Thankful

This week, on top of everything else, I had this obsession to put together and "Thanksgiving Tree." Pretty much a tree with leaves that say what we are thankful for. Since a few people asked, I thought I would share the final outcome....

Of course, I ended up with a "thankful wreath" as well... 

And when Zoë wrote that she's thankful for "family," my heart melted

ETA:

I totally forgot about the "sign" I bought early in October at TJ MAXX. Love that I thought so far in advance.

Playing catch-up

I didn't get off to the running start with this year's Journal Your Christmas. I had a book I was thinking of using, then didn't want to. I thought I had enough supplies, but then couldn't start until I had a couple of KEY items (in my head only, they were all in my head). 

I also make quite the mess during this process.

and this is only the table. 

So, Sunday turned into a craftastic craptacular as I spent 4+ hours organizing, printing, looking though things and jumping into this year's book. But so far, so good. I think I'm off to a rockin' start.

Snow-ish

While it's no secret that we live where we do because of the weather, for 6 weeks a year we do admit that it would be nice to have a snow flurry outside our window... well, in theory that is. Since we live in a 1950's-era PRE-INSULATION house with a tar and rock roof and north-west (towards the ocean) facing windows, actually having a flurry of any type would translate into frostbite. Alas, we can "dream"...

And make fun "snow flake" decorations!

I got this idea off some craft site that I can't find now in my bookmark maze. But simply, it's various size labels in white, off-white and silver, stuck front to back in random patterns on clear fishing wire.

When hung over glass they move and "sparkle" a bit.. creating a perfect modern snow flurry in your window. I hung ours over the glass of our door - just taped to the top and hanging freely to blow in the breeze. I used labels from The Paper-Source but any round labels would do. You could also use a craft punch for perfect circles.

Fairly simple and I'm loving the look on the front door. 

Oh, and if you head into Paper Source (Heaven!) pick up a pack of the paper doves to put up around the house. Another super simple "hand-made" decoration (in "parentheses" since really all you do is punch them out of the paper) that look adorable but are easy to do.

Please and Thank You

Have you ever gotten a Thank You card in the mail for no apparent reason? Something that you did for someone, that you didn't even realize was worthy of the time for a thought-out thank you? I love that. 

But even "expected" thank you cards can be special. The final note of a great party. 

After Zoe's birthday party, I wanted to use one of the special pictures from the party, but I wasn't sure how... I browsed a few sites like Shutterfly and Tiny Prints but after nothing really "grabbed me" I then wondered though the Paper Source (happy place) for inspiration. What I ended up with a simple card, with a heat embossed thank you "tag" on a ribbon holding a picture.

While normally I would keep with the theme of the party, this time I used the picture of Zoe to set the tone of the colors used. 

While simple looking, the heat embossing of the tags, then cutting them out, did take time. The effect looks simple and somewhat effortless, one of those things you think you can bam out, but in reality, it did take a few hours. Additionally, while there is something to be said about a "handwritten note", I personally can't stand my handwriting. I do include a personal note in Thank You cards, but I do them on the computer, print them out and glue them in. 

My favorite finishing touch of late is to line the insides of the envelopes with a beautiful paper...but since I ha close to 25 of these guys to get out, I opted for plain green envelopes. My biggest problem is over-doing it, then it becomes stressful and zaps the fun. Remember that simple can be elegant and just putting a little thought into the project is what makes it special!

Journal your Xmas 2009

I have blogs and facebook and photo albums - but what will I have for the kids to sit down and look through when they are older?

I've always said that I'm not creative, but in the past few years I've realized that's not all that true. I do crafty-crap and I love it. I'm not really a scrapbooker at heart. My SIL Heather is. She's an amazing scraper and does weekly sessions with friends and once a year 48 hour retreats. I'm jealous over her beautiful books for 3 kids... but I can't compete. 

Last year Shimelle.com ' s "Journal your Christmas" caught my attention. Shimelle is amazingly creative. They type of creativity I drool over but don't quite have. Everyday for the month of the December she sends out "prompts" with ideas and thoughts and how-to's for pages in a Christmas journal. It seems daunting. We all are busy enough this time of year! But actually, it's fantastic! I don't do it everyday, but a few times a week I take some time at night by myself and just spew thoughts, feelings of the moment, pictures, etc. Its wonderfully cathartic and at the end, I have a beautiful little book to remind me of that year's holiday. 

I will take pics and post them here as I go along... If you want to join me on this ride, it's not too late to sign up!!