Countdown to Christmas- Day 17

Hello everyone!  What a busy, yet very special day is has been.  My parents have arrived safely and we have been enjoying catching up on all the news and making our Christmas preparations.  And guess what else???  My sweet parents are celebrating their 49th wedding anniversary today! 49 years! And here we did nothing super special to honor the occasion.  Highlights of the day include building a puzzle with PopPop and Nik, cooking a wonderful meal together with my mom, and playing a rousing game of Uno after dinner.  I am smiling now remembering how Mom kept trying to give Dad the yellow 13, and us joking about it being his anniversary present.  Peter thought that was particularly amusing. 🙂

I also have my father to thank for getting up the outside Christmas lights on my house today.  I am nervous to climb the ladder, so every year, my sweet dad puts up my lights for me.

I am a very fortunate and grateful cookie!

With the arrival of my parents and this busy time of year, I haven’t gotten in much scrapping lately, but I promise to post another crafty project next time.  Hope to see you all then!

Thanks for stopping by!

Countdown to Christmas- Day 16

Evening everyone!  Tonight we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Glammie and PopPop to North Carolina.  Feels almost like waiting for Santa Claus, judging from the amount of excitement running through the house.  My parents have made the journey every single year for Christmas since I moved here 15 years ago.  It just wouldn’t feel like Christmas without them.  So thankful they are coming….and we are ready for them.

Pressies are all wrapped, bows are all tied…….just bring on the grandparents! 🙂

In taking a few photos of the tree today, I decided to take some of my favorite ornaments.  I am a huge fan of Christopher Radko ornaments.  Huge fan.  I began collecting them many years ago, and slowly add a few new ornaments here and there.  I hadn’t gotten a new one in several years, so treated myself today to this little guy that captured my heart.

He is called Nick Nak Napsack, which makes me smile because I call my daughter Nick Nak.  Kinda perfect for me, I thought.  I tend to collect a lot of Santas.  They are my favorites.  That and snowmen.  Here’s my favorite Radko snowman.

And another of my favorites, Commander Cracker.

Look at his giant grin.  So handsome!

Hope you all are enjoying the magic of this wonderful holiday season.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Countdown to Christmas- Day 15

Don’t you just hate computer troubles?  Ugh……

Guess I managed to pick up some malware and I’ve been without my computer for the last two days.  So relieved to have it back up and running.  What a pain!  Thank goodness I have a computer tech brother who can fix things for me. I would be lost without you, Bro!

So my apologies for missing yesterday’s Countdown to Christmas post.  I suppose I should make today’s post extra fabulous and spectacular to make up for my lapse………but that’s too much pressure. 😉

So instead, I will share with you all one of my most favorite holiday crafty projects ever.  I made this guy several years ago, and he has held a spot of honor on my mantel every year since.

I created the base for my snowman out of two balloons that I partly filled with air and then tied together to form a basic bowling pin shape.  I then added many layers of torn patterned paper to the balloons with a mixture of 50/50 Modge Podge to water.  I added layers of paper until the snowman was strong enough to stand on its own and until I was no longer able to make a dent in his side when I pressed with my fingers.

The arms I created from wire.  I first made a forked outline and then wrapped wire around the forms until they were completely covered.  I made the hat from two felt pieces, one circle and one rectangle that I rolled into a long tube.  The nose is rolled orange card stock, the eyes are black mini brads, and the mouth was created from seed beads.  I gave him some ribbons and trims on his hat and neckline, buttons, a bit of blush, and lots of glitter for sparkle.

Hey Good Lookin’!  What you got cookin’?

Ah, he just makes me smile.

Hope he gave you a smile, too.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  See you all tomorrow.

Countdown to Christmas- Day 13

Hello everyone!  Sunday evening is upon us already, and another weekend is coming to a close.  With the holidays pressing upon us, I have a bajillion things on the old to-do list this week, as I’m sure you all do, too.  Need to kick things into high gear after spending a rather quiet weekend at home.  Need to do more shopping, need to do some mailing, need to do my wrapping, need to do some baking, need to send out my Christmas cards, need to make my Christmas cards………;)  I guess you get the picture.  Can anyone freeze time for awhile?

Speaking of pictures, here’s another look into my sunroom at night.

I received this beautiful lighted pussy-willow branch for my birthday recently.  Mixed it with some holiday berries in my glass hurricane jar.  When this, my pink tree, and holiday village are all lit,  my sunroom is a enchanted place to sit.

And here is a fun altered project that I’ve done recently.  I had an old Making Memories kraft boho chic album in my stash that I decided to turn into a holiday scrapbook.

I love the playful nature of this Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly line.  Used the patterned paper, chipboard elements, and card stock stickers for this.

The window cut-out was open to the first page, so I adhered a sheet of heavy duty acetate to the back of the opening with glue dots.  This allowed me to add that fun birdie ice-skater to the center.

Have a great evening everyone!  Thanks again for stopping by!

Countdown to Christmas- Day 12

Hello everyone!  Two weeks to go until Christmas!  Are you all ready?  I know I’m not.  But I think I’ll break out the gift wrap this evening and get started on wrapping up a few presents.  Always love how a beautiful package looks under the tree.  I sometimes think the packaging is just as important as what’s inside, so I try to make each present look as pretty as can be.  Try being the operative word.

Here is a scrappy project I’ve recently made, altering a thrift store bi-fold frame into a Christmas keepsake.

That sweet little guy is my friend Kathy’s son when he was a wee babe.  She let me borrow him so I could show how the frame looks all finished.

Here’s where it started.

I painted the back and sides white and added patterned paper and trim to the front of the frame.  I added a fun tie to the side of the frame using some ribbon and trims, a wooden snowflake that I glittered, and a Making Memories Mistletoe felt poinsettia.  The snowflake has been embellished with black micro-buttons and that funky red mesh is recycled netting from a bag of tangerines.  I then had fun decorating each opening for the frame.

And on one final note tonight, I want to take a moment to honor my sweet little hedgehog buddy who passed away this morning.  Sonic was with us for 4 years and truly was a part of the family.   He will forever be missed.

Love you Sonic!

Countdown to Christmas- Day 11

Hi everyone!  Are you all ready to start another weekend?  Can you believe we are officially only 2 weeks away from Christmas?  Yikes, I wish I could slow down the clock.  I still have so much to do to prepare.  I haven’t finished making my Christmas cards, and have yet to mail a single one.  Nor have I finished my shopping , or begun wrapping the presents.  I think I better stop before  I overwhelm myself with the “yet-to-dos” and be thankful for the “have-dones” and the beauty and magic of the entire season.  Sometimes it’s hard to slow down and just enjoy this special time.

One of the “have-dones” on my list today are these pretty jelly cookies I made for a cookie exchange party I will attend in the morning.

This recipe was graciously shared with me by my neighbor, and if you are interested in trying these yourselves, I will now share it with you.

Jelly Cookies

Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking powder 1/8 teaspoon salt ¾ cup butter, softened 2/3 cups sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ cup jam

Frosting 1 cup 10x Confectioner’s Sugar 1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 350°F.

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt.
2. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy.  Add vanilla and egg.  Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture until blended.
3. Place dough on floured surface.  Divide dough into 4 equal pieces.
4. Roll each dough piece into a 15” long log.  Place log on ungreased cookie sheet.  Pat log into a 15” by 1 ½” rectangular strip.  With the handle of a wooden spoon, mark a ¼” indentation down the center of the strip.  Repeat with each strip of dough.
5. Evenly fill the indentation in each strip with jam.
6. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes.  With spatula, transfer strips to wire rack to cool.
7. To prepare frosting mix 1 cup confectioner’s sugar with 1 tablespoon water.  Drizzle frosting on top of cooled cookie strips.
8. Transfer strips to cutting board and cut each diagonally into slices.

And now here’s a quick scrappy share.

This fun, polka-dotted box is by Petaloo.  It makes a great trinket box of gift box, and it comes with a blank mini accordion-fold album inside, perfect for a small brag book of special photos.

I embellished the top with a band of ribbon and a Heidi Swapp chipboard bookplate.  The bookplate covers a date sticker by Melissa Frances.  I then layered on a felt snowflake from Martha Stewart and Making Memories poinsettias and epoxy sticker, a smaller American Crafts felt flower, and a metal snowflake charm.  A quick and easy gift packaging idea!

Thanks so much for stopping by everyone!

Countdown to Christmas- Day 10

Hi everyone!  Thanks for stopping by to check out my countdown to Christmas.  I have a bunch of things I would love to share today, starting with this wonderful present I received from my friends Jon and Cova for my birthday recently.

Cova makes these beautiful beaded and wire dragonflies, and  they are absolutely amazing.   If you have a nature lover on your holiday list this year and are searching for the perfect gift idea, then this might be just what you’re looking for.  Leave me a comment, and I’ll send you out her info.  I know Cova can customize a dragonfly just for you.

I also have more photos of my holiday house to show.  This is my bench in the front entryway.  It makes a great landing place for all sorts of holiday decor.  This year, I’ve decked it out with several small trees and have wrapped the banister in garland.

One tree I’ve left au naturale, one tree is holding my annual ornaments, and the third I’m calling my red and white tree.  I love having a variety of trees so that I can do theme decor, like with my pink tree in the sunroom I showed earlier.  Notice also that I’ve hung the kids’ stockings from the banister, for a unique spin on a classic holiday tradition.

And for a quick scrappy share, I have another ornament that I’ve crafted this season.  I made several versions of these last year, and had one remaining that I had left unfinished. He’s not unfinished anymore!

I added to last year’s design by giving this snowman angel a fancy tie at the neck and some fuzzy earmuffs.  I also added some Martha Stewart crystal clear glitter to the entire outline, his carrot nose, and the holly leaf.

I created the body from chipboard using my hand-held circle punches.  Added dictionary paper to the circles, sanded them, and then gave them a light whitewash of paint.  Inked the edges with light brown ink before added a thin line of glitter.  Used mini brads for the eyes, and flocked brads for the earmuffs.  The nose is just a simple triangle of orange card stock that I bent up a bit and lightly inked to give it a more worn look.

Thanks again for stopping by everyone!  Hope you have a wonderful evening!

Countdown to Christmas- Day 9

Hello everyone!  Thanks for stopping by for my holiday countdown.  Today I wanted to share a card I made for sketch #145 over at the CardPositioningSystems blog. When I saw the sketch, I knew immediately that it would work perfectly with a cute stamp I’ve been hiding in my stash and have never used.

This adorable Santa is the Cheer Santa (USK-124-1) stamp from Unity Stamps, a company I could seriously get in trouble with pocketbook wise, if I’m not careful. 😉

Paired him with my favorite holiday paper line, Eskimo Kisses from Basic Grey.  I stamped the Santa on white cardstock, colored the image in with my chalk pastels and added lots of details with Martha Stewart crystal clear glitter, hand-stitching, and white paint dots.  I added embroidery floss shoelaces with mini bells to his boots, and a mini pom-pom to the tip of his hat.

And now, here is my 2009 annual ornament.

Every year, for almost the last decade, I have made an ornament to give to my friends and family.  I enjoy making something new and fun every year, but mostly, I want to hand down to my children a collection of special ornaments to remind them of their childhood.  By the time they move out, they should have enough ornaments to get them started with their own trees.

I’ve made these using various papers and yummy trims from Webster’s Pages.  I love the slightly vintage look the Webster’s papers lend to them.  I added glitter to the details in the papers and mini bows  and bells around the necks.

Webster’s Pages Supply List:
Paper-
Wish Upon a Star- Home for the Holidays
Swan’s Lake-Winter’s Wings
Bloomin’ Beauty- Hello Beautiful
Love Note- Hello Beautiful

Trim-
Green Snowflake- Winter Trim Collection
Natural Trim- Elegant Trim Collection
Raspberry Ball- Elegant Trim Collection
Red Ruffle- Winter Trim Collection
Ball Fringe- Classic Trim Collection

Detailed instruction to make these birds are further down on my blog, and if you’re interested in the bird template, just let me know.  I will send you a copy.

Have a great day everyone!  Thanks again for stopping by!

Countdown to Christmas- Day 8

Good morning everyone!  Today is my day to post on the Webster’s Pages Facebook page, and I have a fun Christmas project to share with you.  It’s my holiday Noel frame.

The frame is a metal sign I found on clearance at my local craft store.

I covered the raised inside area with striped paper and then made 4 rectangular layered pieces to fit that area.  Each rectangle was machine stitched and raised on pop dots for dimension.  I added lots and lots of embellishments to each piece and one letter of the word NOEL.

The Noel letters were cream chipboard alphas that I inked green and outlined in brown pen.  Added a Noel rub-on to the letter N.  Fancy cut elements from the patterned paper and the designer vellum to layer over the bases.  Also used pieces from the Fabric Fancies and Journaling Cards for embellishment. And don’t you just love that Santa?  He comes from some older Webster’s rub-ons from their Winter Wonderland Collection.

Webster’s Supplies:

Patterned Paper:Christmas Sky, Wish Upon a Star, and Oh Christmas Tree from the Home for the Holidays Collection.
Swan’s Lake, Snow Tips, and My Promise from the Winter’s Wing Collection
Vellum: Home for the Holidays
Die-Cut Shapes Stickers: Home for the Holidays
Fabric Fancies…: Home for the Holidays
Journaling Cards: Nature’s Storybook Days of the Week Cards
Rub-Ons: Winter Wonderland
Trim: Nature’s Green from the Botanical Trim Collection and Natural Trim from the Elegant Trim Collection

I also used some old metals charms from Making Memories, dimension snowflake stickers from Jolee’s, a metal paper clip from Carolee’s, clear gems, and some mini jingle bells.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek at my holiday countdown project.  I’ll see you all tomorrow.

Countdown to Christmas- Day 7

Hi everyone!  Here we are one full week into December already, and if you’re anything like me, then the holiday preparations are in full swing at your house.  My latest push has been to get some of the shopping done, which always seems like the biggest project on my list.  Went out this morning briefly, and you can definitely tell it’s Christmas by the size of the crowds in the parking lots and stores.  I still have quite a bit more to do, but each day I am slowly checking a few items off. 🙂

I am also slowly pulling out all my Christmas decorations and getting my house all ready for the holiday.  This year, I’ve gone with a silver and white theme for my dining room table.

Lots of glass and shiny silver pretties.  Love all that sparkle at the holidays.  I added a bed of fresh greenery from my tree clippings in place of a table linen.  The stars are a garland I made for Webster’s Pages last year using their older holiday lines and shimmer papers.

I cut three sizes of stars from templates I downloaded from the internet and sewed them onto felt backings, leaving an opening to insert polyfill fiber before sewing closed.  Edged the shimmer stars with pearl trim and added a beaded berry cluster and ribbon tie to each.

I also made a bunch of these stars as individual ornaments for my tree.  Every year I try to add a homemade ornament to my collection.

And speaking of ornaments, here is one I made this year.

Papers and rub-ons are Making Memories and Webster’s Pages.  Cut a tree from the MM paper and popped it on the edge with a few added mini gems for some shine.  Edged the Santa image with silver tinsel stem and added a silver bow and a couple of bells.

Thanks so much for stopping by for my countdown to Christmas!  Hope to see you all again tomorrow!