2015 CIJ Ornament Swap

This years Magical Holiday Home Ornament swap was no disappointment. Lots and lots of thought and work goes into each years ornament choices. We sign up in January and have until Mid June to complete our ornaments. You pick one, ponder your choice and then go another route. Sometimes more then once. This year I was trying to use up supplies I had on hand and ended up with several different choices, but ended up with scrabble ornaments. It wasn't my most creative choice, but I do like how they came out and hope my friends enjoyed them. Some were personalized with their name, others said things like Santa, Joy or Snow. 

Now here are the amazing ornaments I received in my box. 

A stuffed and hand painted snowman. 

A gingerbread cookie cutter.... LOVE! 

A felt Elf

A candy cane horse

A quilted medallion... 

(sorry, I don't know the official word for it...LOL)

A stained glass piece of holly... 

My first thought was WOW...that does not look easy. 

A cinnamon stick Christmas tree. 

A star made out of clothes pins. 

This ornament is an Eye Spy game. She attached the list and inside the light bulb was a bunch of little mini things to find.  This one is perfect for kids in the family. 

I spy a button and a bell...

Paper curls inside a glass ornament. This one had to have taken a wee bit of time. Probably more patience than I have. 

A twig and ribbon tree. Such a simple idea, but yet super cute! 

Now, you might of not been making ornaments in Spring, but have you thought about ornaments you might like to make for this coming year. Trust me when I say, early is better. The hobby stores will start carrying supplies soon and time will pass you by before you know it. Start scoping out Pinterest now and get that board going.  Don't forget to have a Happy Christmas in July!

Christmas in July Day 3: Patriotic Christmas Trees on a Budget

It's down to the wire here at home, but I'm determined I'm getting this post done before midnight here in Denver. I'll admit, I started working on it earlier today and was side tracked. And when I say sidetracked, I mean SIDETRACKED. While searching for patriotic themes, I came across some patriotic wedding theme ideas, that stopped me in my tracks. I had to save them for my daughter and that ended up taking a huge chunk out of my afternoon. I do plan on sharing those idea boards at a later date, so let's get busy with today's Patriotic Christmas trees.

One of my most popular post in the past, was a 4th Of July post about Patriotic Christmas Trees. I'll admit, if I could have endless Christmas trees, one of them would be themed in Red, White and Blue, with all kinds of presidential and patriotic themed ornaments. I've seen some beautiful ornaments, but most are super expensive. After 9/11 I did put together my attempt at a patriotic tree, however it was on a budget. I used a white tree I already owned, transformed some blue ornaments from Christmas in the past and added some star die cuts from the dollar store. It wasn't as fancy, but it was perfect! Thinking about that today, got me thinking about how you can put together a patriotic tree on a budget.


By just using lights or garland, you can transform a white tree or  green tree perfectly.

This tree takes it a bit further in details, but limits the decorations to lights, bulbs and poinsettias. Personally I love it!

Think small! Little details can often make all the difference. This tree uses curly ribbon in red, white and blue and I think it's fabulous.

Make your own paper star garland or red, white and blue paper chains.

Using lights outside, can be just as simple and effective in making a statement.

I know not all families choose to have a themed tree and not all families have more then one tree. This holiday junkie just happens to have to many themes to count and probably would have more, if I could. However, switching it up once every few years, can be fun for the entire family. Get the kids involved. Have them make some homemade ornaments. You'll be surprised at how such a simple change can bring some extra sparkle into your holiday. 



Side note: I do not own these photos. I do apologize for not having more links to original sites. The majority of these pics, took me no when when I tried to link on Pinterest. So if you are the owner of these photos, feel free to notify me and I'll get the information added. 

Christmas with Norman Rockwell

I was reading an article today about a Norman Rockwell exhibit opening today, at the LDS Church history museum in Utah. It reminded me of a Christmas book my daughter bought for me a few years ago, that was titled with Norman Rockwell. My copy is dated 1977 and shows a bit of wear on the outer jacket.

It's not your typical Christmas book, with crafts and recipes, it's more like a compilation book of great stories, poems, music and photos from some great classics. It has writings from William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott and many more. In addition to all the writings, it has 95 Norman Rockwell pictures. When I pulled out the book, I realized, like many I've grown up seeing the photos of Norman Rockwell, but not really knowing the story or Norman Rockwell. So my goal tonight was to look up some history and research some of his Christmas paintings. I've come to the conclusion, I enjoy his silly side. I enjoy those silly moments in life he represents. Here are a few examples.

 

To me, these really represent the love and smiles that seem to flow at Christmas.

Some of my choices are repeated, but here's a wonderful slide show, that shows a large portion of his Christmas collection.

In Stockbridge, Massachusetts, his hometown, they even do a life like recreation every year of his famous painting "Stockbridge, Main Street at Christmas". You can also visit the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, where they house the largest collection of his work. 

If you'd like to learn more about "America's Painter", here's a LINK to a great video from the Bio channel. 

And last, but not least, of course in today's society, fans can find ANYTHING on Facebook. So if you'd like a daily dose of Norman, you can join the Fan Page. 

Merry Christmas Bill Signed Into Law!!

Good job Governor Perry!!! Although Christmas has been recognized as a federal holiday since the 1870's, recently Texas school districts have been spending excessive time and money fighting court battles over how to express Christmas in the schools. These concerns even made it as far as the the Supreme Court, where such things were ruled permissible. I was very happy to read today that the Texas House and Texas Senate agreed this past week to sign HB 308. The new bill makes it clear that public schools and their staff are permitted to acknowledge and educate students about the historical and cultural roots of holidays such as Christmas, and Hanukkah and with school displays that can include Christmas Trees, Santa Clause, Reindeer, Menorahs, Nativity Scenes and more. My favorite quote came from Jonathan Saenz, attorney and President of Texas values "We hope that HB 308 will decrease the number of districts being naughty and increase the one's being nice". 

Here is the entire video of the signing, if you'd like to watch. 

If it wasn't so hot and humid in Texas, I might consider moving. It's starting to sound more appealing in so many ways!!

“We hope HB 308 will decrease the number of school districts being naughty and increase the one’s being nice,” said Jonathan Saenz, attorney and president of Texas Values.  - See more at: http://txvalues.org/2013/06/13/gov-perry-signs-merry-christmas-bill-into-law/#sthash.O9tdHTnS.dpuf

makes it clear that public schools and their staff are permitted to acknowledge and educate students about historic and cultural roots of important holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah and others, and with school displays that can include Christmas trees, a Menorah, a Nativity scene, Santa Claus, Reindeer and more. - See more at: http://txvalues.org/2013/06/13/gov-perry-signs-merry-christmas-bill-into-law/#sthash.O9tdHTnS.dpuf

makes it clear that public schools and their staff are permitted to acknowledge and educate students about historic and cultural roots of important holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah and others, and with school displays that can include Christmas trees, a Menorah, a Nativity scene, Santa Claus, Reindeer and more. - See more at: http://txvalues.org/2013/06/13/gov-perry-signs-merry-christmas-bill-into-law/#sthash.O9tdHTnS.dpuf

makes it clear that public schools and their staff are permitted to acknowledge and educate students about historic and cultural roots of important holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah and others, and with school displays that can include Christmas trees, a Menorah, a Nativity scene, Santa Claus, Reindeer and more. - See more at: http://txvalues.org/2013/06/13/gov-perry-signs-merry-christmas-bill-into-law/#sthash.O9tdHTnS.dpuf

makes it clear that public schools and their staff are permitted to acknowledge and educate students about historic and cultural roots of important holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah and others, and with school displays that can include Christmas trees, a Menorah, a Nativity scene, Santa Claus, Reindeer and more. - See more at: http://txvalues.org/2013/06/13/gov-perry-signs-merry-christmas-bill-into-law/#sthash.O9tdHTnS.dpuf

Happy 4th of July!!

We are going to combine the 4th of July and the 4th day of Christmas in July in this blog post today. To start, have any of you ever had a patriotic themed Christmas tree? I did have a red, white and blue themed tree one year after 9/11. I kept the ornaments for several years, but eventually we transformed them into Blue and Silver ornaments for a different look. 

After looking around, I think I've found the most PATRIOTIC tree ever...Check it out!

After a vote, the tree has officially be labeled the Stephen J. Colbert National Treasure Tree at Treetopia. It's on sale right now for $199.00. Tammy, you've been looking for a new tree...this may be it! 

If you want to start with a simpler base, then you can go with a basic Red or Navy Blue tree.

This Candy Cane tree might be a big hit with the kids! In fact, I think I like the red and white tree. It could be used for Valentines Day, 4th of July and Christmas. 

Here are some individual trees decorated with the American theme. 

Have a great 4th of July everyone and remember...

     "A good conscience is a continual Christmas...."
                                                 Benjamin Franklin