"Let It Snow" Mitten Banner

Oh, Man!  Do I have a great deal for you! You'll have to stay with me until the end of the post to see what my Silhouette Group has done this time! Let me give you a hint... we're giving away TWO machines to TWO lucky winners!! Plus, we've put together a great source of winter projects to spark some creativity in you!

But, first!  Let me show you my latest and greatest creation!  My Sister In-Law moved out to Colorado back in September.  (I swear, I'm in a time warp!  That seriously feels like yesterday!  How is it already December?!)  Anyway, I've been meaning to send out a little care package to her for days, weeks,  months!  Yes.  It has come to that.  Finally, the package was together and I included a winter banner for her to hang in her mountain apartment!

I kept it simple for 2 reasons.  

1: If I made something super complex, it wouldn't have gotten done in the nap times of our three kiddos.  That leaves too many opportunities for me to tuck it away and forget to finish it up (or for it to get destroyed by sticky little fingers!)

2: Best of all, she's like me, and likes things simple! Winner, Winner!

I love how it turned out and I think she's going to love it, too!  I can't wait to see where she hangs it!  Some of my favorite projects I have given as gifts.  How do you feel about handmade gifts?  Personally, they are my favorite!!

Want to Check Out More Silhouette Projects?

My Silhouette Challenge buddies and I are all sharing projects on our blogs today, so peruse the projects below for a wealth of Silhouette inspiration! 1. Pineapples and Pinecones // 2. Simply Kelly Designs // 3. Architecture of a Mom // 4. Just a Girl and Her Blog // 5. Two Purple Couches // 6. Chicken Scratch NY // 7. Creative Ramblings // 8. One Dog Woof // 9. Ginger Snap Crafts // 10. The Thinking Closet // 11. Please Excuse My Craftermath... // 12. Designer Trapped in a Lawyer's Body // 13. weekend craft // 14. Dragonfly & Lily Pads // 15. Practically Functional // 16. Living My Given Life // 17. My Paper Craze // 18. The Kim Six Fix // 19. Home At Eight // 20. Queen of Everything // 21. Tried & True // 22. McCall Manor // 23. unOriginal Mom // 24. Create it. Go! // 25. From Wine to Whine // 26. GetSilvered // 27. It's Always Ruetten // 28. Nearly Handmade // 29. Mama Sonshine // 30. Silhouette School // 31. It Happens in a Blink // 32. Create & Babble // 33. Sowdering About // 34. Where The Smiles Have Been // 35. My Favorite Finds // 36. Lil' Mrs. Tori // 37. Designed Decor

Silhouette Giveaway!

And I've saved the best for last.  My Silhouette Challenge buddies in partnership with Silhouette America are hosting a mega-huge giveaway for not one...but two winners!  The prizes up for grabs? First prize: The NEW Silhouette Cameo Machine and Designer Edition Super Bundle!  $406.93 value.

• Silhouette CAMEO®
• Designer Edition Software
• Dust Cover
• $25 Download Card
• Four Essential Silhouette Tools (hook, spatula, scraper, pick-me-up™)

Second prize: Silhouette Portrait Machine and Rhinestone Starter Kit!  $219.98 value. Pretty sweet, huh?  We want you to have the chance to get that Silhouette machine that might still be on your wish list. To enter: just complete the entries in the Rafflecopter widget below or at this link.  Because of my many blog friends who helped make this giveaway possible, you have 42 potential entries, which means a lot of winning power.  So, hurry up and enter! {This giveaway runs from today through Monday, December 15th at 11:59p eastern and is open to anyone 18 years of age or older with a U.S. or Canada mailing address. You can read the rest of the terms and conditions in the widget below.} a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!!

"Welcome Baby" Wreath

Oh my!  I can't even believe that our newest little man in the house is 2 months old today!  He is the most laid back baby we've had so far and we're just over the moon in love.  His older sister and brother are a little too in love with him.  They hug and kiss him every waking moment of the day.

Before our little man was born, I had the whole house nice and clean and I had all of the laundry continuously caught up.  It was nesting to the max!  Well, I kinda ran out of things to clean and organize so I started to craft!  One of my crafts that I just had to make was some sort of wreath to welcome our little bundle of joy into our family.

This wreath is super easy and very quick to make.  I just cut out a circle from a piece of cardboard that we were going to throw out.  I'm sure it was from an amazon box because we're kinda obsessed over here. Then, I clipped the pins onto the cardboard!  Still with me, here? Pretty complicated, huh? :)

An Explanation & a Simple Thankful Banner

Maybe it's the days that are getting shorter that is truly sucking the time out of my days.  I have never felt stretched as thin as I have in the last couple of weeks.  Hence, the lack of posts.  Gosh... I'm sorry.  Really.  I've let you down.

I really have been working on projects here and there... although, all of them are only half done.  The kid's bathroom is still a work in progress.  Although, they are both finally back in there and out of our tub!  Small victories!

The husband and I are still "training" for the Columbus marathon this upcoming Sunday.  We are both struggling with crazy knee injuries.  In other words, we're getting old... we've had too many kids... and there's just not enough time in the day!  This marathon is not going to be a pretty performance.  But we're okay with that.  I'm just so happy that we'll be out there (miserable) together.

The days are not only getting shorter, but they're getting colder too.  So any days that are nice enough to be outside when shoes are optional, we try to be out there!  We've been spending a lot of time out on the swing set.  And we also found some time to pick a bunch of apples.  Now, to find time to make some pie filling before those apples spoil!  Yes, it's on my to-do list.

I've only had time for ridiculously simple projects lately, but I feel like banners are the best way to pack a punch!  My mom gave me a stack of letters that were already cut out of amazing craft paper but just needed to be hung up.  Here's my mom's banner in her home:

Card & Sign Making

My parents have been married 30 years today.  That is such an accomplishment to have been able to keep the peace, love, and all of their goals at the forefront of their lives.  Since 30 years is kind of a big deal, I painted them up a little banner that they were able to wake up to on their porch (hanging curtsy of my little brother, thank you!!)

The banner was just an evening project.  I purchased 2 yards of muslin from Jo-Ann's and just free-handed the letters.  My best advice when making any sort of sign is to open up a word document and find a font that you like.  Then, type out how you want everything to look.  Ya, I don't have a memory bank of word fonts.  I definitely cheat. 

My other evening project was whipping up some cards.  I obviously needed one for my parent's anniversary, but I'm all about doing a few extra things now so I don't have to worry about them later.  Hence, the birthday cards.  I have a few favorite people that are celebrating birthdays in July and August so while I had all of my crafting materials out, I used the same design as my parent's anniversary card and made birthday cards too. 

New Spring Mantels

I updated our mantel in the kitchen with some more spring and Easter decorations.  I showed you the bunny banner a couple days ago.  I also added two hand painted pieces of shale that I made last year, a vase with some moss, a spray painted jar with paper flowers, & a small, live potted plant with a shamrock banner connecting them.

Bunny Banner

So remember when I told you about my mom?  Well, I was at her house and she had the cutest bunny banner.  Being the sweet lady that she is, she already had a few extra bunnies cut out that she gave to me.  She used adhesive backed scrapbooking paper. I didn't even know this existed!

Apparently you can find such a thing at Jo Ann Fabrics.  She used her Silhouette machine to cut out the bunnies then placed them on some dark burlap.  From there, I was able to cut the burlap to size and punch some holes in their ears.