Christmas Eve

Wow! I haven't posted in weeks!

Here's what we've been up to...

I finally got the top done for Pat Sloan's charm quilt along. Since I used a Christmas charm pack that Jackie gave me, I thought it would be nice to hang it for Christmas! I just folded over the top and pinned it into a "sleeve". I'll quilt it next week!

Julia and Pete are in a new jazz combo and their first gig was a Christmas benefit concert. Julia shocked a lot of people when she put down her trumpet to sing! They were great and we can't wait to hear more!

I wanted some new decorations, so I made two yarn wreaths with felt flowers for my kitchen cabinets.


Julia has inherited the crafty gene! She made a bunch of gifts for friends, including this cool patchwork and fleece scarf.


Love it rolled up!


We used a whole package of Nutter Butter cookies to make these reindeer. Aren't they the cutest? (I should have taken the photo before we packaged them.)


I worked on some gifts, too. This is the pillow that I needed to repair for my nephew. I'm trying to figure out how long ago it was made. Maybe 17 or 18 years!


A couple of candle mats with matching candles.

And lots of baking!
Someday, I will get the tri-colors right. They taste delicious, but they are lumpy. But since the lumps are almond paste, who cares?

I hope you all have a Sweet, Merry and Bright Christmas!

Dots and Jazz

I haven't had much time for blogging as my mother recuperates from a fall two weeks ago. She is doing really well, but I've been juggling more than usual. That made receiving this package even more special, because it is just for me! I recently won a polka dot giveaway at Loft Creations. Isn't it fun?! Ribbon, tape, tissues, candy, buttons, stationery, cup cake papers, a little frame and a fat quarter! Thank you so much, Stephanie! I really needed that!


Last night, we attended the high school holiday jazz concert. Julia sings alto in the jazz chorus and plays trumpet in the jazz band. (She is in the middle row, all the way to the left.) She played her first improvised solo last night and we're so proud of her! Pete totally rocks (swings?) on drums and had a couple killer solo fills in the Count Basie medley.


We recently celebrated Pete's 15th birthday. Can I say again what an amazing drummer he is? He just missed out on All State this year on timpani. He is now 3rd in the state for 10th-12th graders (he is in 10th grade) and they use the top 2 in orchestra and concert band. Maybe next year!

There is a jazz combo rehearsing at our house once a week which has been so much fun! Their first gig is a benefit concert next week to raise funds to buy Christmas gift cards for teens. Several high school bands will be playing, which makes me tear up a little. I'm so grateful my kids have such awesome friends!

Why did it have to be glitter?

I'm hosting a women's breakfast at church this Saturday because when the pastor asks you to do him a favor, you cannot refuse! I want it to be festive, with centerpieces on the tables, but with no budget, I turned to something recycled. I made one of these folded magazine trees last year, but couldn't remember how to do the fold. (I would look at the first one if I could find it!)

Enter Martha! The video is worth watching. I'm sure her folding method is slightly different than what I did last year, and I like it much better. I found that catalogs or magazines that are stapled in the fold (no spine) and have at least 100 pages yield the best results.

I didn't have much luck with spray adhesive and glitter, so I brushed on a watered-down white glue. Have I ever told you how much I dislike glitter? In my 12 years as a Girl Scout leader, my poor girls were never allowed to use glitter! Why? Because now my entire kitchen is covered in glitter! I try to contain it, but it's everywhere! So why do I even OWN glitter? Because it's shiny and comes in pretty colors, of course. And everything is glittered this Christmas. I'm doomed.

We can't bring ourselves to light an Advent candle yet because a little friend has taken up residence in our wreath. He's so tiny and has managed to string his web between all four candles. Dinner discussion last night centered around how spiders spin webs. "Like how Spiderman shoots web out of his wrist!"