2012 New Years Card

Lately, I haven't been one for sending Christmas cards because it's just one more thing to have to do during an already busy holiday season. But I still like the idea of sending a greeting. So this year I send out my first batch of New Years cards. It's a nice way to send a greeting of wishes for peace, happiness, or any other sentiment for the upcoming year. My greeting for this year was "Wishing you a peaceful 2012". I went with that because the picture I decided to used invoked a sense of calm and peacefulness to me, while its snowiness matched the season. I simply ordered a bunch of copies of a photo I took with a digitally added sentiment from Snapfish in a matte finish. I then matted the photo to a piece of black cardstock and added a small piece of ribbon. I finished it off by stamping some branches onto the envelopes. A simply project to send a message of peace to your friends. 

A simple project to send a message of peace to your friends. 

2011 Resolution Recap

Ah New Year's resolutions. We all make them... but how many do we really keep? Here are my resolutions for 2011 and how I did with them:

• Lose at least 36lbs - Well, I gained weight instead of losing any thanks to some medications I was put on
• Get Pop Hearts Studio off the ground - Maybe in 2012
• Finish my massive Scrapping the Magic project list - Got about 1/2 my planned projects done, got sidetracked by splitting up the site into 3 different blogs
• Start up my personal blog and keep it going - I accomplished this!
• Set up my portfolio website - Not sure I still want to do this
• Create, Create, Create! - I had my ups and downs... didn't do as much as I hoped or planned

Looks like I'll be carrying some of these over to 2012!

I Was a Very Good Girl This Year!

Some of my Christmas presents. I can't wait to start using them!

Christmas Baking - Part 3

Rice Krispie Treats and German Chocolate Pie. And this brings my Christmas Baking to an end. 

Merry Christmas!

"Christmas isn't about candy canes, or lights all aglow, it's the hearts that we touch, and the care that we show."

Wishing all my friends and family a very Merry Holiday Season!

Christmas Baking - Part 2

Pistachio Pudding Cake, 3 Dozen Peppermint Meltaways, Carrot Cake Bars, Sugar Free Brownies, and Pumpkin Fluff Pie. Whew... almost done! 

Christmas Baking - Part 1

2 dozen Holly Wreaths/Trees, 4 dozen Peanut Butter Blossoms, 2 dozen Snow Balls, and 4 dozen Chocolate Chip Cookies. And I'm only about 1/2 done with the baking.

Sounds of the Seasons

 Like a lot of people, I LOVE Christmas music. There are only a handful of songs I don't care for (Christmas Wrapping I'm talking to you!). Like most people I have a list of my favorites, not counting Bing, Nat, and Johnny... they are a given. Now my everyday music taste is mostly Top 40 stuff with my favorites being OneRepublic, Maroon 5, and REM, so some of these titles might come as a surprise... but I find with Christmas music the older the better!

A Christmas Together by John Denver and The Muppets - As a child growing up in a Muppet loving family this is a must to listen to many, many times during the holiday season.

Christmas by Alabama - I'm not generally drawn to some of the classic country artist, but my parents are. I grew up listening to this album and the older I get the better they get. Some of the songs are just so beautiful!

Once Upon a Christmas By Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton - Just like Alabama's album, I grew up on not only Kenny and Dolly's album but also the TV special. It was tradition to watch it every year... until the VHS tape died.

Christmas Portrait by The Carpenters - It's the Carpenters... does anything else really need to be said?

Brand New Year by SheDaisy - Some more modern artists make my list too. I like this album because the songs are different, catchy, and their song "Twist of the Magi" with Rascal Flats is excellent.

Acoustic Hearts Of Winter by Aly & AJ - These girls are super talented and their versions of some of the classics are really wonderful.

Merry Christmas With Love by Clay Aiken - The American Idol that should have been. I was a big Claymate during his season and when his Christmas album came out I knew I had to have it. It was even better than I expected, producing two of my all time favorite holiday songs "Mary, Did You Know" and "Merry Christmas With Love".

What are some of your favorite holiday albums? Share in the comments, because I'm always looking for new tunes!

Happy Valentine's Day!