Craftaholics Anonymous Handmade Gift Exchange

This year I decided to add a new little tradition to the holidays - participating in the Craftaholics Anonymous Handmade Gift Exchange. 

The idea is simple - I make a gift for someone I don't know, and they make a gift for me.  Kind of like a secret Santa, but oh so much more fun!

And today, my gift arrived from Abbey - and I love it!

Abbey sent me handmade mittens - perfect for me since my hands are always cold.  These are extra warm, made with sweater material on the outside and fleece on the inside.  I can't wait to wear these on a cold day.  I may even wear them in the house, they are that cozy!

I'm linking to the the party at Craftaholics Anonymous.

Thank you Abbey!

Thanksgiving 2010

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends nearby.

Book Page Wreath

OK, I did it.  I went and made myself a book page wreath.  I've seen them everywhere, and well, it was just time for me to give it a try. 

I thought this would be quick.  I read it was a 2 hour project. 

It was not quick.  It was not 2 hours. 

I think it may have been closer to 20 hours.  Spread out over a couple weeks. I had to give the burns on my fingers from my glue gun time to heal!

But it's finished.  And I love it.  And you can bet when I host my book club next month, this wreath will be displayed prominently!

I'm sharing this project with Jones Design Company.

My Fall Wreath

Today I share with you my Fall wreath.  I like it.  It didn't look like this when I first bought it many many years ago.  But it had pieces and parts that really reflected the colors of Fall, so I decided to give it a facelift.

The grapevine wreath base was a standard brown.  Which, over time, had become more and more dull.  Since our house sits back a ways from the street, I wanted something that would be brighter overall.  So...out came the trusty Krylon spray paint, and voila!  Now I have a nice bright wreath base that stands out against the black door. 

Then I added the orange ribbon.  Again, a bright touch that will transition well from Fall, to Halloween, and then back to Fall.  Once that was in place, I started adding back all of the leaves and fruit that were part of the original wreath, as well as some other items I had collected over the years.  Things like that I just don't throw away!

I'm happy with how this looks.  I really like the contrast of the colors against the door, and other than my ribbon and spray paint purchase, it cost $0 to put together!

What's hanging on your front door? 

Kasiascrafts

Keepinthesunnyside

Martha Stewart

Centsational Girl

It's Almost Here!

I'm talking about Purdue football!

Two more days until the big opening game - Notre Dame in South Bend.

We're avid Purdue fans.  Even more so since my husband's son became part of the team.  Since this is his last season, this year is even more special. 

There's so much to enjoy - the tailgating, the pre-game traditions, the band (the drum!), the rivalries, SHOUT, and a brand new Purdue Pete!

The next 3 months will be football every weekend, cheering for the black and gold.  It's so much fun joining my parents (30 year season ticket holders!) for the games.  We've been talking about football all summer, getting psyched up for this season.  We have high hopes for our team - we want to go bowling in January!

And what better way to start the season than against Notre Dame.  

Two more days and the fun begins....

It's time to Boiler Up, Hammer Down!

I'm Back

After a 6 month hiatus, I'm back!  And what better time to start blogging again than the beginning of Fall.  Ok, I know, it's not really Fall, but it's the beginning of another school year, and the beginning of  September, and the start of another football season, and starting this weekend the beginning of cooler temperatures.  In my books, that means Fall.

I love Fall.  I love the changing colors.  I love going to Purdue football games.  I love making every apple recipe I can find.  And I love decorating with all the warm hues of the season.  From pumpkin orange to cinnamon brown, from spice rust to warm gold - these are all my favorites and they show up all over the house for the next several months.

Today, for almost the 30th day this summer, it was over 90 degrees.   It's been dry, with maybe the lowest rainfall on record for the month of August. 

I'm sorry to say goodbye to Summer, but happy to say, Welcome Back Fall!

I'm Overwhelmed

I'm overwhelmed by the amazing talent and creativity that I've discovered in the last year since I started following blogs.

It all started innocently enough. I followed several different blogs as research for work, so it was easy to get started. But over time, those blogs linked to more blogs, which linked to more blogs, and then the next thing I knew I was overwhelmed by blogs!

But overwhelmed in a good way.

Bloggers are everywhere, talking about everything! And I'm getting sucked into all of it. With bloggers in my own city, and bloggers half way around the world.  I want to see what they're talking about, and what they're creating, and be a part of it. Business blogs, marketing blogs, craft blogs, shopping blogs, decorating blogs, techno blogs, event blogs, personal growth blogs. They are all there, waiting for me to discover them.

And just when I think I start to narrow my topics of interest to minimize the blogs, I stumble across another new topic and blog, and I'm hooked!

I'm going to list some of my favorite blogs on a future blog posting. If I enjoy them maybe you will enjoy them too. But I warn you - it may be overwhelming.

And of course, send me a link so I can follow your blog.