Yet, it is strangely addicting.


I'm talking about Celtic Knotwork!

This is my latest obsession. Couldn't have picked a better time, either, right? St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner!

Everyone has their wish lists... As I've been working on jewelry and researching techniques, I've run into quite a few things that I wish I had. Some would let me do new techniques, some would lessen the difficulty of the designs that I make.



1. Unlimited time, supplies, and $$$.

2. Real chainmaille pliers

Are you about done with all the snow yet? This year, we had some of the most snow I've ever seen. Actually, yes, the most I've ever seen. We took the opportunity to build some epic snow sculptures!







We had snow and ice constantly from December on. This past week was full of beautiful, green grass and warm breezes... no ice or snow to be seen... but today I had to miss Taekwando because of more winter weather. I don't think we'll ever be able to understand weather. Where was all this snow past years, when my siblings and I went sledding on one inch of slushy ice?

It's not all bad, though. Snow can be quite beautiful. The two above pictures are taken from our porch and basement door.


We went sledding... (New tricks this year! Purple penguins flying from one sled to another mid-hill, snowboarding with one foot, and fixing sleds with duct tape!)

...and had snowball fights.

I've several spools of ribbon, wire, and tape that have been floating around the craft room and making mess!

So I turned an orange crate into a handy little holder!

You will need:

• a wooden crate (I used a 5lb clementine crate)
• wooden dowels or unused knitting needles
• a nail, Xacto knife, screwdriver, or other sharp object
• paper
• Modge Podge
• paintbrush
• your collection of ribbons, wires, tapes, or anything else on spools

Step One: Eat the clementines. (This is the yummiest part).

Well, I've been pretty busy lately with life. You know, school and making new friends and visiting old friends and last-minute get-togethers with relatives.

I really should start scheduling my posts, so that I can write up three or four when I have time, and set them to automatically publish.

In any case, I have a very fun craft project (with a tutorial! Shiny!). Gotta snag a couple more pictures. You should see it sometime on Wednesday.



Google has teamed up with a bunch of museums. They have extremely high-rez pictures of artwork. You can zoom in and see the tiniest details! Even individual brushstrokes!

One thing that cracks me up is that they have an interactive virtual tour of some museums (I especially like the tours when the building itself is a masterpeice on par with the artwork it displays).

You can even go out in the street at one museum and see a vendor selling some kind of yummy-looking food. :)

I'd like to share a quick and easy craft that my little sister and I made-- I call it the Clothespin Picture Holder!

Addie keeps coloring her coloring pages, and wanted somewhere to display them. I wasn't fond of the idea of having a ton of coloring pages taped to our wall. The clothespins let you clip as many pages as you want on; you can then switch which ones go in front.

You will need:

• clothespins
• mod podge (or your choice of glue)
• (optional) stamps
• wall stickies

This would be a great craft to do with your own siblings (or, in the case of parents reading this, your kids).

Our family doesn't do much for Valentine's. Dad usually buys Mom some roses and we cook some nice deserts. (We all need deserts, right?)

Yes, this was a fun little craft of mine. Instructional post coming soon...

This Valentine's, however, Dad was on a business trip and we had my sister's Little Flower's Girls' Club meeting at our house! Soooo... I felt like sharing some pictures.


I had some of the most delicious tea in the morning; a bestie :D from my old town sent it in a pretty little box. I pulled out the only teacup in the house and enjoyed the sweet taste of rose petals, lemons, and who knows what else.

Dad bought Mom some stunning roses the night before Valentine's day, when the prices are insane, just because he loves her so. :D

As always, I took advantage of the photo ops that bright red roses bring...




I did Adelynn's hair in a heart-shaped braid, just because I can. Because she's my little doll, now that I'm "too old" for "real" dolls, LOL! I used these instructions from A Story of a Princess and her Hair. And I'm going to try this one soon, too.

 The craft this month was a flower hair barrette. (We got messages crossed; we thought the "virtue of the month" for the Little Flower group was "purity," hence the white flower, while it turned out to actually be "piety." Oh, well!)

This was really easy to make.


The glue dots are small enough that they stick to the flowers only; not the hair. I'm wearing one right now. ^_^ It looks pretty with those strange little curls I get when I don't brush my hair.


The "older sisters"-- all around my age-- came over and I discovered that they like dress up as much as I do. :) :) :)

Someone brought over these sweet candy roses!

Just for fun...

I had a very fun day, even thought it meant cleaning all morning and getting a full day behind in school. :)

So, that's not much of an arts/crafts/jewelry/writing/otherwise-creative post.... But it's fun!

Now, I was very excited about moving to our new house. My bedroom, which I share with my 7 year old sister, is very big. I wanted to decorate our room just like Arwen's from Lord of the Rings.



Then came some hitches in my "plan." I realized how much it would cost (waaaay too much). My sister didn't like the idea too much. And my parent's weren't big on me going decorating-overboard when I will be moving out for college in a couple years.


So... new plan! Our bedroom has become the furniture cast-off room. Anything old or unwanted or scratched gets to come in here.











In the spring Dad will help me paint the furniture (not the walls, though, but I do have a mural planned).

Addie and I have a color scheme. Thankfully we both love blue, she can stand green, I can stand purple, and cream is pretty basic and girly.



Other than that, our room will be a true mash-up. I want Elvish, she wants Princess. I also like your typical bright, bold, teen designs, while she favors the pastel little girl look.

We also have some Chinese decorations that Dad brought back from a business trip, so we've got an Asian look going. Plus some shabby chic and "wrought iron."



Hopefully the color scheme will hold it together, but you know what? That's not the goal. We just want a fun and beautiful room to enjoy! Who cares if it is eclectic? (Haha, I mistyed that as "electric.")




People are always telling me that they don't know where I get my talent. No one else in my family is particularly good at arts and crafts. (Aside from my grandma, who only did a little bit.)

Well, I know where I get it! (At least the creativity part). DAD. He's an engineer with the biggest imagination in town.

Adelynn's "Princess Tower Bed" with a "dungeon" underneath is made from an old bunk bed. Dad had built it for my brothers years ago but it was in bad shape.

So he turned it into a loft bed and perched it (screwed it) on top of a dresser we got from the old Newman Center when they were demolishing it.

Yes, that furniture need PAINTED. I do not want dark green. :D

I've still got my pastel fairy quilt. :) Dooooon't like pastels but it's still pretty. Adelynn's just-begun dollhouse is on her desk.




Here is my school desk and bookshelf. I homeschool and do all of my work in my bedroom.

Funny story-- the bottom two shelves of that dresser are full of doll clothes and accesories. My grandma likes to sew doll clothes... alot. :D

And the side is entirely covered with stickers (Addieeeeeee!) which I can't seem to get off.

And the window shades are both broken, but maybe fixable.

And the bullein board squares? A $5 find at Staples, because it was a bit beat up.








(So, remember how I made a v-log a couple of months ago? I was going to show you the craft room but decided the video was too long. So now you get to see that footage. Excuse the UMMMMM at the end.)




Here you can see part of the basement. We've built a double-sided "wall" of bookshelves in the middle of the basement, and you can see part of it here. You can also see how we dry out our snowclothes. :)

...and... that desk and all the mess is my "studio!"

 I cleaned up a bit:


OK, so the craft room is not mine. I'm the only one who uses it, though. :)

Would you believe that we got the nice, big Jeep desk for free? The people who owned the house before us no longer wanted it.

This is where I do all jewelry, crafts, and art.

I'm going to be sharing cheap, easy, and (hopefully) creative organization tips on the blog!

My first tip-- to stick the lightbox ontop of the bookshelves. It frees up lots of space on the desk.

Also, don't leave cardboard boxes on the floor. Because then the basement might flood when the well goes crazy and then you'll have a mess to clean up and it will smell like mold.




Please CLICK HERE if you would like to see the posts about my bedroom and the craft room! (The link will automatically update with any new posts).