Pink Orange Gold Watercolor Christmas Trees 5×7
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy leaves can be so changing;
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
They need not be unchanging;
Not only green like everyone;
But you can be whatever you want.
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Pink and Orange and Gold look good on thee!
Embrace the magic!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Christmas Tree Lights – Bokeh
All is Calm…
All is Bright…
For now.
Relaxing by the twinkling lights of the tree
willing myself not to worry about gifts and wrapping and baking
and all of the “material” things that aren’t the things that make
the holiday season special.
All is Calm
All is Bright
I think that will be the theme this year!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Sammy the Elf – the Magic of Christmas
Long before the Official “Elf on the Shelf” was marketed (and got a bit out of control – but dang! Why didn’t I think to market it!?!), our family had an heirloom elf who came to visit during the magical month of December.
Sammy (we knew his name because it was written on his shirt) came to visit and watch over our boys to assure they were being good and deserving of Christmas gifts from Santa. He would move around the house every night, and the boys had so much fun waking up each morning trying to find him and see what he might have been up to the night before.
Sammy always left with Santa on his sleigh after Santa brought the boys’ gifts on Christmas eve, and he didn’t return until the following December 1st.
One important thing about Sammy was that he could not be touched by human hands – never – ever – or he would lose his “magic.” The boys never dared touch him. (He came with a note from Santa the first year telling us so.)
Though our Christmas tree has become a smaller, themed, and artificial version of the live cut trees of years past loaded with sentimental and handmade ornaments, the one thing I still put on our tree is Sammy.
Our boys still often reminisce when they see him, laughing at how they believed so strongly in him and his magic – yet still almost afraid to touch him…
Sammy is an heirloom Christmas “decoration” that was my Grandma’s, so I especially cherish him. She had what seemed like dozens of these tiny toy elves all over her home doing silly things at Christmas. She was such a character and had a great sense of humor, so her elves would be hanging from curtain rods and peeking over picture frames and sitting cross armed and legged in the strangest of places.
And then, it seemed for many years, these elves were impossible to find (especially when friends’ kids wanted an elf like Sammy!) – until “Elf on a Shelf” became the rage.
Our sweet Sammy is worn and thread-bare in many places, but he will always have a place of honor on our tree and in our home in December.
He reminds me of the magic of the season.
The magic of Christmas.
The magic of children and believing.
The magic of family memories –
my children and my own childhood.
It is indeed
the season of Magic!
Happy December!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
WordPress Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: It’s Not this Time of Year Without
My daughter-in-law, Colleen, has been on a roll making fun signs for our McKinneyX2Designs ETSY shop!
We are also feathering the nest preparing for
the joy of our little one’s arrival in a few months.
And who is ready for Fall? With pumpkins and hayrides…
and time in the kitchen…
or end of summer ice cream cone treats…
and long, lingering bubble baths.
I love all these sweet signs and wanted to share with you.
If you or anyone you know would enjoy any of these in their home or find them a great gift, be sure to check out our shop: McKinneyX2Designs.
I also have some original watercolor artwork, as well as prints
and greeting cards.
Happy Sunday!
Do something you love, and cherish the moments.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Happy New Year friends, and thank you for being here with me this past year at lifeinbetween.me!
I had fun with one of my Christmas gifts from hubby – my new art easel – one day this week on my holiday break and spent a little time watercolor painting.
I thought it was a good time to design a holiday thank you note,
so I goofed around with a few loose pine tree designs that I can copy and create cards from.
Wishing you a happy new year filled with many moments to cherish! Take the time to notice them,
to appreciate them,
to truly cherish them –
for it is these moments
that create a lifetime.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
My BFF Jill is one of the most generous and amazing gifters I know, so I could not let this week of gift sharing pass without sharing her gift to me (and many) that is also a gift I can give.
What is better than receiving a gift you can give?
The #givingplate is a plate meant to be given away. The recipient is asked to sign the back with a gold paint marker that is included,
fill the plate with goodies or a meal or any kind of gift,
and give it away.
The person receiving it is asked to do the same,
allowing the #givingplate to “tell the story.”
The story of its travels and those that gave and received it.
Jill spent several weeks going to a ceramic shop hand painting, glazing, and getting 20 or so of these plates made to share with friends and family.
The funniest thing about this gift is that it is one I almost did myself.
One day in early December, Jill and I were browsing at Home Goods, and I was looking at plates and started telling her an idea I had for a Christmas gift that is made by painting a message on a plate for people to give away and share. I asked her what she thought of the idea.
She said, “Don’t do it.”
At first startled, I looked at her smiling, and I knew!
She was already doing it.
Quite the sign of “soul sistas” I say, when out of all the gifts we could think to create, we both think of this!
Mine would never have been done so lovely, so I am super happy she did it, and I got it, and I get to give it away!
Who knows – it may end up in one of your hands/homes one day!
#payitforward
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
I have one more special little homemade Christmas gift to share this week. This is one I was excited to give to my son, Nick.
Nick had requested I put a cookbook together of his favorite recipes I make, and especially those that are EASY, so that he will have and be able to make wherever life takes him.
For the cover of this little book, I used a photo of our kitchen in the frenzy of pots boiling, cookies cooling, and flour and sugar and other ingredients out on the counter. I am hoping as he takes this little book with him throughout his life, he will remember the smell and feel and love of our family kitchen.
For the intro page, I wrote Nick a short note:
Nick is a chicken lover, so I tried to remember all of his favorite chicken dishes.
But remembering the “easy” part, I tried to include those simple things he always enjoyed.
So – it’s not a masterpiece or an Amazon bestseller, but it is simple gesture of a Momma’s love that I hope Nick will treasure.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
One of our Christmas celebrations last week was our annual McHendy Christmas get-together.
For this celebration, I painted some snowmen mugs and filled them with Rolo chocolate caramel candies, mini marshmallows, and the recipe for Rolo Hot Chocolate that I featured here a few weeks ago to give to everyone.
On white ceramic mugs purchased from the Dollar Store, I painted little snowman coal eyes and carrot noses with Sharpie Oil Based Paint Markers on one side, and wrote McHendy Mug and the year on the other.
After painting them all, I let them cure for 24 hours. I then placed them in a cold oven, set the temperature for 350 degrees F and “baked” for 30 minutes. I turned the oven off after 30 minutes and let them cool completely in the oven without opening it. I hope this works as it is the first time I tried. They are supposed to be able to go through the dishwasher.
Wondering what a McHendy Christmas Celebration is?
Well – when you take two besties and their families that have so much love they actually form one big family, you combine their last names to create a new one.
And you celebrate every year watching the “kids” grow, marry and add to the family, and count your blessings dearly!
My BFF Jill not only had these shirts printed for all the McHendys this year, she even created the McHendy family crest, which is full of love and meaning to both of our families.
We can be born into families, and we can be loved into families. No matter which way it happens, celebrate it, and cherish the moments!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
I love making and giving handmade DIY Christmas and holiday gifts, so when I saw a similar snowman project created from logs, I fell in love with the idea and convinced hubby we should make these.
He was a real trooper and really did the hard work. He gathered, cut, and sanded the logs, drilled holes and assembled them with dowel rods and glue.
I broke out the sewing machine and created little fleece hats and scarves.
And Voila!
Stinking cute primitive wooden log snowmen!
We were thrilled with how they turned out, made about 15 of them, and had so much fun giving them away.
Handmade with love from both of us and sharing a little piece of our woods.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
One of my favorite Christmas gifts I made to give this year was a special family coloring book I made for Ella.
Ella is my cousin’s daughter, and we have a very special bond. She is very creative and artistic, so I was excited when my BFF Jill shared a fun site with me called ReallyColor.com where you can create your own coloring book pages from photographs.
Since I recently had the opportunity to do a family photo shoot of Ella and her family at Thanksgiving, I was excited to make some of these photos into coloring book pages in a special book for Ella to recreate.
Here are just a few of the pages. I can’t wait to see what Ella does with them!
Ella with Daddy and Mommy
Brother Mason and Daddy
Ella Tree Climbing
Mommy, Ella, and Mimi
Mason and Poppy (aka Oh Rob!)
Mimi’s Greenhouse
Check out ReallyColor.com and convert some of your family photos into a fun project!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 