big bumper blog of december daily doings

more xmassy ATCs anyone? ok, be a sport and say, "YES" because if you don't, the rest of this post falls a bit flat. thanks! here ya go:

dd07:

a day that i had lunch with my friend josh, during which the primary topic of conversation was the upcoming doctor who christmas show. obviously. because that's how we roll! :0

dd08:

a doodle/stencil/lettering creation that i made in honor of our current "sisters with heart in art" prompt which is "holiday symbolism".

dd09:

i spent wednesday afternoon at paper anthology in kenvil, nj, teaching a super-fun class with a bunch of especially lovely ladies! we made three holiday cards using various techniques with colorburst pigment powders. the big snowburst is an extra panel from one of them, which featured emboss-resist and some suuuuuuuuuuuuper loose stamping. it's folded into a pocket that holds the blue panel which is a combination of a few shades of blue, diluted and mixed with a (homemade) colorburst mist. 

dd10:

on thursday, we went to the best memorial service i've ever attended. which sounds SOOOOOOOOOOO WRONG, doesn't it? but the honoree was 97, lived the most wonderful and adventurous life you can imagine, and was only poorly for about the last two months of that. you know how it's fashionable to say that a service is the celebration of person's life? well, this one really was exactly that. 

bon voyage, betty, you will be remembered and missed!

♥♥♥

dd11:

earlier this week we met up with our friends the carsons for dinner and to check out the annual gingerbread contest at peddlers' village in lahaska, pa. as always, the creations were ♥AMAZING♥ and i was inspired to try to re-create one of my faves as a tiny atc-sized painting. i kind of like the results, but WOW... working this small is hard, people!!! 

miniaturist painters of the world, i salute you!!!

sanity is *probably* pretty dull...

...at least i imagine it would be; i'd have no way of knowing, obviously! ;) but at the moment, december daily is ♥FUN♥ so i'm just gonna keep on keepin' on until it isn't. maybe it'll be 25 days, maybe just the next week, who can say? meanwhile:

dd05:

a day on which we did nothing xmassy, but my friend kim came for a rare and treasured overnight visit, during which we talked until we were hoarse, watched the magnificently adorable "shaun the sheep" movie, and ate a truly embarrassing amount of indian food. the perfect saturday, basically! ♥♥♥

dd04:

so my BIL bought a plain, undecorated, pre-lit wreath in the after-xmas sales last year. a plain, undecorated, FIVE FOOT wreath. $55 worth of michaels-had-xmas-decor-70%off-last-weekend stems and garlands later, it looked like this. (the wreath model is my sister amie, who is about 5'2"; the wreath is kind of angled b/c in addition to being BIG it's quite heavy; luckily i'm decor, not logistics; my BIL and bro were in charge of hanging it in the window of their vaulted-ceilinged foyer. coincidentally i chose to not use anything *breakable* on this particular wreath. ...no reason...)

dd06:

sunday's weather was absolutely ♥GLORIOUS♥ here in central nj, so we headed over to jeff's godfather's christmas tree farm, which is always a fun day out! (btw, i love how the sunshine seems to be emanating from the punched hole for the book ring. totally serendipitous but it makes me grin every time i see it!) 

ps: yes, i know the days are out of order, because i wanted shaun to be at the top. i mean... i love my sister... 

but he's SHAUN THE SHEEP!!! :) :) :)

may have actually lost my mind

i decided with regret --but very sensibly-- in the middle of november that i was not going to do "december daily" this year because of time constraints. so what did i do tuesday night??! made an ATC-sized december daily minibook. obviously. oh well, sleep is over-rated, right?

 the cover

vintage sheet music, glittery colorburst mini-ornament, thickers, a doily... your basic laureny tool kit right there! :)

dd01:

about our jacquie lawson advent calendar, something my entire multi-generational family has enjoyed for the last 3 or 4 years; the tiny pic is an image from this year's version, the background is a vintage illustration.

dd02:

we made our annual pilgrimage to toys-r-us in honor of toys for tots. jeff and i have done this for a number of years and we always love it! again a vintage paper base with a current photo on top.

(tomorrow, 12/6, is the deadline for donating new unwrapped toys, which can be left at any toys-r-us location nationwide, plus hundreds of other local businesses; you can also give cash online via TRU or the toys for tots website until 12/24.)

dd03:

kind of a funky day. my mom's very close and longtime friend betty died a couple of weeks ago --at the age of 97!!!-- (she was nearly a whole generation older than my mother) and my mom is in charge of packing up her apartment, taking care of her bequests, etc, so on thursday we tackled the christmas decor, some books, and a few other bits and bobs; not what you'd call a "happy" occasion, except that betty's life was so full of wonderful travels and adventures that we can't help but marvel... and hope that we will leave as many friends with fond memories! 

♥♥♥