It isn't over yet !!

I am talking about Christmassy stuff when I say that. ....... and because of Kari and Kijsa.... I decided to do yet another post about cards.

There are just soooo many beautiful cards. No way I can throw them in the garbage. For years I threw some away but just saved others that I really liked, even if only to look at the following years. But .. now...I recycle them in many ways. These are the perfect few days to do it ... sort of some down time between Christmas and the New Year. Look at some of the great cards and decide how to save them instead of chucking them. Even if you don't want them... you may have a friend like me and you could always ask if they want your cards (along with all of the quality wrapping papers they will be tossing out..but that is another post!! ) arrgggh... just not enough typing and picture taking time, along with the "doing". LOL

I use them in my recipe/album binder. I also use portions of them.. embellish or not.. add ribbons, cords..etc..or just place them in the tree too. Or how about making some cute little boxes?












Making little Christmas card boxes has been a fun thing for kids and adults alike .... for such a long time ... that perhaps they will be new to you!
Here is one of my favourites. I display it each year in a sleigh with some of my stuffed bears. Each card yields a different size. They are a perfect size for my tiny needle felted bears.











Even the verse ends up in the proper place on the bottom of the box. If nobody wrote their names too close to it... use it. If they did scribble plenty and you don't want to see it... use a glue stick and place some lightweight paper (any colour you choose..) directly on top of it to hide it and make a pretty bottom half of the box.









Look....even the outside of the bottom looks kinda classy... Carlton card no less. lol

Place a straight edge or ruler from corner to corner lengthwise and make a little pencil mark near the center of the card. You can erase it later.

Then place straight edge on the width portion... corner to corner...and do the same.

In the center you then have a little X. Fold the length towards the center marked by the center of the X....press firmly and run your fingernail or the ruler along the folded edge to crease nicely.












Do the same with the length. Then cut with scissors in as far as the corner made by both folds in all four corners. That will be the depth of the box.











Fold in the corner tabs to meet each other on one end of the box...then fold up the end flap and you will see that the end has a small overlap..just fold it over and crease it well. That holds the corner tabs in position. If it is stiff cardstock.. it will hold its position...but if not.. a bit of glue or double sided tape under it will work. If the picture in the center of fairly large card is all you want..cut off to that. Although there is a size at which it gets too small to be of much use. ...and awkward to work with. Once you have made a few...you will be pretty good at making everything look exactly as you like. Check where on the picture your folds will be so that you know what your finished box will look like. I am sure you will have several cards that are not worth saving... they can be the practice cards for your first efforts.











If the verse portion is messy with writing... but you want to have one. ..... clip one from another card to stick into position.







How I love red cardinals ... the perfect splash of festive colour in a scene of winter white.

This is a portion of a card that will now have some silver, red and other colours and textures added .... for use as a gift tag. Often I like to add a few gift tags or tree decorations in my gift boxes the following year.














This will make a beautiful card to use as a decoration for the tree.











Save all or a portion of any verse you like for use inside other cards you make ... to glue inside a tiny box.. or use on gift tags.... so many uses. glue it onto other card stock or beautiful paper and glue again onto any card or decoration.














My neighbour knows how I love hand made. Her husband works with a lady who makes cards and purchased some boxes of 5 that she had made this year. I was lucky enough to receive this one. The little tree actually has beads inserted into punched out holes for each size... then there is a second tree under the one you see....separated by tiny strips of foam.. to allow part of each bead to sit below the surface. On the surface it appears that each bead is flat and the back side of it inside the tree branches... ... til you check it out much closer.

But,…. What are These Other Wires?

If sometimes our bio-dex is up; then, on other days it must be down…

Therefore it follows that… some days we are a genius and others just a clown…

Take last week, when I complained to the cycle shop guys that my battery was “out”…

…that would be out of my motorcycle if you are in any doubt…

There were smirks, winks, knowing grins and even a slight wry smile…

It took me slightly aback…but, then I thought…wait a while….

Do they think I can’t do this? That I’m just a “dumb chick”?

Well; it was all that was needed…kind of like a prod with a sharp pointy stick…..

It did sound kind of lame; even whiney to my own discerning ear.

So, then I thought, “what’s to stop me from doing it?…to get myself in gear”?

That “bike” should be running so I can laugh and ride while I Christmas shop…

Still….. never having installed a battery, I hesitate, and then of course, ….just stop…

But why should I be expecting some guy to do this for me?

Kawasaki does supply a manual… and, after all, how hard can it be?

Okay…look for the battery…carefully carry it upstairs from the storage space..

I wonder if “stuff” could spill; is it just water or will my fingerprints magically erase?…

Now to guess for a wrench of just the right size; to loosen the bolt holding the seat.

Not a problem in the big red tool-box; someone keeps it very tidy and neat…

Lift off the seat; drop in the battery; yup…the terminals are facing the proper leads…

What are those other two little wires?…perspiration is standing out in tiny beads.

Just put red with red and black with black for goodness sake; it’s not a bomb or a booby trap!

Who at the factory had fingers so skinny? maybe needle-nose pliers to adjust this strap?

Why is this seat so awkward to replace?….and I thought that battery cover was tough!

I mightily pulled; I pushed and then shoved…not about to admit I was just a cream puff..

Finally, after a few choice words in the face of defeat, plus the best darn drop-kick I had in me..

That seat grabbed the back hooks and slipped under the flange… “Alright”; I chortled with glee!

Perhaps next time I’ll buy a classy European highly superior technical dream.

Something like Ducati.. with a battery we can see…ah yes, that clever Italian racing team….

Stand back, turn the key; fire it up. Darn,…. forgot the choke. A low 7 out of 10 on my “battery” test!

Oh, and those other two wires?… I found out later they were plug-ins for my electrically heated vest !

What a wonderful day it was...

Sometimes I think I miss the antics of cats ... but only sometimes..... lol....naaahhhhh ....













But, in reality I love when the tree stays the same for the whole few weeks it is up. And, it even stays up! Bonus.











There are so many beautiful cards. Love to get them... hate to throw them away. I recycle cards in several ways. Sometimes, when I get a particularly beautiful one ... I save the best part of it to use in a dark area in the tree .... or just to tuck in behind some lights and sparkly decorations to add a whole new dimension to the overall beauty of the tree. It is yet another tradition I suppose. And...I always know who sent it... often there is even some handwriting on the reverse. It is fun to see them each year when I unpack the decorations. Reminisce about the sender.... marvel at the art work.

Merry Christmas

Yep.... it was merry indeed.........NOT

Today is a picnic by comparison.....

The Locket

We were just little kids…all of us.

Christmas was coming and as usual…we wanted to make some money to buy Mom a gift. Of course, we had to decide what the gift would be …but first things first…we needed money!

We pooled our resources and came up with only a few bucks .. that would never do … but .. we had done this before. We had a few ideas to make a few more dollars.

First, there was our regular Christmas pinecone business. Well, maybe not quite a business … but it was our usual little money making venture at this time of year. We would hike up the hills behind our streets … probably a few miles, and cut off some perfect little branches containing pine cones. We also gathered all the largest, perfect, individual cones we could find. I can’t imagine my little brother going at that time .. he was pretty small …but can’t say for sure. All of us went anywhere and everywhere … and all alone. Seemed no big deal in those days. Most kids did and most parents thought nothing of it. Not that we were stupid .. we knew to always stay together, and to never speak to strangers … and scream like a banshee if anybody tried anything … not to mention rocks, sticks, etc .. in actuality I pity anybody who tried to mess with us. We were kind of wild …..

When we got the pinecones home, we would lay them out on sheets of newspapers, paint glue on the tips with a little paintbrush and then shake some silver glitter on to each of them. Even in those days I was pretty penurious … well, we had to be … there was no money for fun stuff. Mom showed us how to conserve our glitter … shaking it off onto the paper and pouring it back into our little bowl from the fold of the paper. Waste not, want not, she always said. We learned that and plenty more from our Mom.

On the single cones we would tie a ribbon or a thread so that it could be hung as a decoration … we charged only about 10 cents apiece for those. The branches were more … but honestly, I can’t remember how much we dared to ask. We would stack them in our big red wagon and trundle off down the street to sell our festive cones and branches to neighbours. We always worried that people would think the price too high and would not want them .. but we always sold out immediately and had to go back up the hill to get more. I think some of the women looked forward to our fresh cut boughs each year. Or … it could have been that we sent our tiny little brother to the door in front of the rest of us … knee high to a grasshopper he was, and just as silent. We rarely had to go more than a few blocks to sell out repeatedly, but at those prices it took quite a while and lot of pinecones for it to add up to any amount.

Dad was our other source of income… but …. it definitely did not come easy. We would help clean the barbershop on many a Sunday, and, before Christmas … it used to get a super thorough “going over” because we were asking for the big bucks. We would each get $2.00 for the day. I think dear old Dad used to like using the opportunity to teach a lesson or two … his favourite being ……. ”money doesn’t grow on trees you know”.
In those years … $2.00 each did become a sizeable chunk of change. But, we certainly worked very diligently for a very full day to get that amount. Standing on the barber chairs to be able to reach the overhead lights and dusting on top of them; scrubbing and wiping all three big chairs as well as scrubbing all the customer chairs, (with a nail brush as they had vinyl upholstery that was pockmarked with little holes, instead of smooth stuff) polishing and shining many mirrors, washing windows, sweeping, moving all the bottles of lovely smelling hair stuff and cleaning all the counter tops ( every last little cut hair) emptying all the little and large garbage pails … etc … it was a long, LONG day, believe me. But … it was always worth it to add the loot to our stash. Dad would buy us a pop and then we had to sit and wait while he washed and rinsed the whole floor. A grueling day.

Finally we had $20.00 … and, I had seen the gift. A locket at a little jewellery store. I took the other kids to look at it in the window. They all ooohed and ahhhed. That was it. We were getting it. Of course, we had no idea how much it really was yet and I was sure it would be out of our price range … but we had to find out. Wild as we were, we were still pretty shy … especially with adults. So … a few days passed and all of a sudden it was Christmas Eve and I still had not gotten up nerve to go into the store. Off we went to do our shopping for our Dad too; usually socks and soap-on-a- rope …. Old Spice. I know we did look at a few other places for something for Mom (just in case). Checked out several other possibilities …but … ended up back at the jewellery store window. It was dark already … getting near closing time … cold and snowing and we were cold and nervous, but finally, in we went. A very nice lady smiled at us and asked us if we had seen something in the window that we were interested in. I said, “the locket” …as if there was not another one in the whole window …. but, somehow she knew exactly which one I meant. The one with the pink gold rose on it …. She brought it to the display counter and I was the only one tall enough to see it .. she held it down so the other kids could get a good look too. More “oooohhhing” for sure. Three heads turned … they all looked at me. Gulp. “How much is it please”? She turned over the little tag and I could see that it said $29.95. She didn’t say the price, but instead asked me how much money we had to spend. Oh, the hot prickles of disappointment and shame. I had to tell her that we only had $20.00. When I heard, “why, that is exactly the right amount” I couldn’t believe my ears. I could hardly speak; my mouth must have been hanging open. I wanted to grab that little velvet box and run out of the store with it; forget wrapping it … in case she realized her mistake. But, she just smiled right at me, and carefully wrapped it in snow white paper with gold swirls on it….. and put a beautiful gold ribbon on it …. then placed it ever so carefully into a tiny bag engraved with the name of the store. Off we went; on top of the world. Who cared if it was cold and snowing … it was Christmas Eve … we had our precious little gift. We walked the two miles home because we didn’t even have a dime left for the bus. And, all that way I kept wondering how it happened. Had I seen the wrong amount? No. Definitely not. So, why had she done that? Was it going to cost her? In the end I just had to accept that she had done it out of the goodness of her heart. All I knew for sure was that we were the luckiest kids in the world on that particular Christmas Eve …. And that lovely lady was probably just as pleased as we were.

All I want for Christmas....

Where’s the Switch?…….

All I want for Christmas is…well ... you will never guess..

Lessons.

That’s right…, some that will “lessen” my stress….

Yes I know….you think I’m a whiz…

But when it comes to electronics I’m really a fizz……

Indeed……I’m useless ….a real techno-dweeb.

Give me a simple thing… like…change the car’s oil,

Or, . Hey! Just watch me through a special recipe toil.

I can sew tiny bears with precision and care;

Even motorcycles … Yup, ..I’ve learned to ride and repair……

But, please! Don’t hand me that evil “remote”.

In MY hand this wand possesses no magic power …

I can still miss “my show” by more than an hour!

Frantically I wave it…press it; twirl it,… point it north and even south…

Curse these buttons, knobs and switches!! is it how I hold my mouth?

My antics provide someone his quota of glee…..

Of course it's not right and I often despair,

But who wants to listen or even to care?

I demand a simple unit with an ON/OFF switch!!…

Designed by a woman and with no hidden “glitch”.

What’s wrong with straight forward that works every time?

Christmas Cookies

I love to buy the Christmas Cookie version of Better Homes and Gardens...or Woman's Day... etc.. Well, just look at them! Who could resist? The beautiful colours; the amazing covers ... they sold me before I even looked inside.














I have a box of 3 ring page savers...and if the books are worth saving... this a great way. I have a lot of them in a drawer..but if you like... get a separate binder for those as well. Why not keep them safe and organized?

It is a wonderful way to keep them in pristine condition even if we do use them every year. I use mine a lot .... get them out as soon as October rolls around ... they are part of my early Christmas decor .... :)

I also began this special Christmas Recipe "album" years ago. Easier to peruse and find my special recipes for the festive season. I can easily add or subtract pages as I likes and dislikes change ...or as my taste in food changes...or if I find new (or old) or better recipes. You know how we save those piles and stacks of recipes?... to do what with ? and when? Well... I have begun to purge those...and also now I even change the ones I have carefully saved in the binder pages. It is all so simple and organized now.














I chose a winter scene... cuz it is beautiful and hey...it is for Christmas "stuff" after all.... but, if you are craft minded and like to do such things, then alter a cover to suit yourself.













I am making it into a sort of heirloom I suppose. Some Christmas cards are just too beautiful to toss... well, lets face it ... lots of them are. So ... I save them as well. If you receive beautiful, or especially Vintage looking cards and don't want them.... can I have 'em? lol... I love to make tags, or tree ornaments with them. Anway.. here is one of the other ways I recycle and use some of them. I pick and choose colours to complement the recipes and their pics ... cut out a portion or even use the whole card front on the same page. It is a nostalgic, fun look at Christmases past as well as my fav holiday recipes. A lot of the cards are from my sister ... she always sends great cards.



















.... look ... even some of the bear pics made the cut!





.... and here, some mag pics that remind me of my Mom... this was fun. She and my aunt always joked about taking a cruise... one day I saw this pic and thought the two of them had become poster gals for the Cruise lines... they were the type that had a ton of fun wherever they went! As did my other aunt... the crazy ladies went everywhere, did everything, and had a blast creating a lot of fun! a pic of them beside it shows how much they look like the models. We thought for sure it was them! I have Mom's hand written recipe for the best butter tarts ever ... right beside them and their cruise fun. Makes me laugh every single Christmas.

a few festive pics....

In case you haven't seen the special chocolate cherries yet..
recipe on my other blog.













Santa Sven ... he was my first attempt at sculpting with polymer clay a few years ago.. (just his face and head area) .. the rest is other materials...

he is actually a candy container...and separates in the center... just under his fur ruff on his parka.

Some of the guys like to sit on the big wooden sleigh that Santa pulls.










The guys hanging out on the table... and a beautiful card from my sister.

"Brown paper packages............."

.... tied up with string, glitzy ribbon, raffia, burlap ribbon ... you name it. Lovely old fashioned shopping bags are perfect.... or paper tablecloths...... you can dab gold paint on them with a sponge if you want a golden glow...and then use gold ribbons...or how about a pinecone rose?

If white is your thing.... try some white paper tied with beautiful ribbons. Traditional reds and greens...or cool colours like silvers and blues?? perhaps a stamp and some embossing powders?? or some glue and glitter? .... .. co-ordinate or contrast with ribbon? Craft paper or butcher paper is great for wrapping and is very sturdy.











Here is another one.... scrunch up sheets of white tissue paper; spray paint gold or silver and let dry. Or ... accordion-pleat sheets of brown paper; spray paint gold and let dry. Unfold and press with dry iron on low heat. Golds or silvers for ribbon.....














An easy decoration ... for door or wall. This bell swag is 2 1/2" flower pots painted gold inside and out. Use spray or brush. Then use a little black paint and water, make a wash; paint pots with wash. When almost dry, rub with cloth to expose gold areas and leave black crevices. Let dry. Metallic gold cord...(or your choice) threaded through hole in bottom... attach jingle bell to end of cord with wire and a bit of glue... tie a knot about 6 or 7 inches from attached jingle bell and poke through hole in bottom of upturned pot... leave cord as long as you want... several different lengths is nice... attach a ribbon bow with wire or glue to cord where it exits pot. With cut cord ends even at top, wrap wire around ends and twist tightly at back to secure. Attach with wire to some boughs, or greenery... then attach larger bow on front of cut ends of cord to cover wire and ends of cords.

I don't like shopping..

Well, now that I see me actually saying it in print...and after shopping for several hours on Saturday, Sunday and even today...I guess it doesn't hurt that much. Maybe I don't mind if I have a certain "thing" in mind...or have to buy a new t-shirt or slacks or something to wear to the office party.. ... but, shopping for shopping's sake... I am not into that.

However, once a year for Christmas and even just to see the sparkly things... is fun. I love the sights and sounds of the season for sure...but, why do they have to play a different Christmas carol in each and every store? ...and why so loud? Some are so loud, I just walk in ...do a 180 and walk out. The younger the sales staff....the louder the music.. I think it is a new law. I must be getting old.

And speaking of sales staff.... yikes! I swear one of the girls at The Bay cosmetic (Mac) counter still had her Hallowe'en get up on. High, jet black, spiked hair... too tight black t-shirt... too tight, too short skirt, big ugly spider tattoo that took up most of her upper arm, and she was wearing holsters. Huh? Yes... I am serious. Big, black, leather, cross her heart holsters, carrying a 100 brush assortment with which to "kill" her makeup customers I guess. Oh, man... am I glad I didn't bother when the phone call came asking me if I wanted to book my facial.... hahahha.... can't even imagine what I would look like walking away from there!

Think I will just buy some new mascara... that'll do me fine ....

But, look....today I had fun. Had to go downtown; where I never go anymore except for dental and eye appointments. And then, because I was already down there... I went here ... where I had about $80 worth of fun.











Stayed the obligatory 1.5 hours...which they say is about the average "short stay" at their shop. What is your average stay Terri? .. Lol....
On some occasions I have stayed as long as 2.5 hours; luckily I go only once or twice a year. There is sooooo much fun stuff to see and my back is still not co-operating as well as it could. It gets pretty sore if I stay vertical for too many hours. Mostly their stuff is over the top as well as too large for my taste... and for my budget too...but ...there are always some bargains to be found. Always. This time, two beautiful table runners... each under $20; some small ornaments in greens, only $7 for 15 of them... and two great little footed mugs in creamy white only $3 each, two pretty little porcelain bowls $6 ... which I may or may not keep. Little plates or bowls like this can so easily be part of a gift or decoration. They look perfect for some chocolate drizzled Cranberry Pistachio biscotti ..... mmm...
Anyway, I dragged home a big shopping bag filled with goodies...can't show them all..my sister reads my blog...and well, there might be some things for her in that bag.











The black flocked runner is a lovely green, although it appears more golden green in the pic...... and the other one behind .. definitely is a soft, old gold...

The Perfect Teddy Bear

Not long before Christmas, my seven year old granddaughter, Mandy, asked me to tell her about my best Christmas when I was a child.

"My mommy died when I was born", I told her, "but I remember that when I lived in the orphanage, a wonderful lady gave me a little blue teddy bear on Christmas. I loved that teddy bear and wanted to keep it perfect, so I asked her to keep it on her bed. Every day I went to her room and saw it. I was four or five years old".

"Do you still have your blue teddy bear?" Mandy asked.

"Well," I continued, "one day the wonderful lady was gone and another woman with a child took her room. When I went by, I saw her daughter playing with my blue teddy bear. I asked her for it, but she said it wasn't mine. That broke my heart".

"That's so sad," said Mandy. "Did you ever get it back?" "No", I said.

Two weeks passed and Christmas morning arrived. It is our custom that the youngest child give out the gifts, and that year it was Mandy. As the gift giving ended, she knelt in front of me and placed a small parcel on my lap -- her gift to me.

I opened it and tears poured down my cheeks.
"Don't you like it"? Mandy asked.
"Dear child", was all I could manage as I hugged her, squeezing between us her gift -- a little blue teddy bear.


``````````````



Yesterday I dug out my container of Christmas cards and found this little story.... yet again.
I keep it in the box, along with other little stories and letters.... each year I read it...and every single year..... I cry. Then, with eyes that can't see a darn thing...I try to address envelopes for out of country friends and relatives. Over the weekend, I will cry again as I do the rest of my cards.

I found it years ago in a magazine. Original by Ruth Lemke (in the Hamilton Spectator).

Of course, that little bear up top is Bluebeary Ice, one of my needle felts; not the bear in the story.

No salad...but ...

Scruffy was in and out of that salad bowl all day. Waiting impatiently for Greg to get home.
Every so often he jumped in amongst all the names and stirred them up and then..just sat and waited some more.












Finally at 3:30, "Dad" got home and .... within minutes, the two of then tossed the names and Scruffy made a swipe with his "sticky" hand (I put scotch tape on it) .... and....

here you are ...stuck to Scruffy's mini paw.











the winner is: Folksie Linda .... hey Linda! ... a fellow needle felter, that is funny. Hope you enjoy my little polar bear. I know that you like tiny things just like I do...so he is right up your alley.

This is a two in one post.

Easy way to do a bit of festive decorating for a buffet, coffee, or even a dinner table.

I like to keep some loose greenery and stems in a tote bin just for use at Christmas. You don't have to get too fiddly...don't have to glue and arrange a table centre. Just use a charger plate...place some greens, a bit of colourful fruit, tiny packages..( wrap some tiny boxes or pieces of wood with festive paper, add some string or mini ribbon) ... small ornaments... whatever pleases you. It is so easy to assemble and it tosses back into a back in even less time.











The lovely red bits and pieces are from a wildly scented pot pourri I found the other day. By Christmas..if I leave the bag open..it will have tamed down a bit. Meantime...the whole house smells like Cranapple Pot Pourri.











Place a pretty bowl in the centre and voila .... festive.

That was fun. I want to have another give-away already! Hahahhaha.....thanks again to so many fun people for participating.

Oh, I suppose I should wait a bit. Maybe early in the New Year, when not much is happening?

Thank you all so much .....

What fun that was... almost like having a real party! I was remiss in not setting out the crystal, perhaps some pretty plates, a tea and coffee table...and of course, FOOD! Next time for sure. As a matter of fact... probably in a day or so, as I see there is now a cookie party on the go.

In the next few weeks there will be an abundance of offerings on many of the blogs. Sweet treats, gift wrapping tips and ideas ...decorating hints, and plenty of great pics of everything under the sparkly lights and winter sun.

Greg says he and a friend want to do the draw.. and will be here tomorrow. I will head over to the post office as soon after that as I can write the address on the package.

Tested the new crock pot; then spent a bit of time kicking myself around the block. Ouch..ouch.. honestly, why haven't I had one for years? I tested it with something that has eluded me.... tender, stuffed pork chops. I like to stuff a loin chop every so often, but because they are not marbled with any fat...even when I bake them in some juice for quite a while... they still seem a bit dry and chewy or something. So.. stuffed a couple; browned them slightly to get a bit of colour and flavour going, then placed then in the pot with a few diced tomatoes and a small amount of chicken broth. Hardly any of the broth had evaporated after 4 1/2 hours and those chops were nothing short of amazing! Mmmmmm.... as far as I am concerned, for only $20, that pot as already paid for itself.

On the weekend we went to the local nursery to see the Christmas display of trees, ornaments and greenery.... and ...well, I am not sure if it was because I saw the first one last year and was a bit boggled or if it was not nearly as good as last year. There seemed to be more neon bright plastic "stuff" and cheesy ornaments. Give me some old fashioned glass balls please. The kindly Santa at the top was the only one I liked: I only took his pic, didn't even buy. Actually, it was a cheap shopping trip. Hardly bought anything. 3 huge,... make that gargantuan, pine cones... to use with some other greenery in a bucket.... and some icicles that are similar to others we got a few years ago. Last year we got a taller tree and needed a few more.
Here are two of my Santas that I really like. Where are more like these? These I would buy. Greg was hoping for a few more of the little birdhouses he found last year as well... but nope...nothing.