Upcycling can lead to pretty gift wrap!

To continue on with my theme this Christmas, I decided I'd try to make gift wrap that had a beachy feel to it. I was able to use a lot of stuff that had previous lives and "upcycle" it into cute little bundles that I hope my family and friends will love receiving! The brown paper is not actually kraft paper that I purchase but is, in fact, the brown paper they sometimes put at the center of your gift wrap roll instead of a cardboard tube. The bows are made from remnants of raffia I had in the house and my never ending ball of twine that I use for practically everything that needs tying. I made gift tags out of seashells and tiny sand dollars. I simply drilled a hole to attach them and wrote the recipients name on the backside. :)

I think this is the last post before Christmas since my family is arriving from NC bright and early tomorrow morning. Have a wonderful holiday weekend, everyone!

Russian Tea Cakes!

These are my husband's favorites... so rich and buttery they melt in your mouth!

1 cup softened butter or margarine
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

In a large bowl combine ingredients on low speed of mixer about 1 minute. Blend well. Gradually add flour at low speed until just combined; stir in nuts.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls; place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for 8-10 minutes until firm to the touch; note from experience:

Do not overbake- they will crumble when you try to pick them up if they're cooked even a minute too long. These cookies don't brown when done!

While warm, roll in powdered sugar. Cool; re-roll in powdered sugar before serving.


***I tripled this recipe and made 10 dozen cookies***

Gifts on a budget

With the economy the way it is, it seems everyone is trying to find ways to cut back this holiday season. Going handmade is always a great way to save a little money while still telling the people around you that you think they're great!

My husband has 16 employees- add that to my childrens' teachers and all our distant family relatives and it adds up to several dozen more gifts to pass out at Christmas time.

My approach this year is to bake cookies. My financial investment was minimal (most of the ingredients are found readily in your pantry cupboards)- and I grabbed up the rest of the stuff I needed on sale at the grocery store. To package them, I found these terrific little tote bags from The Lakeside Collection for around $1.15 each.



Today is my cookie baking day- Cookie-o-rama to coin a term Maggie uses. I thought as I baked, I'd take some photos and share the recipes here in our blog for anyone who might be looking for some affordable gifts that people will appreciate. Who doesn't love a fresh baked cookie?! :)

Cheers!

Tara

The holidays are coming! Part 3

Ornaments Mosaic
Originally uploaded by mornindew2822

As promised, another little glimpse into the crafts I am working on in preparation for the coming holiday season. I've created 9 new ornaments this year- using genuine seashells and sea life that are perfect for any coastal holiday decor!

The collection includes lavender, green and rare English Channel sea urchins, white pencil and white amored starfish, pearl abalone shells, sand dollars and two different kissing ball style ornaments. The ornaments are elegantly adorned with Swarovski crystals, sheer ribbons and pearl embellishments.



Available now at www.scarboroughseashells.com

The holidays are coming! Part 2

Birdbath Mosaic
Originally uploaded by mornindew2822

My poor, dear Maggie has been holding this blog together for us all month. As I struggle with eBay and website and got 2 of my 3 boys into school (jr high and preschool, a first for both!) I often found myself superbly overwhelmed this September. And so, on the final day of the month, I impress myself with the fact that I have actually gotten some of my holiday goals well underway.

I am about 65% finished with my first birdbath; not the 3 I had planned to be working on, but one successful birdbath is a good start to a 100% new project. I've also learned throughout this process some good and some not so good ways of working with stained glass, concrete and mosaics in general:

- mix concrete for small projects in small batches.
- Press hard with your glass cutting tool, it won't shatter your glass, but a weak score line will cause your glass to not break away cleanly.
- set your design on fiberglass mesh (either self stick or use a glue like Weldbond). Not doing this means you essentially have to lay your pattern twice. (Learned that one the hard way!)
- Start your project with plenty of time before your "due date". Unless you do this for a living and can easily carve out time in your day to work on it, be ready for life to get in the way!
- Don't be afraid to try! At the start of this project, I had never mixed so much as one cup of conrete before muchless used a mold to create a birdbath. I had never touched a sheet of stained glass nor used a glass cutter or tile nippers, both of which have proven to be very cool tools to play around with!
- Aim for fun and cool, not perfection and professional and you'll likely find that your project turns out to be much better than you ever thought you could do on your first attempt!

I'll post some photos of my other holiday crafts soon!

365 Project- More than 10% Done

365 Project- More than 10% Done
Originally uploaded by magscrafts

I can't decide if it feels like we started this project of artful exploration eons ago or just yesterday. I was catching up on uploading pictures to our group, and as I typed day 37/365, I thought "Wow, 10% done." Part of me thinks I should put an "only" in there. Part of me thinks it is a good accomplishment.

It is most certainly a testimony to my crafting ADD. If you look at my pictures, I made books, embroidered on felt leaves, made thread buttons, glued buttons to bobby pin blanks, and sewed bags. I made more than a few earrings, but I also think I made much less than I would in an average month.

There were some reorganization days in there, where I sorted supplies and attempted to bring order to the mayhem. I need to do that some more- I need to sort my fabric stash and I need to reorganize the basement to try to set up an area for using a torch.

I also want to stretch my artistic wings more as time goes on, and try to strike that balance between making the items that will sustain my current business while trying to change it into what it needs to be in the future.

Keep your eyes on this space- you never know what we might be up to!

Christmas Ornament Hooks

I wanted to try out the new 20 day fixed priced listings on Ebay. I closed my store and my original plan was to list new things once on ebay then send them off to etsy or my website or my mainstreetmallonline store. Then they come up with the 30 day listings and threw a wrench in my works. What I decided to try out was listing some 30 day listings with multiple quantities for items I could make again and again.
So I put up a listing for 6 sets of ornament hooks, and one sold fairly quickly. This meant I better stock up on thoses hooks so I can ship right away if I get more orders!
So here is my ornament hooks in progress:

Just refresh the page if the show has ended and you want it to rerun!