Holiday Stocking

Alright, I'm breaking the unspoken rule that September is way too early to be planning for Christmas already, but... I finally finished a craft I've been working on since last November! I know, that's a long time, and I can't even blame things like a baby for it. It was just a really slow project.



The project in question was a holiday stocking for my little man. A cross-stitch stocking. For some reason, I thought it would go a lot faster than it did. But it was so detailed and intricate... Ultimately, I love how it turned out. But I would never do it again. Or at least, I said I wouldn't. Until the same day that I uttered those words, a friend gave me a gift of another stocking kit.  Same company, but luckily, this one is just needlepoint and not cross-stitch. I've actually already started on it and made some progress.



I have a hand-made stocking that my grandmother made for me when I was a child. I've always loved having my own, custom stocking, and wanted to do one for Ian as well. My husband is excited that I got another kit so that he can have his own. Maybe I could even finish his in time for this holiday season? No promises - I'm still working on his Halloween costume so he'll be lucky if he gets that in time!



If you are feeling brave (or a lot faster than I am at cross-stitch), here's the link to the kit on Amazon.  It includes everything you need to make the stocking. I added a velvet back because I didn't like the felt that the kit provided, but aside from that, everything was included.

Holiday Gift Tutorials

December is here and so is gift-giving season! I've been spending quite a bit of time on the web, looking up crafty ideas and filling up my Pinterest boards.  I compiled some of my favorite gift tutorials.

First row: Winter Warmers | Fingerless Mitts | Sewing Kit

Second Row: Homemade Vanilla | Crochet Coaster or Ornament | Candy Coated Pretzels

Third Row: Felt Ornament | Sugar and Spice Pecans | Zippered Pouch

Ok, and I snuck in my pecans, because they are one of my favorite gifts to make this time of year.

What are some of your favorite crafty gifts?  Feel free to add a link in the comments.

Off the grid

Wow! The last two weeks have been crazy! As usual, when it rains, it pours, and as I got ready for the holidays, work was crazier than ever.  I had a lot of deadlines that I had to meet before I could escape for my vacation, so unfortunately I wasn’t able to blog as much as I would liked.  I was also furiously crafting to get out my final Christmas gifts.  Ultimately, I was able to finish the main things I needed to get done and on the first day of the holiday shutdown, I was on my way to a private retreat with my hubby, and my fur-baby, Wallace.

It’s not often that we can take our dog with us on vacation, but for a few years I’ve had friends tell me about a place in Anderson Valley that is the perfect getaway.  It’s hard to take it seriously though... with a name like: Sheep Dung.  That’s right, Sheep Dung.  It’s set of two properties, The Other Place and Long Valley Ranch that house several cottages that are individually fenced in and technically ‘off-the-grid.’  

The cottage that we stayed at, The Buckeye, was situated on about an acre of land completely fenced in for Wallace to sniff as he pleased.  We had a spooky old barn and tree located at the top of the property which led to some photography fun.  When we weren’t enjoying the property, we were checking out some of the surrounding wineries and coastal cities.  

We enjoyed some delicious wines (Roederer was my favorite), visited the Mendocino Botanical Gardens, and checked out the local scenery.  I finished a couple of craft projects (more on those later) and spent lots of quality time with the hubby and Wallace.  It was a wonderful start to the Christmas vacation, but now we’re back home with internet connection and my craft room.