7 DAYS: 7 FUN PROJECTS! DAYS 6&7

Greetings intrepid merry makers! How goes the Christmas shopping and running amuck? I took a car load of friends to see what has become a holiday tradiition in my family: Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows Way of Lights. I'll post pictures in the next post or two.... Meanwhile, BECAUSE I was out with said car load of friends, I didn't get to post the Day 6 project...which means TODAY, you get a 2 for 1 deal-o-roonie! WOOHOO! First, as time is ticking away, we are now talking LAST MINUTE gifts, yes? So here's a quick and easy one I think is FAB: Handmade chocolate bar wrappers. The Scrapgirls have a WONderful template you can use...or here are some cute ideas:

I LOVE the idea of putting a photo on the wrapper! For those of you who would rather create your own version...these are great for digital layouts! My SECOND last minute idea is the "MOVIE BASKET". I would LOVE to get one of these!

EVERYTHING (except the bowl) can be purchased at your local video store. Find a great family movie, add popcorn, movie size boxes of candy and soda, and POOF! A fab hostess gift or gift for a family!

Now, lest I forget, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you ALL a VERY "MARY" Christmas...(I can just hear my proofreaders, "You spelled Merry wrong! You spelled Merry wrong!" Nay, dear proofers, I did not...explanation forthcoming) As the Bible says of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, "She pondered these things in her heart..." I would hope that EACH OF US would TAKE TIME to ponder in our hearts the GOOD THINGS granted us in the past year...and offer a prayer of gratitude to the "Birthday Boy" who makes it all possible. We are immensely grateful for ALL that has been given and shared with us in 2007...and as I look upon my 5th decade on planet earth (oh good grief!) I am more and more thankful for each new day...each new gift...each new opportunity. I am thankful for YOU, dear reader, and for this "most awesome" (In the words of Bill and Ted) mode of communication that helps me to stay in touch with friends around the world.

Meanwhile, from the Clouse House to YOUR HOUSE, we pray you have a very MARY Christmas...

7 DAYS: 7 FUN PROJECTS! DAY 5

Here is a fun and wildly creative project for you to do either for Christmas gifts, or save it for a winter afternoon craft event with the neighborhood kids... Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you (fanfare please)

If you'll recall, last winter I stayed with my nieces while my sister and brother in law went on an overseas trip...it just so happened the stay ocurred during the "worst ice storm in 75 years". We were without power, without heat, and largely without entertainment. Springfield, MO was declared a national disaster area, and the national guard was called in to prevent looting and other lawlessness that happens when folks are desperate.

Lucky for me, these nieces are two of the most creative souls I know...and so we (when the power was finally restored) watched musicals non-stop and made altAred books, scrapbook pages, and...yes, you guessed it, sock monsters.

I had found the above book at a bookstore and picked it up on a whim. I am not a sew-er per se...but I couldn't resist those button eyes and darling little faces.

As an aside, bear in mind one of the chores I was to do was to make sure the girls got all their laundry caught up and put away. There happened to be a BASKET FULL of socks not yet pulled together with their "mates"...uh oh. Creative fodder. The girls and I made a mad dash to the basket and began the process of monster making...

Most projects require very little sewing, and can be completed in a few minutes. Instructions for each little monster are included in the book...

Behold...monsters on parade...

Excellent instructions can also be found online at: "Sockmonsters"

More soon!
SMOOCHIES!

7 DAYS: 7 FUN PROJECTS! DAY 2

Greetings Craft Mongers! (I mean that in a GOOD way!)

Day 2 and I have another fun project for you...remember I told you about the HO HO HO game? Here's my version for older kids...the YO HO HO game. Same idea, just using pirates to enhance the cool factor...

Here's the cover...

And the inside instructions:

And here are some of the cards (Digital kit purchased from Daisie Company's Tammy Young)

Sorry about the crummy pictures...my camera battery is acting weird...can you see how completely ADORABLE they are tho? I will tell you I did NOT have an easy time finding CUTE pirates. It was all skulls, and kind of creepy stuff. However, there were TWO suitable (imho) for a 5 year old: these and the cute little rats from Patti Knox over at Designer Digitals. I, however have something of a rat phobia...so there'll be no rats for THIS chick...sorry Patti!

The bulk of the time is spent laying them out so they'll all cut the same size...I use Photoshop Elements to do the designwork and layouts.

For a younger nephew I'm making a Pirate Match Game...that way he can play by himself or with his mom. Used the same little characters...just made sure there were even numbers of each.

Hope you like it...what FUN we're having!

(BTW, today I mailed winner's packages to Ngaire and Angie, and the "special gift" to all those who entered during the last giveaway! Coming soon to a mailbox near you!) DROOL!

Peace in da hood...

CREATIVITY RUN AMUCK

Well, here we are...a couple of days away from the big announcement, and already I've had folks from all over the place commenting and entering the giveaway...woohoo!

Remember a couple of posts back I was saying that I was going to begin a project with all those yummy papers, ephemera and altered art stuff? Well, I went a little "ape" and bought all kinds of delicious felt and sewing stuff...not that I've EVER been much of a sewer...however, I've seen all the darling stuff at Etsy and many of my "muses" have created FABulous felt creations...so I decided to jump on the bandwagon. I'll post a creation or two as they happen...

I've also decided to just begin creating without a theme (other than color) in mind. It's MUCH harder to create this way, but I think it forces me to use my imagination a bit more than I would otherwise.

Anyway, here is a look at what I've been up to: