Ornament Baubles

For the New Year, I decided to dress the fireplace in accents of gold.  My favorite pieces were ornament baubles on both ends of the mantel.  Shiny, pretty and just a little piece of Christmas to take into the new year with me.  Plus they are insanely easy!

Materials
String {used: Curling Ribbon}
Scissors
Ornaments
3M Hooks

1.  Cut a long piece of string and tie one end to the ornament hole {double knot}.  This will be your base ornament.

2.  String ornaments onto your strand.  Use whatever pattern or arrangement you'd like.

3.  Tie a loop on the end of the string and hang!

I finished off my mantel with gold garland and beads.

I can't wait to do something similar for Christmas next year.  Plus, decorating for New Years was really fun!  This was my first time and I'm definitely going to tackle it in years to come.

Happy Decorating!

{Printable} New Year's Personal Goals Sheet 2014

New Year - New Goals.  Instead of making resolutions this year, make some personal goals.  Having small goals to achieve along the way will lead you down the path of reaching your big goals.  For instance, don't say "Read More".  Make a list of books you would like to read.

This free printable sheet {link below} will send you on the right path!

So what are you waiting for?  Get started!

2014 Personal Goals Sheet

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Cubbies!

Welcome to 2014!

We started the year out with a little bit of New Years Decorations on the mantle. 

Thankfully, I found all these gold items while packing up my Christmas decorations. Ha!

A little help from Cricut and I had a fun and festive mantle to help ring in the New Year!

Wishing you all the best for 2014.  

Be Happy.  Be Healthy.

Be Creative!

3 Month Crafting Challenge

Today, I took a good look around my craft room and thought to myself, "You know, Jen, you have a ton of craft stuff that isn't being used.  Ugh!  And look at all those unfinished projects!  What are you going to do about it?"

Well, if I was being completely honest with myself, I do have a ton of supplies that were purchased and never used, leftover from other projects, or simply never finished.  So wasteful!  Something really needs to be done about it.

Thus, the 3 Month Crafting Challenge was born!  Over the next three months {ending March 31, 2013} I, Jennifer Evans, will complete craft projects using only the items I currently own.  The one exception to this rule is if I need to purchase more adhesives (i.e. glue or tape) or threads (for sewing projects).  {I need binding materials!}  All other materials must be pulled from around my house.

The main goal of this challenge is to reduce the amount of craft materials lying around and finish projects while simultaneously reducing the amount of money I'm spending on new materials.  Imagine how much I could save!

Are you in the same boat as me?  Take the challenge with me!  I'd be happy to have some people along for the ride.

New Year's Goals

Are you busy making New Year's Resolution? 

I'm not the biggest fan of resolutions.  They seem like punishments - quite possibly because I associate them with getting rid of vices rather than working towards achievements.  Resolutions always seem to be a huge commitments too.  However, I do like resolutions as a way to evaluate and refocus your life.  Typically, if your goal is to pay down your debt, you take the time to assess your debt and budget.  Sure, we should all have the commitment to do this at any point in the year, but nothing says {fresh start} quite like January 1st.

Over the past few years, I have adopted a new way to make small commitments to myself that not only make me feel as though I'm achieving great things but also enrich my life.

I introduce to you my {Personal Goals} sheet.  This sheet focuses on tangible and finite achievements - so instead of "workout more", I put "run a sub-10 minute mile".  It helps with the focus and the sense of satisfaction.  For the categories such as movies and books, I select pieces that I feel I should have seen or read by now.  For instance, when I was 21, I put down "The Godfather".  This year's list included "To Kill a Mockingbird".  Both answered a lot of pop culture questions I had.

My favorite category is the food section.  Three years ago, my goal was to try swordfish.  Sure enough, we took a trip to Seattle in the summer and I got to try it out.  {Loved it!}  It's a great way to start exploring foods if you aren't adventurous.  Even if you hate it - at least now you know!

Skills to Master is where I put a lot of my crafting hopes and dreams.  Last year included Mod Podging and sewing.  Pretty sure I have those down by now.  ;)  Next year, I really want to focus on heat embossing and embroidery.  Sometimes this category travels outside the sphere of crafting - this year I also put down "memorize the order of the presidents".  {Yeah, yeah, keep the "Don't you have a bachelors in History" jokes to yourself!}

So I hang this goal sheet up on a corkboard {to always be a reminder of my goals} and mark items off as they are achieved.  I've learned to love it over the years.  Thus, I pass along to you the {Personal Goals} sheet.

2013 Personal Goals Sheet