Christmas is for Children

We have the two cutest kids that live next door. Two little boys, Jessie and Justin. I just love watching them play together, riding their bikes pretending to be cops, or motorcycle racers, playing tag, just boys being boys but they play so well together. I have never seen them fight with one another. I have never seen them disobey when they are called inside, Their parents have told them not to come into our yard without permission and they won't. Even if their ball comes into our yard, they will not come in to get it until one of us comes outside and then they ask. They came over when Joe was working in our garden and asked a million questions about growing things and what veggies he was growing, helping him pull weeds. And when it came time to harvest, they were so excited when Joe gave them some to take home. They would always come back and tell us how good it was and how they ate it "all up" as they were rubbing their tummies. I am sure they are not as perfect as they seem to me...I am sure their Mom would tell me that they are not the perfect little boys that I think they are. But they just tickle me. Their Dad just lost his job and has been picking up some part time work with my husband so I am afraid that (like all too many families) Christmas may be a little sparse. We always donate to Toys for Tots but this year I told Joe that I wanted to get these two little guys the toys we normally donate.

I have always enjoyed making Christmas and Santa magical for my kids and I miss that now that they are older. We did Santa's footprints, magic dust at the Fireplace, a piece of velvet left where Santa caught it on the chimney, a sleigh bell left on the porch roof anything we could think of to keep the magic alive. So, of course, I couldn't just give these two the presents from Joe and I. It had to be "magical". I decided that the presents would come from Santa's elves. So I found a cute coloring book image at www.PheeMcFarland.com, colored him in and named him Fribble, the Executive Head Elf. The elves get together every year and put all the good little boy's and girl's names in a hat and they pick two names out and give them an extra present. Kind of like a "Good Kid Lottery". Here's what I came up with:

Cute? I thought this way, they would not expect it every year and, of course, hopefully, it will make them feel special.

Then I was thinking about how big "Elf on the Shelf " is and this could work with that. If you have an Elf on the Shelf, you could use this with that and make the presents from your Elf.

I didn't create any of this so I cannot take any credit for them except for the coloring. Since it not my design I would suggest PU only. I have put together a little "kit" for you to use if you would like...

You can download it HERE

I've included the original coloring book image, the pieces I used and also a page of tags. I hope you enjoy!

I also want to thank you all for your nice comments and to answer a couple of questions that have come up.

Grambie...I am so thrilled to hear from you! I have thought about you so often and hoped that you were doing well. You always brought a smile to my day with your sweet comments.

No, unfortunately, I have not heard from Anita. I did send her a few emails but...I miss her as well.

I have already made a memory locket for my daughter's bouquet as suggested by Val with her grandfather's pictures in them and a horseshoe dangling from it. (An Irish custom for good luck) I am making her a brooch bouquet, I think I already told you that and so far it is coming out beautifully. Still need more brooches and it is a lot of work but fairly easy to do. I now understand why they cost so much on Etsy!

No, I do not have any plans to open up memberships again. I just don't think I could keep up with the demands of that. So many have emailed me about the old kits and could they get them so I have been toying with the idea of opening up on Etsy and posting some of the old kits there as well as new ones. I just don't think I could design on a time line for now but I missed designing. Not sure how it will work out since there are so many great designers out there and styles have changed quite a bit. Maybe my designs are too "dated'? I don't know just yet what I will do.

And, NO! I am not ready for Christmas yet! I am so far behind...just can't seem to get moving. the only thing saving me is that with the kids being older, money is an appropriate gift! My son wants to build a computer and needs money to buy the parts he wants and we bought my daughter and her fiance two new doors for their house after they were broken into that were more secure then the ones they had. So I am just picking up a few little things so there will be something to open. Have no idea what to get Joe or my Mom, the tree (OMG..the tree saga continues!) is still not up and so far I have a centerpiece on the dining room table and the wreath on the door...that's it for decorations! I have my daughter coming down this weekend for her birthday dinner so maybe I can enlist their help in getting some things done!!

I think that is about it. Think I should finish up my cup of coffee and get my day started.

Have a great day, my friends!

Getting ready for Christmas?

I guess it is that time of year again...let the hectic race to the finish begin! I do love Christmas but it is too much for me to keep up with what I have done in the past... 2 Christmas trees, decorations in every room, candles in every window (our house has over 30 windows between mine and my Mom's floors), the baking, making presents, the shopping...I'm exhausted before I begin! So despite my desire to do it all, I have decided to eliminate some of it and try to enjoy what the season really means instead of being too tired to appreciate it.

My first decision was to put up only 1 1/2 trees. Okay, you really cannot put up half a tree but instead of the big family tree, I thought I would put up a 4 1/2 foot tree and give the 7 1/2 foot Martha Stewart tree that I bought new last year to my daughter. I had bought it last year because it was pre-lit and supposedly easy to put up and take down. It was gorgeous but it was still a lot of work to put up and take down and my back was shot by the time I was finished. So..sent it up to my daughter so that she would not have to buy a tree. She was thrilled... I ,mean a good tree is not cheap and since they are trying to save for their wedding, and the added expense of having to theft proof their house since they were robbed last month, every dollar helps. I am such a good Mom, right? Well, maybe not...last weekend they decide to start decorating. Put up the tree and realize that they have a 7 1/2 foot tree and their ceilings are 7 1/2 feet! But. I guess the tree is not quite the height it says it is and there would have been just enough room to put on a tree topper. Then, they plug it in................

Lovely, isn't it?

They tried EVERYTHING including going to Home Depot and looking at Martha's tree but they have changed the design of the lighting set-up in this year's models. I had read last year that some people had trouble getting all the lights to work and if they weren't plugged in just right, they wouldn't all light. The parts that are out will not even light when plugged directly into the outlet. They spent 2 days working on it before they finally gave up and took it down. She is going to call them and see what they can do since it does have a 2 year warranty and, maybe with all the other complaints about the lighting, they will make good on it. Geez, a $300+ tree, used once and now it is not good for anything! They went out and bought a live tree for $40 but then had to buy lights so my attempt to save them money was a bust!

So, Jess is not too thrilled with Martha. She had bought a patio set of her brand from Home Depot and after having it about 2 weeks, they came home one day to find the glass top shattered. Nothing had fallen on it, it wasn't in the direct sun, just shattered for no apparent reason. They contacted the company and Home Depot and were told that this sometimes happens?!? The store did not have any more in stock so the did reimburse them for it. Hopefully, they will be as helpful with the tree! Come on, Martha! I love you but a little quality control, please!

I will be going up to her house on Saturday for a jewelry party along with my Mom, Jeff's Mom and one of the bridesmaids. When their house was broken into, they stole every bit of jewelry she owned except for what she was wearing. She was heart broken since 2 of the pieces were gifts from her grandfathers, who are no longer with us, and she had planned on wearing them for her wedding so she would have their presence with her on her big day. I thought with our home being broken into twice would have been enough but I guess she has inherited our bad luck. So she is having a party to try and restock some accessories.

And, to top it all off. they day they were leaving for Florida to visit Jeff's grandparents for Thanksgiving, they discovered that someone had hacked into their bank account! Poor kid! She works so hard...they both do and they are NICE people. they don't deserve this run of bad luck.

Enough with the downer stuff! We are getting into this wedding big time now. Two weekends ago, we went gown shopping! You Mom's will understand what a big moment this was for me! To see your baby girl in a wedding gown... a day you started dreaming about from the moment you knew you had a daughter! She was beautiful in almost every gown she tried on but not quite ready to make a decision. The 2 that she really liked were 3 sizes too small so she really couldn't tell which would be the best so she is going to try another salon to see if they have a size closer to hers. She wants a vintage/rustic theme and either gown would be great. She wants to carry a brooch bouquet so I told her that I would make one for her so I am now on the hunt for rhinestone and pearl brooches. I have quite a few already and have started to play around with putting the bouquet together and I think it is going to be spectacular. She thinks, and I have to agree with her, that flowers for the bouquets are a waste of money. This bouquet she will be able to save since it will have a base of silks. She is thinking of her having bridesmaids carry an embellished clutch purse which I think is great. She does have a good head on her shoulders when it comes to money and her venue and food were the two items that she splurged on and the rest she wants to do as much DIY and DIM (do it Mom) as possible. I designed their Save the Dates and we are now working on their invitations. So much fun! I will keep you posted on her wedding plans...wish I could invite you!

I do have a kit for you! In the Christmas spirit so it is a Christmas kit. Kinda funky and fun, relaxed and casual. It will only be available for 2 weeks so get it while it's hot! I have decided not to keep the downloads up forever because I may be going the Etsy route. But for those of you that have kept me on their updates and feeds...you get first crack!

Download HERE

I hope you enjoy! Leave me a comment so I know that I am not talking to the wind, okay?

Back from the dead?

Not sure how many of you will be reading this since I have been gone for so long! I recently received a few emails from some "old" members asking how I was, saying that they continue to check my blog to see if I have updated or even just to say "hi" and it really made me feel good to think that I was missed! So, I thought that I would pop in, say hi and let you know how I was doing and to say thank you to all of you that have kept me in your thoughts and prayers!

Really not much has changed. Still in pain although it does seem to be a little better in some areas and worse in others. I did not have the surgery on my back since they could not guarantee me that it would really help so I thought, "Why put myself through all that and not receive any benefit or, even be worse off than I already am?" Most days I just plug along and to be honest, the pain is far out-weighed by the lack of energy. My family has gotten quite used to having to wake me up to tell me to go to bed because it seems like if I sit down, the eyes close! There must be a direct link between my butt and my eyelids!

The family is doing well now. We did go through a very rough patch with my son and I would like to say that he learned from it but I am afraid that he did not. He is back living here at home and although I love him dearly I am not sure that out weighs the mess that it has caused!! I had gotten the house pretty much all in order and had the cleaning down to a manageable routine and now that is all shot to hell. I am sure that he will be moving out somewhere in the not too distant future so for now...I will deal with it and try to focus on the blessings of having him here.

My daughter has moved to Massachusetts (because of her fiance's relocation) and it about broke my heart. Although she is only 2 1/2 hours away it is too far for me to drive by myself so I can't just hop in the car and see her as often as I would like. Even driving up there with Joe does a number on me with the vibrations of the car/truck. Last Christmas started a whirlwind of activity here with my son moving home, her moving to Massachusetts and her getting engaged! It all happened in one month and all around Christmas so hectic became a lifestyle for about 2 months until everyone was settled! She and Jeff found a great house and although they moved in in January, unfortunately her job was still down here. The company allowed her to telecommute for part of the week and then she would stay here when she actually had to be in the office. She finally got transferred up there last month, thankfully because the amount of driving she was doing and the confusion it was causing her with her schooling was really taking its toll on her...can we say "_itchy"? She was exhausted and frustrated and just wanted not to be living out of a suitcase and be able to actually enjoy her first home. Now they are busy doing some redecorating and is much more calm and, yes, pleasant! We are starting to plan in earnest for the wedding which will be in September and I am so excited but we can talk more about that later!!

Joe and I are fine except he is working too hard and that makes for long lonely days for me but I really should not complain since with this economy we are very lucky that his business is still doing well. Being a self employed painter/contractor for the most part has not been too profitable for most people but he has managed to keep busy and find new jobs. My Mom is still kicking and, really, does better than me most of the time!

As for designing...I started to play around again but really haven't done too much. I lost quite a lot of my own design resources so it means designing from scratch every time I want to do something. I had so much that I had scanned and extracted, lace and bows and such that it seems overwhelming to have to do it all over again especially with the set up that I have.
But, we are in the middle of turning my daughter's room into MY craft room with a big desk so that hopefully it will be more convenient to do stuff. I think you guys would be surprised if you could have seen how I had to work before...in a little corner desk set up with a broken keyboard shelf! I might as well kept my keyboard on my lap! And the angles of everything really would do a number on my neck! Hopefully, with the new set-up I can be more comfortable. have my printer/scanner right at arm's length away and finally get organized!

But, I have done something and I thought I would share it with you all. It is small... an alpha. I got the idea from something I saw on Pinterest. Oh, have you been bitten by that little addiction yet? What a great idea but oh, so addicting! My daughter and I signed up so we could exchange ideas that we saw for the wedding and now I have a list of "when I have the time" projects that would take me until I am 160!

So, here we go... I hope you enjoy! And again, thank you for those that have sent me notes over the past year and a half! I always said that I had the best members/friends that a blogger could have and you continue to prove me right!

This is for Commercial Use...you can re-color to your heart's content! Please read the new TOU and leave me a comment, okay?

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Hopefully it will not be another couple of years before you hear from me again!

A 'Freebie-For-All'!

Thank you all for all the prayers and good thoughts for my Mom. She is home but she is still not feeling 100%. Very weak, tires easily, no real appetite. Took her to get her hair done today which did make her feel so much better though. I think she thought that as soon as she came home she would be back to normal and she is running a bit short of patience about letting this virus work out of her system! I thought patience was supposed to be a virtue of the elderly???? LOL!

I have a 'Freebie-For-All' for you! I know I am a bit early for this since Breast Cancer Awareness is next month but I thought if any of you were involved in any activities, you might appreciate it a bit early. I am giving this kit away since it is something that is very close to my heart since 2 of my most favorite people are BC Survivors.

So, this is free for you to celebrate a survivor or to tribute someone you may have lost to this horrendous disease. I only ask that instead of payment, you make sure that you are up to date on your mammograms, that you go to The Breast Cancer site and click to help get mammograms to those that cannot afford it and, if you are one of those that do need help to get a mammogram that you go to the American Cancer Society site to find out where you can go in your own community to get yourself checked. Please make the Breast Cancer site a daily visit. Contrary to what the emails about this site say, each click does not get a mammogram. It actually takes about 45,000 clicks but the site averages about 54,000 clicks per day...that comes out to 1.3 mammograms daily. If we all make it a daily stop, we can raise the number of mammograms that are given out so please, take a few minutes to do a little good for those in need!

Download is HERE

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