Monday Mayhem.....I can sew!!!

Hello! Monday Mayhem....again! Wow does it ever end?  Please tell me that your Monday's are just as crazy as mine are!? I would love to know what it is like in your house in the morning??? Please enlighten me!!!???
 So Miss Big Britches was up and ready to fly out the door, she is pretty much on auto pilot these days but she is still a kid and needs direction and...help using the flat iron in the back of her hair. So I obliged and helped a fellow sister out. You can't have super stick straight flat ironed hair and then have a wave in one spot, the" hair gods" would not be happy with me if I let her go to school looking like that! Heehee!  Monday Mayhem wouldn't be the same if at least one child was tardy to school or at least missed the bus.  Well Miss Big Britches was tardy for school, first time all year! *yeah me*..BUT!.. she had straight hair!!... And the two littles, well they missed the bus! But darn it their rooms are CLEAN and picked up!!! *proud mommy smile* I can go about my day and know they have clean rooms.  I will just forget about the tardy thing and missing the bus JUST.THIS.ONCE.



So this brings me to what I have in store to make today.  I have these T-shirts that my Boy Wonder used to wear when he was little.  I LOVE these shirts, they are so cute, he loves them just as much as I do.  So to preserve this moment in time for the both of us, he and I decided to make pillows out of them! My Boy Wonder is like his mommy he loves all things cozy, comfy with a little bit of fluff, so making pillows was a no brain er! I can't wait to see his face after school with his new pillows waiting for him.  I hope your Monday Mayhem isn't as crazy as mine is each week!  I love my crazy people I am blessed to take care of them everyday, they bring me so much joy.....and ideas to blog about! *HEEHEE* So check back with me later today as I bring a smile to my Boy Wonder and show you how his T-shirt pillows turned out! Until then I will..........

Have a Happy Day! G

Daddy's and Stick Trees....

This time of year I really can't help but not think about my Dad.  One blog post could never fill up the words I would need to say about him.  My dad passed away about 6 years ago suddenly of a heart attack. I am not going to talk about sad details, I always try to think about and celebrate the time that I was given with him. I thank the Lord above that when he passed that he and I had an awesome father/daughter relationship. I always loved my dad but I didn't always understand him. I think most kids would agree that they don't understand their parents but eventually, in time you do.   I loved our conversations, times when we would just hang out, exchanging recipes, playing with his grandchildren and even going to the mall.  Yes, I went to the mall with my dad!!  My dad always tried to find ways to talk with his grandchildren, he touched their lives and to this day they remember their Poppy! God truly knew what was to come, my dad's time on this earth was to short, if you ask me, but I know that God used him for so many good things. I am proud to be his daughter, one thing that my dad gave to me was the love of the outdoors.

As the years have passed I have learned that I express my self through my hands. I need to keep my hands busy by creating something for people or for myself.   I can't have my dad here with me but I can create something that I know that he would love, in his honor. At the time I didn't see it, but he saw something in me, and always encouraged me to paint or make something.  Funny how your parents see things when you don't....hmmmmm!!???  So as I sit here and remember my amazing dad I had to make something that reminded me of him. 

Call me crazy but I can always find some way to relate the world of crafting to life. It just fits. Life is tough but we make it.  
The fabulous thing is that I bought nothing for this project, I had everything I needed.  With a little imagination I created a stick Christmas tree using a floral arrangement that was U.G.L.Y.  that I glued to an old cabinet door.  My dad would have loved this. I can only imagine what funny comment he would have to say.  I know he would have appreciated that I reused an old cabinet door, instead of tossing it out.  It is simple but that was my dad, not a whole lot of frills.  The star at the top, well that's for him, cause he was a shining star in our family.  A little bit of light in my life left the day that he passed but his love for his family will live on in our hearts till the day we see him again. Until that day comes I will keep creating and putting smiles on other people's faces, just like he did. 

This is for you Dad, I miss you....G

Monday Mayhem

The Monday Mayhem begins again! Everyone needs a little Jesus in their life.

I especially need a little Jesus on Monday mornings! I need God and the Holy Spirit on my side to....

I don't know about you but after all my monsters get out the door, I am thanking the

Lord above, first that they all got out the door in one piece and second, I LIVED!

We have a few expectations in our house that must be done before they leave for school.  I don't feel they are to hard to accomplish, the first one is make your bed, the second is put away your clothes and shoes and third is clean up after yourself after breakfast.  Do you feel that is beyond a 12, 9, and 7 year old?? Nah didn't think it was.  So I have always told them I should show the world how their rooms/bathroom looks each morning.  Well today is the day.  Ready to see what my morning looked like? 

Ohhh yeah baby the mother of all messes!

Yep and the flat iron was left on, this is not going to end well today...

I'm thinking this pic is going to cause some angry words, what do you think? HAHA!!

Well boy wonder "tried" to make his bed but the lil toot figured out "hey if I just sleep on top
of my quilt I will never have to make it"....uuuhhh no! *don't look at my test color on the wall, do you like it?*

Boy wonder didn't get his lil buddies on the bed, tsk tsk!

Kudos for making your bed my big girl! But don't look on the floor...

Little Miss Middle is halfway there with the bed...good girl!

Miss Middle is really bad about putting away her shoes..

This is just not gonna work for me Boy Wonder....call me crrrraaaazy.....

Nope not gonna fly either.....

There are those clothes I was telling you about...

This is my absolute FAVORITE of Monday Mayhem!! The thermometer!!! Never fails
this thing gets used every Monday!! Secretly I am cracking up because low and behold someone
never "feels good" to go to school on Monday! So I let Mr. Thermometer be the judge...*wink*

So like I said before Monday Mayhem can be very comical, I choose to look at it that way.  Life is to short for me to get upset.  Don't get me wrong there will be consequences, these little monsters will not have outside time this afternoon. I got tricks up my sleeve people. If I can't come up with an idea Pintrest will have some craft I can do that will make' em remember....lol.....

So I say it again everyone needs a little Jesus on Monday, I need him everyday.  I am not perfect as you can see and neither are my children.  We are a work in progress so with His help I'm thinking everything is gonna be alright! *big cheesy smile*

There will be plenty of Monday Mayhem's when we put our Christmas tree up this year,
so as I help get my little monsters out the door we will have a little Jesus on our tree....cause isn't that what CHRISTmas
is all about...????

Have a Happy Day! G

Crafty balls with Maria

Well the weekend has come and gone, how was your weekend?? To sum my weekend up it was THE BESTEST!!! There was a lot accomplished and lots of fun with people I love dearly! *ahhhhhh.....* I told you my SIL Maria was coming over to my house to do some major ornament crafting.  We made some ornaments they are adorable!  She came up with such a fun easy project, that in my book it really is "bang for your buck" baby.   I think they will add so much to our tree this year.   We wanted to create more ornaments to share but when you talk and laugh as much as we did..... well not a whole lot gets done!!....but that's not always a bad thing!

So here is the supply list that Maria created for her ornaments:

1. glass balls
2. Glitter
3. Elmer's glue
4. music note paper and printed tissue paper cut up in small squares
5. paint brush
6. scissors

Maria and I visited Hob Lob together and picked up these supplies.... boy that was a mistake.  I had to pull her away from the 50% off Thanksgiving isle and slap her into reality!! FOCUS Maria we are making ornaments! Just kidding I didn't slap her cause I know my Yankee/Italian SIL would take me down.  Girlfriend don't play like dat she grew up with brother's so she knows how to roll baby!

 BTW....like her ring?? So super cute, she doesn't know it yet I am going to be stealing it. *Shhhh*

So to spice your balls up....uhhhhmmm *blushing*....ornaments.....just paint glue on a section of the ball and place a square of paper down, then paint glue on top. Pretty simple.   Now if you are me you just randomly place your paper and eventually it looks great.  If you are my left brained accountant number loving SIL you have to "think" about where you place it.  We were cracking up how we both were doing the same craft but how different we approach it.  Both ended up looking awesome! Her approach worked for her and mine worked for me.  Just do your thing girl!

Look how awesome our balls are!!!! Can you guess which one belongs to who???

After you add paper to the entire ball sprinkle with glitter! Maria and I found that the more glitter the better.  WOW they are so pretty! 

So there you have it, look!!!.... they hang so nice!!!

They will look so beautiful on our trees.

I can't wait to put up our tree in a few weeks.

I hope we inspired you to jazz up your ornaments this Christmas season! Thank you Maria for coming up with such a fun project to make and spending the day with me.  We had so much fun we are doing it again next Saturday....but our other SIL Renee will be joining in, this should be good.  Not sure how much we will really get done but I do know it will be fun!  I'm thinking this Christmas our houses will be THE BESTEST!

Have a Happy Day! G.....and M!

Ever had something happen in your life that you would never ever expect to happen?  It doesn't matter if it is big or small. Well this blog is one of those things I never would have expected.  A year ago I just started reading a handful of blogs, it crossed my mind to have one for myself. I always thought "man I can't type out what I am thinking and creating all at once.... that's embarrassing." Well it's not embarrassing, I may not have the most thought provoking things to say, but I will inspire you to be a better decorator, crafter, mom, dad, person.  On that note.... Ever have a person that encouraged and helped you even though they had no clue at the time what was taking place?  In fact you had no clue what was taking place either?  Well I have this person in my life whom I truly adore.  This person will remain nameless, they know who they are.  Well this person and I have in the past not been so close. Through the years I have spent time with this person and at times we didn't see eye to eye.  Life always seemed to keep us at a distance and as this person and I have learned, misunderstandings by just being human created space between us as well. I really enjoy spending time with this person, I always have fun and there is never a lack of good conversation and laughter.  I have learned that this person challenges me in ways that do not come naturally to me. Stretching as a person can be hard at times, but trusting that person who is stretching you is the first step in growing closer.  We are different people who come from different places but I am so blessed to call this person my friend. God orchestrates things in life that are so unexpected at times, it's kind of fascinating....well after you see the big picture it is! Funny how that works.  Each day is a new day and this person and I may not see eye to eye on everything but now at least we can talk about it and trust that we won't get hurt. I would never want to do that.  So it is true... it is the unexpected that changes our lives.  This person has changed mine and I am glad!!  Do you have anyone that you care about that has changed your life?  Have you taken the time to tell or show them how much you care?  Sometimes it doesn't take much, just a phone call, text or email.  If you are crazy like me then how about a set of handmade ornaments to give to them? **Ahhmen** Maybe not, I am a lil wacky when it comes to crafts.   Well at least they will know every year how much I care about them when they pull out the ornaments to enjoy on their tree each Christmas. *sly grin*  This month I try to focus on being thankful, I try to recognize things in my life that aren't right in front of my face.  The not so obvious things.  What are the not so obvious things that you are thankful for???

I just know that this person will love the set of ornaments they get...
it is almost as if they hand picked them *wink wink*

Kinda of ironic that I chose a clock...somethings just take time.

Find your unexpected and change your life!!

Have a Happy Day! G

TicToc TicToc TicToc

Where does the time go?  I know we all try to use it wisely.  My time is usually spent with my lil monters and the hubster. I am like any other mom trying to keep my head above the laundry bin, keeping the house clean, dishes done, people fed and watered.  Oh and keep the dog happy! Then I can do the things I need to get done...like this blog! Ohhh how I love this blog! It is so fun and I love hearing comments! Let me hear them I want to know what you want to read more of or what you want "thisgirlcancraft" to make happen!

I have this really cool ornament to share with you but do to that tictoc on the clock I was not able to blog about it!  So I am here to show you my sweet lil bird ornament I made.  This ornament was a bit more difficult to make but so worth it!

Here is your supply list:

1. Scrapbook paper
2. scissors
3. Elmer's glue
4. paint brush (optional with glitter)
5. bird/ wing pattern  (located below)
6. GLITTER (optional)
7. string
8. hole punch

So you can get and idea of what you are creating here is the finished bird ornament pic:

There she is sitting in a plant! So adorable! There are three parts to this ornament: the body of the bird, the wings (2) and the tail. To get started on your handmade bird make a copy of the bird template below: You can enlarge your bird as big or as small as your want. I wanted a bigger ornament so I enlarged mine to the size I wanted  so it would look nice on my Christmas tree.  Sometimes you just gotta wing it and make it work for you! *wink*  Glue the two bird images together so you can see the pretty paper on both sides.  Do the same thing to your wings, plus it reinforces the ornament and it won't be so floppy. 

After I traced and cut everything out onto card stock I made the wings one big wing in the middle look at the following picture so you can see what I am talking about....

Here is what everything should look like after you cut and glue all the pieces together.
*see the wings..."one big wing"*

Next you need to have music note paper, this will be the tail for the bird, if you don't have any print off this lil lover, I got off http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com

I folded the music note paper back and forth like a fan. Fold the fan in half, that will be your wings.

Putting your bird together will take some patience.  Make a cut in the bird as shown above for the tail.  Silly me didn't take a pic of the "cut" you will make for the wings... so....cut a slit right below the neck going in the opposite direction as the tail cut.  Make sense??

fold your music note fan in half.  Slide the fan down the slit of the tail and glue it on either side to secure it to the body. 

Better visual??? Cut at a slight diagonal so the wings will sit in the body secure.

Here she is all put together...cute huh?

Punch a hole in your bird.  One problem I had was trying to balance the ornament after I placed the string.  I added some trim to the bird for color and for more balance to the ornament. That seemed to help.   Find what works best for you!

Voila!!! LURVE HER!!!! So stinking cute! I know I didn't show you where to add glitter you can go crazy and add all you want guuurlfriend, do yo thang and fluff her up! Just paint Elmer's glue on edges and sprinkle some glitter on and you are good to go.   Well thisgirlcancraft has gotta scram so enjoy your ornament and make sure to........

Have a Happy Day!!!! G

Simple wreath ornament

Well it's Wednesday again.  Where does the time go???  The days sure do move more quicker than a laundry room full of clothes! whew! I can hardly keep up.  I have a new ornament to share with you today.  This one is very easy and pretty self explanatory.  I like this one because you can bling it up as much or as little at you want.  So without further ah due here is the supply list:

1. card stock for wreath pattern
2. scrapbook paper (your choice how many prints/colors)
3. hot glue
4. string or ribbon (you know my choice jute string)
5. glitter (duh)
6. Elmer's glue

Start off by cutting out a wreath pattern.  Since I am super lazy when it comes to measuring (sorry M!! I try, but this is where I need you!) *wink*  I find a bowl in my house that has about the size of circle that I am looking for, cheezie I know but that's just me! Then for the inside I find a smaller bowl for the inner circle of the wreath.  I never said "this girl can craft" is PERFECT! I improvise!
So here is what my wreath pattern looks like:

For all you technical peeps....you know who you are, don't hide! Yes YOU! My circle is about 6 inches across. How's that? OK so I cut out my template with pinking shears (did I spell that right?) Whatever. I'm sleepy.  There wasn't really a reason why I did that, so ignore that part, you can use regular scissors.  The paper I used for my wreath is so pretty.  It has pictures depicting what CHRISTmas is truly about....I won't lecture today, I will spare you.  *ahem* Anywhoo.. I cut out my wreath and paper flowers.  I found my paper flowers in the 2011 Better Homes and Garden's Christmas publication magazine, they were adding these specific flowers to stockings.  I tried to find a link but no go! So here is the picture of the flower petal patterns:



They are pretty easy to duplicate not too much detail I alternated paper for my flower petals,  I think it creates more detail, I like how they turned out. What do you think?

So if you know me by now, it is time to glitter things up a bit! I painted Elmer's glue on the edges and sprinkled glitter on top.  In keeping with the theme of my ornaments most of them will have glittered edges. Glued both flowers on to the wreath. Punch a hole in the top and all done! So there you have it.  Pretty simple  I certainly think that these wreath ornaments could be fluffed up a bit more but I love the paper and didn't want to take away from it.  Sometimes being understated means so much more don't you think? 


Have a Happy Day! G

MONDAY Mayhem with ornament #2!

The Monday mayhem getting kids up, dressed, fed and shove em out the door! Just kidding on the shoving. Well sometimes I feel like that, but I at least kiss them first and give em the ol "you can do it, you're the best and a fist pump". HA! Anyone else have kids that are "sick" every Monday? Well since all 3 of my monsters were really sick last week, momma didn't fall for that bag of tricks this morning.  I am on to these lil monsters they can't fool me.  I  know all the "sick" tricks cause I was the master, but don't tell my mom that.  I know my sibs will squeal on me, but I got dirt on them so they better just hush! (love you guys, can't wait for Thanksgiving!! *spoken in my most positive voice*.... *they better not squeal*) Heehee!
OK so I looooved yesterday's ornament.  I can't wait to show you what will take place Saturday at my house it is going to be the CraFTiNg of alll mother crafting at my house I. Can't. Wait. My SIL is coming over and together we are gonna make some crafty junk!!!! I love decorating and crafting with her she has good ideas and we always have a great time together.  Maybe SHE will let me feature her on Saturday??? hmmmmm..."M" what do ya think?? Better come prepared my feisty Italian girl!! *hugs*

Alright I have kept you hanging long enough. You know I can't just start in on a craft I gotta lead up to it, make ya hungry for it.  How bad do ya want it.....??? *giggle*

So this was the cliffhanger from yesterday.  What can we make from this little pile of yumminess!
Here is what you need to make this ornament.

1. Brown Kraft paper (I big puffy heart this stuff, so cheap too!)
2. gLiTtEr!!!!! Any color
3. Hot glue (here the heavenly music)
4. Scissors
5. Jute string or ribbon
6. Christmas tree shape or another shape (circle, a letter etc.) (you can even use different paper). 
7. Elmer's glue
8. paint brush and plate to put glue in
9. plate to put glitter in

First I cut out 11 strips of Kraft paper about 6 inches long and about an 1 inch wide



Loop each strip in half but don't crease it add a small dot of hot glue to the opened end
to close it up.

Paint glue on the edge of the loop and dip it into the glitter (whatever color).

Glitter each loop front and back but don't glue all the way to the end of the loop that will be
covered up anyway.  Hot glue all the loops together on each end. 

This is what it should look like after you hot glue each end of the strip

Hot glue your Christmas tree in the center, punch a hole in the top
thread the string through and you are done!

You can even let your lil monsters help you.  After you brush the glue on
let them dip and shake off the excess glitter.  They will love it and feel part of the process!

I love her! What a lil cutie!



Tomorrow is going to be slammin man, I will give you a lil sneak peek tonight on FB!! HA!! I love suspense...it's killing me!!




Have a Happy Day! G