a Christmas tradition

I've been working on the final touches of our Christmas card for this year (I know...it's totally getting late!!) and before sharing the design with you, I thought you might like to see some of the old ones we've come up with. I was going to share just the cards, but then I thought, "what the heck, just share the entire scrapbook!" We've kept a copy of each card, and on the page for that year I write the quote we used and put the city, state in which we were living at the time. I'm really glad we started keeping this scrapbook, it's a tiny snapshot into our lives at that moment.

With the early cards, I hand colored each one. Yes, each one...I still can't believe it. I had to start REALLY early to get them done on time. I think there have been two years where we didn't complete cards. One year I can claim good justification - Warren was born right before Thanksgiving that year, and I was a little busy! ;-)

It's also fun to see how my artwork has/hasn't changed. Some are old favorites, and some I'm not a huge fan of anymore. But, they all make for a beautiful story of Christmases past.

And here was our first card, all the way back in 1998. 

and finally last years....

little goals lead to big goals

Ever feel like you've been working on a project forever and the end just never feels in sight? Well, I have.... I got this idea for an alphabet collage book a little while after Warren was born  and just look at where the time has gone- two years have flown by!

I put a lot of thought into how I wanted the overall book to flow and I decided on a rainbow background. So each page, and each letter has a slightly different colored background as it slowly progresses through the rainbow. I've always loved collages and wanted to incorporate basic images with my illustrations and of course various letter fonts from magazines. Not only did I want to include your typical animals and foods, but action words and character traits as well (like patience and persistence- both on my P page). Books are an important tool  in exposing our kids to rich language, and I think it's never to early to begin using quality vocabulary in our conversations with them. 

So, I'm finally in my final creative stages and ready to send it off to prospective publishers/agents. It feels good to have reached a goal before the year has ended. (I've been working like crazy on this the last few months!) Ultimately, this project has just entered a new stage, and isn't really done, but it feels really good to have made it to this next step. And especially before the year ended, I really needed this. 

I feel like I'll be open to new inspiration now that this project is "off" my plate. Ready for a new year, new projects, new ???

Warning: fun holiday treat inside!

Looking for a fun holiday project for all ages?

I did this project years and years ago with the kids I used to babysit when I was in high school....I know, I know, like a millenia ago.... Anyway, it was a huge holiday hit and we ALL loved making them, and best of all decorating them. It can be fun for all ages, although not as young as two I've discovered. Warren didn't get the concept of putting the candy on the house and not directly into his mouth. :-) 

The decorating is the super fun part, but the house preparation is easy, and best done by the adults ahead of time.

For the house you'll need:

Graham Crackers (1 box= about 4 houses)

Cardboard

Foil

Tape

Glue Gun

Stick Pretzels

First cut out a square base for your house out of cardboard and then cover it with foil. Wrap it like a present and tape the edges down on the bottom. 

With your glue gun, glue down your base. (I've found that having a base helps keep the sides in a nice neat square shape)

Start adding your sides, using glue to seal all edges that touch either another cracker or the base.

Continue adding your sides:  if you add to the outside of the base, like I did you'll find that you end up with a little opening on one, perhaps two edges. An easy fix is to take one of your stick pretzels, break it to the desired height and then use this as a filler to close that opening. This will help create strength to your house, which is a good thing when you have little fingers pushing candies onto it later.

Lay another square across the top. This is optional, but I think it helps create more stability and keeps the house from getting loose candy stuck in it later. :-)

The roof is really the only slightly tricky part. Use your glue gun and put a long row of glue on the outside edge of where your two eaves will touch the house base. (I usually hold the squares up to the house first to get an idea of where I need the glue to be) What makes it tricky is getting those two rows of glue on and then getting your squares into place before your glue dries. Hold it in place for a few seconds, then let the edges (at the peak) rest together and lay another row of glue here to connect it securely. I added another stick pretzel to most of mine this time, at the peak as well to give the corner more stability.

And voila... a beautiful graham cracker 'gingerbread' house!!

You can create a whole little village if you want....

And like I said, the REAL fun comes with the decorating. And with all the fun candy out there, you can get REALLY creative. Stick pretzels work great for outlining doors or windows. Sticks of gum, especially the wider flat kind, make great shingles, or window shutters, or doors. And of course, gum drops, skittles, red hots etc. work great as Christmas lights. They also have awesome shaped sprinkles out there too. I found white and blue snowflake ones, how cute is that?! I also happened to find green Christmas tree shaped Peeps. (A fun addition to the landscaping of your house) Like I said, you can go CRAZY with the details....so have FUN.

A note on the frosting as glue. There are lots of pre-made frosting in tubes but it's super easy to just buy a small tub (like for cupcakes/cakes) and put it into a sandwich bag (I prefer freezer grade for this) and just snip one bottom corner (just a bit...not too much) and squeeze it out this way. And another note, this might be obvious, but it's MUCH easier if you put an adult in charge of placing the frosting. I like to have the kids pick one square at a time to work on. It helps keep the mess to a minimum. :-)

Happy Holiday Projecting!!!