Monday, December 02, 2013

Holiday Storyteller... Christmas project to-do list

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas 
Toys in ev'ry store 
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be 
On your own front door."

[This year I'm participating in Holiday Storyteller, a free e-course from Simple Scrapper. I thought it would be a wonderful way to get in the mood and reflect on the season. Maybe these journaling prompts will inspire a few blog posts as well.]

Dec. 2 - Holiday projects... Do you have everything you need? How often will you work on it? Can you simplify further?

Besides shopping for Christmas gifts (which I hope to complete this week!), I have very few must-do crafty projects on my agenda this holiday.

Link to my Holidays Pinterest board

1. After putting up my decorations yesterday, I have a hankering to make my fireplace mantel sparkle a bit more. I searched on Pinterest for inspiration, but haven't yet found a picture of exactly what I want... something bold and graphic, colored with red, white, and green. I think I'll try to squeeze in a trip to the craft store this week for a bit more greenery and maybe a decoration or two.

2. One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is sending and receiving Christmas cards. I always love a good excuse to design pretty paper goods. This year I found invitations/envelopes at Hobby Lobby that I'm going to use as the main part of our card. I still need to pick up printed photos from Sam's to attach to each card, as well as to decide on what message to write or print on the other side of the card. And, then of course there's addressing, stamping, and licking envelopes, but that can always be tackled late one night by the light of the Christmas tree.

3. The one handmade gift on my list this year will accompany my nephew's Lego sets. I saw a great tutorial online for a toy bag to keep all of the small pieces together. I need to run by the fabric store to purchase both some clear vinyl and some coordinating fabric, and then most importantly need to find a chunk of time to lock myself away with the sewing machine. Of course my grand vision includes adding a pocket to the front of the bag... I hope my sewing skills are up for a challenge.


Sunday, December 01, 2013

Holiday Storyteller... kicking off Christmas

Each year, you bring to me delight
Gleaming in the christmas night.
O christmas tree, o christmas tree,
Of all the trees most lovely


This year I'm participating in Holiday Storyteller, a free e-course from Simple Scrapper. I thought it would be a wonderful way to get in the mood and reflect on the season. Maybe these prompts will inspire a few blog posts as well.

Dec. 1 - What is one food or tradition that kicks off your holiday season or that really makes it feel like the holidays?

For me, Christmas arrives when the Christmas tree is up and the lights are lit. This year (and last year as well) our tree is standing in the corner of the living room near the fireplace. We set the tree up before we left for Thanksgiving but saved the ornaments and other decorating until after we returned.


As I look at our little tree from a distance, I'm thinking it might not make it another year. It's really too short for the space, and after seven Christmases, most of the pre-lit branches are dark and bent in odd directions. There are also some gaping holes that an ornament can't simply fill.

However, when we turn off the overhead lights, the Christmas tree lights cast this awesome glow on the wall behind, and I know that the magic of Christmas has arrived.

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