HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We'll be in Prague with our children and 4 grandchildren for the New Year's Eve festivities. We finally get to fly out later today, Dec. 28--only two days late. The blizzard left over 2 feet of snow at the airport, while we just got the fringe of the storm with 3 1/2 inches here. The wind, however, sounded like a freight train for two days; but it's sunny and calm this morning--much better traveling weather.

The Lord, in His Providence and Mercy, had us at home when a 50-mile/hr. gust of wind blew the back door open in the middle of the night. When Rick went downstairs later, the temp. in the Family Room was 30 degrees--what a disaster that could have been! He has since screwed a board across the door to keep it shut while we're away. Not exactly glamorous, but it will do until we can get a new door.

What are your stamping goals for 2011? I'm determined to use up as much of my stash as I can without buying more--until the Stamp Show in April, that is!

Glitterfy.com - Christmas Glitter Graphics

Best wishes to all for a Christ-centered, fun-filled Christmas!

"See" you when I get back from Prague next year. Meanwhile, check out our tree and how our cat enjoys it here.

Have a wonderful holiday and a Happy, Healthy New Year!

Scripture Cards

I've been making cards for our pastor to use as he ministers to our congregation.
What better stamps than these beautiful Scriptures from Our Daily Bread Designs!














Coupled with a new pad of dp from Basic Grey ("Archaic",) the soft colors fit very well with soothing words of encouragement. The lettering used is large enough for the stamp to be the focal point of the card. As you can see, I use very little embellishment, making the cards more postage friendly while keeping them on the masculine side for the pastor's use.

These cards will be entered in the Our Daily Bread Designs challenge for a chance to win a gift certificate at ODBD for more of their beautiful stamps. For other cards using their beautiful stamp sets, click HERE.

(Meanwhile, my own challenge is postponed until after the holidays.)

SET YOUR TIVO!

Our son-in-law, Chris, is part owner/manager of a new hostel in Prague which will be featured on the Today Show Dec. 9th. Not only is The Mosaic House sleek and modern (already a success!) but is also "green" which I assume is the main interest for the show. Camera crews have already been there to film. Enjoy!

(For a further look at the Mosaic House, you can check it out here.) There are shared rooms for backpackers and luxurious single rooms for world travelers, all at reasonable rates. The decor is stunning, the food outstanding and the staff friendly.

If I sound like a proud mother-in-law, it's because I am!

Flourishes White-Out

Here's my card for the Flourishes Winter White challenge. For the first layer, I used my Scor-Pal to make the diagonal lines. The next layer was a CB swiss dots folder underneath the CB snowflake folder. The top snowflake was done with a Marvy punch with a snowflake brad added in the center. Silver twine finished it off.

This was a fun challenge!

Christmas Card Workshop

Today was the workshop at my house where everyone made 2 each of 3 designs. The designs I came up with worked really well, and we all had a lot of laughs as we put them together.

Joan, on the left, is my "regular" stamping buddy; Debby on the right is a new stamper who is lots of fun to watch as she is constantly amazed that she CAN do this.

Ruth and Jackie, in the second picture, were happy to show off their cards. These were the snowflake ones. There was also one with a candle, held by Joan. Last was a candy cane design with the candy cane story printed up for the inside.

To add to the cheery mood, we had a few snow showers earlier this morning before they arrived.

I'm so blessed to have such fun friends!

(If you click a second time on a card, you can get an even better view.)

Christmas Cards Are In the Mail!

Whew! I just dropped 80 cards into the letter drop at the post office yesterday, with the remaining 20 to be hand delivered. What a relief to get them all on their way!

Have you seen the new Forever postage stamps? They're 4 images of pine boughs and berries/pine cones and are just right for Christmas or winter cards. I bought enough to use next Christmas too! Now all I have to do next year is remember where I put them ;).

Yesterday was also tree-decorating day (See 2008 post for a photo.) Today I'll be cleaning up and preparing for the Christmas card workshop here tomorrow. Once that's done, I can concentrate on Christmas shopping and wrapping gifts for the next 2 weeks.

I truly enjoy the hustle and bustle of Christmas, but I also like to take the time for reflections on the true meaning and purpose of the season. I challenge you to do the same.

Merry Christmas!