Monday, December 10, 2007

Silent Night

What a beauful night! It has rained for several days and the wind has cleaned our skies. The sunset was amazing, it was a crysal clear night... cold... perfect to turn on all the Christmas lights, enjoy a fire in the fireplace and cuddle. Sit back and enjoy some sights from our holiday home...

"Stockings Hung by the Fire..." Mom hand made each of our stockings... each just as special as the next...

"Dad's 'Charlie Brown' Tree... " We have decorations for two completely different Christmas trees. The kids call my tree the "Department Store Tree." Gold and red glass ornaments, white twinkle lights, handmade ornaments of glass, dried flowers, paint and glitter, a random spray of gold decor for the tree topper and rich ribbon decorate my tree. Jeff's tree starts with colored mini lights and includes an assortment of needlepoint ornaments made by his Grandma Julia, antique glass ornaments dating back to the 1920's, an assortment of large hand blown glass ornaments and a hodge podge of miscellaneous, gift given, kid made ornaments... topped by the angel made by Grandma Julia... this tree is PERFECT!

"Windows with a view..." I just love this picture of our china cabinet filled with pieces of our Spode collection, Irish and German china that my Grandfather sent to the family when he was serving in Europe during WWII, and other special pieces.

"Away in a Manger..." I have always adored my Mom and Dad's nativity set. My Grandfather mailed this paper mache navity home from Germany. My grandmother put it in storage and it was severly damaged due to water damage and rot. My Mom rescued it and had it professionally repaired to its original glory (she actually did many of the repairs herself.) The tall figures stand over 12" tall and the animals laying in the snow are up to 12" in length. I have always told Mom that the one thing I would like as an inheritance is this nativity. Mom decided this year that she didn't want me to wait until she was gone to enjoy the nativtiy, but instead wanted to see me enjoy this precious gift. I can hardly believe that this set has come to stay in our home and I am so thrilled to be able to share it with you! Woo Hooo!!

Monday, December 3, 2007

What a PICKLEICIOUS Weekend!!!

This was the weekend that 5 Rusty Pickle Chefs and Mr. Pickle himself (owner, Lance Anderson) took over Ever After Scrapbook for a weekend of classes, Make and Takes, the Saturday night crop and a TON of fun!!! I was one of the Chefs in attendance at the SOLD OUT crop on Saturday night and I created and taught my VERY FIRST MAKE AND TAKE!!! You can see a picture of it here... using cardboard boxes from Costco, I made these table decor items for your annual Santa Picture. I also taught the scrappers how to easily turn my make and take into a mini album to house ALL of their annual pictures! Great way to watch the kids (and Santa) grow up!!! :-)

I had a great time chating with the Chefs (Ann, Candice, Kristan, and Casey), telling stories, sharing secrets and getting to know them all better! Links to each of the talented ladies' blogs are listed on the panel to the right. I also had the opportunity to crash Lance's class on Sunday and watch the pro teach. As a new teacher, it was great to pick up some tips from Lance and learn how to handle different situations as they come up in a class!! (Thanks, Lance!)

Thanks to Candice for organizing such a great weekend and to Camille (owner of Ever After) for the wonderful goodie bags that she gave to each Chef for participating in the event!! What a GREAT way to start December and the holiday season!!!