1/22/21
Chinese New Year Ribbon Dragon Craft
1/21/21
Mystery Hike, in the Album
1/20/21
"I Think You Are TREE-mendous!" Valentine
I'm not normally all that into puns, but there's something about Valentine's Day and puns that go hand-in-hand. This "tree-mendous" valentine is cute and easy to make, plus you can fit a lot of candy or other small gifts into the tree trunk. Affiliate links below.
"I Think You Are TREE-Mendous!" Valentine
Materials:
Steps:
1/19/21
Winter Mint Warm Milk
Winter Mint Warm Milk
Materials:
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1/18/21
Paper Plate King Cake
Paper Plate King Cake
Materials:
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1/15/21
It's Raining Hearts for Valentine's Day
January is the rainiest month of the year here in northern California. It's all relative, of course; we have far more sunny days than rainy ones, even in January. It was raining while I was punching hearts for a Valentine's Day idea I had, which led to this:
It's Raining Hearts for Valentine's Day
Materials:
- cardstock or construction paper
- heart punches
- microtip scissors
- adhesive
Steps:
1/14/21
Healthy Snackers
1/13/21
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Puzzle Piece Peace Wreath
Puzzle Piece Peace Wreath
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1/12/21
Money Gift Idea: A Rainbow of Hidden Gift Cards
I have another money gift idea for you. Instead of cash, this one uses gift cards. Five, to be exact. Do you see them?
1/11/21
Virtual Backgrounds for Creativation
1/8/21
Lime Cheesecake Parfait and PicMonkey Pro

Lime Cheesecake Parfait
Ingredients:
- 1 c. heavy cream
- 3/4 c. powdered sugar, divided
- 1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese
- 2 limes, zested and juiced
- 1 sleeve of graham crackers, crushed
Steps:
1/7/21
Covid Halloween
1/6/21
Praline Syrup
Remember the Advent wreath directed drawing that I taught to the members of my church as part of our special fellowship during Advent? One of the other Advent Fellowship activities was a wonderful session called Gifts from the Kitchen, led by fellow congregant Diane. She demonstrated a handful of recipes that make great gifts. This was over Zoom, but even in that format I could tell that everything smelled and tasted amazing. I couldn't wait to try her recipes, particularly the one for Praline Syrup.
Praline Syrup
Ingredients:
- 1 c. pecan pieces
- 2 c. light corn syrup
- 1/2 c. water
- 1/3 c. dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/5/21
The Grinch Hidden Money Gift
This is the money gift I sent my nephew, Timothy, for Christmas 2020.
1/4/21
One Little Word 2021
As always, this year's One Little Word doesn't replace my previous words. I'll continue to embrace Balance, Celebrate, Try, Enjoy, Relax, Share, Connect, Believe, Reach, and Focus. My tags hang together in the craft room. There are seven on the first string.
1/1/21
Creative Resolutions 2021
It's time for me to look back at my 2020 creative resolutions and set new goals for 2021. March-December didn't go as expected (to say the least), so I'm pleasantly surprised that I was able to meet as many goals as I did.
- I made 61 scrapbook layouts in 2020. I did a great job scratching older items off my need-to-scrap list.
- I tried a bunch of new-to-me art techniques and media. Many were at Creativation, but I've played around with some new things since then too.
- I took an in-person painting class at Creativation and have done a few online classes since.
- I hosted 10 Zoom craft days for my crafty BFF's. The pandemic allowed us to get together (virtually) way more often than we normally meet in person and it's been awesome.
- I taught about the Diamond Art Freestyle Program via Facebook Live in April and led an Advent directed drawing over Zoom in November for the members of my church.
- We had to cancel three planned visits to art museums due to COVID. We did visit one museum this year for a bunny-themed, socially-distanced outdoor exhibit. It was awesome, but it was a museum I'd visited before. I poked around a few art museums' online galleries, but didn't do full-scale tours of three new-to-me museums. I'm jealous of the penguins who got to visit an art museum we enjoyed last year.
- I'm not sure how many cards I made during 2020, but it probably falls a little short of 25. Also, I didn't make any with the intention of experimentation I'd intended with this goal.
- Library Roulette, at least the way I want to play it, is dependent on visiting the library. Even when our libraries reopened (with limited services, by appointment only) after closing at the start of the pandemic, I am not comfortable going there. (As a side note, I've become obsessed with the library's digital offerings and read almost twice as many books in 2020 as in 2019, despite already being a prolific reader.)