Thursday Thirteen 143: Crafty Me

Way back in November or December -- maybe even both -- I mentioned needing to finish a number of craft projects for Christmas. Someone (ahem, Alice) made me promise I would share pics after Christmas, when there was no chance of spoiling a surprise for anyone. January being a complete wash, I never got around to uploading and processing images until this month. So, while there is still snow on the ground (grumble, grumble), I thought I would share thirteen pics of crafty gifts I made for Christmas 2009. Click on any image for a larger view!



The stitching of these two was done early in the year, but backing and hangers still needed to be added, as well as trimming to shape.


I found this festive little guy in my craft bag, with only the white part of his legs done. It took me a while to figure out which pattern I was using, and only one evening of television programming to actually finish stitching him. He measures about two inches square and was stitched on plastic canvas.

My friend Manda loves and collects Noah's Ark memorabilia. This ornament is part of a series I have been stitching for her, actually the second set of Noah's Ark ornaments (the first was quite different from the second).

A special ornament done for my youngest niece, AKA The Bug, who attended her first performance of the Nutcracker ballet in December 2009.

Ornaments made for Kat, one of my many snowman fiend friends.

Another I found in my craft bag from last year that had been started and not finished off. He looks a lot larger in this picture than he actually is, which is not quite two inches tall.

This banner stitched for Kathy is cute, but shaping the bottom of it was a major pain in the neck. At least the tassel was a lot easier than it looked!

These are part of a series by Calico Crossroads that I have been doing for Kim, who is owned by two black cats (brothers). I had to stitch these patterns together and decided to fore go the usual 8x10 framed picture (click label 'Cross-stitch' for more) for a couple of cute throw pillows. The first says "One...Two...Three..." and the second says "Made it!" Click on image for a better view.

I have to share another pic of these, just to show off the back. Isn't this Debbie Mumm Calico cat pattern adorable?

There was enough material leftover after making Kim's pillows, I decided to use it to make a pillow for a friend's daughter. I found some sturdy brown material in my meager fabric supplies to back it et voila!

LINKS TO OTHER THURSDAY THIRTEENS:
(Please leave your link if this is your first visit!)

Elise Logan * Adelle Laudan * Alice Audrey * Sasha Devlin
Shelley Munro * Colleen * Brenda ND * Paige Tyler
Kaye * Ms Menozzi * Mary Quast * Tatiana Caldwell * Inez Kelley
Olive Tree * Gwen Mitchell * Jeanne St. James * Bryn
Grandma * Lovemukiwa * Maria

More Thursday Thirteen participants

Christmas Reading Challenge Update #3

A final update for the 2009 Christmas Reading Challenge. I managed to knock another four books off the TBR mountain. My goal for this challenge was ten books; I read twelve. Yay me! I would have liked to add a couple more to that total, but despite being home over the long, stormy Christmas weekend, I was busy finishing up Christmas presents needed for New Year's Eve. And, since one of these was a 2-in-1 collection, the total is technically five books, not four.

This batch was all romances (contemporary and historical) with the exception of A Cold Christmas, which was a mystery. Though this book was actually from the middle of a series, it read well as a stand-alone -- there was very little backstory needed to follow along and was good enough that I may try to track down earlier books in the series.

Hooper's "Holiday Spirit" was a pleasant surprise. I know she wrote romance before her popular psychic FBI series -- I've even read most of them -- but did not know she has written historical romance. I loved it! Maybe not as much as the Johanna Lindsey, but it was really good.

For more on any of these books, simply click on the covers below. Though I managed to clear twelve books from the Christmas pile, a towering stack remains. I may need to do a "Christmas in July" reading challenge to clear away a few more. *wink*

Snowmen Ornaments

One of the Christmas projects I can actually share right now. These two little ornaments were stitched up over Thanksgiving weekend. I think it took three days total for both of them, stitching while watching football and a movie or two. These are intended for friends who love snowmen. Naturally they will try to steal from each other. *rolls eyes*

Christmas...

...didn't happen today, either. Once again the snow and icy roads prevented my sister, bil and niece from coming up for the day. They couldn't even get out of their driveway, the ice was so bad where they live. They're planning to try again next weekend, when the weather won't be so bad (or so the weather gurus claim).

With nothing else to do today, I braved a lightly falling snow and ventured out to JoAnn's for some fabric to back a couple of pillows cross-stitcheded over the holiday. Amazing how much you can get done while watching a few movies. Okay, more than a few. *Grin* Yes, there will eventually be pictures. I need to haul out the sewing machine and see if I can manage not to mangle them. I think the fabric I chose for backing is rather cute, if I do say so myself. I would have liked a paw print pattern, but what they had in that did not match the project. And then I found some cute Debbie Mumm calico prints. What do you think? It's a purple background with fish bones and different cat images.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone enjoyed a nice, safe, dry Christmas! To say ours was wet would be an understatement. Starting Wednesday afternoon it went from snow to rain to sleet to rain and back to snow again this afternoon. In a word...yuck! Listening to the wind fling sleet against my windows all last night sent chills down my spine and made for uneasy sleep--the storm kept waking me every couple hours. Good thing I was able to sleep in this morning or I would have been seriously grumpy. Not that I had to worry about infecting anyone else with a sour mood. Due to the weather and potentially dangerous roads, our family gathering originally scheduled for this afternoon was postponed to Saturday. Today was a quiet day spent alone, watching holiday movies and working on a couple of stitched Christmas presents (these are not late, as I do not need them until NYE). So, weekend plans now entail a double dose of family--family holiday gathering one day and a five year old's birthday party Sunday. I am going to be whipped come Sunday evening! Oy, give me strength!

Here's an idea of what we're looking at for snow right now--note, we can add at least another inch to "total to date" overnight, plus another 2-3 Saturday:

Total to Date this season... 24.6 inches
Normal to this date... 14.7 (just a little bit above that)
Total by This Time Last year... 40.4 (whew! At least we're below that!)

I hope you have a good weekend, no matter what you have planned!

Cool Yule

Oh, yay...more snow! Granted, not as much as a couple weeks ago or what the east coast received over the weekend, but still unneeded. It started snowing about 9 o'clock last night and continued light and steady throughout the night. It was supposed to taper off mid-morning and be done by noon. Yeah, right. It didn't stop until around 4pm, leaving us with another four inches of the white stuff, a good inch or so above what was expected. At least this was a light, fluffy snow and not more heavy wet stuff like what we received during the blizzard earlier this month. Trees are still suffering damage caused by that wet, heavy stuff. The tops of a few tall pines out at work have snapped clean off from the weight of that heavy snow bowing their branches.

The winter weather isn't over yet, either. A Winter Storm Warning has been issued from noon Wednesday until noon Friday. It is to start out as snow Wednesday afternoon, change into a rain/snow/sleet mix during Thursday, and back into snow again Friday. In other words, the roads are going to be a major mess and airports will again suffer delays.

The weather has cancelled my plans for Christmas. We were to have a family get-together Friday afternoon, but due to the weather, it has been moved to Saturday so people do not have to risk being out in bad weather. Don't know if sister in Illinois will still make the trip up to see Mom, or if they will come up Saturday instead. No idea what their plans were for Saturday.

Sunday is The Bug's fifth birthday. Uh-huh...five already! I can't believe she'll be entering kindergarten in the fall. When did that happen? This, of course, means I need to get my butt in gear tomorrow or Thursday and make her birthday card. I have an idea for it, just need to sit down and do it -- which is always the hardest part of any task!

I leave you with a final Christmas card for the year. Hope everyone has a COOL YULE!

Another 4.25x4.25 square card. Paper is from DCWV. Stamp is from Stampin' Up. Greeting is a rub-on (unknown vendor).

Monday Movie Meme: Holiday Faves

This week's topic may not seem very original of us. but it seems only obvious that we should cover holiday favorites now. After all, it wouldn't make a lot of sense to talk about them in March. Share on your blog your favorite movies that either take place during the holidays, are about the holidays or just have a special personal connection for you with the holidays and link back to The Bumbles. And don't forget to visit your fellow participants!

Home For the Holidays (1995) ~ There are few movies that take place during Thanksgiving and this one is a classic. Beats me why they aired it a week after Thanksgiving this year instead of the week of or before.

A Christmas Story (1983) ~ This is one of those movies I can watch over and over again -- and usually do catch it two or three times during the TBS 24-hr Christmas Eve marathon. So many classic lines and scenes!

Meet Me in St. Louis (1994) ~ Debuted the timeless classic "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Judy Garland. Airs on TCM at midnight CST on Christmas Eve.

Holiday Inn (1942, B&W) & White Christmas (1954) ~ A classic duo I always watch back to back.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) ~ "Light the lamp, not the rat! Light the lamp, not the rat!" One of my favorite versions of the timeless Dickens classic. "It's true, where you find love it feels like Christmas."

Miracle on 34th Street (1947) ~ Original B&W version. I refuse to watch the remake.


A favorite from childhood:

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977) ~ My sisters and I loved this growing up. They used to show this every year on HBO, but no one seems to show it anymore. So sad!


And two that take place during Christmas, though they may not be Christmas movie per se:

Love Actually (2003) ~ Love the multiple story lines. Talk about warm and fuzzies!

The Holiday (2006) ~ I watched this one again a couple weeks ago during the blizzard. Love it!


And though it is months away... (Hey, they said holiday movies in general, not just Christmas-y ones!)

Song of Bernadette (1943) ~ They used to show this one every Easter Sunday. A beautiful story!

Christmas Joy

This is a 4.25x4.25 square white card with a textured purple front. The circle pieces were left over from some window cards I made a few years ago--you can see the faint holly pattern stamped across them. The 3D sticker is from Pooch & Sweetheart.

Cards From Friends

I thought I would share a couple handmade Christmas cards received from friends. The first is from my friend Kat's mom. Though I am not overly fond of pink, I like the deviation from the traditional Christmas colors. This was made with stamps from Stampin' Up. I especially like the ribbon border along the bottom.





The second is from my friend Kim. The patterned paper is from SU, the stockings and fireplace were made using her Crikut machine. Every year she swears next year's card will be easier/simpler, and every year she comes up with something just as time intensive as the year before.

Christmas Reading Challenge, Update 2

Time for a Christmas Reading Challenge update!

Didn't get as many read the last couple weeks as I did in week one, but am still on target to reach (and possibly exceed) my goal of ten books. Aside from one middle-grade book that was technically a re-read (though I have not read it since I was 10 or 12), I have gravitated towards romance these past two weeks. Two were contemporary books set at Christmas, one a historical romance. I had forgotten what a great book The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is. If you have not read it since you were in school, you should. Share it with a younger reader in your house. The back cover says age 8 and up, and it is definitely one I am setting aside for my youngest niece.

The romance books have all been sitting in the TBR pile for some time. Cole For Christmas had been lingering there since 2003. It was a nice light-hearted story with a bit of heat. I miss the Temptation line. Blaze books just don't have the same feel. The Present reminded me of how much I love Johanna Lindsey's books, particularly the Malory family, though the clan is now so huge it can be difficult keeping them all straight at times. This was a beautiful story illustrating how important love is over everything else, especially social status. The last book, The Gift, is actually two previously published books in one, Home For Christmas and All I Want For Christmas. Both are sweet, fairly short and easy to read holiday stories. I am actually still reading the second story, but expect to finish it tonight.

To find out more about any of these books, just click on the links above. I'll have a final Christmas reading report after the holidays! Merry Christmas!

Welcome Christmas

This is a fun card we made at a Stampin' Up Workshop I attended back in October, hosted by a friend's mom. I confess, I really don't think much of the circle set overall, but it really works for this kind of card. And, while it may look complicated, it was actually pretty easy to make. We started by stamping one of the circle designs randomly across a white front. Next, another circle pattern was stamped on small squares of white, colored with markers, then punched. A slightly larger green circle for matting was punched for each.

We then punched two word windows and cut them in half to use for the ornament hangers. Small holes were pierced in the round end (you can use a thumb tack if you don't have a hole piercer), and cording tied at back. Next, the red border was punched and then the greeting stamped in silver ink. The other end of cording was positioned across back and adhered with Scotch tape so that the "ornaments" would hang down as desired, and then the red piece was adhered across top of the card. Pretty easy peasy! I would be tempted to use this for next year's cards, were it not for the fact a friend is already planning her cards around this design. Except, if I know her, the ornaments will be shades of purple instead of red and green.

Stamps: Circle Circus, Heard From the Heart (Stampin' Up)
Paper: White, Real Red, Green (SU)
Ink: Basic Black, Silver
Accessories: SU Markers, Eyelet Border Punch, Circle Punches, Word Window Punch, Silver Cording

Recycled Ornaments

This is another example of what you can do with old Christmas cards. A "clean and simple" card, quickly done, but I think the foil design from the cards adds a bit of elegance. These were all punched from foil Christmas cards. Ribbons were hand-drawn.

Stamps: Season's Greetings (Stampin' Up)
Paper: White cardstock (Wausau Paper Co)
Ink: Real Red (SU)
Accessories: Black Marker (Pilot), Circle Punches (Marvy)

Bethlehem Noel

A couple of Christmas cards made this year. The first features a stamp from A-Muse Artstamps paired with a retired greeting from Stampin' Up. The greeting was received a couple of years ago in a Christmas image swap.


Stamps: Bethlehem (A-Muse), A Gift From Heaven (Stampin' Up)
Paper: DCWV
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: La Plume markers


The second card is recycled from an old Christmas card. I cropped the image and mounted it on a torn strip of dark brown cardstock. One side of the red patterned paper was also torn.

Stamps: Noel (?)
Paper: Craft (Wausau Paper Co), Patterned paper (DCWV)
Ink: Basic Brown
Accessories: Image from old Christmas card

Teaser Tuesday 12: A Christmas Memory

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share at least two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!

A Christmas Memory is an anthology of three short stories by Truman Capote. The first two stories are about Christmases Capote experienced as a young boy, the latter about a family Thanksgiving. My excerpt is from the latter. This was a good book, read in one evening as snow swirled outside. I thought the lines below rather appropriate to this time of year especially.

And when all around us we see people who can't satisfy the plainest needs, I feel ashamed. Oh, not of myself, because who am I, an old nobody who never owned a mite; if I hadn't had a family to pay my way, I'd have starved or been sent to the County Home. The shame I feel is for all of us who have anything extra when other people have nothing.

Sook to Buddy
The Thanksgiving Visitor

Triple the challenge, triple the fun?

This is another pair of cards made last weekend for the limited supply challenge, LSC248, which was to make multiple cards using the same materials but different layouts. For this duo I used the sketches from a couple older challenges not yet done. The card on the left fits SC254, the one on the right SC255.

We had our first measurable snowfall here Thursday night, which means people in my building have again turned into inconsiderate morons, stomping outside my apartment at all hours of the day and night. It's especially bad between 5 and 7pm, when people are getting home for the day. Talk about grating on someone's nerves! And it's not like we even had that much snow, though this side of town had more than they did on the north side (the airport measured only .7, but it was more like 2 inches here).

And, of course, get a little snow and the Beltline turns onto a parking lot. I was soooo glad I wasn't in that traffic snarl Thursday night. There is more snow expected over the next three days, about 1-3 inches, and I am feeling it in my neck, which is all too susceptible to the cold temps. It doesn't exactly motivate you to get things done.

Stamps: Tree (Studio G), Greeting (Endless Creations)
Paper: Wausau Paper Co, DCWV
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Colored Pencils and Blender Pen

Christmas Reading Challenge, Update 1

The first week of the Christmas Reading Challenge has come and gone, and so far I am doing great at knocking books off the TBR list. My personal goal for the month is ten books, and I am already on number five. My choices have all been from different genres--contemporary fiction, mystery, romance and classic fiction--and on a whole, I've been quite pleased. All were good reads, not a single minute wasted on this set. The most recently finished, Capote's A Christmas Memory, also fulfills the 2009 Casual Classics Challenge, which was to read four classics. I have also officially exceeded 2009's goal of 75 books, as I am now on number 78. Below is what I read this week. Click on any cover to find out more about the book.

Thursday Thirteen 136: A Charlie Brown Christmas

It's time for Thursday Thirteen!

1. Anyone looking forward to A Charlie Brown Christmas Tuesday night may have been disappointed to find the president on instead. Have no fear, Chuck and friends have been rescheduled for next Tuesday, Dec 8.

2. You can buy your very own Charlie Brown Christmas tree for $9.99 at Walgreen's.

3. If, like Lucy, you prefer those gaudy aluminum trees popular in the 1960s, there are several currently on display at the Wisconsin Historical Museum, through January 9. Did you know a Wisconsin company was the biggest manufacturer of aluminum trees?

4. I've noticed a lot more Christmas lights than there were this time last year, probably due to the milder November. We'd already had several inches of snow and weeks of chilly weather by last December 1. This year? Not even an inch!

5. Last year's T13 posted December 3 was on the history of Christmas cards.

6. If, like us, you do not (yet) have snow, you can make your own snowflakes here. My creations are under the name "WORDTRIX" or "Romance Divas" for location.

7. Does anyone else feel over-emotional every year when watching the lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center?

8. Since it is after Thanksgiving, I've been tuning in to the all-Christmas station for an hour here and there. Don't you love the thrill of not only hearing an old favorite, but your favorite rendition?

9. The only Christmas song that causes me to immediately change the station or switch the radio off: The Christmas Shoes. I absolutely hate, loathe, despise and abominate this song, which they seem to play every two hours. I know some people love it, but every two hours? Give it a rest already!

10. The phrase "hate, loathe, despise and abominate" is from one of my favorite classic movies, shown at 11pm CST on TCM every Christmas Eve. It also features one of my favorite Christmas songs. Anyone care to guess what it is?

11. The most recent movie I've seen: New Moon. A couple friends and I went last Saturday and, as I kept hearing, it was indeed better than Twilight.

12. There are two full moons during December, on the 2nd and 31st. The second full moon of a month is often known as a "blue moon." This will not occur again until August 2012. The term "blue moon" is often used to describe the rarity of an event (once in a blue moon).

13. After the movie we made a quick stop at Wal-Mart. One of my friends was laughing at me for my sudden detour down the cookie aisle for a bag of Stauffer's Animal Crackers. Have you tried these things? They're less than $2 for a two-pound bag, are low in fat, have zero grams of trans fat, and are sooo good. Heading towards the checkout, it was my turn to laugh as two girls passed us, each carrying her own bag of animal crackers.

LINKS TO OTHER THURSDAY THIRTEENS:
(Please leave your link if this is your first visit!)

Colleen * Malcolm * Alice Audrey * Shelley MunroAmericanising Desi * Beati * Ms Menozzi * Hootin' AnniBec * Stephanie Adkins * Elise Logan * Ornery's WifeHazel * Brenda ND * Calico Crazy * Paige TylerElla Drake * Adelle Laudan * Emily Ryan-Davis * Inez KelleyLauren Murphey * A. Catherine Noon * Kristen * Storyteller

You can find more Thursday Thirteen participants HERE

Tis the Season to be Freezin'

A couple cards to share today, made over the weekend to fit last Friday's Limited Supply Challenge, LSC248, at SCS. The challenge was to make multiple cards using the same materials but different layouts. I love these cute little snowmen from Studio G. They made digging through the dollar bin at Wisconsin Craft market worth the effort. Though it might be difficult to tell, there is white ink sponged across the top of the punched snowflakes.

Stamps: Studio G
Paper: Wausau Paper Co (solids), DCWV (patterned)
Ink: Night of Navy, Craft White (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: Snowflake Punch (Marvy), Grosgrain Ribbon (JoAnn), Brads, Colored Pencils

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...For Reading

There's no better time of the year for snuggling in with a good book or two, and yesterday kicked off the 2009 Christmas Reading Challenge. The object of the challenge is to read at least three Christmas-themed books bwtween now and end of the year. I have a towering pile of such books and just found seven more in my stash Tuesday, bringing the current total to 42, several of them anthologies. Obviously, I am not getting through that many books in thirty days. My goal is 5 to 10, a fairly reasonable number don't you think? And these are all off the TBR pile; I have bought no new Christmas books this year.

I decided to start with Greg Kinkaid's A Dog Named Christmas, after seeing that the Hallmark movie will be airing on CBS this Sunday night Nov 29). I am a bit over halfway through so far. It's a good, fast read, something families could read together. Up next will be He Sees You When You're Sleeping by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark. That one has been lingering in the TBR a couple years now.

Back to the reading!

SC249 -- Winter {Friend}

Seems appropriate, what with the cold temperatures (20 degrees below normal!) and our first snow sighting last Saturday. I don't even want to imagine what winter is going to be like. *shudder* This card fits last week's sketch challenge, SC249. And yes, I know I did the last two out of order. Deal with it!

Stamps: Winter Friend (A Muse Artstamps), Winter is Calling (snowflakes, Stampin' Up)
Paper: White (Wausau Paper); Red, Green (The Paper Co); Patterned Papers (DCWV)
Ink: Basic Black, Brocade Blue
Accessories: Markers (La Plume), Red Brads