Happy New Year!

Just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

We are leaving in about 10 minutes to fly to Vegas baby!! We will be spending New Years in Las Vegas with 50 gazillion or our closest friends lol!! Wish me luck as I really don't like people, especially in huge amounts..........................

Be safe!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Well it's finally here, the big night. I really miss having little ones around and all the excitement that comes with it this time of year. Maybe that's what part of my problem is right now, my kiddos are all grown up and adult like now. The dogs, altho they act like 2 year olds, just don't "get" the Santa thang lol.


One thing is for sure, I'm not EVER going to not put up a tree again. I was ok with it until last night. It's just way to blahhhhh around here.


Ok here are a couple of things I made for gifts this year.......



You've seen the gift card holders below and then I did a couple of sets of these trivets.



This one is for my Mom

This one is for our friend Lois

Her's didn't show up nearly as well, not enough contrast in the fabrics.

Then here is a big jar shirt I appliqued for her son

Cute huh? It was a little tricky but turned out great.

ok so now it's time to get supper ready. We ALWAYS have tamales on Christmas Eve. So tonight it's homemade tamales (ROFL NOOOOO not by me), queso dip, spanish rice, chalupas and I'll try to get the coconut cream pie done that I forgot to do this afternoon.

Then tomorrow it's ham, sweet potatos, green bean casserole (yeah DH feels the same way yuckkkkk) and brocolli (or however the heck you spell it). Then for sure the coconut pie and my Mom's famous lemon pie.

Merry Christmas to everyone! And I hope no one gets lumps of coal in their stocking!!

Whew!

I finally got my Christmas packages mailed late yesterday afternoon! Nothing like waiting till the last minute. I had a few handmade things that I was just taking forever to finish up. But they did turn out cute, and you'll just have to take my word on that for right now lol. I'll post a pic of some of it in a while, DH is on the other computer and of course that's where the pictures are. But I do have other pics to share......

I went to my first cookie exchange party last week. Such gooooood cookies! And presentation was a big part, altho I didn't realize it, but you just wait till next year! I'll be more prepared. Here are the cookies I made, they are Chocolate Krinkles. Taste just like little brownies




And here is my presentation at the party.

Notice the wonderfully creative blue/penguin Press-n-Seal????????

Here is another of the tables, isn't the cookie boquet cute?



This won Best of Show, we think she cheated............


First place is the botttom corner, it's not a very good picture, hopefully I've got a better one on the other computer. She hand painted 2 goblets and arranged the cookies in them. It was so pretty irl


more pictures to follow later :)

Jazz up Gift Cards

Omgosh Christmas is heading full blast towards me. Just one little teeny problem, there is no way I'll be ready before Valentines Day………………

Yikes, oh well I'll just plod along and hope for the best. For the past several years DSILs and I have decided to give the kids gift cards since they are to big for toys and since they are all spoiled just a tad and want more expensive things. Then last year we decided good ole cash was the way to go. That way they can combine it all and get the video game or cd or whateva. But I hate just putting a check in an envelope and mailing it. Let's face it, opening an envelope on Christmas morning just doesn't have the same charge as a wrapped box. So at class (Bernina Designer Plus V5) a couple of weeks ago we got a handout for little gift card holders. Looked fairly simple……………………..

And they were

After about the 3^rd one! But then I've got menopause-mush-brain right now. But they are kinda cute so onward I trudged.

Here they are just out of the hoop

And a close up – I made snowflakes with the girls names

The boys are getting cutie-patootie snowmen

Here is the backside while in the hoop – while be the inside after folding

**note the obviously NON Christmas fabric on the middle one????? My MIL and FIL's have this inside. We give them cash each year.

Guess where they go with it???????

Here is the finished holder

The straight pins are in there because I still need to go get some Velcro to hold then closed. I'll put just a tiny little piece, just enough to hold it closed.

Cute eh?

Then here they are as they will be opened up to insert/remove the gift card/cash/check

These were fun, but man did I ever spend way to much time on them. I've spent the last week and a half on them, from the digitizing to the stitch out. But it's way cool to actually have something finished that I did from the very beginning. I might actually figure out this digitizing yet J

The next thing on my list is towel wraps. There is the cutest design on the Bernina 75^th Anniversary collection that I want to use. Hopefully they will go together quickly. Then kitchen towels and potholders for a friend. Ughhhhh Valentines Day may come to soon also! Plus I still don't have my tree up, much less all the other decorations I have in storage. I didn't think I wanted to put up a tree, but the closer it gets and the more I see everyone else's I'm finally getting in the spirit. It will only be a tree this year, no villages or other stuff and the tree will most likely be a 4 ½' but that mainly so I can get it away from the taz puppy. She'll eat anything……..

I hope everyone is safe tonight and that if you are in the path of a storm please be careful.