Listing Saturday:: Reasons to prepare ahead of time for Christmas

Stores close early on Christmas Eve.

Santa has gotten older and likes to get to bed earlier.

Target bags are not acceptable as Christmas wrapping.

(I wish they were.)

Food doesn't cook itself.

You can listen to Christmas Carols while you get ready.

Newspaper stars for the tree are a true no no, unless the children have made them.

You can only watch so many Christmas moves before your head explodes.  Excuse yourself and get ready for Xmas.

If you're ready early enough, you can gather the family and go to church. 

Even the kid in you wants a present.

Christmas is really more than just a day.

There is beauty in remembering.  You're making memories.  What kind of memories do you want your children to hold near to their hearts.

If you're ready in time for Christmas, you can enjoy yourself. 

In the end, it's all about love, not the rush.

What's Up? The Sky is Up, but I really Think This Post Will be About Why I'm So Tired....

Listing Saturday::

Thanksgiving is over.

We have lots of leftovers.

The Hoffman Family Xmas Tree is up.

We had a great time at our Thanksgiving Celebration.

I thought we had been getting together for 25 years.  Turns out it was 22 years.  Oh, well, we near the quarter century mark.

I'm getting ready for a big show this weekend. 

I'm going in with a lot of polymer clay items.

I drove Nick to the airport and came home in freezing rain.

My wrist is aching.

I haven't been sleeping a lot. 

I need to do MORE dishes!

Now, I need to get organized for the show.

I'm worn out.

I'm dozing on the computer.

Good night!

I Heart Macro! Berries on the Tree

I Heart Macro!

I Know I forgot something....

But What is It?
Ho! Ho! Ho!

The Challenge Results

Last week, I posted a blog that asked my readers to challenge me in my bead making tasks. The answers boiled down to two--a hollow with a tree and roses for decoration and a tree with roses on a regular bead. Here are the results of that challenge!
And thank you to those who posted!












I felt I needed to practice my hollow bead making skills, and here is the result. There are no trees, but I just wanted to brush up on my skills. These hollows were fun to make, and they are in my bead box now waiting to be made into a necklace. That will have to wait a bit.






















In truth, I lacked confidence in myself. I felt that I didn't have the skills to add a tree to this bead, so I just made some roses from cane. After the bead was cleaned, I realized that if I could add so many swirling roses to this bead, I could have added the cane to make a tree to this bead without the bead collapsing.
Lesson learned! Try it anyway!























This is the first "tree" I made. I do like it.






















Next came "The Rose Tree." This worked out nicely. I was going to add the suggested white enamel to give the bead the look of snow, but I found out that I didn't have any white enamel. I have other colors of enamels, but I don't have any white. I still like the bead, and I plan to order some white soon.





















Last tree: No roses, no enamel, but it is a Christmas tree! Ho! Ho! Ho!

Now, I can hardly wait for the new challenge. Get your thinking caps on. I really need to improve my skills and tempt my muse to inspire me again! This was a great challenge! Thank you!

Spike's Movie

As I write this, I am tired. Spike woke me up at 4:10 AM because he loves me. For those of you who know me, you know I truly love this animal, except at 4:10 AM. Now, this video was shot while Spike was outside by his tree. I just wanted you to hear what I hear at 4:10 AM.