Favorite Ornaments

I'm still decorating for Christmas over here at the House of Trotti. I might actually have it complete by Christmas Eve....maybe. LOL.

Our girls decorated the tree this year, and although there are many ornaments that are smooshed together and not quite in the place that I would have put them, I left it just as they decorated it. It's perfect in my opinion. I have decided that after this year I am going to purge a few ornaments from my collection. The tree is so full and I left a handful off this year just to make sure there was no overcrowding. It's obvious that did not help. LOL.

As with most of our ornaments there is usually a story behind them and although we have many, many, many that our girls have made (might I mention that I love every single one of them) I have a select few that are my absolute favorites that I would like to share with you today.

The first one is a bird's nest. Yes, this is a real bird's nest, and no, it wasn't found at our house on the ground or picked up in the woods while we were hiking, this bird's nest is special to me because it was found in the very first Christmas tree that my husband and my girl's chopped down together. We didn't find it right away. It actually went through the whole holiday season and I was taking down all the ornaments I reached in to grab one and hit it with my hand. Had never noticed it when we put it up, and the tree was pretty dense so I guess we just overlooked it. I pulled it out and couldn't believe the find. It not only was a very perfect little nest, but it had broken egg shells in it. ♥ The eggs you see in the pic are of course ones I picked up at the craft store and replaced, but these eggs are around the same size that were originally in there. We put the nest on our tree every year to be displayed and we always get a few inquiries on it. We also heard that in Icelandic lore, it is good luck to find a bird's nest in your Christmas tree. How cool is that?

My second favorite ornament is my Sac State Christmas tree. My cousin Little Denny is a very talented crafter. Her and her mom, my great Aunt, who has now since passed on, have always been super crafty and every year we would get a homemade ornament from them. In December 1999, I was about to graduate from California State University Sacramento with my Bachelor's degree. I had been in college for five years, working two jobs and was done in. I was getting to that point of not even wanting to walk in the ceremony in December, I just wanted to be done. One day in early December, prior to my graduation, I go over to my parent's house and this was waiting for me wrapped in a cute little bow from my cousin Little Denny. It reminds me of my big accomplishment and how much hard work it took to get there, so I proudly display it on our tree every year.

My third favorite ornament is my cookie monster. This one is near and dear to my heart because my Aunt Suzie made this for me. Can you tell that I come from a long line of craftiness? This actually isn't the original. My mom has the original dough ornament that she made when I was a little girl hanging on her tree and although it's my favorite, she wouldn't give it up. I kinda think it's her favorite too. So a few years back, Aunt Suzie or Suz Suz as we refer to her, made me another cookie monster to hang on our tree. I love it and so do the girls.

Leopard Print Pumpkins

These are totally being made!!!!

Source: tracys-trinkets-treasures.blogspot.com via Chris on Pinterest

Happy New Year

Happy New Year From Pink Petunia Designs!

Snow Globe Tutorial

Hey,
Long time no blog! Here is a fantastic tutorial by a crafty friend of mine Amy from Peptogirl Industries over at Handmade and Homebaked. This girl is the super crafter of all crafters! Please check out her amazing goodies and blog. Click on the word "tutorial" above to learn how to make her cute holiday snow globes!

2009! - No Way Jose!

Happy New Year! I can't believe that we are in 2009! My husband made it home last night a little early (11:00 p.m) so we were able to watch the ball drop together in Times Square and get a midnight kiss. When my brother called me today, he asked me what I did for New Years. You see, he is still in his 20's, single, with no kids. I kinda laughed and said, "What did you think I did? I sat home and watched an On Demand movie on the couch after the kids went to bed and watched all the partiers in Times Square freeze their butts off. I was secretly living vicariously through all those partiers. But alas, I had my day in the sun to stay out all night on New Years Eve and party like a rock star. Now, I would much prefer to stay in my jammies on the couch with a movie and have my girls snuggly snoozing away in their beds. That's how I know that I am officially matured. Ha Ha. So all in all, it was a good New Years.

I of course have not posted in forever and a day, but I wanted to post my cute little crayon carrier that I made for my little cousin Abigail for Christmas. My bff Kim and I decided that we wanted to tackle a Christmas craft project this year and thought these crayon holders would be just the ticket. Kim has much better math skills then I do, so my measurements somehow got a little mixed up, but, it still turned out pretty cute. They are actually pretty easy to make although a little tedious to get everything prepped. I made mine to fit sixteen crayons, but you can make them to fit eight if you prefer. My next project is to turn one of these into an apron. I think they would be so cute.

Black Apple Dolls

A couple of weeks ago the Scout came down with the creeping crud and my husband and the Peanut decided they would make our scheduled trip to the family cabin without us. We didn't want to risk the ear infection. Guess what, she got the ear infection anyway! So while the Scout and I sat at home a wee bit bored in front of the TV, I thought we might get the sewing machine out and whip out a couple of Black Apple Dolls. I had been watching Martha Stewart a few weeks before and saw my favorite crafty girl, Emily Martin of The Black Apple being interviewed. She showed the audience how to make these cute dollies and then put a free pattern on Martha's website. How sweet is that? So I ran in and hit the print button in a jiffy and was waiting till I had a bit of time to whip up these little darlings. I really wanted to do them in a Halloween print with some goth black hair. I have tons of Halloween scraps laying around since it happens to be one of my favorite holidays.

I think the dolls came out really cute and my girls were so excited to get a little gift for Halloween. I did fudge a bit on the faces. I didn't have any canvas but I did have some old muslin curtains that my mom was getting rid of that worked fantastic. I also want to suggest to NOT use a Sharpee marker for the faces as I did. Invest in a nice fabric marker like I should have.

Here is a link to Emily Martin's tutorial: Black Apple Dolls. I hope you enjoy it!

Be sure to stop by my other blog at Cowgirls and Cupcakes and leave us a comment or send us a recipe via email to get you qualified for our 2nd big giveaway!

Eggzactly!

This morning we dyed Easter eggs. We have a tradition of the hubby being in charge of the dye and me taking the photos. The girls had a great time experimenting with the double-dipped eggs, changing them into messes of beautiful vinegary color. It was fun. Here are our eggs that the girls made this year.

The Craftiness of the New Year Begins and a few other things

I haven't crafted at all since the New Year began (until today). I just have been in the midst of reorganizing my office/craft room (maybe one of these days I will get really fancy and call it a studio) and I am soooooo slow at it. Pick one thing up, put it down, pick another thing up move it here. I am great with others people's stuff, just not my own. So I took a break last night from organizing and stripped my Christmas tree bare. I was so sad to take it down because it was so pretty, but I hadn't watered it in a week and it was beginning to lean like the Leaning Tower of Pisa (is that how you spell that?). I wanted to share some of the new ornaments and other handmade goods that I purchased from my Sacramento Craft Mafia sisters. Three items I did not have photographs of, because I didn't think about it until after I gifted them how nice it would have been to include them in my blog. Here they are. They went over with a bang. I purchased the first three at our Get Made Holiday show. See what you missed out on.

I purchased a wine bottle melted down into a nut or candy bowl. This was so awesome. Made by mafia sister and high school friend Sondra Cameron of Shirts for Shortys. This was such a cool gift. I gave it to my Aunt Susie who loved it and also happened by chance to be her favorite wine.

http://www.shirts4shortys.etsy.com/

I also purchased a darling bowling pin shaped doll from Lauren of Speckled Hen for my Mom. It is so cute with all of its different fabrics and embroidered face, it is truly unique. She has it proudly displayed on her denim couch and it looks great.

http://www.speckledhen.etsy.com/

I also purchased a limited edition embroidered face ornament from Claire of Little Lovlies Handmade for my Mom. It has a great vintage looking fabric on the back and darling face on the front. She even offered to make ones that matched the color of my girls hair! This is also proudly displayed on my Mom and Dad's Christmas tree. Sooooo cute.

http://www.littlelovelies.etsy.com/

The other two items I have pictures of, because I bought them for my girls. The first, is two resin Snow White ornaments. So cute and so whimsical, straight out of the old Golden Books that still set on my shelf today. Santa slipped these into the stockings and they were a hit. I want to give my girls their ornaments when they move out one of these days, but I will have a hard time parting with these. These were purchased from another mafia sister Antoinette of Creatress Designs.

http://www.creatress.etsy.com/

The last item that I purchased were two little dolls also from "Santa" created by Missy Balance of Mohair Circus. These dolls are so cute. They look like little Christmas pixies. The minute I saw them on her blog, I was counting the days till she put them in her etsy shop. The girls loved them and the Peanut is actually sleeping with hers tonight.

http://www.missyballance.etsy.com/

You can check out all of the other wonderful Sacramento Craft Mafia girls at:
http://www.sacramentocraftmafia.com/. There are so many wonderful artists and craftsters in the Craft Mafia. I can't wait to purchase something from each of them!

Another favorite ornament that I was privileged to open this year came from my Aunt Judy and Uncle Rod. She had wrapped up three Bi-centennial themed ornaments that she had on her tree from 1976 the year I was born and gave them to me. I was so tickled I almost cried. My Mom and Dad have the same collection on their tree but they have different characters. So now between my Mom and I, we have the whole set. Thanks Aunt Judith & Uncle Roddy!

You say, but where is the craftiness? I thought you mentioned craftiness in the title? I sure did.... Last but definitely not least I am officially an Aunt! My new niece was born just before the New Year and is extremely premature at only 30 weeks of gestation and 2lbs. 10oz. A little squirt. She is in hospital for the next six weeks growing away in her little heated submarine bed and her Mommy asked if I wouldn't mind making a little sign with all of her vital statistics on it. I said, "Of course! It's part of my Auntly duties!" So here is what I came up with for the sign. I got to bust out my glitter and new Martha Stewart glue pens from Michaels (love them)! I had posted earlier on that I am a horrible photographer, but I found some new buttons on my camera that I never new I had. So this time they came out a little bit better. Tell me what you think.

So that's all the craftiness I had in store for today. One more day of organizing before going back to the grindstone on Monday. I am hoping to have it all done by then. You may even get a picture from me. Stay tuned........

Break Out the Bubbly

Hey All, Happy New Year!

It has been many moons since I blogged last. I missed the whole Christmas holiday completely. Although it was a blast and much paper was torn, the kids were both sick with horrible colds. Oh well, what do you do? Santa came and brought scooters and a rockin dollhouse. On to New Years...dullsville. I sit on the couch watching On Demand with two sleepin kiddos and a husband that's working late. I flip through the free movies because I feeling the effects of the holiday and a New Year's resolution to try to be more thrifty. I turn on TCM or Turner Classic Movies and find a fantastic movie called "Holiday Affair." It stars Robert Mitchum a rather hunky young chap and Janet Leigh a rather Nancy Drewish pretty girl. The movie was fantastic. I have been really hooked on the TCM network and also caught another great flick called "Christmas in Connecticut starring Barbara Stanwyk and Dennis Morgan another mid-century hunk. These movies were fantastic and highly recommended while you can watch them free On Demand.

Holiday Crafts

I havent' had a chance to do many crafties this year. I am making a few Christmas tree topiarys and some round topiarys for a few family members. I will follow-up with a tutorial in a few days when I get one finished. I did finish all of my shopping and wrapping. YaY!!! A few months back I ordered a cd that had old vintage Christmas cards by the hundreds. Strange you say? Yes, but I have been using to make cute Christmas tags and cards. My Mom had picked me up a few hundred tags at Office Depot in the dollar bin. You know the type with the hole at the top. So I have been inking them up and adding the old vintage Christmas scenes to the front. Last but not least, a twine tie and stamped letters for whoever the gift is going to. Very easy and super cute. Here is a pic for you. The other thing that I have been busy making are coffee cozies. I love having my cardboard cozy when I go to Starbucks to protect from the intense heat of my yummy latte, but always feel bad getting a new one every time I go. So I made up some cute felt cozies to adorn your frothy goodness.

O' Christmas Tree....

So I haven't blogged in a few days and I have had so much to blog about that I will probably have to backdate some of these. We finally got our tree last weekend. I am extremely late this year. I usually like to have it up the day after Thanksgiving, but it just didn't happen. My Mom got the crazy idea that I should put the Christmas tree on the smallest wall in the smallest corner of our living room. We have a small living room so I usually have to make some major furniture arrangements in order to accomodate the tree. I also really wanted to get a taller tree this year. We have vaulted ceilings on one side of our living room and this would be the perfect location if we can find one that is skinny enough to walk around and still be able to make it into the kitchen. So off to Snowy Peaks in Forresthill, CA to pick out our tree. The husband loves to go and chop one down rather than buying one off a lot. Personally, I would love to have the ever popular faux tree that are so hot right now. That way I wouldn't have to mess around with watering and the major drooping due to my love for hundreds of heavy ornaments. Alas, we must sacrafice a real tree for the love of tradition. It is fun, going out there with the girls and hunting around for the "right" one. This year I found one about two seconds after I stepped on the soil. It was perfect with one whole side missing, just right to fit into the corner. The husband rolled his eyes. "We drove all the way up here, we have to look around a while." I looked around making sure I had a marker of where the "perfect" tree was, and luckily, there was a great big mammoth tree there to mark the spot. I kept looking back as we walked on wishing that I had brought bread crumbs or at least the girls graham cracker snacks to mark the trail. In the end, we went back to that same tree because it was "perfect" for our house. I also got the idea to put the tree in a wine barrel. I just thought it would look cool. Two days after I got the idea they had an article in Better Homes and Gardens with a tree in a barrel of sorts. It looked so fantastic. The husband went to Lowe's where we had previously seen a barrel in the garden department, but no such luck. Then he traveled to Home Depot and no such luck. I told him to hop on Craigslist and see if anyone was selling them. We found a winery up in Camino who had whole barrels for $20.00 a piece. Yay!!! The husband and the Scout jumped in the truck the following Monday and headed up there. He came home with six, yes I said six, full wine barrels. He said that he got some strange looks driving down the freeway with them. He cut one in half and we ended up turning it over and setting the tree on top of it. It looks so great. We are using some of the other barrels as planters and some we are giving to family. The back porch smells like a wine cellar. On to the decorating.. I had much help from Scout and Peanut with the tree. Most of the ornaments ended up right along the bottom, but they were a huge help and the tree looks great. My parents had been to IKEA Christmas shopping and brought me back the most beautiful box of red glass ornaments. They really added that extra shine to the tree and only $4.99. Gotta love the bargains! I added a pic of the tree without the flash. Trying to capture the ambiance of the lights. I really need to take a basic photography class or read the instructions to my camera because everything I take always comes out blurry.

Thanksgiving

So Thanksgiving was great! I love food and love to eat. I am actually kinda glad it is done. I have managed to pack away an entire pumpkin pie that my Grandma had left for "everyone" as leftovers. Oh yeah, of course I did add whipped cream too! I have included a picture of the piece I had on Turkey Day. I couldn't resist. Who could pass this up? I also took some great pictures of my Mom's table as well as the plates that my Uncle Tom and my husband loaded up on. I couldn't believe the size of them. So I haven't been crafting hardly at all since my Get Made Holiday show. We had a case of strep throat and then I got a cold that turned into a nasty sinus infection. 2 weeks later and I am still fighting it. Today I did bust out with some Christmas tags that I actually started working on last year. What a slacker!!! I also worked on a few little paper covered magnets that are fun. So Christmas is coming but no tree until next weekend. I am so excited.