handmade with love...

thanks to ranjini over at scrapologie, i was able to make these adorable vintage images into gifts for my mom and sisters...thank you for sharing your work, ranjini! (and the project inspiration came from here). so i just printed these on cardstock and mounted them on patterned paper and chipboard; added embellishments and made the hanger out of star garland...can't wait to give these gifts tonight. merry christmas!

it's a marshmallow world!

"Snow provokes responses that reach right back to childhood."(Andy Goldsworthy)

it's beautiful...and it's falling right now!

little signs of the season

my much loved "santa's whiskers" candle...

and last, but certainly not least - a darling little vintage repurposed tree (is that a bed spring or what - does anyone know?)

it was a blur...

when i say the k family christmas was a blur - i mean it literally! somehow the dial on my camera was tweaked and the best shots of the day were like this:

oh, well. i love these photos anyway and didn't stress about it as i would have several years ago. the photo below shows the albums i made for todd's parents and sister.

made with love

this project was my gift to todd's parents and his sister; and today i made one for us to keep...i just copied the photos on to cardstock as i like that look. below is our copy - the ones for family were each slightly different.

blizzards, old books, and snow angels

i's snow angel from a few weeks ago; now there would not be grass showing through.

if you've never experienced a true blizzard, it's hard to imagine in many ways. it is incredibly cozy to be "snowed in"...but there's also serious risk if you are traveling or need emergency care. in town, it does not appear as significant as it does in open country - where you can hardly see a thing and the winds are whipping snow around in a frenzy of white. today, almost all activity has ceased here - the malls and stores are closed; no church services or any of the usual scheduled activities.

yesterday, we celebrated the k family christmas. i received this little set of old books...they are just beautiful! this set was published in the 1890s...

more thrift store beauty

a lovely old xmas ornament - in all its tarnished beauty

i was thrilled to find these italian made vintage clip on ornaments...

and even old tubes of partially used glitter look wonderful wrapped in tulle!

**vintage swap finds**

wrapping these little swap gifts today was a pleasure. some of these are for this and some are for another gift exchange...i love preparing these at least as much as getting my own box in the mail.