Welcome 2012, chinamommy is back at it!

1st off, do NOT start your new year by trying to print postage online, seriously, do NOT!  why does it have to be so hard? why do i now have to get dressed and drive into town before i freak out and lose my mind?  i am 3 days into this year and already i am feeling a level of frustration that i try to avoid at all costs. 

instead i'm going to recap my life starting in august... is that when i abandoned my poor blog?  no, no... wait, i do remember sharing with you the fact that i got felt up by a baby at thanksgiving, so let's not go all the way back to august!

my kiddo had a Christmas concert, 

(mine is the little Asian cutie in the beautiful black and blue dress.  guess who never even thought of looking for a RED Christmas dress? me and the mother's of those boys.)

i sold a ton of initial ornaments, i was so busy this year i didn't even start my Christmas shopping until the last 2 weeks...  almost every order was a special order, i sold only 1 pre-painted letter!

i started teaching darling (at her request) how to crochet (squeal!!)

(NO, i did NOT pick out that outfit!!)

i went to Christmas parties with the mister,

i got fuchsia highlights in my hair, painted my nails with kardashian glitter polish, and spent december waiting for a bird to fly out of a nest i found in our (real) Christmas tree.  i pinned like crazy (pinterest people!), went to the library with darling, slept in, hung out with my kiddo, ran and just plain RELAXED.  i spent Christmas day with my family and truly had one of the most wonderful Christmas days in years!  ok, last year was pretty hard to top, being at Disney and all, but... this year was a pretty great day.

it was a great break from it all and now i'm ready to get back at it!!  let's talk more, shall we?

did you have a good Christmas? or was it full of crazy family drama?  did you get anything fabulous (like MY white range rover?) or anything just horrible?

do tell....

xoxo

DIY Christmas mirror ornaments

darling and i made these the other night...AT night.... hence, the really icky pictures!  but, disregard the pics and make the easy-peasy ornaments!

Here's what you need:

✪ package of mirrors (easy to find at places like hobby lobby!). for every 2 mirrors, you'll get 1 ornament. the bigger mirrors can be heavy, so if you have a REAL tree (like we do this year) make sure they're not so heavy they pull down your branches.  though hard to believe, i had a whole lunch meat container FULL of different sized mirrors (don't worry, the turkey was gone).

✪ E-6000 glue (hot glue is not good for this craft!)

✪ silver string or fishline or whatever you want to use (we used some silver elastic string)

1.  put some E-6000 on the back of 1 mirror (this stuff smells NASTY)

 2. put a loop down into the glue, smear it around a little to make sure the string gets nice and gluey.

 3. stick the other mirror on and press GENTLY! be a little careful, these ARE glass!  gosh, do i even have to say that? you're smart!! just like those tubes of cream for vaginal yeast infections that warn you not to eat the stuff!  thankfully, they say that as i've often contemplated using it as toothpaste! geesh....

 4. hang on tree!  i find that more is more and more is better in the case of mirror ornaments! i say add so many that people feel like they need a polyester jumpsuit and ABBA playing!

~Merry Christmas~

It's beginning to look a LOT like Christmas!!!!

lawwwwd..... it's glittery up in here!! 

 thankfully, i have been up to my eyeballs in paint and glitter! i've been doing pretty well with my initial ornaments and have been painting, glittering, packing and shipping!

(yes, i blurred her address, i don't have some freaky pen!) 

 Whewww....

i have pre-painted letters that are READY to go, or i can do a custom letter/letters for you! just go HERE: chinamommy on etsy

i'm not just doing letters, here's a peek into my glittery studio

yes, i have found glitter in my mouth, yes, i have found glitter in my eye and no, i will NOT mention the other places it's creeped into....cough, cough!

come on back tomorrow for an easy DIY mirror ornament tutorial. seriously, i'm going to write it now so i don't forget....

~Merry Christmas~

Leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again...

It's true, I am leavin' but more about that in a minute!

Are you knee deep in paper, plastic bags full of tiny pieces of "stuff", silly bands, candy wrappers and toys?  If so it probably means you had a great day yesterday- we sure did!!

Here is a tiny bit of the aftermath after much picking up...

(how cute are those PJ's?!?)

Yeah, that's right OVER 480 pieces...Thanks Santa!

This thing is VERY cool!!  Darling and I have put on our engineer hats and are having a blast building it.  As I type she is opening the giant bag full of TINY grey thingy's...I better type faster and get back to it!

I want to share  the most WONDERFUL gift I received (NOT that the Mister didn't spoil me rotten with J. Crew clothes, a beautiful Spa robe and other goodies...).  Darling and I saw this frame the other day while shopping and apparently she made sure to tell Daddy she had found the PERFECT gift.  She even went downstairs and picked out the picture to go in it.  It's a picture of her at 3 year old- she had traced her hands (complete with fingernails and all 10 fingers) onto a magnetic drawing board.  I had written the date above her hands and then taken the picture, I thought it was SO cute.  I think it looks perfect in the frame.  This needs to find a special place in our home because each and every night we say:

"I love you to the moon and back...NO MATTER WHAT!"

I always want her to know that regardless of what choices she makes in her life: great, good, and not-so-good, she will ALWAYS have the love of her mother!!

 and I think I forgot to show you my Christmas "Stocking".  Yes, mine is a mini mink coat!!  Anyone surprised?! I doubt it!!!

Let's get a closer look...

Fabulous! :) 

Ok, now back to the jet plane that I'm leavin on....

I AM leavin' on a jet plane, but I DO know when I'll be back again!  It's true chinamommy, the Mister and Darling Daughter are headed SOUTH!!! Yippppeeeeeeeeee! You know this mama is NO fan of the cold and snow, also not a fan of flying...

We are headed to Florida!  Don't bother breaking in, the house sitter will be here, someone has to watch

Theodore Winston!

I'll have posts posting while I'm gone...magic, I know!!

Anywhooo, I'll be soaking up some sunshine (COME ON FLORIDA!!) visiting Mickey and Minnie (EEeeek!!) and going to see MSU play in the Capitol 1 Bowl

GO GREEN!!

(sorry Momof5...).

I'll take 9,000 pictures of what I see (don't worry, these aren't your Grandmother's travel pictures, these will be fun!) and we'll chat soon!!

xoxoxo

love to all my readers and here's to 2011!!

(here's also to getting rid of that horrible thing I did in my front entry...anyone wanna come over and sand it down?)

Mini Christmas Re-cap...

Oh boy, laundry is going, decorations are coming down, house looks like it blew up & I'm tired already!  Darling daughter is home from school & needs my assistance every few moments so this is going to be short...

We stayed home Christmas morning which is something I've NEVER done, well only once, till this year!  The only Christmas I stayed home as a child was in 1976 & that's because my youngest brother was being born during lunch on Christmas day.  Our family is out of state & that means lots of travel, funny how we were the only ones that did the traveling... anywhooooo- We got to stay home Christmas morning & isn't Christmas morning so much fun with a little one in the house?

Who is the happiest girl in the world with her new DS?

some of the aftermath:

a little breakfast & a little rubiks cube! 

 We kept mixing it just a little & she could get it back but then the Mister really twisted it up & she yells "Dad, now you got it all mixed up, it's ruined".  I don't think she believed me that there are some out there that can fix it after it's "ruined".  

Ewwww, look what I let her eat!!  Glow in the dark cereal, not something I usually allow, especially since the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd ingredient is SUGAR!

We opened presents, yelled at the dog, threw the paper in the recycle bag & then we did travel... less than 2 hours to my parents-not bad!

This Christmas was different... my Grandma is in a nursing home, my yougest brother is in MT, & my cousins were getting together with the other side of their family - so it was just my middle brother, my parents & the 3 of us.  My brothers girlfriend had to hang with her family so she couldn't come either & it's really too bad cause this is the 1st girlfriend of his I've REALLY liked.  I even made her a granny square scarf... sadly, there are NO pictures!  What is wrong with me?

We got to my parents around NOON & isn't that the best time to arrive?

My mom's pretty table with the napkins provided by moi'!

Given to me by a friend that knows me too well!!

mom & dads tree loaded with ornaments that are from years & years ago!  I guess i should have taken pictures... one is the ornament from my grandparents 1st Christmas tree & another one my dad made in 1st grade!

I think this is a sight we're going to be seeing a LOT!

Ok, I know this wasn't that interesting, but isn't it hard when life gets in the way of blogging?!

 :)

So did you get a FANTASTIC gift this year?  Please, you have my permission to brag, you don't have to say "family time", you can tell me what it really was like: a white Range Rover!  AND... if you got that, it was suppose to be MINE, so bring it BACK!!!

I'll try & grab a picture of my greediness today & share gifts tomorrow!

Ok, let's hear about your goods!!!

Turquoise & Red for Christmas! (& of course some pink)

Here's a little tour around my home:

I'm in ❤ with Red & Turquoise...

Isn't this tray CUTE? Target!! (last year)

Most of the circles are GLITTERY & we all know I ❤❤❤ GLITTER!

Also from Target (last year)

This little snowman is VERY dear to me... He was made by my very special Aunt Renee. Renee was my Dad's youngest brothers wife & they were high school sweet hearts- I really don't remember a time she wasn't in our family. On January 3, 2004 my dear Aunt went to Heaven... she was only 45 years old. I still miss her so much especially at the holidays because that is the time we would see our family in Indiana. It's still so hard to believe she's gone, but I'm pretty sure she's making sugar cookies in Heaven!

Mmmmm... do you like the Peppermint Mocha at Starbucks? Me too! but... this will sure do at home!!

The little houses I did last year with real silver glitter- it's all tarnished this year, but I still love the look!

Ohhhh... how do i love Target & their $$$ bins? This was in their $2.50 bin & I'm quite sure I got the last fuchsia one they had...

A little mixed media collage thing-a-ma-bopper I made with one of my very favorite pictures of darling daughter! This picture was taken the summer she came home from China, so she had JUST turned 1. If there was 1 day I could live over & over again... definitely the day I became her Mommy!!

Target again...

and because PINK is in the mix, here is Mr. Teddy in his sporty PINK (remember: dogs are color blind & he doesn't know he's a boy!) winter coat! That stack of totes... just a small portion of the Christmas that still needs to be put up. You can see in the NEXT picture why he needs his jacket...

Yep, this is today (Friday- November 4th). It's now 12:25 & the snow JUST stopped 25 min ago & the ✺sun✺ is actually OUT!

Here is part of my Red & Turquoise tree... & Mr. Glory Hound himself in the corner... Who loves the camera?

Well gals, have a GREAT day & if you have Christmas decorations you'd like to share, just put the link in my comments!!

Also I added a couple pieces of button jewelry to my etsy store ( chinamommy.etsy.com ), boy have I NOT been on the ball with getting my store stocked for Christmas... maybe next year!

Ok, off to get that Advent Calendar done... you know the one we were suppose to start opening 4 days ago!!

Granny Square done kicked my butt!!!

Next time you roll your eyes at a $76 neck warmer or scarf, let me assure you I will NOT be crocheting you one for less than $795.00!! I had 2 crochet classes this week: Monday "Crochet 101" & Wednesday "Crochet 201 (or is it 102, or 202?)-the granny square". My class Monday had 4 students besides myself & one of the gals came to our class because the 1st class she attended had 11!!!!! people in it. Now, if you've never crocheted before let me tell you 11 people in a beginning class would be total chaos-think of 150 chickens released into a room full of kindergartners. I can now cross another thing off my list of "Things I might want to be"... and that is: "Beginning Crochet Teacher". I pity the woman that had me & the lady next to me in her class! Gram (the lady next to me that was wearing a blouse I am quite sure my 100 year old Grandma owns & provided peanut butter cups as snacks-YUM!) was there for her 2nd time because, as she announced enthusiastically, had "flunked" her 1st 101 class! She had a 2 inch piece of wonky mauve yarn that was the fruit of her labor. She was an ex-art teacher so you know she & I were kindred spirits in our confusion! She was there because she had bought a pattern 9 years ago that consisted of a crocheted necklace with about 125 buttons hanging from it... it's for her daughter, who is a 3rd grade teacher, & she just knew the kids in her class would love the buttons! I know as a 3rd grader, I was a large fan of buttons...? Anyway, she was as sweet as can be! I know where she's from, the fact that she & her husband have been married 53 years & they were high school sweet hearts. The Mr. wondered if I was there to learn or there to interview...a bit of both I guess!

So here is the result after 3 hours at my 1st class:

yeah, it's probably about a 2" square- it was HARD people!!

Wednesday I went back because I own the book "101 Granny Squares" & about 215 balls of yarn. The class ran from 1-4 & thankfully there were only 2 of us this time. By the time i left at FIVE... yeah, I had to stay after class! I called the Mr. & said "i had to stay after class, i was the slow kid." My hardy-har-har step daughter yells in the background "was there math involved?". The only math I know is: 50% off or 75% off or I can figure how old I was when the Mr. was a certain age in the blink of an eye (Hey, do you know that when you were 21 I was only 10...ewwww! He loves that :) and... Yes, as a matter of fact there is math in crochet, so no wonder I found it so difficult... there were numbers & counting & I was confused, so what! I was much better at choosing the yarn colors!

So here is my 1st EVER Granny Square:

My hand looked like the claw of a lobster by the time I was done & we had to order a pizza due to my weakened condition, but I'm NOT going to give up!

The lady that taught the class was GREAT ("hey Fern", if you're reading! -You know I had to pimp my blog with the use of some biz cards). We figured out (due to my fabulous interview skills) that we actually live about 10 min from each other, so she gave me her # & address & told me to call anytime... Oh honey, do you even realize what you've done? "Hi Fern, I know it's 3:12 am but I'm really stuck on this one part...."

To prove how tough this was, I'm going to share 1 line of the granny square pattern:

With B, ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in next 7 dc, *(3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in next ch-6 sp, dc in next 8 dc rep from * 2 more times... and on & on & on...

Oh, I have to run, I have been quite the social butterfly this week, which is weird for me! I'm usually like a troll down in my studio daydreaming about dandelion fluff or glitter.

Ok, who is as much of a glory hound as his momma? Mr Teddy, that's who!

See him smiling at you?

Ok, I'm off to lunch with a friend & then tomorrow I'll be finishing that advent calendar I needed to have done for Dec 1st... Advent calendars have numbers on them & well, you know how i am with numbers...

Have a GREAT day & be sure to share my blog with someone you love this holiday season- the gift that keeps on giving!!!❤