Christmas season = no time for anything!

As the title says...I don't have time for much of anything these days, which is aggravating. I've been crafting in tiny spurts here and there, but haven't had time to do much in one sitting, nor have I taken photos. Our daylight is fast becoming a precious commodity - not that I like cold, but that's definitely something I absolutely HATE about winter. I like sun! :(

I've made a few random ATCs and some dolly skirts lately. I will do my best to get a photo of both up tomorrow.

Random, but if you're reading this and you're Canadian, DON'T BUY THE NEW REINDEER HOLIDAY STAMPS UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE REALLY ANNOYED! I chose those ones over the stamps with the Christmas ornaments on them because I thought they were pretty...it was a mistake. They don't stick worth a darn - I ended up having to take them off my Christmas card envelopes (and they came off super easily, which is scary), slather the backs with gluestick and put them back on. They just will not stick! The adhesive is terrible. It's a shame, because they really are pretty - they even have a little bit of glitter/shine to them! - but ugh. If I hadn't attacked 'em with a gluestick, they totally would have peeled off in the mail system and my Christmas cards would have ended up returned. What a fat waste of money that would have been!

Root canal is finished - hello pain, goodbye $333.85. (After insurance. At least insurance covered a decent chunk!)

Still coping with life without milk products. I found vegan Becel margarine, which made me WAY too happy - my husband was laughing at me the whole way out of the store, haha. I just need to find a decent egg substitute (and milk-free chocolate chips!), and I'll be on my merry way doing some Christmas baking that I can actually eat! I've discovered the hard way that I can't even eat something that milk products have touched. I made pizza for lunch, and I figured I would be safe if I only put cheese on Josh's half. A little of his cheese oozed onto my half in baking, so I scraped it over to his side and thought I'd be safe. WRONG. I've learned my lesson. :(

Crafting time would be lovely. Breathing time would be better. :P

Quicky update.

Just a quickie update while I have a minute - finished the ATC I was making for the WTA #10. Her favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz, and I couldn't find anything locally so I went the handmade route.

My jaw is exploding. I really hope I don't have to deal with this until it gets finished next week. x_x It seems to be going in waves...it'll be bearable, then so bad I want to cry, then somewhere in between, over and over. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but there's something about tooth/jaw pain that's just plain unbearable.

Bleh.

So my 'mmmcake' didn't turn out quite so yummy. Well, it did, but not for me. I've finally determined why I feel so terrible and can't keep much food down lately - milk and milk products. I've eliminated them entirely and am feeling better, so that much is good. Still have an ear infection, but will be headed off to the doctor on Dec. 8th...I'll go to a walk-in clinic before then if I have to, but I trust my family doctor more than any other, so I'm reluctant. I'll need a referral to a dietitian too, since going from vegetarian to vegan is a big change and I want to make sure my meal planning is decent!

Also, I just had part one of a root canal today. Part two (and hopefully the last) comes on the 25th. Woo.

Can I have a new November, please?

ANYHOW, no more complaining, moving on to the crafties:


My very first skinny card! They're the same concept as ATCs, just bigger - 3"x5" rather than 2.5"x3.5". The specifications were that it be something relating to the 1900-09 timeframe, and I immediately thought of the advent of teddy bears...then went a bit mad with glitter. ^^; I was a bit intimidated to send it out, being as how the partner I sent to makes absolutely gorgeous cards, but it went out anyway - gotta start somewhere!

I received a cute little Christmas-y cross-stitch kit as one of my holiday wishes from a swap-bot group, and I whipped it up by the end of the night on the same day I received it, haha. My very first cross-stitch ever, and I think it turned out ok. I was pretty sure I'd do ok with it, considering I've done a ton with plastic canvas over the years (my mom taught me the basics when I was a kid), and so far so good. I'm currently doing a couple of private trades to receive more cross-stitch supplies, so that'll be fun. :D

I'm really looking forward to acquiring blank aida and embroidery floss to stitch my own things - pixel art and old 8-bit video game designs will carry over perfectly! I have visions of a soft case for my hubby's new phone covered in old-school Mario designs.

Currently tackling my massive Christmas card list, so between that, being ill, and the kids, I haven't had time for as much crafting as I'd like. I'm working on a Wizard of Oz-based ATC for a WTA (winner-takes-all) in one of my groups on swap-bot, a pink ATC for a swap not finalized until January (the holiday season is crazy-busy, and I want to be done in time!) and pretending like my craft things can be tamed.

One day, I -will- have a proper craft area, and everything will be organized and in it's place. For now, with how tiny our house is, my craft stuff is in a random jumble and small boxes are spread out from our bedroom to the computer desk to the shelves to the dining room table. I love my wonderfully tolerant husband, haha. ♥ (The desk is the worst - it looks like a craft box exploded!)

Mmm, cake.

Yes, I happen to be baking a cake right now. Yes, it's chocolate. Yes, I'll share, but you have to come here and fight my husband for it, as he's not so keen on sharing chocolate cake. (Unless it's with me, and considering I'm the one who bakes, he'd better darn well share with me!) ;)

Finally got a photo of those star ornaments I mentioned yesterday:

I think they'll be going to live with my mom as part of her Christmas gift. If I get ambitious (and more time, and more felt), I'll make some for coworkers too.

It's frustrating, how quickly the light fades these days...and it's going to keep on getting worse. :( It is currently 4:43PM and it's already fading...it'll be pitch dark by 6PM.

I'm just finishing up my four Christmas ATCs - need to stitch the last one onto the cardstock backing - and I'll edit this with a photo once I do. I timed it, and from start to finish, it takes roughly 4 hours to make ONE of my Christmas ATCs. Yeesh. I like them though, and I hope others do too! I've gotten some feedback in the form of ratings on swap-bot, so I'm feeling a little braver about sending my creations out into the world now. :)

EDIT to add photo:

Opted to just post a photo of one of them, as the 'group' photo didn't turn out well. Darn this lack of natural light! (And lack of photography skills and a light tent, hah!)

Time, or lack thereof.

If there were 25 hours in a day, I still wouldn't have enough time to tackle everything I need to do. Or even half of it. Still, I try to stretch my time as best I can, picking and choosing my tasks/wants to get as much done as possible while juggling two young kids. It feels like Tetris, only with real things instead of blocks. (And where is that long block when you need it?!) But anyway...

I managed to get a few things done, at least.



Finished two simple dolly skirts, and listed both on Etsy with a coordinating headband/choker necklace set. Yay?

I opted to drop from the autumn ATC swap as I just wasn't feelin' it...had no inspiration/motivation to finish that card, so it was for the best. I now have a partially finished autumn-y card...I'll finish it eventually.

I have four Christmas ATCs to finish. I've finished the base part for three, and will have the fourth base finished by tomorrow evening. Not bad, as that's the most time-consuming part - each one takes a couple of hours. I don't really know exactly how long they take, but I'll attempt to time it when I tackle the fourth as I'm curious! All I know is that they're nowhere near quick to complete, but I enjoy making them and people hopefully enjoy receiving them!

I made three felt Christmas ornaments last night too, but don't have a photo yet. I'm REALLY hating this pitch-black-at-6PM nonsense. Can it be spring already, please? I'll try to get a photo up tomorrow.

One day, I'll have time to do everything I want to do. Maybe. But by then, I'll probably be 65 and retired, and my wants/tasks will have changed drastically anyway. Such is life. :P

More from yesterday.

Yesterday really WAS super-productive - these two ATCs were from last night! The top one is for the 'kawaii' ATC swap, and the bottom one is for the 'love' ATC swap. Sorry, I know the pictures are rubbish, but daylight is getting more and more sparse here - I'm dreading winter! At this point, it's mostly light by 9AM, and getting dark by 5:30PM...and it's only going to get worse. *sighs*

Today's projects will be boring and not worth picturing, unless I get a burst of creativity and a bunch of time - I need to make more mandala envelopes (I used all the ones I had made) and get crackin' on FOUR more Christmas ATCs. The backings on those take a really long time since I stitch on each sequin by hand...so they really need to get made ASAP so I know I'll get them finished in time!

Yay for productivity!

Between household chores and finishing up crafts, today has been super productive so far! It helps that my older kiddo is in school and my husband has today off of work, haha. :P


These two are for the Christmas ATC swap. I have two more to do for a different Christmas ATC swap now as well - I'll probably do something similar, as I enjoy fiddling with sequins even if they DO take hours to complete. (Am I crazy?)

This one is my final card for the 5-partner sender's choice ATC swap. Wee sequins!

And this final one is my take on the "T" ATC card swap. Yep, it's supposed to be a tulip. I don't know what it is about sequin + felt ATCs that I enjoy so much, but I do. They each take a few hours to knock out, but the final result is different than most of what I see out there...whether that's a good thing or not is up to the receiver, I guess. :P

Still on the crafting agenda: 20 (?!) Valentine's-themed ATCs, 1 ATC with the word 'love' on it somewhere, 1 autumn-themed ATC, 2 more Christmas ATCs, doll clothing/accessories for a Christmas swap on Den of Angels, doll clothing/accessories to list on Etsy. Woo.

I'm hoping to get a chance to break out the sewing machine and make some simple doll clothes in the next week...we'll see if that happens.