NumberNineteen

One Last Bit of Christmas

I know that Christmas was almost a week ago, but I'm still enjoying the beautiful holiday decorations in our house.  The time going up to Christmas is so busy that I want to have the decorations up just a little bit longer so that I can really enjoy them.

I did a little craft project while on vacation, very inspired by the amazing Cherry at Cherry's Jubilee.  Not only are her vingettes so creative & just to die for, but she also makes the most gorgeous, sparkley holiday crafts.  The idea for the box came straight from the inspiring ones that she shows on her site.

A side view:

I'm anxious to try another project with glitter, to see if I can get the glue on more evenly.  I have a few spots that aren't as well covered as others.

Another great site to find amazing hand-made sparkleys is Rosemary's blog, Rose's Petite Masion.  AND, both of those ladies have Etsy stores, so if you love what you see, you can buy something that they have created.

 

Christmas Decorations

I have been meaning to post photos of my Christmas decorations for weeks now, but this month has flown by.  All of those in favor in a sabbatical from work from Thanksgiving to New Years, say AYE!!!  I personally think that preparing for the holidays is a full time job in itself :)  In any case, it all got done, the house is decorated, the cookies baked, the presents purchased & wrapped & the annual party given.  Now, I'm at my parent's house, enjoying my vacation.  Without further ado, photos of my Christmas decor....

 
My Putz Houses....

The Family Pics...
No, not the tree, the cat in the lower left!

A Very Merry Christmas to All of You!

Homemade Christmas Gifts

I like to make a handcrafted gift at Christmas for the various people who are so good to us throughout the year -- Hope's teachers, babysitters, the lady who cleans our house & so on.  Last year, I baked up a candy/cookie "treat" at the last minute that was a total disaster & put me in a tailspin, trying to figure out what to do.  This year, I started early & choose a project that was:

 1)foolproof
2)easy
3)cute
4)could be made 2 months ahead of time & still be good in December

Don't be too impressed by #4, thinking that I'm just soooo organized.  More like, I'm so determined to avoid a December like last December (near breakdown time....) that I'm doing all in my power to make it easy & enjoyable this time around.

Anyhoo, I came up with the cuties above.  They are coffee bags from The Container Store (39 cents each, love it - did I mention that the gift couldn't be expensive either?), and are filled with Bavarian Mint Coffee Mix.  I got the recipe from one of the Gooseberry Patch cookbooks.  Here is the label that I put on the back:

And, the coffee came in handy as a housewarming gift for some friends:

I bought everything for the basket (except for the coffee mix) at the Dollar Tree. I just changed up the ribbon & stamp on the lable & I was good to go.  I'm just loving my adorable gift basket that came in well under $10!

I'd better sign off...I took NyQuil Cough about a half hour ago & I'm starting to feel LOOOOOPY.....!