Happy New Year

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope this coming year is a good one for everybody. I have lots of plans for 2012, and I would like to see my plans put in to action. For example, I want to finish up some projects that have been sitting around for a while, and I plan on opening my Etsy shop sometime in January.

Also happening in 2012, my oldest, Alex, will be graduating from high school and beginning college, while my youngest, Tyler, will be finishing up middle school and starting high school. Both boys have some pretty big milestones this year! It's an exciting time for both of them.

Almost There...

I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping! One or two little things left to buy, mostly for my 17-year-old. I haven't wrapped anything yet though. I'll wait until I have everything and then wrap it all at once.

My mom will be here tomorrow! The boys have school through Thursday, and then have Friday off. The boys are very excited to have their Grandma here for Christmas! Since my dad lives with us, the boys get to have Christmas with both grandparents this year. We usually have a pretty quiet family Christmas, since the boys are usually busy playing with their new toys (hubby included).

Both doggies are at the vet today, Alex and I dropped them off this morning. Lilli and Copper both need a checkup and then they are getting groomed! I don't expect them to be happy about it, but at least they will look and smell good for Christmas. I'm going to try to get some pics of them before they get too messed up!

Harry Potter Swap

On Ravelry, there are many groups that do swaps. A swap is when you are given a partner, and you try to find out information about that person in order to put together a personalized swap package for them. The current swap that I'm taking part in is a Harry Potter themed swap, and it's been a lot of fun. I've had a great time getting to know my swap partner, Melissa, and stalking her on Ravelry trying to find out more information about her. So I put together a package that I hope she enjoys, and in turn, I received my swap package from Melissa earlier this week.
Wow! She is an amazing crafter and a generous swapper! Here's what I saw when I opened the box from Melissa:













Of course, I had a little help from Lillian. Everything was beautifully wrapped, except for a bag of my favorite chocolates, white chocolate truffles. I proceeded to slowly open the gifts, enjoying each one while oohing and aahing over the pretties.

Cute card!

Pretty project bag










ALL THE GOODIES! Some stationery, sock yarn, a magazine, pretty mug, some roving, a Christmas ornament, a project bag, and a couple of handmade items: a bracelet and a candle holder/picture frame.

First of all, the bracelet. It's in my favorite color combination of blue and silver. The charms signify the different magical schools in the Harry Potter books. Not only that, the charms are removable and can be used as stitch markers! How clever is that?








The next handmade item is a candle holder/picture frame combination. It's so pretty and sparkly! Again, in blue and silver, there's room for pictures of my family all around. I just love it! It's so unique.













I feel so lucky getting Melissa as a swap partner! I got to know a wonderful person, and got some great goodies! I hope Melissa enjoys her package as much as I enjoyed mine!