A Very Creative Christmas...

Well, let me start by saying that I hope everyone's Christmas was AMAZING. I, personally, had a wonderful Holiday season. Of course, it's not hard to enjoy life at any time of the year when you have the family and friends I do. I have to admit something though...going into the Christmas season, I was starting to get a little panicked.Turns out, being an adult isn't all it's cracked up to be sometimes. My cash was a little sparse this winter...and presents for my loved ones were looking more and more obsolete. So, I did what I could to help my financial situation a bit. I started shopping a little earlier than usual...I shopped a lot of sales, and price-matched everything...and, of course...I turned to Pinterest. I know. You're shocked. I had seen some things on Pinterest that not only reminded me of some loved ones...but that also made me feel like even I could create them. Crafts. The word alone made me shudder. I was the LEAST creative person I knew. But, I did what any terrified, uncreative girl would do. I dove head-first into the world of arts and crafts. I knew this way, I would be able to save a little money. Plus, my loved ones would end up with gifts that were not half-bad. The first project I knew I wanted to tackle was a gift for my mom. I had seen on Pinterest where someone had taken a cookie sheet, covered it in fabric, and transformed it into a magnet board. Inspiration hit. Like a ton of bricks. I went and bought a $4 cookie sheet from Wal-Mart, 2 single sheets of scrapbook paper (.18 cents), some tiny cupcake-shaped buttons ($1.50 for 12), and some tiny round magnets ($1.50 for 12). Once home, I measured out the paper on the cookie sheet and used spray adhesive to attach it. I also added some paper to the handles of the cookie sheet for a little something extra. I then added some thin ribbon by hot gluing it all around the cookie sheet, and down the middle where the 2 scrapbook sheets overlapped. I also hot glued on some cute scrapbook words and flowers from my own scrapbook collection. Once the cookie sheet was done, I removed the backs off of the buttons, and glued on the tiny magnets. I created adorable cupcake magnets for my sweet little mother who loves to bake. I then used the eisel off of a picture I had hanging (therefore didn't need the eisel), and propped the cookie sheet on it. Voila! A recipe holder for Mom! Here is how it turned out:

There it is! The finished product! Having been my FIRST crafty project...I was extremely proud of myself! So, the motivation was at an all time high. I couldn't wait to start my next project: Frames for my best friend, Donna. Again, I had what I have come to refer to as "Pinsperation". I had seen where a woman took Scrabble tiles, and spelled out her and her husband's name ontop of a solid-colored piece of paper, and framed it. Now, in order to understand the importance of the gift I was making...you have to know a little backstory:
Donna and her husband, Tobe, have been married for 6 years. When they were dating, and even after they first got married, they didn't have very much money. So, they spent a lot of their time playing board games. Scrabble, however, was their absolute FAVORITE. They played it ALL THE TIME. We often tease them that Scrabble is their "Game of Love". Anyhow, when I saw what the lady on Pinterest did...I HAD to do the same for Donna. HOWEVER...I didn't want it to be just Scrabble tiles. Since Donna LOVES pictures like I do...I knew I needed to add a few pictures just to make it more personal. I also decided to make two of these Scrabble frames, and do one that was just she and Tobe...and one that was all three Gurleys (including Tobe's brother, Clyde, who has lived with them for a year). I went and bought 3 pieces of the most GLITTERY scrapbook paper I could find, 2 black frames, and the game of Scrabble. Once home, I cut the paper down to fit the frames. I then found the lettering for "Donna" and "Tobe", as well as "The" and "Gurleys". For both frames, I found 4 pictures. For Donna and Tobe's, I decided to do two older pictures from their early days of together-ness, and two recent photos. For the Family one, I picked two pictures of all 3 Gurleys, one picture of Donna and Clyde, and one picture of Tobe and Clyde. This was going to pay homeage to the time Clyde has been here so far. On Donna and Tobe's frame, I centered the lettering, and laid everything out to make sure everything would fit OK. After hot-gluing the letters in place, I attached the pictures. I then took some "Bling on a Roll" from my scrapbooking stuff, and lined 2 sides of each picture with it. I also attached random rhinestone stickers and a few red glittery heard stickers from my scrapbooking stuff. At the top of the frame, between the top 2 pictures, I spelled out "Love" in some fun, red glittery letters I had (they matched the heart stickers). At the bottom, between the 2 lower pictures, I spelled out "est. 2006" (since 2006 is when they got married). Here is how their frame turned out:



I was SOO excited with how it looked!!! After it was done...I was on to the next. For the family frame, I did the same. I laid everything out, hot glued the Scrabble tiles, and attached the pictures. I didn't want to use Bling on a Role for around the family pictures...so instead, I lined the pictures with some thin, pretty silver ribbon. I then added some fun, red, glittery stickers, along with matching lettering that spelled out "family". Here is how that frame turned out:

Again, I was EXTREMELY pleased with how everything turned out. On Christmas morning, I gave Mom her cookie sheet creation...and SHE LOVED IT!!! She even had it proudly displayed in her kitchen now! The Gurley family was out of town during Christmas, so Donna had to wait on her gift. But, when she got back...I gave them to her. She LOVED them!!! I was so excited for her to have them! I knew she'd appreciate the fact that homeage was paid to the "Game of Love". Haha...Now, I spend time racking my brain trying to come up with reasons to make crafts for people. I am OBSESSED!!! In fact, I am currently in the process of turning my spare bedroom into a Craft Room! I will keep everyone updated on the progress of THAT!!! Until then...thanks for taking the time to check out my creations! I hope all of you have a very CRAFTY 2012 like I plan to!