Goodbye Christmas...

Okay...let me start this post by saying that when I refer to coming back tomorrow and posting that it may take a few days for tomorrow to actually get here!! Also, that these photos are in some crazy random order.
The above photo is very very very early Christmas morning, as in 4 am. Yikes!! The stockings are ones that my Mom and I made a couple of years ago. I use "and I" very loosely, because it was before I was really into sewing. I designed them and Mom sewed them. The snowmen still need facial features and scarves.


Lilly in her Christmas Eve nightgown I made. I think stockings are my favorite thing of Christmas morning.

Fishey-Boy in his jammie bottoms. Didn't actually get around to making pj shirts and couldn't find matching t-shirts for him and Jackson.

Christmas decor in the dining room. Y'all might remember the gaudy turned glorious deer.

The centerpiece on the dining room table.

In that random order I spoke of...here are Jackson and Lilly opening their Christmas Eve jammies.

Onto the kitchen...I got this gingerbread man from Goodwill back in the summer and couldn't wait to use him this year!! LOVE him!!

Love me some candy canes!! The small ones in the jar on the left came from Jenny, the big one laying down were from Heidi, the wooden ones on the right are from Joann's, and my favorite edible Bob's are in the back jar.

A corner of my kitchen...Gotta love Gooseberry Patch!!

This little niche in my kitchen was perfect for my apothecary jars. I just used faux cranberries from Joann's, rock salt and a pinecone, and jingle bells from the Dollar Tree to fill them up. Jenny made the adorable snowman tag.

We had Christmas with my Mom the Sunday before Christmas. I took some photos of her living room and tree. I made this lifesaver Santa ornament in third grade, I think. What a great year!! My teacher, Ms. Ryals, was awesome!!

Our stockings from childhood...See the E on mine?? I was trying to get these from Mom, but no luck...

Mom's big fat tree. Just realized this photo is blurry...oops. I love what she did with that huge hole above her fireplace. She has been collecting nutcrackers for my little brother, Nick, for a long time.

This shot is a little better.

Well, congratulations if you made it this far!!

I gotta say, I am so in the mood for Valentine's Day now. Am I in the minority, totally crazy??

The halls are decked...and some other fun stuff!!

Hello and Merry Christmas to y'all!! I cannot believe I haven't shared the Christmas decor before now. I also cannot believe that we only have 4 days until Christmas!! Where did the time go??
If you walk up my walkway, this cute little Santa flag will greet you. He's a jolly looking fellow, isn't he??

Come on up. I used the same wreath for quite a few Christmas's now, but I just love it!! This year, I decided to hang some pinecones on the windows on the front porch area. A few trees, sled and iceskates and a few other fun things make my porch festive.

I love love love having a staircase to decorate!! Instead of your typical greenery garland, I used felt snowflake garland from Hobby Lobby and draped it, tied up with strips of red and white ticking. I also hung a thrifted knit stocking and lime green snowflake. I am on the hunt for more of these types of stockings. These were similar to the ones I had growing up and I feel nostalgic.

I so loved Crystal's little homemade village on her blog and was inspired to make one of my own. I am pleased with how they turned out and the cost: FREE!! The flying reindeer came from Target and were originally red glittered. I just mixed a little gold, silver, and brown craft paint and dabbled it on and now they work for me!!

I found these sweet deer at a yard sale this fall for a quarter each. The santa came from a thrift shop with a bunch of other crafty stuff. Y'all might remember that...The sleds are ornaments that I've had for a couple of years.

Also up here is the clay Christmas cottage and tree that Jenny made for me. If I say so myself, I just love the windows on the red house to the left!!

The cabins in the woods and the stitchery Jenny made.

Our Christmas tree...For a few years we had tiny colored lights, then I decided I wanted a grown up look and only wanted white lights, then last year nostalgia set in and I had to have the huge colored bulbs that I grew up with. I think colored Christmas lights are more fun for the kids anyhow. I know Fisher is quite fond of these. In fact, I thought the two bottom rows of the colored were blown, but it turns out that Fisher was just unscrewing them until the light went off!!

Love this ornament!! I bought it the year Cory and I were married.

This was a cute Target framed ornament. Lilly's first Christmas.

This baby stroller ornament was Jackson's first Christmas. It is from Midwest of Cannon Falls like our first Christmas one.

The armoire...I went for a woodsy look up there. I think after Christmas I'll take the Santas down and leave the other stuff up through the winter. The crocheted snowflakes on the big tree came from ebay.

We went to go see Santa today and despite Fisher crying I think it went well. Obviously, I didn't get around to making Lilly's dress, but we got this velvet jumper a few years ago from a thrift shop and it worked just perfect.

My oldest brother, Ted{in the black shirt}, and his girls came up last week. It was nice to see them!!

What else...Oh, we've been adopted!! By this sweet little girl!! I cannot tell you how excited the kids are to finally have a pet!! The kids are calling her Daphne, but I'm not sure she looks like a Daphne. I would love to have input from y'all!! Jenny suggested Jovie/Jovy/Jovey{?} from the girl on Elf and since she is our little Christmas present I like it. What do you think??

Also, I'm dying to know...do you use colored lights or white lights??

I'll come back tomorrow and show y'all my Mom's house and my kitchen. Oh, I also am dying to share some of the thrifted, handmade, and yes FREE Christmas gifts I am working on!!

Homeschool Craft Day...

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of hosting our homeschool group for brunch and Christmas crafting. It was so much fun!!
Fisher discovered a little carrier and had a ball playing in it when a sweet baby girl wasn't occupying it!!

My pictures are so blurry...The kids are painting paper mache Christmas balls here-inspired by these. They also colored bookmarkers and other ornaments.

More painting...

The Moms made signs. I love Julie's signs and since I've had a Cricut, they have been so much fun to make!!

This SNOW sign is my favorite so far.

Here are some of the other signs that were made. I love how one lady did her last name. I am so gonna make one of those for myself!!

Have y'all been crafting for Christmas lately??

Could y'all please pray??

First...for my Daddy. He had a hernia, among other health problems that he had worked on. Lately, he has been experiencing pain where it was. He called me last night and said the doctor said his small intestine is enlarged and if his pain is excruciating then he needs to get to the hospital immediately, because it would be like that it would burst and he could die.
I would like for y'all to pray first for his salvation{I am pretty sure he isn't a believer}, and for his health. He is going to the ER this morning. He just turned 61 this past August and hasn't treated himself well over the years. He does love his grandkids and they love him.

Second...my brother-in-law, Jordan. This is Cory's younger brother. He was in a car accident back earlier in the year. It messed him up around his shoulder/neck/arm. His doctors found a growth{I believe} in his neck that they believe may be cancer. He was supposed to have surgery on his neck for his injuries caused by the accident, but tomorrow is going to have the growth cut out. I am praying for the steady hands of the doctors, as this is near major stuff that control his bodily movement, and of course, either that the cancer isn't there or is taken care of. I know I don't normally ask for prayer, but these things are kind of major.
Thank you so much!!

***Jordan's surgery went as well as can be expected. We will know in about a week about what they removed. Jordan is in pain, but we are hopeful that he will recover just fine.
***My Dad{stubborn old man!!} woke up feeling fine the next day, but nauseous, so he didn't go to see the doctor. I told him he felt better because all my friends were praying for him. He sounded pleasantly surprised and said thank you. I did notice Thursday night that he would wince in pain and grab his side so I don't think he is all good, hence the reason I called him stubborn. :)

Thank you all for praying. It really means a lot!!

Christmas swappin' with Jenny...

Y'all know by now that Jenny and I are swapping crazy!! Here is some of what I sent to her. I have a few more things that need to go out.

Old-fashioned candy canes and my favorite Bob's candy sticks.

A couple tags I made...

I glittered up chipboard letters and wired them to a mini garland.

Had to make a tassel for Jenny. I loved how this one turned out!!

A fun kitchen wreath rounded out this box of Christmas goodness!!


What did I get??

Super cute snowman doily ornament greeted me as I opened the box!!

All my goodness!! A cute, Christmas plaid basket, Gooseberry Patch Christmas book-LOVE it, fun kitchen towel, a snowy scene embroidery{I have two already-one for summer and one for fall}, primitive candy canes{Jenny has a tutorial}, little Christmas cottage and tree, R typewriter key plaque, cute ornaments, AWESOME handstamped metal ornaments with my kids' names and the year, snowman tag, and an ornament/keychain combo.

See the ornaments?? Jenny stamped those onto washers. I love me some personalization!!

Thank you so much for a fun swap package, Jenny!!

Stuff I've made...

I got an itchin' Sunday to make a doll for a friend's little girl's birthday. I think she turned out cute!!

I participated in Monica's Noel swap and this is what I gave to my partner. We are supposed to fit it all in a shoebox. I made a circle garland that I posted about here. I also made rag balls, shutter ornies, gift tags, and put mini pinecones from my sister-in-law's cabin in a mason jar.

I also participated in Emilie's Thanksgiving mini swap. I sent Lori a cloche, fabric pumpkin, scrabble letters spelling Thankful, and a tag.

What have y'all been crafting lately??

From gaudy to Oh Lawdy!!

Y'all have all seen those gaudy gold paper mache reindeer, right?? I got some from Goodwill a few years ago for next to nothing. Then, sometime later, I got some pinecones that had spanish moss and glitter on them. That gave me the idea for these deer.

Here are the deer before...

And afterward...

What?? You want to know how I did it??

Okay...assemble your ingredients.

*You will need the gaudy deer. You can find them at Michaels. Or Goodwill.

*Glitter...I used Martha Stewart Smoky Quartz.

*Mod Podge

*Spanish Moss
What to do...

*Put your spanish moss in a large bowl and attack it with scissors. You want small pieces of it.

*Water down your Mod Podge.

*Using a sponge or brush, paint on your watered down Mod Podge, starting at the bottom, sprinkle the spanish moss, then sprinkle the glitter. Lather, rinse{or don't}, repeat. Enjoy your beautiful, non-gaudy, woodland deer!!

Oh, I also made the wreath, using some sugar pinecones from my sister-in-law's cabin, little pinecones from Michaels and a grapevine wreath. I just used my glue gun to adhere the pinecones.