New Year's Eve Party Set by Yapha Mason

Ring in the new year with this elegant New Year’s Eve Party Set by Yapha Mason.  This fun and festive set includes a bottle tag, matching card, set of four champagne glass charms and a box to put the charms in.  To get the step-by-step instructions for creating this great project, head on over to Craft Project Central and subscribe to the month of December.  Or, if you are feeling lucky, find my project over at Craft Project Central and leave me a comment.  I will choose one lucky winner on December 27th to receive a free December subscription to Craft Project Central!!!!

More Tag/Ornament Boxes!!!!!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Discover What Quiets Your Mind
When I am on the road working I often don't have time to slow down and just think about my life, my future, my current state of being.  I'm in fast forward when I'm working.  When I get home, my speed shifts down into a slower gear...sometimes even to "park!"  And, of course, my mind starts wandering, thinking, pondering, questioning.  Sometimes where my mind goes creates stress or depression or just overwhelming distraction or disjointedness.  I am so very grateful that on my recent vacation I met an incredible woman who introduced me to the practice of Yoga Nidra.  She even guided a number of us through the meditation practice and allowed me to record the session.  It has become a source of peace for me.  When I begin to feel like I'm becoming overwhelmed or stressed or just plain unfocused, I can go and lie down and experience this guided meditation.  It helps to quiet my mind and allows me to find a place of stillness and comfort.  There are a number of CDs of Yoga Nidra that she recommended.  I have not listened to them yet, but I have purchased them.  One is Experience Yoga Nidra by Swami Janakananda.  The other is called Journey Through The Body by Amrit Desai.  I do not know if Yoga Nidra can do for you what it seems to be doing for me.  What I do know is that it is important to discover what quiets your mind and I am so grateful this practice found its way to me :)  (Another thing that found its way to me in the form of a gift is the Feel Good Hug by Origins and the Stress Relieving Hug by Origins!  These make wonderful gifts - a body wrap filled with essential oils that can be heating or cooled!  I highly recommend them!  There is a final flavor - Bedtime - that I haven't smelled yet, but I imagine it is as delicious as the other ones!).
Now on to today's projects!  The elf head design was created by Cathy Gray!  So cute!  You can find out more about Cathy and the elf head directions at Splitcoaststampers or on her blog here.  The body - specifically the arms and shoes were inspired by Marie Shaughnessy.  You can find a great elf card tutorial on her blog here!  Of course, the triangle box and the Santa were both inspired by Lisa Brown whose YouTube video I mentioned to you yesterday!  It's amazing how one box shape can inspire you to keep creating!  The adorable tag/ornament boxes can hold candy or other small surprises!  Of course you can also adapt them for any holiday/celebration!  Yes, you will be seeing these boxes again :)

Christmas Tree Ornament/Gift Tag

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Dogs Know Best :)
Scattered.  Distracted.  Bouncing from place to place.  All describe how I was acting/feeling earlier today.  Somehow Buddy could sense what I was going through (although it wasn't a huge stretch for him to see me acting like a chicken with her head cut off!) and he came over to me to nudge me and lead me toward the back door.  Yes, once again, my dog knew what was best for me - a bit of time outdoors - watching the birds and the squirrels - enjoying the sunshine on an unusually mild day.  It was exactly what my pinball-bouncing brain needed!  Yes, dogs know best :)  (Doris, I know you already know this :)
Today's Christmas tree ornament/gift tag was inspired by a video I saw on YouTube by Lisa Brown.  I loved the triangle box she created so I decided to alter the design and make a few different versions (I will be sharing another version with you tomorrow).  Inside this little box are some mini candy canes and on the back I stamped "to" and "from" so that the box can be attached to a gift as a gift tag and later hung on a tree.  The sentiment is from Petite Pairs.  I hope you like it!

New Years Memories Set

This New Year Memories Set is perfect for welcoming in the New Year! This set features an envelope mini-book, a coordinating card and a matching pen pocket!  This set would make a wonderful gift for a friend for the New Year!  You could also create the mini-book for yourself to keep track of your 2014 memories!  The mini-book inserts are a wonderful place to journal and add special photos.  I am planning on keeping track of special highlights for each month in 2014 :)
Are you interested in receiving all of the step-by-step instructions for creating this set?  If so, head on over to Craft Project Central and subscribe to the month of December.  Or, if you're feeling lucky, head on over and find the post for this project at Craft Project Central and leave me a comment.  On December 27th I will choose one lucky person who will win a free subscription to the month of December!

Home Again

I'm back :)  For those of you that follow my blog consistently, you may have noticed that my lessons from the craft room had been put on pause.  I debated whether or not to let you know I would be taking time off and decided not to.  I still feel odd publicizing the times when I will be away from the computer.  I had a series of work trips and a vacation all in a row and felt it was too much pressure to place on myself to try to get posts scheduled for my time away.  So I just kept my commitment to Craft Project Central and scheduled those posts and gave myself permission to step away for a bit.  Vacation was much-needed and I'm not sure I found the type of consistent peace I was looking for.  However, there were a few highlights to the trip that transported me to a place of peace and serenity and the photo above captures one of them.  I was in a bay where the water stretched on for miles and the water only got as deep as my waste - so I enjoyed walking out into the water and looking out on the horizon and simply breathing.  It was magical!  I also experienced yoga nidra - taught by a wonderful woman who shared her gift of guiding people through this spiritual and meditative practice.  She allowed me to record one of the sessions and I have been trying to continue the practice since my return.  I am hoping she will come out with a CD so that I can share her information with you - truly a blessing for me!
As I look forward to 2014 I know there are lessons that I need to continue to grow into - letting go; being open; creating; and quieting the terrorist that lives inside my head.  I am home again and I am looking forward to sharing my time and my growth with you.

Winter Sampler by Sharon Burkert

This winter sampler of snowflakes, snowmen and snowy hills will decorate your home all winter long.  Make one for a friend and one for you to enjoy.  You’ll want to make several of these to give away as gifts!  Also makes for a fun holiday crafting class!  This Winter Sampler was created by Sharon Burkert.  You can learn more about Sharon here!  Head on over to Craft Project Central and subscribe to the month of December to receive the step-by-step instructions for this great project!