New Blog Design, Blog Roll Revamped... and a Crafty Treat!

First the crafty treat! :)

I'm back to Christmas gifts. Here's a small gift that I made for the teenage daughter of my uncle's girlfriend. I had never met her before making this gift. The only information that I had about her was that she fawned over the advent calendar that I had made for my mom last Christmas and that she liked blue -- as in denim blue. :) How's that for lots of information?

So I sorted through my paper pile and picked out some colors that I thought fit the bill and got to work. Here's the desk set that I came up with for her.



The wooden "bag" was a blank wooden piece that I picked up at the local craft store. I thought it would make a cute pencil holder. I painted it first with acrylic paint and then traced pieces of patterned paper to fit the various sides, inside and out. Then I sanded the edges a bit and embellished it up!

I kept the embellishing kind of simple. I added a metal frame from my stash and backed it with some thin cork from the MFT store. I added a "KO" in brass letters (the girl's initials) and then added a funky bow that I created.



To make the bow, I started with a fabric strips flower that I had in my stash. I added a piece of old jeans on top of it (It's actually a belt tab) and then topped that with a copper brad from Stampin' Up. When I was done, I cut out a leaf shape from a coffee-shop cup holder and rubbed ink over it to highlight the pattern. I glued some scrap pieces of twine to it for an accent and then glued it to the back of the flower.

And here's a close-up of the clipboard in action.



The clipboard was really easy to make. I just covered a blank clipboard with patterned papers. I tried to make it not-too-cheesy, since she's a teenager, and I know they're picky. :) Once I was done covering the clipboard, I added another "KO" in wooden letters and tied on a twine bow.

In the end, I have no idea if she liked it. I was there when she opened it, and she seemed way more stoked for the $15 iTunes giftcard I popped in the top of the pencil holder. She's a teenager -- what can I really expect? :)

That's it for today, but before you go, a couple of quick announcements:

After a couple of years, I finally got around to updating my blogroll (which was *ridiculously* out-of-date). Hooray!

The new blog roll is broken up into categories:
Creative Crafting Blogs (just what it sounds like.)
Crafty Company Blogs (my favorite crafting companies' amazing blogs -- tons of inspiration here!)
Fantastic Food Blogs (my other love! Here you'll find lots of great recipes and ideas, both vegan and not even remotely vegan.)
Delightful Decor Blogs (home design and decor at its very best!)
Gorgeous Gardening Blogs (mostly veggie gardening, with a few other things thrown in)
Hilarious Humor Blogs (stuff that amuses me. Not always safe for work, so beware.)
Other Outstanding Blogs (other blogs that didn't quite fit anywhere else but that I couldn't bear to leave off the list)

This might seem like a lot of blogs, and if you think so, you should see my reader! In actuality, these are just the best of the best of the best. A tiny sampling of all my subscriptions!

In addition to the above, I'm also sharing my favorites from my reader each day. They're also in the sidebar (under the blogroll) and also separated by categories.
Beautiful Craftiness (crafty inspiration from all my subscriptions)
Healthy Vegan* (vegan recipes that *I* consider healthy.)
Vegan Treats* (more decadent, "in-moderation" vegan recipes)

*A note about the vegan blogs: In case you don't know, yes I am a vegan. :) Not a freak, not a complete weirdo, only partially a hippie -- I just happen to not eat meat, fish, poultry, dairy or eggs or buy products made from animals or animal by-products. Yes, that includes honey, chicken broth, and wool. :) I'm sharing these recipes just in case anyone's interested.

For the recipes, some of them are not completely vegan. In most cases, I have bookmarked these planning on using vegan substitutions for standard ingredients. Also, "healthy" means a lot of different things to different people. For the purposes of this link, it definitely does not mean low-fat or low calorie! In most cases, it means recipes low in sugar, wheat, soy, and processed junk and full of nutrients and vitamins. The vegan treats list includes a lot of dessert recipes but also many other recipes that just had too much sugar, wheat, soy and junk for me to add them to my diet on a regular basis. :) And if you think vegan food is gross, try a vegan cupcake. :) You won't be sorry.

Soooo.... with that out of the way, if you're bored and in search of good stuff, look no further. It's all over here! ---------------------------------------------------->

Do you have any favorite blogs that aren't in my list? If so, PLEASE do tell! :)

Enjoy your day!