What kind of Christmas Tree are You?

You Are a Cranberry and Popcorn Strung Tree

Christmas is all about showcasing your creative talents. From cookies to nicely wrapped presents, your unique creations impress everyone.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

Oh Christmas Tree!

This turned out differently than I had planned..but I think I like it. Been wanting to use these HEIDI SWAPP letters - but the blue never quite fit...maybe I should have painted over them....then I messed up my OBSERVATIONS circle stamp in the bottom right corner (which I am doing on each page)....so I tore it away and used the next page for the day (11) and stamp, and journaling....worked out nicely! My drawing skills are negligible... but I always like to draw TREES....especially Christmas trees. This was a fun page to journal.

Day 10 - lovin' this PAPER!

Giddy over my OLD NAVY paper...lovin' this pattern...wish I had a big ballgown ala Doris Day made out of some sumptious rustle-y fabric in this pattern! I would wear it every day til NEW YEAR's!!

Sorry the pic doesn't live up to the HYPE....

Days 8 & 9!

OK...I realize this is defeating the purpose of living in the moment and enjoying the days as we get closer and closer to Christmas....but I was behind and determined to catch up this weekend (and I did! Took me til THREE AM SUNDAY NIGHT...but I am CAUGHT UP!)....but I really really wanted to do PROMPT 10 -- so I kind of neglected Days 8 and 9 to get to my FABULOUS WRAPPING PAPER THAT I AM SO IN LOVE WITH! Silly I know. But I just am ridiculously charmed by this OLD NAVY PATTERN! (bought the notebook for my car, the wrapping paper and the flannel jammy pants to wear on Christmas!).....now I've overhyped it. Day 10 was fun for me...tho' it doesn't photograph well (whatever did I do to this dang camera?? It's all jacked and I don't know how to "reset it to the default!")

OK....enough rambling....off to make my TREE PAGE!!!!!!!

Days 5,6 and 7!

A few more pages.....up to page 8 now....enjoying the process....how do the rest of you post photos? Do you scan your pages? My photos of my pages are crummy (even using MACRO setting)....

Day 4 (yes I know I am still behind!)

Day 4 - My immediate thought of "dreams of Christmas" was that I miss the annual cookie bake-off day my sister and I used to have each year...now that we live 4 hours away from each other, we don't get to bake together at Christmastime...and I miss it.

**EDIT** - To those who asked about the Christmas letter cookies - the photo is from a Mary Engelbreit Home Companion magazine....(wish I could take credit for them!)

A few more pages done!

Working to get caught up...so loving seeing the different interpretations of each day's prompt....but also interesting to notice the number of the things I recognize from my own stash of supplies. Great inspiration, ladies!

Happy with my CARDS Day 3 page....

DAYS 1 & 2

I am still behind...but had a glitch and had to start over my MANIFESTO page....I had started clean and simple...then decided it had too much white space...and so I tried to brush on a paint border in red...which looked like BLOOD...so then I brushed some luminere over it....and it looked ORANGE....oh dear. Into the trash went THAT page....and so I started again...(and by now I barely had enough of the TARGET CATTY to cut up for my background....but I did my best.)

Decided I'd try to add some BLING (rhinestones) to each page...loving the sparkle...

Swirls!

Edited: Cover and Page One added....I think I have my BLOGGER working again...though my photos are not the best...can't figure out why they are rotating! I really should read the manual on this new digital camera, right? Sure...who has time for that?

CHRISTMAS ART JOURNAL

Is there anything more exciting (and/or intimidating!) than a blank page? I so want to be an artist...but I know myself to be a "crafter" - great at producing and imitating -- but sadly, not an original. And I have gone astray from my daily journaling...gotta get that habit back!

So...Treated myself to Shimelle's Christmas Art Journal class today (www.shimelle.com)...even tho it started Dec 1---I plan to get "caught up" before retiring for the night.

This is incentive to discipline myself to JOURNAL more....

I hereby declare, along with Shimmelle and the others, my MANIFESTO:

I will keep a Christmas journal.

In it, I will write something every day to reflext on the holidays of my past, enjoy the holidays of the present and dream about the holidays of my future. To some, this will be a stack of papers and trivial scribbles, but not to me. I am taking back my Christmas. I am letting it be something I relish and, most importantly, I am giving at least fifteen minutes every day to myself no matter how crazy this season becomes. I hope you will share, encourage and understand as I make something with my own hands, my own words, and my own memories.

So..thanks to Shimelle and all the others who have posted their pages thus far...you inspire me and I am excited to create and share the holiday spirit with you.

Off to CREATE I go!

Inspired by Ali Edwards

Up and out of the house EARLY today for some errands...and now time to scrap the night away. yippiee! Some shares: TOTALLY SCRAPLIFTED (like a stalker, am I!) ALI EDWARDS' Thanksgiving journal--bought the kit from Cocoa Daisey (so yum) and loved the papers so much I made a second mini version for my sister, Niki, who came out to spend Thanksgiving with us for the first time. Perfect weekend!

EDIT: Inspired by Ali to create this collage of Christmas bits , too...just need to add some glitter to my snowflake and frame it...ho ho ho!

Thanksgiving nears!

Four days til the feast of the spice-rubbed turkey tradition....still so much to do!
But for today...it's all about getting some craft time in. Thanks. I needed that! (and in the meantime...I am IMpatiently waiting for the new Penny Black website!)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of The Year.....

HOLIDAYS ARE NEAR!! TURKEY TIME!!!!!

COUNTDOWN TO CRUISE TIME!

THE 2006 COHEN/GILMAN ANNUAL VACATION-ORAMA IS ALMOST HERE!

CANNOT WAIT!

American Idol 6 - IN THE HOUSE!

Yes, my sister and I and 3 of my nieces were at the Wachovia Center last night rockin' it with the IDOLS. Yes I am a Teen Beat wannabe. Had a blast -- and per our annual tradition, we stalked the BUS until we got autographs!! (Thanks CHRIS, ACE AND TAYLOR! Whoo hoooo!! Thanks to my sister for being the leader of our stalking pack!) KELLY AND JAN: JACKIE KISSED CHRIS'S BALD HEAD!!!!!!!!!! WE MISSED YOU!!!

INSPIRATION BINDER...

My Inspiration Binder has a pretty pretty princess new cover! LOVE the Ali Edwards book...the top two papers used on this page are from the book (where can we get MORE???!?!?!) AND my latest SU! order (thanks, Maria!) included the WHITE PEN and the Stamp of Authenticity set (circle stamp, "genuine article") - love it all!! Happy me.

YUM YUM YUM

Once again....Bobbi Brown temps me with her luscious products. FALL STUFF ALREADY - and her palette is CHOCOLATE. Someone save me. I want it all.....

MY ALI BOOK ARRIVED AT LAST!

YIPPIE!! What a treat on my porch at the end of a LONG work week. YUM YUM YUM. Ali Edwards' "A Designer's Eye for Scrapbooking with Patterned Paper." -- oh and did you hear she includes 8 sheets of paper at the back of the book that she designed??!?! I used a few pieces to create a cover for my inspiration binder....will post it when I get the energy to unpack the camera from our quickie trip to NC last weekend ..... and now to bed!

Lovin Circles

How badly do I need this? (and every other new item from 7 Gypsies????) Only $5.95 retail!! I WANT IT NOW NOW NOW!

NIKI AND MAX WERE HERE!

Sending out smiles and thanks to Niki for the secret messages left behind after your visit!! I noticed this on the fridge a week or so after you left - but keep forgetting to tell you!(no one ever leaves magnetic poetry anymore!! I always have to beg people to write!!) It makes me smile every time I see it : )
(I found your note in my "to do" tablet, too!! Another super smiley treat! Love you tons!! You and Max have to come visit again SOON!) xoxox

Pretty pretty princess notebooks!

Hey Gals - a few shots of the Donna Downey inspired notebooks I have been craftin'--"pretty homes for all your lists!" a big THANK YOU to Mikayla and her friend Curran for their help at our Premier Jewelry party last month...hope you enjoy your notebooks!

Circle Journal - Round 2!

Our Circle Journal has made its first full rotation!! My baby sister Niki and I decided to start a circle journal early this year---I sent it off to her in March...and it arrived back to me yesterday--round one and six pages each later....what fun!! What a treat to find in my mailbox....reread my pages (how could I have forgotten so much of it already?) then read each of hers several times....smiling and laughing the whole time. Lastly--I see her little inside joke to me on the back inside cover....har dee har har, Niki-La-La!! I will get you back!! THAT's RIGHT! Love ya, Sissy!!

Aimee and Jan--thanks for your notes...thank heavens for the holiday coming--I need a break from the crazy pace at work! Yippie! Jeans day at work tomorrow!!

TTFN!

Dreaming a little dream...

.....of a perfect STUDIO....

Read Ali Edwards blog entry today...LOVE that she shared pics of her SPACE...made me want to get my room in order ("no, honey, it isn't a 'crap room' - it's a CRAFT room!" Maybe I should start calling it my ART STUDIO! Sounds more official and then my hubby cannot bastardize the name, eh? oy...)

ANYWAY...was also leafing through the latest Pottery Barn catalog (why CAN'T I have one of each?!?!) and loved the idea of this counter height work space...would like to have different work stations for all my various tasks...a place to gift wrap packages (with all my curling ribbon on some sort of poles or dowels overhead....rather than the copy paper boxes they are currently in)....and a spot for embossing....and one for my large paper cutter....and for the SKOR IT I want to get (60 skeet! yikes! gotta save my pennies!)

I hate that no matter how I organize myself (or attempt to!) - I always end up with 8 square inches of work surface! What is that? I think I need to SIMPLIFY and purge...and oh I don't like that idea! I am so torn....I love all my STUFF but I'd really like a clearer, less cluttered space....

...the dilemma of all crafters, eh?

And so to bed....and more dreams of a Pottery Barn Room MakeOver!

A Shout Out to My New Scrappin Pals Aimee & Jess!

Hey girls!
I couldn't resist capturing our fun day with Donna D on a few pages...lovin the pink and peach colors for spring...and my Heidi Swapp flowers and handwriting attempts! (I am practicing faithfully in my "Learn to Love Your Handwriting" workbook!) These ladies are my HEROS....so prolific and CREATIVE and ORIGINAL....I wanna be just like them when I grow up! How can it be midnight already? I have tons I want to do and I don't have time to sleep!

Swirls!

Nothing Better Than...

....finding a good "new" restaurant close to home! Rob and I had dinner at Bamboo Restaurant (self billed as "House of Noodles") last Friday...good food and the best Jasmine tea I have ever tasted. And even better - the presentation in these pretty pretty princess teacups! Love it!

I tried to get the brand name of the tea...was told the owner brews it herself from leaves and of course it's a secret recipe. drat. Ah well - reason to go back often! (Tip- try a thinly sliced lime with your tea next time...very nice!)

Crocs Rock!

Let the record show that I fell in love with these LONG before I knew Diva Donna D had them!! My UGGS were my winter loves...my fabuloso LIME GREEN CROCS are taking over my heart now! And get this - I HAD TO BUY SIZE XS! EXTRA SMALL?? Oh yes--I will have to have these in every color (nothing else on my bod is or ever was extra small!) Expect to see me in a lot of green (at least til I get a pair in orange, or purple, or pink, or maybe blue....)

Objects of my desire.....

Can I ever get enough of
colors
new palettes
eyeshadows
brushes
glosses
glam?
Bobbi Brown emails me with such tempting treasures! and if I order this doozy by midnight Sunday I get a free Sandwash makeup case to carry it in. Sigh. So not in my budget! But it's pretty to look at, no?

Eye Candy!

Hippity hoppity - Easter's on it's way! And how yummy are these little ceramic bunnies?! Found them at Genardi's (of all places!) when I stopped in for a Starbucks...too cute to pass up -don't they look like CHOCOLATE??! They are the perfect ZERO CALORIE centerpiece!

Donna D Class Photos!

Last night I stopped at SAM's CLUB to get my LAST ROLL OF FILM EVER developed (I hope! gonna go DIGITAL!) I am always so eager to see my pics, then so disappointed that I never look as movie-star good as I expect. What is the deal with that?! ha ha

But these are too cool not to share! First, I give you my fellow scrapping queen gal pals at the MLPA class on Saturday - Aimee and Jessica! (Note the arm waving the pink book behind Aimee's head? That is Diva Donna Downey - scrapbooking queen of all queens teaching the class! Our heroine!)

And...it doesn't end there!! I showed Donna D the JLO 'n BO book I made for my dear friend Jan - and found out she TOO is a huge Bo Bice fan. She immediately plugged me in to her iPod - on which Bo's "THE REAL THING" was playing. How cool is THAT?

Alas--our class came to an end all too soon. But not before I got Donna D to autograph my books and, of course, Jan and Bo's book!! That's the real thing!