I just can’t believe fall is almost here already! The weather was even “fallish” this last week here in Ohio. I had to break out my sweatshirts and jeans, ugh! It did get me in the mood to start some fall crafts and projects, and it looks like others are in the mood too from this weeks crafty links. Check out these fun links for a little football, beading, Christmas, and candles. There’s something for everyone! I hope you enjoy checking out all the ideas as much as I did!

1. Matchbox Christmas Ornament- The first Christmas ornament of the season is finished… June shares the instructions to create your own “winter matchbox shrine” ornament.
2. Soup and Football Scrapbooking- Cherie documents her favorite team’s road to the “Soup-er Bowl”.
3. Lampwork Glass Turtle Necklace- Cyndi figures out how to showcase a wonderful lampwork glass pendant and shares the steps with you!
4. Easy Candle Decoration- Step by step how to make an easy diy candle decoration in a jiffy.

Enjoy!

My mom, dad, my sisters and I spent Mother’s Day weekend in Shipshewana, Indiana. I always enjoy my time there, especially when it’s with my family. We always have a few regular places we always go. Jo Jo’s Pretzels in the Davis Mercantile building in the center of town tops the list! I love their soft pretzels, my favorite is the cinnamon pretzel! I can make an exception to my no white flour rule for those pretzels. Sometimes it’s just worth it.

We also usually head upstairs so the kids can ride the carousel.

While we’re on the top floor we also check out the scrapbook shop (at least I do), and the toy shop before we head out to our other favorites. I always find a ton of great scrapbook papers, and ideas in that little shop. I photographed some of the ideas they had hanging on the walls for inspiration later. My favorite was the LEGO pages, so I got some of those sheets to make my own for my son’s photos. He’s a big LEGO fan, and I have several photos of his creations to scrapbook.

We checked out some of the other stores in the downtown before we headed out to the bulk food store, then to Yoders. I always love checking out what they have there, and the shoes are spectacular!

We had fairly good weather for our Mother’s Day trip this year, with temperatures in the sixties and sun in the morning. We did have some rain showers in the afternoon, but nothing major.

It just added to the spring beauty of these spring tulips.

Loved the tulips above in the wagon! Our tulips at home are almost done for the year, so it was fun to see the splash of color.

Overall it was a wonderful weekend spent with family! How was your Mother’s Day?

Is it snowing where you live? It seems to be snowing in most of the US right now, except maybe Hawaii!

I’m wayyy behind posting the craft roundup this week! I completely forgot to get it together this weekend!

Here are some warm craft ideas for a cold winter’s day.

Bead Embroidery~ Here’s an idea for bead embroidery that bead weavers will absolutely love!

Earring Craft~ Eileen made some lovely earrings from a kit by Tammy Powley and dubbed it “A Kit that Delivers”.

Everyday Paper Dolls Scrapbook Ideas ~Check out these ideas for using the Paper Dolls Cricut cartridge.

Honest Doc … A humorous story with painting and wool.

Happy New Year! I hope your new year is starting as well as ours has. It’s been a little warmer here the last few days, and sunny. I love the sunshine! I miss it during the winter. I’m sure it won’t last, since it is January in Ohio… But I can dream!

I have just a few links to share with you this week. I hope you enjoy checking them out as much as I did!

Beading Arts
Cyndi has finished her last Bead Journal Project piece for the year. Yay!!

Eileen – The Artful Crafter
See the digital scrapbooking paean to “Home” which Eileen created in response to Creative Dreamer June’s December creativity prompt. If you haven’t participated yet, please check it out and join June in the creative fun.

Elephant Cupcake Topper
This fun little elephant shows you that fondant is just like fun play dough for grown ups.

This weekend I have some really great links to share with you. You get to see what kind of yummy fun food crafters can create. There’s also some gift ideas scrapbookers can make, and some do it yourself wedding ideas if you know someone getting married in the near future.

Happy reading, and enjoy! I know I sure did!

• The Artful Crafter answers your questions, do companies offer free craft products to the general public for testing?
• It’s strawberry season! Creative Dreamer has a yummy version of strawberry tiramisu…check it out!
• Beading Arts shares a quick little tutorial on how to create a barnacle texture with seed beads!
• Tottie Talks Crafts has a contest to win a yummy book 60 Quick Knits is just wonderful, and, you can win a copy of it! Just leave a comment for a chance to win!
• Looking for some Scrapbooking Gift Ideas for mom for Mother’s Day? Love scrapbooking? Here are some homemade gift ideas to make using scrapbook supplies and techniques.
• Know someone who’s getting married? It’s wedding season, so to celebrate Chloe is writing a series of articles on creating your own special DIY wedding!
• Step by step instructions and photos for making a cross cake for a First Communion, Easter, or Baptism.

Have a great weekend!

It’s been a beautiful Ohio spring weekend here. Things always seem to start to get hectic this time of  the year. Just when you want to slow down and enjoy the sunshine! This weekend was crazy busy, so I’m just getting the Artsy Blogger roundup done. It’s technically still the weekend until midnight, right?

Our fruit trees are blooming and looking fabulous! Here’s a quick shot of a few of the blooms on one of the apple trees.

Spring is a wonderful time for new beginnings, and cleaning out the old so you can have in with the new. I have some fun links to share with you this weekend and many of them do just that. From candied violets, to fishing cupcakes, and organizing your scrapbook stickers, there are tons of fun weekend reading links for you to check out for spring ideas.

Mirrors and Poetry ~ Cherie uses lines from her poetry to create one-of-a-kind mirrors.

Knitting Video Tutorials ~ This week, Noreen made 3 new video tutorials showing different techniques for spool knitting with 2 pegs – great for jewelry making and lots of other things, too!

Fabulous Floral Necklace ~Cyndi has just finished up a floral necklace that features fabric!

Envelope Books ~How to make an envelope book for little treasures or clutter.

Make Candied Violets ~ Violets are everywhere! Let’s sugar some for sweet goodie decorations!

Organizing Scrapbooking Stickers ~ Follow along with Katelyn as she organizes her art studio, starting with scrapbooking stickers.

Easy Dog Bandannas ~ How to make bandannas for your favorite fur kid.

Gone Fishing Cupcakes ~ Super quick and easy. Perfect for dad on Father’s Day.

It’s been sunny and in the 70′s here all week. It’s been such a wonderful week to have my son home on spring break. We’ve gotten outside and had some fun every day.

My daffodils are in full bloom, and looking fabulous.

This weekend’s links are all about celebrating spring, so I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I have.

• Chloe has posted a tutorial on how to make your own stamped scrapbooking ribbons.
• The Artful Crafter read about some glass etching tips from master etcher Eric Robert.
• With spring springing up all over, Creative Dreamer shared her favorite cake recipe for spring. It goes PERFECTLY with fresh fruit…or, candied violets….
• Nostepinnes are an ancient way of winding flat, stackable, center pull balls of yarn. There is a knack to learning the skill of winding yarn on the nostie, and at Tottie Talks Crafts Noreen has made a video tutorial to show how it’s done.
• At Beading Arts Cyndi shares how she constructs her bead embroidered cuff bracelets for the Bead Journal Project.
• The Kid’s Fun Review has a cute sweet pea cupcake topper and a scrapbook page.
• Etsy find~ check out these Poetry Mirrors~ Painted mirrors, handcrafted, with lines from poems.

Have a wonderful Easter!