CRAFT SALE!

I am having a sale at my NEW etsy shop! Visit my Southern Bliss Etsy Store for some fantastic deals on all my destash items! Here are some of the items you can find there. Get em' while they're hot! http://www.southernbliss.etsy.com/

Seasons Greetings

Seasons Greetings! I finally had my camera on me to take pictures of some Christmas lights! I still have a lot to learn about this camera though. I am in the process of purchasing another lens for my new camera. The new lens would allow me close ups for better detail in my photos. I am in search of the 55mm-200mm VR. Anyone know where I can find this one new at a cheap price? I'm all ears~;o) So we went to the new Wesley Chapel Mall in Pasco County to see their Musical Christmas Lights display. I am really impressed with this new Mall! The best way for me to describe it: a mix between International Plaza Mall and Ellington Outlet. Why you may ask? Well it has many of the same shops that International Mall has (Macys, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, etc.) but the outdoor shopping atmosphere and structure is similar to Ellington. Fantastic Mall! If your in the vicinity check it out~;o) In other "Winter Cleaning" news, I decided to clear out old inventory this weekend to make room for some more storage cases for my studio. I want to be able to have a clear table for my much anticipated new friend! After much thought, I have decided to finally purchase a sewing machine! More details in 2009~;o) Stay tuned!

Christmas Baking

A busy day of baking, baking, baking! I just finished seven jars of homemade caramel sauce. Now I am getting ready to make a pineapple cake! Fortunately I have only had to go into work this week for about a couple of hours a day. This has really helped me to catch up on things. I am certainly looking forward to some down time though so that I can relax and enjoy stitching a few new sets of cookies~;o) And finally, I did decide to have a quiet grand opening of my new etsy store last night. Please stop in for a visit when you get a chance: http://southernbliss.etsy.com I hope you all are enjoying the Holidays! Until next time!

More Cookies!

I'm getting good at this~;o) Time to change these up a bit. Perhaps some scallops, hearts, and other lovely embellishments? We'll see~;o) Stay tuned!

A Midnight Snack~;o)

It is way past my bedtime and I should be sleeping but I just couldn't resist! The creativity juices are kickin in at high speed and I just had to share! Although I'm sure that pretty much the rest of the southeast is in a lovely little slumber right now. (insert giggle) I saw a cute little pink felt sprinkle cookie on etsy and thought about purchasing it. Then I remembered the oodles of felt I bought during the summer and a light bulb went on in my head. Why let it go to waste right?! For those of you shaking your heads at me right now please realize I'm half awake~;o) What a time to get inspired huh!? Happens to me all the time. So anyways I plan on adding these into the new shop too.....yes that would be the one that I still haven't added anything into yet. I will most likely open it sometime in January after the holidays, until then stay tuned!

Tampa Bay Brewing Company

I chose a Burger and Fries.....

I should have chosen Shepherds Pie.

( Practicing my amateur skills with Miss Lilac)

Snugglebear and I met up for dinner with My Brother (The Smiler) and his Wife (AJ) at Tampa Bay Brewing Company this evening. This was our small way of celebrating Christmas together~:o) Because it is so hard to try and visit everyone on Christmas day, we meet a couple of weeks sooner. This was also another great excuse for me to bring along my new slr digital and test my skills~;o) I am most pleased with the results. Snugglebear surprised me with a Camera Bag complete with a CD video on how to use my new Nikon! This video saved me the hassle and struggle of trying to figure out the directions in the manuel. I am a hands on learner when it comes to electronics people~;o) The video made my practice this evening easy as pie! The last picture shown I took yesterday evening and is a random one of Lilac, a.k.a. "The Pterodactyl." She is a feisty little Amazon Parrot in these parts, but to my surprise, she is quite "The Ham" in front of the camera.

My New Camera!

(Photo Courtesy of: Ken Rockwell)

I took this from across the street.

This camera even lets me get close ups of these little guys~;o)

I love this new camera!

I am so excited! My new camera finally came in the mail! As you can see I didn't waste anytime trying it out~;o) So I drove to Hyde Park this afternoon and decided to put my amateur skills to use~;o) I probably took about a total of around 40 pictures. As you can see I have alot more practicing that needs to be done! I am thinking about taking a couple of photography classes too, I need all the pointers I can get! In the mean time here are a couple of my first attempts with this new camera. Until next time darlings!

Retro Flourish Tags

Good evening Friends! Just checking in to say hello and also share my newest tags with you! I REALLY LOVE the way these turned out! They remind me of a kitschy kitchen~;o) These are great for scrapbooking and embellishing gifts with! I will be adding them to the Southern Bliss etsy store soon! Yes the same store I have been mentioning for the past two month but not listed anything in yet~;o) I miss working my old part-time hours *insert sigh* I am hoping to create and post some more fun color scheme layered tags soon! Stay tuned!

Chic and Chenille~;o)

Okay so now I am hooked on Chenille Pipe Cleaners! Aren't these chic little handmade {ornaments} just darling?!?! I had so much fun making them! The Candy Canes are so easy to make. Just take two 12 inch pipe cleaners and twist them together, then trim each end till the stick is about 9 inches and bend one side to a crook, and you have a sweet little candy cane! The Snow Flakes are a little bit more involved than the Candy Canes. Here are my instructions on how to make them:

1. Take three 12 inch white pipe cleaners and trim them all to about 6 1/2 inches.
2. Hold all three trimmed 6 1/2 inch pipe cleaners together and give them one to three good twists in the middle. (This will hold them together)
3. Now spread each stem apart.
4. Add 5 to 7 clear plastic beads on each stem. Be sure to curl each end with needle nose pliers or the tip of a pencil will work.
5. Add string or yarn to one of the snowflake tips by curling the tip of the pipe cleaner end around the string or yarn. Enjoy your snowflake ornament!

The Christmas Wreaths are the most time consuming ornaments to make so I will leave it for Martha to explain to you. To make them go here: Martha How to video These ornaments are so easy to make and are great for decorating the Christmas tree, gifts, and so much more.....enjoy!