My good friend and Stampin' Up demonstrator Jenn had another cardmaking party a few weeks ago. Basically, she invited a few of us over to play with her stamps. And play we did! I made a bunch of cards, got to use stamps that I didn't have (or might not have otherwise chosen), and worked with some new ink colors.

Meanwhile, I'll be sharing some card photos over the next few days. Today's card is a very easy card, requiring two stamps--the main motif and a sentiment. This intricate stamp provided excellent results for this type of card. One ink color, two paper colors, and there it is.

The thing I love about this stamp is that it is actually very versatile. In brown on turquoise, it reminded me of a henna tattoo. But it would look very different colored in--Victorian or Dutch, depending on the colors. I'll have to keep an eye out for this stamp, since I think it might be discontinued. Ahh, discontinued stamps--the one flaw in getting to play with the stamp collection of a Stampin' Up demonstrator.....

All of the sudden I've had a realization that A) I haven't made a single Christmas gift this year and B) I haven't hardly written a single post that has anything to do about Christmas. Yikes! What's going on? In my own defense, the tree is up and lit, but not decorated, so I haven't been lollygagging or anything. But it's just been a nutty fall and winter, so it's December 17 and I'm just now actually writing my list to see where I am in the gift-buying process.

So to show you that I haven't totally lost my Christmas spirit, I thought I'd share a picture of some of my decorations. And over the next few days up until Christmas, I'll share more photos of the decorations, homemade and otherwise, that make my home feel like Christmas-ville.

First, the mantel. It's the most decorated thing in the house. The gingerbread house is the centerpiece this year. Behind it is a wreath that contains some very special ornaments. They were from my great Aunt and Uncle's estate and I feel honored to have them displayed in my home. I didn't want them to get lost among the others on the tree, so I put them on this with netted gold ribbon, which seems appropriate for the vintage ornaments. The needlepoint stockings on the mantel are purchased, but the stockings on the wall were made for Michaels Create! magazine. Okay, actually, the stockings were purchased, but I made the cuffs by weaving ribbon and using fusible webbing to hold it all in place. I still love them. On that mantel are pieces from both of my grandmothers, my Mom, my former mother in law, my friends Janet, Lisa, Joyce, and so many more. There are so many great memories--memories of Christmases past, of friendship and families, and so much more.

So tell me about your decorations? What did you make this year? What pieces hold special memories for you? Let me live vicariously through your creativity!

As I look back on my quilt projects, some hold more meaning than others. As it turns out, one of the quilts that I no longer have is probably the one that means the most. The Snowy Night quilt appeared in the Winter 98/99 issue of McCall's Quilting's Quick Quilts. My dear friend Shirley was battling cancer, so I made Snowy Nights for her because she loved Christmas. When I got the quilt back, I sent it to her. She had it for the last few weeks of her life. She passed away around Thanksgiving of 1998. This time of year always reminds me to be thankful for the blessings in my life, the people in my life, and the memories of friends from my past.

When we moved from Springdale to Rogers, Ark., my ex, a DJ, must have mentioned it on the radio. One of his loyal listeners somehow realized we'd moved into her neighborhood. Next thing I know, we're over there hanging out with Shirley, her hubby, and their sons. They were so good to us--we were so blessed to have friends like them. Shirley found out she had cancer about the same time we moved to Florida, and I regret that I wasn't around to give her and her family support and assistance during their very challenging struggle. But in a phone conversation with her while I was working on this quilt, I promised it to her. Her husband told me she had it with her while she rested on the couch and kept it with her much of the time, and that always brought me some comfort.

At this time of Thanksgiving, I give thanks for all of the blessings I have and I send prayers to friends and family near and far. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

I worked on a project today that I don't think I can share with you yet. A friend of mine has a line of jewelry components and she asked me if I could play with them and create something for a book she's working on to accompany the component line. I was honored and more than happy to be involved in the project. And she sent me a big box of stuff to play with.

So that's what I did today. And it took more effort than I anticipated. I found it was much more difficult to design a piece that I hope pleases someone else than it is for me to create a piece for myself or to give as a gift. Plus, I had to consider the practicality of the design from the shoppers perspective. So I find myself thinking about all of the jewelry designers out there who struggle with this every day. Will someone buy my piece? Does it please me or will it please the public or at least someone else out there?

Plus, it's possible that I felt additional pressure since this felt more like a challenge--here are the pieces I want you to work with, what can you create with them?--and that's a different method of designing than I'm used to. But it's good to break out of your box and try something new once in a while. Figuring out the coolest, most appealing piece of jewelry I could make out of these very cool components was my goal and I'm pleased with my results, though there were many false starts to get to the final pieces. Hopefully I'll be able to share photos soon enough. I should have saved some of the photos of the false starts and let you all vote as well!

So I was watching the news when I got home from work and saw a segment about an ice cream store in Peoria that had created some political-themed flavors. I just knew it had to be the shop I worked at in Peoria my senior year and for a few months after graduation, and it was! So here's the story about the Spotted Cow on MSNBC.

So this is the final installment of the Mr. Potato Head saga. I came into the office Monday to find him in this condition... his body, beard, and hat tossed aside, and a French fry container as a torso. And today, a confession. The coworker I originally suspected, Aaron, confessed to most of the mayhem. I say most, because even he was surprised the day the potato chip bag arrived. Turns out that someone else joined in the fun.

Another friend at work, Judi, told the story to her grandchildren. And her eldest granddaughter Kacha asked for the potato chip bag they'd just emptied at lunch and added her artwork to it. Like the fabulous grandmother that she is, Judi pledged assistance and planted the bag on the file cabinet for Kacha. So I especially want to thank them both for playing along and for joining in the fun. Even Aaron appreciated her involvement.

I couldn't bear to bring him home quite yet, so he's still at the office. But his story has certainly been entertaining to a lot of people, so thanks, Aaron!

Well, I drove down to Illinois between snow storms on Christmas Eve, and the entire Chicagoland area seems to be covered with a layer of ice. Overnight, they had rain again, so today, as I helped Mom take down the decorations, we pondered whether I should head home tonight or wait until tomorrow morning. Since I have no deadlines across the state line, I think I'll probably hang out here and drive home tomorrow, since the fog is supposed to roll in any minute now.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring much with me in the way of projects to work on, though I think I might have a few ornaments in one of my bags that could occupy some time. My folks don't have cable, you see, and we've watched most of the Christmas classics I brought along--from Frosty the Snowman to White Christmas--but I think we might have a classic or two still unviewed to occupy our evening.

If I were really thinking ahead, I'd sit down and write my Christmas letter. I have the cards, the stationery, the labels, and the stamps, but haven't yet actually done the mailing. So that job was part of the "to do" list for Saturday and Sunday. Wouldn't it be great if I could accomplish that tonight?

So in closing, I just thought I'd share that it was a lovely Christmas filled with family and fun. We played Rummy (or 13 for those of you in the family--I've always wondered if those two names actually apply to the same game or if we misnamed them) and I won--an accomplishment for sure since I seldom win at cards. I received some lovely gifts! And I'll be setting up my quilting machine New Years weekend--Merry Christmas to me! Maybe I'll post photos here once I get the sewing room cleared out enough and the machine set up. As for the reflective part that always seems to come this time of year, let me say this. As I helped Mom put away her Christmas decorations, she'd comment on this one or that, and it seemed that many of them either had a special memory tied to them or were from someone who meant something to her. Of all of the quirks and traits that I got from her, all the things that make me my mother's daughter, I'm blessed to value things for the memories that come with them, not the price tag that was attached to them. It's the same reason that I read the Christmas letters that come to their house--friends of theirs who have touched their lives, and mine, for years. Though it's true that there are friends of theirs that I've never met, I've always known about them through their letters and cards, and they are still a part of my life in some distant way. We're all connected, family and friends and even strangers, and I treasure the people who been a part of my life each year in some way, whether in person, through e-mail or snail mail, or even as they flit through my memories or my dreams or across my path. May each of you have blessings abundant in the coming year.

Spent the weekend recharging in Charleston, SC with one of my best girlfriends who moved there a few months ago. She moved into a new house with a few more rooms than her last one, so we spent part of Friday bumming around town, hitting fabric stores and antique markets for some decorative touches. We laughed a lot while we were shopping (as we always do) for clothes, shoes, and accessories (personal and home), swapping ideas.

It was so fun to go to another part of the country and see how location influences decor and fashion. First, since it was very warm, all the ladies were sporting sundresses and cute floaty tops with great surfaces screaming for embellishment. And the influence of the water and the beach showed in the colors and patterns in the home stores. What a difference than what we see in Milwaukee shops. Not that I don't love what I find here, but it's just so different than what I saw there. Even the exterior colors of the homes were different--inspired, I imagine, by Charleston's famous Rainbow Row.

Though there was much to see and do, we saved some of it for next time. But when I got home, I found myself thinking of places here that I've been meaning to visit and just haven't gotten there yet. Maybe I'll make a list and set some goals. After all, you can find inspiration anywhere--even in your own hometown.