I love the idea of wrapping presents in unique ways, of decorating them with beautiful bows and embellishments. This year, I was lucky to get them wrapped, period. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas was short and seemed even shorter.

Anywho, I was wrapping presents this week and scribbling names directly on the paper using a big, fat, silver Sharpie. Then, it hit me. What if I could make labels from my art work? I scanned through my photos, trying this one and then that, until I settled on my newsprint angel girl. 

I opened PicMonkey and clicked on the create a collage tab. I uploaded my girl, chose the two photo collage, and placed PicMonkey 'paper' on the right side. Then I clicked on 'edit' to add the snowflake embellishments and the text. It was super easy, and I love how they look when printed.

It's Christmas Eve. I'm playing around a bit because my daughter has been in bed with the flu. It's been quiet around here with her cooped up sick. I'm hoping she'll get up for a while and open her one Christmas Eve gift and maybe watch a Christmas movie with me. She's feeling better, which is a big relief, but she's just not back to normal yet.

I know not everyone enjoys the holiday, but I hope you can experience serenity and peace as well as fun, love, and laughter.

Merry Christmas!
 

Coming soon to a computer near you!

Can you tell that I'm pretty excited about launching my Etsy shop? Nervous, too. Really. I'm just a little bit worried about cards collecting dust.... That the money I spent getting real cards made may have been better spent on something else... like groceries :)

But I just felt that the time was right. I do a lot of dreaming when it comes to my art and photography, but I find that taking steps to actually DO something with my art and photography takes a little more effort. And commitment. And confidence. So, we'll see.

Opening date: January 1. You can mark that on your calendar!

Tomorrow is the last day of the semester at school. My students are finishing up benchmark exams, and I am ready to get to the whole holiday shabang-thing under way. I've ordered my Christmas cards (a bit late) and am getting the house finished up for Christmas AND for my daughter's 18th birthday. (Geez, when did that happen? 18?)

You should have heard me on my drive home today. I was singing  trying to sing along with Francesca Battistelli's "What Child is This?/First Noel." I can't even begin to tell you how many times I pushed the back button to hear it again. And again. Her voice is so pure... and the music in this, the drums, everything, is just beautiful. You can find more of her songs here, including her new release called "Strangely Dim." If you're like me with hundreds of plans and dreams swirling about, this song may be just what you need to hear right now.

P.S. Today is my sister, Traci's, birthday. She's pretty much my #1 fan (along with my other sister, Parris, and my sweet mother-in-law, Lurline) when it comes to my art and photography. Happy birthday, Traci!

I looked at the clock

and realized that today is the last day of 2012. That after today, 2012 will just be a memory and that we will be day one into the new year. Wow! Where did this past year go? It went screamin' past if you want my opinion. I guess it's true what they say. As you age, time seems to pass faster. That's got to be some type of illusion because I know I get the same 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year that younger people get. But somehow, my days seem to burn out as quick as a comet.

I've got to confess that I have been about as lazy as one can get these days. It's taken me several days to undecorate from Christmas (sshhh... the boxes aren't even in the attic yet). And I've spent way too much time watching television or playing word games with friends. (I think it's time to step away from my phone for a while, to be honest.) But some of the time has been well spent, like talking to Hannah and my husband, cuddling with the dogs, cooking a little more than usual.

I got out my big girl camera a few times over Christmas break and decided to see what type of bokeh effects I could achieve. You're probably tired of Christmas photos by now, but here's one more....

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get my house back in order. And I'm really ready to declutter. Too much "stuff" seems to be weighing me down. So that may be how I spend my last day of 2012. What about you?

Christmas....

Some years, I've watched people scurrying around and questioned where our hearts were during the Christmas season. We seem so intent on shopping and buying and giving and receiving that it seems the true meaning is lost amidst wrapping paper, ribbons, and the empty boxes left behind. This year was different. Although I know the scurrying and buying were as rampant as ever, I didn't feel as cynical and actually enjoyed being a part of the crowd.

Today, on Christmas morning, I loved seeing the surprised looks on my daughter's and husband's faces when they opened their gifts. But even with the wrapping paper piling high, my thoughts drifted back to last night's candlight service at church. There, where faces were bathed in a soft, golden light, the sounds of guitar, violin, and piano filled the air and our voices sang pure ... and I felt peace, love, and happiness envelope me.

Feelings of happiness aren't guaranteed 365 days a year, and for some, today may be in contrast to the traditional "picture" of the holiday season. The loss of loved ones, relocating and uprooting your family from beloved family and friends, may make this Christmas bittersweet.

But it is my hope that on this special day your heart will be a bit lighter. Merry Christmas....

xoxo




Merry Christmas, Friend!

Look who I've spotted here and there

and everywhere!

Who would have known that Santa cheers for

the University of Alabama football team....

Or that he had time to visit another small town

just a week before Christmas.

To

be honest,

I think the football

 fan Santa is the real one.

I bet his boots are even real.

Plus, he's had time to get home,

load his sleigh, and get ready for a

big

trip!

Merry Christmas!

Finally, that feeling...

Even though I've been on Christmas break all week, it wasn't until Wednesday morning that I truly felt the feeling that I had been waiting for. That moment of total contentment as I walked into the kitchen and began to wrap presents. That moment when our home is decorated, the Christmas tree lights are twinkling, and I am home doing those Christmas-y things that I want to do.

Bliss. That's the best way I can describe it. And the nice thing is that it stopped me, at that very moment, so I could recognize it for what it was.

My mother-in-law and I went on another little excursion earlier in the week. I found this Christmas banner made out of chipboard. I had planned to use it over the fireplace, but this spot worked out better.



Before we can continue with Christmas, there's always a special birthday to celebrate...

My sweetheart of a daughter turns 17 today. Yikes!! She was just a toddler it seems a few days ago!

She had a few close friends over to help her celebrate. I enjoyed making a few appetizers and dinner for the girls. It was so sweet to hear them talk and laugh together.

P.S. Happy birthday, sweet girl! You're still my little Peanut.



Yes, Christmas is Over, however...

I couldn't resist posting one more photo (make that four, I guess) before I officially put the trappings of Christmas away until next year. Each year as I place ornaments on the tree I think of where they came from. I have many dating back to my early 20s when I put up my very first tree in a garage apartment in my mom's backyard. I inherited some of her ornaments and have others that have been given to me or made for me by family and friends. For instance, the ornament in the top photo came from a Christmas party with neighborhood moms who used to get together and celebrate birthdays and Christmas. The Santa in the middle is a skydiving Santa. My sister gave me that one. And on the bottom is one of my favorites. A handmade creation by Hannah. Ornaments tied to memories make decorating for Christmas that much merrier.

Christmas Wishes

Christmas wishes. Do you remember how you wished for things as a child and held your breath on Christmas morning as you tiptoed into the living room to see what Santa had left? I remember the "Dawn" dolls that were wrapped under the tree, the drum set that mysteriously disappeared shortly after Christmas festivities were over, the Frye boots (circa 1970s), and the guitar that I never learned to play.

Hannah has always kept her Christmas wish list manageable, but I'm sure my mother spent months paying for the gifts she gave her three girls. Christmas was her favorite time of the year with its decorations, pretty wrappings, and giving gifts that she hoped we would cherish. Even as we got older, Christmas was a special time for her. One year, she bought us nice wall clocks. Mine still hangs in the living room chiming out the hours day and night. The last Christmas gift she gave was an angel. My sisters and I found them wrapped and tagged in her closet after she had passed away just a few weeks before Christmas. Now, December brings with it a mix of joy and sadness as I inevitably think of my mother and how much she loved us and our Christmases together.

I can't hear "The Little Drummer Boy" without thinking of her. We even played that carol during visitation before her funeral. And I always think of how festive she made her home, adding decorative finishes to each room in her house.

My wish this year is for everyone to find joy in each and every moment of the Christmas season and to spend the holidays enjoying loved ones and friends.

Merry Christmas from my home to yours....

It's Coming Down...

the tree, that is! I already miss the glow of the lights and the way our stockings look so festive hanging on the mantle....

Even though my tree is full of ornaments (memories), I did buy two new ones this year. One is a silver "joy," which hangs by a green ribbon. The other is a snowlady and her little girl sledding down a hill. The snowlady reminded me of the big snow we had when Hannah was little and how we used makeshift sleds to slide down a big hill nearby.

I'm thinking "joy" may have to hang near my desk this year as a reminder of my journey....


Is your Christmas all packed up and stored away? If I had it my way, my tree would twinkle just a little bit longer....

Wishing you...

'Twas the Day After Christmas

'Twas the day after Christmas
and all through the house

boxes, wrappings, and bows

were littered about.

The stockings still hung

by the chimney with care

but goodies and gifts

were no longer there.

My one child was nestled

still snug in her bed;

she had stayed up too late
should've been sleeping instead.

And I in my PJs
sitting at my computer,
felt bad for my husband,
the workday commuter.

He had opened the office

always diligent it seems
so that people with new cars

could cover their insurance needs.

I knew in time

my vacation would end,
86 essays and grades
on me would depend.

But until then I'll sit here,
create, play, and pen

poems and greetings

for all my googleblog friends.

And then I'll find time

for some afternoon jogging;
scratch that, instead

I'll relax with my new "Artful Blogging!"

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas

and that your New Year will be a blessed one!

A Christmas Tree of Memories

Christmas is definitely a favorite time of year for me. And while I am busy trying to create memories for my daughter, I can't let a day go by without thinking about my mother and how much she enjoyed this holiday.

Decorating was her forte. Her Christmas trees were so bedecked and bejeweled with ornaments and lights you could barely see the tree. I take after her in that regard. I like to wrap lights deep within the branches before I ever let them twinkle near the ends of the branches. I place the shiny ornaments also deep within the tree where they can shimmer and reflect the lights. I cluster groups of ornaments together... many of which came from my mother's attic when she decided to downsize many years ago.

I also have ornaments from trips Craig and I took together after we were married. London bobbies and a jeweled crown are just a couple of examples. Craig's mother also gave me some of Craig's old ornaments. A knitted skiier and tennis player are tucked amidst the branches... a steady reminder of my husband's childhood and the memories created by his family.

Some of my favorite ornaments are probably the ones with photographs. There's one of Craig when he was just a boy. There's one of Hannah and me during our last big snow, and there's one of us with Hannah when she was little.

And of course there are the handmade ornaments, which hold the highest place of honor on my tree. Crocheted wreaths made by my mother, a candy cane made by a friend's child, but most made by the precious little hands of my daughter. The spoon snowman, the snowflakes, the stars, and handprint are reminders of her childhood and how proud she was of these beautiful creations.

Christmas is definitely a time of memories and reflections. I hope you have time to reflect on Christmases past as you build memories for tomorrow!

P.S. Can you figure out who I am in the group photo?

You never know when inspiration will strike. For me, it was today as I went through the mail. Our cable company had sent the cutest little card to us ... and I ... scraplifted! I'm sorry. I take pride in creating things with my own vision. But it was like they had used my vision to create their card. So, here it is... a special Christmas card for all of my scrapblog and googleblog friends! Inspired by cable, recreated by me!