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Every year I look forward to getting my new Linda Nelson Stocks calendar for Christmas.  I love her folk art style, especially her snow scenes.

But this year, I've splurged on a second calendar by illustrator pal Susan Mitchell. Her needle felt characters are adorable. 

Merry Christmas Eve! 

This lovely panda was designed by my pal, Theresa Smythe.

I have been wanting to get one of these for my dad but held back because I felt like surely there must be a way to do one of these things and have it feel more personalized. Thanks to the internet, I found a pattern. I have my 3 yards of fleece but can't confirm how well it works yet but it looks like it should work pretty well.  

Here's the link: 

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=280850.0

Search,"homemade snuggie", if the link doesn't work. You will find a link to the pdf pattern by Welmoed Sisson.

I did a long drawn out rant about stress this week but decided it was better to focus on something nice. Like a hot cup of peppermint white mocha. I even have this during the summer. Just love it so much.

http://lovetoillustrate.blogspot.com/2009/12/beautiful-ad-starbucks.html

Emily, my 13 yr old, is the baker in the family and although we haven't made time to bake from scratch yet this season, these have satisfied her need to get in the kitchen. I think she likes the independence of making these for us without help.

I love Charles Dicken's,  "A Christmas Carol". Went to see this recently and although I enjoyed it and its lush graphics, I found the characters were a bit "creepy".  But I'm sure I'll get myself a copy when it comes to DVD. I haven't seen it in 3D and I think that was probably a mistake. I will definitely try to get back to the theater with the kids to see if that makes a difference.

My favorite versions:

http://kleas.typepad.com/kleas/2009/11/glove-reindeer.html 

How cute is this fun little project?

(I'm sorry I can't make my links look cleaner. Ever since I swapped to my mac, it won't let me right click on links and copy/paste into the typepad application. This means I have to re type the entire address to make an active link.  If anyone has had this experience with mac/typepad and has advice, please let me know. It's really frustrating and I'm tempted to leave typepad.)

I'm doing it again. I'm sipping a latte and thumbing through gorgeous little books at Barnes & Noble, daydreaming about making these cuties through the winter. I did the same thing last year. Bought lovely craft books and guess what ? I never did a single project. So, I'm trying very hard not to get this. But on the other hand, is it so wrong to have books around  simply for the pleasure of looking at them? Decidedly no!  But not today. If I receive a bookstore gift card for Christmas this is on the top of my list. And so is this one. Another amigurumi book that I won't use. =o)

Break open the bubbly, I officially inked in my last sketch last night! I have been working on this book since the summer and as much as I have enjoyed it, I'm so thrilled to be finished. 

I had to create 75 pages of science projects that kids can do at home. Here is a snippet from one of the pages. It was fun researching and trying to figure out the best way to illustrate, provide directions and the scientific content. I think I spent more time researching which projects to use for the book than creating the actual pages. What a challenge but I think probably the most fun I've ever had on a project.

So now I'll get all the files together and ship out on Monday to the publisher.

Loving these scents this season. I especially like that they aren't overpowering. Emily has "christmas cookie" but it's a bit sweet and gives me a headache but these are just delicious.  

I am having such a hard time getting out of bed in the morning and it's their fault! I indulged and got some flannel sheets (the red ones with snowmen) that were on sale at Macy's over the weekend. Oh, so soft and cozy. I may not switch in the new year. =o) 

I am at my computer the majority of the day so I thought it was high time to replace my spring themed wallpaper. Here is a great one from my favorite softie artist, "jenny loves benny". If you visit her blog she has it on her right side bar for download. Her work is gorgeous, isn't it?

http://jennylovesbenny.blogspot.com