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My name, Karin, was pretty common when I was growing up...just not the spelling. Unless you are of German heritage like I am. So, I have spent my entire life answering the question, "What is your name"?... With, "Karin...with an "i"! Who knew it would come in handy all these years later when I went to name my blog.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Bits and pieces from my life and a couple of projects too

Hi Everyone,

How are you doing?  I hope you are feeling less behind in everything this holiday season than I am.  Whenever I think I'm almost done with some project, I realize I need to make just a couple more and before you know it, two hours have gone by.  I swear my little craft corner is a black hole.  Time disappears when I'm sitting there, I have lost chunks of my life in that spot. 

My luncheon that I planned for my Bible study friends got postponed due to the blizzard conditions we had this past week, so now we are going to get together after the holidays in January.  That's fine, but my favors have a Christmas theme.  Oh well.  I made these holders for those little anti bacterial gels from Bath and Body works, and I got the idea from my LSS teammate Tamara.

See...

Sorry this next photo is crap.


I showed off my trees last year in this post, and this post and this post.  And this year when I mentioned my trees, a few people mentioned wanting to see them again, so here are some photos.

I can't believe I'm showing you my out of date mauve carpet. I'm so used to ignoring it, that I hardly even notice it.  We so need a makeover.  If anyone wants to nominate me for one of those TV shows, go right ahead.  My room would be perfect for those designers to sink their decorating genius into.  I don't have a sad human interest story to go along with it though.  Well, maybe just posting a photo for the world to see will be enough to shame me into forcing the redo.

The star fish is from the Cayman Islands and the pretty pine cone cluster is a gift from my Aunt Inge.  My favorite is the popcorn garland. I love this one home spun element on a mostly formal tree. 

This ornament was given to my mom from her sister, my Aunt Erika.  Both are now passed away, so it is that much more special to me.  I like that it matches the popcorn garland....Looking at it now, I can picture a Christmas card with gold embossed trees and little red birds.  Hhmmm, an idea for stamping...lol.
These next ornaments are from the tree in my family room. It's fake, so it pretty much looks like it did last year, so here are just the ornaments.


This one I made a few years back. Cross stitch is cute, but it takes too long.


I usually buy an ornament when we go on vacation as our souvenir.  I like the memories they invoke every year when I unwrap them and hang them on the tree.  This is the one I got from our cruise this past September.  Unfortunately I was sick as a dog this day, and I remember being in the gift shop just grabbing anything I saw for the people I hadn't purchased anything for yet. Hopefully as time goes by, this isn't the first thing I think of when I see this ornament. lol

This is my Alaskan Spirit Frog from our trip there.  It's not really an ornament, but it was actually carved in Alaska (Not China!) and the tag says something about it being good luck.  It's right at home with the rest of my weird ornaments.



My blogging friend Karin ( Another Karin with an i,  who is originally from Germany) posted a picture of her Chimney sweep ornament, so I thought I would post mine.  They are a lucky symbol for the new year in Germany. 

And last I thought I would show off my German wooden Nativity carousel, just because it's a unique item . The heat from the candles makes the windmill up top spin and the center part then turns.

Wow, if you have made it this far congrats, I was beginning to bore even myself.  I guess if you made it to the end, I should reward you with another crafy tidbit. 

I made 3 of these cards for my personal use.  It's a Z Fold card and it uses an image from the You're the Perfect Package set of digi stamps from Amber Ink. 


Don't you just love that little present?  It really is perfect :)

Here it is opened up.

This fancy schmancy fold is super simple.  After you have made you regular A2 card, just fold the front part of the card in half and decorate :)

Well, I hope your Christmas and New Year holidays are shaping up to be good ones...Thanks for dropping by the blog today.  If I haven't mentioned it lately, I really do appreciate you. 

6 comments:

Emily Leiphart said...

Karin, this post is filled with so many beautiful things! Where do I even begin? Regardless of the fact that you're giving those antibacterial soaps after the holidays, your friends are really going to appreciate the beauty of the packaging and the practicality of the gift! Your holiday decorations are amazing. I love a tree that has so many ornaments collected from all over by so many loved ones through the years! The German Nativity carousel is so cool!! And of course your Z Fold cards are beautiful. Have a fabulous holiday, my dear friend!

Karin said...

Hello Karin,
I try in my best English...
I imagined your Christmastree to be like this.
Your roots are reflecting all over the tree.
The Christkindl, the pinecones,the glass bulb and the Chimney sweeper are typical in Germany.
Also the wooden carousel, those became very expensive items. So cherish it.
Those slippers, I presume from the St. Martin Island, have the name Sint Maarten on it. Sint Maarten here in some specific regions in Belgium and the Netherlands is a kind of event like Halloween. The children go on the 11th of november from door to door with a latern made of a sugar beet.
They sing and recive candy or a little money. So its a kind of "Trick or treat".
I hope I haven't borred you with my long post.

And now I want to say that I love your presents you have made. What an intensive work. Nicely done.
And many thanks for all the lovely comments you give to my cards.
Till next time!
Greetings from Belgium,
Karin

1CardCreator said...

Thanks for sharing your lovely tree and decorations, I had to laugh as I too have the same mauve carpet, in the process of being removed too, lol. Your boxes and card are beautiful. ~Diane

Pam said...

Wow, what a cool post! I just oh'd and ah'd at everything and then it ended so perfectly! Amber just loves her card btw - it is her very first AmberInk card and so special cuz it is from you. Everything looks so wonderful, and you are way ahead of the game for Aloha Friday this week ;-)
I am such a softy from ornaments past - I am just like you in that my enjoyment comes from pulling out the memories every year. Did you see that 60 Minutes last night? I'm not sure if I would want to relive EVERYTHING, but the Christmas memories loom large.
I'm so glad you gave us a glimpse. And that tree top Angel is TDF!

Cheryl said...

Thank you for sharing your tree and decorations with us! I love your ornaments - they show off your flair and fun personality.

The hand sanitizer holders are wonderful. Who cares they are Christmas themed? The ladies will still love them.


I love this card! I recognized it as soon as I saw it.

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas my friend!

Unknown said...

Awesome hand sanitizer holders! I like your better than mine! P.S. thank you so much for the christmas card and pop dots!! You're so sweet! Hope you have a Merry Christmas!

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