Meet Penny!

Penny is a sweet little girl,

full of hugs and love!

Penny loves to read,

just like her new mama does!

For Christmas, Penny got a new dress, id bracelet

and a little book just her size!

Before Penny took her long journey to her new home,

we settled into a comfy chair to read her new book,

Beauty and the Beast.

Smile pretty for the camera, Penny!

Penny was rescued from a local thrift store,

prettied up, and was sent with lots of hugs and love

for her new mama!

Since I cannot be there,

Penny said she would take care of

her for now until we are together the next time!

What a sweet bear!

Thanks to Dawn at The Feathered Nest

for a perfect gift idea!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas

full of cuddly hugs and love
from those you cherish!

May you have a

Blessed New Year!



Calendar Easel Cards

So what do you give to a friend

who is also a co-worker in your office?

How about an easel card calendar?!

These were a lot of fun to make!

The hardest part was picking the paper and embellies!

Cuz there are so many possiblities!

Here's all 3 together:

First, let's look at Elvis....not a hard thing to do!  ;)

I have a friend who is a HUGE Elvis fan,

and this will do nicely!

 The picture is popped up for texture,

and I cut out a guitar to pop up, too.

The white button is a brad, with a paper-popped, music-note studded star

to prop it up!

My other friend is a nature-lover.

So I went with butterflies for hers!

Who doesn't love butterflies, after all...

You can't see it too well in the above picture,

but I added irredescent glitter to the wings

and across the top "ribbon."

 Added a flower made from bookprint

and popped a cut-out butterfly to the base.

I love this paper, but I can't remember who makes it...

This one is fun and bubbly, just like the friend it is for!

She loves vibrant colors!

Added glitter to the "flower" on the base...

And popped it up for depth and interest!

(sorry for the bad lighting!)

Here's a picture from the side showing how the easel part works.



Nice handmade gifts that will last all year!

Perfect!

It's Been HOW Long????

Proceed, O Angelic Powers! Go to Bethlehem.

Prepare the manger, for the Word comes to be born.

Wisdom proceeds from the mouth of the Most High.

Receive, O Church of God, the announcement of salvation;

Enter into the joy of the Theotokos [God-bearer]!

Let us sing with gladness, O peoples:

Blessed is He who comes:

O our God, glory to Thee!

[Verse from the Praises, Dec. 20]

I can't believe it's been well over a month since I've posted anything on my blog!  I apologize for being such a bad blogger!!!  'Tis the season....

I hope you have been able to slow down from the hussle-bussle of the holidays to take a moment or two to focus on the true meaning of the season.  It's so easy to get lost in it all... Believe me, I'm speaking from experience, here and I'm sure many of you can relate!

Every year I start out with the goal of starting everything early so I can take the time to really soak in what Christmas is all about.  But most of the time it doesn't work out that way.

So, what HAVE I been working on these last few weeks???

A few gifts, of course!

Some of them I will be able to post now, as the intended reciepients are not bloggers...yet!

Some of them will have to wait...

because YOU are WATCHING!

(you know who you are!)

Here is what I've made for my 3 nieces!

HAND MUFFS!

Thanks to my good friend, Mary, at church for giving me her pattern!

These were so much fun to make! 

They are all different sizes for their different ages.

For Mya, our "BLING" Princess! - 6 years old

For Isabelle, or Baby Bells!  2 years old

For Annikah, or Nik!  7 years old

Here is a pic of the inside:

The inside is knit with a double strand in a tube,

then you go down to a single strand with the fun fur

for the outside.

Then simply turn inside-out and sew the ends together!

I really hope they like them!

Or even know what to do with them!

:)

So....Are you ready for Christmas???

Time is running out!

Hugs!

Lori