Last Minute Gift Idea

It may be the beginning of December, but I wanted to share a quick and easy gift idea with you.  This is great for that person who has everything, for the person you just don't know what to buy for, a last minute gift, a white elephant gift, etc.  And it was born from desperation....

I HATE giving gift cards as gifts.  They just really feel impersonal to me.  It feels like I am saying, "Hey, I don't know you well enough or care enough to find a gift that gift that just screams your name to me so I got you a gift card instead."  As a gift, gift cards are right above cash on my worst gifts list.  

That being said, there are times that I just can't get away from them.  Want to give a spa day to your BFF?  You are going to need a gift card.  Want to give your tech loving guy a gift but you just don't know the difference between RAM and Rom?  Better get a gift card instead.  Sending gifts to someone and the cost of shipping has you down?  Send a gift card instead.  And this fun way to present the card won't cost that much more to ship!

Simply print out the image on photo paper, write a note in the grey box, and attach you gift card over it.  Place in a photo frame and you are done!

 

You can download the free PDF here.  Do you have any great last minute gift ideas?  I would love for you to share them in the comments.  Merry Christmas!

 

Share day!

I have been updating my Ravelry projects page.  I had noticed that I had made several projects and not posted pictures before I gave them away so I began remaking them to get pics.  I also notices I had TOOO many UFO's (UnFinished Objects) floating around so I am working on those too.  Here is what i have accomplished:

This one wasn't a UFO, rather it was a little surprise gift for my hubby on our anniversary.  Using size 10 thread it works up to be about an inch and a half.  You can find the pattern here.  

I actually made two of these cross bookmarks, one white (pictured above) and one ecru.  I sent them to a couple of gals in my online Bible study group (more about that later).  This pattern works up super quick and is relatively easy to do.  You can find the pattern here.

This isn't a great picture, but Princess wasn't wanting to stand still.  She asked for a pair of legwarmers so I whipped these up for her using Caron Simply Soft Yarn Paints colorway Sticks & Stones.  I really like the yarn, it works up really soft.  Unfortunately Princess doesn't like legwarmers (these were her first pair)!  Of course, now that I have made a set for her sister, she has decided that if I add pompoms to these (her sister's pair has pompoms on them) she will wear them.  Who knows?!?  The pattern can be found here, although I had to modify it to fit Princess.

Another anniversary gift for my hubby.  I call him my frog prince.  It's a long story but when we got married we both had a LOT of issues that caused a lot of rough patches in our marriage.  However, he is now my best friend, my prince charming.  You can find this pattern here.  I used size 10 thread and a 1.65 mm hook. I had to add some extra stitches to the foundation chain of the tongue to get it long enough and an extra round to the head to make it proportionate since I was using smaller yarn than called for.

This was also a gift for one of my Online Bible study gals.  Another one that is quick to work up and it makes a pretty good bookmark also.  You can find the pattern for this one here.  

And this is one of the legwarmers that i made for BP (Big Princess).  There is a tie under the cuff that has pompoms on the end to keep them up.  I first saw this pattern a few years ago (before I started knitting) and tried to get someone I knew to make a set for my oldest daughter.  Unfortunately it didn't happen.  So when BP asked for her very own legwarmers I decided to give it a try and see if I could master it.  I made this one and then moved away from it.  I didn't really like the way the back panel worked up (not in picture).  BP wouldn't let it rest though so I finished the set this past week for her.  The pattern is called Mosey and I worked them using Caron Simply Soft.  You can find the pattern here.

Unfortunately, I still have several more projects to work on, so look for some catch up work to show up here over the next several weeks.  I am also starting to compile a pattern database for my hat a day during Lent project.  If you know of a pattern for a newborn or preemie hat I would love for you to share it with me!

My final share is an organization tool for Bible study.  Let me fill you in on the why....

About a year ago I signed up for an online Bible study with Melissa Taylor.  I joined one of the Facebook small groups and loved it.  I was invited to become one of the small group leaders and have been so blessed by the ladies that I work with as a result.  The studies are amazing, the women I have connected with have been so sweet, and I have really grown closer to God as a result.

The problem was that I was having problems keeping everything all together.  I had one notebook for my personal study, one for the online study, notes stuck everywhere, and just a sense of chaos.  One of the other small group leaders posted pictures of a notebook she created to help her stay organized.  I LOVED it.  Problem was, you had to pay for the printables.  Now it wasn't a huge fee, and it included lifetime access to all of the printables, but I figured I could create something myself and save a few bucks.  So I scoured the net for some inspirations and created my own set.  

It is designed to go into a 3 ring notebook.  Above is the cover page.  There are dividers for Bible Study, prayers, journaling, notes and quotes, and memory verses.  Many of these (like the example above) have a Bible verse relevant to the topic on them.  Included are lined pages for the Bible study and Prayer time sections.  I put my dividers into plastic page protectors in my notebook.

You can download your own PDF copy of them here.  Please note that they are available for personal use only.

And if you are looking for a great way to get closer to God with some amazing women, consider joining Melissa Taylor and over 7,000 people in the upcoming study of Let. It. Go.: How to Stop Running the Show and Start Walking in Faith  by Karen Ehman.  Look for my review of this book tomorrow on Sunflowers at Home's Book Reviews 4 U 2 or just click here to go directly to it.

Until next time,

Conversation Heart Printable

This has been on my to-do list for years, ever since I saw this post on the Creative Ladies Ministry.  I finally (yes, I know it's last minute!) created this:

So what is it you ask?  It is a wrapper for those little boxes of conversation hearts that you can pick up EVERYWHERE this time of year.  This one in particular I know fits the sweetheart boxes sold in 4 packs at the dollar tree because that is what I used to make the template.  If your box is slightly bigger or smaller this will still work because there is extra on the left side of the image that can be glued under allowing it to grow some and you can always trim it down if needed for a smaller box. 

These would be great to pass out at church (I know it's tomorrow but this post will be here for years and years so someone in like 2019 may see it in time to actually buy the boxes, print all the templates, cut them out and glue them onto the boxes in time to hand out on Valentine's weekend), give as valentines in class, or use as a witnessing tool.  Feel free to use it as you please.  These will print two to a page and if you want to print them out I suggest you open the pdf file so that the scale is accurate. 



Until next time,

Christmas Printable

Last year on Craftsayings a board friend wrote a wonderful poem after a church service about remembering what this season is all about.  Her name is Sally Suiter and she is very talented.  She kindly gave me permission to use her poem and with it I created, per the request of many on the craftsayings board, a bookmark.  I hope that you enjoy her words and are as inspired by them as I was!  You can view the picture below, but please use the link below it to download a clear, printable version of it.

Please click here to download

I pray you find time to focus on the "y" this holiday as well!

Love,

End of the School Year

This school year is quickly coming to an end. Yesterday J's class finally got to launch the rockets that they have been building the last several weeks as part of their Moon, Mars and Beyond unit. It was great watching the excitement of the 5th graders as they placed their rockets on the launch pads, hooked up the ignitor, and then launched them. J's unfortunately got lost. We searched the entire playground looking for it. After the classes went back inside I searched along the roads outside of the fence line and found 3 lost rockets, none were his. Then after school we searched again and found 2 more, neither was his. I am glad that I went and was able to get pictures for him. The launch came close to being canceled due to rain. Fortunately they were able to move it up and all of the students were able to launch before the downpour hit. Here are a few pictures:








While I was at it I remembered that I promised a picture of the 60's dress I made for K in this post. So I got her to take a moment and model for me. Please ignore the fact that she was on the phone! You know how teenagers are. This dress almost got the best of me as I had never done such a fitted pattern before. She liked it though, even though you couldn't tell it was paisley from the audience!





And my final thought to leave you with today is to remember to say thank you to your child's teacher. It is often a thankless job. In most states they are very underpaid for what they do. To that end here is a microwave popcorn wrapper you can use. I am putting it, with a movie rental gift card, into a popcorn box from the Dollar Tree as part of the gift for my children's teachers.

Please click on the image to save a better quality image suitable for printing.

J's Valentine Bookmark

As I suspected, J was not happy with the first bookmark I made for H. So I played today and since he was available to give his approval because of yet another snow day...here is the J approved boy bookmark.




You can also download this one in a sheet of 5 by clicking here to visit my 4shared files. Enjoy!!

Valentine Bookmark

Nothing much new here. My wonderful husband started his new job yesterday. Boy was that a huge adjustment for all of us. Baby A cried all day, not sure I can entirely blame that on daddy being gone as she is teething also, but it sure made it a LONG day for everyone. H came home and informed me she needed valentine's to hand out at church this weekend. I suppose I could have gone down to the dollar store and bought some, but she wanted to do her own. Anyway, I played around and came up with these for her to color, cut out and embellish to her hearts content. I doubt J will like them as much, probably to girly for him. Will have to work on a more boyish set for him. Anyway, thought I would share with everyone. The print out 5 to a sheet and I printed mine on cardstock for some weight. Please click here to access the file for printing. Enjoy!

Hot Chocolate

I came across a wonderful email a few days ago that inspired me to create a printable. Here is th email:



A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups -porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate. When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said, 'Notice that all the nice looking,expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups...and then you began eyeing each other's cups. Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us. God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And enjoy your hot chocolate!



I created this:



to wrap a single packet of hot cocoa in. The back side is the above email. If you click the title of this blog post it will take you to a better quality picture that you can print or download. Hope you enjoy and that you focus on the hot chocolate and not the mugs!