I made this

Classy Valentines for Kids

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Last weekend at the grocery store I zipped down the “seasonal”aisle because for some reason it’s across from the cheese aisle (Mr. SuzerSpace is a firm believer that you can never have enough cheese). And I was kind of surprised to see the boxes of Valentine cards kids give out at school. Seems like just yesterday the aisle was full of Christmas candy, and then it was the sad remnants of the clearance holiday gift basket (although I did score a neat set of mugs and hot chocolate for $3.00 that week, so that was awesome!).

But the thing is, I wasn’t surprised they were there. It’s the beginning of February and it’s time for the store to update that aisle. What surprised me is how little they’ve changed since I was in school. Same box, same sentiments, same cartoon/candy characters. And seriously, it’s been a minute since I was a kid, carefully addressing envelopes with everyone’s name, hoping that I’d get a few back in return in my carefully crafted Kleenex-box-turned-Valentine’s-Mailbox on my desk.

I should have realized that the standard store offerings weren’t that great, because year after year at my day job, a loyal crew of the moms turn to me, their resident pre-press tech, to turn their Pinterest dreams into reality by making them swoon-worthy cards for their kids. They don’t want the same-old cards that everyone has. But calling on a graphic designer to produce your cards is not an option for everyone.

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The T-Shirt Sleeve Hem

The short story on too long t-shirt arms is that a quick t-shirt sleeve hem is all you need to make a cast-off item wearable again | suzerspace.com

I’ve been a pretty small sized person my whole life. That’s not a humble brag, it’s just the truth. I’ve topped at at just a little over 5’2″, and I have a slim build, and that means I know the wonders of hemming pants.

But you know what never occurred to me? All those ill fitting shirts I own? I can fix those, too. Just by changing the t-shirt sleeve hem.

To be really honest, this is started of those procraftinating projects. You know, where you are supposed to be doing something real and serious, and somehow your mind wanders and you find something much more fun to do instead.

In this case, I was supposed to be purging my closet of things I don’t wear. This wasn’t some New Year’s resolution to be more Marie Kondo style. No – it’s more like I live in a house built in 1950, and shelves and closet space are at a premium.

So I came across my shelf of long sleeve T-shirts, the ones I never wear. I’ve tried to get rid of them before, but some hold memories in their artwork, and yes, I know you can make pillows or quilts with them, but I didn’t. So I decided this was going to be the year I let go, and I put them in the donation box.

Aaaaaaand then I pulled one out and tried it on. And the lightbulb went off. The reason why I don’t wear it is because it has those cuffed sleeves, and because the sleeves are way too long, the cuff causes the arm to pouf out and I look and feel ridiculous.

The short story on too long t-shirt arms is that a quick t-shirt sleeve hem is all you need to make a cast-off item wearable again | suzerspace.com

What if I hemmed the sleeves? Is a t-shirt sleeve hem a thing?

Turns out it’s thing. Click here to read more

Painted Monster Rocks

Turn rocks into fun monsters with just a little paint and a lot of imagination | suzerspace.com

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy here.

Welcome to the third Tuesday of the month (What? How is that possible?), which means it is Pinterest Challenge Blog Hop Time hosted by My Pinterventures.

The purpose of the Pinterest Challenge is to motivate all the participants of this hop (and you too) to not just pin, but to make it happen!

Sometimes I like to work on really intricate crafts with lots of pieces, measuring and patience. And other times, I really just want to do something that looks to be really easy and fun.

Enter this month’s pin –

I’ve had it on my board for a while, with a bunch of other painted rock pins.

Side story – Mr. SuzerSpace and I like to walk to a neighborhood grocery store on Saturday mornings. The route takes us past some of those Little Free Libraries and a super cute little stand that is called “The Art Tree” which operates on the take-a-penny leave-a-penny principle in that you are supposed to leave an object of art if you make one, and take one when you need one.

Conveniently, the stand is near a schoolyard full of rocks.

I think you can guess where this is going.

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Happy Snowman Door Hanger

A Happy Snowman Door Hanger comes to life with a little paint and cardboard | SuzerSpace

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy here.

If you haven’t noticed, I have a thing for door decorations. Pick your season or holiday – I bet I have a sign for it. In fact, I have made so many signs and door hangers that I need to come up with some sort of system for displaying and storing them off season, but that will need to be a subject for a different post (mostly because right now I don’t have a good solution).

After I took the Christmas wreath off the front door, I realized that I had an opportunity for a new look, and my thoughts turned to a happy snowman.

Like most of my door hangers, this one is crafted from lightweight cardboard, which I like to use for two reasons – it’s really, really inexpensive (for me, it’s free because I get it from the recycling bin at work) and because it is so light, hanging it isn’t a big deal.

Click here to keep crafting!

Hello January 2019!

Start 2019 off with a free printable calendar that folds up to fit under your monitor | suzerspace

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy here.

The beginning of a new year is historically that point where you reflect on last year and make your resolutions/intentions for the next.

For me, it’s also the anniversary of starting this blog.

First up, a quick wrap up of December activities –

  • The Apple Watches remain a big hit. I had a Fitbit for more than 3 years, and I really liked it, but the watch has more fitness features and partly because I think they are better, and partly because it’s new, it’s been a great motivator for the winter season. I’ve added a LOT of activity to my day in an effort to close my green and pink rings, and my overall health is benefitting from it.
  • I completed my Yay Every Day Tracker. If you didn’t grab one last year, it’s available as a free printable download from this post. The concept is write down one thing every day that made you say “Yay!” which is about as much journaling as I can commit to. I must say it was fun this past weekend to look back over all my entries, and there are a good many of them that involve what I had for dinner, but it worked. I can remember a lot of the good things that happened in 2018 this way.
  • I’ve done something big and scary. I’ve launched an Etsy shop which so far has a few cutting files for Silhouette or Cricut cutting machines, but I have plans to add cards, notepads and a few other craft items. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but I kept putting it off trying to get it perfect before I shared it. I thought it would be harder than it was (isn’t it always?) and once I had that going I keep moving and set up accounts with two sites that will let me offer my artwork on a whole host of products.

So, big plans for January?

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