Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Happy Holidays

As is par for the course, December has been a real whirlwind. Try as we might, we are never able to avoid all the craziness that comes with preparing for the holidays. In fact, had I posted in the midst of it all this post would likely have been titled, bah, humbug! or maybe even is Christmas fun, or what?! But from this side of the holidays, I can truly say the craziness is worth it in the end! And while I could go on and on about all the things I was unable to accomplish, I'm choosing to focus on the things which I was able to complete. Some crafty, some just things I wanted to do during the holidays. Mind you, the holidays are hardly over so I'm still at it-whittling away at my list! ;)



  • made fleur de sel caramels and French chocolate bark and coconut macaroons for a cookie exchange-fuN!


  • decorating the tree with my mom and all the handmade things she made me (i'll post about them later-she's been a busy bee this year!)


  • wrapped my packages in pretty paper and bows. i really struggled with the papers this year. so thin-hate that, but I managed. my favorite was the candy cane striped ribbon and the light blue paper i found at Target!


  • made a fabric wreath inspired by who else, but pamG! loved this, but hurried a bit, i think. best thing was the upholstry fabric i picked up in a cut-off pile for .50 cents! i also liked getting my feet wet with embroidery again. hoping to do more of that in the new year.


  • used some of that felt to make pins for my co-workers. a little martha stewart joy spread around!


  • played with some of my vintage pieces to create vignettes. my new favorite is my homage to the nativity using some tiny deer and glass dome i recently found.


  • making the sad tom inspired ornaments for my sunday school kids. barely got this done again this year. whew!

    the letter Brady received from Santa this year was a total spur of the moment thing at one in the morning, but SO worth taking the time to do!


  • had my family here for Christmas day. i love having them here.


  • saw White Christmas at the Fox. it was SPECTACULAR! the colors, the costumes and of course the music! some of the backdrops were very Pam Garrison-esque. i loved that!


  • listened to LOTS of Christmas music. my favorite this year was listening to the xm radio show hosted by Michael W Smith. didn't mind at all that it was in a loop that played Christmas eve and all Christmas day. and i love the playlist this blogger put together which includes Michael Buble-can't get enough of his voice lately!


I hope you enjoyed a holiday to remember and look forward to a new year filled with possiblity!


UPDATED 12/30/09 4 pm: One more thing completed on the list!




This little guy is from Teresa McFayden's Comfort & Joy eZine. Simple, but fun little techiniques to try-sugar sprinkles for the glitter on his hat, gloves and socks and the pom poms were made by simply rolling a bit of batting in between my fingers. fuN stuff! I think I'll keep him around a bit longer with my snowmen. Speaking of which, that's a vintage little cupcake topper-I bought a bag of them at a just-for-the-holidays boutique my sister and I visited before Christmas. Okay, going to see if I can get another little project completed!