Well, it’s near the end of the year. I’m still not in a very active crafting mood. However, I thought I should make a bit of a crafty post since the last crafty one I made was way back in April.
During this month of December, My husband and I made a couple diamond dot paintings. It’s become a Christmas time tradition for us. We sit at our kitchen table, each with our own diamond dot kit. Over the course of the weekends, hours at a time, we work and enjoy sharing a pleasant relaxing craft together. 
Yesterday, I transformed leftover baked ham and deviled eggs into ham salad. It’s a very easy thing to do.
I chopped up some ham,
mashed up 3 deviled eggs,
mixed them together,
and spooned the ham salad onto snack crackers.
It made a nice tasty snack and used up the rest of the leftover deviled eggs. 
In November, I tried to do a bit of crocheting. Unfortunately, I had to stop because I got a very uncomfortable ache in my hands. I’m surprised that I haven’t experienced it, to this extent, before this stage in my life. When in the mood, I love crocheting, so I know I don’t want to give it up. I looked online and ordered a set of cushioned crochet hooks that are made to hopefully help ease the ache. They’re real nice. 
To try my new crochet hooks out, I attempted to crochet some popcorn. I thought I’d make oodles of it and string them for garland for our tree. After crocheting only 3 popcorns, I lost interest. It’s a lot more work and requires more holiday spirit than I can muster up this year. Maybe, some day in the future, I’ll give the popcorns another try. 
On a more happy note, We got a nice extra bit of cheer this Christmas when we awoke to a light snowfall. I know it’s silly, but it feels so much more jolly with snow on Christmas day. 
I’m sorry I haven’t been around but very little.
I’m going to try to do better in the new year.
I pray you and your families are well and
looking forward to hopefully more positive
times to come in the new year.
Joys Of Creating 
I had never heard of Diamond Dot painting before. Live and Learn!
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Hi Margy,
I’d never heard of it either until a couple years ago. My sister told me about doing the paintings with her Granddaughter. I’m glad we tried it and enjoy it. It’s simple to do and relaxing once we got the hang of it. 😀
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Those popcorn pieces look real, but very fiddly! Happy New Year to you!
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Thanks Kathy,
I really like the look of the popcorn. They’d look good strung with fake cranberries, if I hadn’t lost interest in making them. They’re fairly easy to make, not as fiddly as they look. (That’s a cool word. Thanks for sharing it. 😀 )
Happy New year to you too! 🙂
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Happy New Year! It’s lovely that you and your husband enjoy making diamond dot paintings around Christmas. They look great, as do the popcorns. (I won’t have the patience to crochet many popcorns, lol…) Hope your hands love the new crochet hooks.
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Thanks so much Anita,
I’m thankful my husband enjoys the craft too. I think most couples need a hobby to share that’s calm and relaxing.
I’m hoping my hands love the new crochet hooks too. The one new hook, I used when I made the popcorn, did quite well for me, my hands didn’t ache any.
You’re so multi talented, I figure you could probably crochet popcorns that look good enough to eat. 😉
Happy New Year to you too! 😀
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just wanted to say “thank you” ^^ This post, and your Valentine’s day one, has just inspired me to buy a few very small diamond dot kits for my husband to do. He has good eyesight and a steady hand, so I hope he’ll enjoy this new craft and that it’ll keep him amused when it’s not gardening weather ^^
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Aw Thanks so much Claire,
You’re very welcome. I hope your husband enjoys the diamond dots. I hope you’ll post about it on your blog. I look forward to hearing how it goes.
Thanks so much, my friend, you gave me a nice smile for the day! 🙂
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I do have a question for you regarding dots, if that’s okay?
Do you do kits with square or round gems? Have you tried both? and if so, which do you prefer?
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Hi Claire,
I apologize for not replying sooner.
I’ve only done kits. I’ve tried both, round and square. I prefer round gems. I was really disappointed in the square ones. While both gem styles lose details, the square ones are the worst. I don’t plan on ever using square ones again.
Thanks for the question. I’m sorry I didn’t answer it sooner. For some reason, I’m not getting my notifications.
Take care and have a good week. 🙂
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thanks for that input.
I’ve been looking/researching more since I last commented, and had more or less come to the decision that round dots would be best for me too ^^.
I’ve bought a kit already, with full coverage, and am enjoying it so far. The husband, however, gave it a go and said it’s not for him. Not to worry, I’ve discovered a new craft I enjoy, and I’ve already got my eye on several other kits for when I finish this first one lol.
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Hi Claire
Well at least your fella gave it a try. I’m glad you like it. It’s enjoyable once you get in the mesmerizing zone. I’ve done both full coverage and partial, depending on the design, both make lovely pictures.
I always have my eye on ‘project-next’ in every craft I do. That’s why my craft room looks like hoarder central. ~lol~
Thanks for sharing with me. I wish you many hours of relaxing fun with your new craft.
Have a wonderful week! 🙂
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