Out with the Old, In with the New...

As 2009 draws to a close and we enter into the New Year I wanted to take the time to write one last post. In this last year I have gotten rid of some old things, old habits and sadly even some old friends have been lost. The New Year brings the promise of new friends, new adventures, a new job, a new beginning. Old friends will bring new flavor into our lives as well as we continue to grow closer and support one another in our times of need and even in times of prosperity. So, here's to the new!

A few new things I want to do with my blog is have a different post each day showcasing different things such as eco-friendly crafts, eco-friendly businesses, eco-friendly blogs, and more. I would love to feature crafts from around the world and my new friends' blogs and Etsy shops. Write new articles and feature new tutorials using the new sewing machine I received for Christmas! I would also like to feature local events having to do with crafting and a special day for kids' crafts every week.

I hope that as 2009 draws to a close we can all remember the good times we had and go into this new year with a renewed sense of hope for a better and brighter future! I would like to thank my friends Tom Minter and Rich Taylor at Socks For Happy People for their continued inspiration toward making this world a happier place one pair of socks at a time; Megzy Tred for sharing her brilliant photographs and being such a great new friend; Olivia Wilder for having such a fun show and making us all feel like we're involved; Marianne Baird, Debra Cincioni and Blanca Raygoza for constant fun and encouragement (no one else grooves to Craig David like these ladies!); Laura Hillman of the Rockstar Group for the great business tips and the wonderful new #BizRes (Business Resolutions) for the New Year program on Twitter (you can follow them using: @Rockstar_Group); Lalia Helmer for the constant encouragement on this blog and for her great business posts on Business That Cares and to the countless others who have touched my heart this year and will continue to touch it in 2010.

Special shout out to Laura (@gr8kidsmom), Jennifer (@vitality4all6 and @ReedWhatMatters), Margaret (@MJ_Beauty), and all my other Twitter friends and followers! May this coming 2010 be the best year yet!

To my wonderful family, I love you all and am so grateful for all your support as I pursue my dreams. You are all my shining stars!

Happy New Year to all!

Love, Happiness, and Prosperity-

Nadia Marie

Happy Holidays!

Greetings to my fellow readers and bloggers! Christmas is just around the corner and I couldn't be more excited! I love the holidays because they are the best time to have fun crafting, making handmade gifts, great cards or wrapping those store-bought gifts with style! I have recently gotten into online shopping, particularly on Etsy.com. I love the handmade, vintage and funky items I have found there! Someday I hope to have a shop on Etsy but for now I am content to just shop and support the artisans out there! I recently received an e-mail from the {NewNew} with loads of great links I've been checking out and my newest fave is Funky Finds which I have actually added a button to on my blog, so do click and enjoy the Daily Finds and all the great Indie Shops they showcase!

Two of my favorite ways to spread holiday cheer are making cookies and making cards! I have done both of these things with my niece these last couple of weeks! Today I made a delicious banana bread if I do say so myself! Yum! I've been snapping many photos as well since I have a new little niece who arrived on December 7th (which is why I am where I am and not in the City). My two nieces are wonderful and I am so happy to be an Auntie! The day after Thanksgiving, Alyssa (my eldest niece) and I made Turkey Hand Cookies and they were very pretty! We got the recipe and idea from NickJr. It was fun and messy but best of all, Alyssa helped and that was great for her! We had tons of fun tracing her hands, rolling out the dough, cutting out the hands from the dough and then decorating them afterward with the funky neon colored icing we'd used!

Making cards with children is one of the best ways to let them express their creativity. Alyssa and I set out to make some funky cards with several different crafty papers and embellishments. I got a lot of the embellishments we've been using from the Dollar Tree, you'd be amazed what you can find for a dollar! I like to use different types of embellishments in my card making and often reuse things I have lying around or use the most unlikely embellishments. I found a couple of cute rolls of wrapping paper with winter wonderland scenes which I used for cut-outs, got a funky pom-pom garland as well as many other things such as foam letter stickers and the like! The card stock I got at Michael's which is really one of my favorite shops. Making cards really takes very little effort when you look around and see what you've got! A shiny gum-wrapper can be cut into Christmas ball shapes and added to a card with glitter and other such embellishments. Printed/stamped ribbon also works as a great embellishment. The key to a great Christmas card is your own personal touch! That's always the best thing!

For my next post I will do a card tutorial with more photos and links to some of my favorite crafting sites! I hope that you all enjoy this special holiday season and that the love of family and friends warms your hearts! Don't forget to be on the look out for Socks For Happy People's launch in February! 'Tis the season of giving and socks are a gift that keeps giving for this company as they have plans for Buy One Give One Free! Check out their blog posts for the latest news on my dear friends!

Happy Holidays!

XOXO- Nadia Marie