Do you know the story of the Christmas Spider?

After the craft fair last week, I put up a very small Christmas tree that I got at Michael's. We don't have room for a large live tree, so this one will have to for now. I decided to hang some of my grandma's beautiful handmade ornaments on it. This season will be the first one without her since she passed away in May. I'm hoping that this little tree is a fitting tribute to her memory and love of all things crafty.




I've also hidden one of my little handmade spiders inside the tree. Have you ever heard of the legend of the Christmas spider? No? Read on...


Long ago in Germany, a mother prepared for Christmas Eve. She cleaned and scrubbed her home, chasing the spiders from the living room with her broom. The spiders fled to the attic and listened to the excitement below as the Christmas tree was put up and decorated. When all was quiet again, the little spiders crept back downstairs to see the beautiful tree. They were filled with happiness as they crawled along every branch, admiring the glittering beauty of each ornament. But alas, by the time they had finished climbing through the tree, it was completely draped with their dusty, gray cobwebs.

When the Christ child came, He smiled as He looked upon the happy little spiders. However, He knew the mother would be heartbroken when she saw the shrouded tree. So He reached out and touched the webs and, blessing them, turned them into silver and gold. Now the Christmas tree sparkled and shimmered and was even more beautiful than before. Hence, the tradition of hanging tinsel from the Christmas tree was born.

Since this legend, it has become tradition to include a spider among the decorations on the tree. It is also believed that luck will befall those who spot a spider in their house during the Christmas season.


Good luck trying to find the little guy in this picture! I hope everyone is having a fantastic Sunday!

My Craft Show Trades

A few of you had asked me to share my craft show trades. Today, I finally snapped some pictures of my loot. I actually didn't photograph all of my stuff, if you can believe it. A couple of my friends gave me the cutest little apron, plus I'm still waiting on a button bracelet that I'm having made by one of the artsits who just so happens to live right down the road from me! I'll definitely share that bracelet with you when I get it. For now, enjoy the slideshow!

I was tagged again!!

My blog buddy, Julie, tagged me last week, but I didn't have time to play along with all the chaos surrounding my craft fair. I'm finally getting around to it now! Check out Julie's blog when you get a chance.

Here goes another round of seven random facts about your's truly....me!

1. Our basement flooded a couple of days ago. I had to call Travis at work to come and help me clean up the mess. Luckly, we have all of our stuff either on metal shelving units or in plastic bins, so nothing got runied. It's just a soppy mess down there. You won't believe where the water was coming from - a long crack in the CONCRETE FLOOR of our basement. Strange. Actually, it shouldn't surprise me too much. After all, we did get almost 11" of rain in less than 24 hours. That's a lot of rain, folks!
2. I love Pilsbury cookies!! I make two almost every evening when I'm relaxing with Travis. It's a quick and easy snack, plus it's warm!!
3. I haven't created a scrap page in almost two months!! I've been so busy with craft fair projects that I just haven't had time. Now, I'm drowning in x-mas cards! Hopefully, I'll scrap again soon.
4. I'm addicted to stamping lately. I know this shouldn't shock anyone, but it shocks me! I wasn't a stamper at all until earlier this year when I went to a stamp convetion. Now, I can't pass by a package of clear stamps without them mysteriously ending up in my cart!
5. I only go grocery shopping once a month, and I drive 20 miles to do it even though I live across the street from a grocery store!! I'm not one for grocery shopping, so I like getting it it done in one shot. Also, I like getting out of my city every now and then, which is why I choose to shop so far away!
6. I have a HUGE collection of paper. Now, I know that every scrapper/stamper says that, but I truly mean it! I've seen other people's craft rooms, and unless they're hiding more paper, I definitely have them beat. I estimate I have over 500 lbs. here. YIKES!! Note to self - no more paper!!
7. I name everything. For example, I have this gorgeous blue spruce in my front yard, and his name is Jake. We have two squirrels living in it, and their names are Charlie and Charlotte. My other trees are named Maple and Frans. Yup, I'm quirky, but I'm okay with it.

If you want to play along, consider yourself tagged!! I love reading people's random facts :)

I'm back!!

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post! First, let me thank all of you for all the wonderful well-wishes. I truly appreciate all my blogger-buds!!

My craft fair was a total bust in terms of finances. I barely recovered the cost of my booth and the order of clear plastic baggies I put all my products into. I think the weather played a huge roll in keeping people away from the show. We got our first snow fall of the year on Saturday, and it was a doozy. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the snow fall while the carrolers sang Christmas songs. It was truly a Christmas wonderland! Then it poured buckets on Sunday. Oh well.

What I lacked in money, I definitely made-up for in fun! I met the most amazing crafters at the show. I loved walking around the space and looking at everyone's creations. I was able to trade my product for other fun stuff. I am now the proud owner of a beautiful wool hat, a cat print, a crocheted barret, a pair of earrings, a customized button bracelet (being made as we speak), a mirror with a crocheted cover, a flower arrangement, Christmas tree ornaments, and an apron. I think I made out like a bandit!

Here are a few pics from the weekend:

My booth ~


The Christmas Carrolers ~

I figure since I have lots of product left over, I'm done with my Christmas shopping! My friends and family are getting lots of hand made stuff this year :)

I hope everyone is having a fabulous week!!

Only time will tell...

...if I lose my scrappy little mind! I've been crafting all day long, and I'm pooped. However, I did get a lot accomplished, so I'm pretty proud of myself. Here are my latest creations.

I had a lot of fun creating this clock! It's so bright and cheery...I want to keep it!! LOL.

Here are a few altered letters Travis helped me with tonight. He cut out the paper, and I painted, glued, and altered away!!

I may be off my regular blogging routine until next Monday. I know that I've been tagged, and I will certainly play when I have a little more time. Also, I love visiting everyone's blog on a regular basis, and I will return to doing that next week. If I don't blog before the weekend, have a wonderful rest of the week!!

More altered composition books

Here are three more books I managed to crank out last night. I wish I could have gotten more accomplished today, but between paying attention to the details, getting last minute items for the show, and teaching a class tonight, I just simply did not have time. I'm almost at the "what will be will be" point...almost...maybe tomorrow :) For now, here are three more.


I'll try and post tomorrow, but if I don't, I'm probably just really busy with my craft fair projects. I hope everyone had an excellent Tuesday!!

Altered Composition Books

In the spirit of creativity, here are a few altered composition books. I'm working on number 7 out of 10 right now, so I will try and post the last few tomorrow. For now, here we go...

This first one is a simple design using Scenic Route papers:

This next one has a fun button closure that I made myself! I even dangled a little charm at the end of the fiber to give it some weight.

I really like this next one, so much so that I'm having a hard time letting it go! It has a fun book mark with a key dangling on the end.

The following notebook is simple, yet fun. I used buttons to dress up the cover.

Again, I'm hoping everyone can help me price these notebooks. I'm thinking $8-$10. Too much? Too little? Any feedback would be great! Thanks :)

Post-It Note Holders

I'm trying my best to complete one set of projects everyday so that I can be as prepared as possible for my craft show this coming weekend. Today's project was Post-It note holders. These holders are really easy to make. I used scrap pieces of mostly double-dipped patterned paper. Cut your paper to 3.5"Wx7.5"L. Score at 3.5" and 4." Fold, decorate, and attach the Post-It note pad inside. It's as easy as that.

I'm having trouble pricing these, so I'm turning to my loyal blog friends. How much would you pay for one of these??

My last batch of frames (for now)

I finally finished decorating my stash of unfinished wood frames for my craft fair next weekend. Most of them are x-mas themed, but I threw a few all occassion ones in there as well. I'm very pleased with how they turned out!!

I'm off now to start some other projects to sell at the fair. I want to have a variety of items so that I can appeal to the largest group of people. Wish me luck - I'm starting to get nervous!!

Happy Gobble Day!

I can't believe it's already Thanksgiving. Seriously, where has the time gone? We're lucky that the sun has graced us with its presence today. I couldn't ask for more beautiful weather. Since it's sunny, we decided to take Sedona out to the park for a leisurely stroll. We had a wonderful time just walking around and enjoying the warm rays.

You can certainly tell it's fall by the lack of leaves on this tree! We also encountered a very chatty crow. He was not happy that Sedona was invading his territory, and he sure did let us know!

I really enjoyed all the colors and the smell of the salt water.

Here's Sedona and I enjoying the weather.

We don't have any special plans for today. Our family is out of state, and we miss them very much! I wish we could be there to enjoy a traditional holiday dinner, but alas, it's just the two of us today. Travis is going to bake some chicken, and I'll probably bake some brownies to enjoy.

Last night, I made this picture frame as part of a tutorial for the CKMB. To see this tutorial, click here.

I'm off to do some more crafting. Enjoy your holiday, everyone!!