Holiday Hum Drums

Has the stress started yet? I do know a few people in my family that haven't even started thinking about Christmas yet.... come on people it's only 2 weeks away. We hit the big warehouse store today and got a few things for our open house on Christmas Eve. I think DH said we spent more in this one trip than we did the entire month last month but I have a good start on the fix'ens. I even started looking through my gift pile to see what I still had to make before the big day. I still have a couple of hats and wrist warmers, dish cloths and a few hot pads. We'll see if I get to the dish towels.....maybe that will be a plan for next year.

So how are you doing? Have you made all your big plans, traveling or staying at home?

I do have a new item for Christmas this year, it is a notebook/journal with pictures by DH and myself from our travels. If you need a quick gift for someone, there it is. You can order it directly from Blurb and get it within about 5 to 7 days so there is still time.

A Penny for your Thoughts by Dana and Paul James | Make Your Own Book

I'm thinking next year of doing one of my paintings as a weekly calendar although I like the idea of the notebook as it isn't date specific and you can use it for just about anything. I do still have a recipe book of DH's moms favorite dishes in mind to do. I know the family would enjoy that one. Ideas?

It's been Christmas Party after party for the past week. Saturday we went to our gem and mineral club's annual party... lots of good food, awards, gift exchange and the new officer installation. It's always a fun time. We also have an ornament contest and unfortunately I didn't win again... :-( I made these great little bird nest ornaments with gemstones as the eggs. They were fun.

We have one more party this coming Wednesday which will be a little different as we haven't attended one from this group before. They have a white elephant auction for charity, so that should be a riot. I'll be sure to take a few pictures.

I'm currently trying to get my classes scheduled for next year at Shipwreck Beads and new classes written up. I've already submitted one new class which is the Falling Leaves Bracelet.... tutorial was posted last month. Other than that, I'll still offer my Standard Gem Tree, Pine Tree and Holiday Tree. New tree classes that I'll be writing up is the Crystal Willow and maybe the Lace Leaf Maple. I've had students interested in learning them so I guess I should get busy.

Stay sane and safe. If the stress gets too bad just have a glass of wine and watch a good holiday movie.