Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

The time is almost upon us. Gift exchanging with friends at work. Surprising some who weren't expecting a gift; that's something I enjoy: when you give because you want to, not because you have to. I'm giving lots of handmade gifts this year. And they're bringing lots of smiles and I can see true appreciation for something that was created just for them.

I am feeling the holiday spirit more this year than I usually do. Maybe that's the effect two-year-olds have on you. I have had fun picking out present for my little curly-haired dynamo. I will enjoy wrapping them as I think about how happy he will be when he unwraps them.

I am also looking forward to a little creative time over the holidays to make some journals and play with paint and collage bits. My journal inventory is down to almost zero so it is time to start replenishing it.

Happy Holidays to all!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

The never-ending To-Do List

One of the tunes that plays in my head regularly is "busy, so busy..." from a Thomas & Friends movie (occupational hazard of having a two-year-old boy obsessed with a fictional train), but right now it is an applicable soundtrack for my life. And so the annoying little song reminds me that there are about three hundred and eighty-seven things that I need/want/have to get done....ASAP! Because they are TIME-SENSITIVE. So if I don't get them done on or before a certain date, I might as well just skip them!

Here's a little run-through of all that I need to accomplish in the next week or so:
1. Make Bingo Books for my last craft show of the year this weekend (it's at Central Presbyterian Church at 39th & Grand in Des Moines in case you're out & about and want to say hi). Luckily this is something simple that I can do in a few steps, because I've got this Bingo Book thing down to a science. This morning I picked out the papers for the inside covers, tonight I'll glue them, and tomorrow I will put together ten little Bingo Books.
2. Create a Christmas card. Now that I am the parent of an extraordinarily adorable child (no, I'm not bragging, just stating an undeniable fact here, folks), I feel obliged to send out a photo Christmas card to friends, family, and a bunch of people I know but rarely, if ever, talk to anymore just so they can see how cute my kid is....isn't this why people send photo Christmas cards? I mean, honestly?
3. Finish Christmas shopping. I like shopping for art supplies and toys for my little guy. But I detest Christmas shopping. I am an avid and guiltless regifter when possible (i.e. when I can get away with it!). I also have three wonderful friends who have December birthdays who tend to get neglected because of Christmas, even though I have the intention every year to send them a unique, handmade gift. Probably not gonna happen.
4. Clean my house. Okay, this one's optional. However, I did promise that I would clean out the little pantry closet in our kitchen as well as the red hutch where I have a slight tendency to stack my magazines, mail, books, supplies, toys, batteries, mittens, keys.....and well, you get the idea. The "red thing" in our kitchen is a deep source of irritation for my beloved. So is the little pantry closet, which is just full of fun things that I've shoved in there, except I can't remember what all I've shoved in there so I can never find those things when I want them.
5. Update my etsy shop. It has been sadly neglected these past few months due to a slightly hectic craft show schedule. Now that my last show will soon be over and done with, I need to get some fresh inventory in my shop.
6. December Daily! Some of you might be familiar with this fun project, from Ali Edwards. I did a good job of putting my foundation together in advance, but I find myself falling behind with the "daily" part. And I feel the inclination to share the Daily on this blog, if ever I could snap some pics of it and upload them for your viewing pleasure. Because I just know that you, my multitude of readers, are all dying to see it. Right.
So, that's what I'm thinking about. In between trying to complete the above tasks, my mission to defend the Christmas tree from the little boy and the cat continues. They're ahead, three to nothing.