“Christmas already? Is she crazy?” Let me stop you right there and say that yes. Yes, I am a little crazy, ok? 🙂 But I absolutely have my reasons! Stick with me here. You’ll be glad you did!

I’m going to show you how 10 minutes of prep-time today will save you long countless nights creating crafty Christmas gifts running on borrowed time!

Christmas is my FAVORITE TIME of the year and I love love love it! Beautiful twinkling lights, cinnamon cookies, and everything has a bow!… I mean, what’s not to love?

I really love being able to shower all the people I love with handmade goodies and crafty gifts from the heart.

But those crafty gifts don’t just pop up overnight! *poof* done!

I don’t have a team of little elves who stitch up quilts and mend little fabric tears while I sleep each night. (To be honest, some laundry elves would be a whole lot more helpful…)

Unless you want to spend your Christmas holidays chained to your sewing machine finishing up just one more holiday gift…

YOU NEED A PLAN!

Those sweet works of art take TIME, quilter friends!

And THAT is why I am writing about Christmas when it is still 100+Degrees outside here in Texas.

I’ve created a few FREE printable sheets for you to download! YAY! This Crafty Christmas Planner is going to calm your overwhelm and help you have a strategic PLAN in place for your holiday gifts.

Why not just ‘wing it’?

A very good question… As I find that my biggest burst of inspiration comes on deadline day and suddenly I want to sew a quilt for a friend I’m having lunch with in less than 3 hours! I don’t make the rules, it’s just how it happens.

Those holidays where I don’t plan ahead are just plain crazy town. Seriously, we are joyful, but also just one step away from admittance into the looney house, right?

In contrast, I find that the holidays where I have prepped ahead of time and don’t try to just wing it… are the most successful holidays where I feel like I really get to enjoy the time with my family. – And that is, of course, my #1 goal. Peace & joy.

The crafty artist’s dream is being able to give a gift that will be loved and used over and over again. When the person sees it, they’ll be reminded of just how much you love them and cherish their existence in your life. ahhh… it’s the best, right?

You can tackle the holidays however you choose, but I urge you to try just one holiday season with at least a bit of a rough draft of a plan in your back pocket and see how it goes 🙂

Use my Crafty Christmas Planner and get a jumpstart on your gift plans for the holiday season this year! 🙂 Then, let me know what you think in the comments won’t you? I love creating and sharing my printables with you, but the more feedback I get, the more tailored I can make them to fit your life and your needs better.

Why wait for years and years to be a better quilter? What if I told you that you can start being a better quilter TODAY!?

Too often we get super busy with the day to day tasks of life that it can be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.

Sometimes, we can’t imagine being as good a quilter as (whoever you look up to) so we just kind mentally stay grounded in our current level of quilting and don’t move past it!

If you never try to be a better quilter, you won’t ever be.

…And that is just not ok!

I’m going to take a guess… but you’re over here reading a quilt blog when you could be doing any number of other things in this very moment. So, I think it is safe to say you love quilting -OR- you are just starting out and you WANT to love quilting. Am I right? 🙂

If you have been looking for how you can jumpstart your quilting progress… no matter what level you’re at, today is your day!

ARE YOU READY TO BE A BETTER QUILTER?

I made a 30-day challenge for you! (because I’m obsessed with smaller achievable goals that all work together to CRUSH an even bigger goal! Seriously, ask my husband. I’m a checklist making queen when the going gets tough around here.

I want you to be that last tiny little snowflake that starts the colossal snowball rolling down the mountainside! There is just no stopping you when you pick a goal and have a solid plan.

Ok, so what’s this challenge about?

Each day there is one small task to complete. I even put little checkboxes on each day so you can visually see your progress! *insert happy heart eyes*

I’ve really thought this through and come up with the smoothest road possible for you.

NONE of the day’s tasks is hard or overwhelming… You can totally do this!

And the best part?

Every single item on the list will contribute your end goal… HOW TO BE A BETTER QUILTER! Also, It is FREE! 🙂

It’s FREE? Awesome! How Do I Get it?

In the download below, you’ll find two 30 day challenge worksheets. Pick the one that works for you.

1. For the beginner level quilter who needs to work on foundation skills and building more confidence as a quilter.
2. For the more advanced or experienced quilter that just needs to get out of a dry spot in quilting and shake things up a bit!

I’m giving you the map, but you have to take the journey!

Give me your thoughts in the comments section below! What do you think holds you back from progressing to the level of quilting that you want to be at?

Hey hey! I have more FREE gift tags to share with you today!

It is a good day sewing sisters!

Before you click on over to the download button, allow me to share a little bit about these tags, will you?

A reader emailed me last week with a really sweet request…

“Do you have any tags that are totally sweet, without any sarcasm? I made a quilt for my first granddaughter and need a tag saying how much I love her. “

Isn’t that the sweetest?! How could I say no?

I love creating new projects and printables for my sweet readers!

While I didn’t have any non-sassy tags to send to her right away, I made some the first opportunity I had!

My FREE (Truly Honest) gift tags have been wildly popular on my website since their release.

Seriously… I’m so glad there are other people out there with a sense of humor like mine!

If you want to know what a “truly honest” gift tag is… see below!

I figured there might just be a few other sweet people out there in need of a sweet gift tag instead of a sassy one so I’m sharing them with you today as well 🙂

Note: these tags are in the same format/designs as my sassy tags, I just edited them to be a little extra love. I want to create more tag designs in the future, though so make sure and keep in touch through my email newsletter to get all the details on new freebies!

Enjoy your Free Gift Tags!

Also… if you’re interested, I’ve also created more gift tags that are a quick download (12 more designs!) available in my shop for just $2!!

(hey, this momma has to support her coffee needs somehow, right?)

I’ve been running around here like a mad woman these past few weeks and instead of just falling to the floor and having a good cry (my usual go-to) or eating a whole pint of ice cream while wearing my pajamas and listening to Adele (also valid)… I channeled my craziness into something that has been proven to reduce stress… Adult coloring pages.

That’s right. You totally read that correctly. Like a grown woman, I got out my markers and pencils and crayons and I sat cross-legged on my floor and I colored.

I know that my 8-Year-old self would be so proud of me because that is exactly what she thought I would be doing every single night as a grown up. Staying up way past my bedtime and no one telling me to stop coloring. I dreamed big y’all, let me tell ya…

There is something soothing about filling in the shapes and keeping everything in the lines (or not, if that is your thing…)

I can make the picture exactly how I want it… and none of the markers tell me “no” and then do whatever they want to do. (unlike a few little people in my life recently….*ahem*)

I started creating my own coloring book pages based off of inspirations from the fabric in my sewing room and I couldn’t stop! My passion for quilting kept me drawing more and more.

I loved every single second of it and looked forward to this nightly routine after my kids went to bed. There may have been a little glass of wine too?

It started out as little doodles here and there on the corners of the papers on my desk. Soon, I had created a collection of 25 adult coloring pages that lived and breathed quilty fabric inspiration! Oh, it was so lovely!

Seriously, why do we tend to stop coloring whenever we switch to legal pads for our mile-long to-do lists?!

If you’re curious, yes… I absolutely have my own stash of “mommy’s markers” that my kids are not allowed to color with. I buy them their own separate markers.

Doodling is fun… Us busy girls need more FUN in our lives to break up all the boring “have to-do’s” every day!

Studies have shown that just a few minutes of coloring is enough to bring your stress levels down.

“According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is a mental health profession in which the process of making and creating artwork is used to “explore feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety and increase self-esteem.” So basically, it’s similar to good old therapy… Yet art therapy is not only about learning and improving yourself — it’s a means of personal expression, too.”

CNN.com

What you need is a little “me time” to focus your thoughts on something that doesn’t make your stress levels rise. It doesn’t have to take all afternoon…

Whenever you feel your brain in a fog and can’t seem to focus or you’re too stressed out to eat or take care of yoursef…. block off 10 minutes in your calendar and grab some colors… It could even be colored ink pens on your desk (these are my favorite pens!) Don’t think about anything else during that time. Just color.

(also, read this post for 5 things busy quilters should focus on) It has some really helpful information to keep your sanity in check too 😉

I promise you’ll thank me for it… even if it takes a little practice on your part to really focus on coloring and not let your other thoughts invade your 10 minutes. Try it out and let me know what you think, won’t you? I would love to hear from you.

Do you want to know another benefit of Adult Coloring Pages?

I also didn’t come anywhere close to making the huge giant mess that would potentially cause me even more stress in my life. — Yeah, hi quilting. I Love ya… you know I do! But boy can we make some messes together!

I’m sharing the pages that I created with you! You can download them in my shop! Click here to see the Quilty Inspired Adult Coloring Pages.