Merry Christmas Wishes!!

Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating today!! 

Wishing you happy times with family and friends and a fabulous year in 2022! 

I often decorate multiple Christmas trees but with Mom's broken leg, I only managed one this year.

I decided to bring one of my slim trees tomy parents' house. Sister Tami came to MN from AZ for a few days during one of the worst snowstorms we've had this year. She helped me decorate so Mom had a nice homecoming from rehab. Mom loves the angel topper and granny square tree skirt crocheted by one of her friends.

We celebrated with my brother and his wife on Thursday - Donna made a delicious ham dinner, then we played Phase 10 (a card game). I won!! Here I am with my parents - we're wearing holiday headbands gifted to us from friends, Connie and Doug. They've been giving us an Advent box for several years - my mom loves opening the daily "prize" from December 1st through the 25th. Today we'll have lutefisk and lefse in honor of my dad's Norwegian heritage.

We're still doing Winter/Christmas themed projects at Die Cut Divas until 9pm on 12/31 so check it out if you have some time left to play this month! Thanks for visiting and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas wishes to all celebrating!! Today I'm sharing another take on the My Favorite Things Winter Songbird and Tweet Holidays sets, combined with Blueprints 27:

Supplies: Paper - Paper Studio Holiday;

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White:

Authentique

Stamps - Hero Arts CL241 Three Tree Christmas (retired);

My Favorite Things Winter Songbird and 

Tweet Holidays (retired)

Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 27 and

Winter Songbird; 

Hero Arts DI786 Christmas Lights Border

Other - Hero Arts Lacquer; Copic Markers

You can see my previous take here. For today's card I used different shades of green and different birdies, still combining birds from Winter Songbird with one from Tweet Holidays (thanks again Lin). I also snipped a section of a string of lights frame die cut. You can see a card using the full frame here. 

If you want to stick with me, I'm sharing some Christmas tree photos next. Some of my blogging friends enjoy my Christmas tree posts. 😀😀I love my Hallmark ornaments and have a fair few. First up, my mini designer tree:

I love the little mice in the tea set, given to me years ago by Aunt Carol and Uncle Tom. When I shared this year's photo with my aunt to thank her again for the ornament set, she asked about the clock in the background. Pretty sure it belonged to her and my mom's dad but I don't know anything about it... 

Next, I tried my hand at a Christmas collage to show the rest of the decor: mini wreath, new white mini tree, my parents' tree which I decorated, cornhusk angel mini tree, mini pine tree and triangle trees.

My dad and Uncle Orv made the grandmother clock, a bit of which you can see on the bottom left. I didn't put up my big trees at home - just ran out of energy this year. I'm sure you know the feeling!

That's it - hope you enjoyed the tree parade! If you missed the Concord and 9th paper tree I made, you can see it here. I just left it displayed since I made it back in October!!

Have a wonderful Christmas and, if I don't see you before then, I'll be back on 12/31 for the end of the month Die Cut Divas post. Thanks for the visit and happy holidays!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas wishes to all celebrating! All my Christmas cards, made steadily throughout the year, were mailed weeks ago and I've decorated & partied, performed in & attended shows. Time now to relax with family and enjoy the  holidays. Hope you enjoy your holidays too!!

Today I'm sharing a thank you card I made for Christmas gifts received. The patterned paper varied from card to card but this was my go-to for this year. I'll make more tomorrow for today's gifts but I made 11 for gifts I already received.

Supplies: Paper - Memory Box A2 card; Lawn Fawn patterned;
Neenah white; Michael's lime
Stamp with matching die - Taylored Expressions Handlettered Sentiments
Die - My Favorite Things Blueprints stitched rectangle; Hero Arts Infinity Circles
Other - Paper Studio holly stickers; Pine Needles Distress Oxide Ink

My friend JoAnn and her hubby John received this particular one for the box of handmade truffles they gave me (they made 2600 of them!!), plus a wonderful caroling party they hosted last week. Don't get me started on the divine chocolate yule log John made - he's an amazing baker and chef.

If you want to scroll further to see my Christmas trees for this year, please do! Otherwise, thanks for stopping and happy holidays!!

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Last year I didn't share any tree photos but I put up one tree. My mom went into the hospital 12/12/18 and from there to rehab til end of January 2019. We spent Christmas doing puzzles in the rehab center and I didn't have much time to do much decorating! Well, I made up for it this year, putting up SEVEN trees!! First tree (normally would be downstairs in the corner of my family room) is a 7.5 foot slim tree. I didn't think I'd have the time and energy to put up my big tree this year so I got out the slim one for upstairs. It looks a bit skinny in front of a large window but, oh well.... Not a great photo either, now that I get a good look at it, but it'll have to do...

I decorated a couple of Hallmark triangle trees perfect for their mini ornaments. I bought the larger one (holds 22) a couple years ago and the smaller one this year (holds 10). I put one at my parents' house and one at home. 

 

Here's a miniature tree with the bulk of my mini ornaments:

The base for this one has a train that used to go around it. Unfortunately the battery box got corroded one year so it doesn't work right now. Next is my other tree with mini ornaments - this one has pine cones which account for some of the dark spots. I decorated both of these mini trees at my parents' house in my home-away-from-home "studio".

I put up a 3' tree in my family room atop a table. I didn't realize I still had this one in the closet so thought I'd give it a play.

I also put up my Hallmark designer mini tree; each designer at the time contributed an ornament to the set. Then I add extras to fill up the branches. The base came with the tree - so cute!

Bonus - a wreath I usually put in my foyer; this year it's on the wall as you enter my studio. I decorate it with a bunch of mini ornaments I got back in the 90s.

That's it for this year - whew!! I had fun decorating, including my parents' tree which I didn't share (looks pretty good, though). Hope you have a wonderful Christmas whether you're celebrating today or some other day. See you in blogland in 2020 and thanks for stopping by!!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating! No cards to share today and Merry Monday is off this week but we'll be back on January 1st with a new challenge.

People ask me to post my Christmas trees so that's what I'll do today. This year I was busy with a chorus show, playing in a church orchestra, helping my parents, etc. so I only had two this year. First - a 7.5' slim tree in my family room and second - a mini wood frame tree I got at Hallmark this year.

Oops - cut the topper off my slim tree when I took the photo but it's a paper maiche angel a friend gave me years ago. Since I was in a bit of a hurry with my decorating, I put the first topper that came out of the storage closet. Of course I had to put my musical ornaments on the tree - hippo that plays "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" , a jolly Santa in a sombrero playing "Feliz Navidad", Snoopy's dog house that plays a Charlie Brown Christmas song, bell that plays "Carol of the Bells", among others. I think I've mentioned in the past that I go around the tree often during the day, hitting all the play buttons! I'm easy to entertain!!

The wood frame tree (about 14" tall) has mostly 2017 minis but I added a few from earlier years. I have an 18" mini tree that I usually put up but it's a lot of work and I didn't get it done this year. Same with my wreath with several sets of Christmas mice ornaments that I collected from Hallmark years ago. Oh well, we do what we can.... I think the wood tree would look nice with a backing so I'll work on that for next year.

Hope you have a wonderful day like I'll enjoy with family and friends! Thanks for stopping!!

Some Christmas trees & my helper

OK - I've had some requests to post some holiday decoration photos so here they are. I don't decorate the outdoors at all but I usually put a tree in front of the living room window and a trio of lighted candles in the family room window. These can be seen from the street by passersby.

I bought this slim pre-lit artificial tree a couple years ago - a perfect fit in the corner by the family room staircase. This year I decided to give it the spot in front of the living room window - looks great in the center panel of a three panel window.

One of Mom's friends made the tree skirt. My brother gave me the topper - a crystal angel that he didn't need anymore. Most of the ornaments are by Hallmark but I also have a few on there from other companies. One - Newbridge Silver in Ireland - Heather sent me a couple (thanks again!!) and I bought one when I visited her in 2014. Another - Chico's (the clothing store) who has offered several beautiful metal and bead ornaments over the years. I love to open all the boxes and appreciate all the details of each ornament. Quite a few play music including "Feliz Navidad", "Santa Baby", "I've Been Everywhere", and my favorite - "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas". Every day I go around the tree pressing the buttons and singing along as the ornaments play. My brother's cat Misty was visiting me and "helping" with the decorating (she didn't bother the tree or play with the ornaments, thankfully). Here she is supervising from one of my packing crates:

One last "tree" - this one sits on the kitchen table. It has a cookie cutter for a topper, reminiscent of the antique star cutter I use for my almond shortbread cookies. The tree and the ornaments are all by Hallmark.

I have other decorations put around but didn't photograph them. There's plenty more I haven't put out but I wanted to get some decorating done because my brother and sister-in-law came to get Misty (boo-hoo) last night and I fixed them dinner. Donna makes lefse so she brought a large bundle of them. Brother wanted lutefisk so I picked some up at the grocery - very easy in Minnesota this time of year - LOL. Despite being of Norwegian descent, Donna doesn't touch lutefisk - that's why she wanted me to make it for my brother. She ended up with some rotisserie chicken; that way I didn't have to make Swedish meatballs (what we usual serve the non-lutefisk eaters). They will be with her family for the holidays this year so I enjoyed fixing a holiday dinner for them now.

No cards to share today - I've been working on getting my Christmas cards ready to mail. When I made my Merry Monday cards throughout the year, I didn't do the insides. I'm mass producing the insides with the help of the MISTI. I already have the cards in piles of horizontal vs vertical orientation and by theme. Hope this is a good plan - it worked great for the first batch! Wish me luck and thanks for stopping!!

Christmas decorations galore

I love Christmas decorating - just inside, not out.  We've never been ones to decorate outside, other than a simple wreath on the door.  But I just love my Christmas trees and ornaments!!  I've posted in past years but there's always something new to share :)

This year I have a new tree for the family room - it's a 7' slim tree which makes it impossible to layer 2 and 3 ornaments on a branch like I enjoy doing on my big ol' chunky tree.  Well, it's so much work to put up, I didn't even bother to do the chunky tree this year!  I'm really enjoying the slim tree.  I have to share a special new ornament I received from my friend Heather in Ireland.  You may remember I had the chance to visit Heather and her family in May - had the time of my life and I'm sorry I'm not there now to enjoy Heather's fabulous cooking!  Anyway, yesterday a thick package arrived from across the pond - thanks Heather!!! The cross ornament was in the package along with a bunch of other goodies:

It came from Newbridge Silver which is a beautiful shop we visited when I was in Ireland.  Engraved on the cross  is the Irish phrase Nollaig shona duit = "Merry Christmas to you" according to Google Translate.  And on the bottom half it says Nollaig faoi shéan is faoi shonas duit = "December under denied under you happy" according to Google Translate.  Huh???  So I asked Heather and she says that it is a traditional greeting that means "A prosperous and happy Christmas to you."  She assured me there was no denial involved - LOL!

On the left is the Irish angel ornament Heather sent me last year - love it!  When I showed Heather the photo, she admired the red and white birdhouse - it's a Hallmark ornament, so sweet.  And here's the entire tree:

My brother was unloading some of his decorations and I ended up with the crystal angel topper.  You can't see in the photo but she's holding a long trumpet - so gorgeous!  And can you see the umbrella at the top of the stairs?  I had to use it at the bus stop - it was 35F and raining in MN - crazy weather!!

Here's my other new item - a table top ornament holder that looks so old fashioned with its heavy embossed metal base and cookie cutter topper:

My other trees are similar to the past so I won't bother showing them again.  And where's a card you ask?  

Here's another card I made using the fun Hero Arts clear set Frosty Wishes.  It had a matching die set that must've gone like hotcakes since they aren't in the shop right now.  I actually wish I'd bought more die sets - you could really make a bunch at a time if you had more dies.  It's a bit of a pain to cut one twig arm at a time if you're thinking of mass producing.  Of course, if I knew how to do it, I could cut a bunch on the Silhouette....

Hope you're enjoying the holiday season - I certainly am!  Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all celebrating today!  Here's a pair of cards that I used as my main ones to send to my mailing list.  I did a few blue ones too.  The background is a new 2013 Hero Arts Pinstripes stamp - love it!  The snowman is a stamp and die set by Hero Arts for Archiver's.  Those sets made Christmas card making a breeze along with my Vagabond.  I also did a few with a reindeer stamp and die but didn't get a photo of those.

I began my holiday celebrating on Saturday the 22nd by visiting my aunt and uncle in Wisconsin.  The drive along the Mississippi River was spectacular on that sunny but cold day.  Here we are on Sunday after we watched the Green Bay Packers win big over the Titans- yay!  Then we ate a pumpkin pie my aunt and I made.  Yummy!!

Most of the family spent Christmas apart but I had a fun Christmas Eve with my sister Kari.  We enjoyed eating nachos and watching movies last night.  She set up a tripod so we could get this photo, plus she took some others for her Facebook page, including some with a mini Christmas tree and a Santa hat.

Today I drove home from Kari's while she went to work; yes, she had to work on Christmas Day!  Finished up with decorating my upstairs Christmas tree.  Sorry for the long post but I'm sharing my Christmas trees and a couple of special ornaments rec'd this year.  First is my my main tree - a 7 1/2 foot slim tree I put in front of the upstairs window since I don't do any outdoor lighting.  Then my downstairs tree - a 4 footer.  Then three mini trees I have with all Hallmark mini ornaments collected over the years.
 

 

 

 

 

Now I must feature a couple of special ornaments I received as gifts this year. My sister Tami always gets everyone an ornament at Thanksgiving since we traditionally put up our trees the day after (oops, I was late....just finished today!). What a darling owl ornament and of course I love the purple one!

And here's a special ornament, the Irish angel, sent all the way from Ireland from my friend Heather along with some other wonderful goodies - thanks again, Heather!!  This lovely ornament has a featured spot on the front of the tree not too far from my sister's ornament.  After all, Heather and I are Hero Hostess Sisters! 

I had Christmas Dinner with my good friends, Connie and Doug at their son Scott's.  Here they all are:

Scott cooked a traditional ham, along with yummy side dishes and a delightful chocolate mouse cake he found at Sam's Club.  And here I am with Connie; I'm wearing my funny Christmas sweater, complete with sequins and beads and felt Christmas trees, plus little bell earrings.

Sorry again for the long post!  Hope you had a wonderful Christmas, if you celebrate that holiday.  Thanks for stopping by!