New Year...New Projects...New Possibilities...

It seems like the older I get, the faster the years go by. I think it's because I pretty much hit the ground running each morning and before I know it, the day is done, it's time for bed and on to the next day. So it's no surprise that, kitchen calendar notwithstanding, the new year is upon me and I'm faced with looking ahead at new projects and new possibilities.

First things first, I've updated the look of my blog ~ it was time for a change and one of the things I really want to do this year is open an online store so this was kind of in preparation for that and I'm thinking of changing the name of my blog which is driving me crazy because it has to be just right you know?

I'm excited though! Excited about working on all the projects swirling around in my head, about finally listening to ~ and doing something about ~ the many dear family and friends who've encouraged me to sell my work. Excited about making a space for myself and discovering more about Annalea this year; of letting go...letting in...going deeper. And sometimes, for me, it's easier to do that when I've got a new little pretty to wear.

Hello jewelry and fabric stash. Hello Pinterest inspiration. Hello new necklace!






I had the chain, the fabric, the burlap (don't toss those scraps yet) and the cool button. I actually stitched the chain to the back of the fabric flower which I sandwiched together by sewing the button on first. Each circle is two layers with the one on top being slightly smaller than the one underneath. The last circle was put on with fabri-tac after I attached the chain to hide the stitches and give it a clean look. A toggle clasp in the back finishes it off.



Love love love it! Quick to make, pretty to look at and the perfect "just because" gift for a friend.

Starbucks Love

If you know me then you know that I'm a Starbucks junkie so I was super excited to see this craft come up over on the Echos of Laughter blog and I had to try it. I'm not going to put up a tutorial for this because if you've ever scrapbooked you can totally do this and besides, there's a bit of a tutorial over on the E.O.L. blog. I'll just give you a pictorial of what I did. The only difference is that I used a vente cup (large) instead of a tall (small) and I didn't add photos as I decided to turn mine into a little book of holiday cookie recipes. Really, you could put whatever you wanted in it ~ breaking down a Christmas poem or story on each page would be cute too ~ but what better to go with a cup of coffee or tea then a delicious cookie!

This would make a great gift along with a Starbucks gift card or any one from any coffee house or the favorite of the gift recipient as you could do this with a cup from Pete's, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, It's A Grind, etc.














This would be a terrific holiday gift for your child's teacher!

Clothespin Couture

I'm always looking for fun ways to dress things up whether it's the top of a package, a note card or even the front of my refrigerator. Enter once again, the humble little clothespin. You can paint them, draw on them, cover them with glitter or your favorite scrapbook papers. Even embellish them with beads, ribbon (3/8" ribbon is the perfect width), buttons, brads and fabric flowers.




I first saw these over at One Pretty Thing, one of my fav sites to get inspired by, and thought I'd give them a try. I went by this tutorial and this one though there are several out there that are equally good. Once you get it down, it goes pretty quick and I will also just say that once I figured out the measurements (which I pretty much just eyeballed), I used my paper cutter instead of an exacto blade because it goes much quicker ~ trust me on this ~ and is just as clean on the edges.

Have fun with them! Get crazy! Put some magnets on the backs of some of them. You'll be surprised at how many you can make in just a couple of hours and they're great as stocking stuffers, bundled up and given to teachers, even used as 'To:/From:' tags on Christmas gifts.

From Blank to Beautiful

I love love love when I find a blog or web site with great ideas and great tutorials. Lulu's Tiles has a great idea using a canvas and stamps to make some quick wall or table art - it's her Luck of the Irish tutorial and you should totally check it out.

Since I had some canvases that I've had for years (literally) I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to use them. However, you'll notice that mine came out quite different than her original idea but it was a good jumping off point for me and, as often happens in the world of crafts, things just sort of morphed from there. Here's what i did:

Two 8"x8" blank canvases
Assorted acrylic paints
Assorted foam stamps
Foam brushes
Valspar clear gloss (spray)



Here's my canvas. The original tutorial used 8"x10" though you could use any size ~ 8"x8" just happened to be what I had on hand.

Then I gave it some color...



Then some more color...


Then I used my foam stamps to put the letters and filigree shapes on. This is as close as I got to the original tutorial and I still didn't measure - just eyeballed it. Also, I misspelled imagine on purpose as this particular canvas was for my friend Angela ~ i'm angie ~ and there's a story that goes with it.


I finished it off with 2 coats (drying time in between) of the Valspar clear gloss spray to protect and shine it up a bit. The "joy" canvas was what came after ~ I ended up giving it to my cousin for her birthday that same night as I used all her favorite colors.

Blank canvases can be prettied up so easily. Give it a try and have some fun!

Altered Composition Book

Making an altered composition book to give as a gift to those who love to journal, doodle or jot down a quick note is a fun, quick and extremely creative way to get your craft on. It's relatively inexpensive and can be heavily embellished or streamline and simple. The one pictured above is my most recent endeavor which I'm really excited to give to a dear friend of mine and I know she's going to love it!

The basic supplies are really simple to gather and if you don't already have them, you can get hooked up at your favorite craft store (hello Michael's!). You'll just need a composition book (totally stock up on these at Target during 'Back To School' sales - you can usually pick up two for $.99 which is a great bargain) and 4 sheets of coordinating scrapbook paper. You can use the 8.5x11 size sheets but I prefer the 12x12 because you have extra to use in embellishing. I used Mod Podge as my glue though you can use whatever you have on hand - just make sure it dries clear and give a strong bond.


Determine which papers you want to use where, measure the height and width of your book and make your cuts. It's pretty important to be exact here so don't assume that measurements for each front/back/inside covers will be the same and don't 'eyeball' it or you'll either come up short and be able to see the cover of the book or you'll find yourself doing a lot of trimming.

I use a corner cutter on one side of my paper to match up with the corners of the comp book. If you're going to embellish your pages with anything that will go through your paper or need to be taken around to the back of it (like brads or ribbon), it's best to do this before you adhere your paper to the book - you'll have a cleaner and smoother look to your finished product. Before adhering would also be the time to ink the edges of your paper if you're wanting to do that as well.

I've seen some of these notebooks where only the front and back outside covers have been altered which I really dislike. Your book will look so much better if you alter the inside covers as well plus doing so gives you more space to play! Get creative! Add ribbon, brads, initials, poetry...you can really do so much!


Inside front cover...



Inside back cover...



Back cover...



You can really personalize this for the one you're giving it to - and don't forget those cute mini composition books too! They're great to use for all of the left over scraps you have from your larger book and they make perfect stocking stuffers too!