A Couple of ATC's, a Card....

The paper used to make these stars is flocked.


Below, two ATC's


Card made with red cs background, same flocked paper as above, stamped SU tree, Sizzix poinsettia. The Sizzix image was used in the Cuttlebug. Gotta love the bug!

The countdown to the New Year has already begun, and I have art projects to do before it begins! Not panicking though. Well, not much, anyway. One project is the "Where are you from" for Michelle Ward's December Crusade. The other is for the "Blissfully Journalling" Yahoo group. Wish me luck in getting these done, and done well!

Café au Lait at Second Cup Café

The Second Cup Coffee Shop is my favourite place to have a coffee with a friend, or, in this case, my younger son. Marc was with me for Christmas, and we had a great celebration and much conversation. He returned to Montréal this morning.


Second Cup viewed from the entrance.

Christmas is in the Air!

Welcome! This is the small entrance room to my apartment.

I made a couple more cards with House Mouse stamps yesterday. I went wild collecting these stamps a few years ago, and decided to use all of them with a Christmas scene this year. I stamped a few more images last night, coloured them, and they're now waiting to be put on cards.


My porcelaine crib scene, inherited from my grandmother.

A closeup of the crib scene.

The very special American Heart ornement given to me by my cousin, Mary Anne.

Carol-singing Snow Babies.

March of the penguins. They must like the wolf harmonizing with the Snow Babies.

For many years, I've been in the habit of reading "A Christmas Carol" in the days before Christmas. Haven't gotten to it yet, but I will. Scrooge, visiting his Christmases past, invites us to do the same. How lovely, on a snowy Christmas Day, to muses on pleasures past, experienced with people long gone, or no longer close. I have many fond memories of childhood Christmases, and of those spent with my children and husband and his family.
Thinking of past Christmas celebrations doesn't make me melancholy. It makes me grateful for the blessings of those family feasts, and for those of the present, which will be added to my stock of memories.

Christmas Cards

I'm definitely in Christmas mode, and here are the cards toprove it.

Tired of Snow Yet?

Over 40cm/15in. of snow fell on Québec City last Sunday. Environment Canada said that in mountainous areas of Québec Province, it might have been 60cm/24in.

The front page of our daily newspaper, Le Soleil/The Sun; "A real one".

This is what happens when someone doesn't remove their car from the apartment building parking lot the morning after a snowstorm.
Below, the path to the back entrance of the building next to mine.

Christmas Cards and.....More Snow!

Yes, I've been busy card-making. Here's:
Pink Christmas

Good Will to All

Even Cats Celebrate Christmas

Shoveling snow on my balcony

Rascal contemplating

Fripon wondering when it will all go away.

Let it Snow!

Above, front entrance to my apartment building. Below, rear entranceIt's been snowing every day since blizzard Monday. Just a gentle snowfall each day, which lulls one into thinking it's nothing. But all those little flakes accumulate...

Here are a few artistic efforts of the past days. The bottom card is an ATC. The star on the card directly below is actually embossed with silver ep. The scanner evidently didn't see it that way.

More Storms and Treats

I shall spare you more pictures of snow....today. It's been snowing since morning, so I'll undoubtedly have more opportunities to take more photos and will decorate my site with them another time.

Instead, feast your eyes on these treasures that came in the mail today. They’re from The Red Door Studio http://thereddoor-studio.blogspot.com/. Above, the items as they came out of the box, with two chamingly decorated cups containing delicious, melt-in-your-mouth peppermints, unexpected gifts from the Red Door owner! I left out the charming hand-made cards enclosed for my writing pleasure.
Below, the little handmade book of original illustrations and poems that came wrapped in the green tissue paper. Unfortunately, I overlooked the reflecting capacity of the glass in the picture frame, and the buildings behind the singing bird are barely visible. You catch a glimpse in the photo above.

Also in the mail were three books. The Bell Jar and Ariel and Other Poems, by Sylvia Plath, and a book on Sylvia Plath, Eye Rhymes, Sylvia Plath's Art of the Visual. Have I gone round the twist on Sylvia Plath? Not any more than I usually go over anything.
I'm rediscovering Plath, thanks to Pilar of http://pipnotes.typepad.com/pip_notes_musings_and_art/
I mentioned Pilar's posting of Sylvia Plath as her muse for Crusade 14 on the GPP site. After reading Pilar's essay on Plath and googling some of the latter's poems, I decided to re-read this author. The cats and I will have plenty to occupy this evening as we curl up together on the couch and listen to...Mozart perhaps.

Storms and Treats

As I type this, the delightful odor of Real Lavender is wafting upwards as a delicate little Aromatherapy Lady dangles from my neck. She seems quite comfortable there.
The Doll Pin is precious! The are from an order I placed to Sandy on her blogsite, Art Tea Life. http://arttealife.blogspot.com/
These treasures came in boxes which were themselves artwork. I almost---almost decided not to open them. But I decided that I could use them to decorate a shelf or my desk. Wonderful work!
Sandy included a surprise of packets of tea and Ghirardelli chocolates! What can I say about these unexpected extras but, "Yummmm!" How did she know that a friend just gave me a mug decorated all over with the Ghirardelli logo and labels? At teatime, what a party I'll have with my furkids Rascal and Fripon . I'll have some hot chocolate in my Ghirardeli cup, and munch (delicately) on a matching chocolate. No doubt I will then purr like the cats when they get an unexpected treat.

It will be especially cozy to curl up with chocolate, cats, pin and aromatherapy, since we had a snowstorm yesterday that began in the wee hours of the morning and ended in the midnight hours. The streets around here are passable, but not completely cleared. The snowplows have been going since yesterday morning, and are still huffing around. I measured, and there are13 inches of snow piled up on my balcony. When I lived in Oklahoma, such a snowfall would have been unimaginable for me.
These are the first pictures taken with my new digital camera. I'm surprised they turned out so well, but I will have to learn how to take a closeup of small things.
I've also learned how to add a You tube video to my post, so I hope you enjoy "The Voice" by Celic Women

Christmas Card

I was thinking of mothers and those receiving family for the Christmas holidays when I made this card. We somehow always manage to have great get-togethers, although they may not be exactly what we planned. It's a time for the unexpected, and the chief thing is to celebrate the Holy Child, who brought light back into the world.

A bit of Whimsy

Poor Fluffles! An ATC

This is not a card, but perhaps I'll apply it to one eventually.
I'm glad to greet December, not just because of the Christmas holidays, but because it brings back the sun. The 21st, the days start ever so slowly, to lengthen. Great symbolism for the birth of the Light of the World!
It's not quite 4:00 p.m. here, and it's already twilight--the blue hour. It'll be dark at 4:30 p.m., and almost 8:00 a.m. when the sun rises. I never appreciated the sun fully, growing up in Oklahoma. I know it's worth now, however, and am thankful I don't live farther north, where the sun doesn't rise for 12 months!