Santa and the Elf

I've been a bad blogger, I know! I've been super busy with my creative projects and have lots of exciting things happening in my little papercrafting world. I've been asked to be a guest designer for Whiff of Joy stamps - I'm one of only 2 stampers from the US who are on this team, so that's pretty exciting!! (you can see me on the design team page by clicking on that link and scrolling down to the bottom). I just completed a special project for my BFF back in good 'ole Oklahoma, which was a true labor of love - it was a lot of work, but so worth it - I think the finished project is going to be something she (and maybe a few others) will treasure forever and I'm honored that I was part of it. {insert sappy music}. I had a few more projects picked up for publication in various papercrafting magazines next year and have been busy helping my local scrapbook store, Island Paperie, launch their new online store, which you can check out here. I'll be doing (paid - yay!!) design work for them next year as well.

Anyway, after Grandma Jo left we got our Christmas tree put up and decorated - and Dean's only completely toppled it twice!! I do think this is the last year for our sad little artificial tree we've had since our first Christmas living together in the "Inwood House" in Norman - it's listing badly to one side and I don't think it was designed to withstand the onslaught of two crazy cats and a two-year-old.

Joel grudgingly put Christmas lights in our 3 palm trees in the front yard and they look so good!! He wrapped the trunks and even got lights in all of the branches!! It only took him about 5 days and 8 trips to Home Depot to get it done, too - pretty impressive for him!! I'll try to get a picture soon. I couldn't talk him into doing lights on the house this year, so we're the scrooges of the neighborhood...actually, if you ask me some of the neighbors went a little overboard!! But Dean LOVES it and every night before bed he insists on going outside to look at the lights. (Actually, if it wasn't for Dean's excitement, I wouldn't be into the Christmas lights at all - total waste of electric energy if you ask me...)

We did take Dean on our annual trip to sit on Santa's lap at the mall. This year we were there on Aloha Friday, so Santa was in his Aloha attire - which I thought was pretty cute - who knew Santa had such nice legs?? (and you can't see it in the picture because the mall elves' photography skills suck, but Santa was wearing rubbah slippahs)! I'm sure Santa is much happier on Aloha Friday in our open-air (translation = non-air-conditioned) mall all day in 85 degree weather with 99% humidity than he is on "Traditional Santa Suit" day! Here are a few pics of our Christmas Preparations:And finally, Dean deciding it was more fun to dump everything out of the decorations box and climb on it than to help decorate...