HAPPY NEW YEAR

My hubby and I spent our Christmas up in the lovely and very cold Northwest. We are looking forward to spending New Year;s eve in warm Southern California.

I wish you all a very Happy New Year and may all 365 days of this coming year be filled with success, happiness and fun!

A shot of Bellevue, WA from my brothers town house.

HANDMADE HOLIDAY

I normally do not get holiday gifts for co-workers, unless I really like them! However, this year I decided to spread the cheer and to give the gift of handmade presents to everyone in my department.

I was inspired by this advent calendar to make miniature monogrammed paintings for all 14 people that I work with everyday.

Step 1:
Decide on what size canvas you would like to use and purchase them. I decided on 4x6 and I purchased them at my local art store Art Supply Warehouse for $2.29 that included 3 in a pak.

Step 2:
Choose the background color and paint the canvas's. I choose to paint all of mine black.

Step 3:
Gather some inspiration and pick your color palette. This can also be part of Step 1 & 2.

Step 4:
Since my background color was black I simply taped off the design on each one and added a layer of silver for the guys and light magenta for the girls. This part was quite easy.

Step 5:
Pick out what type of frames you want to use to add the finishing touch. I purchased mine at Ikea for a whopping $2.99 each.

Lastly check each one for any detail fixes, wrap and hand them out. I will be passing these out today as a few of my co-workers wil be off on vacation for the holiday. This was an easy and inexpensive project. I spent less than $5 per person.


Here are the finished goodies.

HOLIDAY WEEKEND BITS

We had a holiday to celebrate this weekend and by celebrate I mean we had a day off from work. My weekend consisted of cleaning, some gardening , harvesting , pancake making and hanging with our kitties.

The best part of the weekend was being able to sleep in and not worrying about having to wake up early for work, and now it's back to reality until the next holiday. Can't you tell I am excited about being back at work....

CELEBRATING INDEPENDENCE DAY

Since becoming a citizen of the United States I can now say that I am an American indeed, which mean being patriotic on such national holidays as Independence Day, otherwise known as the Fourth of July.

This holiday to me is the opening to summer, with picnics, barbecues, cool drinks and salads. I will be spending time with family on this day for a barbecue and a walk down to the beach for some fireworks. Even though I am normally not very patriotic as I see all people sharing this planet together without any borders. With that said, there is just something to be said about a brilliant display of fireworks.

For those of you who will be celebrating I hope you all have a happy and safe Fourth of July.

If you want to know a little more about why we celebrate this holiday in the US click here.

Holiday Greeting Cards Part 2

Here is the second round of cards. I spent all day Christmas Eve wrapping gifts and making the last final touches to these cards. The best part I did it with the hum of christmas music in the background.

In the end there was a nig mess surrounding me upstairs. I would normally make these in my craft room, but that room is full of wedding stuff now and needs much organization. Enjoy!

Holiday Greeting Cards Part 1

Before the year ends I thought I would finally get these posts out about the Holiday cards that made up for my friends and family. Here are a few to start with and I will split this up into two posts since there are many cards.

One of my goals for the New year is to start making cards on a more frequent basis so I can have a good supply handy for any occasion. It will save me lots of time.

Favorite Holiday Gifts Part 2

Here are my favorite gifts from my fiancée all bought from Etsy. I ended up making many of my holiday gift purchases for friends and family from Etsy this year and some local antique shops.

This lovely Iron Ship, which I intend on using in our wedding.

This rad portrait of my favorite poet Edgar Allen Poe.

These cute Apothecary jars to add to my growing collection.

Still have to figure out where to put this awesome airplant set.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

I have a special holiday greeting card post coming up after Christmas. Every holiday season and Birthday I whip up some handmade cards to give to my family and friends. I started doing this a few years ago because I was tired of paying $4- $6 for a good card that did not capture the look and feel of a heart felt card.

I want to hold off on posting any photos of my creations until everyone has seen their cards in person. So enjoy your final preparations before the holidays is upon us. Remember that this time of year is not just about presents. But about being with family, during a fun loving, joyful giving, peaceful and warm holiday. Happy Holidays to you all.

On another note, the sun has finally returned to us here in Southern California. We have been pelted by rain for the last week. Although we will have a dry Christmas (which I am very excited about) the rain is due to return next week.

Favorite finds online

Here are some of my favorite finds of this week. I know I am not the only one but whenever I shop for others I always find so many great things for myself. While I am on the subject of holiday gift giving and shopping. I had a very intriguing conversation with the cashier at Big Lots yesterday while purchasing holiday decor for work. She had mentioned how she rides the bus to and from work everyday and how she started participating the Salvation Army canned food drive which the Long Beach Transit Authority is putting on this year. They have placed a box on the buses where you can deposit these canned goods. She drops one can off in the morning on her way to work and another on in the evening on the her way back from work. Her thought process was that she was contributing in her own little way to families in need. She had also mentioned how she new what it is like to stand in line at the shelters to get food for her family and if she has anything extra she tries to help by sharing with others in need. Her wrists were draped with Rastafarian colored beaded bracelets which represented One Love that she believes should be shared with all living things on this planet. After my purchase was completed I thanked her and said the most important thing for everyone to remember is to continue to share, to treat each other kindly and humanely since we all do live and share the same planet.





This little camera is the coolest thing. You can find it here.



This would be perfect on camping trips for that added comfort lounge feel in the tent. You can find it here.





I love dinosaurs and this little felt guy is perfect for those little kids in your life. You can find it here.



I really love color coordinated items and this series is so awesome, especially since it's vintage. You can see more here.



Now that I have had two kitties for almost two years I love to see other kitties wearing hats. When I saw these I gasped with laughter. See some more here.

December is here!

Although the first day of Winter is not until the 21st of December it definitely feels like it here in Southern California. I walked out to my car this past Monday morning to find ice on the windshield and on the hood, it was about 34 degrees outside that morning. It has started to warm up a little but it's still cold enough for me to pull out the scarfs, gloves, boots, and all my wool coats and jackets. Did I tell you that I do love winter time despite the cold weather. Here's a photo of our Christmas Tree we put up yesterday at home on the first day of the month. There is also a handmade wreath to be shared as well, which is not yet complete. I also spent some time spreading some holiday cheer at work with a little Charlie Brown Christmas Tree and I will post a photo of that one later. Happy December to you all!



And here is the tree that I decorated at work

Being Thankful

As this Thanksgiving Holiday approaches I have sat back and thought about what I am really thankful for. I know many of us are so busy and wrapped in our own lives to even make time to sit down and really think about these things. I thought this was an appropriate time as any to write my list.

I am thankful for;

1) My health
2) My sweet and wonderful fiancée
3) My boss and awesome sister
4) My fiancées most loving grandparents that let us use their backyard to start our first veggie garden that we have had for 3 years now
5) My future mother and father in laws (Rob and Cora) that have done and given so much and continue to do so very generously
6) My own parents that have given their time and lots of patience with all 9 of their kids
7) My most adorable kitty cats Neko and Maneki. I love both of them to pieces even though they leave their hair on me and everything in the house
8)The most adorable and lovable Teagen Ella and I can't wait to meet your new little brother soon
9) The Nichols family for being so loving and accepting of a new member coming into the family
10) This should probably be higher on the list. I am thankful for my job and that I do not have to commute far and get to go to work everyday since I know there are many people out there without a job right now.

and of course THE INTERNET...I'd be lost without it

There are many more things that I can add to this list but I will keep it short and sweet for now. So what are you all Thankful for out there?

Card Swap 2010

As some of my close friends and family may know. I love to make my own hand crafted cards for holidays, birthdays and any other occasion that may arise. I throughly enjoy picking out the paper, ribbon, colors and themes for each card that I craft. So when I came across this in my Google Reader, well I immediately signed-up to be part of this Card Swap. I love the holiday season, and what better way then to share your craftiness and spread holiday cheer to families around the world. If you feel compelled to join in please read a little about it and how to sign-up below. It is totally free to sign-up.



The swap was created by Amber of Kids Craft Weekly and it will be the FIFTH consecutive year that she will be running this.The swap involves sending handmade cards to ten specific addresses, and receiving ten cards in return from Kids Craft Weekly families from all over the world.For all of the information, and to sign up, please visit the Card Swap FAQ and read through the info before signing up. Sign-ups for the swap close at 12 midnight (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on November 30, 2010.