Moxie Monday: Christmas Past from Graphic 45

Happy Monday, friends! I’m glad to be back after a week’s vacation and happy to report that there was no damage to my waistline whatsoever after last week’s feasting! I was able to get in enough exercise to keep the calorie hounds at bay and I sincerely hope that you fared as well! If not, I’m right there poundin’ the ol’ pavement with you as the holidays and their yummy temptations loom!

Speaking of yummy temptations, I’ve got something tasty and delicious for you today. As is the case with many of you, I am a total and complete sucker for vintage images, especially when it comes to the holidays. One look at the Christmas Past collection from Graphic 45 and I am thrust into my grandma Edvalson’s bedroom where she would primp and prime herself for our annual holiday trip to the Bamboo, the Chinese restaurant where my grandparents had courted, followed by a walk through nearby Christmas Village in my hometown of Ogden, Utah.

As we waited for her to put the finishing touches on her ensemble, she would let me pick out which clip-on earrings she would wear, allowing me to touch the vast sea of shiny, shimmering, glimmering jewels in the heavy wooden box that was gushing over with opulently long strings of beads and pinky pastel cameos. When I lifted the lid, it opened up to expose shelves, drawers, and hidden pockets chock full of colorful layers of pins, earrings, hair combs, and rings the size of small birds.

As my fingers precariously landed on every pretty option, she’d suggest colors that would match her outfit, waiting to put on the perfect shade of bright lipstick once the earrings had been clipped neatly in place. When she’d chosen a stole to put around her shoulders, grabbed her gloves and her purse, I knew that it was then that our evening of magic together would begin.

Magic seems to be a befitting word for this collection as well. Check it:

Jolly Old St. Nicholas

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

The Night Before Christmas

The Holly and the Ivy

Christmas Past Tags

Let it Snow

Glad Tidings

Ode to Joy

Letters to Santa

Christmas Past Frames

Deck the Halls

Carol of the Bells

When you look at this line, where does it take you? Leave me a comment by midnight MST on Sunday, December 6 and I'll draw 2 lucky random winners!

Yearning for Christmases past,

~Cath

PS Today's your last day to contribute to last week's Tuesday Trigger! I can't wait to see what all you come up with. And I'm always looking for Tuesday Triggers to post on this blog, so be sure you send yours my way! Send them to tuesdaytrigger@gmail.com following the guidelines at the bottom of this post.

Wishing You a Moxie Fab Thanksgiving

Over the River and Through the Wood
by Lydia Marie Child

Over the river, and through the wood,
To Grandfather's house we go;
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
through the white and drifted snow.

A Smart Turnout--Anonymous

Over the river, and through the wood—
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes and bites the nose
As over the ground we go.

Over the River and Through the Woods by Joseph Holodook

Over the river, and through the wood,
To have a first-rate play.
Hear the bells ring, "Ting-a-ling-ding",
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!

Sledding by Eric Mohn

Over the river, and through the wood
Trot fast, my dapple-gray!
Spring over the ground like a hunting-hound,
For this is Thanksgiving Day.

Shortest Way Home by Eric Mohn

Over the river, and through the wood—
And straight through the barnyard gate,
We seem to go extremely slow,
It is so hard to wait!

Barn Doors by Eric Mohn

Over the river, and through the wood—
Now Grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

Freedom from Want by Norman Rockwell

From my home to yours,

~Cath

Editor's Choice: Brandy Jesperson--Trendy Ways to Show Thanks

Like most of you, I’ve been blessed with amazing parents who taught me the importance of gratitude at a very young age. No matter what was going on we acknowledged our blessings 365 days a year in prayers, notes of thanks, and service. As soon-to-be parents ourselves (our first son is due in February), my husband and I have started thinking about fun and unique ways to teach our kids to show their gratitude. So today I’d like to share a few trendy tips for showing thanks during the holiday season and beyond.

Gratitude Journal. I love this beautifully embossed journal from RedVelvetArt.com. It ties closed with a clever bow and arrow and is the perfect place to record a daily thought of thanks. I have volumes of journals from my youth (none as cute as this) that help me remember all my many blessings each time I read them. No matter how bad my day has been this is a quick and easy pick me up that is totally free of charge!

Orange Embossed Bow & Arrow Journal

Tom the Turkey. Knitting, felting, and crocheting are all the rage, so use a few of these supplies hanging around the house to create a home décor item your children will adore! Wrap yarn around Styrofoam balls, embellish with felt, and let your kids do the rest. Have each child write several things they’re grateful for on a cardstock feather. This turkey will not only be a great addition to your fall décor, but a great lesson in thanks giving for your little ones.

What a Turkey from Parents.com

Stone Centerpiece. Create a simple centerpiece for any family dinner that will help you and your guests count their blessings. Have each guest write one word on a stone stating something they’re grateful for. Then display the rocks down the middle of the table. Not only is this a great conversation starter, but a simple and trendy way decorate your table. For more festive centerpiece ideas check out this segment from last week’s Rachel Ray Show (I found all of Libby Langdon’s ideas totally inspiring.)

Stone Centerpiece

Thankful Tree. Bring nature indoors with this trendy and economical tree project from Paper Crafting with Kids. Cover an oatmeal canister with patterned paper, trim a few branches from a tree, and ask your family and friends to record their blessings on a cardstock leaf. This design could easily be changed for Christmas by swapping out the leaves for ornaments punched from patterned paper.

Thankful Tree from Paper Crafts Magazine's special issue Paper Crafting with Kids

Letterpress Thank Yous. I recently had the chance to play with the new Letterpress tool from Lifestyle Crafts. I fell in love with this luxuriously classic technique and am now drawn to all things letterpress. This thank you note card set from Lucky Bee Press really caught my eye with its crisp lines and trendy colors and motifs. Sending a note of thanks on this beautiful stationery is sure to brighten my day as well as my recipient’s.

Fortunately, showing gratitude is never really out of style. So use one of these ideas or come up with something all your own to express your thanks this holiday season. I know I’d be remiss if I didn’t take this chance to express my love and gratitude for my handsome husband, sweet baby boy, parents, siblings, and friends. I’m also grateful for my faith, my amazing job, and the beautiful creations and people I get to interact with each day.

I know you are all equally blessed. Drop me a line by midnight MST on Sunday, November 29 telling me what you are grateful for and I’ll randomly select one winner to win an assortment of paper crafting goodies.

Yours in gratitude,

Brandy

PS Cath wanted me to remind you that the Christmas in the Old Country Challenge is ongoing! Check it out and upload your projects here by Monday, December 7!

Tuesday Trigger: One More Nod to Fall

I don't know about you, friends, but I do what I can to continue celebrating fall up until the very last minute of Thanksgiving itself. It's not until the day after the Big Feast that we allow ourselves to listen to Christmas music, to decorate our home, and to start on our Christmas lists. My mantra is: First give thanks, then give gifts--and maybe get a few, too. :)

So, when I saw this amazing Tuesday Trigger in my in-box, I wanted to honor that hang-on-to-fall-as-long-as-possible attitude and share it with you.

Today's Tuesday Trigger comes from Ashley Harris. Here's what she had to say:

My Tuesday Trigger was triggered by this blog post on cluckclucksew.com.

Here is the image that struck me:

Scrap Buster Fall Pillow

I just went for full on lift of this:

The Colors of Fall Card by Ashley Harris

This was super fun! I love how it turned out. I just loved the colors and the feel of fall to it. Honestly, it just makes me happy. Thanks for the push!

I can't wait to see how Ashley's trigger has inspired you. And while this is great fall inspiration, as Thanksgiving comes and goes, I can totally see how this could be adapted to other types of seasons and/or occasions...including Christmas, can't you? Link yours up using Mr. Linky below and let's see how creatively you can interpret this fun Trigger!

Before I go, I wanted to give a shout-out to these Trigger Targets from last week's Tuesday Trigger from Megan Lock:

Lisa Henke

Deanna (Dee Woodland)

Lynn

Winter Sims

Vanessa Menhorn

Thanks to everyone who played! Now friends, the "holidays" are officially upon us here in the US, and I hope you'll save some time to be creative. It will be that outlet you'll need to stay sane as the festivities--and all the work that come with them--get underway!

All triggered up,

~Cath

PS Submit your seasonal Tuesday Triggers to this email address: tuesdaytrigger@gmail.com following the guidelines outlined at the bottom of this blog post! Hooray!

Winnerday!

Ready! Set! Scroll!

The winners of the Winter's Wings and Home for the Holidays collections from last week's Moxie Monday with Webster's Pages are:

Pamk who said...
both of these lines are fantastic. and i would love to win either of them. I can see such cute layouts with either series

and Dee Dee who said...
Yummy! I love the papers, and HELLO designer trim where have you been all my life?

And the winner of the comment-to-win on last week's Five (x4+1) for Friday: The Poetry of Pumpkin is:

Erika M. who said...
I'm totally loving the felted pumpkin - wish I could do something like that.

Congrats to all the winners and thanks to everyone for leaving a comment last week in the Moxie Fab World!

Winners, please send me your address in an email to cedvalson@papercraftsmag.com with the prize/post you won in the subject line, and I'll work on getting them ready for you after the Thanksgiving holiday!

I love Winnerday!

~Cath

Moxie Monday: Merrymint from American Crafts

Look out! There's a play on words in today's Moxie Monday from American Crafts: Merrymint. Get it? As in Merrymint=merriment=a refreshingly minty merry you can taste just by looking at it?

That's an instant B-line to the top of my A-list, and then I got a glimpse at this 12x12 piece of paper:

Sugarland

...in which I found myself opening the gates to a magical Christmasland where I wanted to live for-absolute-ever. Check it:

Wintergreen

Popcorn

Marshmallow

Milk and Cookies

Licorice

Sugar Cookie

Peppermint

Cinnamon Roll

Peanut Brittle

Toffee

Gumdrops

Pecan Pie

Figgy Pudding

Gingersnap

Candy Stripe

Candy Shoppe

Gingerbread House

Streusel

I mean seriously, friends, who wouldn't want to live in this delicious world? And then, when I found out that this edible elfin enterprise came with these, I was putting on my gloves, pulling down my hat, and wrapping my scarf a little tighter around my neck for the extended stay:

Yummy Accent Phrases Rub Ons

Mixed Nuts Dimensional Stickers

Fruitcake Dimensional Stickers

Egg Nog Flair

Would you like to join me? I've got two extra gingerbread houses just in case. We can talk about all the paper treats we will consume while we stroll arm-in-arm among the gumdrops, toffee, candy canes, frosting, and snowflakes in a sunshiney sea of winter blue. Just leave me a comment about what you love most about this line and I'll give each of my two guests the entire collection as my thank you for coming along.

Walking in a winter wonderland,

~Cath

PS Be sure and load up your Tuesday Triggers before I unveil a new one tomorrow--and I'll also have the winners from last week's comment-to-wins! And have you answered our new poll? I'd just love to know whether you consider yourself to be a card maker, a scrapbooker, or a candlestick maker, er, I mean, a little bit of both! ;)