To work with your hands

Drum Roll Please!

The Winners of our Door Prize Drawings are:

Megan H.

Carita C.

Lacy B.

Stacie O.

Winners, keep your eyes open for an email with more information about your prizes!

Congratulations!  Thanks for visiting our Open House.

My Etsy shop still has lots of goodies that need homes!  The calendars are great Christmas gifts for anyone special in your life - The larger ones would be especially great for teachers (I would have liked one during my teaching days.)

I am enjoying my Christmas card holder already. I have it hung in my kitchen.   I only have a few cards on it so far, but I expect the flood of greetings to begin this week.   I have hung some of Connor's little Christmas creations on it for now.  It is a great place to display kids' artwork. 

We made a fun craft with our kids at a play date yesterday.  We did these footprint/handprint Rudolph's several years ago too.  Connor's foot sure has grown!  I will try and do one every year.  Fun, easy project.

One More Day

One more day until our "Virtual Open House" opens up to the public! I've been super busy getting ready.  Hope you enjoy shopping this week.

My etsy shop is full to the brim!  I waited all month to upload most of my items at once.  Whew! That was a task.  I won't do that again.  it is fun to see my shop full now, though.  Here is some of it - waiting to be purchased!

If you aren't familiar with Etsy.com, snoop around a bit.  It is such a neat site... with so many talented people.  I enjoy looking at the best sellers, etc.  It seems that this website is really picking up in popularity.  Fun to be a part of something so big.

On a side note, if you are interested in purchasing products from etsy, you must create your own account first.  It isn't hard at all... easy step by step instructions.  You will also need a PayPal account.  That is pretty simple too .. just one more step.  Go to PayPal.com for help with that!

See you tomorrow!

Buy Homemade!

I ran across this website.  Pretty neat.  http://www.buyhandmade.org/  Here is an excerpt from their site:

Buying Handmade makes for better gift-giving.

The giver of a handmade gift has avoided the parking lots and long lines of the big chain stores in favor of something more meaningful. If the giver has purchased the gift, s/he feels the satisfaction of supporting an artist or crafter directly. The recipient of the handmade gift receives something that is one-of-a-kind, and made with care and attention that can be seen and touched. It is the result of skill and craftsmanship that is absent in the world of large-scale manufacturing.

Buying handmade is better for people.

The ascendancy of chain store culture and global manufacturing has left us dressing, furnishing, and decorating alike. We are encouraged to be consumers, not producers, of our own culture. Our ties to the local and human sources of our goods have been lost. Buying handmade helps us reconnect.

Love it!  Pretty good arguments for buying homemade - right?  Almost all of my gifts will be homemade this year.  I just might add my name to the "pledge" on that website.

I'm getting ready for the Open House this weekend.  Thank goodness that I don't have to clean my house for a real open house!  Just getting the blog posts put together and listing all my Etsy items will be enough for me.

Here is one of the Holiday Organizers that I put together for the shop.  Great place to keep all your holiday ideas, lists, gifts given, etc.  It is a "must have" for me every year.  Mom and I made several of these 2 years ago.  Now, this is a more vintage take on it.  I leave it in an easy to reach location all year. When I think of a great gift idea for a usually hard to shop for family member, I grab my journal, and jot down the ideas.  Mine is overflowing already!

  

More on Mini Albums

As I get out my Christmas decorations, there is always one little goodie that I am extra excited to display.  Several years ago, my mom put together a mini album for me titled "O Christmas Tree."  It tells the story of our family tradition of cutting down our tree each year.  There are  pictures dating back to my childhood .. all the way up to Sean and my first tree as newlyweds.  I love to look through this tiny flip album to remember this fun tradition.  This year, I will add pictures of Connor's first experience at the tree farm.

The possibilites are endless with mini albums.   As I have been preparing different treats for the season, my mind has been racing with ideas for several different little albums.  Here is a small list I have compiled of tradtions that are "Scrapbook Worthy." 

• Ornament Album - this is one I really intend to do this year - Sean and I have collected ornaments from all our travels.  I want to take pictures of each ornament and journal about where each one is from.. along with any fun stories (ie:  sand dollar from our honeymoon, cable car from San Fransisco, Mickey Ears from Connor's trip to Disney)  Connor will enjoy searching for each ornament - And some day when these ornaments are handed down, the stories will also be passed along with them.
• Santa Album- each year's picture from visiting Santa.  This little album could even include wish lists from each year too
• Baking Traditions - Sean's mom always makes special sugar cookies.  I have learned through the years that there are special "steps" in this tradition.  Do you have any holiday baking traditions?
• Family Picture - Does your family do a family picture each year for your Christmas card - maybe include the picture and the card you sent each year.
• Christmas Decorations - What are you favorite decorations?  Snap a few pictures of your house this year and display them in a mini album so you can remember year to year how you adorned your home.
• Christmas Cards From Friends - I have done this for the past several years.  I made a scrapbook layout with pictures of all our friends.  It is fun to look back and see how all the families have changed.
• Travels - Does your family go on a traditional trip during the holiday season?  My family has gone skiing for several Christmases.  Last year, I made a mini album of our time spent on the slopes, making snowmen, and all our celebrating in the lodge. 
• Opening Stockings- This could be for young and old alike.  Our family enjoys filling each other's stockings with silly gag gifts.  It would also be fun to have pictures from each year of the kids with their stockings on Christmas morning.

Any other ideas of traditions that deserve their own mini album?  I'm sure I have forgotten something!

I will be selling several different mini albums in my Etsy shop next week (my Virtual Open House is Dec. 1 - 8th).  Some are actual scrapbooks in which you can write directly on pages, and several are just little flip albums that hold 36 4x6 photos. 

These small albums make great gifts for grandparents!

Fall is in the attic and Christmas is closer

Fall is put away at my house.  Now I must get rid of the layer of dust that has settled, and then we can start making it look like Christmas around here! Everything looks a little bit bare, but that will make it more fun to pull out all the goodies.  Last night, we climbed into the attic , pulled down all the boxes, and made a home for them in the corner of the garage.  Tonight, we will crank up the Christmas music and put up the trees.  I'm excited!

I've been working on a few more things for my Virtual Open House next week.  Today, I put together a few more flip photo albums and some cool Christmas card holders.  I saw a card holder at Target  - made with clothespins.... so I came home and made my own.  I think it is cuter than the Target one! As the Christmas greetings begin to fill our mailbox, I will clip the cards and pictures to the banner to enjoy through the month.  I will put a few in my Etsy shop to sell.  This one says, "Joy to the World."  I attached a few cards and pictures so you can get the basic idea.

This is another banner I made - "JOY HOPE PEACE"  It stretches 58 inches - across my whole mantle.  Would also be cute over a door way or window.

One more mini album for Christmas... This one has a little more contemporary feel.  Perfect for pictures of this Christmas or maybe even a few from each year - to keep out during the season.  More ideas to come in a future post about uses for little albums.

Thought I would share with you the project we did with Connor and Cousin Jake this weekend.  Got this idea out of Family Fun magazine again.     Super easy - all we needed was paint and some paper(you could use googly eyes - but we ran out).  I will add a ribbon to hang it on the tree.  The boys loved helping make the hand prints.

I've Been Sewing

Sunday afternoon I decided to pull the sewing machine out and try something different for a change.  I found a great deal on some 2008 planners and calendars, and I wanted to embellish them somehow.  I added a little ribbon, some watch face embellishments, buttons, and a few "time" themed phrases - and here you go.... Not the best picture, but you can at least get the basic idea. (Click the photo to make it larger) 

I spent a lot more time rethreading my machine, replacing a needle, and figuring out my bobbin problem - than on actual sewing - But now... BOY, I am going to town!  Not the best seamstress - still working on a straight line!  But it has been fun for me and that is all that matters.  Are you proud, Mama?

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Some friends and I will be having a "Virtual Christmas Open House" right here at TO WORK WITH YOUR HANDS.... Mark your calendars for Dec 1st - Dec 7th ... LOTS MORE DETAILS LATER -so come back soon to hear more about it.. Are you intrigued?

Give Thanks

My newest goodie is in my Etsy shop now.  I put together this little album with Thanksgiving in mind.

   I LOVE this holiday.  We will be traveling to my parents' house for a country Thanksgiving this year.  Our family has always shared this sweet holiday with dear family friends.   We have some awesome memories all centered around Turkey Day! 

smelling Dad cook the turkey all morning, Aunt Marjie's desserts, playing outside, conversations around the table, Aggie football, bonfire, cutting our Christmas trees, and on and on...

This is my favorite all-time Thanksgiving photo.  (Sorry that it is a bad quality pic for the blog - pre-digital era!)

Notice the 4 boys are in the Indian headbands, the ladies are in pilgrim hats and the two dads and granddad are in pilgrim top hats (stuck on their heads with bubble gum).  Mimi was taking the picture - she was the coordinator of all this craziness!  (I see who I get it from!)  Thanks for making this picture happen, Mimi.  It is a treasure to all of us.

Now we are all grown up - the youngest is a junior at A&M - Plus, we added a brother-in-law, two sister-in-laws, and 3 babies!  Wow, how time flew by.

Every year, mom has everyone share two things they are thankful for.  We take turns and go around the table.  Through the years, this has been a really special tradition.  There have been quite a few groans and grumbles from the boys, lots of laughs (like when Sam was 10 and he was thankful for his 5 senses!), but in the end, everyone looks forward to it.  The blessings get sweeter every year.  Connor and his Cousin Jake may even be able to say what they are thankful for this year! 

Anyway - That stroll down memory lane was to help set the stage for my "Give Thanks Mini Album."  I created this album with my family Thanksgivings in mind. This book would be perfect for capturing all those gratitudes in writing.  Each person could have a page of the album to write on - or you could use one page per year - along with a picture on the opposite page.  Once again, it is a great little book for the coffee table - pull it out every November.  It will soon become a family favorite!

Turkey Time

Just put together another little treat for Thanksgiving!

  I found this precious postcard on my antiquing weekend, and decided to create something just for it.  I scanned the old postcard, printed it larger and mounted it on foam board (like my Halloween goodie).  It is much larger - about 6 1/2" x 10 1/2"  - and really cute!!!  I already have a few people lined up waiting for their own.  I might just be cranking these out.

I love the American flag on the corner and of course the gorgeous turkey.  Old postcards really are art.  He might be my favorite of all my turkeys!  I think this sweet card is pretty unique... it is hard to find vintage Thanksgiving postcards.  I've see quite a few Christmas ones... but only this one for Turkey Day.  Since Thanksgiving is my favorite, it is a treasure to me. 

I've been working on getting my Out of the Box name out there  a bit more.  Have recently been spending alot of time looking into different advertising venues.  I listed myself on several website directories - www.scrapjazz.com is one of them.  I am under "Scrapbooker for Hire" or "Custom Scrapbooker."  We'll see if I get some traffic my way through them.  Sean and I are having a "business meeting" tonight once we put the little man to bed.  We have some ideas that we want to think through and get going.  I defintely have an appreciation for all small business owners.  It is tough.

I've decided that my service is one that most people don't know they need.  Folks don't know that there is such a thing as a "custom scrapbooker."  I'm trying to think of interesting ways I can get my name out there.  Any ideas?  Suggestions are always welcome!

More on Etsy

It is beginning to really feel like fall around here, so I have been playing with some fall decorations - making a few more for my etsy shop. 

Found these vintage postcard reproductions on Friday, then I put them on a little foam board base and embellished them with a bit of vintage German glass glitter, and added a wire hanger with some ribbons.  It would be cute hung on a door knob or just sitting with a few little gourds or pumpkins.

I sold one of my mini albums already!  I have a few other ideas for the shop.  Trying to decide if I should move on to Thanksgiving now and turkeys.. or keep creating with these little pumpkin goodies.... we'll see when I actually get to them again.  Need to catch up on laundry too!

Grand Opening!

My Etsy shop is officially open for business today!  Mom and I just put the finishing touches on some really cute mini books and posted them in my store.  I'm selling these for pretty cheap - hoping to get some sales under my belt... And get my name out there.  Go check it out - spread the word about my goodies for sale. 

I will be adding more soon - maybe some more "Happy Candy Day" treats, Thanksgiving ideas, and Christmas gifts. 

We had a great time putting these little albums together.  I hope that there are some folks that would like them as small coffee table albums - to put a picture from each Halloween through the years.  I already have mine out - with Connor's 1st and 2nd Halloween.  He has enjoyed looking through it and loves counting the pumpkin embellishments. 

Connor even worked on creating something today with mom.  He was more interested in lining things up than actually doing the little fall project - but it was fun anyway! Thanks Grandmother...  You think of everything!