candycane wreath

 

Wreath 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! 

As part of my student teaching, I taught in Germany on an American military base. I was in Europe from August to December of 2007. I had a great time and was so glad I got to experience all of the beer fests in the summer and fall (including Oktoberfest).

But one of my favorite experiences while living over there were the Christkindlmarkets, or Christmas markets, in every town. Little booths are set up all along the main streets. People browse for gifts while drinking gluhwein, a hot spiced wine, in little decorative mugs that commemorate the city and year.
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My sister came to visit me at the end of my stay and fell in love with these markets too. My both kept our mugs from my German hometown, Heidelberg, as part of our souvenirs and future Christmas decorations.

The next year, Emily and I were both living in Chicago, and she told me she had a surprise for me. We headed downtown, to Daley Plaza and were instantly transported back to Germany. 

Turns out, Chicago is home to the largest Christkindlmarket in the United States. It's been a lovely yearly tradition for my sister and I ever since.
This year marks our six annual Christkindlmart. After some trial and error, we finally figured out how to do it right. First, get your drinks at the warming tentand and stand over near there; it's much less crowded and the wait time on drinks is a lot shorter. Second, go early in the season to avoid the Christkindlmarket Fiasco of 2010, when we had to buy the commemorative mugs off of strangers because the market ran out of stock. (We NEEDED them for our collections.)

 This year, our friends Lindsay and Rico wanted to get in on the fun. So Jeremy and I got to go twice. Once with them, and once for my sister and my yearly pilgrimage.  

Sofia's 1st OFFICIAL visit. Last year, she was along for the ride in mama's belly.

And now onto my Christmas inspired craft. It's an easy one this time.

First, I bought a 10 inch wreath from Joann's. I wanted the 12 inch, but they were out. Any size will do.

Then, I wrapped it in white yarn. I used hot glue on the back to adhere it to the wreath.

 
 After this, I used red ribbon to make a candycane sort of look. I was thinking of making thin and thick stripes, but after some experimenting, I liked this look better. I just wrapped the red ribbon around and used more hot glue to make sure it stayed in place.

Next, I attached a green ribbon to hang the wreath with. I use straight pins to hold it in place.

I also wrapped a green ribbon around the bottom right side of the wreath and used pins to attach that.

I made a little green bow and pinned it onto my ribbon. I found this was easier than trying to tie a bow around the wreath.

And the finished product.

If I was to do it again (and I might), I would make the wreath red with white stripes. I think it would make more of a statement.

Off to do some more holiday crafting and "elfing".

Until next time, keep crafting.

SB

 

Snowflakes

Paper Snowflakes

I've always been attached to physical objects as memories. When I was little, I'd store rocks and birthday cards and random little items all over my room. It made "moving furniture around in your room" days quite a nightmare for everyone involved. In high school, I kept dried flowers and cheerleading memorabilia and photos everywhere in my room. Dusting got a bit complicated. 

Luckily, my parents gently guided me away from being a hoarder and our apartment is (relatively) free of clutter. One obvious exception is our refrigerator door. It always has (and always will) be cluttered with postcards, photographs, and clippings from newspapers and magazines. I add and remove items as new things come our way. It's a pretty good measure of what's going on in our lives and the lives of the ones we love.

Which brings me to what I've been thinking about lately.

Jeremy and I are old.

Not in the "27/28 are so old, what are we doing with our lives?" sort of way, but in the "we are married and our friends are actually TRYING to have babies" sort of way.

A few years ago, my fridge was adored with postcards from my sister from Thailand, concert tickets, and photobooth strips from the bar with my friends from last weekend. Even last year, there were wedding save the dates and thank yous and pictures of Jeremy's nieces and nephews. NOW, there all of those things are slowly being replaced by birth announcements and preschool pictures of friend's children. 

And then, on Friday night, I realized Jeremy and I are right there with them. We had some new friends over. The guy works with Jeremy and they are new to Chicago. They were nice and fun to talk with and 24 years old. Now, I didn't think anything of a 3 or 4 year age difference until they pulled out a handle of vodka and told us they like to do shots.

Then, I felt old. 

Jeremy has a difficult time with shots. By a difficult time, I mean that he takes one and can't remember the rest of the night. I'm not exaggerating. So, even though I have swore off shots, I took one. You know, to be a good host. 

From there, I realized that I was MARRIED. I talked about hosting Thanksgiving, my niece, our wedding and our dog. And I realized that 3 or 4 years ago, I was taking shots, exploring a new city, making new friends, and in a new relationship with Jeremy, and that all of things that make up my life today would have sounded so far off in the distant future. 

I'm so happy with where we are today. I love the consistency of being married. I love our little apartment and dog. And I love those little babies that keep popping up on our refrigerator door.

And, I also love the latest addition to the door.

A new photo booth strip from last weekend at the bar with my friend. Because, we are still kind of young, right?

Onto a quick craft I found on Pinterest. I've been busy "elf-ing" for Christmas and at work. BUT I wanted to start decorating for the holidays.

My craft is from a cute little website called vintagejunky.com. The website shows you how to make a cute little snowflakes. I cut out a bunch of snowflakes and made a little mobile. 

Since this wasn't my idea, I didn't show my steps. (take a look at the link for how to do this)

But, here's a couple looks at my finished project!

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB

Give Thanks Banner

Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I know it is all the rage to write one thing you are thankful for each day for the month of November. I decided to take a slightly different approach and include thirty things I am thankful for in my Thanksgiving post.

one. I am thankful for Jeremy. Everyday, in so many ways I am reminded of what a good man I am married to. I have been very busy with work lately, and Jeremy has picked up the slack, taking care of Mosby, going grocery shopping, and cooking meals. He's a keeper!

two. I am thankful that Jeremy and I can host Thanksgiving this year. Emily and Tony have to work today and Friday, so they can't head back to Michigan for the holiday. I'm glad my mom and dad can come into town, so we can all be together.

three. Jeremy (part two). While I was out celebrating making it through parent teacher conferences, professional development, and our upcoming five days off with some teacher friends last night, Jeremy was at home working on the beginning preparations for Thanksgiving dinner. Everything already looks wonderful and I appreciate all the effort he is making to make our dinner special.

four.  I am thankful that my dad's heel does not have to be operated on after his injury! Speedy healing is the best kind!

five. I am thankful for my dad and my relationship with my dad. I have learned so much from him over the years! He's such a smart, kind, funny man and I appreciate him instilling a great taste in music in me.

six. My mom! I find myself growing more like her as I get older, and can start to appreciate all she did for us while we were growing up and all she does for us now.

Cut a small triangle out of paper

seven. I'm thankful to be a Grossenbacher officially! Getting up early on my first day of Thanksgiving break to change my license was a wonderful use of my time!

eight. I'm thankful for my parent-in-laws. They have welcomed me into their family. I feel so lucky to have found such a wonderful man who has had these role models his whole life.

nine. I'm thankful for my sister. It's been amazing to watch what a wonderful mother she is and how much she loves her little girl.

ten. Speaking of her little girl, I'm thankful for Sofia. She is the much anticipated addition to our family. I'm especially thankful that Emily and Tony invited me to be a part of her birth. It's special to think that I've known and loved her since her very first breath.

eleven. I'm thankful for my other five nieces and nephews. I'm so thankful the little ones can't remember a time when I wasn't a part of their family and older ones have accepted me into their family. 

twelve. I'm thankful for my sisters and brothers in-law. I could ask for better people to be in my life than Tony, Michelle, Tim, Liz, and Geoff. I enjoy all of their company so much, and am always amazed at what great parents they all are.

use inexpensive felt

thirteen. I am thankful for my job. I am thankful that I have the chance to work with young people.

fourteen. I am thankful for my students. It's so fulfilling to watch them grow. And on the bad days, I'm thankful for them teaching me patience.

fifteen. I am thankful for my coworkers. There are days I wouldn't be able to force myself out of bed at 4:45 am if I didn't know that I got to go to work with these people.

sixteen. I'm thankful that I can attend my grandparent's anniversary party this weekend. Forty years of marriage is such a testament to their love.

seventeen. While I'm sad Jeremy won't be able to attend the anniversary party, I'm thankful that we have the means and flexible with work for him to be present at another special event. More details on the event to come.

eighteen. I am thankful for my aunts and uncles. My sister and I are so lucky to have grown up with the guidance and love of so many adults on both sides of our family.

Using even spacing, sew them onto a ribbon

nineteen. I'm thankful for my cousins. I only have six, but Kristen, Jill, Nathan, Allison, Kyle, and Jesse (and their significant others and children) have been the most fun to grow up with and hang out with now that we are all adults.

twenty. I'm thankful for Mosby. You didn't think I'd leave him out, did you? His mix of crazy energy and cuddliness makes him the exact dog I have always wanted.

twenty-one. I'm thankful for our little apartment. It's so nice to know that I'm coming home to a warm, comfortable place.

twenty-two. I'm thankful for friends that have become family. Haley and Maggie have been such wonderful friends to me and family for so long, I can't imagine life without them and their families anymore than I can imagine life without my "blood" family.

twenty-three. I am thankful for all of my other childhood and college friends. These friends are my memory keepers, reminding me of all the good times growing up and reminding me where I came from.

twenty-four. I am thankful for my Chicago friends. They are the people that have become my surrogate family, when I'm far(-ish) from mine.

Cut out letters in brown felt. I used

twenty-five. I'm thankful for Jeremy's hometown crew. They and their significant others have become such an important part of my life.

twenty-six. I'm thankful for my health and the health of those I love.

twenty-seven. I'm thankful for books. I've always been a reader and enjoy escaping into different stories.

twenty-eight.  I'm thankful for this break from work. It's much needed.

twenty-nine. I'm thankful for 2012. It's been a big, wonderful, overwhelming, beautiful year. My family grew through weddings and a baby and I'm so grateful for it all.

thirty. I'm thankful for this blog, which provides me a way and reason to express my creativity. I'm also thankful for you all and all your kind comments in person, through emails, texts, and comments. 

Until next time, keep crafting.

SB

Hand Warmers

Holding My Heart in the Palm of Your Hand

Happy Monday, everyone! This weekend was the perfect cure for my busy week. I had dinner and drinks with friends on Friday night and just relaxed all day Saturday. Due to my trying week, my cute little husband bought and scheduled me a massage yesterday. It was so wonderful and so sweet of him!

This weekend was so great because our "non-busy" weekends have been few and far between for the past six months. And now, we are gearing up for the holiday season! I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving in a few weeks. Jeremy and I are most likely hosting for my parents and sister's family (pending news of my dad's heel. He broke it while working around the house...OUCH!!!).

Our biggest task this weekend was watching our friend's dog, Fate. She lives downstairs, and her and Mosby are best buddies.

I was so busy relaxing, I didn't start on my project this week until yesterday evening. I started, then things went quickly downhill. My machine kept jamming. I kept swearing. Jeremy kept nervously glancing towards me. Mosby kept sleeping (in his defense, he was tuckered out from playing with Fate all weekend).

I decided to give up for the evening. It was a good decision.

I finished up our hand warmers today. They would have been nice for our chilly change of weather today, but we survived.

Here's what I did.

I started with some scrap fabric.

I folded the fabric in half, much like you would in elementary school to make a heart. I cut out four hearts (two for each hand warmer).

sorry for the blurry photo

Then, I sewed two hearts together, leaving just about a quarter inch of opening along one edge, near the tip of the heart. I didn't bother with sewing the "wrong sides" together and flipping the heart inside out so you couldn't see the seams. It would have been nearly impossible to flip such a small piece of material without leaving one side completely unsewn.

Next, I fashioned a little cone out of paper and a little masking tape. I poured rice into my cone. I then put the cone in the heart and filled it up! 

When each heart was filled, I hand sewed the opening. You COULD use your machine, however, a friend of mine accidentally broke a non-removable, thus non-replaceable, part of her machine when her needle ran over some dried food, while working on a similar project. She had to replace the whole sewing machine. I think hand sewing is a much safer choice.

Ta-da! There you have it! Pop these little babies into the microwave for 30 seconds before you leave in the morning and you have warm hands for your commute.

I made a pair for Jeremy and myself. We are public transit commuters, and I know these will come in "hand-y" (ha, get it??) this winter.

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB

Fall Skirt

Fall Skirt

Happy Daylight Savings, everyone! I love "fall back"! It's one of my favorite days of the year. Especially the Monday after "fall back". It feels great to sleep in that extra hour.

I decided to get back to my weekend posts now that life has slowed down a bit. Since I have posted on Wednesday, not too much has happened.

I met up with my good friend, Stefanie, on Friday. It was so nice to see her. We worked together for a little over two years. She just got a new job, and I'm still adjusting to not seeing her everyday. Needless to say, we spent a few hours catching up and talking about her new job.

Yesterday, I did something that I'm pretty proud of! I ran my first 5K! Now, I know that a 3 mile run isn't the same as running, say, a marathon, but I was pretty proud of myself none the less.

Every year, the Charter network I work for holds a "Race of the Dead" to honor Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). I have volunteered and walked the race in other years, but this year I decided to run it.

This race is really fun because they incorporate the race and the celebration with costumes, shrines, and traditional Mexican entertainment along the race route and at the finish.

Here's some pictures from the day.

This morning, I woke up inspired to do a little sewing for myself. I had bought this fabric a while back, but every time that I had a chance to sew, I found myself sewing fleece pants orders. Jeremy is a great salesman and has been getting orders from people at his work. I have also had some friends from work order. It's been keeping me happily busy.

Today, I had time to make a skirt for myself. I have been eyeing co-worker's fall maxi skirts. I decided that I really needed one and that they shouldn't be too difficult to make. I found some stretchy tan cotton fabric.

Then, I cut the fabric in half.

 I folded one piece in half, lengthwise. I measured half of my hips (the widest part of my bottom half). Then, I measured out a quarter of my hips from the fold. I cut at this measure for about 7 inches, then flared out and cut until I reached the bottom outer tip of the fabric. This is the front piece of the skirt.

I cut the other piece of fabric in half, halved the process above, and repeated the process. These are the back pieces of the skirt.

Then, I used a 5/8 seam to hem the bottoms. And I sewed the two back pieces together.

When I sewed the front to the back, I realized my measurements went horribly wrong somewhere (thus the very vague directions above). Luckily, my skirt was ridiculously big on me, instead of ridiculously small. This is a MUCH better problem to have.

So, after 2 rounds of seam ripping and tightening the hips and waist, my skirt fit. I folded under the top edge and sewed it down. This material is really clingy, so I didn't even need elastic, elastic thread, or a belt to hold it on myself.

I also ripped the seam up the back and finished it so there is a back slit for easier movement (didn't get a photo of this).

And here's a view of the finished product. (Don't mind the wrinkles. I had pre-washed the fabric, but it had sat for too long waiting to be worked with.)

Now I'm off to a relaxing day of football and food!

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB

Halloween Costume

Happy Halloween

Hi all! And Happy Halloween! I LOVE Halloween! I love the leaves on the ground, the decorations, the imagination, and the kids' excitement! Jeremy and I live on a very "neighborhood-y" type street. We get TONS of trick-or-treaters, and we both love passing out the candy each year. This year, we are making turkey pumpkin chili and looking forward to some Halloween fun!

To get in the Halloween mood, we have put up a few decorations. (Just so you Ludington folks know, the ghost and witch sign were both purchased at "Kmart North")

And we went on a little Halloween walk with Mosby the other evening. A lot of our neighbors love to decorate for Halloween. Notice the outrageously decorated house? You should see it at Christmas.

And yesterday, I brought Miss Sofia her Halloween gift. 

For my second knitting project, I made a little pumpkin hat for Sofia. I had a little help from my instructor (especially on the top), but I think it turned out SUPER CUTE!

My mom and I had already found the little outfit, and Emily had it on her when I stopped by. Adorable!

Of course, I decided that Mosby needed a costume wear while greeting the trick-or-treaters. 

 Last year, Mosby was a baby dinosaur. He was very ferocious. (Actually he was growing so quickly last year, the costume was too small for him by the time Halloween rolled around, and he was pretty miserable.)

This year, I decided to make Mosby a costume. Dog costume are kind of expensive, especially considering Mosby will probably only wear each one once, and after about a half hour, I feel bad for him and let him take it off.

For Mosby's costume, I wanted to play off his looks. He has a big white strip down the center of his head, much like.....

A DOUBLE STUFF OREO!

Yup, Mosby is an Oreo this year. 

Here's how I made it happen...

I bought a dog t-shirt from Target that was on sale.

Then, I used some scrap cardboard to make the bases for the two outside cookies. I used a bowl for perfect circles.

I used the bowl again to cut out slightly larger circles from an old t-shirt.

 

Next, I sewed the two "cookies" to a piece of white fabric (the filling).

 Then, I sewed one end of the filling to the collar of the dog shirt. I placed the cardboard on either side, snug to the black "cookies". I used some left over stuffing from my pillow project to stuff the cookie. Then, I hand sewed the rest of the cookie to the shirt.

I also had to put a piece of cardboard between the cookie and Mosby's back, to keep in nice and stable.

And here's the finished project. One Oreo!

Wishing you a SPOOK-tacular Halloween!

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB

A Fall Wedding

More Wedding Crafts

Hi Everyone!

We are back from my sister's wedding! It was wonderful! I feel so lucky to have been able to be a part of her and Tony's big day!

When I was up north two weeks ago, I had the chance to help out with some wedding crafts. My mom got REALLY crafty for Em's wedding. It turned out just GORGEOUS! (Much like my sister on her wedding day!).

We had just a GREAT time! I'll give you a little run down of the weekend, with some crafts thrown in!

So, we arrived on Friday. After the rehearsal, our Aunt Amy (with help from Aunt Cindy) hosted the rehearsal dinner. My sister and Tony invited all family members from both sides to celebrate at the dinner, so we had a packed house! It was fun catching up with all of our family and getting to know Tony's two sisters who came in from Australia and New Zeeland.

Our cousin, Jill, with Sofia! Jill and her sister, Kristen, were so AMAZING this weekend! They helped out Miss Sofia and even took her overnight both nights so Em and Tony could be rested!

It was so amazing to see them and their families all weekend! 

 And speaking of Kristen and Jill's families, Mosby made a friend in Jill's son, Parker. Parker was the first really little one who liked Mosby. I think that's more a testament to Parker's easy going nature than to Mosby's understanding of how to interact with one year olds.

   

And here's Tony with Sofia! Cute little outfit! 

Aunt Amy with Tony's sisters. Our family can be slightly overwhelming, but these ladies held their own!

 Here's our dad with his first born daughter.

 And first born granddaughter

Liza (the best ma'am) & me (the matron of honor)

The family of the hour!

And their beverages! (Bet you can't guess who each drink belongs to!)

SISTERS!

Emily got me a beautiful locket. We will put a picture of us at my wedding & a picture of us at her wedding inside. It is such a thoughtful gift; I just love it!

On Emily & Tony's wedding day (hooray!), we had lots of fun getting ready!

We woke up at the crack of dawn...

 ...Literally.

And we had fun getting ready.

And playing with Sofia.

On Wednesday, Emily texted me because she didn't have anything borrowed or blue. She asked if I could think of anything.

I decided to go for one last craft before the wedding.

Remember my wedding handkerchieves? 

I had made a special "I Do" hankie for myself. I decided that this would be something nice to borrow. But I wanted to add something blue to it.

 So on the opposite edge, I wrote in Jeremy and my initials and wedding date and Emily and Tony's initials and wedding date.

Then I embroidered them in blue. I thought it might be a nice family tradition to start. Someday, maybe Sofia will want to use the handkerchief when she gets married.

Anyways, we went to the ceremony and it went off without a hitch. Our childhood priest, Fr. Bill, married Emily and Tony. It was so wonderful to have someone who knows our family perform the ceremony. It made it feel very special.

After the ceremony, we went for pictures. 

We went to a park where the colors where just gorgeous!

Then I headed over to the reception to help my mom and dad set up.

When I was up north, I helped my mom gather little leaves for the escort cards. She had already done a lot of the gathering, and we looked for lots of different types of leaves.

Then, we glued the onto the escort cards.

 They turned out so cute!

While I was up north, my mom and I trying to figure out a cute place to put the gift cards that Emily and Tony were going to receive. 

We decided to get a HUGE pumpkin.

 

Paint a little plaque and letters.

 

And attached the plaque with ribbons. (There is plastic wrap inside the pumpkin so cards didn't get all "pumpkin-y".)

Emily, my mom, and the caterer, Carol, also design these beautiful centerpieces.

Didn't my dad to a great job carving all the pumpkins??

After the set-up, it was all fun! It was so fun to see all of Emily's friends!

Jeremy and I had a wonderful time dancing and chatting the night away. And of course, celebrating the beautiful couple.

Until next time, keep crafting.

SB