Wanna know what the secret project I've been talking about is?!

Craft Inc.

Craft Inc. Business Planner

 I can't believe TOMORROW is the last day of 2010!  (okay, I'm sure most blog posts from the past few days sound very similar to what I just said... haha.)  Crazy.  I just got back from shopping in the States (And Canadian money is now worth more!  Even better.)  and I got some things I've been wanting for a while.  Like the Craft Inc. books (I couldn't find them in ANY book stores around me!) and Chase's Calendar of Events 2011.  Okay, I might as well tell you guys what I'm doing in the new year on my blog.  I'm going to be celebrating EVERY weird holiday for the next 365 days.  I'm getting a bunch of awesome artists to help me out by drawing/doodling/painting/scrapbooking/(whatever they're awesome at!) an image for the beginning of the first post, and then the rest of the post will be about however I celebrated that day!  Some days are all about food (so I'll be making whatever food is being celebrated and giving you guys lots of different recipes!), some are just plain weird (like dress your pet up day!), and it's going to be so much fun!  I can't wait to get started.  I also hope that you guys will join in and celebrate some of the days with me!  At the beginning of each week I'll let you know what holidays are coming up that week (and do a re-cap of the week before), and I'll link up everyone's blog who participated.  I can't waiiiiiiiit!!  I hope you guys enjoy it!! 

The magic word “abracadabra” was originally used in an attempt to treat malaria

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!  I'm so tired from everything that has been going on, I think I just need a few days to catch up on sleep!  There are still a few things that I have to do before the new year, but I'm all caught up with my knitting!  Finally!  There were a few times I was knitting late into the night (Like, 4am late... ah.) but I'm so happy to have everything finished.  Now it's time to knit myself a few pairs of chunky socks/slippers to reward myself!  I still owe you guys some posts about my birthday, and I want to do some posts about Christmas, too.  My camera is filled with tons of photos that I need to share!  Some are from a few months ago, ha.  Hopefully in the new year I'll be quicker about posting photos.  I'm hoping to have a new iMac next year (my fingers are crossed!  Help me out by buying something from my shop!  bahaha.)  and I'm hoping that it will motivate me to edit & post photos more frequently.  Tonight I think Keith & I are just going to stay in and watch some movies or something.  And hopefully I'll get a couple pairs of those chunky slippers made!  (And post photos of the finished product! ha.)  Hope you all have a great night!

*

I just stumbled across this photo, but I wish I saw it sooner!  I'm definitely going to make these next Christmas!

The hilarious internet video “David After Dentist” was never intended to be seen by the public

Yesterday I went to Toronto and started (and pretty much finished!) my Christmas shopping!  Haha yeah, I definitely leave things to the last minute!  Oh well... it's (almost) done!  And I just have a couple last things to knit up for Boxing Day (I'm not sure if you guys have Boxing Day in the States?  It's the day after Christmas...) and then for the rest of the year (ha) I'm just going to knit a bunch of squares for charity!  

I've mentioned Knit-a-Square before, but for those of you who don't know, I donate at least one knit square for every item I sell to a charity in South Africa called Knit-a-Square.  They make blankets from the donated squares and give them to orphaned babies and children.  I've been using up a lot of my extra yarn, but I'm running out.  If any of you have some extra yarn lying around (or know someone who does!  Any of your aunts or grandma's...) that you are never going to use, I'd love it if you could send it to me!  (Plus you can clean out your closet a bit at the same time!  haha.)  When I donate the squares, I do a little write up about the person who bought the products from me, and I also want to write about where the yarn came from.  So let anyone who knits or crochets know, because if they are anything like me, they will have a ton of scrap yarn lying around!  Ha!

Oh another thing that I wanted to mention,  starting January I'm going to be having sponsors on my blog.  I'm going to be starting a project on my blog that will have me posting every single day of the year at least once, and I'm going to have a lot of different artists involved.  I'm also going to be sponsoring a few blogs myself, Tea Talk, Kaelah Bee, Sandy a la Mode, MoonBeamWishes, Scissor Quirk, Oh, Mishka, and The City Cradle!  If you want more info about it, send me an e-mail! holly [!at] hollyknitlightly.com

Most of the residents of Coober Pedy, Australia live underground

Yesterday I shared the organized 31 Bits with you, and today I want to show you guys Krochet Kids International.  

Krochet Kids intl. has continued to grow and evolve in ways we never imagined since we earned our non-profit status in 2007.  Today, over 100 people go to our compound in Northern Uganda everyday to work and to rewrite their stories for the better.  The products created abroad have been well received here at home and the cooperation of our staff in America and artists in Northern Uganda has created a sustainable cycle of employment and empowerment.
Uganda is but one microcosmic example of what we hope to replicate throughout impoverished communities around the globe.  Join with us as we continue to spread the good word of hope and empowerment …

They sell hats & accessories made by women in Northern Uganda, and clothing to help spread the word.

The Waldo - $24.95

The Barney - $24.95

The Old Africa Tee - $24.95

The Christoph Scarf - $31.95

You share your birthday with approximately 18 million people worldwide

Today I spent quite a bit of time looking at websites that give to different charities.  Now I’m wishing I saw some of these sooner, so that I could have bought different things from each of them for Christmas presents.  I think I may pick some things up after the holidays anyway, and I’ll definitely be buying from them for birthday presents for others next year!  The next few days, I’ll be posting different stores online that give back to charities, and I’ll be sharing some of my favourite items from the shops.  If you know of any or have bought from some in the past, please share!   

31 Bits is a business using fashion and design to empower women to rise above poverty.  31 Bits Designs is a socially minded business designed to give internally displaced women in Northern Uganda an opportunity to counter poverty. By giving our beneficiaries access to the international market, they are able to earn an instant income, providing homes, food, and education for their families. Our program equips women by providing literacy education, financial and vocational training, holistic care, and strong support systems, empowering individuals to further their careers and attain social equity.

(From the website)

You can get to know more about all of the women who design the various necklaces, bracelets and headbands.

Daphne - 10$

Darby - 14$

Cobblestone - 32$

PB - 30$

Ollie Twist - 42$

There are a few different ways to get involved with 31 Bits; they are always looking for interns to help out with the following:

• Administrative/Sales
• PR/Marketing
• Event/Volunteer Coordinating
• Visual Rhetoric
• Video Editing

You can host a party at your home and they’ll send you a box of jewelry and all of the information you need to help spread the word.  Or, you could buy a piece of jewelry and help out 63 different women in Uganda at the same time. 

Driving a route taking only right turns is more fuel efficient than driving while taking left ones

I made another sale on my Etsy shop today (yay!) so I celebrated by buying a really pretty skirt from Liz's shop Little Gray Suitcase:

I can't wait to get it!   I love the colour & pattern.   Check out Liz's shop and see what else she has! 

I'm still going to do a post about my birthday & show you some of the lovely things that I received.  Like this bracelet from my parents!

edor

I love it, it's so pretty.  Check out the other items in that shop!  So many beautiful jewelery pieces.  Ah, I love Etsy.  As I was writing this (very short!) blog post, I got distracted by a bunch of new shops.  haha.  I get sucked into Etsy every time I log on!  What are some of your favourite shops?  I love finding new ones.  Have you bought anything from Etsy recently?  Christmas presents for others?  Or Christmas presents for yourself?  Haha.

On average, cats spend 2/3 of each day sleeping

Today I spent the day with my good friend baking cookies!  We made a ton of different ones.  Some turned out, some... didn't.  Hahaha!  But for the most part they're awesome!  Anyways, I wanted to share some AMAZING news with you guys.  I've mentioned De on my blog (quite a few times!  She's one of the models for Holly Knitlightly!  & one of Keith's sisters!), and she's getting marrrrrrrrried!!!!!!!!  She & Tim got engaged on Saturday!  I'm so happy for them!  They're such an amazing couple. 

I love you guys!!!!!!!!!  (I picked a fact about cats because De loooooooooove cats, haha!)

The smallest monkey in the world is only about 15 cm tall

Thanks so much for all of the birthday wishes!!  I had a great birthday weekend.  I have a ton of photos to share with you, and I want to take photos of all of the lovely packages that I received!  Right now I'm pretty sick (booooo) so I think I'm just going to work a bit on my project for next year (which I'm so excited to share with you guys!) and do some knitting. I've been wanting to share these videos wtih you guys for a while.  I don't know if any of you have seen them before, but I remember watching them a couple of years ago & I just thought this girl was the cutest thing EVER!  I can't seem to find more than 6 videos of her (maybe her mom took them down), but here are some of my favourites!

Too much candy from Capucha on Vimeo.

"Too much candy" II-The bonus scenes ! from Capucha on Vimeo.

Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.

I'm hijacking this blog to wish Holly a very Happy Birthday today!!!

Hey, Holly's Mom here, attempting my first blog post (without Holly's knowledge) to wish her a Very Happy Birthday. Lucky for me, Holly stays logged into her blogger. I'm not really sure what I'm doing, but keeping my fingers crossed that this works.

I've posted some birthday pictures when she was little, as well as some of my favorite pictures of Holly. 

To me these pictures illustrate the loving light and sweet soul that is Holly.

From the moment you were born, you brought joy into our lives that we never knew was possible.

I hope you have a wonderful Birthday my darling daughter.

Holly - 6 months old

Holly's 1st Birthday

Holly's 2nd Birthday

Holly's 3rd Birthday

Holly's 4th Birthday

Holly's 5th Birthday

Holly and her sister Sara

Sara and Holly at the Cottage

Keith and Holly - Birthday 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOLLY!!!

The length of your foot is the same as the length of your forearm

So, I'm not sure if I've ever told you guys about one of my favourite things...

Archie Comic Books.

Hahaha I LOVE them!  I remember the first time I ever read one... I was at the grocery store with my mom & she suggested I get one, and I didn't really think I'd like it... but I got it anyway and LOVED it.   And then I wanted to go grocery shopping all the time to buy a new one.  And now I have boxes & boxes full of them..  I still want to buy a new one when I'm at the grocery store, ha!  Even though it takes like 20 minutes to read the entire book.  (OH and is it just me or have they gotten smaller?  Double digests are so much thinner now!  What is up with that?) When I was little and in Quebec, I bought a French one.. just to have, I guess?  One of my favourites was when they came to Canada (I remember reading that one at my cottage).  I love finding out that my friends have a ton of Archie comic books, ha.  My friend Meaghan & I always talk about how we have to get together with a bunch of our Archies and just read.  (By the way Meaghan, we should do that this winter!)  And then last year or whenever it was, they came out with "new & improved" comics. 

WHAT is that supposed to be?! Terrible... ha.  They look so strange!!  Did you read Archie comic books when you were younger?  Let me know!  We will chat Archie!  Hahaha.  Oh and I'm a total Betty fan, all the way!  Veronica was such a jerrrrrrrrk!  And I still want to go to Pop Tate's and have a soda pop.  (Soda pop always sounds so much better than plain old pop.  Ha.) 

Tonight Keith is picking his friend up in Toronto from the airport, so I'm just going to catch up on some blogs & finishing knitting some birthday & Christmas presents for the weekend!  I'm excited for my birthday weekenddddddd!  (Haha yeah I totally try and drag my birthday out as long as I can... it's my birthday week right now.  And since my birthday is on a Sunday right now, my birthday week will continue next week.  Not that than means anything, of course.  Just that I say "it's my birthday week".)  On Saturday we're going out for breakfast with a bunch of people, then over to Keith's uncle's house for dinner (who I just found out LOVES Archie comic books!!!) and then we're heading to our friend Jesse's house.  It's Jesse and our friend Sam's birthdays on Saturday, so he's having a birthday party.  Plus we're celebrating all of the December birthdays (Jesse & Sam's on the 11th, mine on the 12th, and Shannon's on the 24th.).  I'm going to make some stuff to bring... I'm just not sure what I'm making yet.  But it's' going to be fun!  Then on Sunday it's my birthday and I'm going out for dinner with my family (and eating candy cane ice cream, the best ice cream ever.) and then going out for some karaoke with friends.  hahaha.  Oh and I'm going to TRY and document my entire weekend!  But, we all know how that has gone the past few times I've tried... haha. 

Today is also my friend Trevor's birthday!!!  Happy birthday Turps!!  He is also a big fan of Archie comic books, ha!  I remember one time we read Archies to each other, he read all the guys & I read all the girls. 

It is possible to blow bubbles the size of SEVERAL people.

Today is my lovely friend Kara's birthday!  I've mentioned her & her blog before, when she made delicious apple cider in apples:

I want to go to her house & drink warm drinks and eat treats with her.  She's always posting delicious things she made, or sharing wonderful recipes.  Recently she posted photos of the spiderweb cupcakes that she made:

 And a delicious recipe for homemade Italian cinnamon hot cocoa.  Mmm!

She also has this really cool series on her blog, "The Campaign for Life in Technicolor".  She has people fill out this form:

I love her blog.  She has such a unique writing style, she's extremely talented!  Plus she is suuuuuch a sweet girl.  I'm so glad that I've gotten to know her these past few months!  Be sure to head to her blog & wish her a happy birthday!  While you're there, check out some of her past blog entries.  And look at the "Campaign for Life in Technicolor" posts!  They're extremely interesting.

I hope you have a lovely birthday, Kara! 

(Gaaaah, blogger didn't auto-post this!!  Sorry it's so late!)