Happy Holidays Everyone!

I just realized I never posted my Christmas card for this year.

Credits: All papers, ricrac, and Joy stamp from A Merry Little Christmas by Michelle Coleman
Stitching from Girl Next Door Stitches by Christy Lyle
Flower from Flower Parts Bright by Flergs

My Tumbler Insert

I finished MY tumbler insert today (still need to print it out). This was a lot of fun to do - it has pictures of the most important people in my life (DH, DS, DDIL, cat, and dog).

Credits: Background paper from Eat Your Greenz by KSharonK Designs
Bottom paper from True Romance by Michelle Coleman
Stick pin from Mudd Pie by Manda Bean
Word strips from Label Me by Penny Springmann
Red daisy from Art Inspiration by Michelle Coleman
Green and yellow flower from Flower Parts Bright by Flergs
Ribbon from Twisted Up by Miriam Lima

I feel better today. I also finished binding one of the two quilts that need binding. I hope to work on the other one Wednesday. Tomorrow (Christmas day) my DS and DDIL will come over in the morning for breakfast and presents. Then in the afternoon we'll go to DDIL's parents' home for a late lunch. It should be a nice day.

Blech!

I've had a bad cold the past few days, so I haven't felt like doing much. I have 2 quilts I really want to get bound, but I just don't have the energy. Yesterday, I squared up one of the quilts, made a label and a hanging sleeve. Today I basted the sleeve and label to the back of the quilt, cut the binding, and sewed it together. Maybe tomorrow I'll put the binding on the quilt. Normally I get all of this done in just a couple of hours, but when it wears you out just to breathe, it's hard to get much done!

I worked on the insert today for my mug - I think it's almost done. I just have to decide if I need to add anything else.

Decorating

We finally put our tree up the first part of the week. My cat's new favorite place is under the tree. I know this isn't the best picture - I think the camera focused on the ornament in front of the cat instead of on the cat, but it's the best I can do at the moment. I made both the tree skirt and the ornament you see part of in the picture, btw.

New Layouts

Over the past week or so, I've finished several layouts. Only one of them is a traditional layout - all of the others are inserts for the Create Your Own Tumbler you can buy at Starbucks. They are all gifts, although I also bought one for myself. I just haven't gotten to my own yet.

First up is the actual layout. This is a photo from the wedding of the daughter of one of my friends.



Credits: Red paper from Remember When by The DigiChick Design Team
Left Paper strip from Classic by Eve Recinella
Scallop Paper from Food of Love by Jen Caputo
Bottom Paper from Puppy Paws by Heather Roselli
Red flower by Michelle Coleman
Word from Love by Vera Lim
Ribbon from Winter Wonderland by Michelle Coleman
Clip from Love Ya Muchly by Jennilyn Designs
Template by Shari Barnes

Now for those tumbler inserts I mentioned. First for another friend - pictures of her grandson.



Credits: Sweet label from Label Me by Penny Springman - Sweet Shoppe Designs
All Boy from Boyz World by Eve Recinella - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Like Father Like Son from Simple Sayings - Boy by Eve Recinella - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Dog stamp and chipboard circle from Puppy Paws by Heather Roselli - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Bottom paper from Shell Seekers by Jeri Ingalls - Scrapbook Elements
Top paper from Dreams Collection by Katie the Scrapbook Lady - Scrapbook Lady Designs

The next tumbler is for my son.



Credits: Background from Collingwood by Eve Recinella
Bottom paper from It’s a Guy Thing by Michelle Coleman
Heart from The Gazebo by Amber Clegg
Gold star from Frameworks by Cindy Simon
Today wordart from Cinnamon Tea by Peppermint Creative
Happiness definition from Shabby Smiles by Shabby Princess
Memories wordart from Simple Sayings by Eve
String tie from Organic by Miriam Lima

Next one is for still another friend - pictures of her kids.



Credits: Jumpring from Twist of Lime by Mari Koegelenberg - Snap and Scrap
Heart charm from First Love by Sandra Boddington - from Sweet Shoppe Designs
Precious definition from So Sentimental by Zoe Pearn - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Folded flower from Bingo by Kim Christensen - ScrapArtist
Red flower by Michelle Coleman - from Art Inspiration Collection
Staple, family tag, memories tag, stitches from Label Me by Penny Springman - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Top paper by Jomi Van Bekkum from Daydream by Jomi Van Bekkum and Eve Recinella - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Bottom paper from Marmelade by Eve Recinella - Sweet Shoppe Designs

And finally, this last one is for my daughter-in-law.



Credits: Background paper from Organic by Miriam Lima
Love definition from So Sentimental by Zoe Pearn
Bottom paper from Lucky You by Cindy Simon
Journaling rectangle from Stained Doodle Shapes by Eve Recinella
Wordart from Day to Remember by Sara Carling
Green flower from Summer Celebration by Diane Rigdon
Blue folded flower from Bingo by Kim Christensen
Hanging heart from Page Bracelet II by Cindy Simon
Jump Ring from Taste of Lime by Mari Koegelenberg

ETA: I see that I failed to give credit to Patty Knox for the template. It is free, and it can be found here. After making one insert, I scanned the paper that came inside the tumbler and modified the template slightly for a better fit - but I really do mean slightly. The template works fine as is.

Holiday Decorating

I've just been looking at Christmas decorations on blogs. I have had a really hard time getting into the spirit this year. I usually enjoy decorating for the holidays. I love my ornaments, since many of them are hand made - some by me, some by friends, some purchased. But we still don't have our tree up yet, and I really don't know when we will. But I did finally do some shopping today - and I feel much more prepared now. I even wrapped several presents tonight - just don't have a tree to put them under yet! Maybe this weekend. And I did get my DH to put up my Santa quilt on Saturday.

My DH has been out of town since Sunday, elk hunting in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. It is a once-in-a-lifetime hunt (literally), because you have to put your name in to a drawing, and once you're drawn for it, you're ineligible to be drawn again. He's been putting in for the drawing as long as I've known him I think. Several years ago, they made a change so that for each year you put your name in and weren't drawn, you'd get an extra entry the next year. So he finally got drawn this year. He was SO excited when he was notified. He hasn't gotten his elk yet. At least he saw several today. He has one more morning to hunt - the hunt ends tomorrow at noon.

Memories of Alaska

I finally finished this quilt yesterday. I started it sometime after we went to Alaska in 2002; I then set it aside to work on something else, and all of a sudden, several years went by! But I'm really glad in one way that I didn't finish it a few years ago - because my quilting has improved so much that it is really much better now than it would have been then. The pattern is by McKenna Ryan.

From Our Blog To Yours

Another fun quiz - not too far off for me:

What Your Handwriting Says About You

You are a fairly energetic person. You know how do pace yourself, and you deal well with stress. You are somewhat outgoing, but you're not a natural extrovert. You think first before you act. You tend to be independent, rational, and logical. You are balanced and grounded. You know how to get along well with others. You need a bit of space in your life, but you're not a recluse. You expect people to give you a small amount of privacy, and you respect their privacy as well. You are a free thinker. You are unique, open minded, and artistic. You don't care what other people think. You are a decent communicator. You eventually get your point across, but sometimes you leave things a bit ambiguous.

What Does Your Handwriting Say About You?