Awesome Handmade Ornaments of 2013

I am always awed by the great handmade ornament tutorials that come out each year, so this year I decided to share some of my favorites from various blogs. All of these would make a great embellishment on a gift in place of a bow, or would make a great small gift themselves (I'm thinking of making some for gifts to go along with cards at the office this year)! Feel free to share links to some of your favorite handmade ornaments in the comments area below as well :)

I love this terrarium ornament from Farm Fresh Therapy. A great use for small succulents in the Winter months!

I'm obsessed with these cute (and super easy!) felt ribbon candy ornaments over at The Purl Bee. They are so bright and fun (did I mention easy?).

Speaking of easy, these Confetti ornaments from In a Creative Bubble fit the bill! You can change them up with about any confetti filling you like!

Our Nerd Home is one of my new favorite blogs, check out these nifty 8 bit ornaments they made this holiday season!

My ornament contribution this year is this adorable fox. Click over to get the full tutorial and download the pattern!

Have you made any ornaments you are especially proud of this year?

Zombie Makeup Tutorial

With Halloween fast approaching, I thought I would share this tutorial with all of you on how to apply your very own zombie makeup.

I myself am not exactly gifted with the whole makeup thing, so I had to pounce when my cousin, Carli, posted it on her tumblr. Try not to be intimidated, she has step by step photos and instructions to help you out (Though I am sure her amazing skills as a comic book artist don't hurt in the drawing/makeup department).


For those of you in Wisconsin, specifically the Green Bay area, Carli and her sister, McKenna, can both be seen spooking you out at Terror on the Fox.

Many Projects: In Progress

It's been a few days since I made a new post, and the truth is it is because I hate posting if I don't have a finished project to share. Unfortunately for me, I have been working a little bit each day on several different projects, so today you get a little sneak peak at three of them. At least two will likely be done by the end of the month (one will likely be done tomorrow). Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Oh hello, Mario! So nice to see you again. This is an in progress shot of a Super Mario Bros. themed TV cover for the husband and I. We don't really watch a whole lot of TV, so I've been meaning to make a cover for the one in the living room for awhile. I think once it is done we may stare at the TV a whole lot more, because it will be awesome. One of his antagonists will also be appearing on the TV cover. Which one will it be? (I am hoping to finish this by the end of the month--sewing all these little squares together is driving me a little nutty).

I am going to see my adorable little nieces (Alexandria Virginia and Savannah Georgia--yes, those are their names--I love them!) in April. Far be it from me to not be showering them with gifts, many of which I made myself. Little felt Orchids just like this one are going to be sewn together to create some barrettes for them, or maybe a cute pair of slippers will be made and these will be embellishment. Maybe both. I'm hoping to have a mess of these made by tomorrow night, so you will all get to see sooner rather than later. I found a tutorial on how to make them at Cut Out and Keep.

Finally, this is a quilt for my husband. I have been working on it forever, so I'm not too hopeful of finishing it this month, but I thought I'd show it off anyway. Maybe it will be the catalyst I need to actually get working on the quilting (which I plan on doing entirely by hand). It is made out of a bunch of his old T-shirts that he just couldn't throw away once he decided they weren't really in wearing condition anymore. It's more of a lap quilt so it won't take as long as something much bigger, I just think I am making it into a bigger project than it is at the moment.


Also, don't forget to go here to enter into the Derby Pillow contest. All submissions must be entered by Midnight Pacific Time on Friday!!