Christmas Cards

It's been a couple of years since I made our Christmas cards. In fact, it's been a long time since I've done any card making, period. I am thrilled that my creative juices have started flowing again, and my desire to make cards has returned.

I wanted to use my Cuttlebug for the cards, and chose two embossing folders for the background. The one shown here is Textile Texture, and the other one I chose is D'vine Swirl. Unfortunately, I sent all the cards with that background, so I don't have one to show you.
The die cuts are Sizzix dies. The bird is part of the Sizzix Bigz Die Bird w/Vine; I cut off the vine part. I'm not entirely happy with the birds - I had wanted them to appear more dove or cardinal like, but I ran out of energy.
The tag, which I did in two different sizes, is from this Sizzix die.

Oops!

My "Happy New Year" post was supposed to be published just after midnight on the 1st. But somewhere in the scheduling of the post, I entered 1/1/2008, not 2009! You could say I'm a bit early, or very late. In any case, the sentiment is the same.

Christmas 2008 Memories, Part Two

Remember the storm I posted about here? Several days later, we had another one! The cold and snow we had was so unusual for December. This storm was followed by high winds, which caused drifting across our driveway. Between this storm and the last one, we were plowed out four times, plus we had to shovel.
This is the house across the street.
Our driveway. Again.
After all this, it rained on Christmas Eve, and most of the snow melted, although we had enough left to qualify us for a white Christmas. On the 27th, the temperature soared to over 60 degrees, melting what remained of the snow, and resulting in a terribly soggy lawn. We were actually able to finish some outdoor shores that didn't get done in the fall! Within 24 hours, however, temps will fall some 30 degrees. Such crazy weather.

Christmas 2008 Memories, Part One

The memories we make each day are so precious to our family. I try to remember to pull out the camera to capture those I can on film, and then blog about them so I can share them with my family and you, my blogging friends. This will be the first in a series of posts about our Christmas memories from this year.

There were several baking sessions this year. Sarah made Chex Mix, as she has for several years.
Yum! Phil and I found garlic and whole wheat bagel chips (these are hard to come by); they turned out to be good choices.

Sarah made the most delicious cookies, filled with strawberry jam.
While we were cleaning out the freezer, we found several bags of sweet bread, which had already been sliced. We ate some, but turned most of the rest into bread pudding.
I don't have pictures of the other cookies we made. Phil helped me with Peanut Blossoms and Keebler N0-Bake Cookies. The Keebler cookies are a recipe from my grandmother. They didn't turn out as well as we'd hoped - the layers wouldn't stay together - but they are delicious. We also baked up some cookie dough that we got from a fundraiser, and some sugar cookies. I'd still like to make Cherry Delights (a plain dough that you roll into balls, then into beaten egg white and nuts; when they come out of the oven, you press a marischino cherry half into them) and Toffee Cookies (another recipe from Grandma.) Maybe Monday.

Happy eating!

Sarah's Birthday Card

No birthday celebration would be complete without a card. This is the card I made for Sarah.

I started with the Happy Birthday embossing folder for my Cuttlebug.
I used the Sizzix Sizzlits Die - Gift, Polka Dot - for the package. I cut it three times - once out of purple cardstock, once out of purple decorative paper, and once out of yellow decorative paper. I then layered these together to create the look I wanted. I used glitter glue on the bow and polka dots.

Happy Birthday!

Our firstborn, Sarah Elinor, turns 22 today. Where have the years gone? Sarah, you are a joy to our family. Your dad and and I appreciate your garden produce, your pizza sauce, and your frugality. Most importantly, we are thrilled that you are following and serving the Lord. Happy birthday, Sarah!

Love,
Mom

Blessed Christmas

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through him,
and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life,
and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
He was in the world,
and the world was made through him,
yet the world did not know him.
He came to his own,
and his own people did not receive him.
But to all who did receive him,
who believed in his name,
he gave the right to become children of God,
who were born,
not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man,
but of God.
And the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us,
and we have seen his glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth.

~ John 1: 1 - 5, 9 - 14, ESV

May the true meaning of Christmas - the birth, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ - be real to you this year. If you have never entered into a personal relationship with Him, may today be the day you start your new life.