This week didn't turn out exactly as planned. My goal was to have my Christmas cards printed, packaged and ready for orders to start coming in. Turns out when mistakes in printing are made, it alters your whole plan... But the good news is, hopefully not by much! And sometimes the imperfect can be beautiful, too (just look at the latest Kinfolk issue!).
Therefore, I have added some cards to the shop. These are the slightly imperfect, not up to my standards yet, but still cute, cards. I'm selling them as samples for a discounted price. But I'm also perfecting the design and putting in an order for the final print soon- I've added a listing for pre-purchase for this final print. By pre-purchasing, you will reserve your order in the limited amount that I am printing before Christmas to make sure it gets to you in a timely fashion so you can do all your mailing early enough. You can order a single card, a pack of 4 or a pack of 8. Every pack contains an even number of each design.
And if you're not even thinking about Christmas yet, well, just keep in mind that it takes forever to mail anything from Canada and perhaps you will start thinking on it :)
You may have seen this little guy poking around instagram in his unfinished state, but I managed to finish this off yesterday morning and snapped a few more shots to show for it. I'm thinking ahead this year. I don't usually do that- generally, I'm a present or past thinker. I like memories and nostalgia so I often dwell on those, but this year I forced myself to think ahead when I was asked if I was going to do Christmas cards again. Upon a very small amount of thinking, I decided I was going to! I may be selling last year's designs, but it's time to expand beyond those, as well. So here it is: the first finished illustration for the Christmas season! All I need now is for a greeting to adorn the front of the card. Any suggestions?
I've been taking a break from the online world for a while. Both intentionally and unintentionally. We went back to the prairies for a week and my parents live in a very rural area which means slooow internet and no uploading! But I don't really view that as a bad thing. I've always enjoyed the slow pace of life that my family leads. There was a lot of family time that went on, a lot of gaming, puzzling (or the hope of puzzling...), wintering, hibernating, and enjoying. I managed to remember to capture a few shots of our time together- here are a few snippets into our trip.
This is the exact spot where we got married this summer. We hung those bottles and filled them with flowers. Now they hang filled with snow! Hard to believe it's the same spot!
And of course we had to get a little modelling in. It also happens to be the only shot I have of us this Christmas. Oops.
I've been so busy these past few days with Christmas art markets, last minute shopping and getting ready to travel, I haven't put much thought into taking pictures of life and I definitely haven't had time to work on any artwork. So painting updates will have to wait, unfortunately. I will have an update about the holiday art market after Christmas, which didn't necessarily turn out as we all hoped...but I think we all had fun and met some great people during the day! We ate a lot of avocado chocolate cookies, drank a LOT of chai and enjoyed the beautiful voice of Bre as she sang us some tunes. Erica from Eglantine Shines captured a few shots of the day which I will happily share later. Overall it was a fun experience and I was happy to meet new friends.
Today, as I get ready to fly home, I'm starting to get excited about all that being at home brings! I was looking through some old pictures from last year at Christmas and came across these two lovelies. A Christmas feast and presents galore! Going home means relaxation for me. It's a chance to enjoy my family's company. And it means a whole lot of games like Carcassonne! But I think what I'm most looking forward to is the candlelit Christmas Eve service at church. Every year there's something so beautiful and holy when the lights are out and the candles are lit and everyone is singing Silent Night. in unison. I think it's my favourite because in the end, I could care less about presents and traditions are constantly changing, but the birth of Christ is what we are continually preparing to celebrate during advent and it's the one thing that doesn't change in all of the holiday hubbub. During that time, I'm continually filled with a peace knowing that Christ has come and will come again... it's a beautiful thing.
I have been meaning to update all weekend and into this week! But Christmas is so busy! A good busy. Suddenly life feels very full and all kinds of fun things are happening. We got our very first Christmas tree (see this post) and set it up not too long after. My mom has given all of us sisters ornaments every year since we were small, so our tree is filled with memories already. I love putting on the lights at night and staring at the beauty of the sparkling tree. We've also been lighting lots of candles (as I mentioned earlier, I'm getting over the fear! It's a miracle) including the first advent candle on Sunday. We observe the advent tradition around here of lighting a candle each week to represent the waiting of Christ's birth. Although we are both big (and I mean BIG) into chocolate, somehow those cardboard chocolate advent calendars don't hold the same importance... This is my absolute favourite tradition.
On Monday, I had the chance to hop on over to my mother-in-law's house to do an annual Finnish tradition- gingerbread cookie making! Ok, maybe this isn't just a Finnish tradition, but it's new to me. We only ever made sugar cookies growing up and rarely made gingerbread. We ended up watching the holiday classic (at least for me and my sisters), Little Women and bonded over tea and Pulla- another Finnish delight. It was such a lovely afternoon and aren't the cookies so cute? I found the woodland creature cookie cutters at Ikea back in spring and have just been waiting to use them! I think the best part was decorating them after...I don't tend to ice cookies in a traditional manner. Let's just say, I came home with a bandit fox, moose with a cape and an bow-tie clad hipster gingerbread man!
Also, news to come tomorrow on some exciting events I'll be taking part in- stay tuned!
Look at my lovely pinecone garland. I was inspired in the midst of watching The Holiday on a Christmas whim other day. I looked over at my autumn pinecone decor sitting in a dish on my coffee table and knew they needed to be transformed into the beginnings of my wintery wonderland that is being created in our home! And while this is an easy little craft to do while watching a movie, I think it adds the perfect touch to our "mantle", so to speak.
I used the tutorial from The Sweetest Occasion though I didn't apply gold leaf. I had some antique gold paint on hand and it worked just fine. Since then, the hubby and I went on a Christmas shopping excursion and came home with an abundance of greenery- this register/mantle has since been added to and changed. More pictures of that to come later...but I hope that with these pictures, you are also inspired to create a simple winter delight.
I've been enjoying all the fun Christmas wrapping ideas out there and decided to try out some of my own. With a little help from photoshop, Michael's and Dollarama, I think I've created some pretty darn cute packages on an extremely tight budget!
And for your enjoyment and comfort in the frantic nature of the week before Christmas, I've designed an easy printable sheet of gift tags just for you! I can't take credit for the images, though. They come from the Graphics Fairy. Such cute images over there!
To download: Head over here, and download large size.
Hurrah! I am officially on holidays! I finished my last exam this morning and am now fully in holiday mode. So to celebrate, I would like to share with you my favourite things about the Christmas season (as it is one of my favourite celebrations! I think Easter and Valentine's day are in close comparison...) I've compiled some images/videos/recipes to go along with the list, so I hope you enjoy!
1. Celebrating the Saviour's birth! THE most important part of the season and the reason why we celebrate! He is the basis of Christianity and (as I heard in church on Sunday) the definition of reality:
"In the beginning was the Word (meaning Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men." John 1:1-4
2. Listening to Christmas Albums. I have a few favourites that I listen to every Christmas, without fail. My all time favourite album is "Home For Christmas" by Amy Grant! It brings back nostalgic memories of Christmas of years past. This year though, I have been enjoying:
a. "A Very She & Him Christmas" by She & Him- itunes download
3. Doing Christmas Crafts. Christmas crafting is such fun and so relaxing, especially when you don't have any exams left to worry about! I can't wait to try out making some of the crafts I've found on Pinterest such as these lovely ornaments from A Field Journal.
4. Doing Christmas baking/ eating sweets. I am all about anything sweet. I've got a sweet tooth like no other! I especially love any baked goods that I can whip up over the holidays. I'm excited to try out these Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies from The Cooking Photographer. And why not make a little Apple Cider to go with, like this recipe from A Beautiful Mess blog:
Needed: 4-5 cups apple juice, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 3 ounces spiced rum (optional), cinnamon sticks and apple slices to garnish.
In a small pot heat the apple juice, spices and rum (if using) over low/medium heat. Stir often while the mixture is heating so the spices will blend into the juice (you don't want any spice clumps). Once it's hot pour into two mugs and garnish with apple slices and cinnamon sticks.
5. And finally, I LOVE all of the outdoor fun in the snow! I can't wait to go, sledding, cross-country skiing, and skating! Hopefully, there is a big snowfall before Christmas. My fingers are crossed!
Wow. That was a loaded post. I guess it makes up for all of the times I haven't posted in the last few weeks! What are your top 5 favourite things about Christmas?
Yes. I realize that the majority of these are wool, appliqued and embroidered ornaments. But I also realize that they are incredibly cute and easy(er) to make than some out there. Somehow, the folklore theme seems to be attractive to me, as well. Once I have time to do crafty things again, I will definitely be whipping some of these up! Is that owl not the cutest little guy?
Yea, it's not Thrifty Tuesday, but I'm too excited to share my Christmas decor with you! It's only a little bit, but my sister and I went shopping at our local MCC thrift store and found an abundance of Christmas craft ideas. I followed the idea of this post and created a little garland for my window. You might notice in the picture, that we had a bit of a snowfall last night!
I also found this lovely wreath filled with ugly little pieces of wreath decorations which I promptly ripped off and put on my own decorations! That ribbon could probably use trimming (again, I was too eager to post!)
It's time to start thinking about that tree! That common symbolic icon of Christmas. I love it when the tree goes up. It makes me feel warm and cozy inside. I love the smell of pine needles and the fresh feeling a real tree brings. In my montage today, I've included ideas for real trees, but I also like the whimsical quality of the fake ones here. And for someone like me, living on a tight budget and in one small room, I may have to go with the bottom left option... Oh well, I can dream!
Yes, I realize I have never had a Thrifty Tuesday and therefore have no reason to have a special edition of it, but that's the way it goes around here. Every new idea is a special edition because it usually only stays for so long! I get bored easily, what can I say? But in the weeks leading up to Christmas, I would love to spread a bit of curated inspiration for a handmade Christmas! I am on a tighter than tight budget, so I'll take all the help I can get when it comes to decorating! To start it all off, why not try your hand on one of these fabulous Christmas garlands? They make me think of pretty vintage-y decor and then I start dreaming of Little Women, my favourite Christmas movie, and wish I was one of those girls... I sometimes catch myself living another life in my head. Don't judge me, please.
