Are you curious about our big announcement I teased you about the past couple of weeks? :-)

We keep trying to find ways to keep US motivated to make a Christmas gift or two every month. We're really excited about this idea and hope you are, too.

In addition to having a winner every month we're also going to have two Grand Prize winners next December. Cheryl and I are going to set aside an additional gift every month. The number of entries you have for the Grand Prizes will be based on how many months you participated. So if you participate all 12 months, you'll have 12 entries; 6 months - 6 entries and so on.

So...............my fellow Christmas Elves will that help keep you motivated to work on Christmas gifts and make your life easier next December?



The Christmas Through the Year train is pulling into its first stop - January 31. We know that many of you have already completed Christmas gifts for family and friends. WooHoo!!!! Cheryl says we're YOUR cheerleaders and have pom-poms; so do you have a mental picture of us jumping for joy just for YOU. (ok, maybe not - LOL)


I've been fighting a cruddy flu bug since Wednesday (it's been a long time since I've been this sick - ugh) however in my stupor I came up with yet another time saving idea for you.

Bearing in mind that this is suppose to be about 'no stress, no pressure just fun with great results next Christmas' I had a lightbulb moment. :-)

We've suggested that you store your finished gifts in a fun container (a pretty box, basket, totebag, drawer, etc) however why not wrap your gift NOW. If your gift is small use those cute Christmas treat bags, plain treat bags found in the cake decorating dept at your local hobby store (make it fun with pretty ribbons, rick rack, etc) or a plain brown lunch bag that you can decorate with fun stickers found in the scrapbooking dept of the same local hobby store. If you don't want to scrunch up the brown bag to tie it then simply fold it over, punch two holes and thread pretty ribbons, etc through the holes. Or, make a special bag following a tutorial you might find on Cheryl's blog - goodness I'm glad she took that on - not my strong suit. Now you just need to find a shelf in your sewing room, hall closet, etc to store your wrapped gifts.

These are my January gifts - not quilted but will be later this week.

I failed to take a picture of the finished January gift but here's a refresher!


I've added Mr Linky to end of this post - please add your blog with a link to your blog to show your completed January Christmas Through The Year gifts. I'll leave this up until Wednesday February 1 and then a winner will be announced.

If you're participating and don't have a blog please send a picture to me or Cheryl! :-)

One more thing - you can follow Cheryl's and my blog via e-mail. Sign up on the top right!

Thank you for having Christmas fun with us!

In Friendship!

Have you jumped aboard the Christmas Train?

We're near the end of January, the first stop in our Christmas gift making journey!

Are you excited because you've completed your January Christmas gift goals? I've heard from several of you who are chugging right along - woohoo!!! Mary completed two Full House Schnibbles projects, Carol has some adorable kitchen towels, Carol completed a pillowcase for her granddaughter - the list goes on.

If you're still struggling with gift ideas please visit Cheryl's blog for lots of wonderful tutorials. And, there's more to come - she's really good at finding lots of terrific ideas!

Last week I told you I'd have a big announcement today! Well, you'll have to wait till next Monday because I don't quite have my act together. teehee!!! I will tell you that it should provide more motivation for you to jump aboard the Christmas Train as we continue our Christmas Through The Year journey.

Next Monday I will provide Mr Linky so you can link your blog to show your finished project(s). You'll have till the end of the month to provide your link and on February 1 we'll draw a winner of the January stocking!

If you haven't started working on your Christmas gifts now is the time to get busy. Remember it's about no stress and no pressure with fabulous results in December!

In Friendship!

Snippets

(a small bit of something)

I've had snippets of time to play with snippets of fabric (12 Days of Christmas scraps).

This box full of snippets probably should be sealed up and put on a shelf but I've been having way too much fun! :-)


Using my snippets of time and snippets of fabric I've created these four little quilts. I've been thinking enough already but I have two more ideas. LOL


Lest you think I've only played with Christmas snippets - here are pink and brown snippets, as well.

Thank you for spending a snippet of your day with me - please come back soon.

In Friendship!

Can you believe half of January is gone?

I hope you've started working on your January Christmas Through the Year gift project.

In case you haven't I'm here to offer a little motivation - teehee!

I managed to squeeze in some 'me time' this evening to piece the January giveaway project. I'll quilt and bind it later this week so I can show you next Monday! Remember your name can be in the hat to win if and only you complete a gift this month!

Before


After


I'll be back with Christmas Through the Year next Monday to show the project finished and a surprise!


Remember no pressure, no stress - just fun with great results next Christmas! Imagine how good it'll feel to have 12 projects ready to give - so start sewing for Christmas!


Cheryl will be posting tutorials and such on the first and third Mondays please stop by to visit with her for more motivation and ideas.


In Friendship!

Shaye's

1st Birthday

already?????

In Friendship!

ME TIME!

Before you read on please know that I'm not here to whine or complain. I'm looking for solutions, guidance, ideas, etc regarding TIME. Specifically ME TIME!

Since my mom came to stay with us in November 'me time' has been non-existant. My days have been consumed by my mom's needs but she's not an invalid (she's suffering from short term cognitive impairment). Sigh I was biding my time until the day I took her back to Texas. As a family we've decided that my mom is staying with us permanently - it's the best decision for her and her needs. This decision impacts me the most so I need your help.

I'm trying hard to find time in a day to work on some projects. I made the decision some time last year to focus on small projects in 2012. Even time to work on small projects has been elusive.

I willingly admit that I crave alone time. I enjoy time in my sewing room - it's really my sanctuary - I feel very at peace in there! In my personal Disneyland. LOL I can't remember the last time I spent time alone in my sewing room - just me and my thoughts. Sigh!

I thought I might be able to find that time in the evening after my mom goes to bed. Guess what? She refuses to go to bed until I go to bed (yes, we've tried tricking her but she figured us out - LOL) and when she finally goes to bed I'm exhausted. I'm an early riser so I've considered enjoying 'me time' in the early morning hours but then Cooper is demanding my time. aarrgghhh! LOL

So, can you offer some suggestions? Please I need help. I have to find a solution - really I do.

In Friendship!

So many have jumped aboard the Christmas Train - welcome aboard!

I've been peeking over some shoulders and have seen Christmas gifts in the making - woohoo!!!

The incredibly talented Kaaren at The Painted Quilted has finished her first gift! I was so excited when I saw it on her blog.

How are YOU doing? Have you picked out your first gift to be made this month? Are you sewing? Have you finished? I'd love to hear about your progress.

Cheryl's been working really hard getting some tutorials for ideas for YOU. I've almost finished the giveaway gift for January. teehee!!! And, I have some planned surprises, as well. :-)

No stress, no pressure just fun with wonderful results at the end of the year!!!

"I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year!"

Charles Dickens

In Friendship!

Welcome aboard the Christmas Train!!!

I'm so glad that so many of you are excited about the "Christmas Through The Year" bloggy club.

This is a fun and simple bloggy club - no pressure and no stress!! I'm going to suggest that you start small (mug mat, pillow case, table runner, etc). If you're ready to start BIG then by all means. :-) We're here to cheer you on. Remember you have all month to get your first gift completed. Cheryl, has done her first post about the bloggy club and has some awesome tutorials for some adorable projects.

By the way, I know it'll be tempting to give your gift away right away...........don't do it! LOL Finish the first gift and put it away in your box, totebag, drawer or basket. It's going to be fun to look back and see your pile of gifts growing.

Here's a little teaser - teehee!!

I'm already having fun - could this be the start of my first gift or the giveaway prize? LOL

I promise this is my last post about the "Christmas Through The Year" bloggy club until next Monday. :-)

In Friendship!

Christmas Through The Year

(I'm late - I took a nap teehee)

Did you participate in Allie and Cheryl's "Christmas Through The Year" club in 2011? I kept telling myself that I should participate but kept procrastinating. Sigh! I watched from the sidelines while so many were making Christmas gifts throughout the year. Yes, I did manage to make a handful of Christmas gifts but not as many as I planned and ended up very frustrated with myself. Bigger Sigh! I kept waiting and hoping that Allie would announce that she was going to do it again in 2012 however she has other plans and decided that she couldn't devote the time to the club as she had in 2011. I sent her an e-mail and asked if I could continue it - carry the torch (so to speak). She said, "Yes" and then shared that Cheryl wanted to do the same. An e-mail and a phone chat later Cheryl and I were very excited partners. WooHoo!!!!




We hope that you'll make plans to join us in 2012 and enjoy making a Christmas gift (or two). Cheryl is a huge testament about the club - she made a gift every month and at the end of the year she had 12 gifts ready to give. Can I get a huge WOOHOO for Cheryl. :-)

Charles Dickens said, "I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year!"

Starting January 2, I’ll be doing a post every Monday to help keep us focused. We’ll be making ONE gift per month – if you make more, that’s excellent! Then, at the end of the year, if you play along every month, you’ll have at least 12 gifts completed. We'd like to suggest that you find a spot to store your finished gifts (box, totebag, drawer, etc); I have that cute snowman box for my finished gifts.

One simple rule: Your gift doesn't have to be sewing related nor Christmas themed but it does have to be handcrafted. Bear in mind that you do not have to sign up to participate - this bloggy club will remain open all year. If you want to do it that month, you're in if you choose to skip a month, no problem.

There will be small give-aways each month and will be sent to you in one of the stockings shown in the picture. This is an open invitation to anyone who’d like to play along. At the end of the month, you’ll have to post a picture of your gift you’ve made on your blog. We'll tell you where to post about your gift as we get close to the end of the month.

We're carrying the torch for Allie so we're using the button she created. :-)If you'd like to add the button to your blog, just right-click the picture, save, and use the "add a gadget" on your dashboard.

Cheryl and I are really excited and have some ideas and plans. We'd be even more excited if you played along with us.

In Friendship!

The Number 12

I don't make New Year's resolutions; really don't like setting myself up for failure. I suffer enough failures in my life I certainly don't need to create more. LOL

In my stitching and quilting world I do like to set goals; albeit sometimes they are silly ones but goals, none the less.

So, in the spirit of setting goals and such this post is brought to you by the number 12. Why the number 12? No, not because it's 2012 (although 12 in '12 is catchy but maybe a bit cheesy) LOL!! I've had to make some huge adjustments in the time I spend in my sewing room. I really miss rotary cutting, measuring, fondling fabric, planning projects, etc - it's very therapeutic. I've been thinking about this quite bit in recent days and came up with what I believe is a realistic solution. I told myself to think small - small doable projects - small quilts, x-stitch ornaments , Christmas gifts, etc. And, then it happened - the inevitable light bulb moment - LOL. I can make a small quilt a month, a x-stitch ornament a month, etc. So, 12 months = 12 ornaments, 12 small quilts, 12 Christmas gifts. I'm really excited about my goals featuring the number 12.

So, what do you think - can I do it? I hope so because I'm planning to do a post at the end of every month brought to you by the number 12 and I want to show successful results not failures.

"I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year!"
Charles Dickens

Come back later today for an exciting announcement about Christmas Through The Year.

Thank you for stopping by to visit today!

In Friendship!