package toppers + the list update

hi, folks!  i hope everyone had a merry Christmas.  ours was wonderful, exciting, and relaxing all at the same time.  Mr. Bagubian had a great time opening all of his gifts and he's had two days now to spend playing with all the new toys.  Hoss and i were pretty wiped out today, though.  we stayed up until 2:30am on Christmas Eve putting together a train table and then were up early Christmas morning to get the day started.  i'm hoping things get back to normal soon, but tomorrow we're going shopping all day, hitting up after Christmas sales so we'll probably be wiped out again on Friday!  oh, well, those are the holidays, right?
this season went by sooo fast, didn't it?  it's been a really lovely season, though, and i feel like i actually accomplished much of what i wanted to do.  not everything, but that's par for the course.

number 7 on my List was to wrap packages in a festive way and i was able to check that off, with a little help from Crate Paper, red and white baker's twine, assorted ribbons, washi clothespins, and white wrapping paper.  

i was inspired to make some little gift toppers by the CP Vellum Embellishments.  as soon as i got my box of Sleigh Ride goodies and saw them, i thought of so many things to do with them.  what actually happened was that i ended up hoarding them and i haven't used any yet!  but they did help me come up with these cute tags.

i trimmed a page of Sleigh Ride Accent Cuts and then overlaid each tag with a piece of vellum that i cut with pinking sheers.  i then sewed 3 sides together, leaving the 4th open to create a pocket.  i poured in some sequins, sewed up the 4th side, and my own vellum decorations were done!  super-easy!

when it came to putting them on my packages, i worked with the colors aqua, red, and white and just pulled different materials from my pile of Christmas crafts.  some Paper Source satin ribbon in Pool--both wide and thin--worked out great, as did the Whisker Graphics Itty Bitty bags with red polka dots.  for the above package, i also added a couple of small CP tags from the Sleigh Ride 6x6 paper pad, and a washi covered clothespin attaches the whole ensemble to the ribbon.  

i used a lot of red baker's twine too, wrapping it around packages several times before tying a bow and clipping the gift topper to it with another washi clothespin.

these were really fun to make and i had even more fun decorating my gifts...

and now...speaking of The List, let me give you an update on how much of it i was able to accomplish.

i think i can honestly say that my mission was completed.  there are a couple of loose ends to tie up, but all in all, this was successful.  

1.)  we got a real Christmas tree on December 1st.

2.)  i made two batches of cookies Christmas Eve morning--chocolate chip with mint chips and chocolate chocolate chip with mint chips.  i really wanted to get in some cut outs, but they are time-consuming and if i'm going to make any, they'll just have to wait a few days.

3.)  i made 25 crafty projects and blogged about them...this is mostly true:

i made 8 ornaments and blogged about them here

i made 1 Advent Calendar and blogged about it here

i made 8 package toppers and blogged about them earlier in this post

i made 14 Christmas cards...and haven't blogged about them yet, but i will before the month is over!

technically, that is 31 projects.  my real goal, of course, was 25 different projects, and likely 25 blog posts, but time just did not allow for that.  i did, however, share a couple of Christmas kits which i listed in my Etsy shop, as well as several different combinations of Christmas-inspired washi clothespins.  so...i'm calling #3 complete.

4.)  we took Mr. Bagubian to see Santa Claus last weekend and he actually sat on the big guy's lap by himself without crying.  we were so proud!  

5.)  i showed you my festive packages (twice!)

6.)  i haven't sent them out, but i was able to make Christmas cards and i'm pretty proud of myself for not pushing that list item aside.  when i first shared my list, i said that would be the most difficult task to accomplish.  but i did it!  i made cards to send out to family and close friends.  all that's left to do is photograph them (to share here) and then stick them in the mail.  i'm calling this one accomplished, too!

7.)  we walked around the neighborhood several times looking at all of the Christmas lights with Mr. Bagubian.  

8.)  i made 8 tree ornaments...

9.)  we definitely started some new traditions...going to see Santa, the Advent Calendar and remembering to be happy about something everyday, staying up late on Christmas Eve to assemble the train table--i don't think that will be the last time we do something like that.  i also like the tradition of this list!

10.)  Hoss and i went Christmas shopping last Wednesday night and got Peppermint Mochas...we had a really nice time.  i can definitely see making that a tradition, too.  my mom even sent us a Starbucks gift card to help out...thanks, Mom!  if we make this a tradition, can you make that a tradition? :)

11.)  well, we tried here, but Gooby was just not into watching Rudolph.  he liked it at first but quickly got restless and wanted to go play the first time we put it on for him.  he woke up sick on Sunday so Hoss tried to take advantage of his lethargy and put it on again but he just wanted to watch Cars 2 instead.  maybe we'll try Frosty sometime before the New Year and have better luck.

12.)  i really did enjoy the season and it all culminated on Christmas day when Gooby saw his presents under the tree.  that little guy has been a joy all month long and i have him to thank for making this season so delightful and spirited!  Hoss and i truly are lucky that we have him.

i hope the season has found you happy and surrounded by people who love you, as well.  Happy Holidays, friends.