I hope your holiday was wonderful. I'm enjoying catching up on all the blog posts. We've been having a magnificent time here. My sister and her family are still in town, so we have been very busy enjoying each others company and watching the kids play together. 
We've done so many things. Gone sledding, made snowmen, celebrated a birthday (my sister's), dressed up as princesses going to the royal ball.
Painted tea sets.
And crafted as much as we can. Crafting together is one of the treats of having my sister around. We made patchwork canvases with vintage wallpaper. I added the kids school pictures to mine.
I also scrapped a couple of holiday pages.
Next on the agenda for New Year's Eve is to work on a holiday album. Last year I made this FAMILY album while Laura was here.
Hope you're enjoying the last few days of 2008 and looking forward to a wonderful new year. I cannot wait to share some exciting news for a project I've been dreaming up. It involves lots of swaps for the new year and another blog!
We've done so many things. Gone sledding, made snowmen, celebrated a birthday (my sister's), dressed up as princesses going to the royal ball.
Painted tea sets.
And crafted as much as we can. Crafting together is one of the treats of having my sister around. We made patchwork canvases with vintage wallpaper. I added the kids school pictures to mine.
I also scrapped a couple of holiday pages.
Next on the agenda for New Year's Eve is to work on a holiday album. Last year I made this FAMILY album while Laura was here.
Hope you're enjoying the last few days of 2008 and looking forward to a wonderful new year. I cannot wait to share some exciting news for a project I've been dreaming up. It involves lots of swaps for the new year and another blog!
My sister and her family are now in town from San Diego. The festivities have begun and the kids are having a blast. It's so much fun to have family time together. 
As you can see, the girls were pretty serious about sprinkling their cookies. Definitely one of my most favorite Christmas events.
This wonderfully whimsy handmade patchwork pillow in ArtsyMama colors is from 
Happy Christmas Eve.
Another thing that made me happy, is this trunk that I came across at an estate sale the other day. Love the color and check out the inside....those stars!!! I thought it looked good filled with festive gifts and the new eco-friendly pom pom gift topper made with a Target bag! See the tutorial 
Here's a bunch more of my holiday journal pages. By keeping it simple, I'm really keeping up with photographing and documenting each day. No small feat.
In the woods today, I looked up and couldn't help but notice the way the trunk formed a circle. Peering through into the sunlight through the middle, I took a breath. I have noticed the play of the growing darkness internally and externally recently and celebrate the coming of the light. This is a time to draw in, reflect, count my blessings and revel in the season. Thank you for being the shining light in my little blog-world. I appreciate you being here.
Here is Chloe's little woodland solstice gathering. The "snow" is wool from my grandmother and the stones gathered from various journeys represent the fire/light. 
I especially love felt and handmade stockings.
They remind me of my childhood Snoopy stocking that I still hang each year.
I also hang the vintage paper stocking I made in 
So I decided that this year I wanted the kids to each have their hand at making their own stocking. One to keep and put up each year as they grow older. I bought a large felt stocking for each for $1 and pulled out my felt stash and some little felt ornaments I bought last year intending to put them on a cloth gingerbread house. As you can see, I helped with the cutting, but they certainly had their say in the design. I adore them and so do they! 
We've been doing lots of baking and putting together little packages for the kids teachers. Today we jumped right into making gingerbread houses. There is just something magical about making houses from gingerbread (in our case graham crackers) and decorating with frosting and candy. It's as sweet of craft as it comes. I have very fond memories from my childhood of my grandmother's amazing gingerbread houses (see pic below). We were always so amazed and now after trying to make them myself I am in awe at her creations. 
So today Chloe and I gathered our supplies and went to work.
She carefully added bits of this and that, making this cute little face on the side.
Then she sat and admired her creation.
Of course posing for a picture for mommy.