Crafty Pinterest Christmas Gifts

My husband and I went to visit his family for Christmas, so we had "Christmas" with my parents on New Year's Eve (they had spent Christmas in Staten Island with my brother and his fiance`).  And thanks to creating a "Wish List" board on Pinterest, I was pleasantly surprised and got just what I wanted!  This doesn't happen often, since I don't like telling people what I want for Christmas, because I hate to make anyone feel like I have an expectation. I am always content and happy with whatever gifts I am given.  I really didn't expect anyone to pay attention to my silly Pinterest wish list, but my mom and sister-in-law-to-be follow my boards and they were both paying attention! 

 My mom is always asking me what I want for Christmas, even though I'm super easy to shop for...so she showed the wish list to my dad and he went to town shopping online!

These are 2 of my favorite gifts...an Alphabet Rolling Stamp (from my parents), and a Button Punch (from Nicole). Everything I wanted was either craft or music oriented.  I also got the "Doctor Who: Series 5" soundtrack from my parents, and the album "Invisible Empires" by Sarah Groves from Nicole.  I was also pleasantly surprised when I opened the box from my brother with these hand-strengtheners inside that look like rubber donuts.  It wasn't something I'd thought of, but I was touched that he had remembered that last time he saw me I was having hand/wrist pain from having marathon sewing sessions to prepare for craft shows.

I had fun punching buttons out from random paper, including the punch's packaging (the turquoise buttons) and a Pottery Barn catalog I've been saving for cutting up for collage work (because I have the crafter's curse of feeling the need to save everything!)

I've been wanting the rolling stamp because I think it will be so much more portable and convenient to use for making price tag signs at craft shows than the alphabet stamps sets I currently have.  I'll probably still use my alphabet stamp sets on occasion, since I like the font, but this stamp is so fast and convenient...you can stamp entire words/phrases instead of painstakingly stamping each letter.  I actually made tags the other day for presents for the families in my church (I gave each family a mason jar filled with homemade Hidden Valley Ranch Oyster Crackers...a Christmas tradition I do that my friends all love!)

One thing is that I do have to remember to "think backwards" when spelling words on the rolling stamp!

Treasury Tuesday: Lovely Things I Can't Afford

When browsing Etsy, I sometimes find items that I like, but are WAY out of my price range. And I debate about whether I should click that "favorite" button...since I will never be able to afford it...or at least will never justify spending that kind of money on myself (admittedly, the $80 parasol isn't that bad). And I wonder if i'm just being a tease to the seller...because in all honesty, I will probably never buy the item.

Lovely Things I Can't Afford

That bed in the top-lefthand corner was what inspired me to make this treasury. Some of these items were already in my favorites, but in order to fill out the treasury, I actually had to go searching for some things. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to try and find items that are SO out of your price range. (and I know my mom will look at the fine art paintings and say "Come on Kira! You can do that!"...to which I will admit that I probably could, but I put them there to fill out the treasury.)

For some more lovely Etsy treasuries, go check out this week's Treasury Tuesday blog post that I just posted on the Rochester NY Etsy Street Team (RNEST) blog! My fellow RNESTers have been cranking out some really wonderful treasuries lately! Go on over and check them out!

Shopping at JoAnn's: Wishlist

I went shopping at Joann Fabrics the other day to buy some fleece. After this weekend's show, I need to replenish the Nubbin population before my next craft show. I've been making a habit lately of taking pictures of things I have on my "wish list" (as you may have seen from my book post). A lot of these are things I would like and think are cool, but can't justify buying them for myself.

First up is this new Cricut cartridge, "Mini Monsters". I heard about it a few months ago. Come on, it's MONSTERS! It's perfect for me! I know there are a lot of Halloween-y designs on it, but I mostly want it for the quirky monsters so I can make different monster cards (there is a "card" feature on this cartridge!).

I'd buy it, but Cricut cartridges are SOOOO expensive! The usual price for cartridges is $89.99, but even the $49.99/$39.99 sale price they sometimes have is still a little pricey for me (I'm too frugal for my own good sometimes) Hmmm...if anyone needs an idea for a Christmas present for me... ;)

Next is a stack of Autumn theme printed scrapbook paper. I can't justify buying it because #1. I'm not currently in scrapbooking mode at the moment, and #2. I already have a lot of scrapbook paper. But I'm loving some of the designs in this stack. Here are some of my favorites.

This tree design (above) is my absolute favorite in the stack.

Mmmmm...apples!

This lat thing is, again, something I like, yet can't justify. This wood pendant is too big for a necklace, although it might be just the right size for a keychain. I actually would like to get a couple tomake into keychains as gifts for my photographer friends. But then the icanmakethat disease I suffer from kicks in and I think "If I get a camera rubber stamp, and slice up a tree branch, I can make that!"