Apple garland

I was up for a bit of crafting so I made a garland for fall.



Just the thing I needed for my apple themed mantelscape.

$145 worth of stars

I definitely go through my own little style trends. Lately it has been STARS. I got star tights, a star scarf and have been on the lookout for the perfect little star stud earrings.

Then I spied Mindy Kaling wearing these star sweatpants on her Instagram feed!

I'm not a big fan of sweats, but I do like these skinny ones... for wearing around the house.

Thanks to this handy dandy internet site - wornontv, you can figure out what clothes characters on tv are wearing. Then you can be depressed because those sweatpants are $145. $145! For sweatpants!

I decided to take matters into my own hands. I got a pair of skinny sweats at Target, some fabric paint and star stencils at Michaels and even splashed out and bought foam pouncers (because I love the name) to do the painting with.

Stenciling the stars was easy enough. Maybe because I invested in the pouncers.

So there are my star sweats for a fraction of the price! They don't look exactly like the original but I won't be venturing far from the house in them so that doesn't matter.

The only thing I didn't consider was the foolishness of black sweats in a house with two pugs. They were covered with pug fur and I hadn't even worn them yet.

Handmade Christmas Gifts 2014

It's close enough to Christmas that I think I can show the handmade gifts for this year. My mom gave me a large piece of upcycled leather and we used it to make keychains for office mates, friends and family. Aaron cut the leather, dyed the inside, while I branded and riveted them together. I thought they were cute little gifts and was blown away by how much people loved them.

When my sister told me she wanted a Thankful Jar like I made and posted on my blog, I realized they might make nice gifts. I hope to see these full of good things for my friends and family by next year.

I made two custom gifts too. Our friend Charlie just got a Miata and we made him a diaorama featuring one. It's harder to find a toy Miata than you would think.

I also made my friend Liz a diorama featuring a black lab that looks like hers. It is also harder than you would think to find a small toy black lab! They both turned out really cute though.

Secret Santa dog biscut wreath - nailed it

What do you do when you draw the Secret Santa name of a guy that has two dogs and loves to hike? You make a dog biscuit wreath...

And find the most perfect book to go with it! Surpreme Secret Santa Success this year.

UPDATE: Secret Santa Success!

Verona Street Animal Services Holiday Craft Sale & Janda Made Wreaths

On the 12th I'll have Janda Made goodies at a Verona Street Animal Services craft sale that benefits the Rochester Animal Services shelter. Tina will be there with her Sweet & Cute sweets too.

I spent Thanksgiving working on wreaths for the craft sale. I call this one Golden Berries.

This is called Holly.

And there is a matching wreath called Jolly.

This is an extra large wreath. It is 20 inches across. This one is called Heavy Metal.

I'm hoping to make a few more before the show.

Test tube advent calendar

A couple years ago I made us a simple advent calendar with envelopes. I wanted to do it again, but wanted something special. I spent a good bit of time looking at advent calendars on pinterest.

I was cleaning the craft room when I happened upon a bag of test tubes I was saving for Halloween but had a different idea instead. I turned them into an advent calendar!

Each tube has a bit of washi tape and ribbon for decoration. Then I cut out the numbers 1 to 25 on vinyl adhesive with my cricut. Each tube has a slip of patterned paper with the treat for the day written inside.

I think they turned out really cute, but I wasn't happy with my display. I tried putting them in all sorts of containers like this fishbowl but wasn't quite right.

Then Aaron surprised me with this! He made a wood holder for our test tube advent calendar! It's perfect!

Thankful Jar

I saw a really great idea on Facebook for making a Thankful Jar. The idea is to start the year with an empty jar and fill it with a slip of paper when good things happen. Then on New Years you empty the jar and read all the things you have to be thankful for. I figured it could be a New Years tradition or Thanksgiving. I was pretty excited about starting our own so I made the jar now.

I found some more Thankful Jar ideas on Pinterest. The pins for these jars are: I am thankful for | Be thankful | Always be thankful | Start each day with a thankful heart | Give thanks | Give thanks

Glitter wishbones

I saved the wishbones from the last two Thanksgivings with the intention of doing something crafty with them. I painted them metallic and added some glitter. It was pretty clear they needed more glitter.

I don't think "enough glitter" is a thing but I think these will do for now.

Birds be on the lookout - new gourd birdhouses

Tina (of Sweet & Cute) and I are attending Rochester Mini Maker Faire this Saturday to sell our creations. I have been working on a new line of Janda Made gourd birdhouses.

I finally figured out just the right tool to use on my wood burner to get a nice line on the gourds.

I have also been experimenting with dyes rather than paint. I think they are more natural looking which is good for attacting birds.

I also made this little guy. He is small enought to fit in the palm of my hand. I call him "Scope Creep" because I made him when I should have been working on the birdhouses.

I will also have Janda Made mason jar birdfeeders for sale.

And I made a new batch of Janda Made silverware plant markers. Looking forward to Maker Faire!

North Winton Village Festival of the Arts

Storychick (Aprille), Sweet & Cute (Tina) and JandaMade (me) banded together and peddled our wares at the North Winton Village Festival of the Arts today.

The JandaMade spread.

I had a new batch of mason jar bird feeders to sell.

I tried some new covers using melamine bowls instead of pot lids.

Also with slightly different bottoms.

I have a skillset that makes me especially suited to making mason jar bird feeders. My hand fits inside the jars.

Sweet & Cute goodies such as coffee syrup and pumpkin spice sugar cubes.

The day turned out to be unseasonably cold and rainy but Aaron saved our butts by bringing us a propane heater. There were a few moments of sunshine here and there.

Long enough for me to dart out and get a selfie with a patrol horse.

It was a tough day for selling with the weather but I still had fun hanging out with my peeps!

Sewing afternoon

I have discovered that there are practically no short sleeved, button up shirts for women. So I got a long sleeved one at Target and made it short sleeved myself. While I had the sewing machine out I worked on some other projects...

... like this room divider curtain.

It was so big I had to sew on the floor. This brought the critics around. Look at his face... "This is crooked. Move over and let me do it. Shameful."

This project didn't require any sewing. I made one of Aaron's shirt into a beach cover-up.

I found an excellent use for the sleeves I trimmed off. Nailed it.

Quickie craft - cable holder

This is my first and favorite Starbucks card. I kept it because I like the scooter in it. Today I found an alternative use for it as an iPhone charger cable holder.

Jandamade: Mendon Spring Festival Craft Sale

Today Tina and I had a craft table at the Mendon Spring Festival. We had a pretty nice spread of Jandamade and Sweet & Cute products.

Really I just love an opportunity to hang out with this gal all day.

Aaron and I did crank out some new products this year. This is a bird feeder made of upcycled items... glass jar & pot lid.

I etched designs onto each jar. More on that later. I think they turned out really cute!

I also made mini-gourd air plant holders. Note the neon paint. I'm going through a neon phase. A holdover from the eighties.