Here we are...

 ...full circle again as we move into the sparkle of Christmas spirit and anticipate the new year.

Have you finished all your Christmas baking yet?  Gingerbread done?

From Creston, BC, this brings hope that you and yours will glide through the holidays with ease.

May you rock the family gatherings with your own unique style,

and have easy sledding into the New Year celebrations.

May your own Christmas tree be as colourful as are you,

and may Santa arrive in your home with style and flair!

And may 2023 be just as brilliantly wacky as you can imagine - a 'dreams-come-true' year for you and yours.

All the best to you all, and thanks for sharing with year with me!

It's getting closer...

...and closer.  I'm wondering whether you're in that zen mode because you've got it all together and ready to go, or are you frenzied and wondering if it will ever be done?

The beauty of this time of year is that it doesn't really matter.  The baking will be finished, the big meal will come together regardless of how many are involved, and still there's time for play in the studio, even if it's a bit haphazard.

I realized that I'd not cut any snowflakes this year so that was definitely on my agenda - it's a 65 year tradition at this point.  None of this boring white stuff for me, though - these babies have got some colour to them.  😉

I'm still playing with my paint shirt, although the mending bits have not yet come into being.  Where are those elves when you need them???

The pile of tags was shrinking, so I got started on some more,

although getting sidetracked was definitely in order this week, so the pile did not grow by much.

Somebody put out a puzzle, and you know what kind of a trap that is...hours may have been lost there.

So while I do some more baking, cutting and puzzling, I'll let Santa say hello and goodbye as we roll towards the big day.

Happy last 10 days to Christmas for you - may all your tasks be creative, fun and done on time!

My memory is great...

 ...when it's turned on, although that's a hit and miss thing these days.  🤣  I realized that one of the Christmas traditions hadn't even been on my mental radar, so making tree ornaments for the grandkids was was pretty much a necessity given I was in the midst of wrapping their presents.

The ones I made for them have disappeared somewhere in the pile, but as you can see from the photo above, I just couldn't stop making these little (1 1/2" square) ornaments.  The origami envelopes were  so fun to make from 6" x 1 1/2" strips of paper scraps and I probably have a thousand more of those.  They could be as lucky as origami cranes, right?

I finished them with a wide variety of stickers,

and a range of embroidery thread ends.

Some are meant for children,

and just as many for the grown-ups.

I wonder now if my addictive nature will let me stop this nonsense, and get on to the Christmas baking.  After all, there are only seventeen days left until Christmas, and soooooooo many treats to sort.

Happy Christmas creating, whatever you're up to!

Yikes...

...the snow has hit.  That's not such a bad thing, though, as it means more time in the studio, right?  Since the Christmas cards are ready for the mail, I've had time to work on the perforated-paper mini books.

There's something that really appeals to me about those raggedy-edge papers (I alternated them vertically so that both the tops and bottoms would ruffle).

The range of colour from yellow-green to ultramarine, makes me happy, too.

And the alcohol-ink stained (and formerly white) wallpaper is truly mouthwatering.

I can see there will be a couple more of these created, given that I have some more perforated pages.

I can't guarantee that the colour range will remain the same, though.  With all this snow,

it feels like some heat may be required!

Here's to more studio play, because these need to be put into something, right?  They are too small (2 7/8" W x 2 5/8" H) for my fumbling fingers to create cases for, so I suspect envelopes will be the next thing on my list.    Happy creating to you, whatever you're making!