My Heroes Aka Thank you Veterans

Thank you to all who have served in our Military. You have traveled far and wide to keep us safe and protect those and that , that I hold most dear. Most often at the expense of your own comfort, life events and even family time. You have missed birthdays, Christmas's, Anniversaries,  the birth of your children and the funerals of your loved ones. You have missed father daughter dances, and father son fishing tournaments, debutante balls and proms, In some cases you have even missed the weddings of your loved ones  and there are countless other events that were incredibly important to you, yet your duty to God and country came first.. The words Thank You just don't seem adequate but it is the best I can do.
                                                   You are truly my hero!

Some of my favorite heroes:

US Coast Guard
Better Half

US Air Force
DAD

US Navy
Father

US Navy
Brother

US Air Force
Brother

US Air Force
Brother


There are so many others that also have served and are still serving. Relatives and Friends who have answered the call to put others ahead of themselves to make sure that we are safe at home and abroad.
Thank you Veterans for your service and Sacrifice!
You truly are my heroes!

Merry Christmas!

I wish you all a wonderfully Merry Christmas many many creative dreams for the New Year. May you be filled with Health and Joy and Happiness.

See You Soon

Monday's Motivation

Ok there are less than 60 days until Christmas, but then who's counting?

What? less than 2 months? Just think if you are paid bi-weekly, there are only 3 pay checks left between now and then. ( That is a scary thought). Anyway it is incredibly motivating for me. I have to get busy.  My sister and I have decided that handmade is the way to go for us this year. She is wonderfully creative and loves to make all kinds of things, and I love to make things, so this year we have agreed to go handmade. The girls in the family of course will get jewelry, but what about the guys and the children?
Well, "almost" all of the guys in the family are now able to drive, so I am thinking maybe a key chain like this

would make a great stocking stuffer and hand made book markers like these would be an ideal gift for the avid readers in the bunch.
The children though are a very different story. We have 5 little ones ( under 10) on the Christmas list this year. What do you make for little ones from 1-8 years old? Any ideas? Are you motivated yet?

Monday's Motivation

OK, it is Monday, I have taken off almost 2 full weeks, having a blast, going on road trips, meeting family etc, but now, it is time to get some new projects going. The weather has turned cooler and there is nothing in the world like October at the beach, ( unless maybe it is April at the beach). I have been picking up shells,

rescuing star fish,

watching pelicans and sandpipers dive and play.

I have even used my entire memory card to make a video of the beach for my sister only to discover that I have no clue how to compress a file, and the video was too large to send via email and or you tube!

I am trying to get started making a few things for the  Christmas Season, and I need to get much busier. Hopefully the rest of this week it will rain and I can get creative.

Saturday's shopping spree Aka Have you thought about Christmas yet?

Have you thought about Christmas yet? Do you wait until the last minute to shop, hit the stores on the day after Thanksgiving before the sun rises, or do you plan ahead, making lists and determining that this year, most of it will be hand made or at least purchased and mailed by Thanksgiving,  I fall somewhere in the midst of all those categories. I've been thinking about it lately though and because I hate to shop in a crowd and I really would like to make the majority of the gifts I give and yes, I would love to have everything done before Thanksgiving so that I can be free to enjoy as many of the season's festivities as humanly possible. After all, it only happens once a year right?
Brace yourself: Here it comes: Christmas will be here in.....133 days!
Let's Go shopping....

new baby in the family? check out this adorable Sock Monkey Cocoon and Hat by nmelone13 on ETSY, or how about the little ones who love stuffed animals? Check these out....Gordon.
For the avid reader on your list, you can always offer bookmarks like this one  by my favorite folk artist Campbell Jane.


Jewelry is always a plus, and I love this bracelet by sparkle peach with it's simple elegance.
 I've been working on some earrings and bracelets of my own too,

but I have yet to list them.   I have no idea what to do for the guys on my list, but I really need ideas.

So where do you stand? Have you started, do you not want to think about it? Have you thought about it but don't want to deal with it just yet? Once again I seem to fall in the middle of all my categories.