Ornament-a-Day Kick off!!! Last Year's Top 5...

I'm kicking off this year's series with a flashback from last year. A quick posting of the top 5 most viewed ornaments from last year...
{with a link back just in case you need the directions}

Leading the way was a two day combo.
My Yarn Snowman and Flood Light Angel:
 
Both of these started as a fingers-crossed, I hope this works idea. I was thrilled with both of them--can't tell you how many snowmen I ended up making...

Up next was my personal favorite, the Photo Memory Block Ornament:
(Yep, I'll be making another one for this year!)

This ornament even landed me on the pages of AllFreeHolidayCrafts.com--what a fun surprise! It's a great site for tons of free ideas and tutorials.

 

The third most viewed ornie from last year was a kid-favorite, the I-Spy Ornament:

 

 

 

This is such a great gift idea ornament. It goes together easy and because most of the items for the inside come in multi-packs you get a lot of ornaments for the $ spent.

 

The fourth runner-up is another super kid friendly project. My girls ask to make these every year--I feel it's purely for the "extra" marshmallows they get to eat, but it is also fun to see how the ornaments change as my girls grow...

 

 

Marshmallow Snowman 

I highly recommend this for a fun family night or class activity!

 

 

And last on this list is Santa! The country one anyway...

 

 

This Country Santa is adorable, and looks fantastic on the tree, in a wreath, or tied to a package.

 

 

So there you go, a quick re-cap of last year's favorites and the official kick off to this year's collection.

So are you an ornament junkie too? Then make sure you sign upon for this years

Ornament Exchange! You'll find all the details HERE.

 

Happy Crafting.

CG Ornament Exchange is HERE!!!

When I started this blog last fall I had one great big project in mind that I wanted to do more than anything else. I wanted to host an online ornament exchange--it's pretty much the reason I started this blog at all. It was so successful and so much fun, that I ended up doing two more of them later that year.

I am beyond thrilled to announce sign ups for this year's

Craft Goodies Christmas Ornament Exchange

 are now OPEN...

Want to play along? Here's what you need to know:

Sign ups are open from today 11/21 through next Monday 11/28.

To officially "sign-up" send me an email with your mailing address and full name as well as the number of ornaments 1-10 that you want to exchange.

Ornaments can be hand made or store bought, which ever fits your style and schedule. You will receive the same number of ornaments back that you send out. Please also include a card or note with your ornament to introduce yourself and pass along a little holiday cheer.
{It's kind of fun to include a small treat with your ornament but not necessary.}

You will receive an email on 11/30 with the names and addresses that you send your ornaments to--one ornament per name.
The names will all be different so making the same ornament is totally okay!

MAIL DEADLINE IS MONDAY, 12/5!!!
How you ship the ornaments is up to you, but please don't miss the deadline so that they arrive in time to hang them on the tree.

And last, I'd LOVE it if you'd email me a picture of your ornaments before you send them out. Last year I received so many notes back saying how cute the ornaments were and I had no idea what they looked like! So I'm just putting it out there...I WANT TO SEE ALL THE ORNAMENTS! And, I'm pretty sure everyone else does too...that way I can also share an exchange post high lighting all your awesome-ness.

***check my archieves from Nov 2010 for ideas from last year's
 Ornament-A-Day series***

That's it! Super simple and tons of fun! I'd love to have you join me. You can email me at { wmgar@comcast.net } to get on the list.

Happy Crafting.

I Really AM Still Alive...

Knock, knock! Anybody home?

(If you looked at this blog lately, it would appear the answer is no!)

I'm still here, I promise. I've just had the craziest, busiest month and a half. Between soccer schedules, dance rehearsals, Super Saturdays-yes, that is plural on purpose, holidays, school parties, school commitments, church commitments, my shop going crazy, and my family in there somewhere-- something just had to give.

 I tried no sleep for a while but that too eventually caught up to me and something else had to go.

 Unfortunetly it was the blog.

Such bad timing too, because I love this time of year and had such fun things to share with you! so here's the plan-

I have two more big orders to fill and a few smaller ones that should be done this weekend and then I'm back!

 I have every intention of going through with the ornament-a-day series, the days are just going to be a bit tweaked and I WILL INDEED

be hosting an ornament exchange this year!!!

It's my favorite thing I do, and just wouldn't be the holidays without it. If you participated last year and know the drill go ahead and email me

{wmgar@comcast.net}

your name and address, and the number of ornaments you want to exchange--we're  going up to 10 this year!

Otherwise you can read all the details on Monday...

And too, to those of you that sent me emails to check on me and make sure that I'm okay--

I LOVE YOU! Your kindness brought tears to my eyes at times when I really needed it.

Looking forward to crafting with you again soon-

I'm Out!!!

Well I officially got the boot from the American Crafter Competition.

{Insert big sigh here...}

Round One- Halloween!

It really is such a "pat on the back" to even make a contest, I was beyond thrilled and super surprised to begin with. I love these contests though because they push me to try new things, to really make my brain think, and because they all have quick deadlines, I get SO much done!

Round Two- House of Order

I just wanted to give a big THANK YOU to you for getting me as far as I did. It was a lot of fun and the three ladies still in it are amazing--so keep voting, they only have one more project to go!

Round Three- Fabric!

As for me, I'm back to the saw! And oh yeah! Halloween is next week, my kids might like a costume...seriously, where did this month go?

Hope your day is spectacular, make something fantastic-

Happy Crafting.

Monday Munchies...Pecan-Caramel Spiders!!!

I ran across this recipe over the weekend while trying to find a fun treat for my girls. While they wouldn't eat this because of the pecans, I certainly would...I think.

How about you?

 Can you handle eating a spider, even the chocolaty variety? It might be worth a try...

Pecan-Caramel Spiders

From Food Network Kitchens

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups toasted pecans
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, in pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 ounces thin black licorice strands, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
• Chocolate curls or jimmies, optional

Directions

Line 2 baking sheets with waxed paper and lightly spray with nonstick spray. Mound 30 small clusters of pecans, about 3 or 4 pecans each, spaced a couple inches apart on the pan.

Make caramel: Warm the cream over low heat and keep warm while you cook the sugar.

Put the sugar and corn syrup and in a deep, heavy-bottomed large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Stop stirring, raise heat to medium-high, and simmer until the sugar reaches the hard crack stage, or 305 degrees F on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes.

Whisk the butter and salt into the sugar mixture. Gradually pour in the cream and vanilla taking care since the mixture will bubble up. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar reaches soft ball stage, 240 degrees F on the thermometer, about 5 minutes more. Immediately remove from the heat and cool for a minute.

Ladle a couple tablespoons of warm caramel over some of the nut clusters, to make the spider bodies. Then press 6 pieces of licorice into the warm caramel to make the legs. Repeat with the remaining caramel and licorice. (It's helpful to have an extra hand here, since the caramel can set quickly. If caramel hardens, warm over very low heat. ) Let spiders cool 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the chocolates in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1-inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue heat until completely melted, 2 to 3 minutes more.)

Spoon about 1 tablespoon of melted chocolate on top of each spider. Sprinkle with jimmies or chocolate curls, if desired. Let cool until firm.

Let me know if you were braver than me!!!

Happy Crafting.

Fall Floral Throw...American Crafter Round 3!!!

Is it still Friday! I can't seem to keep it all straight.
Anyway, just wanted to share my round three project with you. It's nothing amazing, a simple little throw, but it will serve it's purpose here in a few weeks when I can actually get around to using it!

(At this moment, I'm getting my booty kicked so if you'd be so kind as to maybe go vote for me, just so it doesn't hurt so bad, I'd greatly appreciate it!)

American Crafter Round Three Theme: FABRIC!

I chose this week to make one of my favorite {want-to-be}escapes even better.

I love sitting on the back porch with a mug of super creamy cocoa and a good book in hand {wasting?} away the afternoon...

I put together a small throw, about the size of a crib quilt, to keep me cozy while I read--it's actually been cold here in Southern Texas! I wanted to keep it in the sense of "Fall" hence the browns and yellowish-greens, but couldn't pass on a bunch of ruffles and flowers either!
It's soft flannel and super warm, just what my book and I needed.
Best of luck everyone and thanks for another fun week-

Guest Posting for Howl-oween Tidbits at the Rhinestone Beagle!!!

This is the post I shared at the Howl-oween Tidbits Series on the Rhinestone Beagle...enjoy!!!

Hello and Happy Halloween to all you Beagle buddies out there! I'm so excited to be here today sharing a little bit of Halloween magic.

My name is Wendy and you can find me crafting away my days over at Craft Goodies...

I am thrilled to be included in this group of Halloween-loving ladies but must make a small confession-I HATE being scared!!!

So yes, I am one of those lovers of "cute" Halloween goodies because basically, I'm a total wimp. 

My project isn't the spookiest but it sure was a lot of fun and best yet SUPER EASY!!!

Here's what you'll need to make one yourself:

A large clear holiday ornament

thick craft wire *16 gauge

(I used a thinner wire on my first attempt and while do-able it was a lot harder because the wire didn't hold it's shape as well as the thicker stuff)

wire cutters

Get started by twisting the end of your wire through the ornament topper to keep it in place:

From there, start wrapping the wire around and around the ornament-like making a ball of yarn!

Top too bottom, side to side, keep going until it's as covered as you like it.

Once you're done wrapping the wire, snip the end with your cutters and tuck it around another piece of wrapped wire to keep it in place.

Next cut 8 long strips of your wire to make the legs. Mine were about 24 inches long. Thread the end of the wire under the wrapped wires and pinch in half. Then Twist the two ends together tightly to  form a leg. Do this 4 times on each side of the ornament:

Make the head by forming another smaller ball of wire. I wrapped the wire around three of my fingers to get a good size started and then just kept wrapping until I liked the size and shape. Again, just like you would do to make a ball of yarn. Clip the end when you reach your desired size.

Cut another small piece of wire and use it to "tie" the head to the body.

Bend and shape the legs. You can use your cutters to gently pinch the folded ends tighter to hold the legs in a more "crawly" position.

Tie a length of thread through the ornament hanger and dangle your new little friends where they'll definitely get noticed:

Not to creepy, right? My girls think they are pretty awesome!

I still have a few left over ornaments and am thinking it would be fun to color the ornaments a bright shade of red or green before wrapping them...see, I'm slowly edging toward scary.

Thanks so much Rhinestone Gals for having over, and Beagle friends, don't be shy-

drop by Craft Goodies any time for a visit.

Until then have a wonderful, SPOOK-tacular HOWL-oween!!!

Happy Crafting.