Merry Christmas to me!!!

My new corner work desk....

   My husband has been working in his workshop for most of the first part of December. He was making me a new corner desk for my craftroom. He claims it isn't a Christmas present, but it sure feels like a gift. He put it together last week , but because of my knee surgery I haven't had the chance to put the pics on my blog. He is such a great husband. He worked hard on this project and the results are great.

Die cutting area

You know when you get a new piece of furniture it makes you clean up the rest of the area and that is just what I did. I moved and rearranged my stations. I have a die

Scoring and Cutting

Great paper storage for me.

cutting station and a scoring and cutting station. I do need a new wastebasket, though. I think I'll get  that at the  after Christmas sales at Staples.



    So this is Christmas Eve Day. I have all the gifts wrapped. What a great feeling. My son, Nathaniel, is coming today. We will have a Christmas Eve dinner tonight with gifts in the morning. I am so blessed to have family close by us. I have been praying for those who have lost family members or have family far away from home.

Yeah.. Mickey!!!

  My brother-in-law, Tom, just loves all those inflatable Christmas figures you see out and about. He can't have one at his condo, so he bought on for us to use until they have a home. It's Mickey Mouse. So cute.. I think we may have to buy one, too. Here is a pic of it from last night.

Our house to yours....

  May you all have a very Merry Christmas!!!

The Rush is On!

   Wow.. I can't believe that Christmas is right around the corner. I am behind because I had knee surgery for a torn miniscus last Monday. I am doing well, but standing for long periods is not good for my knee, and for some reason I have to stamp standing up.. So I am behind in my card making. I got one batch  out already and am finishing up the last batch.
   The hardest part of card making is coming up with a design. I use Pinterest alot for inspiration or for casing cards. There are some beauties on this site. I chose two cards to case from my board. You can check out my Card Board here: Connie's Card Board

One design for Christmas

  The card to the right is a design I just finished. I changed this card slightly because I thought the dry embossed border gave it texture and the white mounted paper made the card shine more. I love the little blue jewel in the middle.

Add caption

 














Here is a picture of the card without the white border.   I definitely like the white border better. I haven't embossed for quite awhile now so it was good to be working with that technique again.
The stamps are from Stampin Up: Delightful Decorations, and Baroque Motifs. I don't know which set the sentiment comes from since I took it out and didn't put it back.. bad Connie....

Second Design

   The second Christmas card design I also cased from Pinterest. Again I changed elements to suit my taste and materials at hand.
   The wreath is a stamp from Penny Black. I added white enamel accents dots along with green, red, or clear Stickles as ornaments around the wreath. I added the ribbon to go with the color of the stickles I used in the wreath. The sentiment is from Stampin Up , too.

So true....

  I bought  a stamp from Inkadinkadoo that I really love. It says "Jesus is the reason for the season". I stamped this inside of every card I sent. 

Wicked pretty, huh?

   My last project has been to make Christmas ornaments. My sister, Chris, made the blue one and so I had to try my hand at making this beautiful ornaments. They really aren't that difficult once you know how to do it. It's just time consuming stamping and cutting out each piece. It takes 20 of the fat ornaments and 15 of the small red ones.  Hot glue is handy for putting the pieces together. I really had fun making these ornaments. Check out this link for a video on how to put these beauties together. Christmas Ornaments
  I am finishing up my last few Christmas cards and my Christmas shopping. We are going to the Magic of Christmas performance this afternoon. That should really put me in the Spirit of Christmas. Hope all is going well with your preparation.

Church Fair Today!!

   I am so proud that I got the cards done for my donation to our church's Christmas Fair on time. Yeah for me!! I worked like a dog, though. I am pretty happy with how they all came out. The boxes to hold the cards were really simple. I used one 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper to do one box. I liked that  I didn't waste paper. I've linked the directions to Rachel Clifton's Christmas card boxes in my last post, but here it is again. Rachel Clifton's Christmas card boxes

Six boxes done....

  I found six different cards to case on Pinterest. I tried to find simple cards with just a little embellishments 'cause I didn't want people who buy them to have to pay more to send them. Here is a link to my Card Board so that you can peruse through and find these cards and their websites easily. Connie's Pinterest Card Board
   I also had to keep in mind that I didn't have all the same materials as these original designs had on the cards. But I think they came out alright.

Simple to make...

  The easiest card was the one using Stampin Up's "Lovely as a Tree" set. I love the colors and how you could decorate the tree the way you wanted.


   I used two different shades of ink: River Rock and Soft Suede. The tree in the foreground could be decorated any way you choose. I used glitter, but I wished that I had had some red stickles to make red balls.

Another simple to make card

   My next simplest card was the card that had Christmas packages on it. I was able to use scraps for paper cut into squares and then add the Memory Box die cut bows to each one.
   The sentiment is from Inkadinkado. I used different colors for the bow for each card. I think my favorite though was the gold ribbon. It just seemed to really stand out on the paper. This card is great for using up those scraps you  have hanging around.

Love the colors..

   My next card was the ornament card. Here I chose the ornament stamp from Stampin Up called "Delightful Decorations". It has four different ornaments, but this one worked well. You just stamp the ornament and add the bow. I have a great Merry Christmas stamp that I used to stamp around it. I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to help me get the words straight.

Love the wreath.

   The card with the wreath on took a little bit of time 'cause I had to use a circle template and glue the greenery around it. I always get glue all over me.. I did one card without a circle template and it was way harder. Then I came up with the idea of a circle template and it went much better.

Easy card

Memory Box card

  I used a punch from Punch Bunch and added the ribbon. I embossed the background with an embossing folder from Stampin Up. I love the red and green color combo for Christmas.
  The last two cards didn't take too long to make. The pine cones  and tassel is from a stamp made by Inkadinkado. I used mounted it one read paper and added the embossed white paper to it. The ribbon is from A.C. Moore.
   The last card took me the longest for some reason. I used a Memory Box die. I glued down the leaves and berries which was messy. I love the script sentiment from Stampin Up.

Our tree

Decorations

Stockings hung

Boxwood tree and snowman

  I am so glad they are done so that now I can work on my Christmas cards and finish getting the house ready for Christmas. Here as some pictures of what I've done around the house so far.

Giving Thanks!

Shall we eat????

   My husband and I have so much to be thankful for this year. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at my sister, Andrea's home. She and her husband,Renn, cooked a juicy turkey that was delicious. I am so thankful for my family. Our get togethers are a special treat for us. We really eat well on Thanksgiving.
   There were fifteen of us in Kennebunk. Afterwards some of us went for a walk to help with the full tummies. It was a lovely day for eating and walking. I am thankful that we are all healthy. I hope all of you had a joyous Thanksgiving Day.

Seafood deviled eggs... were yummy...

         

                                                                                                                                                          I have finished the thank-you notes I was working on from our birthday party a few weeks ago.  My twin sister, Chris, and I shared the making of the cards. I really love making these cards. I sent  the last few out this week. We will always remember what fun our 60th birthday brought us.

Triple stamped card

Memory Box die cuts

Partially embossed folder use

                                                                            These three cards were fun for me because I was trying some new technique or using some new materials I had just purchased.









The triple stamped card I had been dying to try every since I saw one on Pinterest. It's quite easy really. You cut our the three sizes for white cardstock and then use a pinch of tape and tape them together. Next you stamp the card together using whatever background you would like to use. I chose Stampin Up's  Build a Blossom.
   Then you take the white cardstock apart and glue them to a half inch or quarter inch larger colored cardstock. Mount all three and glue together. It gives it an interesting look.
   I used Spellbinders label die cut for the sentiment and cut out a blossom from the stamp set. I added a pink button for an embellishement.
  The second card was also from an inspiration from Pinterest. Seems I have been using this site quite a bit lately. I had recently purchased the Vivienne butterfly from Ellen Hutson's site . The Woodrow rosette is from Memory Box, too; along with the La Rue Flourish behind the rosette. I like paring the light blue with the soft brown. The sentiment is from Stampin Up's stamp set of words. I don't know the name.

Inside a thank you card.

   The third card was made from a Stampin Up embossing folder after I had stamped the flourish in Olive Green. The flourish die cut is from Cheery Lyn designs. The butterfly is two die cuts: one is a solid and the other is open. Both of them are Vivenne Butterflies from Memory Box.    If you want to see the inspiration cards for the making of these cards check out my Card Board here:My "Cards" Board on Pinterest
   We had been to Dover and our favorite place to buy supplies: Stamped Designs. I purchased for only $4.00 a stamp from Magnolias. It looked like twins. Chris got this one, too. We stamped them on the inside and signed our names. I thought it was cute.

Christmas card holder

   So now I am working on making Christmas cards for our churches Christmas Fair that benefits The Root Cellar. I have a week to get them done. I found a wonderful site on Pinterest that has a tutorial on how to make these boxes for holding cards. I thought I'd make them to hold the cards for the church sale.    Here is a link to the tutorial in case you are interested in making these. Wicked easy.Rahcel Clifton's Christmas Card Boxes
   I will post the finished products when I am done. Hopefully at the end of the week. Then I can start my Christmas cards.. Whew.. a busy week ahead.                                                                     

Back to Normal???

  We have been home for a few weeks now.. Feels so good to be home.. loved the trip,but I think traveling makes you appreciate home more. I would have blogged sooner, but my computer has been to the doctor for a new fan and tune up.. It's in good working order; now that we have it back.
   We have been busy getting rid of leaves and doing some early Christmas shopping, so I wasn't even think about my birthday coming up in December. I turn the big " Six -0"..!!
   So my twin sister and I were super surprised with the birthday party my family gave us at my sister, Rochelle's home. A TOTAL SURPRISE!!

Wicked Surprised....

   We had a great time and I really appreciate all the time and effort everyone put in to make this party a memorable one for Chris and I.

Our cake.. Gotta love Mickey!

 
 The food was awesome.. Family brought food to eat together: meatballs, salads, sandwiches, and the cake and ice cream.. Loved it.. ummm. It was very yummy..
   Our gifts were so thoughtful. We got a hanging dried fruit "thingie" which I love. It says "Faith" on the very bottom.  We got a pair of sparkly white slipper socks for those cold winter nights. It think I will be using them real soon. We also got a gift certificate to Soakology in Portland.  I can't wait to use that little item.. Not sure when would be the best time.. ummm.. after holiday shopping, maybe?

Just right to make my kitchen smell good

Chris and I also got a lovely framed collage that my sister, Rochelle made for us. It really is quite nice with pictures of us when we were way younger.. I really like those pictures..

Love the Build a Blossom stamp set.

Slipper socks, thanks Cindy

     Chris and I are working on thank you cards; although they won't do justice to the wonderful feeling this party gave us.. It's so nice to have a family that is thinking of you.. They really did surprise us this time.

First thank you note.

   Here is the  first thank you note, so far.
   I got the idea from a tag I found on Pinterest.  Here is a link to that tag. Click on the picture and it will take you to the blog where Laurie talks about her designs:
 Pinterest tag

  I changed the layout a little bit. I used Memory Boxes butterfly die cut. I also used the flourish die from Cheery Lynn Designs. The border die is one from Memory Box along with the star burst die behind the butterfly. The pearly lace strip is from Tate's in Bath.  I used  my Stamp-a-ma- jig to place the sentiment in the right place.
    I like how this one came out. I am looking forward to making the other cards. It's been an exciting month. I will be working on my Christmas cards for sure. I am also working on making cards to donate to the church fair to support The Root Cellar in Portland. This groups helps young people. I will be blogging pictures as I go.
   I will be cooking most of the week for the Thanksgiving holiday as most people are probably doing. I am so thankful for my family and friends.

Here at Chambersburg, Pa

View from car window.

View from car window

  We have been traveling all day to get back to my brother's home. It was a smooth trip. We started seeing the changing trees around Virginia. They are passed peak.. looking like November. I took a few pictures of the trees along the way.

When is Christmas?

   We reached Chambersburg, Pa and found a Hampton Inn. We like the rooms here. The bathroom is really nice. Right across the street is a Cracker Barrel. Who doesn't like Cracker Barrel. We had a lovely meal.  The hotel gives you free chocolate chip cookies so that was our dessert. Nice, huh?
   Of course, we looked around the gift shop at Cracker Barrel. Alot of the merchandise is about Christmas.  It seems way to early, but I guess Thanksgiving is around the corner. It was fun to look at the cute items.... Possible Christmas gifts lurking here.
  We didn't buy anything 'cause we have a Cracker Barrel at home; so why lug the bags here... 

Santa lights up: wicked cute.

I want the candy cane cluster for my tree.

Hal and Charlotte do not have power yet, so we aren't staying over night with them. We will visit for a bit and then head home. We have been praying that their power come on soon and that everyone gets relief from this disaster.  We are so thankful that we did not get hit. I did hear we might get a nor'easter, but I think that it is just wind and rain. We are used to storms like this in Maine...not a hurricane.
  It will be good to get home even though we had so much fun on this vacation. Thanks to everyone for helping us to enjoy good times.   

On the Road Again...

Cary's car... very cool indeed...

   We are on the road again to Maine. We left Phillis and Cary this morning around 8:40. Cary left for work in his cool Cooper Coup. I had never seen one before. I got to ride in it last night going home from dinner. It's only a two seater...but wicked comfy...
   We went to Apple Bagel down the road. Phillis has Fridays off; so she joined us. We had a bagel sandwich. Ummm.. I think Mom had a muffin. Good eats. I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture. That happens alot.
   We said our tearful goodbyes to Phillis. She thought she and Cary would be coming to Maine sometime soon..
   So we are traveling through Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. We stop at rest stops along the way. Some are pretty cool looking.

rest stop

rest stop

rest stop 

   We found a Hampton Inn in Manning, South Carolina that is really comfy. The beds are great and the bathroom is clean and spacious. We are all looking forward to a good nights sleep after being on the road all day.

Nice beds.

   We then decided we were a little hungry after our road trek.. We checked out a few places, but ended up at a Zaxby's. We had never heard of this restaurant. We were pleasantly surprised by the menu and the service. The place was clean and had some healthy food choices.
  Russ and I chose salads since we had eaten at Wendy's for lunch. Mom had the chicken salad sandwich. We really enjoyed the meal and our hotel was right across the street.

My salad

Mom's chicken salad

Russ's salad

  Well we are back in the room and my bed is calling to me to jump in.. We will have the continental breakfast and start back on the road around eight o'clock. We hope to get close to my brother's home for our second stop. We are praying he has power. (He lives in New Jersey.) I hope for their sakes they get it soon..
  On the road tomorrow..

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Day at Disney...Boo...Hoo!!

A Magical Day

   We got up this morning and packed up our things and put them in our van. We wanted to be ready to head to Land O' Lakes when we left Magic Kingdom today... It didn't take long.

Decorated for fall

    We hopped on the bus to Magic Kingdom. We discovered that it wasn't very busy at all. We went on Buzz LightYear's ride. It's not my favorite ride, but it's fun. We walked right on. I think people were really tired from the Halloween parties the last few days and didn't want to get up early for Magic Kingdom. The park was still decorated for Halloween. It looked very festive for fall.

Mickey as a pumpkin

 

   Next we checked out the new construction in Fantasy Land. It should be completely done in 2014. They were working on the Seven Dwarfs rollercoaster. They were also working on putting thatch on some of the homes for Belle's village. 

I think it's a roller coaster.

Great billboard

     We walked around the part of the new addition that is now open. It's the circus section. I actually went on the Barnstormer Roller Coaster. It was really for kids, but it was perfect for me. I didn't close my eyes once.
  We continued to explore this new section for a time. It's really going to be huge. Thank goodness you can take a train around the park.

Under the Big Top

 

NO more calories,pleas

    We found the Big Top which is really just a gift shop with snacks and yummies you can eat. It was really a nice place. Check out the pastries.

Ezra will love this ride.

 

So cute to ride though....

Very moving show

 










 We watched the little cars go by.. I didn't think I could get my knee in one, so we passed up this ride. I think it's perfect for kids.. What fun ...
  Next we went on my mother's favorite ride: It's a Small World.  She loves the little dolls from the different countries. It's wicked cute. The song might drive you nuts, but I didn't keep singing it all day.. Thank goodness.
   We walked towards Liberty Square to see The President's Hall. I love this show. It always makes me cry.. It's our history put to music. It really comes alive with the robotics.

  

Yummy!!!!

   We decided to eat at our other favorite place : Pecos Bill's. We ate Taco Salads. You go to a buffet to add whatever you want to your salad.. Russ really likes this concept. We watched the log boat come down Splash Mountain.

I don't think they ever get the key.

  Our last ride at Disney for awhile was Pirates of the Caribbean. It's really a fun boat ride. Russ got a little wet, but not as wet as Cindy did when we went on the ride earlier in the week. It was a nice way to end our time at Magic Kingdom.


Well, it was time to head to my sister, Phillis's home. We will stay the night and then head home. We should be home in three days. I don't think we are staying with my brother 'cause he still doesn't have power. We'll see when we get closer to New Jersey..
  I will be posting the whole way.. Can't wait to turn the key to our home.. sweet .. home..
  I am tired tonight.. Going on vacation is hard work...