Happy Birthday Tonya!!

Bri thought of a great idea to show some birthday love to Tonya via our blogs and come up with a little creative acronym for how much we love her....

Happy Birthday Tonya!!

{hope you had a delightful day}

Totally amazing running buddy!

Organizer of all things

Never late

Young at heart

Always up for planning a party

Loyal friend

Entrepreneurial spirit

Incredible listener

Vino connoisseur

Avid lover of Jesus

Sew much to say!

So I took a little break from the blog, and from pretty much everything else except for work the last month or so. I wasn't feeling at all crafty, and I had zero imagination for thinking up projects. I think the Holidays sucked it all out of me. But I am happy to announce that my creative juices are flowing once again!!

To jump start my creativity a few of my favorite crafty girls and I got together at Morgan's house earlier this month to sew some Amy Butler Frenchy Bags and work on a few other projects. I chose to do the frenchy bag. The directions are fairly easy to follow, except for #13 (I'll get to that in a moment), and I love how the bags turned out. You can see Morgan's bag on her blog. I have to say Thank You to Julie who coached us through the process, we couldn't have done it with out you!! Casey made some super cute felt hearts for her hubby for Valentines, Steph made a flag garland for a party, and Sarah made a very cute camera strap. It was so great being around such talented girls!!

The day after the craft day I had the idea to make another frenchy bag for my mother-in-law whose birthday was on the 13th. So it was back to Ikea for more fabric (side note: Ikea has the best fabric!). I was a little nervous trying to create the bag all by myself, but I was determined. And here are the results:

It was supposed to have a pocket dividing it in two, but somehow I sewed the pocket on the wrong side of the lining and so the pocket is now in between the lining and the exterior of the purse...cause you know, everyone needs a pocket they cant see...

Nonetheless, my mother-in-law loved the bag, and I had so much fun making it! Next projects on the list: another frenchy bag (for myself), book binding with Casey, and a spring skirt with Erin...I'm getting excited just thinking about them!

P.S. photos courtesy of my very talented husband!

A season for forgiveness

So I am totally hanging my head in shame for probably the WORST blog series ever! However with the rumors of major cutbacks at my company I figured my job needed my full attention these last two weeks.  To make up for such a horrible faux pas I hope to have a mass of beautiful posts when we get back from Paris...and maybe a few when we are there as well. For all those out there that did wait 'til the last minute to wrap gifts, or maybe you just like looking at pretty packages here are some favorites I have seen this year. 

{To get this look they used craft paper and decorative foil. You can find the foil at craft stores or stores that specialize in cake baking}

{I realize how much I love the look of craft paper as gift wrap it's simple yet festive. These pompoms where made from leftover yarn. Here is a great pompom tutorial for those like me that cant naturally create beautiful things out of yarn!}

{Here is a more elegant gift wrap option for those that really want to impress, or maybe want to draw the attention away from the gift inside :). Laura Lapin used vinyl wall paper she got at a flea market for the white decorative paper and then red craft paper for the other.  Seriously this Brit is one of the most creative gift wrappers I have ever seen.}

{This little snowman package from dSharp would be a great kids gift wrap option. She used different size circle tags to create the snowman image, but you could use really anything.}

 

{I love these shiny monogram packages!! You can use any font and any paper to personalize it for the person you are giving it to.}

{Ok this is probably the coolest one I have seen. It's vinyl wood-looking paper you can get at a hardware store and homemade snowflakes. I really wanted to do this but I had already bought wrapping paper before I saw this idea...rats!}

{And last but not least for the sewers out there, this is craft paper that is stitched up on the sides and painted to make it look a little more like a gift, perfect for little handmade gifts.}

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas filled with love and peace. See you in the new year!

A Super duper Giveaway!!

I am taking a short break from all the gift wrapping to promote a 12 days of Christmas Giveaway over at Design Mom. If you are not familiar with her Giveaway's, they are AMAZING! Check out her blog on Friday Dec. 12 for your chance to enter 12 fabulous giveaways...Good Luck to all!

All buttoned up

Sorry for being such a slacker, work always seems to get in the way of blogging! I have always been a huge fan of old buttons. Last summer when we were dividing up my grandmothers things there was an rusty old baking tin full of old buttons that I just had to have. There so sentimental to me! Any way here are some fun holiday wrapping ideas you can do with buttons...have fun!

This first idea found on Martha would be a fun craft for kids to do.  Simply attach a button to a cork with double-sided tape. Place plain paper on a piece of felt or a folded piece of fabric (this cushions the paper so the mark will be even). And top with a pretty button tied on with baker's twine. A snap!

This next image found on BHG is a perfect use for all those old buttons! You can make pretty much any shape you want. I recommend sketching the shape on paper and arranging the buttons out as you want them before you start gluing. Happy wrapping!

Say it with letters

Monograms add a special touch to most gifts, but I had never thought of using letters in my wrapping regimen. Here are some great ideas that add a unique touch to your gifts, and they are easy enough for even a novice crafter to try!

This is another dSharp creation (she is so crafty). She used an old house number for the number and a chipboard letter covered in glass glitter for the letter.

This "G" reminds me of a vintage sign you would find at a garage sale...I am now on the look out for letters! Hobby Lobby and Michael's both have a variety of chipboard letters and numbers that will work just fine though. 

Images found on Design Sponge

One of my favorite parts about gift giving...

I love making gifts look pretty, it's almost more important then the actual gift itself. My hope is that people hesitate before opening their gifts this year because of how pretty they are wrapped! So I think I will start my first series  "Pretty Packages" in the hopes that your holidays will be brightened by some unique and creative wrapping ideas. 

To start us off I have chosen a practical and very elegant wrapping idea. Anyone hate to tie bows? Or maybe they just never come out how you want them. Well Denise of dsharp has a very easy solution to this problem.  She has created a series of letterpress buckles and accompanies them with gorgeous coordinating ribbon.  Check out her etsy shop here.