More Christmas

Our tree, artificial (less stress for me!) Pre-lit, 400 clear lights, slim line, LOVE IT! (Got it on clearance for like $11 a few years ago!) Lovingly decorated by the kiddos on Christmas Eve. Most of the ornaments on it belong to them. We have them choose an ornament each year that they will take with them when they are old enough... now old enough might be like 30 or 40... I get to decide that! LOL! Seriously, old enough that they are settled and will care for them and realize what they represent, the history and memories of their childhood. I have an idea for an ornament album swirling in my brain. I have taken pictures of the ornaments most years, just have to fill in the gaps.

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When I was single and crazy I always had a HUGE live tree and it was mostly decorated with glass balls in shades of PURPLE, imagine that... a purple Christmas tree.

My kitchen table centerpiece. All Home Interiors products except for the quilted piece underneath. It is actually a wall hanging that we received as a wedding gift but it looks so good on the table that is were I use it. The candle hurricane has my *LAST* Cranberry Compote candle burning in it. I guess I will have to breakdown and try a new scent.

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The Kiddos went home today. The house is quiet and a little more of a wreck than usual, but I am okay with that. It was wonderful to have them here. It is the first time they have ever been here for Christmas Eve and that was fun. I was never a big fan of traveling on Christmas Day and really what kid wants to open their gifts and then drive over two hours and leave all their new stuff, so we always just had "our" Christmas when we wanted to between the 25th and New Years.
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Spending New Year's Eve with my cousin Amy and her girls. That means Chicken Cheese Ball! YUM!! It is a NYE tradition for us, just as much as pork and kraut! So in the morning I will "red up" the house and make my CCB and maybe some BBQ meatballs too.

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Take Care! See you in 2008!

Happy New Year!

How was your Christmas?

Ours was fun and busy!! Can you believe that on Christmas Eve morning I had only made one sweet thing? I remedied that right away and seven batches of cookies later I was able to make a cookie tray to take to my cousin Red's house that evening.

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Melanie and I made clockwise from the top.... Chocolate macaroons that the kids say look like cow patties. Red said if cow patties tasted that good he would be out picking them from the pasture. LOL! Next a double batch of Hershey Kiss Peanut Blossoms. It had to be a double batch because they were eating them as they were coming out of the oven.

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Soft ginger cookies... all I can say is YUM, so good with coffee! Thankfully no crime had to be committed to get the recipe for the cookie that was on my mind for days and days! (Hiya sis, if you are reading! WiNK!)

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Red's Ultimate M & M cookies, my nephew Mark's favorite cookie apparently. These were the first to be all gone and I got the last one! I like them because they are choc chip like, but more colorful! Next were Dark Chocolate drops with toffee bits, drizzled with white chocolate, a creation of my own.

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Aunt Janet's Raisin Puffs, delicious and soft and soooo good! We also made Rolo Pretzels with regular M & M's on top. They are super simple to make and they taste great. Sweet, salty, caramely and they should have a nut ontop, but I don't like nuts, so none on mine! The bowl in the middle has People chow in it.

Not too bad for a rush job!

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I had gifts to finish as well.... Hannah's Snowday Survival Hit... CASED the idea from MishMash. It is her cupcake kit PLUS a box of cocoa packets. I thought it was a cute idea for a snowday activity! I hope she liked it!

Next on the Christmas eve agenda at Santa's Sweatshop... Cookbooks... I had three to finish for that evening... Done... LOL! I think I even managed to match the covers to the recipients kitchen decor! Whew.... Melanie did the wrapping, I got a shower and off to Christmas Eve Candlelight and Communion Service. Then to Red's house for presents and lots of food.

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Oh, yes, and in the middle of all this we put the tree up too... that was fun, since the kids aren't always here to do that!

More next time, take care!

Greetings in my Mailbox!

Some beautiful homemade Christmas cards from my friends! I just love going to the mailbox this time of year... it is nice to get something in the mailbox besides bills and "pre-approved" junk!

Connie, Barb, Deanna & Sharon made these!

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Santa's workshop has been busy in my house. I have eight cookbooks copied, cut, punched and ring bound. Now they need covers....Queen of the last minute here.

Tree is NOT up yet and the only sweet treat I have made is a batch of "People Chow" that I had to hide from DH or it would be gone by now. Thank heavens that tomorrow the kiddos arrive and Melanie will be a super big help with the baking, wrapping and decorating.

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I did do the AWFUL job of cleaning the ceiling fan today and I pulled the sofa out and ran the sweeper behind there. I also made a super delicious pot of beef stew. I was really hungry for it and it made the house smell soooooo gooooooood! Also nice that once it was in the pot it didn't need a lot of attention, just the occasional stir as it simmered all afternoon.

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My friend Connie has a Holiday Luncheon every year and I am ALWAYS working, but this year I got to attend! I was so much fun! The food was delish and the company was wonderful! Topping it all off was the cute little snowman earrings she made for each of us as favors. I have worn mine everyday and they make me smile and think of Connie every time they tickle my neck with their little green ribbon scarf. I wish I had a pic of them, but they are so tiny I can't get a good one! They are super cute!

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Take care, hope nobody has to go to Wal-mart that place is a ZOO I bet!

They are done! Finally!

Thought I would share with you my Christmas card design for this year. I must say that back in November on the Saturday after Thanksgiving I got started on them like a shot! I worked at them faithfully on my lunch hour at Wallywork, and then....

Other stuff came up...like Angel breakfast favors, Nugget boxes for the dinner, the Monk marathon weekend on USA network....and then I hit the biggest brick wall of them all... I couldn't find the PERFECT sentiment for the inside of the card. Crazy I tell ya! So all of this hard work rushing to get them done has inspired a few ideas in my head.

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First... the verse for the inside... an Irish Blessing... I love Irish Blessings... hope you like this one too, because I decided I like it so much that it is going to be a new Tradition for me and I am using it every year in my Christmas cards. It goes like this...

May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home.

May good and faithful friends be yours,wherever you may roam.

May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures.

May all life's passing seasons bring the best to you and yours!

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Second, I am going with a MUCH simpler design next year! Already have something in mind, made a little sketch of it, so hopefully next year I will remember this and actually be able to remember that I made a sketch and hopefully will be able to locate it.

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Third, I also got to thinking that it would be GREAT to do "Christmas (CARDS) in July", so in the works is a cardmaking day in July... think Christmas cookies and punch, Christmas music for inspiration, some great make and takes and some stamping vendors on site, maybe a great tags & gift wrap class and of course the goal is to get started on those holiday projects. All this so that I am not nuts the week before Christmas trying to get my cards done. (And if you really know me, you know that I am the queen of last minute and will still be doing cards the week before like I always am! But, hey the summer card thing still sounds like a BLAST!)

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Now some details on the card... All cardstock is inexpensive value pack Cardstock. I like to make my Christmas cards with non-traditional colors and this year I looked at my stack of CS and saw that I had an ABUNDANCE of pastels. I have been on a use it up kick as well, so that helped. I also had 5 1/2 inch square ivory card bases cut and folded from a previous project that I used! Ink pads are CTMH (clover meadow, sunny yellow & smokey plum) and Rubber Stampede (fuchsia & royal blue.) Stamps are all Studio G ($1, WOOHOO) top two are clear stamps from Joann's and bottom two are woodblock from Michaels. Star punchie is a CM shapemaker large.

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These bad boys are going POSTAL tomorrow! WOOHOO!

(Somebody pour me a drink, and I ain't talking about hot chocolate!)

Take Care!

I am one of "Mrs. R's Kids"

Probably one of hundreds, if not thousands she touched in her lifetime. Helen Russian, known as Mrs. R to her kids (band and guard kids, drum and bugle kids, kids who toured the court house or were interested in the history of the community where they grew up, kids who were interested in government and politics.) Mrs. R was a champion of her kids. Dedicated to them with her time and life experiences. Anyone who knew her, knew this... "Good, Better, Best, Never let it rest, Til your good is better and your Better is the Best"

I pray that if you have children they get to have someone in their life like Mrs. R. She was part Drill Sargent, part Cheerleader, tough as nails and gentle as a kitten. Never stopping until the job was done and done right. Honest, sincere and always full of energy, practically tireless. That woman never sat, and I think she marched everywhere she went with her head up and her shoulders back! She could out-do and outlast all of her kids. The person that you wanted on your side, cause if she went to bat for you, she was gonna hit it out of the park! Ready to work the hardest and ready celebrate the success. Remembering your name, and making you feel important. Building your confidence and challenging you to do what you thought was impossible. Spending time with the youth of the community is probably what kept her so young for so long.

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Mrs. R has left a little of herself in all of her kids. Hopefully a legacy of doing your best, trying your hardest and being proud of your accomplishments that will be passed on to the next generation. Central City is a little sadder with her passing, but if we honor her memory by practicing what we learned from her imagine what can be done!

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I typed this through tears in my eyes. I really thought today about the people who were defining forces in my life. Of the people who were not relatives, Mrs. R ranks in the top three. I know there is a special place in Heaven for one the of God's Best, I just hope HE can keep up with her!

Pretty Poinsettias

I made this card a while ago when I was on a watercolor pencil coloring kick. The stamped image is an older one and not my own. At the moment I can't recall the company. Directions for the card can be found in the archives at the Mish Mash blog. Be sure to stop over and check her blog out. She has some fantastic ideas for advent calendar projects and exchange gifts!
There is a little pocket in the flap of this card that would hold a gift card or maybe a crisp new $100 bill. (wink!)

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Wallywork has been quite busy and I may have spoke a bit too soon about how nice people have been. The tide has turned and all I can say is...

Listen up people, it is not MY problem that YOU have WAITED until 2 weeks before CHRISTmas to get the (Insert the name of whatever it is that you are looking for here.) Maybe you should have picked it up when you decided that was the PERFECT and ONLY gift that you wanted for your (insert Mom, Dad, Kid, Mailman, Grandparent, Dogwalker, Hairdresser.)

Next year why don't you wait until CHRISTmas Eve and see how that works for ya!

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Honestly, every day when I go to work I have my Christmas Spirit... I just don't know what happens to it after I get there!

Sing a Christmas Carol and drink some cocoa!

Take Care!

Merry Christmas CD Card

This sweet BIG card was one the Becky did as a make and take for our Crafternoon Crew card club last time we met. The white shaker window part is actually a CD sleeve. Pretty darn creative use for a CD sleeve! The stamps used are from The Angel Company, and I am going to have to get me some of them! Snowflake punchies are Martha Stewart from Michaels. I believe that you can find the how-to for this one on Split Coast Stampers.

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Let me tell you how my life goes some days... take this past Saturday for instance. It really began on Wednesday when Mom and I did the grocery shopping for the Angel Breakfast at church. We stopped at the rec hall and put the groceries in the refrigerator that night. Fast forward to 7 AM Saturday. The fridge decided to stop working at some point between Wed and Sat. All the eggs and milk, etc. are ruined. So we call around and round up more eggs and milk. Breakfast is going well, except for being a little behind schedule.

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At least the kids were really into coloring the cards that I had stamped for them to make for the shut-ins and they weren't running around the building like crazed lunatics screaming like they often do. So breakfast now is ready, we eat and start to clean up. Kathy does the other really nice foam craft with them so it has some time to dry while they are listening to Kipp read the Christmas story. By the way the cocoa packet favors are a BIG hit! While the cleaning up is going on the phone rings, it is Charlie and Dan from Camp Harmony. They are having a cookie baking demo today and their cookie baker is ill and can't make it, can we help? Sure, we can help. So finish cleaning up and off we go, drop Abby at the hair salon to get her hair done for the Christmas Dance (yes, we still call it a Christmas Dance... if you want a winter dance have it in January!) Stop off at the house so I can compile a list of great websites for cookie recipes and a list of cookie storage tips.

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Out the door again and stop at the grocery store for some ingredients. Up the hill to Camp to start mixing cookies. You would think that all would go smoothly from here right? Um, yeah, OK. Charlie broke the mixer and while trying to fix it (with a hammer) he REALLY broke it. So now Dan is calling around to get us a mixer.

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In the middle of this we are unwrapping Hershey kisses and caramels and my nephew wants to help, so I tell him to wash his hands. He tells me he did wash them, and I tell him to wash them again, and he loudly informs me that he did wash them after he pooped, which caused a giggling meltdown of the adults present. By the way we have 2 hours to do this, because we have to get Abby finished for the dance and my Mom and Dad are going to her work Christmas party. So general craziness ensues while we demo and bake for a few hours.

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I also showed how to stamp on white lunch sacks and make paper toppers for zipper bags to dress up your cookies for gift giving. Pack it up and get on home. Oh, and now for my evening activity... babysit the four year old nephew who only thinks you have to wash your hands after you poop. Thankfully we did have the smarts to deprive him of his nap, so that we could both take one that evening! Pretty much a typical day in my life...LOL!

I am STUFFED!

It is a wonder I can even sit here and type! This evening was our annual Christmas dinner at Rizzo's for a group of us that have worked together at the Curse-at-me Desk for years. We always have the Italian Feast and it is ALWAYS wonderful! Wedding soup, Salad, Bread, Garlic Bread, Fried Zucchini, Sausage and Peppers, Meatballs, Rigatoni, Lasagna, Eggplant Parmesan, Baked Chicken, and Spumoni... all served family style, as much as you want.... I could go into a food induced coma! The company was as good as the food. It is nice to spend some time with the gals and just visit and laugh. Left to Right

Lynleigh, Me, Pam, Deanna, Anna, & Lynn

I made each of us a little Nugget box with four Hershey Dark Chocolate Truffle Nuggets. I have to say that figuring out the pattern was the hardest part. Once I got all the measuring and scoring done they went together in no time at all. I used paper from last year's Christmas stack (DCWV) and the snowflake tags were made with Creative Memories NEW Snowflake and Swirl punch, the large CM circle shape maker and my EK Whale of a punch circle. Ribbon is from Dollar General.

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I forgot to answer yesterday... Favorite gift I have received is a tie. Our first Christmas together Kenny got me an antique vanity and last Christmas he got me a ring with his birthstone and the kids birthstones in it. Love them both so much. Favorite gift I have given is probably Kenny, this year...I gave it early, but he is LOVING his GPS navigator.

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I am a terrible snoop when it comes to Christmas presents... my DH goes to GREAT LENGTHS to hide my presents. He has enlisted my Mother, my cousin Amy, our friends Bob and Lisa, and I am sure others to hide my gifts at their home. I can't stand not knowing... drives me nuts...so if anyone out there reading this has any idea where it is hidden or what it is... contact me... we can work something out! LOL!

Take Care!

Something Sweet from BS2!

I have been meaning to share this cute little tea bag holder card with you all for quite some time now. It was a gift from my friend Sharon (BS2) and since I have not made any of my own yet I am sharing hers with you. This is where all the cocoa packet mania in my life began. You can find tons of ideas for these cute little cards on the Splitcoast Stampers link over on the sidebar. Be careful though, very careful... as BS2 can attest... a little look can turn into 3 hours of gallery surfing in the blink of an eye!I know that everyone is busy getting ready for Christmas, at least that is what I am hoping since it has been so quiet around here lately.

If you are still reading and have an extra minute to spare... tell me

what is the BEST gift you have EVER received

and then

what is the BEST gift you have EVER given?

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Keep Warm and Take Care... Have a cup of tea and think of me!

Magical Christmas!

This is a card from the Fall Camp Crop. The Make and take from CTMH. Cute, colorful, sparkley!

Cocoa Anyone?

How about a super simple and super fast project? These little cocoa sleeves fit the bill! I have been looking at patterns and directions to make these and everything seemed a bit complicated with lots of detailed cutting, scoring, and glueing. I thought to myself, why can't it be easier? So I got out my Swiss Miss cocoa packet, a ruler to take some dimensions, some paper, my trimmer and some adhesive. Guess what? It was MUCH MORE SIMPLE!

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Take a 12x12 piece of pattern paper. Score the whole sheet at 1 1/2 inches and 6 3/4 inches. Step two is to cut the paper into strips, 4 inches each. The best part it that you have 3 sleeves per sheet and NO EXTRA SCRAPS to deal with. Use a photo split or dot of adhesive on the center section and stick your cocoa packet down. Fold up the larger bottom flap and fold down the short top flap. You can simply use some adhesive at this point or make a seal like I did with my scallop punch and some stamps. VIOLA!

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These are for my church's Angel Breakfast on Saturday morning. We have the kids for breakfast of French toast, sausage, scrambled eggs, & cereal. We read the Christmas story, and make a Christmas craft. We are also making cards for the shut-ins and nursing home members of our Church. These cocoa packets will go on the table as favors. It was super inexpensive as well, which is always a bonus. The papers are from a Christmas Stack from DCWV, patterns that I likely would not use for anything else. The cocoa packets are Swiss Miss, 30 in a box for less than $3 at Wal-mart.

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I think they would be cute to slip into a Christmas card or stocking. The pattern only works for Swiss Miss, Nestle or store brand cocoa packets that are sold 10 or 30 in a box. It would not be hard to make a similar pattern for the Land O Lakes packets that are taller and slimmer.

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How are your Christmas preparations coming along? All is well here. I have to tell you that SO FAR the general population has been pretty nice, but it is still early in the season. Three weeks to go and folks are pretty nice. Merry Christmas!

Take Care!

This is Henny Hemlock, one of the light displays at Overly's Country Christmas at the Westmoreland County Fairgrounds. We went there last evening with our neighbors Beth & Greg and their daughter Haylee, age 2. It was not very crowded and not very cold, so we had a nice visit! The lights were beautiful and we had a great time. Our only hitch was getting home.... boy was that mountain icy! Thanks to Greg's careful driving we made it home safe and sound!

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The display is HUGE! You can drive through it first, and then park and walk up in and see the displays up close. They have horse drawn carriage or sleigh ride, a train ride, a bonfire, model train display, antique toy display and Santa pictures. There are some costs involved for some of the extra activities but all of the money made at the display is donated to seventeen human service agencies in three different counties. Not a bad way to have some Christmas fun!

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One of the first things that overtakes you when you are walking in is the Christmas music, then you smell the Kettle Corn! YUMMMMM! Hot Chocolate, Sweet shop and other food is available as well as a gift shop. I got the most adorable Fireman jingle bell ornament for DH in the gift shop.

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It had the potential to be perfect.... but the one and only picture that I have of me and DH, I accidentally deleted.... I am irritated, frustrated and just plain old sad. Not a great big deal, just wanted something to show for it! Oh well, I have to be better about getting the old camera out and taking more pics!

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Hope you get to see some beautiful lights this season!

I also recommend

Lights on the Lake

Hartwood Acres

Take Care!

First Day of Deer... Holiday or not?

If you are from western PA it most certainly is a holiday. LOL! Schools are closed and my DH is actually getting "holiday" pay for Sunday and Monday. His place of business actually shuts down the first two days. It was miserable weather for the first day. DH called me, he was damp, chilly and hadn't seen a single deer. It is now Friday and still no deer. If we follow the pattern of the last several years he will shoot his deer hours before he is due back at work on the last day he is able to hunt. I sure do hope he gets one though!
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My Gram is back at the nursing home, local. Now we wait for 6 weeks and see how she heals and if the infection gets better.

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The plan for the weekend is to get some more Christmas shopping done. I hope to finish that all up so that next week I can decorate and the following week I can bake. That's the plan anyway... we will see how it goes!

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I am off to a great start on the Christmas cards, been working on them faithfully on my lunch hour and making progress quite quickly! As usual they are not your "traditional" holiday colors, but I think they are cute!

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I am working on big blog plans for January, something special for my friend Connie. I have been making some notes on ways to organize your scrapping and card making supplies and will be sharing them with you next month!

Take care!