Christmas!

So, Christmas has come and gone. We've already put our decorations away and we're ready for the New Year. Besides, whether we're ready or not it'll come anyway. For us it's only the change of the calendar though. We don't usually do much during the holidays and it's fairly quiet. On Christmas morning this year we were happy Noah got up at 7:00 instead of last year's 4:00am. He was really happy with all of his presents. Everyone is always spoiled in my house and we are grateful. So many people have nothing and it really doesn't seem fair, does it?
We had lunch at my parents' and have been relaxing ever since then. I've been trying to get some letters written and I desperately need to clean out stuff and get organized but somehow that doesn't seem as fun.

Noah Christmas morning.

Here is a photo of my presents from friends, pals and family. Thanks to everyone.

Of course the kittens were quite excited too. Here is Mustang seeing if Santa brought him something and he did, a stocking full of toys to share with Subaru. Kylie, the older cat couldn't care less. She just wants peace and quiet.

Subaru, pooped after playing with his toys.

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas. I'll be back in the New Year. :)

Handcrafted teacher gifts!

Hey there! I said I'd be back with photos of the finished teacher's gifts I made. I decided to paint a shoe design and sew buttons on these cotton blue bags I bought at my local craft store. The shoe pattern is a design made by my painting teacher Linda Tozzi. She's an amazing artist and teacher. I love taking classes with her. Anyhow, I thought a pretty bag to carry a spare pair of shoes in would make a nice and practical Christmas gift. I was even thinking of making and selling some but we'll see. :)

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas...

Oh my goodness, isn't Christmas just creeping up on us so quickly?! Today I went shopping with my mother so we could finish up some of our gift buying. I have been so incredibly busy and I haven't even gotten out most of my Christmas mail. Ugh! I will get it done tomorrow for sure. I just don't know what happened. I had plenty of time and not I hardly have any. Yikes! I have also been painting some gifts for Noah's teachers which has taken me two days. I still need to add a few touches and voila they'll be done. I'll show them off here in a couple of days-hopefully. Until then let me show you a few other things that have been keeping me busy. :)
I wanted to make most of my Christmas cards but I didn't get many done again this year so I'm afraid some of my friends will have to settle for bought cards. :( Here are three cards I did make this past weekend.

I thought I'd show you some of the decorations in our sitting room.

Every year since Noah's birth we add a house to our village. We haven't bought this year's yet. I love this family tradition.

What a strange mix here. None of the decorations really go together but I like my buffet looking this way. My mother crafted the snowman and his lady, I painted the tree with the children building a snowman on it and then my painting teacher Linda did the rectangle lit box with the snowman design.

I absolutely LOVE opening little surprises from a stocking. This was the stocking I had as a child. Santa fills another stocking for me now so this one is only used for decoration.

Last weekend we went to the Christmas Bazaar hosted by Noah's school. Every year the parents' committee has one to raise funds for the winter carnival in February. Of course we had to buy a few things. The crafts were so nice. This box was hand-painted and filled with sugar cookies which Jeffrey loved.

I love this decorated box filled with yummy fudge.

A pretty ornament Noah chose. The bear is painted on a lightbulb with a knitted hat. Isn't it cute?

Another one of Noah's choices.

One of the best things about December is receiving a bunch of Christmas mail almost daily. Last week I received a bunch of cards and some packages. The cards I opened but the packages are waiting under the tree until Christmas morning. This card is beautiful and made by my very talented friend Rosita from Finland.

Here are a few other cards I received as well. From left to right, Santa card from our vet, another cute Santa card from my friend Margaret from Scotland, a pretty Japanese card from Reiko in Japan, a very cute handmade bear card from my friend Susi from Austria and another handmade card by my friend Maiken from Norway.

Today I received these three cards, Suzy Zoo from Judy from England (I love these characters), a pretty handmade card from Gaby from Germany and the adorable cat card is from my great friend Molly from USA.

My sweet friend Beate from Norway sent me an Advent chocolate calendar and handmade card. Noah and I have been enjoying the chocolates.

I also received these very pretty decos from a group swap.

And, that's all she wrote today! :)

Kittens, letters 'n' swaps!

Goodness! I'm having such a difficult time keeping up with everything these days, actually it's been months since I've been able to organize myself properly. I used to be such an organized person until my burn-out a couple of years ago. I wonder if I'll ever be able to multi-task as I once did. It can certainly be frustrating. I always mean to do this and that but there just seems to be mountains of things to do...Ugh! I'm anxious just thinking about it! So, let me change the subject before I get myself all worked up about what I haven't done yet. Let's talk kittens. They have certainly made themselves at home and are quite mischieveous. I think Subaru (beige) sleeps with his ears open because whenever I try to sweep or do anything there he is underfoot. And, Mustang (gray) thinks I am a bed for him to sleep on. He snuggles right up on my shoulder making it impossible for me to do anything. But, they are so darn cute!!! Take a look at the photos below. :)

Kylie, the old lady (Nikkisum's sister) is learning to tolerate them unless they get too close. They have become used to her growling and hissing so they don't really care anymore. They follow her around which annoys her to no end. It can be quite amusing.

Subaru is the mischieveous one. We moved the plant on the counter because he had basically killed it so now he thinks, one, it's okay to jump on the counter (not) and two, use the plant as his bed (not again).
So, onto some mail news now.

I received a wonderful letter this week from my friend Nicole whom I had lunch with at the beginning of November (previous post). She sent cute decos, postcards, a great travel report and photos.

Today I received a great letter from my friend Annette from Australia with some belated birthday presents. It's never too late to celebrate!

I also received a great letter from my friend Laura from Romania. She sent some craft supplies, decos and FBs.

Then I received this fantastic letter with FBs that my friend Margaret and I thought had gone missing since it was mailed in June. She lives in Scotland so not on another planet. It makes no sense that her letter took so long to reach me. But, well at least it did.
And, some swap news now.

I received 50g est. fbs as part of a group swap.

And, 3 postcards from the Ukraine, 50g est. fbs (2x) and two teabags from another group swap.

Another group swap with gorgeous decos, House Mouse FBs, stickers and embellishments.

Two lovely Vintage New York decos as another group swap.

A pretty Vintage Nurse deco from a group swap.

I've also started receiving pretty Christmas cards and also some packages which I have put under the tree. I always open the cards beforehand though. The top right card is from my friend Lone in Germany. It is a Marjolain Bastin card and I love her art work. :) The card next to it is from my friend Eva, also from Germany. The Santa card on the bottom is from my friend Nicole and the one next to it is from Stefanie in Switzerland. It is really pretty and made by her.

So, this is all for this evening. I hope to be back soon to show you some of the craft projects I have been working on. I need to get them done for Christmas. Yikes!

Weekend in sunny New Hampshire!

I had such a wonderful weekend in New Hampshire with my friend Molly and her family. It was such a warm and sunny weekend too. Whenever I am somewhere shopping I always tend to look around to buy for others but this time it was about ME. I bought myself some crafting supplies, a blouse, a sweater and a t-shirt. I also bought the book "Eat, Pray, Love" and I'm looking forward to reading it before I watch the DVD. I'm already reading something now and I'm not the type of person who reads more than one book at a time so I'll have to patiently wait. Anyhow, on Sunday, Molly and I met our mutual pal Nicole at "Pickity Place" for lunch. I absolutely LOVE this restaurant. It is a house turned into a restaurant in the forest surrounded by gardens and there are two gift shops. Once you arrive at "Pickity Place" you can feel yourself relaxing and enjoying nature. How lovely it must be to relax there with a book (weather permitting of course). I LOVE their gift shops and spent over $100.00 and let me tell you I could've bought more. Below you'll see my purchases. The lunch we had was DELICIOUS! I look forward to going again next spring. Of course the company was also wonderful! :) Below is a photo of myself, Molly and Nicole (left to right).

A beautiful fall display right outside one of the gift shops.

I thought this bird bath display was really pretty.

And now my purchases. I love pottery so I bought this pretty bowl with plate for soup and a sandwich, only to be used by ME. Also, a balsamic vinaigrette, packets for lavender lemonade, potato soup, steak seasoning and garlic butter seasoning. Yum!

I also couldn't resist a bar of lavender soap. I could just walk around with it stuck to my nose I love the smell so much.

I also bought a beautiful bracelet made from clay beads. I love these colours.

And, finally I bought a wonderful assortment of Christmas items, hot chocolate, tea cup cards with packets of tea, vintage style ornaments.

I LOVE shopping in these types of boutiques so much and I dream of owning one someday.
Okay, onto some mail news now. I received this lovely Coco Chanel Deco as part of a group swap.

Also these Apples & Pumpkin FBs for another group swap.

And, these Leonardo Da Vinci Decos for another group swap.

My friend Molly sent me a sweet sympathy card for Nikkisum's passing and some photos.

And, that concludes my news for tonight. :)

More mail & Christmas!

Wow! I can't beleive how quickly time is flying by. Only 48 days left until Christmas and I have A LOT to do. Today was a rest day for me. I was exhausted and lately I've felt like all I have done is run, run, run. It was nice to just relax and think of myself for a change. After I finish up here I'm going to make some hot cocoa, turn on some Christmas music and answer some letters. Something about Christmas music makes me smile and relax. :) So, onto some mail news.
A beautiful "Vintage Couples" Deco I received from a swap partner for a group swap.

A wonderful letter from my friend Lone in Germany. She also sent a great travel report from her travels to The Netherlands, decos, FB, postcards, photos and a cute Halloween card she made.
"Cute Characters in Fall" FBs I received from a group swap partner.

On the weekend we celebrated Noah's 9th birthday. We didn't really do much since the weather was so crappy, wet and damp. However, we went to the pool (one of his favourite activities), had this yummy cake and presents. He is 9 years old but still likes Pooh and friends. He doesn't like anything violent or scary. Some parents encourage their children to like "things their age" but we always tell Noah he can like what he wants. :)

As I mentioned Christmas is coming so time to think of gift giving (something I love). I painted this cat design on a bag that holds wine bottles for one of Noah's teachers. She is fantastic and deserves a nice thoughtful gift. I still have the lettering to do. I really like the way it turned out.

And, I've been buying a steady supply of craft items. Here are some of the things I found at a shop near my home today. I'll be starting on Christmas card making next week.

This weekend I'll be out of town. I'm going to visit my friend Molly in Keene, New Hampshire. We'll do some shopping and on Sunday we'll meet our mutual pal Nicole for lunch at a great restaurant called "Pickity Place". I'm really looking forward to it. :o)