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With only 6 more days until the big celebration, I am ready to dive into the merry making with my family and enjoy every little detail with gratitude and awareness. So, I'll be taking a bit of a blog break while I unplug for a few days but will be back soon....ready to greet 2010 with open arms.
Wherever you are and however you celebrate these days, I wish you a season full of peace and joy. xo-
The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.
-Oprah Winfrey
It has been an incredibly busy week here as I'm sure it's been at your house too! When I woke up this morning to realize that...oh my goodness, how can it be Thursday already....a little bit of panic set in!
I'm still hobbling around with a leg brace and trying desperately to remain calm and mindful of what really matters this season...while letting go of the rest. That's difficult. I haven't gone upstairs to my kids bedrooms in quite a while because of my knee injury and last night, I finally made it up there for tuck-ins. When I saw the countdown on my daughter's (very artistic) door, I just had to snap a picture of it. It made me stop and realize that it's time to put the "work" of the season away and start celebrating. I quickly made a list of the things I want to be sure that we experience this holiday. For me, it's all about spending time together having fun and making happy memories.
Here's my list:
1. Drive to see the neighborhood Christmas lights.
2. Bake snowballs and Christmas cut out cookies with the kids.
3. Pop popcorn and watch Christmas Vacation.
4. Sit by the fire with Kevin and toast our blessings with a pomegranate martini.
5. Make Eggs Goldenrod for Christmas morning breakfast.
6. Decorate the gingerbread sleigh.
7. Cuddle up in front of the tree and have a Christmas "Read In".
8. Have a family game night and play Christmas Trivia.
9. Go to lunch and see a matinee of A Christmas Carol.
10. Pack a winter picnic and go Sledding at the park.
What's on your celebration list this year?
In her eyes I see
love, loyalty, and gratitude
looking back at me.
Hello there! I hope this December Wednesday is finding you joyful. As for me, I'm cuddled up at home recuperating from knee surgery and watching the snow fall outside my window. I have a quick project to share for today in between icing my knee and resting my body.
It's my Holiday House!
It's just a fun little book that I made of our holiday season using photos throughout the years. The chimneys on top are actually the tabs for each section of the book, labeled create, decorate, and celebrate. Since these are my top 3 ways to enjoy the season, I included a few traditions in each section to highlight. Here are a few of the pages...
CREATE
DECORATE
CELEBRATE
fixed up knees with the promise to dance again!! :)
If you came over today and stepped into my creative space, you would discover a beautiful mess. My desk is overflowing with paper and glue, photos and fabric, list after list, and some glitter too! I've been working (and playing) feverishly on all of the handmade goodies I am giving this year for the holiday and I'm having so much fun with the process. As I create each gift, my mind goes to the person that I'm giving it to and my heart feels full. Giving handmade is good stuff and giving this way feels like a gift for me too!
Today, I'm sharing a fun little treat that I've made for my three year old niece and I can not wait to give it to her! It's called the "Remember Game" and it's just like the matching games I played when I was a kid. This time, however, she will be matching up photos of her family! As we play and she remembers where the matching card is, we'll also talk about and remember each person or event on the card. It was so much fun to make!
To make a game like this, you can either purchase a matching game from the store and alter the cards that it comes with or you can make the cards out of chipboard. Pick out photos and print them in pairs, crop them to size, and adhere to your cards. I found that a glue stick and brayer worked the best for attaching the photos. On the back of the card, trim a favorite patterned paper down to size and adhere to the card with the glue and brayer. It's best to use a paper with a consistent and repeating pattern so all of the backs look the same. Sand down all the edges and then cover both sides with a thin layer of mod podge, allowing one side to dry before turning over. DONE!
I'm still going to sew up a cute little bag for her to keep the cards in but if you are altering a pre-made matching game, you can alter the box it came in to store the pieces instead. Isn't it cute? I'm so excited to play with her!
Happy Monday!
Teach us delight in simple things.
-Rudyard Kipling
Hi there! I intended to post this yesterday but the day's events simply took over and I had to give in. So, here I am today to share my version of December Daily with you. For this month, I'll be taking a photo each day, trying to capture the details of the holiday that we love so much...our traditions, decorations, food, and celebrations. It's such an exciting time of year filled with much anticipation so capturing it this way, will be something we treasure always. I wanted to make a book that would showcase the photos that I take each day as well as record our thoughts and feelings along the way. The key ingredient for me, however, was to keep it very simple. So that's what I did!
First, I gathered up a bunch of fun holiday goodies and put them all together in a box to create my book.
Using envelopes as the base of the book and an acrylic cover, I punched some holes and put it all together. This is what I came up with...
At the end of each day, I'll add my photo to the front of the envelope and then add the journaling to the inside. The first envelope holds a letter to my kids and I plan to also add recipes, ticket stubs, and other mementos as we collect them.
In addition to writing my own thoughts on the season, I'm going to have each family member write a journal entry and may even get them in on the act of taking a photo or two from their perspective.
Super fun, simple, and a great way to record what's happening right now so that we always remember.
Happy December!
