me is a small miracle. I was surprised I managed to get all nine ornaments sewn on the machine without mucking up any of them. Of course, I still have a small bit of hand-sewing to do, which leaves plenty of room for mucking about, but the gaps are small, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Once I finished sewing the ornaments, I trimmed off excess material and clipped the corners. I made sure to leave a little extra fabric on the side that needed to be sewn up so I had a little more fabric for playing (or mucking, as the case may be). When turning the ornament, I used my scissors (the deadly-cut-you-so-you-bleed scissors) to poke out the corners, and that's only because I managed to misplace the seam ripper that I used to own years ago. I know this was a bad idea, but thankfully it had no bad results. I told B a seam ripper would make a great stocking stuffer, so hopefully I won't be turning corners with my scissors too much longer.

Once turned, I stuffed the ornaments with a little bit of Polyfil (very little bit) and made sure it was tucked into the corners as well (again with the scissors of death). I then folded the fabric at the gap down into the ornament to be flush with the seam already there and pinned it shut so I would have an easier time sewing the hidden seam. I still have a few ornaments left to stuff and pin and then I will work on the seams after all that is done.

I'm not looking forward to the hand-sewing, mostly because I have a "boo-boo" on my favorite needle pushing finger (middle finger, right hand). It currently qualifies as a boo-boo and not a sore, wound, or crack (or anything else it could be called) since it is wrapped up in a Care Bears bandage as well as a Hello Kitty bandage. it has certainly caught Sophie's attention!

These ornaments should be done by tomorrow night or Sunday at the latest. I will probably take a blanket (or perhaps all three?) with us to B's parents house on Sunday if we go over there to watch the football game. I'm not sure when I'm going to get the decoupage done. I do have a few more gifts coming in the mail that need to be sent to the Great White North in time for Christmas Eve, so I have a little time. I have a feeling I'll have to do an overnight shipping or something with this package, though. I was the one asking around about Christmas gifts and trying to figure out what to get Sophie well before Thanksgiving, and I'm still rushed to get everything done. One of these years I will get organized and be done by Thanksgiving (yeah, right!). Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?