merry christmas everyone

neighbor gifts

I kept it simple this year and thought I would pass it along. This Christmas I gave out Ikea frothers (thank mom for shipping them!) with hot chocolate. On the tag it says, "We WHIP you a Merry Christmas! Love, the Underwoods." I love these little frothers. They make your hot chocolate and hot caramel milk (my favorite) feel fancy. Sweet and simple!

surrounded by elves

Just in time for Christmas...some new little elves. I have had the idea to make clothespin elves for my tree for quite awhile, but couldn't find the time. So, a few days before Christmas and they finally arrived. I took a few photos of them along the way, so that I could one day create a tutorial. That will have to be for next Christmas. I put thread through each of their hats and hung them on my tree today. Love that they could join us!

hand print snowman tile tutorial

I needed a craft idea for my son's first grade class party and saw these ornaments on the eighteen25 blog. I found out that we couldn't do ornaments for his class, so we thought maybe little tiles that they can take home and put easels.
Here is how we did it:
Supplies -
White, black and orange acrylic paint
1 foam paint brush
1 4"X4" tile (I found a box of these in our garage - it's a mess, but also has a few goodies)
toothpick1 - Generously paint the inside of hand with white paint just down to the knuckles.
2 - Pressed it hard on to the tile and let it dry for about 10-15 minutes.
3 - My seven year old used a toothpick to create the eyes, buttons, nose and brim of the hat with black and orange paint.
4 - He used a flat 1/4" wide brush in a upward sweeping motion to make the rest of the hat.

It's done! Now, let it dry and put it on an easel or attach a ribbon with glue and hang it on the tree!

on my way to a craft show...my first

I have had a few kind friends allow me to use their homes for Open Houses for my jewelry, but I have never been in a craft show. This Saturday will be my first. I am going to be at Christmas in Anchorage here in Louisville, KY. I need to be thinking about how to set up since that's going to go on tonight. Instead, I am on the computer searching for gift ideas. I guess I am nervous, so I am distracting myself. Here are a few new charms I made this morning while I was avoiding other things!

cyber monday is here

I am posting this tonight, Sunday, because I need to run out early in the morning. But, there is a CYBER MONDAY deal in my amazing mae etsy shop and I am happy to offer 10% off your entire purchase. Use the promo code - CM10OFF. That's a 10 (one and zero) and then, OFF.

noel

I bought the big gold letters spelling "NOEL" from Hobby Lobby last year for my mantel. I am not a fan of gold. I wanted to change them last year, but time got away from me. It is nice and warm today...perfect for spray painting gold things green, right?

so thankful for mom

I got a package in the mail the other day addressed to my boys Boston and Trevor and myself. It was their birthdays so getting a package wasn't too much of a surprise. But, included along with their birthday gifts from my parents was a surprise for me. It was a Fall table runner that my mom had made. I needed and wanted one of these. I have a few tables around here that need some dressing up...real bad. So, it is perfect. It might have even inspired me to make one of my own for Christmas. We'll see...

applique turkey pattern

For those who wanted the pattern for the turkey applique...follow this link!

*just fixed the link to publish on google docs. let me know if it doesn't work.

giving thanks for turkeys on t-shirts

My friend had a last minute idea to applique some turkeys on t-shirts for our girls. She saw this one over here and thought we could do something similar. In a few hours we had two shirts appliqued - one for her girl and one for mine. I forget how much I like to sew since it seems like I rarely get a chance to do it anymore. I drew out the pattern for this applique since there wasn't one on the blog we got the idea from. Let me know if you want me to post it!

cyber monday

I am going to be hosting a Cyber Monday deal over at Mique's Thirty Days Blog on Monday, November 28th. If you go to her blog that day, there will be a special deal in my etsy shop for Thirty Day readers. I am excited because I have been working hard on many new charms - in all new shapes and sizes for the shop! Check my facebook page (AmazingMaeCharms)soon for a preview.

Bless this mess

Working on my template for a couple of days -- ignore the mess

seven magical days

We just got back from seven days in Disney World. I never thought we would love it as much as we do. We went two years ago for the first time and fell in love with the place. I am tired from this vacation, but not complaining because we had a blast.

because one halloween banner is never enough

I love making fabric or paper banners/pennants for holiday decorating. A few years ago I made this spooky banner to add to my Halloween decorations. This year, I made another banner. It's a Boo banner that I stenciled on using freezer paper stencils and fabric paint. Quick and easy.

soldered halloween ornaments

I made a few of these soldered Halloween ornaments last year for my Halloween tree and decided to make a few more this year. I sent one home with my mom and gave the other to my friend. I still have the two from last year, so the Halloween tree is happy and full.

another baby quilt

I completed another baby quilt this week. I used vintage fabrics and a vintage sheet along with fabric from Girlfriends by Jennifer Paganelli and yellow seersucker. I added 2 inch white strips in between the printed fabrics to help the colors pop. This quilt is for a baby girl, but I think the mom of this little girl is more of a cool mama instead of a girly mama, so I kept the colors cool and not too bright. I just stitched in the ditch for the quilting which made long horizontal quilting stitches. My mom was here visiting so I had her help me (or completely do) the binding. She likes and uses the binding tutorial from Heather Bailey's blog and as I watched her, it seemed much easier than the way I bound the last quilt.

free shipping in the shop

For one week I will be offering FREE SHIPPING in the may and mae etsy shop! Just use the promo code FREESHIP at checkout and your charms will ship for free. The offer is good until October 1st! Check out the shop.