Happy Holidays!!! Lotsa pictures today!

Season's Greetings!!!!

There's a little card I made for y'all using Terry Maruca's Snow Globe, Holiday Magic, & Vintage Holiday kits! I still wanna work on that snow animation. I wanted it to look like when you shake up a snowglobe. Those are my guys building a snowman last year!

I also made these cute gift tags using the ornaments from Terry's Vintage Holiday Add-On

Aren't those so real looking????

So, I've been doing alot of digicrafts for gifts. One thing I've been working on are these paper mache round boxes. I've printed some digi papers and used mod podge to adhere to the box. I put a pretty pink poinsetta inside and wrapped tissure around the bottom edge of the plant so it doesn't shift around inside the round gift box. I used papers from Vintage Holiday by Terry Maruca and my favorite box was made using papers and the butterfly embellishment from the Shine paper pack by Michelle Coleman. I'll share pictures of those another time as it's dark here and want some good lighting for the photos.

I also made up some quick gift cans for Kyle & Joshua's teachers. They both have requested useful stuff for their classrooms, so I bought a few items they had on their lists and a special glass angel ornament and put it all in an empty "unused" paint can. I used labels that LuAnn made and Carole Neale shared on her blog. These make really quick and inexpensive gifts....and I believe the link is still active if you wanna go snag them! The labels are made using "Doodly Christmas"

This is a photo I snagged from Carole's blog so you can see what the can looks like, but I'll share my finished and "stuffed" can as soon as I get it all wrapped up!

So, I've been B-U-S-Y!!!!! I honestly can say that I am much further ahead than I ever am at this time of the year. Part of it is that I want to have more time to spend with the kids, baking cookies, reading christmas stories, and watching some holiday movies with them. I know they won't be little forever and instead of dreading the "holiday crunch" like I usually do....this year I dove right in and started getting stuff out of the way. I've got most of the kids gifts bought (at least the big ticket gifts), Gene's gifts are done AND wrapped! And I have a few gifts that I need to finish up and ship out to my mom and brother Joe. (Sorry, can't share a pic yet, as mom reads this blog too!)

We also got the Christmas tree up on Tuesday. Josh was so cute. I stayed home from work that morning and we were laying in my bed (partly to stay warm! I have flannel sheets and a heated mattress pad! So cozy! LOL!) coloring and reading books. When he said, mom do you think we could have someone come over and put up our Christmas tree? Now, wouldn't your heart melt? Mine did. I said honey, I promise we'll put up the tree today. He was so excited that everywhere we went, out to breakfast and shopping that he told them "We're putting up our Christmas tree today!"

So we did......and tonight we decorated it.....minus the tree topper(Daddy & Josh will be putting the Angel up tomorrow)

I think it looks kinda pretty! See the unfilled gift cans under there??? Yes, I did make them, just need to stuff 'em! and here are a few of my favorite ornaments....



The angel above was given to me by my mom in 2001. I always like to put her right in front of the tree. The Snowman Fingerprint ornament was a craft and gift that Kyle made for me in Kindergarten. His teacher wrapped it up and put a little poem on the bag....

These aren't just snowmen
As anyone can see.
I made them with my hand
Which is part of me.
Now each year when you trim the tree
You'll look back and recall
Christmas of 2005
When my hand was just this small.

I just love those cute little crafts that can become such great memories. Aren't teachers wonderful???

I know I've been tagged two times....so that will be coming this week sometime!