A Few Strides in the Right Direction

The weather outside wasn't as bad as I imagined on Tuesday so I actually did make it over to the storage building to haul out a FEW, SELECT Christmas decorations. The top of my list was my jingle bell wreath. Jingle bells are always important to help ring in the holidays.

I definitely feel a little more festive with some decor outside out house now! If only I could get to the shopping part. I absolutely LOVE giving gifts, but making myself go out and shop for them is a whole other ordeal. I'm not a fan of the traffic, parking, crowds, etc. that erupt this time of the year. If everyone could just be holly jolly and in the Christmas/Holiday spirit it would be a pleasure. Unfortunately, that's not usually the case.

I'm sure you noticed the picture at the top of the page. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you might have seen on my status last week that I decided to throw together a quick Christmas necklace for the party in Montgomery. The tree and bell were my focal while I used green, red, and silver beads with some wire to make a simple rosary chain for the rest of the necklace. It was the perfect compliment for the occasion. At least I like it! Here's the rest of the necklace for your viewing pleasure.

On an unrelated topic, while perusing Etsy's new "Activity Feed" page, I found that I was featured in another Treasury. This one consists of products from the Red Dirt Crafters Team (which is made up of artisans from around the state of Alabama.) So much talent!

'crafts from Alabama!' by GreeneTrends

featuring the uniqueness of items from the red dirt crafters team

decoupage bottle bo... alleykats $18.00	SALE Size 8 Cherry ... BigSouthBaby $20.00	Life's a Beach ... CraftyHope $25.00
Teal Flower Clippie... CrowesNest $3.00	Calendula CP Soap buttonsbubbles $5.00	Crazy scarf in Char... breations $30.00
Twisted Ring Gioielleria $5.00	FaLaLa Holiday Car... claireeyedesig... $3.50	Electric Blue - Tur... sandijreed $32.00
BEESWAX PINE CONE C... HortonsFarm $3.00	Large Basic Bows rainbowheartsk... $8.00	Four Black and Whit... eireanneilis $20.00
1980s Read Pumps by... wearingthepast $25.00	smallwoods songbird thesmallwoods $	Atutudes Pretty in ... atutudes $24.95

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

As well, I listed another item in the shop. Before you get too excited, please note that this item is RESERVED. Just as soon as I posted it, a friend on Facebook said she wants the earrings and asked that I save them for her. But, I always like to show off here what I've got going on over there!

Citrus Splash Earrings

 OH! Before I forget, I got my business cards the other day. I'm so excited to finally have them. Right now, I've only used them in the shipments of two orders as well as given my mom, step-day, and grandmother each some. I'm going to try to remember to always have some in my wallet to hand out when anyone comments on my jewelry (I try to always wear at least one piece I've made when I'm out and about.) But, if you happen to bump into me somewhere and want one, just let me know! I'll be happy to share.

Now, it's time to share some links before I be-bop into the craft room for the afternoon.
~*Holiday Crafty Links*~

• More green holiday crafts. This one's a video.
• Claudine Hellmuth shares instructions for making a Christmas village for your mantle, cheap, easy, and so adorable.
• This origami Christmas wreath picture also has links to origami instructions in the description.
• I know it's a little late to start on advent calendars, but I do love them so. Here's an idea for next year anyway - whimsical hanging advent calendar.
• It's never too late to make another ornament, so here's some more ornaments to make.

Thrifty Thursday Links

• Here's an easy way to put water in your iron (and crafty/thrifty too.)
• Talk about thrifty living, check out this girl's blog on 'frugan living'.
• As the weather is getting colder, this DIY scarf organizer is so needed and so very genius!!

Speaking of organizers, I'm anxious to get into the craft room today to finish up an organizing project I started yesterday. I'm not quite ready to share it, but I'll give you this hint. Here are some of the supplies I'm using. . .

Can you guess what I'm making? Come back tomorrow to find out!