It was a merry Christmas



Focus, Holly, focus!  (I loved this, by the way.)



There we go-all ready.

The stockings were hung by thumbtacks with care!

I played with my daughter's Instax before I wrapped it and bagged the film.

Food gifts are great, aren't they.  The English muffin toasting bread and hot cocoa mix were made by my sister, Kim.

Lovely gifts from lovely people.

More lovely gifts from more lovely people.

Even more lovely gifts from even more lovely people.



Hoper sent me this pic of her first cup of Teavana tea.  I asked her how it was and she said-very good!

Rocco had a blast!



I had a wonderful Christmas spent with loved ones and I sincerely hope you did too.

 

Homemade goodness

I've received so much homemade goodness lately!  My dear friend, Dawnie, gave me a bunch of adorable mitten sugar cookies!  They're so cute and delicious. Another dear friend, Michaelanne, sent me her delicious peppermint bark (along with those noel candlestick holders, and also an adorable rottie mug).  Then my dear friend, Tara, made and gave me the lovely little tree quilt (among other things) that everything is sitting on.  Love it all!

I didn't make any Christmas cookies, but I did make some Christmas popcorn today.  It's just popcorn, melted white chocolate chips, a dash of salt, and some nonpareils.  It's delicious and addictive.  I got the idea/recipe from Easie Peasie.  (New plastic orange bowl from Goodwill!)


Have a great Christmas Eve eve, everybody!

I'm sending you a Christmas card...

a virtual Christmas card-that is!

Merry Christmas, friends!  You mean so much to me!

Love, Holly

Make a 'photo canvas' in just a few easy steps!

I bought these Home Interior canvases a long time ago at Goodwill for 15 cents each (originally $4.99) with the intention of making something from them.  I thought that someday I would cover them with fabric or paint or something!  Well, today was that someday. 

I decided to make a photo canvas from one of the pictures of my girlie that my sister had gifted me for my birthday.  I wasn't sure if it would turn out-but I think it did.  I'm very pleased!

First of all, I opened the basement door and then quickly sprayed the edges of the canvas white.  After it dried, I brought it upstairs and got out the ol' trusty glue stick.  I smeared the glue around the edges and a little in the middle.  Then I stuck the photo on the canvas and positioned it the way I wanted it, then smoothed it down with my hands.  (The canvas was exactly 8 inch by 10 inch, and the photo was a little bigger than that.)

So, I turned it photo faced down and trimmed the edges with an exacto knife.

I then flipped it over and filed the edges with a nail file to smooth them.   (Also, because I think everything looks better roughed up a little around the edges.)

 

Taadaa!!!  In just a few minutes I made a photo canvas-now my child's photo POPS off the wall!



Mmmmmmwwwwaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!  I love that kid!

Have a wonderful weekend everybody!

Hot tea (and some milk chocolate with toffee and almonds)



Oh, how I love hot tea!  And mugs!  I think I might have a problem.

 

See this mug?  It's from Little Flower Designs.  It's my birthday present to myself.  Like I said-I may have a problem.  This is a problem I can deal with though. 

Oh, that niece of mine-she has me eating Hershey nuggets.  The ones with toffee and almonds.  I keep them in the freezer.  I like my chocolate frozen!  I need chocolate! (like I need a hole in the head)

Here's the other mug I bought earlier this year from Little Flower Designs.   And I've decided to get out these beautiful journals that I bought years ago and start using them.  Not for journaling really, but for notes and stuff.  I think they are just so darn purty!

Here's the birthday card that my sister, Kim, gave me.  Isn't it cute?  She said that it reminded her of me and my phone!

I'm heading to my mom's in a little.  Have a wonderful day, everybody!  (And thank you for the birthday wishes!)

HI-JACKED, once again. Tis the season to be HOLLY!!!!! TODAY IS HER BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

*a few more presents to Holly from Jodie

**never before seen photos of her love bug Hope! <3 taken by....ahem...me!!

Gorgeous....i love this girl so much!!

What a difference five years makes...for Jess!

*ahem...the soon to be 20 year old with the 14 year old(my girl, Jess)

this is funnnnn ...changing colors!!!!

HMMMMM....(getting the right tune ready....)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR HOLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYY  (**singing really pretty)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUUUUUUUU......****hitting every note perfectly!!!

Happy Birthday Sister!!!!!

Love,

Your sisters
Jodie and Kimmie

***********************************

I'm hijacking the hijack to add these photos. 

My first birthday.  Old photo-has cracks!

My third birthday.

 

My fifth birthday.  I'm on the left,  Jodie's in the middle, and family friend, Stacia-is on the right.  This was a snowman cake.  If I remember right I wouldn't eat any because it had coconut on it!



My eleventh birthday.  I thought it was my tenth, but nope-eleventh.



More gifts for her-this time for me!

Yesterday after church, most of my family and I went out to eat at our favorite local restaurant.  It was a lovely, little, early birthday celebration for me.  Dad bought-thanks, Dad!

Anyhow-I received lots of gifties.  I think I just might be spoiled.

Alright, so every once in a while I get a case of the I wanties.  I mentioned to Jodie that I wanted some things from Anthropologie, but heck, I certainly didn't need anything, so I refrained and didn't order.  Hehe-so she did it for me.  I love this 'h' mug-it's so stinkin' adorable!

 

My girlie gave me a digital picture frame. Mom and Dad gave me a hoodie, some candy, and some money.   Kimmie and Es gifted me some shirts and a little red bank.  Jodie and family gave me a candle, the mug in top photo, and another Anthro item-a lovely ceramic berry basket.  Also, she took some beautiful photos of my beautiful kiddos!

Thanks, everybody!  I love you all, and not just because you buy me stuff!

Have a wonderful day, everybody!



Gifts for her

And that her is my daughter. 

Here are a few things that I got my daughter for Christmas this year.  Don't worry, she doesn't read here-that would be way too embarrassing!

Above is a canvas print from Artscow.  I used one of her photos from her trip to New York City this summer.  I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Here's a gift she pretty much knows she's getting-since she had her Teavana wishlist sent to my email and then she told me if I was going to order her this-I should do it on black Friday, since they had free shipping and some free things to offer that day.

My girl wants tea for Christmas!  Be still my beating heart!

Oh-I'm playing with this one before it gets wrapped.  She has told me before she'd like an old Polaroid instant camera.  While they can be found in thrift stores, the film is hard to come by and sometimes it doesn't work, so I've been told.  So I thought I'd get her this Fujifilm Instax 210 instant camera.  The reviews are good, and I know the film is fresh and not too terribly expensive.  I ordered this from Amazon.

 I have a few gifts for others, but they read here!

Now-I better get to wrapping so I can enjoy a few pretty presents under the tree.  This year I'm going to try to use up some of the vintage, thrifted ribbon I've had sitting around for years!

Have a good weekend everybody!

Violet, Holly, and Dakota

This is Violet-named for the purple she contains.  This rug is for my niece Jess.  She asked me make her a rug in purple, green, and blue and so I did.  I think she's going to like her-she's even prettier in real life.  Now, the question is-do I give it to her now, or wait till Christmas?  I'll probably just give it to her now.  Violet's made with thrifted t-shirts and some thrifted polyester fabric.

Oh, lookie!  I found another Christmas decoration.  My sister got me this hand painted (I can tell) sign a few years ago.  I think she even got it at Goodwill.  Is that right, Jodie?  I found it in my bedroom on the floor, tucked between my hope chest and the wall.  Now-it's in my living room.

Oh-I got a visitor for a little bit on Saturday.  Yep-Dakota came for a little visit!  Oh. my. word.  What a beautiful, little, fluffy puffball! He has WHITE eyelashes!  Have you ever seen anything so cute in your life???  He is precious!

I hope everybody has a good day!

This and that

We had another glorious sunrise this morning-love it!

Speaking of love-my niece Jess stayed with me Saturday night.  I picked her up at her house and we went and had pizza, visited the grocery store, and then came home and ate chocolate, Edy's coconut popsicles, and roasted garlic Triscuits.  I found the above pictures on my ipod a few days later.  L O V E-it's all you need.  I LOVE that girl!

I pulled out some Christmas candles and that vintage can of snow (from Goodwill) (another Dawnie idea) from the bottom of my cupboard.  My Christmas decorating is just about complete now-hehe!

Have a great Friday, everybody!

'Olive'

This is Olive.  She's named for olive green she contains.  This rug was a request from my sister-she wanted it for a house warming gift for a friend.

Olive is made with thrifted t-shirts.

I really love Olive.  I think she is pretty!

Today is another dear friend's birthday.  Happy birthday, dear Dawnie!!!  May your day be shiny and brite!

May everybody's day be shiny and bright!

Christmas corner

I just don't have the patience to go all out in the Christmas decorating department-so this is just about it, folks!

My pencil tree was in the basement-so I carried  it upstairs and decorated it with some Shiny Brite bulbs that I picked up at Goodwill.  My Aunt Charolette had given me some old Shiny Brites and I used them too.  See-I didn't feel like getting up in our little attic.  Then I pulled the few decorations from the closet (that weren't put in the attic last year) and sat them around.  Tadaaaaaaaa-I'm ready for Christmas.

I do want to buy some little candy canes and some other Christmas candy for those little dishes.  I also want to pick up a small strand of lights.  I might just lay them on that bare spot on the toybox.  (Hubby wants me to unplug my lights before I go to bed-grrrrrr.) (Yeah-that's my girlie's toybox, which Larry's late uncle made us as a baby shower gift.  It now contains old National Geographics.)

Oh, 'Grace' picture, how I love you!!!

Santa, please stop here!  I've been a very good girl this year.  (Not really!)

I also had some of the antique Christmas bulbs that my Aunt Nancy gave me that weren't buried too deep-so I displayed some of those.

Here's the poinsettia doily my mom made me long, long ago.

I hung the snowman sign that my cousin, Michelle, got me one year.

My neighbor and friend-the one that had been very sick (but she's doing alot better now!)-gave me the angel.

I just put these vintage boxes under the 'pencil' tree because I thought they were pretty.  I got the idea for using things like pretty vintage boxes and packaging for decorating from my good friend, Dawnie.  Her home is always beautifully decked out for Christmas-she's not lazy like me!

Ahhhh-my thrifted cross stitched Santa.   It was destined for the dumpster, but I brought him home with me.  I love him!

Today is my dear friend Rhonda's birthday.  She is quite the shutterbug.  Have a wonderful birthday, Rhonda!

Have a good day, everybody!