Whole Bunch o' Nuthin!

Happy Happy Sunday!

Just sitting here (well - practically lying, really with my legs flung over the arm of my chair) doing a whole lot o' NUTHIN'!  I am SO in love with my life today I can hardly stand it!  Ever get that feeling??  You're just SO content that you can hardy contain yourself??  … but you know if you try to do a cartwheel you'll probably blow out a hip so you just walk around with a big stupid grin on your face instead??  That's me today.  Yep - got my "I'm RELAXED" face on today!! Aside from a brief wake-up at 1:30 am (when Craig finally came to bed) I slept through the night - MAN that feels good!! I KNOW the reason I haven't slept in 6 months is because I always have some running commentary going on in my head of what needs to be done.  When someone or something wakes me up my mind snaps awake and the commentary continues.  Not being a "list person" I just keep it all in my head .. and of course it never stops … until Christmas.  Yep - it happens ever year.  I'm not sure if my the end of December I just don't CARE about what needs to be done or if most things ARE done … but each year I actually relax and have fun.  That started Friday at noon, when the kids were finally done school … and I finished the last of my shopping (yes, I was done about a week ago but wasn't happy with what I got my Dad so I found something else I'm much happier with).  Yesterday the relaxation REALLY kicked in with our annual Open House for my in-laws.  What a great afternoon!  After everyone left we all watched Toy Story 2, the girls and I played a quid board game then off to bed.  This morning I woke up fully relaxed (still not totally rested but I think THAT would take about 3 weeks on a beach with no electronics to actually happen!), full of love and excitement for the day ahead.  I have NOTHING on the agenda for today.  NOTHING!  My FAVORITE kind of Sunday! Aside from walking Doodles there is absolutely nothing I HAVE to do.  I plan to go with the flow, wander the house, do what ever the kids want me to do and generally have fun.  How awesome is that???  I wish I could freeze time when I get in this mindset.  Everything seems to be in perspective and "as it should be".

So!  There has been an obvious lack of projects posted lately, yes?  Ya - I haven't done any card-making for weeks!  I've been crafting a bit here and there … and Ive received some great gifts from friends this week, so thought I'd just post some of those projects for you.  Ready?

My friend Teresa made some great little gifts!  The top one is an adorable little paper bird house tree ornaments - the second a Hot Chocolate holder and the third candy canes in a holder made from the Petal Cone Big Shot die.  She also made a SA-WEET little Olaf using the Curvy Keepsake Die … but I can't find where I put it!  i might have put it somewhere so Trixie didn't steal it … but I can't remember *lol*

 I LOVE this wine glass my fried Casey made me.  She used her Silhouette cutter to cut out the vinyl that says "Wine me up and watch me go".  Yep - test drove this bad boy yesterday … works really well! *lol*

I LOVE making these bows to put on chocolates for neighbour or for those "people who show up at the door with gift but you didn't get THEM a gift" emergency situations!  These bows were in the Holiday mini last year.. or maybe the year before … I scooped 10 or more packs when they went in the Clearance Rack.  Deal of the century!  I think they were $1.19 per pack … and you can get 10 single bows - or 5 double bows like mine - per pack!!!  I used my hot glue gun to assemble and then the retired bottle caps with a stamped snowflake and jumbo rhinestone in the middle.  Quick, easy and AWESOME!

These were a few gifts we took to the kids' Christmas Extravaganza.  I'm really loving the gift wrapping lately!  There was a book with another paper bow, a pack of cards packaged in out little polka dot paper boxes, with tags and twine made from left over Paper Pumpkin and Tag a Bag kits, the mini lunch bag (holding a hand lotion) with the Christmas Tag a Bag kit and a cello bag with cards, tied with ribbon.  So quick and easy which is PERFECT at this time of year as, once again, I was doing it the night before we needed to deliver them!

Today I'm hoping to get some more crafting and/or card making in.  We'll see what happens!

Here is a little gift Alicia and I made for her grandparents and Dad:

 So cute!  We bought terracotta pots and fuzzy white gloves at the dollar store, put a styrofoam ball in the pot, surrounded t with cotton, shoved cotton balls in each finger and then made little snowmen.  The hats were the tips cut off more dollar store gloves - I hot glued beads for eyes and buttons, made earmuffs out of pipe cleaners and pom pons and my FAVORITE … coloured the pointy tip of Q-Tips orange, cut them off and hot glued them onto the snowmen.  Ribbon for scarves and about an hour later we were done.  So fun!

Speaking of fun … Trixie and Buttonz have been having a ball around here - and we've been having fun finding them!  Here is what they got up to:

 It took quite a while to find them the day they hid in the washing mating!

 Buttonz won me over the next day when I discovered his favourite snack is coffee beans!

 The kids did't find them until after school this day - they were napping in the doll house.  Too many late nights getting up to no good!

 This one was easier to spot - they were cuddled up in front of the fireplace reading the girls Christmas Books.

 This one cracked me up!  The decided to pack lunch for the girls … but apparently don't know a lot about what humans eat!  Rebecca got uncooked KD, a cake mix,  can or water chestnuts, some gravy mix and Maple Syrup to wash it down … Alicia got some uncooked pasta, taco mix, a bag of marshmallows, a jar of PEPPER and half a bottle of coke!  (Actually Alicia was THRILLED with the marshmallows and coke part!).  Silly critters.  It was nice of them to TRY to help me but …. !

 Trixie was Princess for a day as Buttonz drove her around in a carriage - complete with fancy ball gown and fuzzy shrug.  Ahhhh the life of an elf!

 Rebecca was at Grandma's for a sleepover Friday night.  Our friends found an audience for story times took up residence on Rebecca's bed and read the Christmas stories to THEM.  They seemed quite enthralled with the story!

This morning we laughed out loud when we came down and found Trixie, Buttons, Jack and Mr Cow Cow playing their own version of "Guess What I am".  They all look so silly!  LOVE these little creatures!!!

So that's what's been going on around her this week - whole lot o' nuthin' much, but everything important.

This is such a magical time of year.  And yes, even though I'm not acid anymore I still FEEL like I'm a kid … and mentally about as mature as a 12 year old…. and that's the way it should be this time of year.  A whole lot less of the responsible stuff and a whole lot more of the fun stuff.

Whatever you get up to today make sure you take at least a LITTLE time to be goofy and relax.  Where here for a good time!

Have a stampy Sunday!


Tam