Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all. I hope you're enjoying your holiday break and getting ready for a brand new year coming in.

As we head into 2014, I wanted to give you guys a recap of what's been going on with me over the past year. In 2013, I was on two different PBS sewing shows, which was an incredible experience that I'm so grateful for. I was also featured in several magazines, and I have to say, it's been amazing to see my work and ideas showcased in such a wide range of publications.

One of the highlights of 2013 was launching my first online class with a fabric kit bundle. I kind of put it out there just to gauge interest and see if you all were interested in it. Well, I was pleasantly surprised when we sold out of all 50 kits in just 18 hours! It was pretty crazy, and I want to thank each and every one of you who supported me on this launch.

As for what's to come in 2014, I'm excited to announce that I'll be offering more online classes with fabric kit bundles. I'm working on a couple of different ones for January, so keep an eye out for those in the coming weeks. I'll also be jumping into more paper crafts since you guys have really enjoyed the few tutorials that I've been posting here.

One thing that's been on my mind lately is getting ready for the new year. As many of you know, I recently lost a significant amount of weight, and now I need to dress in clothes that fit me. Unfortunately, I haven't worn a size 8 since over 15 years ago, so it's not like I have a lot of options! My husband has had to force me to go shopping for new clothes, which is always a fun time (said no one ever!). But I thought, maybe, there are other people out there who are just as limited in their closet space and style as I am. So, I'm planning on documenting my journey of making clothes, buying them, fitting them into my closet, and finding creative solutions for storage space.

I also recently gave my website and blog a brand new makeover. I hired a talented girl named Becca from Jumping Jax Designs to do the work, and she's done an amazing job. If you haven't checked out the new design yet, please head on over to my blog and take a look. And, if you have any requests for videos or topics you'd like me to cover in the coming year, leave me a comment below – I love hearing from all of you!

As we move into 2014, I'm excited to see what's next for Crafty Gemini. I have big plans and ideas that I want to share with all of you, so stay tuned! Thanks again for your support, and I'll see you in the new year.

One thing I didn't mention is that I'll be publishing more quilt designs in different magazines throughout 2014. So, keep an eye out for those – I'll make sure to post updates on my website and social media channels as soon as they're published.

Another update is one that Becca did for me. She created a few new logos for my brand, which you'll be seeing more of in the coming year. I'm really excited about these new designs, and I think they capture the essence of Crafty Gemini perfectly.

In addition to all the other updates, one final thing I want to mention is that I've been working on some exciting projects with Becca. We're creating a series of graphics for my social media channels, which will include a new logo and branding overall. So, keep an eye out for those – they'll be popping up all over my feeds in the coming weeks!

I also have to mention that I've recently started shopping for clothes again, since I don't fit into any sizes that are readily available. It's been a bit of a challenge, but I'm determined to find some beautiful, stylish pieces that will make me feel confident and comfortable.

In terms of my online classes, I'll be offering more tutorials and fabric kit bundles throughout 2014. One of the kits I have in the works is for an iPad or Tablet sleeve quilt – it's a fun one! And, as always, I want to hear from you about what you'd like to see covered in future classes. So, leave me a comment below if there's something specific that interests you.

I also want to let you know that my online class with Becca has been such a hit, and I'm so grateful for the response. However, I did have one kit left over after the initial launch – it was a bit of an oversight on my part! If anyone is still interested in purchasing the kit, please reach out to me directly – I'd be happy to hook you up.

I've been thinking about some new ideas and projects that I want to work on in 2014. One thing I'm excited about is creating more content around fashion and style, since now that I need clothes that fit, I have a newfound appreciation for the importance of finding pieces that make me feel confident and put-together.

In terms of my website, I've been spending some time revamping and updating it. The new design is looking great, if I do say so myself! Becca did an amazing job with all the graphics and visual elements – she's a total rockstar when it comes to design.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHey, it's Vanessa, the Crafty Gemini.I post weekly how-to video tutorials right here on my YouTube channel, and in this video I'm telling you all aboutwhat you can expect from me in 2014. (Music.)So first let me sayMerry Christmas and Happy Holidays to youall. I hope you're enjoying your holiday breakand getting ready fora brand new year coming in. For this videoI just wanted to give you guys a recap of2013 and what all iscoming up for 2014 for me. So in 2013 I didso much. I was on two different PBS sewingshows, I was featuredin different magazines, and I'm expectingto keep that going for the next coming yearas well. And then tofinish off this year, we are finishing itoff with a bang. I just hit 100,000 YouTubesubscribers, which is insaneto me. When I started posting videos on YouTubefour years ago I never imagined that I wouldactually bedoing this full-time, that I would still continueto be posting videos for you guys, but it'sso much fun and I lovewhat I do, I love to hear back from all ofyou. And so you can definitely expect me tobe uploading more videotutorials for you for 2014. So just from lookingat me right now, you may notice a few differentthings. One isthat I've lost a lot of weight. If you area new follower I may not look that different,but if you go back and watchsome videos from a few years ago, you willsee significant difference, okay. I've lostabout 60 pounds this year,and a lot of you on my Facebook page havebeen asking me what is my little secret, what'sthe trick to it andthings like that. So I'm hoping to start incorporatingsome healthy diet and nutrition-type videos,just to sharewith you all what it is that I'm eating andwhat is working for me, okay. Not becauseI'm an expert or anything,but just with hopes of maybe inspiring someof you out there who just need that extraboost to get on ahealthier track for the new year, okay. Thesecond thing is that my hair is straight.It's not permanentlystraight. I just blow-dried it just with ahair dryer, not even a flat iron, nothing.And, again, a lot of you on myFacebook page have been asking me how I didit, if I could share with you what productsand what kind ofthings I do just to get it like this. It'sbeen about five years that I didn't blow-drymy hair straight, so I've nevershown my hair straight like this on a YouTubevideo. My kids have never even seen me withthis hair until now.And the only reason I used to blow-dry itstraight is when the weather was cold. I livein Florida and it's superhumid, so even if I were to blow-dry my hairin the summer, as soon as you step outsideit'll just be like ppfff, afrizz ball, and super curly again. So, I hopeto start incorporating some hair care tutorialsand just showing youall what I do for my hair, since you knowfrom my other videos that my hair's reallycurly, just to show you how Ido this. And it only takes me about 20, 25minutes or so. Another thing I want to letyou guys know is that Ihave a new quilt design that's been publishedin a quilting magazine. This is my first fullquilt design that's beenpublished. The magazine is called Quilty;you can get it at your local quilt shop orfabric store. I've even seen itat JoAnn's Fabrics, things like that. It'scalled Quilty; my quilt is in the January-February2014 issue. The quilt iscalled Woven; it's super cute, I hope youguys love it and that you'll run out and getyour magazine or thesubscription. Some other news about QuiltyMagazine is that for 2014 I have signed onto have my owncolumn in the magazine. So the column is calledThe Thread and it basically is just thingsthat I write that haveto do with the Internet as they relate toquilters. So my first article that's in theJanuary-February 2014 issueas well, like my quilt, the first articlethere is about blogging and how you can makea living off of blogging. It's areally cool two-page spread, I hope you guyswill pick up your copy. I'll also includea link in the description boxbelow on where you can click and find outabout subscribing to the magazine for theyear. And I hope you'llcheck that out because I'm really excitedabout that. I also have a few more quilt designsthat are going to bepublished in different magazines for nextyear, so I'll be sure to update you with avideo post to let you knowwhich magazines my designs will be in so youcan run out and grab them. Another updateis one that I've doneto my website and blog. If you've been tothe blog recently, you'll see that it gotan entire new makeover. Ihired a girl named Becca from Jumping JaxDesigns. I'll include a link in the descriptionbox below. And she'svery creative and I love the way she putsthings together. So if you head on over tomy blog, check it out, andthen come back here, leave me a comment andlet me know what you think of the new blogdesign. I also hadher do a few different graphics for me asfar as logos go, so you'll be seeing somenew logos. Okay. So here'ssome info on what you can expect from me in2014. If you recall, this month of DecemberI launched my firstonline class with a fabric kit bundle. I kindof put it out there just to gauge interestand see if you all wereinterested in it. Well, I only had 50 kitsto go around; it was for a quilt-as-you-gocustom iPad or Tablet sleeve.And let me tell you, I thank you so much foryour support. I sold out of all 50 kits in18 hours; it was prettycrazy. And I've had tons of you e-mail measking me when the next kit is going to comeout, what new onlineclass I'm offering. So I wanted to let youknow that I will for sure be offering moreonline classes with fabric kitbundles coming up. So I'm working on a coupleof different ones for January so you can beon the lookout forthat in the next coming weeks. Something elseyou can expect are just more online classes,different kitbundles that I'll be selling for differentthings. I'm also going to be jumping intomore paper crafts since youguys have really enjoyed the few paper crafttutorials that I've been posting here. Sosomething else you canexpect from me in this coming year is thatnow that I have this new slimmer body thatI need to dress, I literallyhave no clothes that fit me. Because I'm downto a size eight now and I haven't worn a size8 since, I meanover 15 years ago. So I definitely don't haveany clothes that fit me. So I've done a littleshopping here andthere, but I hate to shop. My husband hasto force me to go to the store to buy clothes.So I thought it wouldmake for some really cool and fun videos ifI kind of documented what I'm going through,where I'm buying theclothes, what I'm making for myself. Justessential garments and things that I definitelyneed to have in mycloset, right. My closet it's super tiny,I mean, like, this much space, maybe a littlebit bigger, but it's just like onelittle bar. And so I thought, maybe, you know,there's a lot of other people out there thatare limited in closetspace as well like I am, and so I thoughtmaybe I'd start making some videos in thenew year about how I'mmaking clothes, buying them, fitting themin my closet, what I'm doing for storage spaceand things like that.So look for something along those lines forthe new year. And, definitely, if you allhave some requests andthings that you want me to make videos on,leave me a comment below because I read themall. So that's it,guys. Thanks so much for your support. 2013was amazing for me and I hope that you'llstick around for theride. We're going to have a lot of fun in2014 and I am definitely expecting big thingsfor Crafty Gemini. Sothanks again for watching and I'll see younext year. Bye.(Music.)\n"