Manic Monday

The last Christmas swap for 2014 was the Secret Santa Swap.  I had a fabulous partner who made me some awesome knit goodies.  I think these are the first knit items I have ever received and so that made them extra special!  

A knit scoodie.

 

A super cute knit ear warmer

 

Two gorgeous rings 

 

A necklace that I have worn a few times already.  I love that she used real stones.

 

There was also some awesome fabric and the necklace came in the black skull tin.

Foodie Friday- Four Ingredient Christmas Cookies

 

Ahh Christmas baking... I'm not sure why I do it every year or I guess I should say why I overdo it every year.  I really just need to find one or two signature cookies and just make those but no, I always have to try out new recipes each year.  And not just one it's usually two or three.  

These cookies were made using a new recipe.  These cookies just might be one of those signature recipes I mentioned.  These were so good and so easy.  Four ingredients, a ten minute prep time, easy peasy!  I actually feel like a cheater of some sort because these were so easy.  

I followed the recipe for the most part except I made one tiny change.  Well it was kind of a big change since I think this is what took these cookies from good to over the top.  Instead of using regular M&M's I used Peppermint M&M's. Now these cookies were more than holiday ready just in looks, they taste like Christmas.  If you aren't a fan of peppermint feel free to use the plain M&M's or sub in your favorite style since I'm sure any of them would work (mmm now I am imagining peanut butter M&M's).  

Recipe found at Bombshell Bling

12 Days of Christmas

Monday I got to show off all the awesome goodies that I received in the Mini 12 Days of Christmas swap and now I am going to show off the goodies I sent.  My partner super spoiled me and I hope that what I sent was loved even if it wasn't as much as I received.

The first thing I made was a reusable advent calendar.  I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the design I used on the back.

 

Then I used lots of festive papers to decorate each box.  It was then filled with a few Kisses for each day.

 

I stitched up these mini hoops to be used as ornaments for her tree. 

The pattern is from Kimberly Ouimet on Etsy

 

I have been collecting wine corks to try out some new crafts and decided to make a few ornaments.

 I of course also had to make some jewelry!  I love the way this winter themed cluster pendant turned out.

 

Also a braided Kumihimo bracelet done in Christmas colors.

 

I made this fun felt banner using pre-cut snow flakes and felt circles.  I sewed the snowflakes to the circle by hand then used my sewing machine to get them on the ribbon.  The felt pieces were purchased from Pitterpattery

 

Two fun snowman magnets made from a kit I purchased at Retro Cafe Art Gallery.

 

I stitched up this cute coffee hoop using a free pattern from Wild Olive

 

And of course since note cards are my new favorite thing to make she got a set.  The Thank You cards are my favorite!

 

She had this super cute Santa wreath pinned so I sent that along too.  It's wrapped in yarn and I created the belt with ribbon and the buckle is paper cut with my Silhouette.

 

My partner also had these super cute felt houses pinned.  The Etsy seller actually sells the houses fully assembled.  I messaged her and she was nice enough to sell me a set of unassembled houses that I could put together myself.  These were also purchased from Pitterpattery

 

It's crazy that Christmas is about a week away.  The month has flown by!  I still have lots of Christmas things to share!

Manic Monday

This is all the amazingness I received from Thimbles71 in the Mini 12 Days of Christmas Swap.  She went above and beyond with this package and I adore every last bit of it!

Stocking Swap

I was partnered with kittykill in the Stocking Swap and I know she really likes the vintage look.  I was able to find an awesome piece of fabric that had a preprinted stocking shape on Etsy that had the perfect vintage look.  Since my sewing skills are minimal I thought this was a good way to go.  Just cut and sew.  The stocking is also fully lined.

 

Continuing with the vintage theme I made this wee snowman ornament out of a Mason jar lid.

 

I knew that kittykill really likes pink and she mentioned having a pink Christmas tree so this cupcake ornament was a must do.   I used cupcake liners, a bulb, fake snow, beads, and a mini bulb to make it.

 

Of course I had to do a shrine.  Looking at a lot of the vintage Christmas stuff I realized they used a lot of non traditional colors like pinks and blues.  I dyed the bottle brush tree pink myself and found these amazing resin reindeer on Alpha Stamps.  The tree Shrine kit came from Retro Cafe Art Gallery.

 

I also decided to include a set of Christmas cards that I made using my Silhouette Cameo.

The trees are all designs I had in my library and I cut them then glued them to red cardstock cards.

 

kittykill had this super cute snow globe necklace pinned that was so cute!  I glued the tiny tree in the bottle and added some glitter.

 

I also made her a charm necklace with a wintery theme.  

 

I had a great time crafting for her and have an extra special hoop I also sent that will get it's own post.