This year, I decided to participate in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk for Breast Cancer in Detroit. The walk isn’t until August, but that means I have to spend the next several months raising upwards of $2,300 for the cause. I have several plans for this, but I think this one is really cool.

A friend of my grandma’s wanted to help out, so she donated this beautiful quilt to be raffled off to raise some extra money. The quilt is 86″ x 72″ (a.k.a. too big for me to lay it out anywhere in my house to take a proper picture). It’s got a holiday-like theme on one side – holly leaves and lots of red and green but no Santa Clause or elves or anything else outright Christmassy. And the other side is a very neutral bird fabric.

One raffle ticket costs $1 or you can get 6 for $5. If you’re interested in entering this raffle, leave a comment here with your email address or simply send me an email at wattlebirddesigns [at] gmail [dot] com. You can also make a donation to my fund here.

Christmas is over, so now it’s time to put away all your holiday craft supplies and let them collect dust for the next 11 months, right? Wrong. There are still a few post-holiday craft projects that can make the transition from festive December to gloomy January a little bit easier on your family.

This is a great project that my mom had us do when we were younger to help us look forward to next year’s festivities instead of mourning the loss of this year’s. It’s so simple – all you need is an empty Mason jar, some construction paper, fabric scraps, and a ribbon.

Cut the construction paper into small pieces, and have your kids write down some of their favorite Christmas memories. You can put everyone’s memories into the same jar, or give each kid his or her own jar to open next December. It’s so funny to go back years later to see what you used to like about Christmas, not to mention your sloppy handwriting and spelling errors.

Then just fold up each memory and put them into the jar. Put your fabric scrap over the cover of the jar and use the ribbon to tie it in place.

Next year, you’ll have a new festive set of decorations and some great memories to look back on with your family.

If you’re not familiar with the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, go here and read all about it. Then enjoy all these tree-top versions of the Flying Spaghetti Monster that Pastafarians everywhere have posted on the internet.

Photo: The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Photo: The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Photo: The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

I know the holidays are over, but I think these tree toppers are hilarious, and it’s definitely something to think about for next year.

This week finally started making some desserts for the holidays. For future reference, I always refer to all dessert-making as “baking” even if there is no actual baking involved, which is often the case. Case in point: these rice krispies treats.

You’re probably familiar with the very simple procedure involved in making traditional rice krispies treats.

In a large pot, add one stick of butter, let it melt, and add a bag of marshmallows. Stir. Then add your rice krispies.

But it’s the holidays! You need to do something special with your treats instead of just throwing the mix into a pan and letting it cool in the fridge. So here’s a good way to add some interest.

Take a small handful of the mix and roll it into a ball and place onto wax paper on a cookie sheet. Then get some sprinkles, chocolate, or whatever you want to use to decorate. My mom and I used red, green and white sprinkles in celebration of the season.

It’s easy as that! Now just put your snazzy holiday treats into the fridge and let them cool like normal.

I’ll be posting a lot of holiday “baking” entries this week, so keep checking back!

Did I mention that I love it when people crochet the most ridiculous things? This definitely falls into that category. In honor of Thanksgiving, why not make yourself (or a loved one) this extremely elaborate and large hat that looks like a turkey is sitting on your head?

Photo: Angelicacatrina

My favorite part is the feet that tie under your chin, because I think the hat might fall over if those weren’t there.

I’m always amused by the random things people find to crochet. This purse is a perfect example of that. Who thought, “hey I think I want my bag to be shaped like a Thanksgiving turkey?” Well, whoever you are, I’m glad you thought of this, because it amuses me.

Photo: Ellenbloom

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and forget about Thanksgiving!

I feel Thanksgiving has been diminished to just a feeding frenzy before the Black Friday Shopping Extravaganza and Christmas has evolved from a holiDAY to a two month long season.  Don’t let your kids get caught up in the Christmas excitement too early and forget about giving thanks for the wonderful things in their lives!  Don’t get me wrong… I’ve had my Christmas tree up and decorated since November 8th!

But here are some kid friendly crafts I found on Kaboose that will keep the Thanksgiving spirit present in your house!

(click on each picture for step-by-step instructions)

Paper Cornucopia

Tree of Thanks

TeePee Centerpieces

Thankful Garland of Leaves

Turkey Gloves

This project from 2008 comes to us from Craftster user ragstorichesart. She used balls of yarn and mixed them with holiday ornaments to create this work of art that can serve as the perfect door ornament for any crafter during the Christmas season.

As a knitter, I think these are some of the cutest wreaths I have ever seen, and I’d absolutely love to have this hanging in my house for the holidays.

Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a traditional Mexican holiday celebrated on November 1 and 2. The purpose is to celebrate and remember loved ones who have passed away. If you aren’t familiar with Day of the Dead, there is a very unique style that goes along with the holiday.

I found some really great Day of the Dead inspired art on Etsy, so I thought I should share some of them with you.

Skull Garland by RawBoneStudio

Tote by Lalunedesigns

Necklace by Jenuinearticles

Every Halloween party needs some spooky treats. I’m trying to find some good recipes to try, and I found some really great works of art.

Photo: Yeah, That "Vegan" Shit

These bloody finger cookies are 100% vegan friendly.  Click the photo to view the full recipe.

Photo: Dabbled

I know your Halloween guests will probably get enough candy, so why not include something that’s at least remotely healthy? These eyeballs are made of veggies and mozzarella!

Photo: Roots and Wings Co.

And no Halloween party would be complete without some kind of dry ice beverage. I like this dry ice root beer recipe from Roots and Wings Co. Can’t go wrong with root beer!