In a Christmas mood

Tomorrow is the first of Advent. Wow, what on earth happened to this autumn? Where did November go so fast? I haven't even felt a touch of the usual November dreariness, although last week was very dark and dull. I spent most of that week at home with my sick little ones. To tell the truth, I haven't been feeling all that well either, we've had a rather bad cold which has surely taken its toll on oss. Anyway, tomorrow is the first of Advent, and I've got both my houses ready for it, with bright white stars in every window, wreaths on the doors and white hyacinths in cups and bowls here and there. It's the first year ever I have two houses to decorate, and even though it's tons of fun, I still wish there was only one house, and that we were settled in the farmhouse  instead of going back and forth between the houses, realising that the one thing you need when you're in one house is in the other one.

Still, tonight I'm sitting in front of a nicely sparkling fire in the farmhouse, listening to some wonderful Christmas music by Tommy Körberg (he has the most magnificent voice there is) and really getting in the mood. And while I'm in the mood, I thought I'd show you something a little bit Christmassy - a way to upcycle a dead plant to a decoration for Christmas.

I'm by no means a gardening wiz. Quite the contrary, I kill every plant I get in my hands, or onto my windowsill, that is. Like this olive tree. When the last leaf fell, and I realized that it probably hadn't got any water for at least a month, a little idea came to me. Why not make something funny out of it instead of throwing it away? So, I painted the whole tree white, put it in a wooden spool and sprayed it with Glimmer Mist Pearl to make it shimmer like a vampire in sunlight (yeah, I saw Breaking Dawn last night) Then I decorated it with snowflakes punched out of Graphic 45 papers and a chipboard sign, and now I can still keep it on my windowsill even though it's dead. Pretty nice, huh?

So, now I can keep killing plants without feeling bad about it... LOL. Everything I used (except for the tree itself) can be found at Scraplagret.

So, if you're in a Christmas mood too, and are working on your Christmas cards, why not checking out the ongoing Christmas card sketch challenge at the Riddersholm blog. This card is from this week's sketch.

 Just go here to find the sketch and to upload your card.

Have a very nice Saturday evening, and the very best first of Advent, everybody! Myself, I'll be spending tomorrow watching the kids taking swimming lessons, to start with. Then we will go out and have a Christmas meal with P's parents, and since it's also P's 40th birtday, there's all the more reason to celebrate.

A Christmas tag

Good evening, everyone!

Thank heavens it's Friday, at last. I've had a busy, a bit scary, but great week at work, with a really bad cold, a concert that I had to get out of because it was too loud to my infected ears, a parent-teacher conference after hours, a day in Kristianstad at the course in entrepreneurial teaching I'm taking (totally fun, but I got home way later than usual). Add an almost non-existing voice in trying to make oneself heard in a classroom with twenty-or-so teenagers, and some sleep deprivation to that ("someone" snoring, kids running around at night making noise and not putting out lamps after them etc) and there you have me now, Friday night, ready to tip over on the couch. Exhausted. Wishing the day had more hours. Wishing the weekend had more days, for that matter. And wishing my head didn't feel like it was about to burst. And the scary part of the week - let's not even go there.

Still, I'm trying to work up the energy (chocolate works, at least for a while) to write a short post here on the blog today, showing you a little Christmas tag I made last week, with supplies from Scraplagret.

The papers are Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium (yeah, I know, the first G45 stuff posted here in ages... I still love G45 to bits, I just haven't had the courage to work with their stuff since I failed so miserably in trying to get on their DT for a second round)

Here's the back of the tag. See that snowflake? I got that punch in my DT kit from Scraplagret, and I LOVE it! You can connect the snowflakes into garlands, but I think they are adorable using like this too, one at a time.

There. Now I'm off to fix something to eat. The kids ordered tacos tonight, so that's what we're getting. Spicy enough for me to feel the taste!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Christmas is closing in on us

And it's moving fast... I've no idea if I'm going to have time to make enough Christmas cards to send out to people this year, or if I will have to do like last year, and buy some. Anyway, this is a little box I altered using papers from the wonderful Christmas collection The Day Before from Riddersholm Design. I LOVE this collecrion.

In the little bubble on top of the lid, I have decorated with miniature Christmas trees, also made from patterned paper, and a whole lot of glitter.

So, that's it for today. We're preparing for a new school/work week, if my daughter is feeling OK tomorrow morning, that is. She has a sore throat and she is coughing a little, poor girl, but hopefully she will feel a lot better in the morning.

Happy Sunday night, everyone! I will be spending it in front of the TV watching the True Talent final (Exciting, that one) and folding sheet music stars for the Christmas tree.

Glitz Mini Album

Hi everyone!

Today I've been bustling around, blogging on every blog I'm supposed to, and now the time has come to do something about my own blog. I changed the header this morning - it's about time, the old one has been tagging along for quite some time now.

*edit* I changed the entire design while I was at it... I'd grown so tired of the old, all white one. Please, let me know what you think, OK?

I have a envelope album for you today, with the most adorable papers from Glitz - Vintage Blue, which I got from Scraplagret to create with. Oh, how I adore these papers! Just look at the toile pattern on the cover! I'd like to wallpaper my bedroom in that!

Here's a closeup on the front cover. The big blue flowes are diecut with Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die, and then I've rubbed them from the back with a stylus.

I love how this collection comes with coordinating trims - like this one with pom poms on the ends. It's super cute!

 I've covered all the envelopes in different patterned papers from the collection

 and then I have decorated the pages with coordinating stickers.

Have a very nice saturday evening, everyone!