Below are 6 holiday-themed drink coasters perfect for this season’s party’s decor, hostess gift giving or drop in a stocking for a useful and creative stuffer.
Every Christmas we usually put up two Christmas trees in our home. A more formal, cohesive tree in the living room that has a theme and matching color scheme as well as a what we call a “memory tree” in our family room. This year however, we decided to move our memory tree into the living room to compliment our new fireplace and make that our only Christmas tree this year. Like many people in this modern social media driven world, I too post pictures of our Christmas tree to my personal Facebook page tagging my husband as well as posting it to a group page my friend sets up each year for her friends to post pictures of their trees. My caption usually reads “our Christmas memory tree”. The comments I receive are very warm and wonderful, but I also receive a lot of, “what’s a memory tree?”, or just plain “memory tree?”. I decided instead of typing a long explanation in the comment field I would take the opportunity to write a blog post to share with you what our family calls a memory tree and include some pictures of my families “memories”.
In a nutshell a memory tree is basically just that, a Christmas tree decorated with ornaments and items that have significant meaning or memories for you and/or your family. We include items of our kids such as their first pair of shoes (which is on grandma’s tree), things they made in preschool, ornaments from places we visited, ornaments from our childhood or that have been handed down to us. We even have small toys that have sentimental meaning and items from family events such as weddings and first communions. I even attach notes to some of them saying what the item is and why it has meaning. Below are pictures of some of the items on our tree with captions of what each item is and what meaning or memory it has for us. I hope this inspires you and your family this holiday season…
Enjoy and Buon Natale!
My older daughter’s coveted dalmations from Happy Meals of long ago riding in the slippers my younger daughter wore the first time she was a flower girl when she was two years old.
Our baby girl’s first ballet slippers.
Homemade ornaments my older daughter made for me as a gift when she was in preschool.
My youngest daughter’s “hand”made ornament she made for me in preschool.
An ornament from our travels – The Hermitage; a beautiful presidential home.
Another one of my youngest daughter’s home made ornaments; this one she made in kindergarten.
In memory of my beloved dog of 16 years, Ajax; his stocking with his collar in it and his patriotic bow tie he wore proudly.
The matches from my brother and sister in-law’s wedding.
Another ornament from our travels
It may not look like it, but this is a vintage ornament. It was on my parent’s first Christmas tree as husband and wife. It’s made of glass and I’m lucky to have 3 of these on my tree. I will be giving each of my daughters one someday.
s doll she played with as a little girl in the early 1900’s.
The garter I wore on my wedding day. My husband is a huge White Sox fan and did not want throw it at our wedding – so it has its place on the tree.
The angel my brother and sister in-law gave my youngest daughter on her first communion.
The tradition of exchanging flowers and candy between loved one’s is fast approaching as we anticipate this Valentine’s Day season. How about adding something a little different and unique to your gift exchange? My Hearts to You Monogrammed Note Cards and Thank You cards make the perfect addition. These 4.25″ x 5.5″ cards are sold in sets of 8 and are now available in the shop. Enjoy!
When it came to designing my Christmas card this year I wanted to keep it simple but fun. What better way to keep things fun and festive than with color! I’ve been in this geometric type phase lately and I decided to create our card utilizing one of my new pattern designs. I created a Christmas tree shape with my Pop of Green Bubbles repeat pattern. Who says we have to stay with red and green to celebrate and feel the spirit of Christmas right? Purple and green, together, are one of my favorite color combinations. The various shaped circles in shades of purple and the green mimic Christmas ornaments. It’s simple, it’s colorful and it’s very Merry – I think anyway…Enjoy!
They are here! My Autumn’s Splendor Thanksgiving collection now has Thank You Cards available in The Shop! These 3×5 blank inside cards are a great way to send a special “Thank You” during this Thanksgiving holiday season. They also make great hostess gifts too! Enjoy!
Autumn’s Splendor Thanksgiving Stripe Thank You Card
Autumn’s Splendor Thanksgiving Large Leaf Thank You Card
Autumn’s Splendor Thanksgiving Small Leaf Thank You Card
Autumn’s Splendor Thanksgiving Polka Dot Thank You Card
Autumn’s Splendor Thank You Cards – Now available in the Shop!
Wishing everyone a Wickedly Creative Halloween today!!!! Hope you enjoy today’s doodle quote.
Well it’s time to get back into the swing of things now that the holidays are over and the kids are back in school and back to college. I am hoping everyone had as wonderful of a Christmas break and New Year celebration as me and my family did. As much as I enjoyed the “time off”, I really missed being in the studio and creating; especially with all the wonderful holiday inspiration going on around me. It’s hard to believe that it’s over and it’s time to change gears and get ready for – VALENTINE’S DAY! – Can you believe it?
Inspired by all the beautiful pinks and reds and hearts that have popped up in the stores; I have been working on new designs this week. Here are a couple that I have created so far. Check back though because I have a few more in the works that I can’t wait to show you. In the meantime – Enjoy!
This weekend was full of fellowship, holiday cheer and generosity. Our friends, Walter and Veronica Kosch hosted their annual “Edelweiss Party for Underprivileged Children” at their restaurant, Edelweiss, in Norridge, Illinois. All proceeds from this annual event are given to Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago, Jessie White Tumblers, and St. Vincent Charity to be used for the benefit of underprivileged and needy children and their families.
Now this isn’t just a fundraiser. It’s also a Christmas party for needy children. Approximately 100 children and their families attended this amazing party, which began with meeting and getting autographs and pictures taken with Chicago Bear player #48 Allan Ellis and Green Bay Packer #27 Michael Blair. Both players stayed and visited with the children throughout the party. Afterwards the children were served a yummy lunch and dessert. Then they were entertained by Dr. Mark the Magician while waiting for Santa’s arrival. The day finished with a visit from Santa; all the children got to sit on his lap and received a personalized present from him.
Seeing all the happy faces of these children truly warmed my heart and reminded me once more what Christmas is all about. Blessings and warmest wishes to all of you this holiday season!
