Craft along success!

For a more in depth version of this post, check it out at my blog.   


I got a charm pack and made this wee blanket using the tutorial I linked to in the announcement post.  

I thought it would work for me but is too small....maybe I'll use it as a gift.

I still had all my sewing stuff out so decided make another, bigger one that I can use.  (Thanks for the charm pack last year, Jill!)  I had plenty of fabric in my stash to round it out and make it larger.

So, month one is a success.....I hope y'all like what I have in mind for FEBRUARY!

January Craft Along - A Little Creation

  This months craft along was making a lap blanket. Since I do not use a sewing machine my only option was to do a no sew fleece blanket. Which wasn't a real hardship, I really like using the fleece, it's comfy without being overly hot and I happen to have the fabric sitting in the cabinet.  Extra points for also completing a project.

  I tried two of the no-knot examples off of pinterest, but didn't like them so I went with the standard knot tying, it doesn't bother me (or the cat). I used 2 1/2 yards of no pilling patterned fleece with a complementary solid background. Easy peasy lemon squeasy. It's the perfect size for cuddling up in my recliner.

 

TTFN,

Chris =]

  

Going to town........

Here is Mr. Pig


I decided Mr. Pig needed a going to town hat!

January's theme!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Did you know that a pig is considered good luck for the New Year in many countries? Because of this, our FIRST theme of the year has to be the PIG!!!!
After all, we all can use some good luck!

January's storybook: One of the classics: The 3 Little Pigs
January's ornament: a pig (or a flying pig if your name is Jenny)
January's challenge: clothe your pig

Posting date for the ornament begins the 3rd week of January. Before then, try to read the book and post things pertaining to the theme!

"I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down!"
-The Big Bad Wolf

Dressed for Winter giveaway!

I decided that this little swap needed to have a swappy giveaway!!!

Given the theme of the swap, I thought this lovely snowflake would be perfect :

Leave a comment and I'll draw a winner next Saturday!

sneak peek

What do you get when you take some of this:




and add some of this?



You get a variety of ornaments....but I can't tell you WHAT they are, you'll just have to wait and see!

Dressed For Winter Ornament Swap....

Snow is such an enchanting gift of nature! I love how Mother Nature cloaks the land with snow like Little Red's cape, but only in white instead of red.

I kept going round and round about how to 'dress' something for winter...the way Mother Nature does.

I played around on google....I found snowshoe rabbits, Arctic Fox, polar bears, snow leopards and snow owls...all perfectly enchanting creatures...dressed for winter.
I found enchanting cottages with thick snowy roof tops, snowflake fairies, snow fairies and snow pixies.
I found Jack Frost and snowmen/women/ babies. So many ideas!

Here is what we are swapping:

1 beautifully crafted hand made ornament:
The ornament needs to be "dressed for winter's glory." Only 1 ornament is required.

3 "tuck ins" to round out your package.
Use your partner's profile here and keep in mind that the swaps I host are supposed to be long on creativity...NOT CASH. Consider hand making your tuck ins, I know I will!

Try using soft colors of winter like whites, soft blues, pinks. Don't forget LOTS of glitter! If you crochet, using soft fluffy yarns or yarns with a shimmery thread in it should do the trick. Put on your thinking hats and try a new medium!

And please remember to lovingly create an ornament you would find hard to part with.

Your partner's list of 10 goodies is a great place to start with tuck ins. Other ideas are:
recipes for favorite winter treats or comfort foods
a package of hot cocoa or tea
maybe some bath salts to soak frosted toes...
stash stuff...bits of ribbon and trim, baubles and buttons


If you are not part of my Year of Enchantment II and want to join this ornament swap please leave a comment and email me the following at valpowery(at)yahoo(dot)com:

1. your name and address
2. your blog address (you must have a regularly updated blog)
3. 10 little things you adore

Sign up deadline is January 7th at midnight.

International players are welcome.
Shipping deadline to mail out to your partner is no later than February 19th which gives you plenty of time to create and mail out your package.

If you do not follow through on your commitment, you will not be allowed to play here again so PLEASE don't sign up unless you have the time and resources to commit to the creation and mailing of your package.

People always ask how much a swap should cost. Again, my swaps are all about creativity, not cash!
If you must have a dollar amount, I would suggest keeping your package to $5.00 before shipping cost.

Share a recipe, link to a favorite winter themed movie, show a sneak peek of what you are creating!

WoOhOo . . . I got my January YoE goodies . . .

I got my package today! My swap partner Robin L. sent me some fun goodies!




WoOhOo! I love this one. A ribbon Pinecone!
Can you guess why? It's HALLOWEEN colors folks! Yeah baby!
Robin says that this is the first time she's done ribbon work like this. I never would have guessed. It's awesome!


Some goodies to enjoy! a hand sewn zipper fabric bag, some cute magnets, a handmade blue sled ornie, a golden pinecone pendant/mini ornie and a package of Faerie and enchanted buttons! I've never seen these and they're cute!
Thank you so much Robin L. I love everything. I loved having you as a partner!

On a side note- I did my part in feeding the birdys this month!


I sliced some oranges and tied them up to the branches! I haven't seen any birds stop by so I wonder if it's the wrong treat for the wrong birds? Hmmm!

I also crumbled up some bread and scattered them around the trees in our side front yard. They came and ate those up right away- I wasn't fast enough to get a snapshot. But I did my part and they were happy! I'm doing more bread crumbs tomorrow too!

Stay Warm!

Be Enchanted!

Send one, get one!

I sent my package out to Sherry about the same time I GOT my package from her!

We both had the same idea in mind...to make something with acorns and pine cones!

Here is what I sent her:



and here is what she sent me

the little round ornie actually has pine cone pieces all around it....just darling!

Thank you Sherry! I love them all!

WooHoo!!

After waiting for what seemed like forever, my ornament from AwtemNymf finally arrived. I thought the Post Office was holding it hostage lol.   Oh what goodness I did find :)

I opened the box to find all kinds of good things wrapped in green tissue paper. I have to say that I just love seeing a box full of wrapping paper. It is so much fun to unwrap things or to search for things. It reminds me of Easter when we were younger and digging through the grass to find all the candy.

Isn't this the most adorable little nymph?  She is all glittery too. Such cuteness! Now I think I need to go get one of those little trees to hang all these ornaments on.

Thank you so much AwtemNymf...I love everything!!

Chorus Line Cuties

I thought Christmas had come again when I opened the box Gin sent me! She knows how to spoil a person!


Gin made me the cutest Chorus Line Garland of Girls! The girls are made with pine cone bodies and are strung on a Christmas ribbon. Aren't they cutest with their little red hats??? And if that weren't enough! She hand painted me a pine cone on a piece of clear acrylic. Complete with a pretty ribbon, ready for hanging. It's going in my kitchen window! Love it!!! And then she also sent me two glitter pine cone candles. I just know Christmas is here again!!
Thank you Gin!!

How cute

My ornie from Jeanne was super great. Being the artist that she is, I couldn't wait to see it.
She made real-life looking pine cones. And a pretty flowered bag to keep things in. This will be perfect to put some keepsake jewelry in I have that was passed down to me.

Here is a close of the the pine cone ornie. The detail is fantastic. Each row of the pine cone is so distinct. It seems to be made of felt. Very soft.

Thank you Jeanne. You are so talented.

I'm going to do what Courtney did and put up a little tree and hang my ornies every month till Christmas..

No birds for me

I've decided to not take part in feeding the birds this month. We live in SW Florida (Cape Coral) in a decently populated area. There used to be only 3 houses in our neighborhood but now there's around 25. We used to have lots of birds and even some foxes that would come by regularly to get a bite to eat. After the area started developing around 5 years ago the wildlife has mostly disappeared. I don't mind that the skunks found a new home but we do miss the birds and foxes.

What we do have is giant Turkey Vultures. I took this picture standing at my back door. The vultures found something across the back road. It must have been a small creature because we had a dozen vultures stop by but only a couple stayed around for a daytime snack.

This one fle right over our heads and ended up coming back to land next to our house. These birds stand 2 feet tall and have wing spans of up to 6 feet across. It is amazing to see them sitting a few feet away.

We've tried all kinds of things to attract birds to our yard. Bird seed, peanut butter items, bread, popcorn, cereal...no visitors. Every once in awhile we will see some smaller birds come by to steal a sip from out grapefruits but that is it.

For my RAOK I have knit a couple hats to send to an online friend that is knitting for her local hospital. She is trying to meet a goal she has set for herself and I want to help out throughout the year. I was hoping to make more by now but have had a few orders that took up lots of my time.

January's Swap Teaser....

I mailed my January Swap Item out to my Swap Partner yesterday! I can't tell you what it is just yet! But I really liked the way it turned out & I think I will make me some! Here's a teaser ....