The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I love Christmas time!  Not only do I get 2 blissful weeks off (I love my job, I love my job!) but I also get to shop (one of my fav activities) and make all kinds of cool,crafty stuff!  My house is pretty small, and I made sure to decorate every square inch! EVERY SQUARE INCH :)



I love this little tree!!!

I made this for my mom's birthday...I adapted the rolled paper idea from the tree project I got from Pinterest, and I was really happy with the results!

Ribbon wrapped letters and dowel, and a simple clay pot. Joyful!

My favorite jar project.  I made these with my students at school, except we did "joy". The kiddos loved doing these and I will do them next year for sure!n



 

Again...I found this idea on Pinterest...but instead of glitter balls, I used left over ornaments.  I did all three windows in my family room.



This little houses were so fun to make!  I literally threw my back out making these houses-I remember when I used to party all night and now I am an old lady who crafts paper houses...and even sadder, I think I am ok with that.

I love how each reindeer is different.  When I began teaching, 11 years ago, I gave them a template, and was pleased to death when they were all EXACTLY the same...but with time and experience, I have come to appreciate and enjoy all the variations that can come from one idea!

I have made this reindeer head pretty much every year that I have taught, and hung it from a string hanger.   It is very simple, with a red glitter nose.  This year, I saw this idea posted on Pinterest to make a reindeer stable...it came out so cute!  The kiddos loved it.  The lights underneath were also a Pinterest find, each bulb has a letter in their name and I connected each of them to make a strand.

Broken record alert....I got this idea from Pinterest.  I purchased these cute appetizer plates to hold these inspirational saying rocks.  I gave these to a few good friends as a small gift for Christmas.  I researched different sayings for different people and tried to make it as personal to them as I could.

This wreath was fairly easy to make, and also pretty quick!  I found super awesome wreath forms at The Dollar Store, and cut different lengths of Christmas fabric ribbons.  Then, I simply tied knots to fasten the fabric around the wreath.  I also gave these as gifts, and it was a good one to ship, as it is very light, therefore=cheaper shipping!

Sorry for the blur effect...My classroom door...I had many more grand plans to add to the door, but alas, never got to them!  I still loved it :)

Christmas was wonderful this year.  I was fortunate to have all of my family healthy, happy, and close enough to hug.  I did a bunch of crafting throughout my break, on Christmas presents, and with one of the kiddos I tutor.  She came over and we crafted ornaments-they came out so great-I should have taken a picture!  Next year, I am going to start earlier, so that I can make even more ornaments, decorations, and gifts.

Craftastically,

Natalie

Traveling Back Again- Fabulous Fall!

This is the door to my classroom, and it was the first fall decoration I did this season. I saw this on Pinterest and I couldn't resist!  I loved it, it was actually really easy to make, and the kiddos really loved it!

I love fall!  Everything about it is awesome: sweaters, crunchy leaves,cooler weather, Thanksgiving, my students are finally starting to get into the routine, and I love to decorate for the change of each season... 

My super awesome, adorable God-daughter, Paige and I last summer. This frame was super cheap and easy....two of my favorite words associated with crafting. 

 

 

Will and I went for a quick trip to Long Beach,California this summer and we stayed at this cute, little boutique hotel.  The decor was really fun, and original.  There was a painting, done in shades of blues, that said "Count Your Blessings" and I fell in love with it!  I decided that Thanksgiving/Fall is a great time for a painting about blessings, and bam! I made this! (please excuse the poor quality photo, I fired my photographer)

Again, a poor quality photo, but this project was fun, easy, and cheap as well.  Small red pots, filled with festive fall "berries", and the F A L L letters.  I wrapped the dowel rods with brown ribbon, and attached them to the back of each letter.

 

Another Pinterest find!  I saw it originally with the word "Welcome" on it, and I decided to do it with fall colors: red, brown, and orange. These jars come out so beautifully, and are so easy to make.  I put a few tablespoons of paint in the bottom of the jar, a teaspoon of water, and put the lid on tight.  Then it was time for the shakedown...who needs a Shake Weight?  The jars get coated very quickly and are dry pretty fast.  Next, I affixed a ribbon to each, and lastly wrote a letter on each jar with a Sharpie marker. Love, love, love this!

Need an awesome frame?  Well, stalk the Target clearance aisles, find an affordable frame such as the one above, and get some great wire ribbon!  Presto...chango...a little hot glue here and there-and there you go! The cutest little frame!

I made this beautiful arrangement for a friend, and I was really happy with the outcome...this ribbon was so beautiful, I wished I had gotten more than one roll.

Fall was wonderful, and I was busy getting ready for Christmas decorations and gifts...I have more ideas for next year that I can't wait to try!

T.T.F.N,

Natalie

Time Travel-Fall/Halloween 2011

Halloween was so much fun to decorate for!  I think I had the best ideas/crafts of my year for Halloween.....many of my ideas came from Pinterest, but many of them were from my very own, twisted, little brain...let's begin with the front porch, shall we?




At night! So spooky!





This was such a blast to put together.  The pumpkins are craft pumpkins from Michael's and are crafted with ribbon, paint, and sparkly rhinestone gems.  I cut bats out of scrapbook paper and hung them with invisible thread, and hand painted the plant signs, door sign, and skeleton picture.

                                

Next up, are all of the crafts I made for my house and some friends' houses for October!

I originally made this BOO for my BFF JJVG, but I loved it so much that I couldn't part with it, but I promised to make her one for Halloween next year.  This pic was taken in my messy craft room, but hopefully you can see through the chaos.

This came from Pinterest as well.  I found these spooky, glittery, branches at Michael's. I picked out black, orange, and white patterned scrapbook paper, and cut them into leaves.  I then glued them to the tree.  The jar is a simple Mason jar, filled with candy corn and a black and orange ribbon.  I sent this to my BFF Gina, and she had to keep putting the jar higher and higher because her son kept eating the "decorative" corn :)



 

Franky-stein

I made this for one of my best friends, Gina, and her family.

Girly-Boo!

Skeleton canvas with orange ribbon hanger

I love this craft!  I saw this on Pinterest, and I have tweaked it for every holiday....change out the ribbon and boooo-ya-a new seasonal craft!

My mom gave me this cigar box and I painted it, and covered it in ribbons :) Then I re purposed some blocks that were being thrown out at school, and tadaaaaa- a Halloween decoration for very cheap!

I have made a version of this witch with my kiddos at school since I began teaching.  I call it my triangle witch...I just love the striped tights!

I did not want to take down my Halloween decorations, they were definitely so fun to make!  It was fun to see the trick or treaters enjoy the porch!  I am already gathering ideas for next year!

Yours in crafts!
Natalie

Here Goes Nothing!

Hello, my name is Natalie, and I am addicted to crafting....






This is me, Natalie, in the super, awesome, craftastic apron one of my BFFs JJVG made for me...Jen is awesome, not only can she sew amazing aprons such as this, she has a musical laugh, and her thighs don't touch.


I have done one form of crafting or another since I was a youngster.  I am in the midst of stopping a bad habit, and have heard that the best way to change a bad habit, is to replace it with a healthy, new, good one. So, I have decided that this blog will be one of the healthy new ones to help me conquer my bad one.  So, with that said, here is a little about me:


A- age  36


B- boyfriend  I have a great BF named Will.

My BF Will and I this summer...aren't we cute?

C- crafting    Crafting is awesome! I love to create new things!


D- diet Coke    Enough said...beverage of the gods


E-expert       I fancy myself an expert in many things, but I'm really
                   not....shhhhh....don't tell anyone!


F-friendly      I have a lot of friends that I feel very fortunate to have
                   and believe that being friendly is the answer to many problems
                   in life.


G-glue gun    One of the most important tools in crafting


H-hugs         Love to give them, and getting them makes each day better


I-indigo        Such a better word than blue


J-jar             The Mason jar is one of my favorite things to craft with

A great Thanksgiving craft idea I got from pinterest...love it!

                                                          
K-keep          I keep and collect a whole lot of things that some people
                    consider trash, but I have made such cool stuff from


L-love           Do what you love, and you will always be happy


M-Michael's     A place I have spent too much money at :)


N-nocturnal crafting     I have done way too many all nighters- once I 
                                get going on a craft idea/project...I even threw my
                                 back out from crafting paper Christmas houses
                                 this year....and like Shakira's hips, my MRI
                                 doesn't lie either

One of the Christmas houses responsible for my bad back

      
O-opportunity          I take the opportunity to infuse crafts into all facets
                             of my life: school, friends, and home


P-perfectionist         I am the antonym for perfectionism...I make tons of
                             mistakes everyday and am OK with it


Q-queen                Craft Queen...One of my friends from my first teaching job
                            anointed me the Craft Queen-she started calling me 
                            that and the kiddos followed suit-love it!


R-redo                   I reserve the right to retake, redo, remove, anything


S-sparkle               If it sparkles or glitters- it is for me...custodians in each 
                            of my schools hate me for my affinity for glitter


T-true loves           True loves-teaching, Bailey (my sweet dog),diet 
                            Coke, crafting,Target, and Will

Bailey, my sweet puppy, one of my favorite people. No, that isn't a mistake, I consider her to be a human.

U-understand          People don't understand my obsession with crafting and 
                            creating, but they don't have to-just enjoy!


V-voice                   I express myself through my crafts...and certain bad 
                             words


X-eXcited                I get excited when I start or finish any project


Y-yuck                    I can't stand it when people lick Popsicle sticks


Z-zany                    Me :)


That is all for tonight :) , but I am looking forward to working on this blog, and hope you enjoy reading it :)  I will be posting pictures and directions of the different craft projects I have done, and any random musings I choose to share! 


Craftastically yours-Natalie