Do you know how I remember that it’s STATIONERY, not STATIONARY? Stationery has an E like envelope. Good, right?
I just added a big selection of custom notecards with lined envelopes to my etsy shop - you should order some to write thank you notes for all of the awesome Christmas presents you’re getting this year!
Hey, guess what? It’s November and your social calendar is about to go nuts. Now is a perfect time to pick up some adorable trinkets to stow away for the parties you’ll be attending between now and the new year. Hostess/Host gifts are awesome – they can be silly, cheap and impractical, but these fun picks from Etsy are definitely more memorable than a bottle of wine (although wine is awesome too).
Condiment Bowls from Rising Star Pottery
Pomegranate Salt & Pepper Shakers from Back Bay Pottery
Ribbon Tea Towel from Wicked Mint
Chevron Cocktail Forks from Sucre Shop
I know that big statement necklaces are super-popular right now, but sometimes you need something simple that you can wear every day. I have been craving a pretty little necklace, so I spent some time hunting down the perfect one on etsy. Here are some of my favorites:
1. Orchid Flower Necklace from HotMixCold – $20
2. Clover Necklace from AApril – $34
3. Hummingbird Necklace from Lanato – $17
4. Aqua Monogram Necklace from Dangling Jewelry – $31.00
5. Eternity Circles Necklace from Simply Sweet Studio – $20
6. Red Garnet Necklace from Casual Designs by JBS – $59.99
7. Sky Blue Orpheum Necklace from One Garnet Girl – $218
8. Gold Framed Pendant Necklace from Miss Kukle – $25.56
Now is the perfect time to order something pretty for your mom for Mother’s Day. The best place to find pretty stuff is on etsy. Here are some things that your mom will love.
Custom Silhouette from Tailored Takes
Personalized Mother Necklace from One Life Jewelry
White Jade and Rose Gold Love Bracelet from Precious Heart Shop
Ipanema Envelope Clutch from Paco & Lupe
Porcelain Votive Holder from Porcelain Affairs
My niece Katie asked for long-sleeved t-shirts for Christmas. She is obsessed with clothes and a total girly girl, so I decided to make some necklace t-shirts for her.
They were a big hit – she wore the pink one yesterday to school.
For the white shirt, I used Wonder Under to create the appliques from contrasting fabrics, then ironed and stitched them on to the shirt. I added a big pink bow for extra cuteness.
The pink shirt was even easier. I cut out a stencil on my Silhouette machine from freezer paper, ironed it on to the shirt, filled in the dots with gold paint, then removed the stencil. 
There is a great tutorial for freezer paper stencils here, if you want to give it a try.
This week has been crazy busy getting a ton of stuff ready for Christmas. My biggest project was the Christmas cookies boxes that I made for my sister and aunts to give as teacher gifts from their kids.
I made 30 of them, and there were 7 different treats inside.
My favorite thing in the box was a chocolate chip cookie with a pretzel baked inside, packed in a glassine bag with a pretty little label.
I was so happy to pack everything up in the pretty red boxes and send them off. I am frantically finishing up some last minute crafting, shopping, wrapping and baking, and looking forward to a very quiet and relaxing week once all this work is done.
Last week was lots of fun, and I filled some orders from my craft show and etsy for a few pretty things.
I made a few State love shadowboxes:
Indiana and Maryland
Pennsylvania and Texas
Pennsylvania and Maryland
I also made some canvas tote bags with initial appliques:
This week I’m working on getting our house clean and organized for Thanksgiving, baking and decorating airplane cookies for a birthday party, and hosting a Thanksgiving dessert buffet on Thursday night.
When my cousin Suzanne was a little girl, she used to sing “You are my Sunshine”. I remember singing it back to her, changing the words to make her mad. I was probably about 8 and she was around 3, but every time I hear the song I think of her.
I made this shadowbox for her this week, and made a few extra for my Etsy shop.
Here is a link to the listing in my shop.
One of the best thing about unpacking all our stuff is that I am finally able to finish up some of the projects I started before the move. I made these tote bags a few months ago for two of my cousins, and I just had to finish up the initials.
The fabric is black and white striped canvas, and the bag has a square bottom, so it can fit lots of stuff.
I painted the letters on using a freezer paper stencil, and it needed a few coats of paint to make sure the stripes didn’t show through.
I am thinking of making a bunch more for myself to use for grocery bags.
I’m getting packed and heading to the Jersey Shore for the weekend with my aunts and cousins to celebrate my mom’s birthday. I’m so excited to spend the entire weekend with some of my favorite people in the world. I made some treat boxes for everyone to welcome them to the house yesterday, and I can’t wait to share them.
I found the red boxes at Michael’s – they are actually cupcake boxes that come with inserts, I just didn’t put the cupcake inserts in. I printed the tags with the same design that I used on the inserts, and tied them up with black satin ribbon.
I have a stockpile of clear bags and boxes for projects like this, so I filled boxes with Hershey’s Kisses and Swedish Fish, and bags with homemade Oatmeal Crasin Cookies and Twizzlers (my mom’s favorite).
