Christmas is Coming!

Whipped up these Sculpey Christmas ornaments this afternoon... well, it took ALL afternoon because Sculpey is not my friend! They came in kits with most of the clay colors and instructions to make all the ornaments. While they turned out better than I thought they would, they don't look anything like the packaging showed. I had to take some liberties with the directions. Oh, wait! That's right, I have artistic license! COOL. In that case, they're perfect, oui? LOL

Anyway, they're finished & about to get gift bagged for the gals at work. (Lucy, if you see this tonight, act surprised tomorrow, okay? LOL) Other than wrapping gifts, this was my last project to complete for the holidays. Boy, am I relieved :)


More importantly, my cousin, Christopher, will be arriving on Christmas Eve and will be here for Christmas Day. He's a Staff Sergeant (Army) and has been a drill instructor for the last 2 years. He's also the little brother I never had. We're 4 years apart in age and got to know each other during vacations that we spent at our grandparents' house in Florida each summer when we were kids. Usually he only stops in for a few hours, so an overnight stay is a "real" visit and a chance to trade "war stories!" And we've got plenty of stories, that's for sure! It's been years since he's been here for Christmas...I can hardly stand the wait!

Hercules, in his Christmas finery, wants to take you on a tour to see some of the Christmas decorations! (I still can't believe he actually wears this collar and doesn't object. The other 2 kitties freak out.)

This wreath is one of my designs from about 6 years ago. It was based off of a floral centerpiece that Mom bought and which is displayed inside our living room fireplace (non-working) each year. I also made up some garland for the mantle which matches both the wreath & the floral centerpiece. For some reasons, all the pictures I took of the garland & centerpiece came out blurry & unusable. Sorry!

Our Christmas tree is a big mixture of handmade ornaments & Hallmark collectible ornaments. We favor anything that depicts animals! (Go figure!) The only problem we have with the tree is decorating the bottom set of branches...a definite no-no with the Divine Felines. We've learned to put some soft "sacrificial" ornaments on the bottom branches for them to pull off & play with. I think you can see a heart-shaped one in the picture. It really does save the tree from certain disaster!


Our stocking are hung (patriotically!) by the chimney with care... I saw these a few years back at a local old-timey hardware store and couldn't pass them up.


And our carved carolers have been with us for years. We found them in a "country primitives" shop in Hudson, Ohio at least 20 years ago. They are my favorite pieces to put out each year. Even the dog and cat are caroling! How cute is that?? :)

Well, it's off to fight with the Divine Felines over the wrapping paper...I'll let you know who wins!