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I was deluged with readers’ urgent cries for crafty help the month of December. I sincerely hope I got them all answered in time and that the holiday presents and other projects got finished successfully.

For example, there was Lynsey who, along with her DH, was just completing a total remodeling of their basement. With relatives due to arrive in a week, followed by a string of planned celebrations, they still had to finish the bar top.

Further, they wanted to decoupage a few family photos onto the top. If you’ve read my article on Commercial Finishes for Bar Tops, you know that this is not usually a job that can be done in a week.

My first reaction was “Yikes!”, but then I came up with some ideas. Maybe with the holiday whirl now behind us, Lynsey will write and let me know how it turned out. I’m really curious.

Despite those last minute cries, I managed to complete and blog about six new Christmas ornament ideas of my own. My DH hasn’t had time to put them up on The Artful Crafter yet, but that’s okay because I know you’re not very interested in Christmas ornament ideas now that we’ve flipped the calendar page to January 2009 ;-)

I pulled together a project that I worked on all year (little by little) and completed cookbooks for the couples in my gourmet dinner group just in time for our December gathering. Phew!

My big news of the month was having a project I submitted published as the December Project of the Month on Scor-it.com.

Again, since we’ve flipped the calendar to January, it’s no longer the Project of the Month, but you can still find it in the Scor-it Imagination Gallery – along with a gazillion other beautiful and inspiring paper craft ideas.

Finally, from December 20 to 25th, I took my blog readers on a virtual tour of my personal holiday wonderland – our home at Christmas time.

So, am I exhausted after the holidays? You betcha! But my guess is that you are too. Crafters are do-ers and they’re most content when they’re do-ing. So let’s keep do-ing what we’ve been do-ing and have a

Happy Crafty New Year!

Eileen

What’s New on The Artful Crafter this Month

I had some help from my Christmas Elf Shaaron the past few months. Look at the pretty ornaments she designed for us. You might want to file these ideas away for next year.

• Beaded Icicle Ornament

• Iridescent Ornament

• Ribbon Christmas Ornament

• Silver Poinsettia Christmas Ornament

• Snowflake Christmas Ornament

For anyone who has purchased my very popular Panadière Pattern (fabric bread basket), here are some variations you can use:

• How to Adjust the Pattern Size; and

• Some Alternatives for Interlining to give the panadière body.

Logo on Glass - How to put a logo – or any image – on glass.

Toy Squeakers and Sound Chips – Think of the clever things you could make with squeakers or custom made sound chips inside.

Join the Artful Crafter Community

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Also rate our site and leave your comments. We'd love to hear your ideas and suggestions.

Reader Letter of the Month: Helping Crafters to Be

Hi there!

I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your digest and all of your ideas! I know it's hard work to gather all this info and yours is the best. I've used tons of your ideas and have passed as many on to others. Thanks for your hard work and creativity!

Hope you have a blessed holiday!

Cathy

= = =

Hi Cathy,

Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know. You made my day!

Some Thoughts on the Economy

Although a good portion of The Artful Crafter is devoted to the craft business, I don't usually mention it in the newsletters. If you visit the For Profit section of the website, you will find a primer on starting and running any small business.

The reason I mention this is the horrible economic news we're all facing. Now more than ever, you should look into creating multiple sources of income to shelter you when the ecomony is bad.

There are many good reasons for a home business besides the income it can generate. It is also possible to shelter other earnings and it can provide tax benefits.

For me and my husband, running websites have allowed us to remain retired with a modicum of comfort in spite of the ups and mainly downs in our investments over the last ten years. It is not something that will make you rich overnight - it is something that if done properly will allow you to sleep at night and not have to worry so much about layoffs and recessions.

In any event, the hosting company we use, Sitesell, is having a two for one sale through January 5th. It usually costs $299 a year to buy your hosting and all the tools that come with it. So you can go in with a friend and each have a web site of your own or keep two for yourself - you have a year to get the sites started.

I can recommend Sitesell's services wholehardedly. I had absolutely no experience with web sites when I started The Artful Crafter in August 2004. However, by following the step by step instructions in the extensive manual that is supplied I was able to develop a site that is now in the top one percent of all sites on the internet in terms of visitors and exposure.

If you are interested, click this link to find out all about the program and how it might work for you.