I’ve got a full schedule today! So for now, get cozy – grab some cocoa and just enjoy the warm glow of our Christmas Tree.
Leanne the Photographer
The Tree
December
13
2005
The Giant Snowflake
December
12
2005
I upgraded my graphic program lastnight, I use PSP (Paint Shop Pro) formerly owned by JASC, now owned by Corel. I upgraded to PSP X (10.0), which has even more features and buttons that I need to play with. hehe! They have a couple of other programs I’m eyeballing as well. A small indiscreet program, Corel Painter Essentials, was tucked away in the folder and I doodled for a bit lastnight with my wacom tablet. I was like a kid in a candy store, playing with my new toys!
I took the girls Christmas portrait yesterday morning, it turned out really beautiful and looks so good I felt like a professional photographer for a day. I’m excited to finally work on our Christmas cards and get those out in the mail!
I resketched the dog portrait (that black poodle, Joey) yesterday, too. I plan to paint today in my small two-hour window of opportunity, so I’d better get ready for it, it comes and goes in the blink of an eye.
Happy Monday – only 12 more days until Christmas Eve!
Family Flick Night
December
11
2005
(I took this photo at Sea World last Spring.)
The Red Violin was interesting, and confusing, and interesting again. In the end, I liked it very much, guessed what he found out (not to give it away), and was glad the movie ended the way it did.
All in all, it was another good Family Flick night. How is your weekend going?
Happy Eggs : Good Eats
December
10
2005
This morning, while Chickeymonkey was cracking eggs for our morning scramble, our eggs made a face at us! I am hoping this is a good sign for our day and weekend, I’ve got some things to do as I’ve now volunteered for something that will cause me to virtually magically disappear for a few days. I’m not sure what I was smokin’ at the time I volunteered, but it must have been some good stuff since my head is still spinning!
I was very housewifey yesterday, did the grocery shopping, threw a wonderful and huge pot roast in the crock pot with some chopped veggies, balanced the checkbook (gulp – 4 months worth – I was behind!), paid some bills, and made some Peppermint Crunch cookies. I was hugely disappointed when I checked my roast after a few hours, I pulled a piece off to see how tender it was and I’d have sworn I was chewing on a tire scrap. WTH? I may very well be a failure as a cook, but as Lisa is my witness, I’m a damn fine baker!
After a few more hours in the crock though, it was falling apart and I felt better. It still wasn’t going to be edible in time for dinner though, so we ate out lastnight. After dinner, we stopped over at Blockbuster and purchased the new release “Fantastic Four” and it was so good! I usually don’t like that kind of stuff but it was really entertaining for all four of us snuggled up on the couch on mounds of pillows in our jammies and under blankets, nice and cozy. 🙂
We picked up The Red Violin (Lisa raves about it so I have to see it!), March of the Penquins (bought it), and a few others for weekend viewing. It should be a nice (warm, indoors, away from the icky cold snow outside) weekend!
Shiny Horse
December
9
2005
In addition to the “ornament of the day”, I’d like to thank everyone for playing in yesterday’s TT. Although I haven’t gotten to everyone yet, I will, and I want you to know how much it makes me smile to know that this little meme has brought so many new friends together. Thanks for joining in and making it what it has become.
Happy Friday!
Silver & Gold
December
6
2005
Now, here’s my annual Make-a-Flake plug, because it’s fun.
Homemade Ornaments
December
5
2005
Every year, we make dough ornaments. This is one from the first year we made them, Caitybug and I, obviously Chickeymonkey was too little (she definitely looks like her nickname!). I have heart cookie cutters, a whole set of them that nest into one another, so we rolled the dough and cut a little heart inside of a big heart, then we used a straw to make holes where we hung them with pipe cleaners. We painted them, sealed them with glitter glue, attached the image to the back and covered the back with fancy colored foil (sheets from the art store) to reflect the lights on the tree. It was so much fun, a project that you remember from year to year because it hangs right in front of you. The acrylic craft paints available make it even more fun now, they’ve added metallics, iridescents, all kinds of different paints to choose from. They even make great gifts, straight from the heart (oven)!
Needless to say, I need to get on the ball in making this years ornaments.
How to make dough for ornaments:
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup water
Knead, add more flour to make it really doughy if needed, sprinkle water to make it more pliable as needed. Roll on very lightly floured surface, cut shapes using regular cookie cutters of your choice, bake at 250 for 2 hours.
Ho Ho Ho!
December
4
2005
In the early 90’s, hubby and I lived out in the San Diego area. Between wars (Desert Storm, Desert Shield), we were able to spend a Christmas together there before moving back to this frozen tundra. His mom had a ceramic shop back then, and shipped a box of blank ornaments for us to paint. Santa was my project, he’s a little guy (fits in the palm of my hand) but I took great care in painting him, drybrushing the dark shadows in his beard, giving him rosy cheeks and bright blue eyes. He’s worn over the years, and paint has chipped away. We still have all of those ornaments, dinged up as they are.
This one has a very special place on the tree. He sits near the top, but not too close to the top, so he doesn’t distract from the top of the tree – which has it’s own meaning and order to us. I’ll show you that soon. 🙂
O’ Little Town of Bethlehem
December
3
2005
Another ornament from our tree, this one is a beautiful depiction of Bethlehem. I received this from my hubby’s mom years ago (it’s dated 2000). It’s 18K gold, the gold is paper thin which makes this an extremely delicate piece. It’s about 3 inches tall, 2 1/2 inches wide or so, and about 1/2 inch deep, designed like a shadowbox. The north star is its own piece and hangs from the top center of the arch. It’s hard to see all the details of this piece, but the photograph captured the mood that the ornament brings to the tree so I didn’t want to modify it at all for the sake of detail.
It’s quite lovely, I actually keep this one out all year.
Now that I’m sharing my ornaments, will you be sharing yours? Tell me about your favorite ornaments as I post mine for you, and let me know if you post any pics of them on your own blog, would you? 🙂
