100 days to Christmas | sunday quotable

100 days to Christmas | spice cookies

I have missed my Christmas baking over the last couple of weeks.

I haven't made spice cookies since I last blogged about them. They are still one of our most favourite cookies ever - I baked a batch today, and there about five left in the box. Looks like I'll be whipping up another batch tomorrow.

If you love Christmas baking as much as me, join me on Saturday December 10th for a virtual cookie exchange! I'll include a  linky in my usual cookie post, and invite you to share a cookie recipe on your blog and link back here. I'll put the post up at 3pm AEST (there is no daylight savings time in Queensland, which is GMT +10)

Will you be joining in the cookie exchange?

100 days to Christmas | the birthday card club

I've been working on my cards on and off this week.

I say on and off, because I decided that I wasn't interested in creating any of the cards from this post. Instead I took inspiration from somewhere else (which I'll share when the cards are done and well on their way to new homes), so had to buy a new stamp.

But while I was working on this pile of cards (the most labour-instensive card of my Christmas-card-making career), I had a thought. I go to a lot of trouble every year to send Christmas cards to friends and family around the world, but in our house birthdays are more important, and I never remember them!

So, I thought, why not start a birthday card club for 2012? And I'm inviting you to join me. My thought is to send a card (handmade or store-bought, your choice, no guilt) to everyone on the list in time for their birthday. For example, if ten people sign up, then nine people will send cards to each birthday recipient.

If you think the idea of getting cards from all over the world celebrating your birthday sounds like fun, please email purplecrazymum{at}gmail.com with your postal address and birth date (year is optional). This will be an international swap, please only join in if you are willing to post overseas. Sign ups will close on Christmas Day, and I'll email the birthday card list for January-June by New Years Day so those cards can start swapping.

Are birthday cards as much fun to recieve as Christmas cards?

100 days to Christmas | the music we play

There's some things that follow us from childhood to adulthood to parenthood. The music we listen to seems to be one of those things (and I think the books we read are also influenced by childhood, but that's a whole other post)

This Disney album is one of those things that has followed me through my entire life. Christmas isn't complete without it. In fact, I "lost" my copy of it a couple of years ago (turns out it wasn't lost, merely shoved into a box out of the way), and pestered my mum until she hunted through my sister's in-storage boxes until she found it and sent it to me (and now I need to hunt it out and return it to my sister.)

Remember when you copied vinyl LPs on to tape? Well, this album was at the end of the Disney album above. I have been searching for it for a number of years, and just two weeks ago one of my friends found it on ebay! I snapped it up, and can't wait to play it for my kids!(just need to get it off the vinyl and onto a cd/mp3)

What album from your childhood still gets played each year?

one little word | do

I know it's still a few weeks until the start of the new year. And I know DO was Lee's word in 2011. But I'm not taking her journey, I'm taking mine.

Because, despite all my promises to myself that I'm going to DO something, I have yet to follow through on just about everything this year. I think the last thing that I actually completed for.my.self. was layout-a-day in February.

My journey to wellness has not been successful, because I have let myself get away with every excuse. Even when I kicked my bloggy butt, I still let myself down!

In 2012 I am making a committment to myself to DO the things I set out to do. Between now and January 1st, I need to work out what areas I need to focus on, and come up with some clear ideas to help me achieve the result of DOing.

Will you have one word guiding your 2012?

100 days to Christmas | sunday quotable

100 days to Christmas | to-do this week

My house has been swamped with a rotten bug this week - and we have visitors who succumbed,as well! Now I'm trying to put my Christmas hat back on!

Source: favecrafts.com via Cate on Pinterest

there's pots to paint

Source: s151.photobucket.com via Cate on Pinterest

and pinecones, too

Source: leafytreetopspot.blogspot.com via Cate on Pinterest

tshirts to decorate

Source: craftily-ever-after.blogspot.com via Cate on Pinterest

nativities to make

Source: a-personaltouch.blogspot.com via Cate on Pinterest

and cute class gifts

Source: keep-calm-and.tumblr.com via Cate on Pinterest

all while remembering to keep calm

How's your list looking this week?

100 days to Christmas | social media secret santa

I'm taking part in the Social Media Secret Santa over at Fat Mum Slim, and for the life of me, I can't remember what I wrote down that I wanted for Christmas.

Each year, gifts for me are usually things that I buy. I know, I made that stand earlier this year, but it didn't even last until Mothers Day. I got a foot spa (which is still in the box, never used), and I bought it myself.

That's why I love joining in with secret santas (or kris kringles, depending on your country of origin). Because then I get at least one gift that I haven't bought myself. And who doesn't love getting gifts in the mail?!

So, I thought it would be fun to put together a list with a few items on it, because I know that at some stage my assigned partner will be checking out my blog, and trying to find out more about me. And if they don't, my family will, so there's another chance I won't have to buy my own gifts!

Organisation is not my strong point any more. Once upon a time, I planned out my day down to the last fifteen minutes, but my little kids have other ideas, and I have spent the last five years in a frazzled mess of forgetting to pay bills on time, promising to do stuff with the kids and forgetting, not returning forms to school on time (which is particularly hard when you get three days notice and they require payment for something). I made a half-arsed attempt to change that this year, but I wasn't successful. I've been eyeing an OTi organiser since they first came out three years ago, and this year they introduced purple, so I think this will be making it's way into my handbag, even if Santa doesn't bring it!

Making a card organiser (and filling it with cards) is something that has been on my list for a few years now. In fact, I have the box (well, several different boxes, because I couldn't decide which one would be better), but it's never made it off the shelf to be filled with cards. This box from Kikki-K is ready to go.

Something totally special for me that no one else gets any benefit from? Earrings. Funky earrings, even. And you can't get much funkier (in Australia) than Epheriell.

What totally-just-for-you item is on your Christmas wishlist?

100 days to Christmas | sunday quotable

sunday scrap | product samples for bella paperie

On Riley's first day at daycare, I took myself out of the house on some errands and ended up at my local scrapbook shop, where I was asked to create some samples with the new Basic Grey Picadilly line.

{inspired by this sketch}

{inspired by this sketch}

{inspired by the October sketch challenge at scrapbook savvy}

{inspired by this layout from Shimelle}

Four layouts in a week is the most I've created since layout-a-day in February! Feels good!

meanwhile, in other news | 10 things

linking up to Shimelle's 10 things

Part of the reason that I'm finding myself being able to almost-keep-up with posting every day is because I spend chunks of time writing and scheduling blog posts. I keep having ideas for new posts while I'm doing that, but I haven't got good about writing those ideas down, so I thought today I'd share a list of the ideas that are rumbling around in my head in the hopes that I can clarify and actually write the posts!

1 - I'm thinking about starting a monthly linky party called "see it, pin it, make it" I pin so much stuff with the best of intentions and inspiration, now I need to make myself DO something.

2 - my one little word for 2012 is already rasing it's head, so I'm working on a post to explain how I came to it, and what I hope it will mean for my 2012

3 - sunday scrapping is going to become a weekly feature. In 2010 I called it 53 Mondays and shared my creating, in 2012 I want Sundays to be specifically for scrapping. I need to flex those muscles again.

4 - I have signed up for Reclaiming My Time and Move More Eat Well 2012. Karen inspires me with her words and ability to fit so much in to her day, and I'm hoping that working alongside Cathy for a year will give me a boost of motivation that I haven't had this year. Expect at least one post on each class before Christmas.

5 - scouting has suddenly become a big part of my life. I want to share how it came about, and what my plans are for remembering this time in my life.

6 - I love Lee's thoughtful and thought-provoking posts, and I'm really enjoying her new series, hello Monday. I think it's a great way to celebrate the start of each week.

7 - more Christmas posts. At the moment I'm thinking about the music we play, the movies we watch, and just recently the books we read at Christmas time. There's also more baking, photo ideas, and I'd love to have some Christmas giveaways, but I'm still thinking about that. (my shy-even-online-self can't quite bring myself to email anybody and ask if I can give away something, although I'd love to giveaway a JYC class and 12 Days of Christmas from BPC)

8 - Douglas has his very first double digit birthday fast approaching. His big brothers are coming for a visit, so there's bound to be a birthday and brothers post.

9 - Beverly came up with a great idea for 11/11/11, so I've been busy putting my post together.

10 - one last list of 10 things for 2011

100 days to Christmas | Christmas classes

I might be thinking about taking these classes, or just sharing them because I think they're pretty cool and worth looking at.

{12 days to Christmas}

Who doesn't love BPC classes? But the thing I love most about a class like this is getting so many different perspectives on the same time of year or idea. I love Karen Grunberg's style, and Elizabeth Dillow, Stacey Julian, May Flaum, Amy Tan are all swoon-worthy.

{Holiday Templates}

I took this class last year. But our Christmas season was so wet that hardly any photos exist, so I never really created anything. But the freebies alone are worth it! A little piece of me is thinking about signing up just for the freebies.

{Get Organised for the Holidays}

I love the sound of this class - and Aby has been running a series on her blog this month called "get your home ready for the holidays"

{Journal Your Christmas 2011}

I haven't finished a journal yet, but I love reading the prompts, talking about it with the family, and seeing what everyone else creates.

There is also a super-awesome online crop this weekend to help you get a jump-start on creating for Christmas.

{Holiday Card Boot Camp}

This class is already running - I won a place from Lain at Layout-A-Day, but I'm still waiting to hear from the class teacher.

Have I missed any classes (besides December Daily)? Will you be taking any of these classes this year?

100 days to Christmas | Jesse Tree advent

Today's guest post is from Melissa, who blogs over at Remember to Breathe.

When I was growing up we always had a chocolate filled advent calendar. You know the ones ... cardboard doors that you open to reveal a compound chocolate treat. There were four of us kids which meant every fourth day it was our turn to open up the door and gobble the treat. When I had kids of my own I wanted to restart the Christmas countdown. The first year we had an advent calendar I found a fun one which had stickers that you stuck on a background until finally by Christmas you had a full nativity scene. Following that we had a few lazy years of supermarket advent calendars until I pulled the plug because the majority of them were Bart Simpson or Barbie themed.

Finally, a few years ago, I stumbled across the Jesse Tree concept, which explores in broad brush strokes the story from creation to Jesus using a passage from the bible each day along with a decoration to hang on a tree that represents the story. It was just what we were looking for. To halt the grumbling I added in a pick from a lolly bowl while we were all discussing the stories. My first Jesse Tree consisted of a branch from the garden in a ginger pot and paper decorations printed from the computer.

The next year, inspired by all the cute advent calendars on the web, I decided to make our own. Now for me to complete a craft project, it needs to be easy and quick and I had seen the perfect idea ... socks on a string. By happy coincidence target was having a sale on socks and my local store had multipacks of red, white and green socks. Add some string, some wooden pegs from the Reject shop and we had a calendar. I decided to fancy it up a  bit and used my hot glue gun to stick on some stars I cut out of red felt but that is entirely optional. Use a texta to write the numbers 1-24 on the pegs and hang it up and your done. Inside the socks I put a lolly for each member of the family and the bible verses for each day. I loved it then and now four years later I still love it and can’t wait until we pull it out again.

Last year our kidschurch put out a list of readings for the Jesse Tree (the first time they’ve done that) and so we followed them but didn’t make or hang any ornaments because we moved in December and hanging the socks was about all I could manage.

This year I will be pulling out my trusty row of socks, I just have to work out where we will hang them in the new house. We will also be following The Jesse Tree Advent Celebration which is available as a free download on AnnVoskamp’s Blog: A Holy Experience. So as you can see our advent traditions are evolving year by year. The socks are definitely here to stay and I would recommend them as very easy and just a fun, bright and cheery addition to the Christmas season.

Do you count down to Christmas? Are your family traditions settled or are you still trying to find the things that your kids will remember when they’re grown?

100 days to Christmas | 48 days

Sometimes I wish it snowed in Australia for Christmas.

Source: polyvore.com via Katie on Pinterest

Snow feels like a definitive line between almost-Christmas and Christmas time. It's hard to get enthusiastic about Christmas only being 48 days away (and despite all these blog posts, I really don't have a clear idea about what I'm doing, making, seeing).

But school holidays are our definitive line. The kids finish school on December 8th this year (school oficially finishes December 9th, but our school prefers children not to go in on clean-up day) And I already have a mental image of a summer project in my mind.

45 days of summer is going to be an activity-a-day thing for the kids. In the lead up to Christmas it will include watching Christmas movies, creating, decorating; after Christmas it will include summer-holiday-type activities, running under the sprinkler, exploring new places, preparing for a new school year.

I've learnt from 100 days to Christmas that I need to have a better calendar, and a better to-do list, and include myself on the list. I'm hoping to document each day through photos, and eventually blog posts and scrapbook pages.

Would you change the Christmas weather if you could?

PS - I won a seat in Holiday Card Bootcamp from Lain at Layout A Day - I'm still scarred by the upside-down-embossing incident!

story telling sunday | the Christmas basket

Linking up with Sian's Story Telling Sunday.

It's looking worse for wear. One of the candy canes has come off (been pulled off?) The paint is flaking.

I rescued it from the rubbish box today, thrown there when we were emptying the front room of three years worth of needs-to-be-somewhere-but-doesn't-have-a-home-junk, ready for visitors in a week, and Nat moving in to her very-own-room in two weeks.

It came filled with screwed up paper and a nest of shredded cellophane, holding the very first gift of toiletries given to an eleven-year-old-girl. In fact, I think it was an eleven-year-old-girl's very first gift of Body Shop toiletries, dewberry, I think.

The basket has moved to eleventy-billion houses, sat on eleventy-billion tables, housed trinkets and important stuff and dust. And today, it's going to my craft desk, to spend the rest of it's life, holding the most important stuff of it's twenty-something-year life span - memories.

100 days to Christmas | sunday quotable