Performing Next as Mr. & Mrs.

Michelle & Greg did not know each other in grade school but if they had they'd have fallen for each other even sooner. Greg loved to pretend and act out parts. Michelle enjoyed the same.

I was delighted when Michelle's Mom sent me pictures of little Michelle. And I thought I couldn't have loved her more. . . .

Both Greg and Michelle are the oldest of 2 siblings. Here are the pictures before I did my cutouts where you can see the darling little brother and little sister!

The bridal shower is this Sunday!

Home for Christmas

Bob calls our home Greg's retreat. Leaving his research and his school work behind, Greg shares in our holiday traditions, relaxes and visits with old friends. 2011

On Christmas Eve, we always go to the newspaper (where Bob works) and pick up the Christmas Day newspaper, which is printed early to allow the pressmen to go home. The picture of Bob and Greg is in the photo room where Bob shares some of his pages with Greg. After that, we took a ride to the downtown campus to see the lights on Woodburn Hall. I call this photo a "Blue and Gold Christmas".

The Gift of Family

Waking up on Christmas, I saw a big smile on Bob's face before he even got out of bed. Greg was home from Minneapolis. Chris would join us for a traditional feast and stay to watch Harry Potter. Could there be a better gift than that of family?

What great weather we're having here in West Virginia! I'm hoping for the same when Michelle joins us for the upcoming bridal shower!

HSC Tradition

Every year my family joins me in the HSC kitchen on the eve of the last work day before the holidays to pack fresh fruit bags and pizza kits for the cafeteria and catering staff. On the last work day I made turkeys for our holiday luncheon. This year's turkeys had no bones (except for the drumsticks). All the dark and light meat was intact and the turkeys baked quickly (4 1/2 hours) and were delicious!

This is the layout from 2009. We're getting to be old hand at putting these together. Most years we make 50 bags and kits. This year we made 40. I leave the fruit bags in the area of the serving area and kitchen where each employee begins their work day.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year!

Know Your Place

Stephen Oliver Michael, "Ollie",was 2 years old on December 19. He's bright, active, talking and what I would call a terrific two year old. These are pictures I took of him on Thanksgiving Day. He is my sister Terry's grandson.

I called the layout "Know Your Place", borrowing the title from Sande Krieger's digital place card set.

"Know Your Place
1st Child to Laura & Steve
1st grandchild to Terry & Nelson
1st Great Grandchild to June & Jim
Thanksgiving at your Dad's Restaurant. . . you can sit anywhere you want!"

To make the layout, I made a digital collage, then adhered it to patterned paper. I added chipboard alphas and a few elements for dimension. I printed a duplicate place card like the small one I inserted on the collage and "clipped" it to the original.

Totally Styling. . . the Ugly Sweater Party

Isn't it funny, what's one man's trash is another man's treasure? I see people wearing sweaters like these all the time, especially during the holidays!

Chris' friend Steph made his sweater for the party they attended. They even donned hats. Glad to see the young folks in the holiday spirit. 2011

Turtle Doves

Mom and Dad, like turtle doves, symbolize a strong pair bond. They are always together, emblems of devoted love.

Here they are Thanksgiving Day, 2011. They have been together since 1946.

My Dad loves my Mom very very much!

Sisters

I'm always glad to get a picture together with my siblings. Here are the 3 sisters from my family on Thanksgiving. I took the first initial of our names and thought of a few words to describe each of us:

Cindy, the creator. Pages, menus, memories.

Terry, the teacher. Reading, writing, children.
Amy, the all American girl. Critters, family, career.

The charms also reflect a bit about us. The fork is attached to my initial because I am a dietitian. The sunflower to Terry, as she loves sunflowers. The dragonfly to Amy because she enjoys small critters and insects.

Back to my Christmas cards. Monday I ran out of ink, paper, stamps and more. After work on Tuesday, I drove 24 miles in town to stop 5 different places and stock up. Time to do a few more cards........

Another Year Has Gone By

In the midst of all the seasonal and new year preparations, it does me good to stop for a while and create. Here's a quick layout setting a picture of Bob and I to the words of a Bryan Adams song "Another Year Has Gone By".

"So many 25ths of December, just as many fourth of Julys."

On a Saturday afternoon Bob asked me if I wanted to take a walk with him up the hill by our house. Here we're doing what we did many years ago "Acting like we only just met".

I wanted to use both side of the Teresa Collins Christmas Calendar paper. So I scanned the opposite side, then digitally cut out the blocks of the paper I needed (December 25 and Four). I added words to the blocks, a digital frame by Cottage Arts to my photo and a Rhonna Farrer brush for the title. Now when I listen to the Celine Dion Christmas CD when she sings this song, I'll think of us and this time.

2011

Setting the Tree

In 1950, the town of Westernport got help from the family business, Reeves Motor Company, to haul the Christmas tree from the Keyser bridge to town, then lift it into place. That's Uncle Harry standing against the back of the truck.

By Design

Michelle's wedding dress is going to be as unique as she. Conceived by her, sketched by her best friend Allyson and made by her cousin Barbara. . . "it's going to be beautiful!". The pictures are fitting the initial blank, the fabrics they chose and the final design. In total it is 26 yards of fabric,
5 yards of boning,
5 yards of horsehair braid and 18 yards of ribbon. November 2011