On your day of Christmas, Anna brought to you...Green Team

By now, the Green Team has all opened a present from me. Thank you all for your sweet comments along the way about the gift tags I made. The gift tags that I, of course, made with the Cricut. And that I, of course, don't have a picture of.

All of these were made with the Cricut cartridge that comes with the machine--Plantin Schoolbook using the "tag" with the Roly Poly option or using a circle. The pictures of your kiddos I stole from various online sources, resized very tiny and printed at Walgreens. Those were the most fun to make but I didn't stumble onto that idea until I had already made 85 tags without pictures. It was tempting to start over and make them all with photos, but I resisted.

Hope you enjoyed them. I certainly enjoyed all of your gifts!

Anna

On the 14th day of Christmas Miss Kari brought to you... Red team

Last day... so sad!

It's been a blast, and I loved how well everything fell into place.

Commentary from Kari coming later.  For now, just enjoy a picture!

Merry Christmas!

On the 13th day of Christmas, Miss MEL brought to you... Green Team

A message from Mel...

"My gift is based on a brilliant idea my husband had for a useful buy cost effective holiday gift. We have a favorite drink in the winter time that Ben's family has always called "Mormon Tea". I'm not sure why, as it's not tea at all. It's more like a citrusy wassail. When we introduced it to my brotger's wife, she started calling it "Winter Fusion" and the name stuck.


We always have a huge pile of treats at our house from wonderful friends and family during the holidays. I have to admit that even I, with my impressive sweet tooth, can't get through it all. SO, we set about to create something edible, but also something you don't have to eat NOW.


Ben worked out the instructions, we mixed the spices, and we packaged them up all pretty so you won't mind them sitting on your counter in the mean time.


A couple of small notes.


#1- the can of OJ mentioned in the directions is a can of concentrate. Don't make up the oj first or your wassail will be really watery.

#2- if anyone wants directions for a smaller batch, like enough for 2-4 people, let me know. We usually make the big batch, drink what we want, and refridgerate the rest for heating up later, but if you don't have the fridge space, I have directions for a smaller batch.


Mel"

On the 13th day of Christmas, Miss Beth brought to us.... Red Team

A message from Miss Beth...

"My ‘theme word’ for 2009 was JOY, and that’s exactly what I wanted my craft to bring each one of you, to show you just how special I consider the friendships we’ve built and nurtured at our little haven on the web called ELW. Little did I know HOW MUCH I would be called to deliver on that promise.

One of the down sides to being an eternal optimist is the propensity to be overly ambitious with your goals – sometimes not seeing how your plan might be derailed.


In this case, I learned a very hard lesson. Glitter paper and the Cricut do NOT mix. L This one problem turned my quick and easy paper craft into a month long oddessey of late nights, missed deadlines and LOTS of Trader Joe’s Holiday Joe Joes. Dunked in Turbo iced coffee. ;)


So as you hang up your “Joy To The World” banners, I want you to know that blood, sweat and yes , even tears were shed in its creation. And truly, from the bottom of my heart, every bit of that was worth it to be able to send off 13 pretty little matching boxes to the far corners of the country, knowing that you would each smile as they revealed themselves out of their tin cases, like a smiley-hug sent from me!



My favorite part of creating them was how they each “chose” their owner. I wasn’t able to find a large enough quantity of paper to make them all the same, so I chose coordinating papers and just let the creative process flow. When I was done, it was as clear as day to me which one was destined for you. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them. And as much as I enjoy your company on this ride we call motherhood. The bond we share is so special to me, as is every one of you!"

Amazing Beth, just AMAZING!

Here is a picture of Lindsey's. 

Thanks for sending it... it's adorable on your mantle!

And on the twelth day of Christmas, Amelia sent to us....Red Team

I was totally panicking about what to do that would be worthy of all of you when Anna swooped in and saved the day. Something small, cute, light-weight, and seemed straightforward. And a little reflection of me. I had actually considered making a bookmark, maybe knit or crochet. But the idea of knitting/crocheting 13 of them seemed daunting so I abandoned the idea. When Anna sent me this link it was like a light-bulb went off! Brilliant! I like to read, and seems like a lot of you do, too. I also thought it might be really good to use in a cookbook to mark a recipe you want to try.

I used the tutorial Anna sent me with a couple of minor modifications. Somewhere someone mentioned that, beyond being cute, one could use the X on either the right or left page so you would know on which page you left off. I thought this was brilliant because I spend 99.9% of my reading time before I fall asleep trying to figure out where I was. But the way she had it, the X would be sideways on the left side. So, I put it in the center. I think it's a little cuter the original way, but this works too. I also used a white shirt box from a department store instead of a cereal box because I didn't like how the cardboard showed through. To stream-line things used an extra triangle as a template to transfer the X to each bookmark. I tried to match colors with what you liked without buying 13 different things of embroidery thread.

A picture of Amelia's COOOOOOL Bookmark from Lindsey.

Thanks Lindsey!!!

On the 12th day of Christmas- Green Team from Molly

A message from Molly...

"Apparently, Stef and I are of the same mind when it comes to crafty swaps. Well, at least none of you will suffer from chapped lips this winter! I like practical gifts and lip balm is something that I can never have enough of so, I really wanted to try to make it. I also got some inspiration from Martha Stewart and then searched around a bit more and found some more good info HERE. Unlike Lindsey, I procrastinated until AFTER the baby was born so, instead of taking the time to mix up my own recipe, I took the slacker way out and used a kit from HERE. I try to pick some fun and festive flavors and came up with Peppermint, Cranberry and Buttercream. I really hope you like them as much as I liked making them for you!

Merry Christmas!"

Oh how the buttercream does sound SO good!

Pictures to come! 

And on the 11th Day of Christmas Miss Judie brought to you... Green Team

 A message from Judie...

"Each November when I unpack my Christmas decorations, I look forward to unwrapping one of my favorite things - a wooden spoon Santa I picked up at a local craft fair many moons ago. So when I was brainstorming ideas for our gift exchange back in the fall, it came to me -- I wanted each of you to have your very own wooden spoon Santa! How hard could it be I thought? Wooden spoons. Spray paint. Acrylic paint. Ribbons. Perfect! Easy to package and ship, too. I can do this. I WILL do this. Yeah... right. Artist I am not. After several failed attempts (including a minor spray paint snafu on a windy day, and going a little overboard with the paint the next day) and much laughter (perhaps a few tears) and a deadline looming, my Santas were finished! Are they as cute as my inspiration? Perhaps not. But they were made with a lotta love and with you in mind! I hope this lil' guy brings a smile to your day!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!
Hugs,

- Judie"

A picture from Stef...

Thanks Stef!

Oh my Judie, it's adorable!

On the 11th day of Christmas, Rockin' Dawn brought to us... Red Team

A message from Dawn....

"Here is my little snippet for day 11. I also attached a collage picture of my craft.



The first thing I thought after I signed up for the swap was, "Oh crap!" No really I was trying to think of something that would not only be small, but something fun and usable all year around. My thoughts kept coming back to jewelry.

In order to save money and make the item fairly inexpensive I looked into my garage-o-crap to come up with something. I was going to do something beaded but with a little one around that could only mean the potential for one giant mess. I came up with the enameled pendants because I already had most of the supplies and I knew it was something nobody else would do.

The plus to doing the enameling was also to get me in practice so I could make some to sell at my friends store and also in my empty etsy store. So you all were my guinea pigs.

Guinea pigs that I love and look forward to sitting down with my coffee everyday to chat. Even if the chatting is done through wires and stuff it doesn't make it any less important to me.

I hope you all enjoy your necklaces and think good thoughts when wearing them.

Love,


Dawn OTF"

Very cool Dawn... my guinea pig services are open any time you want to try jewelry!

Here's a picture from Lindsey.  Thanks Lindsey!

On the 10th day of Christmas Miss Dawn Brought to YOU... Green Team

A Message from Dawn....

"As many of you know my craft that I enjoy the most is cross stitching, but it feels "old." So I decided to try embroidery, I looked through some books and found some beautiful stuff that was really more modern. I also found some great blogs. Mainly this one, http://www.feelingstitchy.com/. I loved the homespun, relaxed look of some of the pieces. I found red napkins that were large enough to be used as fingertip towels or basket liners. I tried making a very structured, simple, Christmas word but found that it was too structured for my style. On a whim and out of frustration, I made a very haphazard looking little snowman. I thought he looked so cute all uneven and free handed. I added some beads and some free handed words and there it was~~ A kind of folky, relaxed, haphazard little snowman, with a winter message."

I can't wait to see some pictures of these!  I bet they are just darling! 

Yep...  Adorable!  Thanks for the picture Molly!!!

Stef shared to!  So cute!

On the tenth day of Christmas, Misty made for us....Red Team

Why Pear Jelly?

My mom grew up on a farm in Alabama where canning was a way of life. Canning meant having food in the winter. As my mom and her siblings grew older and had kids of their own, they continued to can. They canned for the memories of the past and for memories in the future. In my family the canning has stopped with my generation. It makes me sad, because when I look back at my childhood the memories of my mom, aunts, and “mammy” canning are such fond ones. It was a time for us all to be together, and to have fun with cousins. It was a time to be surrounded by laughter and love.

So starting this year with this swap I am going to make canning a new tradition in my home. This was my first time to can and although the end result was not exactly the one I was expecting, I was pleased with my attempt and promise to not let this tradition die. So, I hope all of you girls like pears. The jelly tastes wonderful, but is not as firm as I like my jelly to be. So enjoy, even if it is with a spoon!!!

Love you girls!!
Misty

Pictures of Misty's Yummy Jelly (which I can't wait to try!)

Thanks Beth!

On the ninth day of Christmas....from Red Team's Krtistina

The inspiration for my swap gift came from a craft show. I saw these bracelets and thought they were really neat! I nearly bought one, but thought I'd rather make one! So I looked online to see if I could find a tutorial, and found a few. After I making the first bracelet and using 28 tabs, I realized that I was going to need a lot of help getting my supplies! I put the call out to everyone to save their tabs for me. A friend of mine had 2 huge bags of cans that I went and spent a couple hours taking all the tabs from. I then spent even more time washing them all, and sorting them. I hope you all enjoy these, as I really enjoyed making them for you. I'm very blessed to have you all in my life.
Love, Kristina

Here is a picture from Lindsey.  Thanks Lindsey!

On the 9th day of Christmas, Miss Keri brought to you..... Green Team

A message from Keri....

Day nine was brought to you by Keri....
"After first being introduced to "One Pretty Thing" way back in... oh, who knows, I saw these key fobs and instantly thought they were cute, functional and fairly easy to make. For each crafty we've done I've gone back and forth on making these and I finally (after 2 attempts at other crafts) said "Let's do it".


The one snag I ran into, that I pray won't be a problem, is that I was supposed to SEW these in addition to using the iron on glue. The problem was - once we started on the new baby's room, my craft room went "buh bye", along with my sewing machine, so it was packed away behind tons of boxes. I am pretty sure they'll hold up OK, but if they don't - and you want another, just let me know because I ordered my supplies for this thinking I was ordering by the foot, when I was ordering by the yard, so I have enough material for another 26 of these!!! Hope you like 'em!"

Pictures from Anna... So cute!  I have to admit on this one, I'm a bit jealous Keri.  I really want one of these!

On the 8th Day of Christmas... Green Team

Day 8 for the Green Team brought a gift from JEN!

A word from her...

"Bath Soaks -

I'm a bit of an aromatherapy nut, and to go with it, I love homemade bath products. So when I was thinking of something fast and easy, I decided to go with this favorite! The soaks are made with oatmeal, dehydrated milk, and sea salt. Then they are scented with either Lavender and Mnit, or Orange and Mint - cause all of us can use either help relaxing after a long day or a pick me up to get moving.

Enjoy everyone!!"

How nice!

A picture from Anna... Thanks Anna!

On the 8th Day of Christmas.... Red Team

You got a present from ME!

A message from me...hehehe...

As many of you already know, I signed up to do 2, 12 Day gift exchanges.  So, since I was making 24 of something, it had to be easy.  I also wanted to make something the everyone could wear.  I like jewelry, and wanted to go do something like that.  I started stalking One Pretty thing and I saw THESE on there.  It gave me the inspiration I needed!

Button Bracelets it would be! 

After picking up the materials, I started planning it out.  I tried as much as possible to make everyone's bracelets individualized to their favorite colors.  I decided as we were going that it would have been helpful to have a swap question that read, "What colors do you most often wear." Then I could have done REALLY good!  Anyway, using the swap info and what I know about each one of you, I was able to create cute bracelets.  They took a little bit longer to make than I originally planned for, but knowing the LOVE I put in to making them for each one of you made it totally worth it. 

I hope you enjoy them!

Have a wonderful holiday!

ME (Beth)

Lindsey's Bracelet (Thanks for taking a pic Lindz!)

Kristina's bracelet... thanks Kristina!

Picture Stealing from Dawn!  Thanks for the Flickr link!

The package...

The inside!!!

Pictures from Beth....

On the 7th Day of Christams Miss Lisa brought the GREEN TEAM.....

A message from Lisa...

http://jchandmade.typepad.com/jc_handmade/2008/08/a-little-something-for-you.html


I made Scrap Fabric Magnets for my team. I knew I wanted to do something with magnets because that just seemed like an easier craft to do for 13 people and for someone has never really crafted before. I searched and searched for a tutorial when I came across the one at jchandmade. I picked the Christmas fabrics because of the season. The Christmas cupcake was the main magnet for ELW and the LOVE of cupcakes! I wanted to personalize at least one of the magnets, so I embellished them with Martha Stewart embellishment letters. I had a great time making them! I, now at least know that I can attempt a craft! I hope you think of me when you have them on your refridgerator as I think of you with all of my gifts!

Pictures from Anna.  ADORABLE Lisa!

On the 7th day of Christmas, Miss Lindsey brought to us... Red Team

... some Kleenex holders, aka tissue cozies!



While my first thought was to do something of the crochet variety, I decided to step outside my comfort zone and try a brand new craftie. A search of the web turned up a couple ideas... an all purpose pouch for an ipod/phone, fabric flower hair pins, various tree ornaments to name a few. But then I stumbled on a tutorial for mini tissue holders and I thought, "Aha! NO ONE would EVER think of this! It'll be totally original and cute!"

As it turned out, my "original" craft was one that someone in the original swap did. I was majorly bummed (and nervous that I'd picked a stupid craft after references to "cozies" started up on our own thread, haha) but I decided to go ahead with my idea because, in my attempt to finish way ahead of time because of the rapidly approaching birth of Liberty, I had all my gifties finished by the middle of October. I absolutely forbade myself from looking at crafty websites after that because I didn't want to find something else "better" and be all distressed about whether or not I should rethink my whole idea. Big thanks to Allison and Anna who talked me down from the ledge when I started freaking out!

I wanted something cute but marginally useful that I could personalize for everyone. I was able to pull a lot of my supplies from my limited fabric collection, and coordinate with ribbons and buttons I collected from a couple of craft stores. I read every last swap survey and tried to match a person to a combination of fabrics that was somewhere in the ballpark of their style. It's my hope that these tissue "cozies" find their way into your purses or diaper bags and make it just a tad easier to find a Kleenex when you are in need!

Love,
Lindsey

Some pictures from Kristina.  So cute Lindsay... and useful!

On the 6th day of Christmas Miss Melody brought to us... green team

A message from Mel...

"I spent a lot of time trying to decide what would ship easily and what I could do without a sewing machine! Every craft I wanted to try started out with a sewing machine. Since I do not have a sewing machine, or access to one, I decided to do a variation on Bella Beth's glass tile magnets.

I was thisclose to making Scrabble tile pendants http://www.makeandtakes.com/links/scrabble-tile-pendant-tutorial, even had the Scrabble game bought and ready to plunder. It just never felt right, you know? I didn't want to wreck the game by stealing the tiles, I couldn't find the Diamond Glaze (finally found it on-line) but the comments about DG being finicky and possibly toxic to use didn't set well with me. I read and read more about making pendants and finally settled on using Beth's tutorial http://hometomemories.blogspot.com/2009/02/getting-crafty-glass-magnet-making-101.html for making glass tile pendants. I had all the materials for the magnets because I had planned to make them last summer and just never got around to it. Like she suggested, I did buy the tiles on ebay. The same ebay shop offered a 7/8inch square punch, but I found one in my local Hobby Lobby. I bought the sterling silver plated bails on etsy. This store http://www.etsy.com/shop/SunAndMoonCraftKits also sells the complete kits if you want a one stop shopping experience, which is nice.


I found the decorative card stock at my local scrap book store and cut with the 7/8inch punch.


I used a clear backed sticker for the initials, which required a little more time for the glue to try when adhering to the glass. The Weldbond glue is white when wet and clear when dry. It took a long time for the glue to turn clear where the sticker was. I say that so you don't freak out that it's not clear in an hour. Give yourself a lot of time, read - days, for the glue to dry before going to the next step, if you try with a sticker. *Note: I did try making one using Krazy Glue (clear) to adhere the paper/sticker to the glass and it left a funky clear wave over the image. It didn't look right, even though it was clear. I suggest sticking (ha,ha) with the Weldbond and giving yourself more time in the drying process.


Before I put the bail on I sealed the paper with Aleen's Paper Glaze, which I found at Michael's. I let that dry and then put the bails on.

Tada!

I'm so glad you like them. The little bit of sparkle and the festive colors made me happy while I worked on them. Happy Holidays!"
 

Initial Necklace Pendants... SO cute!

Thanks for the picture Dawn!

On the sixth day of Christmas, Michelle sent to us...

I chose to make ornaments because I just love decorating for the holidays! Since I was making 13 of them, I needed them to be inexpensive to make and ship. Last year I showed pictures of my framed silhouette cutouts I made for my mantel and everyone really enjoyed how they came out. So, I knew this would be my starting point for the ornaments.



I obviously couldn't do something too big or too intricate so I found small frames in the jewelry section at the craft store and used that as the main part of the ornament. Then I cut shapes from red card stock to fit inside the frames. Then I saw this ad in the Antropologie catalog and was inspired to cut out my silhouette shapes from the pages of an old book.



So I used a tree and a star and cut them out of an old book I had laying around. Then I glued them unto the red card stock. I used Mod Podge over the top of them too - this step wasn't really necessary since they are enclosed in glass but I think it came out great! The second ornament came about because I had some Christmas fabric I had bought after Christmas last year and I thought it would make a cute ornament. So I just cut out the squares and sandwiched a piece of ribbon and batting in between and sewed them together!

Some pictures from Kristina... Thanks Kristina!

And a picture from Lindsey.

Five Golden Rings... Just kidding... Day 5, Green Team

Day 5 brought a beautiful gift from the lovely Sharron.

Here are a few words from her....

"I looked and looked through one pretty thing trying to find something to do. Although I found a lot that I will do for family members, I didn't find anything that fit the swap and would be easy to make 13 of. Well, I have recently taken up the hobby of loom knitting and LOVE it. So, I looked for something small and quick to knit (besides a hat). So, I decided on the tube scarf. I stalked everyone's swap surveys to make sure I didn't use any colors that people HATED, and actually tried to match the scarves up with colors they LOVED. Then my mother in law suggested I add beads to them for a little extra flare (I apologize to those that didn't get the beads, I ran out of time and energy). I also saw in the pamphlet that came with the loom for tube scarves that I could make a flower as well. So I added one flower to each scarf with coordinating colors. I hope their new owners love them as much as I loved making them!!!!
Sharron"

Picture time!

Here's Dawn wearing her lovely Sharron Scarf!

So cute!

Here's Megan's contribution!

Sharron, I'm so impressed!

And Lisa send some too!

Look at Kyra wearing her Sharron Sweater!  Simply ADORABLE!

Great Job Sharron!

And on the fifth day of Christmas, Hollie sent to us...Red Team

A Button Tree

I chose to make a button tree for each of you ladies and tried to make the colors as personal to each of you.
Buttons are one of my favorite crafting items, and I wanted to make something new and different using as many as I could. Someone on our site mentioned Two Peas in a Bucket, and I found my perfect swap crafty there, a button tree. I like that it took all different shapes and sizes to make up the tree. We are ladies from all over the US who have come together to make up ‘Emily’s World’ and this button tree represents how unique each one of you are.

I love each of you and wish you the very best this holiday season.

Hollie

Pictures!!!  They are so cute Hollie!

Here are a couple from Beth...

The detail... so cute!

Kristina also shared her picture.  They're all so individualized!

Here's Michelle's contribution...

Great Job Hollie!

And on the 4th Day of Christmas Miss Jennie brought to us... Red Team

An adorable "JOY" banner!

So cute!  Thanks Lindsey!

A note from Jennie...

"I chose to send the joy banner because I was first and foremost inspired by my incredibly talented friend, Cari. She has two shops Lucky Girl Gifts and Lucky Girl Goods her items are AMAZING and so incredibly beautiful and a true value. Anyway. I have loved these crepe paper flowers she's made for MONTHS and wanted to create something with them. When the swap came up -- I knew these flowers had to be part of my gift. And, the banner was born. I made each piece of this banner myself, by hand. I sewed and worked each flower, punched each scalloped circle, die cut the stars and letters and glittered each piece. I hoped it would be cute enough and special enough for each of you, mamas I find so special.

Happy Holidays!"

Miss Beth is sharing more pictures! 

Look at the adorable JOY banner right behind her adorable son, Ben!

...the detail...

So cute!