Oh So Chilly...

I keeping singing the same Christmas song in my head over and over again...Oh, the weather outside is frightful...you know the rest. It's so chilly here in Vegas! For true!  And I mostly love it--mostly.  Not the wind, so much, but learning to deal. eh.

So, what am I doing and what have I done? Our family drove up to Salt Lake City for the Thanksgiving holiday to spend it with my brother.  I wanted snow for the kids--for sledding and snowman making. And boy did I get snow. And 12 degree weather. That's just crazy cold. We had a wonderful dinner--nice and cozy in the house. AND then my mom and I went shopping on Black Friday, at 6 in the morning!!! So crazy. But I got the camera I've been looking for and hubby got the cabinets for his garage. Everybody is happy and our Christmas is done. :)  My best and most happy finds came from a thrift store though. I am so excited to re-craft several new Christmas decorations from the thrift store!!  I just need the kids to go to school so I can have some quiet time with my new treasures.  I'll post them as soon as I can WITH my new camera! hehehe ♥

Re-Crafting Decorations

Just look at this happy little door decoration! I know!! So, do you want the story behind this? Eh, I'll tell you anyway. I know, you're welcome ♥.  I have two wonderful, generous, funny and secretly competitive neighbors. I love them! It just happens that we have a super top-secret thing going amongst the three of us to either out-decorate or be the first to decorate. We get double points if we can out-decorate AND be the first on the street to decorate.  Its all in good fun, so that makes it extra fun for us.  On with the story...I purchsed this lamp post from neighbor #2 at her yard sale. It was dusty, unpainted and sad looking.  But I knew it had potential...so I snatched it up and cleaned it up. Fast-forward to this fall. I painted it basic black (cuz who doesn't look good in black?). I tacked on a string of lights, a twirl of grapevine and fall leaves. Presto! Oh so pretty Fall Decoration!  My neighbor was SOOOO ticked that she sold me her lamp-post. Bawaahahaha!

So, here we are at Christmas time. I re-crafted that same Fall lamp-post into a Christmas-y one. I changed the lights to clear and covered the post in an evergreen garland and some red & white poinsettas. Presto! Re-craft and cute! I can't wait until neighbor #3 sees this happy greeting at my door. Ba-nee-ner! LMK what you think!

And I just have to give an Oh So Happy Hello to my first blog follower! I was so excited to see somebody there!  I ready to have someone reading my stuff besides me. ♥ HI!!

Putting Out the Christmas....

Ba-nee-ner! I'm done waiting for an appropriate time to put out my Christmas stuff. Just done.  I've been patient through Halloween and even Fall/Thanksgiving. But I'm finished waiting. So tomorrow I'm going to recruit the family for some good old fashioned Christmas decorating.  I know the kids will be eager to dig into everything, but the hubby? eh, probably not so eager. But he follows directions ♥ and will grumble and moan and eventually get it done. :) Yeah!!  I re-crafted (not so sure that's a valid word, but it fits my meaning well) a Fall/Thanksgiving decoration into a Christmas decoration. I'm so absolutely tickled happy about it, I'm going to take pictures tomorrow morning and post it. :o) I know, I'm very sharing of the crafts this week.  I love my new re-crafted deco. And I'll have to tell you why I love it even more than normal tickle-love tomorrow--it has to do with my two neighbors and a little unofficial contest we have going....hehe!! I'll tell you about tomorrow.

Oh So Thankful...crafty gifts

I just wanted to post a quick how-to for an adorable-ness 'thankful' gift. You could make them for people at work, teachers, a centerpiece for a table, neighbors...just about anybody you need to say "I'm thankful for you".

These yummy little 'cornucopias' are made from waffle cones, melted chocolate, sprinkles and some chex mix.  Sorry about not taking step-by-step pictures. I didn't think of it until after.

I made almost 100 of the gems for a November Teacher Appreciation gift for my kids' school.

If you can't tell by the fabulous photography, I'll tell you how:  Melt the chocolate in a double broiler. Gently roll about 1/4 in of the top of the waffle cone in the chocolate. Shake off any excess.  Roll the waffle in sprinkles/colored sugar of your choosing.  Place on wax paper to set the chocolate. Once they are set, fill with Chex Mix (either homemade or store bought--its all yummy).  Wrap the cornucopias in clear cellophane bags, tied with match-y ribbon and feathers.

Here are few of the cones in the teacher's boxes at school.  I really like being a secret gift-giver--even though I think my secret is out...   :o)  The orange tag says "Here's a 'thankful treat 'cuz we know these little turkeys can drive you crazy."  I think they are sweet and thoughtful. (if I do say so myself. And I did.) ♥

Waiting on Pictures

So. Right. I'm waiting on 453 pictures to download. It's a little much. My mom takes lots of pictures--she's got a wonderful little camera that holds vast amounts of picture data. Lots and lots. But she hardly ever, never downloads them to her computer. They just stay in limbo on her camera card. :( sigh

And today is the day chosen for me to sit and wait on the download. Happy me! I think I'll post some of the better ones later. If there is a later....