MERRY CHRISTMAS
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Category Archives: Christmas
Christmas Lights
For the past few years we try and get out to see the Christmas lights around town. This year we only made it to two places but they were spectacular. One was a house that has a turn about driveway that the owner puts a sign up, Please Feel Free to Drive Thru. This is the first year we’ve see this particular house, I’m glad we went. The pictures are a bit blurry, the car was still moving when I took them. 
These other pictures are from a musical house we’ve gone to for the past few years. Each year he adds more and more lights, changes the music and gets even more sponsors. He lives out toward the country and the neighbors across the street allow you to park in front of their house so you can sit in your car and watch the show. It’s about 20-25 minutes long, and the little signs on the yard saying 102.7 tells you the radio station to tune into so you can hear the music that goes with the light show. Since he’s gotten the sponsors, it grows bigger each year. It’s hard to show how fun the show is with still pictures, but it was fun to try and time it just right to get photos of things lit up. 
Could I do this?
I don’t know that I need to add another craft to my already taxed schedule right now, but I will admit, this looks fun.
My cousin’s wife, Heidi, does some beautiful cross-stitch. Truly, I don’t know how she keeps the backs as neat as the front. I do love to cross stitch, but I’ve never been able to keep the backs so neat. She has a blog and on it she shows some of her beautiful work. It’s always fun to see what she’s been working on.
But she also enjoys doing origami. My mom bought a book once that taught origami. And my BIL has done it before, but I never have. It looks like a fun craft to try and who knows, maybe sometime in the future I will. But right now I don’t need too. Heidi had offered to give a free origami ornament to someone who left a comment on a particular post. The she decided to send an ornament out to all of us that commented on it. But then she blessed me even more since I am family. 
Look what she sent.
Aren’t they just beautiful? She is just as neat with her origami as she is with her cross stitch. I’m so blessed to have these beautiful ornaments hanging on my tree. Thanks again Heidi, they are beautiful.
Fun holiday photos
I was having some fun today taking some close up photos of my Christmas decorations. It’s a little Christmas tree that I received as a gift years ago and a cute little gingerbread looking cardboard house gift box. I’m learning more and more about staging and seeing artistic things in the pictures I’m taking. It’s still a learning process, but I’m going to keep trying. I’m thinking the only way to learn how to take more artistic photos is to keep trying. Though it would be nice if there was a book or something that would teach me what to look for.
Then Sarah and I decided to make some muddy buddies yesterday. Goodness these things are way too yummy and easy to make. Yea, I’ll be making sure we always have some Chex cereal in the house.
Trying to be creative
I’ve been busy with multiple things right now, but the ones I’m enjoying the most is crocheting and photography. I’ve been working on some Christmas coasters for our house. They whip up pretty easy. I made some last year, but all I had was a variegated red and white cotton yarn. I like this yarn much better with the green in it. I think it goes with our Christmas decorations much better. I’ve made 5 of them so far, I need to make one or two more. I’ll be working on them later today.
This is the yarn for my next few projects. I know what I’m making with the tan yarn and with the variegated yarn I’m making something for Sarah’s hope chest, the dark pink I’m just not sure yet. I just really liked the color so I got some. I’ll have to look through my crocheting books and see if there is something that jumps out that I want to make.
The other creative things I’ve been working on is my photography. I tried taking a picture of our Christmas tree the other night. I like the night shots better because I like trying to show how lit up it is. But I still can’t get it to look to well. Any suggestions from you photographers out there?
I worked on this one for a while today. After I got it uploaded and on here I noticed the branch on top. 
So I tried it again and got this picture. I think it turned out ok. After I was all done I realized I should have used my tripod to take this picture. Ahhh, so much to learn.
I’m trying it as my background too. I like the idea of having a Christmas background, just not sure I like the way it is laid out. I think I need to see it for a while to decide if I like it.