Friday, December 28, 2012

Christmas Pictures

I was a lucky girl this Christmas... my hubby got me a new lens for my camera... a 35mm f/1.8 lens that can help get that cool bokeh look in some of my pictures.  I begged the hubs to let me open my present a few hours early because I have been drooling over the Unskinny Boppy's photo from her post "Taking Glowing Pictures of the Tree."  Her cool picture of her son has been flying like crazy through Pinterest and I have been lusting over one of my own.

I started by using her settings: ISO 3200, f/1.8, ss 1/30th... but played a bit to try and get the lighting a bit brighter.  I am fairly new to using my camera in manual mode... but I am LOVING experimenting with it!
This was taken with all the lights off, ISO 6400, f/1.8, ss 1/30.
Little sis moves more... so getting a clearer picture of her in low light is a tad bit more tricky, but with the same settings I got this shot- kind of grainy, but I am still in love.

And after Santa stopped in, I snapped a few shots at ISO 1600, f/1.8, ss 1/30.
 The one of the whole tree I raised my f-stop up a bit... ISO 1600, f/2.2, ss 1/30.

It is so fun to experiment with having a DSLR!  I hope you and your families had a beautiful Christmas and thanks to Unskinny Boppy for the inspiration!

~Christy


Wednesday, December 19, 2012

A Great DIY Teacher Gift... Heart-shaped Hand Warmers

So this is my daughter's first year of Pre-School.  Being a teacher myself, I knew I wanted to get her teachers something special and unique that didn't break the bank (especially since she has a zillion random teachers!).  I saw this super cute idea for hand warmers made from fleece and rice on Pinterest and after some image searching I finally found the original post from The Inbetween Girls for DIY Hand warmers. Since I know how chilly recess can be, I was sold.  I changed it up a bit, so here is what we (big sis got to help!) did...

From JoAnn's, I picked up a roll of fleece from the remnants bin (there are a ton of super cute fleece prints and solids this time of year), embrodery thread found by the needlepoint section, some needles that could handle the thick embroidery thred, and some cute white favor bags from the wedding section to carry them in.  In all my bill was about $10.  I also used white rice and a funnel from our pantry, a heart cookie cutter for the shape, and a fabric pen for tracing.
I laid out the fleece and traced my hearts on, four hearts for each gift.  I traced 32 hearts for the 8 teacher gifts I needed to make.
Next I cut them all out and one by one began stitching two together at a time.  I decided to use a simple hand stitch instead of the sewing machine for a few reasons... 1. I like the way the chunky thread gives an antiquey feel (plus you can tie the two ends to make cute bows this way!) 2. It seems easier to fill with rice and continue to make those last few stitches 3. It really doesn't take much longer by hand anyway.
When sewing around the edges leave about an inch to use the funnel and fill with rice.  I found I needed less than 2' of thread for each one and between 1/4 and 1/3 cup of rice.
Big sis was great help filling the hearts with rice... that was her part.  Little sis tried to help too... by chewing on the funnel!

Once they were filled with rice, I finished stitching, tied it off with a knot, then tied a cute bow with the two thread ends.



And since I am addicted to chalkboard word creations (just check out my Printables page, lol!) I made a cute little poem and gift tag to tie onto the wedding favor bags.  They are 4X6 and can just be printed onto index cards.  I printed mine on the front and back, cutting them apart to get two tags per index card.  Click below to get the free printable file!
She is taking in her little gifts tomorrow... I hope her teachers enjoy them!
What is your favorite handmade gift?  I'd love to hear and see about your creations this year! 

Linking up...


Redhead Can Decorate

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Chalkboard Christmas Tree Printable

I just love all of these chalkboard printables that are floating around Pinterest... and to confess, I am a bit addicted to making them!  Here is my latest creation... cropped as an 8X10 to place in any frame that is just lying around the house to add a little extra Christmas charm to that mantle!?

Just click on the picture to download for free.  When printing it may warn you that the quality is poor, but because it is not a photograph, it will print fine!

Looking for some other Christmas printables... visit my Custom Printables page.

Thanks for stopping in!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Santa Gift Tags... for those Special Gifts from the North Pole

I am just having too much fun creating Christmas printables... the latest???  Special tags from Santa himself!  Just take a look... they come directly from the North Pole!  And of course, they are only for good boys and girls!


These are 4X6 prints designed to be printed directly onto 4X6 postcards.  Click on the "boy" or "girl" tag above to download for free!  Enjoy :)


A Bowl Full of Lemons

Monday, December 3, 2012

Christmas Gift Tags... Peach, Magenta, & Teal, Oh my!

I have been playing around with those oh so fun Christmas gift tags again.  I love these colors together, how about you!?  To download the free PDF, just click on the picture above!  Enjoy :)
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