Uggg... the BUGS!

I love being outside, but I hate, hate, hate BUGS! This past weekend we had a graduation/18th Birthday party for the #SupermanturnedHulk and the bugs were party crashers for sure! I bought a large supply of those little bug bands that you can put on your wrist or ankle, AND we made a few batches of homemade bug spray.

I'm much more likely to spray this stuff on myself 100 times than use the outdoor chemically stuff even once! I can not stand the way it feels on my skin, I don't like the smell and I hate the fact that I will need to shower it off before climbing into bed!

UHHHH.. I realized after the fact that the picture was taken before the labels made their way on the bottles! 

The lil bean and I found several recipes on Pinterest and at her age now I just turned her loose with making them. She did a great job and they got plenty of use! I'm including a few links here just in case you decide you want to try this for yourself. Using these links doesn't cost you anything, they are just my personal preferences and if they are used I may receive a few pennies in my piggy bank. 

Here is a link to the recipe we used, I like the smell of this one the best and it is fairly simple to remember how many drops of each oil!


I bought the cute little blue bottles on Amazon, I think you can find them in brown as well. They are glass so you have to be a little careful, but we have dropped them several times without ever breaking one.

You can also grab labels there, they have plenty to choose from. I have used these in the past and I have also just used my silhouette to cut some from vinyl. Really just depends on how much effort you want to put into it.

And in full disclosure, I am a doTerra preferred customer and am sharing the link associated with my own personal page. (I have used many different types of oils and prefer these. I signed up personally for the discount... I like to save a few pennies here and there!!) You can purchase your own set of oils for this recipe, again, this is just my preferred brand.

It's another scorcher here today and its about time to start managing the Crazy around here... Hope you have a great one, and if you decide to try this recipe, let me know! 

XOXO ~ Heather 

Etsy Shop Update...My Fancy Finds

I designed this little magic wand a while back and LOVE it! 

It is one of the most popular pieces I have. 

It has taken me a little time to get it listed...

I'm slow like that! It's a problem...

I'm Aware... lol. 

I hope you love it as much as I do!! 

If your a Facebook friend I have offered a special discount code...

If you are a Follower here...I will share it with you! Leave me a message and I will email it to you :)

PS: To my friends who are still waiting for their handmade goodie...it is on it's way!  

Getting Crafty

I have been having so much fun creating Crafty Valentines Decor! Margie's Ecourse really helped to jump start this! She had some great ideas - just fun stuff that got me motivated! Here are a few things that I did....

Lollies...

I also made about a dozen different garlands and just realized that I don't have any pictures of them! I'll snap one tomorrow and post it! 

I also decided to host a Craft Night at my house. I have always talked about doing it with a group, but usually only do a one on one thing.

I gathered all my supplies, purchased enough of a few things for everyone. It was so much fun to gather all my goodies! I loved pulling all the colors out and grouping them for Valentines Day. It inspired me to start doing this more often...for other holidays, to keep my creative energy going.

I love to be inspired! 

Who doesn't??

This little bird in a nest was inspired by a swap I participated in last year. 

I received so many pretty little birds! I have been keeping them up all year long, just keep updating them with the holiday decor.

I made this Banner using chipboard and some Valentines paper. Threw a few little extras on and there ya go!

I hope that some of my pictures have inspired you to go get crafty!

Handmade Holidays and Decorating 2011

Once again we are taking the pledge to participate in a Handmade Christmas Holiday. This is not our first year and it won't be the last! Of course there are a few items that I can't make, you know the electronic variety, but Santa usually brings those in his sleigh!

I read a really interesting blog post about taking the Handmade Pledge for gift buying, and I really wish I could find it! I would love to share it with you. I can summarize that the blog post talked about how it can be difficult to really follow through with this type of pledge, but to do the best you can. I am sure I didn't do the post justice with that summarizing...but, you get the point!

On to Christmas decorating....
The day before Thanksgiving the girls and I spent a few hours in The Glitter Lounge (my craft room) and made a few fun little things! I gave them their choice of plates or cake stands and then let them loose in the boxes and cabinets to make their own little Christmas scene. It was fun to see them get all glittery and covered in glue.

Then the day after Thanksgiving, we rearranged furniture and set the tree up. Fun stuff!! Ordered pizza, jammed to the Christmas music, etc. As you can see, Lily is giving her best to the Christmas music!

Trees (2) done and the mantel before calling it quits for the evening! I have a little left to do, but the big stuff is done!

More Holiday fun to come tomorrow!

Etsy Shop Update...My Fancy Finds

Handmade Holidays 2011!

Sterling Silver soldered keepsake necklace.

2 Charms, 24" beaded chain.

Available in my Etsy shop!

 Simple, Sterling Silver soldered 1" charm on chain.

Sterling Silver Soldered 1" photo pendant on a beaded 18" chain!

All purchases come gift boxed!

Cyber Monday special....

FREE coordinating earrings with each purchase.

Week 2

We have moved into the 2nd week of school and the tears have not stopped. They were just as bad this morning as they were last week. I am really hoping that by the end of this week the tears will be gone!!! Lets keep our fingers crossed!!!

I have been trying to keep myself busy in The Glitter Lounge while Lily has been at school. I have made many-a-accessory prior to the start of school...Lily has her very own Accessory line! I will be showing that to you next week!!!

Today I want to show you a little something I made for one of my favorite girlfriends! It was for her Birthday, and I LOVE the way it turned out! Love it!!

Using Vintage Mother of Pearl buttons and a little velvet ribbon, pearl chain and a few little rhinestones...I made this little beauty! I love the way it turned out!

New Hat and W.I.P.

I have been on a bit of a knit/crochet kick lately...probably because I am avoiding cleaning up the mess below!!

This is what happens when a glitter obsessed 5 year old is left alone in your craft room while your at work....her father had some 'esplaining' to do....

Here is a new hat that I made...this is take 2...the first one became Bree's...her head is a tad bigger than mine and the hat came out much bigger than I anticipated.

I am helping out a friend today and watching her two little ones. A quick fix for the baby blues I have been having since Lily turned 5. I am only 3 hours into it the day with them and I am already cured! Wink, wink...

I am also in the process of writing my blog post for the One World One Heart blog event....hope to get that posted by Thursday.

Hey! Check out my friend Karla's blog giveaway...she is the cutest thing you'll ever meet!! Love her and what she can do with an old sweater...or two!

Warm and Cozy in my Cowl

I knit up a Cowl over the past weekend. I put it to use the other night when I was cleaning my car off in the snow....it was MUCH warmer before it got all sopping wet in the snow!

It was so easy, I didn't even count anything! No pattern, just knit... I wanted something simple and washable that I could just throw on with everything.

This fit the bill...

A few Christmas Crafties and a Paycheck....

Hello my friends!

I am having some fun experimenting with a few Christmas crafts...I spent Monday "Multi-Crafting"...I like that word...I will be using it a LOT more in the future..seems to be the way I work anyway. Glue something while spray paint is drying on something else...then off to sew something or cut something while both of those are drying...

Any-hoo....

Here are a few pictures of my projects on Monday....all completed before I headed off to earn my very own Paycheck!

As mentioned above...I had to join the rest of the world and get a J.O.B. I would love to make a living off of glitter and cupcakes but the truth is...I never get my Etsy shop filled with my little creations and I am always all over the place with my crafting...I haven't found my niche yet. The life of a Crafter with ADD...No worries...I actually love my new job. I was SO SORE though that I could barely raise my arms on Sunday! How is that for being out of shape??? WhoooHoo

So, where you might be asking????

Trader Joe's is my new home away from home...

I am a produce girl....

I need flannel panties....seriously!
I LOVE it....

Handmade Holiday - How our journey began

Post Edit...I have made a few explanations throughout this post to answer some emails...
As I mentioned yesterday, this is our 3rd year doing Handmade holiday. We are still evolving with this event and so far, I really like where it is going. Let me give you a bit of the background on how we got to where we are today.... This is a long Christmas story.....


I LOVE Christmas...I mean, I REALLY LOVE Christmas....like decorate my little house (approx. 3000 sq. ft)  with at least 5 Christmas trees...change all the dishes in the kitchen over to holiday decorations...etc.

I DESPISE commercialized Christmas....I hadn't been to the mall or to the big box stores during Christmas for over 1 1/2 years until last year. When my older 3 children were little we went over the top every year with their gifts ~ and I always felt awful about it. I always felt like it was too much..and it was!..Yes, I am aware that it was my choice to buy those gifts....

My husband and I have always taught our Children (based on his Ukrainian heritage and my German/Irish heritage) about the story of St. Nicholas, the Magic of Christmas, the Christmas Spirit, and the gift of Giving.

As the years progressed with the older 3, we began to alter our gift giving strategy because we didn't like the excess and the 5 foot Christmas list (literally...) of toys that they didn't really need or want, but had seen commercials that made them crazy for that toy! We began to explain to them, that they could make their list as long as they wanted, but to really highlight the TOP 3 because ~ St. Nicholas brought children 1 present and it was always a handmade toy...and Jesus only received 3 gifts from the Wisemen....so, they would only be receiving 3 "toy" gifts from Santa and the rest will be Mommy/Daddy presents.

Fast forward to 3 years ago when we were fast approaching Christmas and all commercial toys were looking the same to me and my babies (Lily was just over 1 at the time) toys were all being recalled! Ta Da ~ handmade Christmas emerged into our lives...I had been reading in blogland about this concept and I adopted it and adapted it to our family.

We have tweaked it each year and thrown in a few challenges here and there...like NO big box store purchases last year....that was fun, and it didn't work because two kids wanted electronic items that we were forced to purchase at a major retailer!
Part 2 of our Story...The Gig is Up~Santa
As I mentioned earlier in this post, we have always taught our children about the real meaning of Christmas, and tried not to just focus on the Big Guy in a red suit! Last year I read a book called The Glass Castle, which is a true story and very moving. It brought a deep dark fear/belief of mine to a head for me no~my fear is NOT that I am crazy!....the mother who was TRULY crazy in this story had what I believed to be, a moment of brilliance, when she explained to her children that just because "Santa" didn't bring them tons of toys or ANY toys, it wasn't because they were less deserving or bad kids.  She popped the Santa bubble for them because they were VERY poor and couldn't provide for their children what other children were being given. BUT she wanted her children to know without doubt, that they were worthy of the best in life. I give this woman credit for nothing more than the explanation of Santa For me...It brought to light the fact that I didn't want my children to think they were less worthy or bad because they didn't get TONS of presents from "Santa". I didn't want to go into debt to keep up with the Jones...I saw that at times we bought for our kids because we wanted them to have what "other kids" were getting - to be equal - to not feel like they were not as worthy. Our financial situation is obviously much better than the family in the book, but I don't like the way people put themselves into debt to give to their children, and I refuse to do so.... The recession brought a new twist to many families and for our growing family, with a small business in a small town, this was no different.

My older kids had already started to not believe, based on school and their age...So...I sat my three older children down and we talked about Christmas and Santa.... I never came out and said that Santa didn't exist, but we talked about whether or not we believed that Santa was a big guy in a red suit who came down the chimney? Did Santa bring their friends BIGGER gifts (say a pinball machine) because they were a better kid? ...Or was it just luck of the draw? ....Or was it because their parent had more means than we did? In the end we came to the conclusion that The Spirit of Christmas is where the real magic is, and spending countless hours as a family, making crafts and foods together ~ to share ~ is truly the beauty of Christmas.I recently mentioned in conversation that our older kids know the "truth" about Santa and one of the women I was talking to had the saddest look on her face and said "Awww..." but honestly, the truth has been quite wonderful. To me, to see my kids really embrace the spirit of Christmas and make it magical for the ones that they love ~ especially their little sister has been quite wonderful.

So we focus on Handmade, we give 3 Santa gifts, Mom and Dad give gifts that they may want and may need....no one is missing out! Etsy has been a wonderful treat for handmade shopping! Sometimes Santa and his little elves have to visit the box stores to produce one of their gifts - but Santa really loves the Internet so much better than the actual store!

PLUS...this is the reaction you get when you are really committed to your Christmas list!

Giving Thanks - Silver Bella Edition

I am a little behind on my Thank You's from Silver Bella and since I am offering a bit of Thanks every day this week....I thought I would include these wonderful women in my gratitude!!


I would LOVE to show you all the pictures that I have taken...but...my Big camera wont connect to the computer...so I used my little camera! Well... *somehow* my little camera got glued to the table....check back on Friday and you'll understand why! So I turned to my phone...took all the pictures AGAIN and the darn thing ATE the pictures! I can't find them ANYWHERE!!

Since, I am just so thankful for the Women and all the cute little things they gifted to me, I am going on with the post anyway! Here goes...


To my two lovely travel partners...
Pam ~ You have truly inspired me in many ways...many ways...
Sue ~ Thank you for taking me under your wing! It was a warm and cozy wing indeed!!


To my beautiful and gracious roommates....
Jen ~ thank you for all the wonderful little goodies you gave me ~ and thank you for not letting me put those cute little "lip glosses" on my lips! They are for painting, really??


Kathi ~ thank you for the lovely necklace! I have worn it several times so far...really appreciate it!


Terri! ~ Oh Terri...how I LOVE my cute little hat! I might even where it on Thanksgiving??? Just never know....and the goodies that were included with the fabulous hat....THANK YOU! I am a lover of Bingo cards and hankies!! Thank you for your help with the swap as well!


Kana ~ thank you for the box of toffee....it was DELICIOUS..thank goodness I was able to have a few pieces before my kids ate EVERY last bit!!

Kana and I on Vendor night...photo from her blog

Kim ~ Thank you for the lovely soap...I love lavender!! MMMM....thank you!


Shawn ~ Thank you for the yummy lavender sachet!


Jill G. ~ Thank you for the adorable milk container filled with chocolate! That was ADORABLE!! It will take a place in the holiday decor!

To my Swap partner Jill.....NO WORDS...JUST NO WORDS to express my incredible gratitude for my beautiful box filled with amazing goodies!! It literally brought tears to my eyes!
To my swap partner Susan ~ Thank you for the adorable vintage bag and tussy and all the other goodies!! So many to play with - thank you!


Michelle ~ Thank you for letting us have a sneak peak at your vendor goodies...I love you for that! :) And...my cute little key is still in my change pouch!

Suz ~ thank you for the little trinket you passed on to me in our Tea Cup Fairy Class

HOPE~thank you for getting me through our soldering class....I really couldn't have made it without you...literally...I enjoyed all our conversations and look forward to spending time with you again!

Jennifer ~ Thank you for my trinket in our Gilded Fairy Class!

JULIE B. ~ The Chocolate....MMMMMM....the chocolate! So yummy!!! Thank you for everything, I LOVED spending time with you!

Swiped this picture of Julie and Jennifer and I from Michelle's blog...thank you!

Roxie & Robin ~ Thanks for the laughs!!!


And to all the other Silver Bella Ladies....Thank you for making my first year a wonderful year! If you didn't see your name here ~ it doesn't mean I didn't LOVE YA!!

I did a little photo swiping to show you some of these ladies...so glad SOMEONE has pictures!

Monday Madness and a linky!

I am feeling a little Monday Madness.....

My mother laughed at me and said I had a "Crazy-eye" going on today!

I was frantically working on a slew of projects!

Samples (prototypes...lol) for my final swap projects....purses, crowns, packets of trim and my arch Nemesis.....Millinery! I knew I was pushing myself on that one!!!

I FINALLY dropped off my invitations tonight for The Witches Divine Dinner Party! Just a little behind on that one.....they are, however, my favorites!! They consisted of two tags and a skeleton with a toe-tag for an address label.

I used several different mediums to make these tags; Tim Holtz stamps, a picture from The Graphics Fairy, Stampin'Up stamp, silk millinery flowers, ribbon, dollar store skeletons, artificial branches....and my absolute favorite...Glow in the Dark glitter from Martha Stewart!

I used this picture from The Graphics Fairy and am linking this to her...Brag Monday

I WANT to show you snippets from the other projects but I just can't....too much of a spoiler! I will say this...the Crown is shaping up to be AWESOME! I am in total trim heaven putting together my swap pieces for that....I can't wait for Silver Bella! Only 30 days until I will be in Omaha!

Petite Inspirations...

!!!!!WARNING!!!!!
BIG GIANT SPOILER if you are my Swap Partner!!!

I am finished with my very first set of swap boxes!!!

Petite Inspiration Swap Boxes, Paris Edition

I had SO much fun putting these together!!!!


They are just jammed full of tiny treasures - At first they wouldn't shut, so I had to make sacrifices!! I had such a difficult time deciding what to take out!



I tried to gear the boxes towards my swap partners while keeping in mind what the "Inspiration" for the boxes were...


My Swap Partners were...

Connie

&

Pam

Decisions...Decisions...

This is the box I put together for Connie...

And for Pam...

My very Own Petite Inspiration enjoyed watching me and "helping" me work on these beautiful treasure boxes as well. For me that is one of the best parts of creating....watching my kids as they create right along side of me!!

See her back there??? She was peaking through on all the pictures...