Merry Christmas to one and all!
Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas. See you in the new Year!
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Merry Christmas 2015
Merry Christmas to one and all. Thank you for being a part of my life and for visiting my blog. Each and every one of you means so much to me. Remember, Jesus is the reason for the season.
And of course Snoopy wishes you a Merry Christmas as well. I'm taking off from blogging until after New Years Day. Have a safe and blessed holiday season!
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to one and all -wishing you the best this holiday season!
Remember the reason for this special day. Hug the ones you love. xo
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Ho Ho Ho Card Holder
I had bought some burlap for a project last week and had quite a bit left over. While scrolling through Pinterest the other day I saw a card holder idea and decided to tweak the idea and make one for myself.
First I cut a piece of burlap approximately 5 ft. by 10". Then I ironed it so it was nice and flat.
I folded over the top edge and sewed it about 2" down from the top, leaving both sides open....
I dug through my craft box and pulled out a paint stirring stick. I painted both sides with a light brown acrylic paint....
After the paint dried I drilled a hole into each end of the stick, about 1/2" in. Sorry. no picture of that.
I went out into my craft shed and rummaged around until I found a bag of old clothespins that I bought last summer at an estate sale. I grabbed some green and red acrylic paint and painted up a bunch of the clothespins. Yeah, I know that's a lot of stuff piled up on my craft table but I had about 4 projects going on at once. Does anyone else do that??
I took my stencils and some red paint and wrote ho, ho, ho across the top edge of the burlap...
And finally I threaded a piece of hemp string through the holes of the paint stick so I could hang my card holder from a hook. I stuck my colored clothespins along the edges and as I receive Christmas cards I can attach them to the burlap with the clothespins. I love this idea because usually as I receive cards I lay them on a Christmas plate on the shelf, but this way I can actually see, enjoy and display all my cards.
This was a quick project and it will be easy to roll up and store away with my Christmas decorations. Ho, ho, ho....
First I cut a piece of burlap approximately 5 ft. by 10". Then I ironed it so it was nice and flat.
I folded over the top edge and sewed it about 2" down from the top, leaving both sides open....
I dug through my craft box and pulled out a paint stirring stick. I painted both sides with a light brown acrylic paint....
After the paint dried I drilled a hole into each end of the stick, about 1/2" in. Sorry. no picture of that.
I went out into my craft shed and rummaged around until I found a bag of old clothespins that I bought last summer at an estate sale. I grabbed some green and red acrylic paint and painted up a bunch of the clothespins. Yeah, I know that's a lot of stuff piled up on my craft table but I had about 4 projects going on at once. Does anyone else do that??
I took my stencils and some red paint and wrote ho, ho, ho across the top edge of the burlap...
And finally I threaded a piece of hemp string through the holes of the paint stick so I could hang my card holder from a hook. I stuck my colored clothespins along the edges and as I receive Christmas cards I can attach them to the burlap with the clothespins. I love this idea because usually as I receive cards I lay them on a Christmas plate on the shelf, but this way I can actually see, enjoy and display all my cards.
This was a quick project and it will be easy to roll up and store away with my Christmas decorations. Ho, ho, ho....
Friday, December 20, 2013
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
I'm taking a little blogging break until after the New Year. I want to wish all of you a blessed Christmas and a happy and safe New Year. Hug the ones you love and enjoy the season.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Merry Christmas 2012
Merry Christmas!
Remember, Jesus is the reason for the Season. Have a blessed holiday!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Christmas Preparations
I have to tell you, it was difficult getting into the Christmas spirit this year, but we're trying. I'd really like to thank everyone out there for being so supportive with messages and cards. It was so appreciated. I never realized how much a kind word can change the outlook in a persons day. I'm sorry to say that I didn't even start my Christmas cards this year, so please forgive me. Honestly, we've been spending a lot of time together as a family and I've been hugging my kids a lot.
A big time saver for me this year was shopping on line. I despise crowds and long lines anyway, so for me, it's totally worth it to price compare on line and then click and ship. I was surprised at how many items I was able to get shipped for free by googling for online coupons for the different stores. I saved a bunch that way. If you don't do that already, check it out. Wow!
We put the tree up on the first Sunday of December, like we always do. Now that my kids are older, I just wrap most of the presents as I buy them and stick them under the tree.
The stockings were hungby the chimney on the book case with care and almost immediately the Christmas Elf starts filling them each day with little trinkets. I'll tell ya, my kids get a bigger kick out of checking their stockings every morning than they do about almost anything else. It's the most favored tradition in our family and one that I'm glad I started when they were little. Almost every night the elf visits and leaves a small gift in one or two of the stockings. The kids would always get up quickly on December mornings to see who got a gift. They were allowed to remove it from the stocking, squeeze and shake it and even guess what it might be. So much fun for such a simple thing!
How many different varieties of cookies do you make for Christmas? We're whipping up about 14 different kinds this year. We usually start around the 1st of December and make a batch per day until we're done, but with all the turmoil around here this year, we got a really late start. As of right now, we only have 2 batches left to make, so I don't think we did bad at all. Here's Chablis with the recipe scrapbook I made for her last year. She's been adding new recipes all year and this year she really learned how to cook. I'm quite proud of her!
Lucky always has to lay right in the middle of the kitchen whenever we bake.
Petey sits and hopes for a crumb or two to hit the floor....
Tony likes to help make and smell the cookies, but he sticks to his apples, thank you very much....
5 days until Christmas and we're back on track. Most of the food for Christmas dinner has been purchased, house cleaning started, baking almost done, tree and stockings up and most of the gifts wrapped. Christmas music is constantly playing in the background. Hugs and kisses all around.
A big time saver for me this year was shopping on line. I despise crowds and long lines anyway, so for me, it's totally worth it to price compare on line and then click and ship. I was surprised at how many items I was able to get shipped for free by googling for online coupons for the different stores. I saved a bunch that way. If you don't do that already, check it out. Wow!
We put the tree up on the first Sunday of December, like we always do. Now that my kids are older, I just wrap most of the presents as I buy them and stick them under the tree.
The stockings were hung
How many different varieties of cookies do you make for Christmas? We're whipping up about 14 different kinds this year. We usually start around the 1st of December and make a batch per day until we're done, but with all the turmoil around here this year, we got a really late start. As of right now, we only have 2 batches left to make, so I don't think we did bad at all. Here's Chablis with the recipe scrapbook I made for her last year. She's been adding new recipes all year and this year she really learned how to cook. I'm quite proud of her!
Lucky always has to lay right in the middle of the kitchen whenever we bake.
Petey sits and hopes for a crumb or two to hit the floor....
Tony likes to help make and smell the cookies, but he sticks to his apples, thank you very much....
5 days until Christmas and we're back on track. Most of the food for Christmas dinner has been purchased, house cleaning started, baking almost done, tree and stockings up and most of the gifts wrapped. Christmas music is constantly playing in the background. Hugs and kisses all around.
Friday, November 30, 2012
My Favorite Christmas Music
Last year I did a review on Michael Buble's new Christmas CD, simply titled Christmas. You can go back and read that review here.
This CD quickly became one of my favorites and it was the first one I played tonight while making our first batch of Christmas cookies - sugar cookies, in case you're interested.
Another CD that I really enjoy is Christmas With Dino. I mean, come on, it's Dean Martin. Dean was the ultimate in cool, and when he sang, his voice was always smooth as whiskey and I can just picture the smile on his face. Best track? "Baby, it's Cold Outside" with Martina McBride.
Are you familiar with "Sugarland?" Jennifer Nettles has one of the best voices in country music and this album "Gold and Green" does not disappoint. Her voice is so clear and pure on "Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel" that I could cry. My favorite selection tho is "Maybe Baby." It showcases her singer partner "Kristian Bush" and he really needs to sing lead a little more often.
And the holiday season would not be complete without "A Cherry, Cherry Christmas" by Neil Diamond. What can I say? I love the man and his music! Every...single...song.... Sigh......
Another all-time favorite is Mariah Carey's "Merry Christmas" album. Her "All I Want for Christmas is You" is one of the best Christmas songs ever written. Unfortunately, my copy is an ancient cassette tape and I no longer have anything to play it on. Plus, I wonder if it would even work anymore? At any rate, I'm on the look out for the CD version and as soon as I find one on sale, I will snatch it up. I can't have Christmas without my Mariah.
So there you have it, my 5 favorite Christmas albums. I have other holiday CD's, but these are the 5 I listen to constantly. Who do you like? Which ones do you recommend?
This CD quickly became one of my favorites and it was the first one I played tonight while making our first batch of Christmas cookies - sugar cookies, in case you're interested.
Another CD that I really enjoy is Christmas With Dino. I mean, come on, it's Dean Martin. Dean was the ultimate in cool, and when he sang, his voice was always smooth as whiskey and I can just picture the smile on his face. Best track? "Baby, it's Cold Outside" with Martina McBride.
Are you familiar with "Sugarland?" Jennifer Nettles has one of the best voices in country music and this album "Gold and Green" does not disappoint. Her voice is so clear and pure on "Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel" that I could cry. My favorite selection tho is "Maybe Baby." It showcases her singer partner "Kristian Bush" and he really needs to sing lead a little more often.
And the holiday season would not be complete without "A Cherry, Cherry Christmas" by Neil Diamond. What can I say? I love the man and his music! Every...single...song.... Sigh......
Another all-time favorite is Mariah Carey's "Merry Christmas" album. Her "All I Want for Christmas is You" is one of the best Christmas songs ever written. Unfortunately, my copy is an ancient cassette tape and I no longer have anything to play it on. Plus, I wonder if it would even work anymore? At any rate, I'm on the look out for the CD version and as soon as I find one on sale, I will snatch it up. I can't have Christmas without my Mariah.
So there you have it, my 5 favorite Christmas albums. I have other holiday CD's, but these are the 5 I listen to constantly. Who do you like? Which ones do you recommend?
Monday, December 26, 2011
Caching on Christmas
I hope everyone had a blessed and wonderful Christmas and got to enjoy some quality time with family and friends. I know we did!
Since my kids are about grown, we have a little more free time on Christmas Day, so we went and picked up mom and dad at 7:00 am and ran out to do 3 quick and easy geocaches. Yes, I know we're crazy!!
All 3 caches were park and grabs, so it took us less than an hour to find all of them and drop mom and dad back off at their house. We went back home and opened presents with the kids ....
and then we all went back by mom and dad's for Christmas Dinner.
Mom cooked.....
Dad carved the turkey.....
And we all ate until we couldn't eat any more....
And then we played a very fast paced dice/grab bag game....
Later in the evening my nephew stopped by for a visit....
So that was our day - how was yours?
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Friendship Park Conservatory
The Mt. Prospect Park District maintains a beautiful park and conservatory. Every year for Christmas they decorate the conservatory with hundreds of poinsettia plants in a variety of sizes and colors. The first weekend of December they host an open house for the area kids and Santa Claus makes a special appearance. The remainder of the month they are open for anyone to come and enjoy the conservatory.
Come stroll around the conservatory and check out the beautiful display...
The red ones with the white speckles are my absolute favorite!!
Adorable little elves are tucked here and there for the kids to find. Now I want an elf!
A gentle stream of water was running down the wall behind us....
And Koi swim lazily around the little pond.....
After that we walked over to their cactus room. Several years ago my dad donated one of his cactus (cacti?) and his jade plant to the park. We stop every year to say hi. I think the plants perk up when they hear us coming.
This is dads cactus. He bought it when it was about 3" tall, over 25 years ago. Dad has a real green thumb and nurtured it along for all those years. He finally donated it a couple years ago when it got too large for him to move around. Isn't it beautiful?
Here you can see it tucked way in the back by the window....
And here's his Jade plant....
I loved the little gazebo - too bad Santa wasn't there. I have been a very good girl this year!
Christmas is almost here. Jesus is the reason for the season. I count my many blessings and give thanks.
Come stroll around the conservatory and check out the beautiful display...
The red ones with the white speckles are my absolute favorite!!
Adorable little elves are tucked here and there for the kids to find. Now I want an elf!
A gentle stream of water was running down the wall behind us....
And Koi swim lazily around the little pond.....
After that we walked over to their cactus room. Several years ago my dad donated one of his cactus (cacti?) and his jade plant to the park. We stop every year to say hi. I think the plants perk up when they hear us coming.
This is dads cactus. He bought it when it was about 3" tall, over 25 years ago. Dad has a real green thumb and nurtured it along for all those years. He finally donated it a couple years ago when it got too large for him to move around. Isn't it beautiful?
Here you can see it tucked way in the back by the window....
And here's his Jade plant....
I loved the little gazebo - too bad Santa wasn't there. I have been a very good girl this year!
Christmas is almost here. Jesus is the reason for the season. I count my many blessings and give thanks.
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