Happy Thanksgiving to all...

and pass the gravy.

Unexpected surprise

Jarrett has asked for many years for a real Christmas tree. We left NY when he was three and then lived in places where December was warm and not conducive to a real tree. When I heard that these 4' fir tree were at Lowes and cheap, I knew I had a last minute winner on my hands.

He said it was "awesome". Score!

Cleaning Fairy missing - reward available

So...
I got all my shopping and wrapping done but my house is trashed. There is dog hair in every corner, dust on every flat surface and Christmas wrap scraps littering the floor of the studio. My cleaning fairy has left in disgust muttering about joining a union.

Luckily Thanksgiving is my sister's house.

Today is Jarrett's birthday. Tomorrow is communal cooking. Thursday is eating. Friday is Art Day with Roben-Marie. Sat and Sun are decorating for Christmas. I need a clean house NOW.

Help...sneeze, cough.

Monday, monday and posts of considerable note

This was my morning drive to Walmart for T'giving grocery shopping (what do you MEAN you are out of turkeys?! Thank goodness Target had them.) Grey, drizzle and damp. Yuck.



This photo was from Jarrett's birthday cookout. All the pictures of him are awful so I picked this one. It began to rain shortly after this moment so we finished up party at Steff's house.

There are some great things out in blogland today. Especially:

• this gorgeous free download from Kolette Hall
• 20% off all classes sale at Jessica Sprague.
  
• this garland makes me so happy! Gonna make one this weekend with Roben-Marie.
• Ali's Q&A about the Daily December album
• Roben-Marie's video of new stuff in her shop

What great things are you finding? Leave a link and share the love.

More digi goodness

Another layout that will be printed and then embellies added so the page will be hybrid and have some "real" elements for texture and dimension. I like this approach - the best of both worlds. Once again this is a sketch from CK magazine (I think Becky Higgins) that I have used as a pattern for my template. Making templates is fantastically fun - most of the time I just sit shaking my head that I know how to do it.

As always, many thanks to Jessica Sprague for the best digi classes on the planet! She offers gift certificates so you can ask for a class for Christmas.

TGIF

Project 365

I hit the Dollar Spot at Target this week. I love their $1 rolls of wrap. I bought some last year and discovered that they are perfect for shirt sized boxes and smaller. I roll them out on my craft table and "cut" off pieces by using a metal edged 18" ruler and tearing. It is SO much faster than scissors. I was able to zoom thru the wrapping of all the smaller gifts especially stocking stuffers.

Faster + easier = making my goal of completed by 12/01. I like December for celebrating and relaxing not for preparation.

Speaking of preparations, I was out shopping with Steff yesterday and the roads and stores are crowded with people. There was this weird scent of desperation in the air. Everyone was stressed, impatient and frankly, cranky! Once that happens, I need to be out of the picture as we were noticing that we were getting cranky ourselves. That is not what Christmas is about!

photo by Jarrett Keene

Sunday night we had dinner on the lanai with candles and Christmas lights. It was so beautiful. There is something so retro about the way it looks especially the lights reflecting in the pool. It takes me back to faint memories of outdoor pools lit at night and neon road signs. I am not at all sure what the source memory is but it always comes when we spend an evening on the lanai.

I love when it is cool and we can open up the sliders and live inside/outside. It is why people put up with the summers in Fl - the next few months are paradise.

Project 365

photo by Jarrett Keene

Jarrett took this cool motion photo of the lights on our lanai last night. I loved it and asked if I could use it. He agreed as long as I gave him credit.

Digital Scrapping con't.

I made this template based on an Ali Edwards layout in CK December issue.



This layout is one that Joe saw in Creating Keepsakes and I said I would make it into a template not knowing what I was getting myself into. I used every PhotoShop skill I have to make this and then turn it on an angle?! Holy cow - it was hard but we love the finished project. This template is now known as Joe's Crazy Ass Tilted Template!