JJCre8tions - Blog Space

Ground Hog's Day almost over... 12/22/2011

The week before Christmas break in a public high school is very similar to the movie Groundhog Day... each day is a struggle for everyone because we all are looking forward to the time off. It's very much needed this year!

As the first half of the school year winds down, I like to sit down and make a list of resolutions for the remainder of the year. I make one right before the school year starts, but lose steam somewhere in October when a thousand new things are thrown at us! So, my goal tomorrow before I leave for the day is to write down my list and leave it in my drawer so when I return, I can read them and continue on with the year!

A little side note... 12/20/2011

I'm painting with my advanced art students this week and have been stressing the importance of practicing their techniques... I guess I was having a "do as I say, not as I do" moment. I realized that I had not painted for my own enjoyment in a month! This is HUGE for me... I painted every night before I had my son and have been trying to make time for it again because it's a part of me that I enjoy. So.... I finished a project that I had mapped out originally a few months back, and only finished halfway! Here was the first piece:

Here is the latest one...

I would post the picture of them hanging side by side over my bed, but it's definitely not picture ready at the moment! I will snap a shot tomorrow in a pre-nap state!

On a side not, I cannot believe that Santa comes in just a few short days! I cannot wait to celebrate Christmas morning with my son! Happy Hanukah to all those celebrating!

An exciting weekend ends... 12/11/2011

I have a love/hate relationship with the weekends. I obviously look forward to spending time with family and friends on my few days off, but I also feel that if I don't accomplish at least one thing on my never ending "to do" list, that I'm a failure at life. So what did I do?

My mother and sister "started" my Christmas village collection for me when I was engaged. I say "started" because they got me so many pieces, that most people think it took me years to collect them all. In reality, it took only like 3 holidays. I have the Department 56 Dickens Village... and LOVE it!!!
I decided that this may be the last year for a while that my son's playing will allow me to showcase it. He's not really playing in this area yet and can't climb up to it. I didn't go crazy with buffalo snow either because I'm picturing dusting... So here it is... well less than half of it! Let's hope that I find a bigger and safe home for it again next year!

I started painting the master bathroom. We have GRAND plans for this room down the road. Those plans are not a priority, but a new paint job was. I used to be 12 year old boy blue... now it's a slate blue. I have to paint another coat on the walls, then off to the trim, which will be stark white. I have an idea for the vanity, but I'm not in love with it, so it may just stay as is for the time being.

I know that may not look like a ton of work, but considering it all happens after 8pm, I'm proud of my accomplishments! =)

I also sat and wrote a realistic "To Do" list that I MUST accomplish by New Years Eve. I figured this was a great way of ending on year and starting the next with less stress! We'll give anything a try once right?! SO.... here it is...

1. Dom's Bathroom
-Paint walls
-Sink medicine cabinets into walls
-Replace shower curtain
-Somehow address the vanity

2. Kitchen
-Paint to match dining room (want rooms to flow into each other)
-Sand down and refinish wood strips on doors
-Finish curtain project

I think these are totally accomplishable in 3 weeks!

So you want to make some homemade decorations... 12/06/2011

Since my last postings, I have gotten questions about some of the handmade items both on my tree and in my home. I took progress pictures of the stocking project and am happy to share them...

First I scoured the internet... mostly Pinterest and found some candidate stockings. I decided on the shaped and sketched it out on large drawing paper, then cut it out. I have many random size pieces of canvas floating around my home, so I found a few pieces that fit my pattern and traced it 6 times. Remember, if you want the stockings to be "stuffable," you need 2 pieces to make one stocking.

After all of the tracing happened, there was the tedious task of cutting each piece out. This was one of the longest parts of this project.

After the cutting came my next favorite part... the sewing. I began working with a needle and thread to MANY MANY MANY episodes of Golden Girls. I gave up after the first stocking and switched over to my sewing machine.

Next was the fun part... decorating the feet!!! I choose to use craft acrylic paint in "Lipstick Red." Craft acrylic moves a bit easier and was something I had left over from a project I had finished a few months ago. Each stocking got 2 coats on the front and back sides.

***If you will be stuffing these with toys and goodies, you may want to paint the top insode portion as well.

Next I decided to steer away from the inspirational stockings and work with snowflakes. I had a few wooden ones laying around from a past life and decided that they could be used as stamps. This not only made the process move quicker, but added some unique texture to the

I then repurposed some mossy green ribbon that I got in a gift wrapping kit. I was not interested in anymore sewing at this point... you can see my cheat in the picture. The glue gun worked just fine to attach my detailed ribbon.

My last freebie was more of the wooden snowflakes. I had a few different sizes and decided to paint them in white acrylic paint and glue. I wanted a personalized touch to the stockings. I initially wanted our names on them, since my husband has an uncommon name that we can never find in a store. He opted for his to say "Daddy" instead. I hand wrote, "Mommy," "Daddy," and "Dominic" on each snowflake and glued them as well as the loop to hang them from on the corner.

And there you have it... our mantle. The decor other than the stockings is not complete yet. It takes me a while to settle into decorating on work nights.

On an inspirational note, check out Lisa Frost on Facebook to see her mantle. It's really whimsical and fun!

Christmas Extravaganza 2011 12/04/2011

I have been a busy little elf around here for a few weeks now. Last year I dreamed about my tree, this year other little decor items! One example is my designer inspired stockings...

No, the mantle is not done quite yet, but the stockings are. The best part about that little project was that it was FREE!!! My favorite kind! I will give more detailed instructions in another posting...

Another time consuming (and FREE) project was my wreath....

And finally... the tree (which I think needs more balls) I think since I will be home tomorrow, I will have to tweak it a bit more.

I have a few more things up my sleeve to finish everything off. They are also FREE... can you see a common thread? I will post those as they finish up as well. I am also excited to FINALLY put out my Christmas Village! I have it hermetically sealed in boxes and am thinking it's still too high for Dominic to reach... but not for long!

Funny Fundraising Note to Leave You On...

Spreading Christmas Cheer... 11/22/2011

I am so happy that I decided to clean out part of the office closet. I found treasure... my scrap pieces of canvas and fabric! I mentioned before that I was looking to make our Christmas stockings this year on a friendly and humble budget... JACKPOT!!!

I had bee scouring the internet for inspiration, when I saw these at Horchow for $98 each...

I love the shape and light hearted design of them... but I don't love them $98! Cue the found material and crazy nap time full of sketching!
Here's a glimpse of what happened:

These are not finished yet... I am hoping to be ready for the final reveal on Friday. I have also raided my crafting box for other materials that I can sew/add on to these stockings to help add some of the whimsy I liked so much in the originals!

Christmas thoughts 11/17/2011

I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is next week already! This school year is whizzing by! I have landmarks during the year, and most of them revolve around holidays! One example is that I ALWAYS have my students all painting by Christmas break... this is a slower moving process this year. I think we will get to it in January instead!

So what does Thanksgiving mean... other than Black Friday sales? It means the tree comes out!!! I LOVE decorating my house for the Christmas season! I'm a little nervous about having such an interactive toddler this year, but I think it will be great! My theme for the tree will remain similar to the penguin one I used last year. I am stuck on my mantel now though. We need new stockings and I'm not quite sure that its in the budget for this year... I have some random older material and intend to go to the fabric store to poke around there too... maybe I can whip something up! Has anyone made their own stockings in the past? If so, please share with the rest of us... I know you're out there reading... time to interact! =)

More places to find us... 11/17/2011

We are expanding the range of places where you can see the JJCre8tions line. You may now find us on both Google+ and Facebook under JJCre8tions. Please look for the pages, like them and pass the information along to your friends and family! The holidays are a perfect time to send someone you love a customized gift!

All over the place and back! 11/07/2011

I'm sitting in front of the computer with my second box of tissues for the day. I hate when the weather isn't sure if it wants to be hot or cold. Combine this with the 100s of different students I interact with and all of the germs they may carry and I'm sick! Ugh!

I have been very busy this week past. Halloween was a hit! I am not particularly fond of the holiday, but I loved it as a kid and want my son to see the magic of the holiday too. I think he had a good time!

It was very difficult to get a good picture of him.... I may have to "re-create" the holiday this weekend when there's less confusion!

Onto other things... I end every halloween with those plastic pumpkins that kids go trick or treating with. I don't know where they come from, but I usually throw them away. This year I had a brain wave. One of the things that I decided to do this year was to re-purpose some of the holiday decorations that I already own, instead of wasting money buying new ones! I will have the great unveiling of my pumpkin project later this week!

On a scholastic note, I am getting my things in order to try a Chihuly inspired project with my students. I want to focus on non-objective art and review color theory. I'm really excited to start this assignment with my class! I'm just hoping they get into the project... they haven't been very enthusiastic about anything for a few weeks now. I have to re-

A big thank you... 10/25/2011

As I said last night, I finally made the leap and created a fb page for the business that I have been working out for a few years now. I want to thank everyone for your support. The stats on this site are always high, but you really impressed me now!

I'm really looking forward to what may come! Please share the site with your family and friends that may be interested in my designs. I can customize just about anything!

On a totally separate note, I attended a workshop yesterday on CLeopatra and the female image in history... It was amazing! Exactly what I needed! I even got a free book! So excited for the follow up workshop next month! I'll post more info on the book after I get a bit further into it! Nite all!