The Pie Bandit and other Christmas Moments

Here's the pie bandit (so named by her grandparents, my in-laws), and otherwise known as Lucy (my niece) in action:) This one is worth big-ifying (in other words click on it!)

Michael was tearing wrapping paper into tiny little pieces with his teeth.

I'm not sure who was more interested in Christopher's stocking...him or Zoe (my s-i-l & b-i-l's dog) :) Obviously there was candy in the stocking!

Michael in action...jumping off the ottoman.

And last but not least, instead of "The Great Pumpkin" we have "The Christmas Beagle" :) She is framed in the humongous wreath we purchased 1/2 off at Michaels a few weeks ago and will get decorated, lighted and hung next year on the peak of the garage facade of our home.

Christmas Leftovers

Nope, not food:)

(Amanda Sok Glitzy Christmas (red paper)
Brandy Hackman Sassy's Pumpkin & Hopsack (brown paper)
Valerie Randall fireplace (freebie)
Melissa Renfro star bright style
Cheryl Barber inked edges style
Chatterbox flourish font)

Scrapgirls had a challenge to do a layout reflecting a religious tradition from the holidays and this is what I came up with. I combined the music paper with a swirled overlay (on which I applied a glittery style) to make the background.
Kerry Veale A Victorian Holiday
Shalae Tippetts Holy Night
Melissa Renfro Downtown Brush Set & Star Bright style
Erica Hite Enchanted paper template
Amanda McGee LYO Vintage Label brush set
AL Serenade and Amienne fonts

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!

Have some Daffodils with your Blizzard

Well we had blizzard warnings here in Iowa today...and by the looks of things out our window, it probably was blizzard conditions out in the country! Very powdery snow plus 35+ mph winds, not a good combination for visibility.

Anyway, here is another scraplift...Charlene J of scrapgirls did a layout of her Swiss Chard, and I couldn't resist doing the same with our daffodils last spring. So if you are, like me, in need of a bright flowery lift to your gray and blizzardy day, here you go:)


Supplies:
Valerie Randall Avalon and Annwyn
Selfish font

More Pages

I always enjoy the holiday challenges at scrapgirls.com...here is a smattering of what I've done so far this year:
This is our favorite Christmas decoration...an Avon (go figure!) fiberoptic house given to us by my mom a few years ago. It's fun to watch it change colors:)
SG 2008 Holiday Hoopla Task #5 SB your favorite holiday decoration
Thao Cosgrove Merry Mine overlay
Diane Miller Bitsy brush
Brandy Hackman Spiced Cider background (recolored)
Diane Miller Edgy thin overlay
Jan Hicks Life Quotes 3 brush set special (title)
Amanda Sok Micro Glitter 6401 style (behind title, at reduced opacity)
Amanda Sok Icicle 6401 style (photo mat)

I couldn't resist redoing this one a little...I just wasn't quite happy with it before, and thought of the "Witch Holiday" title after I finished it the first time.

SG Holiday Hoopla Task #8 SB your favorite gift (given or received)
Jan Hicks Scruffy Neutrals (white background)
Sarah Batdorf Felt 6501 style (orange background)
Melissa Renfro Well Loved (title, frame)
Thao Cosgrove Passion (striped paper) & Freestyle Emb. Templates (stitched heart) & Friendship collage paper (journaling paper)
Cheryl Barber inked edges style
CK Carefree font
journaling: My big wish for Christmas that year was for Tenderheart Care Bear. Unfortunately, millions of other little girls wanted the same exact thing, and Care Bears were not to be found in any store. Grandma and Grandpa found a woman selling homemade Care Bears in a nearby town and purchased one for me. Mom, being the wise woman she is, gently warned me of the shortage of “real” bears and the fact that I was to receive a “fake” at the Meyer family Christmas gathering. I managed to act happy (and surprised) and swallowed my disappointment, knowing I’d probaby eventually receive the “real” bear too. Turned out this was my favorite childhood bear!

This one will be printed and given to my grandparents as part of their Christmas present this year:)
Task #2 2008 Scrapgirls Holiday Hoopla
Shopping Challenge...SB the last 3 products you purchased in the SG boutique
1. Brandy Murry Ephemera & Holiday in Lights
2. Thao Cosgrove Christmas Tidings word art & Radiant collection
3. Erica Hite Crochet Snowflakes
Angie Briggs Urban Love background
Shalae Tippetts Embellishment Templates: Sentiment (tag)
Melissa Renfro Golden Holiday ribbon (on tag)
Erica Hite Bookworm staple
Cheryl Barber Stitching & Holes style (I created the staple holes)
Brandy Hackman A Little Worn Out (journaling lines)
Invitation & McGannahan fonts
Journaling: Christmas in some respects hasn’t changed much over the years. . .family, good food, gifts, decorations. Every year Bud would cut a cedar tree from the pasture. Each child would receive a couple gifts, ranging from a .22 rifle, BB gun, doll, hand sewing machine, globe, truck toy. Christmas Eve involved church service and get-together with Elwin & Pearl, The 25th was time spent at a grandparent’s home for dinner with extended family. When Darlene was a child, her grandma Brisler raised a goose to roast, later, she would raise a turkey. Pearl’s specialty was candy-making, especially divinity and fudge.

TFL!:) For those of you in Iowa, be careful tomorrow in the ice and snow!!

Merry Christmas

This is scraplifted from Sarah in VA's most gorgeous tree she posted last Christmas.

I already had many of the collections she used, so didn't mess with perfection...I did substitute for things I didn't have.
This has been uploaded with Sarah's blessing:) I plan to have this framed!

I hope you are all having a very merry holiday season:)

Kerry Veale "A Victorian Holiday" overlay/border
Amanda Sok "Winter White" overlay/transparency
Amanda Sok Glitzy Christmas
Durin Eberhart Blue Christmas
Brandy Hackman Blossoms & Blooms Holiday
Trish Yochum AYO Christmas Tree
Melissa Renfro Golden Holiday
Melissa Renfro Star Bright brush set
Syndee Nuckles Spearmint Kisses freebie
Katie Pertiet Lil Metal Charms
Shabby Miss Jenn Snowkisses
Raspberry Road Color of Christmas
Thao Cosgrove Gold 5702 style
Brandy Valenzuela Grungelle brush set

Witch Holiday is this???? I'm Confused!

Journaling:
Ok, the disclaimer first: This was my 5 year-old’s idea, not mine! Really, it was; I’m not just “blaming” him! Ok, well, I hope that you believe me…

I will admit that this is one of the best, creative ideas I’ve seen in a long time. It has a certain, “bah humbug” type appeal to me as an adult, though Christopher was only going for the “joke” factor. I am, in fact, inclined to leave it this way (with decorations of course). The bow that normally resides on the tree is beautiful, to be sure (I made it myself, after all), but…

I am the first to admit that I hate decorating for the holidays, especially Christmas. Don’t get me wrong; I absolutely love the end result, but all the work of getting there, and the thought of having to put it all away again in a few weeks, just makes me tired. And then the inevitable string or two of lights that won’t work properly that necessitates a trip clear across town to purchase more. And then convincing two small children to leave the ornaments alone, both for the ornament’s sake as well as our bare feet. Who wants to step on an ornament hook?

So I will say, that a Christmas tree with a witch hat on top makes me smile, in a cynical, Grinch sort of way. Perhaps after all, Halloween and I have more in common than do Christmas and I. Everyone expects a monster, a grump, at Halloween…


Supplies:
Brandy Murry Holiday in Lights
Erica Hite Bump in the Night
Amanda Sok Glitzy Christmas
Brandy Hackman Blossoms & Blooms Holiday
LD Deck the Halls and dreamed about you fonts


So do I win the prize for the most unusual tree-top decoration or what?! (IS there a contest around...anyone?!)

Blog Award and mysterious picture

Janet has kindly nominated me for a blog award:) *takes humble bow*


Here are the rules of the Kreativ Blogger award:

1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Provide links to their blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

I nominate anyone who want to participate who hasn't already done so;) (I'm not very good at perpetuating these things.)

Now I will leave you these images to ponder...stay tuned for an explanation! (and maybe even a SB page)

My Little Turkeys

We had a good Thanksgiving at my grandparents' home. They are now 87 and 92, so the rest of us brought all the food:) The boys refrained from most of their usual WWF-style wrestling (why me, why me?)....we were VERY thankful for that!;)

Michael even took his customary 2ish hour
long nap on their couch. They were the only children
as my other cousins alternate years with traveling to
other sides of their families. My 2 college-age
cousins were there, and Kendra and Christopher did
Mom's craft projects she brought to help keep C
occupied (M slept through that). The boys also got to
"help" put up the snow fence at the farm and ride
around in a wagon behind Uncle Steve's 4-wheeler (I'm
glad I didn't really know about that until it was
over...we make kids wear helmets when riding a bike at
0.2 miles per hour, but let them careen around in a
wagon...) It was a lot of fun for them though, and
Jeff was with them in the wagon to make sure they were
sitting down the whole time.

Our big accomplishment of the week here is....TA DA!
Michael appears to be more or less potty trained!!!!
Woohoohoohoo! :) I'm not sure he'd tell anyone other
than me and Jeff, but at home at least, he's potty
trained. Now we'll work on Grandma, Grandpa, play
group, the gym nursery, church, etc...