Happy Holidays to you all

With the Celebrations close at hand and the arrival of out of town guests,I am finding that they are so many small details that need attention.

I would like to wish you all a Safe and Happy Holidays!

Hope to share with you all again in the New Year!

"Christmas Around the World"

What a Holiday treat for Digital Scrapbookers!

"Christmas Around the World" is a collaboration of digital designers from around the world spreading the Holiday Cheer,the kits will be available for FREE download from December 10th thru the 16th.

Even if you are not a digital Scrapper..within the kits you will find many elements from the contribution of 78 designers that would work so well for those Holiday Hybrid projects or layouts.

Three Cheers to all the talented digital artists that contributed to this project!!

And a big Thanks to Kim for bringing this project to life.

Remember they are only available for one week...so stop on by and pick out your favorites while still available.

(a little sneak peek of three of the kits contributed by MooTwo Designs and

ScrappyCats Designs )

"Christmas Around the World Kits"

Dress up those packages

Wrapping Paper Jean Marie

box by Craft ideas

Tags by Jessica Acs

Martha's Ribbon

Decorations are up,the tree is trimmed and the holiday shopping is in full force.

Instead of the traditional wrapping paper that is found in your local stores ,why not take the time to give those holiday gifts a special touch of your own.

A few ideas that I came across that I found helpful.

A tutorial by Martha Stewart to help give you the perfect bow every time.

And of course we need some cute little Christmas tags to add to our beautiful ribbons.

Here is a tutorial by Jessica Acs for some Holiday tags courtesy of iScrap that really add to the holiday spirit of your packages.

How about your own little gift box for that special little Holiday treat that you would like to share .While you are visiting check out all the other fun projects that are available for your viewing at Craft ideas lots of Holiday Inspiration to be found.

One of my favorite sites Country Living has some helpful ideas for Holiday packaging and wrapping

My personal favorite is to stamp onto plain Crafting paper with my Holiday Stamps,add a touch of ribbon and you have added not only your own personal touch to your gift but also to the wrapping.

Some other wonderful Holiday ideas may be found on these sites....Have fun!

Autumn Photo Challenge

Today,is the last day for the Autumn Photo Challenge hosted by

Deanne Burton's "Autumn Photos Blog Spot".

Out of a list of 50 I managed to commit myself to 30..not to bad for a first time challenge.

Still in the infant stages of learning how to become friends with my camera and all that it can do for me ,I thought this would be a good beginning.

I learnt a few thing by the end of this challenge...the most important...make sure I had my camera with me and ready to go...you just never know when a photo op...will reveal itself to you.

As I looked thru the list...I was very excited to try Challenge #5 ,birds flying South.

I live directly under the migrating path of the birds flying down from the North Country and look forward to the sound of their calls to each other as they fly over in search of the many fields and ponds that are located in my area. Here they will rest for a time span as they gather to make the long journey South.

The tricky part of this particular challenge was all in the timing and the weather,they like to pass over my house,very early in the morning under the cover of fog..which is plentiful here in the fall.

Thinking that I may have missed my chance ...I heard them coming from a distance and knew from the sound they where many and would be in pattern.

The Geese were flying low and the sky was clear,with a couple of snaps in a moment I had my shot.

The most challenging for me was #14 dancing leaves..the trees in my yard had reached full color and they where calling for rain...not only did it rain but a wind blew in so strong that I knew my trees would be bare soon...I waited for the rain to take a brief break and was able to catch many shots of the leaves in my yard dancing about.

The photo I submitted for this challenge is my favorite because the leaves seem to be just hanging in the air.

Participating in this challenge has helped me to look at the world around me a little bit closer...little details that you would otherwise overlook ,in a second reveal another side.

I am looking forward to future challenges by Deanne and hope that in time the quality of my shots will improve and I will be able to complete all the photo challenges on the list.

If you would like to see my photos for the Challenge you may view them here.

And if you have the chance check out the participants of this challenge and there interpretations,you may find links to them here .Well done Ladies!!

And a big Thanks to Deanne for taking the time to host this fun and inspiring challenge.

I would recommend anyone to give this a try not only is it fun ,it is a great learning experience.

Traditional Advent Calendar

Growing up in our house we always had an Advent calendar to help count down the four Sundays before Christmas.

Times have changed and so have the many types of Calendars that may be found to help count down the days before Christmas.

With a tutorial located in the tutorial Section of iScrap designed by Jessica Acs,

My advent Calendar was easy and fun to make.

I used coloring book pages scaled to size for my pocket covers, and traditional advent activities located on the web to my tags with some fun activities scattered in the mix.

Glitter Gel pens to add some glitz.

Lots of fun and easy to make project..so many possibilities to make this tutorial work for your personal Holiday celebrations.

Holiday Craft Inspiration

As the Holiday season is upon us,many extra tasks are added to our everyday normal routine,

and the stress level begins to rise.

For me unwinding at the end of the day,consists of heading to my craft room to create.

With not much time allowed for large projects ..I search the web for simple and fun holiday inspiration to get me in the spirit.

Here are a few that I have come across and would like to share.

INSTRUCTIONS

candy cane vase

snowmen gift cans

Candy Wreath

Santa Advent Calender

Paper Crafts

Happy Thanksgiving