My 4th of July wreath…

Well, not really… At least that is what I was planning to do as my door decoration… Let me start from the beginning…

When I have decided to look into creating my own 4th of July wreath, I first looked on Pinterest as many people do… However, he one that really caught my eye can be found here – something I thought would be simple enough for me to do myself (even if I consider myself not so adept at 3D paper crafting… lol) Of course, it was a couple of weeks ago so, after reading the whole post on how to create that beauty, I told myself I will re-create it while on my summer shutdown – and promptly filed it away somewhere in the recesses of my brain.

…until Tuesday, when I remembered my plans to decorate my front door – after all, my kite wreath needed a break… So, I gathered my supplies: red, white and blue cardstock and some glitter cardstock, Stampin’ Up punches, HiTemp glue gun and plenty of mini glue sticks and a 12″ foam wreath that was hiding in my craft closet (I really should have used a 9″ or 10″ wreath, but forgot to buy a new one…)

As I started to punch the necessary pieces to create my wreath, I realized that I had no idea how many pieces I really needed so, in order to have enough kept on punching till I got a big blister on my thumb and a couple of bruises from pinching my palm in the punch I was using… Obviously – I told myself, I am not using punches enough in my card making and I lacked the experience… sigh…) Then, I had to crumble over 200 pieces and that is when I realized that my cardstock was three different weights: the white cardstock was lightest and easiest to crumple, the blue cardstock was heaviest weight and I had to spray it with a water mister in order to crumple it, and the red cardstock was somewhere in between the two… My fingers cramped dozens of times and they got colored in red, blue and an interesting shade of purple…

When everything was nice and crumpled, I got my HiTemp glue gun and started assembling my wreath… After gluing a dozen of pieces – and burning my fingers every time – I realized I should have bought a LoTemp glue gun… But it was too late to do so, and I kept on working on my wreath… I REALLY wanted to make myself a new door decoration!

A day full of chores kept me away from finishing the wreath this morning, but the evening was all mine – I KNEW I was going to have it hanging by morning… Until an hour ago, when my HiTemp glue gun decided to put an end to my creativity… One of the blue pieces I was getting ready to affix to the wreath slipped and my left index finger got so much hot glue on it was blistered by the time I got to the kitchen, dousing my hand in cold water… Let me tell ya, getting glue off a blistered finger is NOT for the faint of heart! I got a cold pack, trying to numb the pain and stop the burning process, but it did not really help much…

As you can see, the wreath is unfinished and will remain that way until I can regain use of my finger… The empty space at the top will be filled with blue cardstock pieces, while the bottom space is divided in three sections to be filled with red and white pieces (about 12 pieces in each section…) At the top of my “craft” shopping list is – as I am sure you have guessed – a LoTemp glue gun for future projects… I am looking forward to crafting without self-inflicted injuries…

I wish you all a Happy 4th of July!

 

Great use for your Bind-It-All

I have got to give this calendar a shot!

craftingcottage

I’m in need of a 12 step program!  I am addicted to yet ANOTHER facebook game! *sigh*  I haven’t been doing much crafting lately, just playing that stupid game!  My crafty friends told me to snap to and and show them something pretty so here’s what I got…

I made this several weeks ago, I wanted a nice calendar for my desk… it would also make a pretty gift for someone 🙂

I totally love my Bind It All and I am always looking for reasons to use it.  It is the perfect tool to make these lovely calendars.  Also, you probably already know, if you follow my blog, I LOVE My Mind’s Eye papers!  especially the ones with the glitter!

Well I am off to take my brownies out of the oven….  We are snowed in today, in the middle of a blizzard so I felt Chocolate would be…

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It’s official…

     Last night we’ve been informed that we are working the  whole weekend, which pretty much means that our Christmas shutdown is two days shorter than it should have been… And what makes it so frustrating is that we have been working 7 days/week pretty much since July… I have been so tired that I have not had a chance of getting any of my Christmas decorations up – although I have somehow managed to CASE and make myself a new wreath (I’ll try to get a photo of it and post it this weekend…lol)
     I hope all of you enjoy your family and friends and have a Merry Christmas”!

 

A Christmas Candle – Holiday Traditions

     Welcome to Etsy Greetings Team  “Handmade Holiday Traditions” Blog Hop! I hope you will enjoy your stay and learn a bit about my Christmas traditions, as well as other members of Etsy Greetings Team. You will find the link to the following blog at the end of my post… Merry Christmas to you!

     Growing up, my extended family of uncles, aunts, cousins and – reigning over all – my grandmother, had plenty of traditions… We just did not really call them that or knew them as such… We decorated the Christmas tree together, with specific jobs for every one of us according to our age, of course… My aunt Marie locked herself in one room and started baking the most fragrant and delicious Christmas loaf I have ever eaten…My older cousin, Theodore used to build for the younger kids a snowman as tall as he could (and, as it seemed that Theodore never stopped growing, neither did the snowman…)

     My brother Chris and I, the youngest of the children did not really have any particular “duties” at Christmas, so we were always designated to keep an eye on Santa. I would much rather get involved in the mess going on around the Christmas tree, but looking back our duty was supposed to keep us busy while the grown-ups were working on keeping Christmas alive for one more year for us…

     On Christmas Eve, after we lit up the candles in the Christmas tree, we sang the Christmas carols that we have learned the words to in the year prior. Yes – just in case you wonder –  I know now about the fire hazard, but nothing brings out the beauty in a Christmas night as real candles… My grandmother always brought out this elaborate candlestick, took out a brand new beeswax candle, and lit it after saying a prayer to herself that seemed to bring tears to her eyes. The candle, I’ve learned many years after my childhood was gone, was for the family and friends from far away. The candle was in memory of those we have loved and lost, so that their souls find a way home for Christmas. A few cloved-studded oranges kept company to the burning candlestick for the duration of the holidays, until January 1st, my uncle Peter’s birthday…  

     To create my own tradition, as I went on my own – and after my dad passed away – I have lit a jar candle each year, keeping it right next to the tree. I decorate a few small oranges with cloves, in a nice swirly pattern, set it all up on an old platter decorated with poinsettia flowers and a golden mesh bow – and say a quiet little prayer for far away family and friends, and hope that the souls of my father and grandmather will find a home with me at Christmas… My blessings each year…? My son, Chris born on Christmas Day 1983 and my daughter, Oana… To them, my love always…

      If you came here from “Pinky Creations”, then you are in the right place! To enjoy more of the Etsy Greetings Team Handmade Holiday Traditions, please click on the right arrow to arrive to “Adore By Nat”‘s blog hop.

     Thank you for stopping by!   

 

Gone to a good home…

    Yesterday I had to say “Goodbye…” to my last two snowmen cross-stitch cards… I know they went to a good home and I do wish them all the best…

    I have been working on updating the photos for my two shops, FarAway Designs Cards and PaperMoon’s Designs. Whatever talents I might have, photography is just not one of them. I took photos inside… I took photos outside… In morning’s softer light and with noon’s bright light… I know that at some point I will have to create a small photo studio for my cards, but right now the resources are just not there…

    As I go back to work on Monday, this week I plan to wrap up all the projects I have been working on during the last six weeks since my surgery. Well, I did not exactly work on things the whole time; I pretty much slept the first week after I came home from the hospital. Then, it was quite difficult to sit or stand, even if I was ready to play with paper or thread… I am much better now (as long as I do not think about my BP that keeps on going up, for reasons unknown…) I am positive that returning to my regular routine, will do me good… At least, that is how I choose to look at things 🙂

    Till next time…