Creating Me

Christmas Joy Sign

Posted on July 25, 2023 by Anita

Hi friends,

Do you have a piece of scrap wood laying around the garage or basement? You can use it to make a Christmas Joy Sign! 😊

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I picked up these “JOY” wood letters at Hobby Lobby’s Christmas clearance sale last year. They measure about 6.75 inches tall and are about 3/4 inch thick. My scrap wood piece is about 26 inches long by 5.5 inches wide.

I pulled out 3 different coordinating scrapbook papers from my stash to cover the letters and started making my sign.

First, I traced my letters onto the back of my scrapbook paper, cut them out, and set them aside. Remember to trace your letters backwards so the pattern side of your paper will be facing the correct way! 😉

Next, I painted both sides and the edges of my scrap piece of wood and the backs and edges of my letters with 2 coats of white paint, letting it dry between coats. I used chalky finish paint because that’s what I had on hand, but acrylic paint will work, too. Once everything was dry, I used Mod Podge to adhere the scrapbook paper to the letters. I like to use foam brushes to apply paint and Mod Podge.

To give my sign a slightly distressed look, I dry brushed a bit of dark brown paint over the scrap wood piece and around the edges of the letters.

I glued my letters to the wood piece using E6000 clear adhesive. (It’s my favorite adhesive when you need something strong!) I finished my sign off by glueing a bow and a Christmas pick on the top.

You don’t have to have the exact “JOY” letters that I had with a star for the “O”. You can easily use an “O” in the middle and just pick up the individual letters at the craft store to make your sign. Depending on the size of your scrap wood piece, you could spell out “NOEL” or “JINGLE” or any other fun holiday word. You can even paint your letters instead of using scrapbook paper.

I think my Christmas Joy Sign will be so cute propped up by my fireplace or on my porch this Christmas season. Or maybe by my Christmas tree or in my kitchen… so many choices!! 🤔

Where will you put Christmas Joy Sign??🎄

Anita

Posted in Christmas, Decor | Tagged Christmas, Decor | 2 Comments

Quick and Easy Christmas Gift Tags

Posted on July 21, 2023 by Anita

Hi friends,

Christmas in July wouldn’t be complete without some handmade gift tags! These Quick and Easy Christmas Gift Tags are so fun to make and can also double as an ornament since the tag is made of sturdy chipboard. 😊

I found my chipboard tags on clearance at Hobby Lobby after Christmas last year. My store is already putting out their Christmas stock, so you might be able to get them now at your store. 😊 They measure 3.75 by 2 inches and include a gold hanging cord – which I decided to replace. (If you aren’t able to get chipboard tags, I think something like these wood ones would work well.)

You’ll also need some Christmas patterned paper, matching card stock, matching baker’s twine, a Christmas tree punch (here’s a similar one), and some sequins.

I cut my card stock to measure 3.75 inches by 2 inches and adhered it to the tag using Mod Podge applied with a foam brush. Once it was dry, I trimmed the excess card stock from the top corners. Using my punch, I punched the Christmas tree shapes from the patterned papers.

I used my favorite tape runner to attach the tree to the front of my tag and glued a sequin to the top of the tree. After punching the hole through the card stock at the top of the tag, I tied some baker’s twine to the tag for a hanger. (I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch my holes – I love this tool!) I stamped “To” and “From” on the back of the tag to finish it off. (This is a similar stamp.)

You can also use kraft card stock trimmed into a tag shape. It won’t be quite as sturdy as chipboard, but will still make wonderful tags. Any other simple Christmas/winter shaped punch can also be used – snowflake, ornament, reindeer silhouette – whatever you have in your craft room. 🎄❄️🦌

This would be a fun craft to do with the kids! They can make tags/ornaments for all of their friends. 🎄

Don’t forget to pin this post for later!

Anita

Posted in Christmas, Gifts, Tags | Tagged Christmas, Gifts | 2 Comments

Scotland – A Few Of My Favorite Things

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Anita

Hi friends,

I wanted to share one last post of some random pictures from our trip to Scotland earlier this year. It was truly the trip of a lifetime for me! You can see my posts about the castles we saw in this post and my post about ports, beaches, lochs, and waterfalls in this post. It is an amazingly beautiful country – if you ever get the chance to go, you should take it! 😊

There are still some of these phone booths scattered around the country. These 3 were in Edinburgh on the Royal Mile. I loved this cute mailbox we found in Stromness on Orkney.

I loved the sheep grazing everywhere! Occasionally, they would escape the fences and greet us as we drove along the country roads.

St.Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall on Orkney is absolutely amazing! It took about 300 years to build with the foundations starting in 1137. As you can see in the middle photo below, the pillars are absolutely massive and the cathedral is just gorgeous. The large stones on the wall in the third photo below are actually grave markers of people that were buried under the floor of the cathedral. Because the floor became so uneven, the deceased were reinterred in the church graveyard and the grave markers mounted to the walls. It was fascinating reading them as we toured the cathedral. There are still services held there each Sunday as well as weddings and funerals.

The landscape of Scotland is absolutely stunning! These are just a few of the many (many 🙂 ) photos I took of this amazing country. We all know that there are lots of castle ruins in Scotland, but we also noticed a lot of ruins of maybe abandoned farmhouses or bothies along the way – like in the 2nd photo below. The snow covered mountains below are the Black Cuillin Mountains on the Isle os Skye. The yellow flowers in the lower middle photo are called Gorse, or Whin in Scotland, and it was everywhere as we traveled the country. Such a beautiful place!!!

St. Giles Cathedral in Old Town Edinburgh was founded in 1124 and has been a working church for nearly 900 years. It is absolutely stunning with massive pillars and beautiful stained glass windows. The pipe organ was built in 1992. It is amazing and fits beautifully in the cathedral.

Old Town in Edinburgh is just amazing! The Royal Mile and surrounding streets of cobblestone are lined with beautiful buildings filled with shops, restaurants, and lots of history. There is a story behind each one and you can spend hours just walking around looking at the architecture! The last picture is one of the cisterns on the Royal Mile where people used to get their fresh water.

And last but not least, a few photos of some amazing food! Eggs Benedict on an English muffin, Scottish meat pie filled with chicken and mushrooms – so good!, fish’n chips for me with Bret’s Haggis with Whiskey sauce – tasted it, not my favorite!, more fish’n chips 🙂 , sticky toffee pudding – you have to have this!, and the most amazing chocolate chip cookie with chai tea at a little coffee shop called The Hungry Gull in Staffin on the Isle of Skye – look at that beautiful plate!

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing a bit of our bucket list trip to Scotland! I’ve wanted to go for a very long time and it certainly did not disappoint! It’s beautiful, the people are friendly, we had some amazing food, and the history of the country is just incredible. If you ever get a chance to go, I think you will love it as much as I do.

Anita

Posted in Travel | Tagged Travel | 6 Comments

Little Crochet Christmas Gift Bag

Posted on July 18, 2023 by Anita

Hi friends,

It’s Christmas in July at Creatingme! We all need gift bags when it’s time to wrap up all the Christmas things. This Little Crochet Christmas Gift Bag is perfect for small gifts or gift cards along with some yummy chocolates!

I used Yarn Bee Soft & Sleek Yarn with an H/5mm crochet hook to stitch up my gift bags. The lining of the gift bag is a small canvas bag – no sewing required! – that I picked up at Hobby Lobby. (I also found this assortment of colors here that are similar if you want something other than white.) The Lobster Clasp Keychain I used for the tassel is similar to this.

The little bag is hot glued to the crocheted piece along the top edge. I like these Surebonder fabric hot glue sticks for glueing them together, although regular hot glue would work, too. I also have this Surebonder glue gun that I use only with the fabric glue sticks to it separate from my regular glue gun.

I’ve included the pattern below along with a link to a free PDF if you’d like to easily print it.

Little Crochet Christmas Gift Bag

Worsted Weight Yarn – I used Yarn Bee Soft & Sleek Yarn in Red and Green Apple

H/5mm crochet hook

Little Canvas Tote Bag (measures about 6 inches wide by 5 inches tall plus handle) I found mine at Hobby Lobby

Optional: Lobster Clasp Keychain (similar to this)

Stitches used in US terms:

Chain – ch

Half Double Crochet – hdc

Slip Stitch – ss

Back Loop Only – blo

Third Loop – you can find a tutorial for crocheting in the third loop here.

Chain 22.

Round 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch across to the last ch. Work 3 sc in last ch. Turn your work to work on the other side of your ch. sc in each ch to the last stitch. Work 3 sc in last stitch. Join with ss to first sc. (45 stitches)

Rounds 2-4: ch 1. hdc in same stitch as ss and in each stitch around. Join with ss to first hdc. (45 stitches)

Rounds 5-6: ch 1. Working in blo, hdc in same stitch as ss and in each stitch around. Join with ss to first hdc. (45 stitches)

Rounds 7-11: ch 1. Working in blo, sc in same stitch as ss and in each stitch around. Join with ss to first sc. (45 stitches)

Rounds 12-13: ch 1. Working in blo, hdc in same stitch as ss and in each stitch around. Join with ss to first hdc. (45 stitches)

Rounds 14-15: ch 1. Working in third loop, hdc in same stitch as ss and in each stitch around. Join with ss to first hdc. (45 stitches)

Round 16: ch 1. Working in third loop, sc in same stitch as ss and in each stitch around. Join with ss to first sc. (45 stitches)

Fasten off and weave in ends.

Slip little canvas tote into crocheted piece and hot glue around the top edge to secure.

To make optional tassel key ring :

Cut a piece of cardboard about 3-inches wide. Using 1 strand of each color yarn (or 2 strands of one color), wrap the yarn around the cardboard piece to desired thickness.

Cut one end of the yarn and slip the key ring onto the strands of yarn. Using a strand of yarn, tie tightly around all of the strands close to the key ring. Trim the tassel to desired length. Attach key chain to handle of tote.

Here’s the link to the free PDF…

Little Crochet Christmas Gift Bag

These Little Crochet Christmas Gift Bags work up quickly and are fun to make. You could tie some festive ribbon around the handle instead of the tassel. Be sure to add a handmade tag to your gift bag! And of course they can be made in any color. 🙂

Anita

Posted in Christmas, Crochet, Gifts | Tagged Christmas, Crochet, Gifts | Leave a comment

Merry Christmas – July 2023 Christmas Card

Posted on July 14, 2023 by Anita

Hi friends,

Christmas in July continues with the July 2023 Christmas card. 🎄 You can find my other Christmas card creations I’ve made so far this year in these posts – January, February, March, April, May, and June.

I used the sketch from Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Challenge #35 for the layout of this month’s card. I pulled out one of my really old Christmas stamps from Inkadinkdo and stamped it with red ink on white card stock. (This stamp would be fun on this layout.) I attached a strip of green patterned paper to the end and then used a corner rounder punch on 2 of the corners.

I used a poinsettia embossing folder (this is a similar folder) on a piece of green card stock and attached it to a red card. Then I attached the stamped piece to the card and added 3 red gems to finish it off. You can also use patterned paper in place of the embossed card stock.

This is such a simple layout, but it inspired me to pull out an older stamp and embossing folder that I haven’t used in a long time. So fun! What supplies will you use to make your July Christmas cards? 🎄

Anita

Posted in Cards, Christmas, Stamping | Tagged Cards, Christmas, Stamping | 4 Comments

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

Posted on July 12, 2023 by Anita

Hi friends,

We were out doing some shopping and my husband said “Oatmeal cranberry cookies sound good”. I told him I thought we had everything we needed to make them at home – we did…and you might, too!

Here’s the recipe I used. Keep reading below for a couple of hints and variations on this yummy treat. 😋

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

2 cups lightly packed brown sugar

1 cup melted butter, slightly cooled

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups oatmeal

2 cups dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat brown sugar, melted butter, and eggs together thoroughly. Combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to first mixture, mix well. Mix in oatmeal and cranberries. Drop by tablespoons on a greased cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.

I love using these Silicone Baking Mats on my cookie sheets – no need to grease your cookie sheet! This small cookie scoop is the perfect size for scooping your dough onto the cookie sheet.

If you want chewier cookies, use margarine instead of butter – I prefer them with margarine but I didn’t have any on hand. 🤷🏼‍♀️ To make White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies, add a 12 ounce bag of white chocolate chips to the dough.

For Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, omit the dried cranberries and add a 12 ounce bag of chocolate chips. I’ve also added 1 cup of raisins along with my chocolate chips for Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. And of course you can make Classic Oatmeal Raisin Cookies by adding 2 cups of raisins to your cookie dough and omit the chocolate chips. Add your favorite nuts to any of the variations.

So many options to choose from!! 😋 Which is your favorite? I think White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies would be great around Christmas time. 🎄

Anita

Posted in Recipes | Tagged Recipe | 3 Comments

Crochet Christmas Potholders

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Anita

Hi friends,

This is one of those crochet patterns that has been around forever, but it is so easy and practical that I think it will still be here for a long time to come! It’s great for beginners and seasoned crocheters. It’s also one of those mindless patterns with no counting of stitches or color changes. Sometimes we just need that! 😉

You’ll want to use your favorite 100% cotton yarn to make these potholders so they can stand up to the heat – acrylic yarn will melt! 😱 I used I Love This Cotton Yarn in Monkey Red with an H/5mm crochet hook to stitch up my Christmas Potholders.

To make your potholder, chain 42. Single Crochet in the 2nd chain from hook and in each chain across.

After the last Single Crochet, turn your work so you will be working on the other side of the beginning chain.

Single Crochet in the other loop of each beginning chain across to your first Single Crochet. DO NOT JOIN to the first Single Crochet, but begin working Single Crochet stitches in rounds.

Single Crochet in the next Single Crochet and continue to work one Single Crochet in each stitch around. Do not join at the end of rounds, just keep working a Single Crochet in each stitch. Your piece will look like the picture below. (This is after several rounds)

If you open your piece up and fold in the corners, this is what it will look like. You’ll continue to Single Crochet in each stitch around until those 2 sides come together like in the next picture.

You can stop there and sew the edges together or add a hanging loop like I did. To add the loop, lay your piece flat like in the picture below. Stop crocheting in the middle of one side as shown below. Chain 12 and slip stitch back to the last Single Crochet on your piece. Then Single Crochet in each of the 12 chains you just made. Slip stitch back to the main piece. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing edges together.

Using your long tail, whipstitch the edges of your potholder together. Your hanging loop will be in the corner of your potholder.

Here’s how they look all finished! These are such great potholders – double thick and durable. And they can also be used to protect your counter or table from hot dishes. My finished potholders measure about 7 inches by 7.5 inches.

Pair a couple of Crochet Christmas Potholders with your favorite cookie mix in a jar or some fun kitchen utensils for great Christmas gift! 🎁

Anita

Posted in Christmas, Crochet, Gifts | Tagged Christmas, Crochet, Gifts | 1 Comment

Candy Scoop Christmas Ornaments

Posted on July 7, 2023 by Anita

Hi friends,

It’s time for Christmas in July! 🎄 Yes, it’s hot out there but we all know how fast the year is going to go and if you want to create some Christmas gifts, crafts, or decor now is the time to start! 😊

I found these mini aluminum ice scoops at Hobby Lobby on clearance. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them, but they were so cute! 🤷🏼‍♀️ They measure about 4.25 inches from the tip of the handle to the end of the scoop. I started looking through my craft stash and found the little Christmas candies, candy canes, and gingerbread men that I got at the after Christmas sale at Hobby Lobby. Do you do that?? Shop the clearance sales for craft supplies? If not, you should!! You can find some great deals – just don’t forget what you bought! 😉

These are some similar scoops. They are a little bigger and actually plastic, but I think they would work great. My Hobby Lobby has already started putting out some of their Christmas stock, especially in the craft area, so start looking for the little candy pieces for your ornaments.

These Candy Scoop Christmas Ornaments are super easy to make. I used E6000 clear adhesive to glue the mini candy pieces to the scoop. To make it easier, I squeezed a small amount of adhesive onto wax paper and used a toothpick to apply it to the individual candy pieces. The little candy canes had a loop on the top, so before I glued them to my scoop I snipped it off using my Button Shank Remover Tool.

I tied a ribbon bow around the handle of the scoop and a length of twine (see photo below), then tied the ends of the twine together in a knot to make a hanger.

These little candy scoops would also be so cute on your tiered tray – just leave off the twine hanger.

Candy Scoop Christmas Ornaments would be a cute addition to a plate of homemade sweet treats for a fun neighbor or friend gift. Don’t forget to Pin this post to your Christmas board for later!

Anita

Posted in Christmas, Decor | Tagged Christmas, Decor | 4 Comments

Happy 4th of July! 🇺🇸

Posted on July 4, 2023 by Anita

Hi friends,

Happy Independence Day to all of my friends in the USA! 🇺🇸 I hope you have some time to celebrate with family and friends! 🧨🧨

You can find details for my patriotic tiered tray decor in these posts…Chunky Polka Dot Wood Stars, Americana Wood Blocks, Mini Patriotic Rolling Pins, and Mini Pallet Flag.

Be safe and enjoy your day! 🇺🇸🧨🇺🇸🧨

Anita

Posted in Decor, Summer | Tagged Decor, Summer | 2 Comments

Summer Dipped Oreos

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Anita

Hi friends,

I shared these fun Summer Dipped Oreos a few years ago and wanted to share them again…Just in time for the 4th of July weekend!

Do you need a fun dessert to take to your Summer BBQ, family reunion, or picnic? These easy to make Summer Dipped Oreos may be just the thing!

All you need are vanilla candy melts in red, white, and blue, some sprinkles, and, of course, Oreos. 🙂 I got my candy melts at Hobby Lobby in the cake/candy decorating section and the sprinkles were in the 4th of July section. Most craft or cake decorating stores will carry the supplies you’ll need – except the Oreos…you’ll have to go to the grocery store for those. 😉

Line a rimmed baking sheet or two with wax paper – this will make cleanup easier especially if you use the sprinkles. Melt the candy melts in the microwave according to the package directions. Dip the Oreos one at a time into the melted candy. Remove with a fork and place directly onto the wax paper. Drizzle a different color of melted candy over the cookies and add the sprinkles. Be sure to do this before the candy has cooled or the sprinkles won’t stick! Let sit for a while until the candy has cooled and set.

And here they are!! A fun addition to any Summer gathering…