The Entryway

 Christmas preparations continued over the last couple days. Decorations in our home's entryway are complete.

I display the Christmas cards we receive on a wire wreath. Each day new arrivals are clipped to the wreath frame with ribbon-covered mini clothespins.

Guarding the front door is Morty, my six-foot giraffe. He's sporting a stripey scarf, a bright bow, and sparkling reindeer antlers. Behind him is Twill, the sewing elf I stitched in 2002.

Across the hall, Grace takes her place on the table's bottom shelf sporting her new ribbon tie. She always adds a bit of serenity to the scene.

Decorations on the table are complete. Three gnomes sit beneath the candy cane tree. Melted wax wafts  a spicy scent throughout the house.

Overhead is the Candy Cane Swag I made a couple evenings ago. The plastic canes are about three feet long. I found them at Dollar Tree along with the large silver and red bells. They're all tied together with three red ribbons I had in my stash. I'm super pleased with the way this turned out!

At the stairs is my all-time favorite Christmas decoration. Jodie (and I) made this when she was tiny ... maybe three or four years old. She did all the stitching herself. I had her sit in my lap. I sewed the four pieces together.

This year, Jodie's Snowman got a couple new bows to match our Candy Cane theme.

I managed to decorate the Christmas tree, too (but the photos didn't come out well. I may try again). It's all white lights, red ribbons, and "crystal" beaded ornaments. Very simple and sweet.

Holiday Cards

No, I haven't even started the Christmas / New Year cards. This is a peek back to a couple cards I made for the grandkids in November for Thanksgiving.

For Melody, a cat dressed up as a turkey. It's made from wrapping paper, hand-marbled paper, scrap paper, cardstock, and googly eyes.

For Annalee, an owl dressed as a pilgrim. Hers is made of scrapbook paper, cardstock, and bigger googly eyes.

I kept the inside message simple ... jut Happy Thanksgiving.

Julie sent me this picture when the Littles received the cards in the mail.

I make cards for the twinkle in the eyes and the big grins.

Mini Candy Cane Ornaments

Time to decorate the lighted tabletop tree!

I found a good candy cane shape online then turned it into a template in a Word table. Each candy cane is two inches tall. I printed my template on heavy cardstock. Then I gathered the other supplies I needed: scraps of wrapping paper and scrapbook paper, a glue stick, detail scissors, a 1/8" hole punch (small holes), and a skein of DMC silver metallic floss.

I adhered the paper to the cardstock with liberal amounts of glue. The detail scissors help a lot in cutting the inside curve of the candy cane. It's easy to see how small that hole is from the punch. I divided the floss into a single ply ... tricky to maneuver, but just the right thickness for the hanger.

I made just under two dozen with the scrap paper I had on hand. I especially love the way the small striped cane looks.

Here they are in place. This lighted tree sits on a table in our entryway all year. I usually decorate it with seasonal ornaments. 

I may keep the decorations on this table simple and uncluttered this year.

Sweet.

Delsere's Kid - Goat

Back in October, Jodie and Kenny received a baby shower hosted by some of their dearest friends. It was a lovely event. One of Jodie's coworkers, Francesca, gifted them with this counted cross-stitch goat. Adorable.

Jodie asked if I might zhuzh up the framing a little so she could hang it in Abby's nursery. You bet!

I trimmed up the ground cloth, cut a piece of matching felt to size, then stitched it in place with a whip stitch.

On the front, I did my magic to finish it with a sparkly bow.

It's so adorable! The kid now hangs in Abby's nursery with its other goat and farm friends.

Plus it's made me want to stitch a baby goat for Abby, too. I found the sweetest pattern online ... but keeping the design a secret for the time being. 

I'll make stitching it one of my 24 Goals in 2024. 

2023 Family Ornaments

This year I made sparkly Christmas balls in two designs for our family trees.

All the supplies for the ornaments are from Dollar Tree, and most were already in my stash. The balls are plastic spheres, about 3 inches in diameter. I added crystal mesh, red flourish border stickers, crystal hearts, and white pearl stickers. The flower crystal-and-pearl border stickers are the same that I used on the edge of the Christmas Star.

I made five ornaments with the red flourish border stickers. They are elegant and sparkly. I would have made all of them with this design, but I ran out of the red. These are for Julie's family and our eldest. 

I made the other four ornaments featuring the flower crystal-and-pearl border stickers. Two are for Jodie and Kenny. The final two for Dale and me.

I finished each with a customized nametag tied to the silver hanging string.

They're perfectly imperfect. Some are a bit more wonky than others, but all have the handcrafted Margaret touch.

Next year I'll get to make ten ornaments -- after baby Abby joins us.

Poop and Pills

It figures. I'm 66 now. Don't all old people talk about poop and pills?

Just kidding ... I made these gag gifts for our grandkids.

For Annalee, some marshmallow Snowman Poop. A couple weeks ago she opined to her mom:

Yes, Annie. Yes. It is.

For Melody, who often needs ways to cope with Big Feelings, I figured some Grinch Pills just might help out.

Dale and I are so proud of ourselves. We shipped the gift box off to our Idaho contingent this morning. It will arrive well before Christmas. On time! We've been patting each other on the back all afternoon.

Taking a Break

I paused during decorating to watch the sunset beyond our backyard fence.

We now return to our regularly scheduled Christmas prep.

The Invitation

Dale and I get to host our little family for Christmas dinner this year. We don't host at our home very often, so we wanted to make it official.

I used these raw materials:

• an old file folder
• wrapping paper with a red, white and silver candy cane pattern
• white cardstock
• silver chanelle stems
• glittery red embroidery floss
• die cut
• red buttons (not pictured ... an afterthought!)

The front. That red button is actually sewn to the card front, holding the candy canes in place. The "You're Invited" is raised off the card for dimension.

Inside, I used the grind print as a design element. I used the computer to compose the message, and a die to add the squiggles to the bottom.

Then finished in my usual way. The back:

The envelope:

I'm quite enjoying this Candy Cane Christmas theme and looking forward to our celebration together.

Random Pile ... to Presents

What do I do with a pile of paper scraps, cardboard, ribbons and washi tape?

Turn them into a pile of tiny gifts! 

The largest is just 2.5" by 3". They're ready to tuck under the trees in the gingerbread scene.

The gingerbread landscape still needs a little som'thin' sum'thin' to help it tell a story. Hoping Jodie has some ideas when she visits this afternoon ... for cookie making!

A Christmas Star

How does one make a Christmas Star with a candy cane theme? Like this!

Start with these raw ingredients: 

• a farmhouse star (a gift from my eldest several years ago)
• a silver star (made from cardboard and foil, first used in 2020 in one of my Grandbaby Craft Kits)
• candy cane striped wrapping paper
• fancy gem stickers

Put them all together: 

• wrapping paper held onto star with glue dots
• silver star centered onto striped star, held in place with glue dots
• 1/2 inch strips of fancy "crystal and pearl" gem stickers cut to size and adhered to rim. It only took one package of the stickers which cost $1.25

The Ta-Da!

This now sits on a table in our living room, shining over our gingerbread house (which I'll share in a couple days).

The star make-over is temporary. All the bits can be removed to I can enjoy my gift in it's original form during the rest of the year.

A Candy Cane Christmas

Dale and I decided to decorate our house with a new theme this year. A Candy Cane Christmas. It's given me a lot of creative energy. 

Each of these packages contains a separate project with a red-and-white theme. 

I plan to use wrapping paper as the base of many of the crafts, so things aren't too expensive. What a fun challenge!

I bought a few pre-made items once I realized I started to go a little crazy with my number of projects. 

I'll share my progress as the decorating begins. This is going to be fun!

Morning Sky

Closing in on a month later ... my energy still fluctuates since being sick. I don't smell many aromas. Thanks, Covid.

On the plus side, this is the view from my bedroom window this morning. Thanks, Oregon!

 

Emerging

I'm starting to feel human today. The worst of my illness is past. Here's another coloring page I completed while lying low. I decided to play with Fall colors.

The last two coloring pages are from this book:

I've put my colored pencils away for now. I'm determined to get stronger and have energy to be more active. But I'm grateful to have this low-key activity when I need it.

Tonight's Sunset

Right now I'm going from sunset to sunset. Foggy mornings to foggy nights. Resting. Waiting. Slowly healing. Slowly getting stronger.

This Covid is no joke.

I don't mind one bit having this pretty view out my window at the end of each day.

Diagnosed

Covid.

That is all.

Coloring

On low energy days, I sit and color. This is from a couple weeks ago.

On days I'm starting to feel sick, I do the minimum for a blog post. One simple picture.

I was trying to remember how to turn it into a kaleidoscope for fun and interest, but in my brain fog I can't remember how.

It's a "C" grade kind of day. I'm OK with that.

For All This, I am Grateful

It's November, The Month of Gratitude.

I happened on my blog post from February 09, 2011. I thought I'd give the exercise another try. For all these things, I am grateful.

Outside my window:
The morning glory vines died after frosty nights. When the rain stops, I'll remove them from the trellis. The flowers gave us a lot of pleasure last summer.

I am thinking:
about some of my goals for 2024. Geocaching and visiting parks still rank right up at the top. I also have a few home improvement projects in mind.

I'm thankful for:
my Daily Dance. It's what I call my morning routine. I am grounded by caring for my body, mind, spirit, and home. I freshen my body, check my blood pressure, tidy the bedroom and bathroom, stretch, write 5 things I'm grateful for, write a haiku, read a chapter, seek spiritual inspiration, smile or laugh, plan the day's activities, do a 5 minute meditation with music.

From the kitchen:
I crave the aroma of homemade soup and baked goods. November brings out the chef and baker in me (but just a little).

I am wearing:
Cozy oversized sweatpants, a t-shirt, warm socks, and a hoodie. It's my uniform now.

I am creating:
Abby's crochet afghan. A home decorated for the coming holidays.

I am going:
to buy more Nerds Gummy Clusters. Jodie introduced them to me a couple weeks ago. Now I'm obsessed. Chewy, fruity, sweet, tart and crunchy? Yes please!

I am reading:
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie. I love his writing.

I am hearing:
The soft rainfall pattering on the concrete patio.

Around the house:
It's quiet today. Dale is sick with Covid, so I'm engaging in quiet activities so he can rest.

One of my favorite things:
is watching laughing baby videos. When I'm having trouble finding joy, the babies make me giggle.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Take down Halloween decorations. Work on my photo organization project some more. Do a quick craft project. Maybe make some little wooden pumpkins. A girl can't have too many pumpkins. These plans are subject to change if I catch my first case of Covid from Dale. Then the plan is to rest, rest, rest.