"Snow"man Of My Dreams!

Can I get a "Woot, Woot!"

I finally made something for ME!

Monday I cut out these snowflakes and the snowman parts....and finally today, 

I painted them! 

I am so stoked.  Originally I made the snowman to hang on my front door...

But I set him up on the fireplace mantel and stood back to looked at him, I decided I really did want the "whole" snowman for the door...

And this guy looks so cute on the mantel, he might as well stay there!

This handsome devil is still hanging out on the front door, and cute as he is, the neighbors think I am totally crazy.  You see, I didn't decorate for Christmas until maybe 5 days before the holiday.  Now that it is over, I bet they have already started wondering exactly how long it will take for me to take him down.  

I have been known to take years.  I get so caught up in life and kids and orders that I tend to not even notice the house around me :0)  I am working on it!

{psss...Thanks again Joni for sending me this fabulous Santa.  

I thought you would like to know how loved he is ;0}

I like the snowman here so much, I guess I have to make holiday crafts for this spot too.  

You see the floor?  That is the remains of our rice box.  Emmalee asked if she could play with the rice box since it has been at least 6 mo. since we had it out last.  I calculated how much painting time I would get vs. how much time I would spend vacuuming it all up, and decided to grant her wish ;0)

Do you think she will want to play with it again tomorrow so I can paint a full version of this guy???

No, I don't think so either.  That is OK.  I think she has been a little playdough deprived.  Playdough will be the ammo of choice tomorrow to bargain for more painting time.

And did I mention...I cut out several Valentine and St. Patrick's Day crafts on Monday as well???

Lets hope that playdough works so I can come back with more show and tell!

Young Women's Moto {Chalkboard Style}

I Made a chalkboard version of the Young Women's Motto today {so super excited I could scream :0}

My intention is to have this printed at Staples on a huge black and white print, then mount it on foam board and hang it in the YW room.  In case you have no idea what I am talking about, the Young Women's organization is the youth group at our church that I have the privileged of working in. 

{Love it}

I have many lofty ideas in my head, but it is always fun to see them worked out on paper!

Wanna file?  Get it HERE from dropbox or email me at vanessa.cam5@gmail.com :0)

Snowman Kit!

I listed a new Item on ETSY!!!

My unfinished snowman kit  :0)

I totally love this guy.

The kit includes three snowball pieces, two arms, one carrot nose, three buttons, and wire to tie the whole thing together, all for $10!

All you need to do is read the provided instructions, paint the pieces {color recommendations included}, and wire/glue your snowman together.

I am telling you, this is the absolute best way to make a snowman!  No Frostbite!!!

You can find Mr. Frosty on my Etsy site.  I currently have the listing shipping in a flat rate priority box for $11, but I can ship it parcel rate if you prefer.  Painted versions are available for $20.

Just think, you could wake each wintry morning greeted by this smiley face :0}

Cell Phone Basket

Working with the teenage girls at church has been a total blast.  These girls, ages 12-18, are just so adorable and incredibly well taught by their parents.  It sure makes spending time with them so easy.  We have noticed a couple of girls on their phones during church lessons and activities and wanted a nice way to give the hint that maybe they should put them away.  I searched the web the other day and found this poem.  I modified it a tiny bit and made a printable in case any one else would like a copy.  I have it on a 4x6 sheet, making it the perfect size for a photo, or you can print it on cardstock as a 5x7 or larger.  This file and the modified versions below are available HERE for free from Dropbox.

Have a great day! :0)

Clippie Madness 2013

Here is the first set of clippie samples for 2013!

I have to admit, I TOTALLY dislike coming up with new ideas!

Basically I have to lock myself in a small dark room with an IV of Mountain Dew and chocolate for about a week.  

Here are the clips I came up with during last week's session of insanity.

I make my clippies, otherwise known as hair clips and ponytail holders, out of my endless drawers of stickers, clipart, photos, beads, brads, and charms.  Oh, and I use miniatures when they fit the themes.

I have two customers, both in Oman {country near Saudi Arabia}.  I will tell you, I have come to really be impressed with and Love the people of Oman as I have researched and created for these two ladies.

I make these samples, they ladies tell me which ones they like, and then I produce, usually 8 of each ordered design.  Both ladies have two daughters that wear 4 clips/ponytail holders in their hair at once {two clips up high, two ponytail holders at ponys or braids.

They only want specific themes, so other than the custom requests, I have orders to make school, sports, music, and technology related clips.

Whew!  I think I need a vacation now!  Actually, I really want to spend some time making valentine crafts!!!

After all that black and blue I really need to stare at some pink!

Hasbro House Party-Happier New Year's Game Night

We had the totally fun privilege of hosting a Hasbro's Happier New Year's Game Night provided by Hasbro and HouseParty.com this year.

The house was swarming with happy children and the adults had their own fun playing Yahtzee and Draw Something, compliments of Hasbro.

{source}

If you have never heard of House Party, it is a web site that works with various companies to bring products right to you and your friends via a party :0)  You make an account, read about upcoming house party opportunities, then you can apply to host a part.  If you are accepted, HouseParty.com will supply you with free products and/or coupons to put the party on.  Here is a picture of all that Hasbro supplied for our game night:  Yahtzee, Catch Phrase, Twister {with two new moves}, Draw Something  coupons, batteries for the games, cups, hats, and a crown and trophy for the ultimate winner.

We started out with Yahtzee while the kids started with Catch Phrase.  I never knew 8 adults could play Yahtzee at once!  One suggestion if trying out a large Yahtzee playing group of your own, have a second...and maybe even third cup of dice.  It will keep the game play a little faster :0)  Still, we really had fun chatting between turns.  That is probably why our game lasted over two hours.

While the teens were upstairs playing Catch Phrase, some of the boys dove into our game cabinet or watched a movie.

The girly girls on the other hand, were all about the dress-ups!  They played for like 4 hours straight.  When I finally looked into Emmalee's eyes at bedtime I felt like she had been on a long trip :0)  What a blessing little friends are to mommies.  I don't think I have had 4 straight hours of my own free time in years.

This is a picture Eli, my 11 year old son, took of the party.  Looks like I will have to give him a lesson in keeping people in the picture :0)  It was still so cute how he took ownership of this party.  With Madison in California marching in the Rose Parade, I was a little worried how we were going to throw a party days after Christmas and my birthday.  As it turned out, Eli was a fabulous help.  Most things I needed him to do, he did before I could even ask.  I love that boy!

Once we were through with Yahtzee, we played Draw Something.  It was really fun.  I figured it would be a lot like Pictionary, and it is, but instead of having two teams, each player is it's own team.  One person draws, everyone guesses.  If you guess the item, you AND the drawer get the points.  The first person to a certain number of points wins.  This game was totally fun for exposing competitive natures :0}  We got to see sides of people we never knew existed.  If you are a Pictionary kind of person, you will like this game.

In the end, we were all winners.  We all had a great time.  The kids totally loved the two new moves  in Twister.  When you spin the spinner, if it lands on the T symbol, the person spinning gets to chose what the players have to do.  And even more popular, if the spinner lands on a cloud symbol, the players have to place that arm or leg in the air :0)  It gets a little crazy when you have to hold more than one body part in the air, but what fun would the game be without a challenge???

We ended the party with a little noise making and by popping some confetti poppers.  At first the kids didn't know what to think about the poppers....

But once they realized the result of pulling the string was noise and mess, they were all about the poppers.

I am so totally glad I won the Hasbro Game night House Party.  We had so much fun as families on New Years Eve.  Thanks to you HouseParty.com and Hasbro for supplying a box full of smiles!

Sweater Up-Do

After the craziness of Christmas, over the break I finally broke down and popped out a little sewing project.

It was so fun!  I have missed my sewing machine SOOOOOO much!

So here is the total outfit.  Can I tell you it came from a sweater!

I LOVE IT!  Clothing remodeling is one of my passions I never get around to exploring.

Knowing me, you probably aren't too surprised I totally forgot the before picture :0}

Don't worry.  I reenacted the sweater just for you!

As you can so clearly see from my awesome computer drawing skills, the turtle neck was used to make the hat, the sleeves for the leg warmers, and the bottom of the sweater was used to make the skirt.

I was going to just make a straight skirt, but after looking at how perfect the bottom of the sweater was, I went for a pleated kinda twirl skirt.  It turned out way cuter than I thought half-way through sewing it.  Don't you love those moments of total hesitation and doubt?  It usually hits me half way through when I look down and the ragged mass in my hands and think, "There is no way this is gonna work!"

Basically, I cut an 6" piece for the bottom, then a 6" strip, folded in half and sewn to the bottom piece.  I serged the seams to prevent unraveling, but you can always do a zig-zag stitch over the edge if you don't have a serger.

Meet Charlotte.  She is my little 1yr old niece.  

I think she is totally adorable, however, her modeling skills need improvement :0)

The mess all over my house could use a little work too!

This is Charlotte after I said, "Show me your footsies!"

Don't you just love the leg warmers!?!  I hit one thrift store when they had all of their women's shirts and sweaters for $1.  I bought about 7 to cut the arms off for leg warmers for my Emmers.  This little project has lit a fire in me.  When I finally finish this new clippie order I will have to lock myself in my sewing room for a day or two.

Here is the only picture of Charlotte's face I got that morning.

That is OK though.  This little girl is adorable no matter what side you look at :0}

Baby girl was a lot happier at bedtime the night before when I finished the outfit.  She smiled and worked that outfit!  Funny how happy kids get at bedtime.

So agian, night time....

Morning.

Kallie, I hope you like this.  She is only going to get a thousand times worse when she is a teenager!

Super fun.  I love me a good clothing remodel!