Thursday, December 20, 2012

Christmas at my house 2012

 
 
SHARING TIME! 
 
The box and tags shown in the photos below are a workshop that I put together for the Holidays 2012.  We have been busy making Christmas tags/ornaments in my home studio at the Creative Hearts Workshops that I hold four times a month.  I am presently putting together the schedule for new workshops and classes starting in January 2013.  I can't believe the new year is approaching so fast!  I thought you might like some tag ideas to attach to gifts as Christmas is less than a week away! 
 

The following are a little gallery of close-ups for you to peruse.




 
Below is the embellished pillow box to store them all in!

 
 
Here are some little Reindeer that I created last year.  I think they are fun!
 
That is it for the crafty ideas.  Now I am going to share one of our Christmas traditions that we enjoy every year.

So!  Here is my Christmas card for you!  We traveled to a tree farm up by Silver Falls, Oregon to pick out our tree.  We shop at this one every year for our tree and love the family that owns the farm.  It gets us in the Christmas Spirit!

 

We walked through the forest of Christmas trees, looking for the perfect nobles to take home with us!  My daughter Lauren found the tree this year.

 It looked about the right height and was a lovely tree!  Think that is the one!
 

So, below she is marking our tree by tying a ribbon around a branch.  We also picked out a smaller tree for our family room.  As the years pass, I have to indulge my sentimental side by having a tree to accommodate all of the decorations that mean so much to me!  The smaller tree is a "country" theme and many of the homespun ornaments go on that tree.  I don't have a picture of it to show on here.....
 

Ok.  So we get this tree home.......and go to put it up......and guess what?!  It is a huge freaking tree and bigger around than we usually get.  It just didn't look quite this big in the forest.  It took a ladder to add lights and decorations.  The stool that I usually use to decorate just wasn't cutting it as you can see in the photo below!  My husband spent about four hours getting all of the lights on....just right.....had to be perfect!  Lol.


Viola'!  Shown below is the tree after we added the lights and decorations.  This is the living room and everyone gathers here to watch the TV when it is movie time.  BTW, my hubby got a new television that now takes the spot of the one in the entertainment center for Christmas.  It is already installed...we have the 3-D glasses ready to go and now I need to fill in the big hole that is gaping under the new television set.  I could use some ideas.......Had to move my Nativity scene too.....drat!
 

We like lots of lights at Christmas time.  They makes things merrier and brighter and also...cozier!  Funny though, as good as they make me feel, it seems like we are always ready to take them down and put them away when it is all over.  :-(
 

The final picture I will leave you with is the one of my "fake" tree in the dining room.  I love romantic country chic, so there has to be a little of that to look at as well!  I use boa on the branches and I love the way it kind of looks like snow and fluffs up the tree!


From my house to yours, I send wishes for a very happy Holiday Season and a Blessed Christmas!  May we all find joy in the little things and not forget to be thankful in all of it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR! 
 
Blessings!
 
Marilyn

Monday, December 3, 2012

The Twelve Days of Christmas - in a gift book!

 
 

Christmas will be here in the blink of an eye!  I have designed a 12 days of Christmas book for a Workshop and I would like to share it with you today.
This little book takes some time to make because it has a lot of cuts from the Cricut machine as well as by hand.  I used Close To My Heart papers and the Cricut cartridges made especially for them.  This makes it even more special because a lot of loving care went into making it.

 
Pictured above is the book outside of the special box it is stored in.  You can stand it up as you turn the pages, as shown.  Each page has a pocket that can hold a gift card or special memento for that day.  The recipient will get a little surprise for each day as shown below.  Counting.....12, 11.....


10, 9.......
 

 
8, 7.....the 7th day actually has a detachable Christmas card!

 
6, 5.......
 
 
Day four has a little package that opens up... then 3...

 
two, one!

 
Merry Christmas!  Day 12 and December 25th!
Wouldn't it be fun to include a gift card from several of
your recipient's favorite stores or coffee shops?  Little
promissory notes or sentiments can be tucked in too!



Here's wishing you a wonderful Christmas season!  I will be giving this
book to someone special.  I hope you got some inspiration today and for lots more, make sure to hop forward or back on the blue button at the top of the page and see the ideas from other designers.  Have a great day!
 
Happy Holiday Crafting!
 
Marilyn