Christmas is Over!

Christmas is over! All that fuss, and it is over in less than 24 hours. The eating marathon, as my step-son said on Christmas Eve, was awesome! We always have a traditional Italian Christmas Eve and Christmas day dinner. (My mother was born in Italy.) Christmas Eve dinner consists of an antipasto platter and deep-fried smelts. Next comes a traditional soup made of roasted chestnuts and garbonzo beans. When I was a kid, I called it “dirty dishwater” soup because of its dark brown color. Delicious! Then pasta with calamari sauce and salad. In my household, salad is always the last course. I know, it confuses people. On Christmas day, we have the antipasto platter again, wedding soup, pasta again, some sort of meat roast (pork, beef, or ham), and salad. After dinner a fruit bowl and nuts are offered for dessert plus torrone (almond nougat candy made in Italy) and whatever other sweet might be available. And wine…plenty of home-made wine at both meals. No Italian dinner is ever complete without the vino! All that fuss and cooking, and it is over. But it was awesome!

The day after Christmas is always such a let down. If it were up to me, every day would be Christmas. I can’t believe that I have to start thinking about taking down my decorations. I just finally got them all up. This time of year is my favorite, but it is way too short. The anticipation of the holiday lasts for weeks, and then it seems as if it is over in a matter of minutes.

We had all of our children here for Christmas, but only one of the grandchildren. One was with her mom this year. But that is okay, we will make up for it next year, and besides…who said you can only open presents on December 25? The Spirit of Christmas should last all year, so we can surely make it last a few more days until our other grandchild is with us.

I got a little shopping in yesterday. It was heartbreaking to see some of the sweaters I bought as gifts on sale for 40% off. But for the most part, I found one or two good bargains. I mainly had to return a shirt I purchased for my husband that he said was too small, but I thought it was a perfect fit. So I exchanged it, and found a gift or two for myself with my gift money.

And in the midst of the last-minute preparations for the holiday, I got two cards stamped on Christmas Eve day. One is a simple thank you card I made for a few of my students who gave me gifts, and another is a Mother’s Day card for lack of not knowing what else I could stamp. That’s another sad part about Christmas being over…now what do I stamp?! I love making Christmas cards, and I still have to send a few. Or maybe I will save them for next year, and send cards saying “Thinking of you.”

Here are the cards.

Here’s what I used on this card.

Another Thank You photopolymer stamp set 133454

Endless Wisher photopolymer stamp set 133455

Whisper White Card Stock 100730

Island Indigo Card Stock 122923

Island Indigo Classic Ink 126986

Coastal Cabana Classic Ink 131175

Rhinestones Basic Jewels 119246

On this card I used…

Island Indigo Card Stock 122923

Very Vanilla Card Stock 101650

Venetian Romance Designer Series Paper 130144

Tangerine Tango Classic Ink 126946

Island Indigo Classic Ink 126986

Everything Eleanor Stamp Set 131987-w/124164-c

Chalk Talk Framelits Dies 129983

Fancy Fan Embossing Folder 177751

Pearl Basic Jewels 119247

Island Indigo Ribbon (no longer available)

So there you have what I accomplished on the day before Christmas in addition to all of that cooking. It has been a while since my last post, but this time you got two for the price of one. 🙂 Until next time…

Happy Stamping!

Josie

A Few Things

Well, I’ve been a busy girl this week. I managed to get a few projects done between working and grading papers. The first card I’d like to share is a butterfly card I made. I made it because it reminds me of spring. Lord, it would be nice if we HAD a spring. We had another blizzard warning this week, but again no snow thus no SNOW DAY. Because we had no snow day, I participated in a little spiritual resistance on Thursday and wore jeans to work. Yes, it was noticed by many since the staff is only allowed to wear jeans on Fridays. But I promised everyone that mentioned it that I’d wear a dress on Friday. Guess what? I wore jeans again! LOL!

Anyway, here’s the butterfly card I made.

Here’s what I used on this card.

Crumb Cake Card Stock 120953

Calypso Coral Card Stock 122925

Island Indigo Card Stock 122923

So Saffron Card Stock 105118

Tea for Two Designer Series Paper 129311

Soft Sued Classic Ink 126978

En Francais Background Stamp 109521

Elegant Butterfly Punch 127526

Scallop Edge Border Punch 119882

Pearls Basic Jewels 119247

The next item I’d like to share is a Mother’s Day card that I made using only the artisan Embellishments kit found in the current Spring Catalog. Here it is.

Here’s what I used to make this card

Very Vanilla Card Stock 101650

Tea for Two Designer Series Paper 129311

Artisan Embellishments Kit 129328

Island Indigo Classic Ink 122923

Early Espresso Classic Ink 126974

Pearls Basic Jewels 119247

Oh, Hello Stamp Set 130730 (w) or 130733 (c)

Very Vintage Wheel 117693

Finally, as I’ve been preparing for my retirement from teaching and cleaning out my desk at work, I came across a folder of memorabilia consisting of little notes from students that I’ve had over the past 16 years. I though a great way to preserve them would be to put them in Stampin’ Up!’s Epic Day This and That Book. Here’s the photo of the cover I decorated and then following that are two photos of the current promotion for the Epic Day This and That Bundle that is available until April 30th.

Here is what comes with the bundle. Just click on the images to enlarge them.

If you are interested in ordering the Epic Day This and That Bundle, click on the shop on-line button on the right of this post. It will take you directly to my online store.

Well, I hope you enjoyed your visit today.

Until next time…

Happy Stamping!

Josie