Cute Little Rosette Necklace

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! What a remarkable day in history!!

Over the weekend the girls and I were playing around with felt and making some new little hair clips. I have been wanting to make some of the ever so cute bib necklaces that I've seen on etsy and on quite a few blogs. Here's my mini version of the bib necklace, made with 3 little hot pink rosette felt flowers and a black beaded necklace I had in my stash. The colors remind me of Betsey Johnson~ whom I LOVE!!

Here's the little pink rosette hair clips I made for my girlies:

(don't ya just love the facial expression on the model and her fly away hair! ;0) )

These were fun and easy to make! A little Felt, a few Pearl Beads and an Alligator Clip and Voila!

I am addicted to making these easy little roses! I learned how to make these at the Cosmo Cricket crop at Scrapfest with paper this year and started making them with felt and fabric, the ideas are endless!! Put them on a hairclip, necklace, old t-shirt, lamp shade, photo frame or purse! So cute!!

Hope you're doing something creative today!

Scrap it Swanky Sister~

Winter

Winter, what can I say, I hate it. I need sunshine, I need warmth, I need color, I need a vacation!! I guess you can say I have the winter blues!! I've been in a slump and I need to get out of it. Maybe Valentine's Day will be the key. Oh please, red, pinks and lavender, I need color to lift my spirits!

I think I'll get out the glitter this weekend, that usually makes me feel better!

Hope your January isn't as blue as mine!

Scrap it Swanky Sister~
Nicki

Year-End Wrap Up

Well, it's been an interesting year. One that I'll never forget, that's for sure.

One thing I am grateful for is my family, my husband and 2 adorable little girls who love me unconditionally. I have such supportive friends although I wonder sometimes why they stick with me! ;0) I am looking forward to new year with exciting opportunities, regardless of where I'm at in a month. Either way I'll be doing something different in my career and am looking forward to the change.

My little craftiness has kicked off strong the last half of the year with a new etsy shop that I'm hoping to continue. Crafting gets me through some of the rough patches, especially these last couple of months. It's been nice to focus on something that I know will be there no matter what!

My kiddos are growing like weeds and I can't believe another year has flown by, I know I say that every year but it's true. Time goes faster and faster when you get older~ I do believe! This year I will take time to smell the roses, I've come to realize I need to do that more often. I will take time to watch my kids every movement for a day. It's amazing watching them and wondering what they're thinking. They are such smart cookies~ smarter than their mama most days! At least they outsmart me I should say!

Anyway, kind of a rambling post but felt like I needed to say it and hoping the new year is one where you take time to smell the roses too!

Baking

I've been baking up a storm this morning! I have a Christmas gathering this evening and am hoping the blizzard warning they say is supposed to happen doesn't! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this Martha Stewart recipe for Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies. If you haven't tried these you should, they are out of this world, melt in your mouth goodness!!

Here's the recipe:

Makes 36

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup molasses

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a shallow bowl, place 1/2 cup sugar; set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, beat butter and remaining cup of sugar until combined. Beat in egg and then molasses until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in dry ingredients, just until a dough forms.
3. Pinch off and roll dough into balls, each equal to 1 tablespoon. Roll balls in reserved sugar to coat.
4. Arrange balls on baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. Bake, one sheet at a time, until edges of cookies are just firm, 10 to 15 minutes (cookies can be baked two sheets at a time, but they will not crackle uniformly). Cool 1 minute on baking sheets; transfer to racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 4 days.

Happy Baking!!

Christmas Spirit

I can't help but feel that little twinge, the Christmas Spirit is getting to me. As much as I have been in a scrooge mood over the last couple of weeks, it's weird, but I just want to decorate, get the Christmas music out, bake, crafting and SHOP!!! (ok, probably shouldn't go crazy on the shopping part!) I am putting together the little ones Christmas list on www.christmaswishlist.net. If you haven't used this, it's a great way to put your families lists in one spot and once an item is purchased then it's marked off the list so no one else buys it. I like to keep the whole family organized like that!

Need to get some Christmas tags made this week. Would be helpful if I had a Silhouette. The Tater Tots and Jello Blog is giving away a Silhouette! I'm entering! Are you? Check it out.

Scrap it Swanky Sister~
Nicki

Thankful

To start off, this has been one of the roughest week's of my life. But I have to remember that everything happens for a reason and that when one door closes another door opens. I also need to remember to be thankful, so instead of dwelling on the past and what is to be the near future, here's what I'm very thankful for:

• My Family- A husband who loves me unconditionally, 2 healthy beautiful girls, 2 healthy and understanding parents, a sister who's always there to listen
• My friends- Who are always there for me when I need them, one specifically who, this week I cannot thank enough, you know who you are
  
• My home- we have a beautiful home, which I take for granted
  
• My health- although I feel like a truck has run me over, I am very thankful that I am healthy

With Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks, I only felt this was appropriate to post, I'm hoping all of these things will give me the strength I need right now.

Little Miss Momma Give Away

Just signed up for the Little Miss Momma Give Away! This lady is awesome, she has some great ideas and some awesome product give aways! Check it out!!