Silent Night

Tonight is silent and tomorrow a new babe is born.  Jesus is the reason for the season!

Our home has been transformed into a winter wonderland.  Our nest is cozied up, the tree is up and the decorations are in place.  There are a few traditions we like to embrace at Christmastime and one of them is sending cards to our loved ones.

Tomorrow is Christmas.  OMGoodness.  I've been working on cards and gifts since September, all the while thinking "I've got lots of time!"  Well, time's up!!  Here are the ones you haven't seen yet.

If you've been following my posts, you'll notice that I just love the vintage images.  This card is one of my favorites.

Another favorite is this one.  It is a Joyeaux Noel, isn't it?

This card is a little bit vintage and a little bit modern.  I love the envelope especially!

How could I not use shocking pink to mirror the pink coat she is wearing?

Father Christmas in all his glory.  What's not to love here?

The snow sure has piled up on this barn and fence.  Be Merry!

Madonna and her Baby Jesus.  I wish you could see the sparkly-ness of the card.

I think I surprised the recipient of this card.  When I saw the image, I immediately thought of her!

The song that comes to mind when I see this image is "Angels We Have Heard On High."

One more Joyeaux Noel ... isn't that little angel sweet?

Oh yeah ... he's "making a list and checking it twice" don'tcha know!  Have you been naughty or nice?

Away in a manger ...

This card was dropped off on a doorstep the other day.

I think she'll stay plenty warm wrapped up like that.

This little girl certainly is a brave soul to feed that animal.

Doesn't look like that truck is going anywhere until Spring by the looks of all that snow.

This card was sent to a dear friend that used to cross-country ski with me.  I hope it brings back memories like it did for me.

Another one of those vintage images.  Love it!

This card was not one we sent but I just couldn't leave it out.  Ohhhhhhhhhh, how I wish you could see this card in person.  Julie's brother took this picture (in Minnesota) of snow on a blue spruce branch.  The card mirrors the blue spruce color perfectly.  I'm sure he'll be surprised when Julie sends him the card.

That about wraps it up for the 2014 Christmas cards.  May happy times decorate your holiday season and may the wonder of Christmas be with you forever.  Merry Christmas from our hearts to yours!!!!!!!!!!!

More Christmas

I'm going to start off with one that just makes my heart smile.  There's something about the snow nestled in those weeds!  I can almost hear the wind whistling through the field.

I told you this little girl was popular this year.  I would love to see her face and hair!

What's not to {heart} about this card?  Ohhhhhhhh, and those cinnamon sticks ... I can smell the delicious aroma just by looking at them!

 

What a beautiful place setting.  I just love using cloth napkins - always seems to make the food taste better and the meal a special celebration.

I told you you've not seen the end of that white truck.  Go ahead and look at yesterday's post and see how different the same image looks on two different cards.

This one is as soft in person as it looks here on the blog.  I guess you could say this angel has a heart of gold.

Father Christmas ... what's not to love!?!  The colors on the card blend beautifully with the image.  And it's not Christmas unless there's glitter!

When I found this animal print felt I shook my head and said "what would you ever use this for/on?"  And then I had an idea ...

Don't get nervous.  It's not Rudolph wearing the bling - she's a doe.  A female deer.

Keeping with 'saving the best for last,' I've done it again.  I was tired of creating with angels, trees, Santa, Father Christmas, snow and nature images.  As I dug through my collections, I saw this picture and really wanted to put it on a card.  But ... it just wasn't festive.  And then it dawned on me.  And now it's probably my favorite card of the season.

Thanks for looking at what's been keeping me so busy.  I'm winding down and now and I am ready to get my MERRY on.  Please leave a comment and tell me which of this collection is your favorite?

It's the most wonderful time of the year ...

Christmastime is my favorite time of year.  Everybody seems to be in a better mood (unless you are at the mall - or "maul" as I prefer to spell it in December) and homes are so beautifully decorated.  Oh - and the food ... we can't forget about that now can we?

I sometimes reminisce about all the Christmas cards I used to send and receive.  How come that's a thing of the past?  What brought us to that?  Has technology stolen that?  Have postage increases taken that from us?  Also, in the hustle and bustle of life, the cards we do receive do not have handwritten notes inside - only a signature.  And what happened to the photos?  It's sad, isn't it?

I vividly remember helping my mother with her Christmas card-sending job.  I was the designated stamp licker.  I thought it was a big deal that she trusted me to line up that little stamp just perfectly until one day she told me that she just didn't like the taste of the stamps.  Atta way, Mom!!!  I wish she was still with us so that I could put all of her stamps on the envelopes.

As promised in yesterday's post, here are the 10 Christmas cards I created for Beverly to give to Jill.  This is why these cards were an early Christmas gift.

First up is the reason for the season.  Away in a manger ... I remember learning this song as a very young girl - hand motions and all.

Thank you to my friend, Marie, for giving me the window die cut.  At first I wasn't sure just what I would use it for until I started playing around.  Amazing how a plain white window can be transformed, isn't it?

Of course, we can't forget Father Christmas.  He's probably a child's reason for the season.  I've never thought of browns as a Christmas color but I sure seemed to use it quite a bit this year in my creations.

And another Father Christmas.  He sure does have some wardrobe changes, doesn't he?  I wish Santa Claus would dress like this rather than the red and white velvet suit with the big black belt.  Ho Ho Ho!

Here's one more Father Christmas in all his splendor.  Joyeux Noel to you.

 

Here we go with another card in the brown tones.  I really like it and think it's a nice change from the traditional reds and greens.  What do you think?

 

This little sweetie is all bundled up and protected from the elements.  I have a feeling she's going to stay toasty warm in this hooded cape.

 

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be very comfortable if one of these had his nose in my car window.

Now that the cards have been addressed and the stamps are put on the envelopes oh-so-straight, it's time to take the truck to the tree farm and bring home the best one on the lot.  If you look closely, you'll notice that the plate says "OHIO" - home sweet home.

Once that tree has been taken out of the bed of the truck, it's time to go to town to the Toy Emporium.  Christmas was so much more fun when there were little ones in the house.  I can still remember the excitement in my children's eyes when they saw all the presents under the tree.

That wraps it up for the cards for Jill.  Don't worry though - there will be many more Christmas cards to share as we get closer to December 25.

Once again, please don't be shy.  Leave a comment and tell me which one gets your gold star from this group.  Oh - and tell me why, too.

Did you survive Halloween?

No trick-or-treaters at our door and it's a good thing because I was exhausted.  So tired, in fact, that I went to bed at 7:15 last night.

I would love to share some of my latest creations - all delivered yesterday, which probably exhausted me even more.  Anybody that knows me, knows that I'm not a lover of driving or running errands - and I had lots of them.

First up are two Thanksgiving cards.  One was supposed to go to Julie's brother and sister-in-law but she decided she'd give it to her husband instead.  From what I understand, hubby has a truck just like this one.

This next one was fun to create - yet challenging, too.  You may recognize the image as I used this sweet pilgrim young woman on another card.  As I was creating this, I kept going back to the original in my mind and I had to keep reminding myself: you already did that so do something different.  Here's the second one I created which is going to Julie's aunt in Minnesota.

Now look at the original card I created using this same image.  Isn't it just amazing how different you can create cards using the same image?  Which card is your favorite? 

Julie's aunt is spoiled.  There.  I said it.  Here are two more cards that will eventually be heading her way.  And, yes - she is German and her daughter (and Julie) are redheads!

Next up on my "tour" yesterday was to visit Sweet Alice and deliver her cards.  Here's a Christmas card ... don't you just love Father Christmas?

She requested a "Christian thank you card" for her niece in Boston.  Don't know about you, but I'd love to have that cart of flowers in my yard.

Thank you for looking - I just love sharing what my heart and soul tells me to create.  Now go eat all that Halloween candy!  No calories.  Promise.