5 Little Monsters: November 2018

Crocheted Jute Ornaments


A few days ago I shared an ornament that I had originally shared on Craftaholics Anonymous a few years ago and never shared here on my blog. These ornaments I am sharing today are another of those projects.

Coloring Book Gift with Tags

-Books provided for review by Leisure Arts, all ideas and opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links-



Coloring books are fun for everyone, kids and adults, and they can make fun gifts for all ages and any occasion. I was recently sent a few coloring books and I thought it would be fun to put them together as little gifts.

Geeky Mini Christmas Tree


My husband likes to put up a small Christmas tree on his desk at work. Last year we got him a small (18") tree for his desk, but we didn't have any small ornaments to decorate it. This year I decided we needed to do something about that.

Bead Stitch Hat Video Tutorial

-This post may contain affiliate links-


I have a couple of videos on YouTube showing how to do some of the stitches used in the Bead Stitch Hat and Cowl, but I have been getting a lot of requests to show how to make the video from start to finish.

Easy Embroidered Felt Snowflake Ornaments


A few years ago when I first started my blog I spent a year as a contributor on Craftaholics Anonymous. Each month I would share a new pattern or tutorial there and usually I would share it on my blog a few weeks later. Some of them I never shared here, either it was past the season or I just never got around to it. I decided it was about time to share them, especially a couple that were Christmas patterns.

Art Kit Gift Ideas for Kids

-Product for this post provided by Darice, this post contains affiliate links.-


Do you have little artist in your life? I have a few kids that really enjoy drawing. It has been something my youngest daughter has been really into lately. Like I mentioned in my Craft Kit post, we decided this year that we really wanted to try to give the kids gift that would encourage creativity and help them develop talents that they have. Knowing how much she enjoys art we thought an art kit would be the perfect gift.

Beginner Craft Kit Gift Idea

-Product for this post provided by Darice, this post contains affiliate links-


My girls love to make things and be creative. As we were thinking about Christmas gifts this year we decided that we really wanted to focus on gifts that would allow our kids to be creative and develop their own talents, rather than just more toys to add to the toys we already have.

Easy Fleece Christmas Tree Skirt

-This post contains affiliate links-


This year got a new Christmas tree and set it up early. We don't usually set it up before Thanksgiving but my excuse was it would be good to have up as I work on Christmas blog projects, but really I am just excited for Christmas. We still haven't gotten around to decorating it though, despite the kids begging me everyday to pull out the box of ornaments.

Over 25 DIY Advent Calendars (plus one to buy)

-Product for this post provided by LEGO-


Over the past couple of weeks I have shared a few Advent Calendars and Christmas Countdowns. I really love them, I think they are so fun to lead up to Christmas. Whether it means getting a treat, doing an activity or service, hanging an ornament, or just erasing one number and writing a new one. I love making my own countdowns but there are some pretty fun ones to buy too. This year my kids are really excited about the LEGO City Advent Calendar that LEGO sent us.

Christmas of Kindness Advent


I have shared a couple of Christmas countdown/advent ideas and I wanted to share one more idea today. One thing that can be really hard at Christmas time, especially for kids, is to avoid getting so caught up in presents and what you want to get for Christmas. It is so easy for it to become all about the gifts and less about the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Candy Bottles

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As I was thinking about Christmas craft projects and ideas a couple of weeks ago I sat down and looked through some of my craft supplies to get some inspiration Sometimes looking through materials and supplies will spark an idea. It is one of my favorite ways to get project inspiration. Sometimes it will be a specific item that will give me an idea, sometimes the color of something, a material, or a combination of those. Sometimes when I feel like I have no creative ideas I like to go wander through a craft store and I am bound to find inspiration as I walk through the aisles.

Nativity Countdown to Christmas Chalkboard


A couple of days ago I shared a Countdown to Christmas chalkboard. I found several designs already made in Design Space and I chose one to put on my chalkboard. This design, that I am sharing today, is one that I came up with myself rather than one of the pre-designed options.

Las Flores Crocheted Cowl

 -Fairmount Fibers, North American Distributor of Manos del Uruguay yarns provided me with the yarn for this project.-


I recently had the opportunity to get my hands on some yarn that I was really excited to be a able to work with, and today I am going to share what I made. The yarn is from Manos del Uruguay, and I was really excited when they offered me some yarn for review, I have wanted to try their yarn ever since I heard of them.

Buffalo Check Believe Sign


A couple of months ago I ordered some red and black buffalo check vinyl from Cricut, thinking that it would be fun for Christmas projects. I am starting to work on more Christmas crafts and finally had the chance to pull it out and use it on something.

Be Grateful T-Shirt Design


Every November I start to think a lot about gratitude and all of the things I have to be grateful for. I know I am not the only one who feels this way since that is also when all of the gratitude posts start popping up on Facebook and Instagram.

Countdown to Christmas Chalkboard

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I have shared a few Christmas crafts over the past couple of weeks but now that Halloween is past I am ready to really start with the Christmas crafting. Don't worry, there with be some Thanksgiving projects mixed in as well as some non-holiday posts, but get ready for lots of Christmas ideas over the next several weeks.

Easy Tote Bags with Cricut Iron On Designs

-This post includes affiliate links-


One of my favorite things when I need a quick project is to make something with iron on. I love to crochet, and I really enjoy sewing and painting and other crafts. But all of those things take time. Sometimes it feels really good to make something that you can make start to finish in only a few minutes. T-shirts and tote bags with iron on designs added to them are so quick and easy to make and there are so many ways you can use them. I make them for my kids, myself, gifts, holidays, and more.