Are all of you ready? Julie had this great idea of having me list some things that might help each of us have a more memorable and meaningful Christmas.
Julie and her family are planning on caroling to an assisted living center tomorrow night. In the past, my family has purchased candy canes, lots of them, printed up a note that said, "You've been Candy Cane!", and taped the note, with dozens of candy canes to the doors of our neighbors, who had young children, or were elderly with no family around. We would do this very quietly, then ring the doorbell and run as fast as we could.
Here are a few more that might help:
Politely decline requests that will take you away from family.
Play more Christmas music.
Donate gently used items to a thrift store.
Go Christmas caroling.
Avoid “mad rush” shopping times.
Say thank you as often as possible.
Schedule a night to help another person or family.
Call someone you normally wouldn't to wish him or her a Merry Christmas.
A few minutes ago on the phone, Julie accused me, Lindsay Dean Moore, of being......... sappy!
Okay........It's probably true, I am one sappy guy! What can I say? I once ditched out of a dinner meeting in New York, ran five New York City blocks, just to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza. It was worth it! I love seeing tree's lining the street dressed with little teeny white lights and decorated store front windows. I can listen to the same Christmas song 100 times and not get tired of it. I've always wondered why you don't see mistletoe around like you use too and I love how quiet things are on Christmas eve. Everything shuts down early and by 7:00pm, in our town, the roads are free from traffic.
I could go on, but you all might gang up on me and my sappiness!
The movie clip above? It's one of Julie's and my wife's favorite Christmas movies, Meet me in St. Louis starring Jufy Garland. Fun fun!
I hope you like it!
I also hope you like the projects that were created below:
The Jolly By Golly Gift Card Holders comes from Belinda Chang.
This cool project comes from Candace Lauman. You people are so creative!
The last three come from Carly Robertson. Fun gift tag idea's for those of us who are last minute "wrappers".
Tomorrow will probably be our last blog for this week.
If you're not in the Christmas spirit yet, there's still plenty of time!
When he gave it to me I thanked him and told him that, "He made my day." He said, "I did?" sounding very surprised. I replied that of course he did. Then he said, "I didn't know your day looked like that."
Well, everyone, that is exactly what my typical day looks like......... a total mess! I think that is me in the center with my hair standing on end, and all the messy stuff swirling around.
Oh well. One day I am going to get organized and have time to make fabulous projects like these.
By Gudrun Loennecken
By Natasja Verbeek
By Wendy Sue Anderson
By Laura Craigie
Have a great day....... hey, maybe someone will even make it for you.......... or you theirs!
We apologize for not being around yesterday. Julie and I were both in Seattle and Portland the last couple of days for business.
Trust me, it was an adventure that is very blog worthy. I'll save that one for Julie.
We are very committed to writing something everyday(just not on the weekends).
Why?
Several reasons. We are a small company, with not a lot of employee's. We love the interaction with each of you. Your comments are fun, insightful, full of suggestions, make us laugh, and even sometimes make us cry. We feel very connected to each of you. Think of it as Cosmo Cricket company therapy and believe me, we need it.
Okay, no project today, only winners from our drawing and a video. So this video really hits home.
When my son, who is now 24, was in elementary school, I want to say 4th or 5th grade, he actually licked the pole on the playground, all of the tongue, and we got a call from the principal, saying that Chris was with the school nurse because he was a little sore.
I hope you enjoy!
Here are the drawing winners from this weeks contest:
Eileen Velez
Rebecca Ollman
Chris Blagrove
Green Horned Unicorn?
Amy H. Posted 12/15 at 3:25PM?
Have a great weekend and watch next week for some great projects and some fun giveaways!
Here is another great example of a terrific project using Jolly By Golly, which by the way, is one of the kits that 5 lucky winners will win when we draw this Friday.
The creator of this project?
Becky Williams! Becky- This is fantastic.
Thank you so much for sharing with us!
I mentioned yesterday a few of my favorite holiday movies and songs. I'm taking it upon myself to try to get all of you in the holiday spirit.
I hope you enjoy not only the layout above but also the clip below.
And last, Dr. Seuss was a genius. I love reading this poem to my kids, who by the way range in age from 16-24:
very Who Down in Whoville Liked Christmas a lot… But the Grinch, Who lived just north of Whoville, Did NOT! The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season! Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason. It could be his head wasn’t screwed on just right. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. But I think that the most likely reason of all, May have been that his heart was two sizes too small. Whatever the reason, His heart or his shoes, He stood there on Christmas Eve, hating the Whos, Staring down from his cave with a sour, Grinchy frown, At the warm lighted windows below in their town. For he knew every Who down in Whoville beneath, Was busy now, hanging a mistletoe wreath. “And they’re hanging their stockings!” he snarled with a sneer, “Tomorrow is Christmas! It’s practically here!” Then he growled, with his Grinch fingers nervously drumming, “I MUST find some way to stop Christmas from coming!” For Tomorrow, he knew, all the Who girls and boys, Would wake bright and early. They’d rush for their toys! And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise! That’s one thing he hated! The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! Then the Whos, young and old, would sit down to a feast. And they’d feast! And they’d feast! And they’d FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! They would feast on Who-pudding, and rare Who-roast beast. Which was something the Grinch couldn’t stand in the least! And THEN They’d do something He liked least of all! Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, Would stand close together, with Christmas bells ringing. They’d stand hand-in-hand. And the Whos would start singing! They’d sing! And they’d sing! And they’d SING! SING! SING! SING! And the more the Grinch thought of this Who Christmas Sing, The more the Grinch thought, “I must stop this whole thing!” “Why, for fifty-three years I’ve put up with it now!” “I MUST stop this Christmas from coming! But HOW?” Then he got an idea! An awful idea! THE GRINCH GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA! “I know just what to do!” The Grinch laughed in his throat. And he made a quick Santy Claus hat and a coat. And he chuckled, and clucked, “What a great Grinchy trick!” “With this coat and this hat, I look just like Saint Nick!” “All I need is a reindeer…” The Grinch looked around. But, since reindeer are scarce, there was none to be found. Did that stop the old Grinch? No! The Grinch simply said, “If I can’t find a reindeer, I’ll make one instead!” So he called his dog, Max. Then he took some red thread, And he tied a big horn on the top of his head. THEN He loaded some bags And some old empty sacks, On a ramshackle sleigh And he hitched up old Max. Then the Grinch said, “Giddap!” And the sleigh started down, Toward the homes where the Whos Lay asnooze in their town. All their windows were dark. Quiet snow filled the air. All the Whos were all dreaming sweet dreams without care. When he came to the first little house on the square. “This is stop number one,” the old Grinchy Claus hissed, And he climbed to the roof, empty bags in his fist. Then he slid down the chimney. A rather tight pinch. But, if Santa could do it, then so could the Grinch. He got stuck only once, for a moment or two. Then he stuck his head out of the fireplace flue. Where the little Who stockings all hung in a row. “These stockings,” he grinned, “are the first things to go!” Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant, Around the whole room, and he took every present! Pop guns! And bicycles! Roller skates! Drums! Checkerboards! Tricycles! Popcorn! And plums! And he stuffed them in bags. Then the Grinch, very nimbly, Stuffed all the bags, one by one, up the chimney! Then he slunk to the icebox. He took the Whos’ feast! He took the Who-pudding! He took the roast beast! He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash. Why, that Grinch even took their last can of Who-hash! Then he stuffed all the food up the chimney with glee. “And NOW!” grinned the Grinch, “I will stuff up the tree!” And the Grinch grabbed the tree, and he started to shove, When he heard a small sound like the coo of a dove. He turned around fast, and he saw a small Who! Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two. The Grinch had been caught by this tiny Who daughter, Who’d got out of bed for a cup of cold water. She stared at the Grinch and said, “Santy Claus, why,” “Why are you taking our Christmas tree? WHY?” But, you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick, He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick! “Why, my sweet little tot,” the fake Santy Claus lied, “There’s a light on this tree that won’t light on one side.” “So I’m taking it home to my workshop, my dear.” “I’ll fix it up there. Then I’ll bring it back here.” And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head, And he got her a drink and he sent her to bed. And when Cindy-Lou Who went to bed with her cup, HE went to the chimney and stuffed the tree up! Then the last thing he took Was the log for their fire! Then he went up the chimney, himself, the old liar. On their walls he left nothing but hooks and some wire. And the one speck of food That he left in the house, Was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse. Then He did the same thing To the other Whos’ houses Leaving crumbs Much too small For the other Whos’ mouses! It was quarter past dawn… All the Whos, still a-bed, All the Whos, still asnooze When he packed up his sled, Packed it up with their presents! The ribbons! The wrappings! The tags! And the tinsel! The trimmings! The trappings! Three thousand feet up! Up the side of Mt. Crumpit, He rode with his load to the tiptop to dump it! “PoohPooh to the Whos!” he was grinchishly humming. “They’re finding out now that no Christmas is coming!” “They’re just waking up! I know just what they’ll do!” “Their mouths will hang open a minute or two, Then the Whos down in Whoville will all cry BooHoo!” “That’s a noise,” grinned the Grinch, “That I simply MUST hear!” So he paused. And the Grinch put his hand to his ear. And he did hear a sound rising over the snow. It started in low. Then it started to grow. But the sound wasn’t sad! Why, this sound sounded merry! It couldn’t be so! But it WAS merry! VERY! He stared down at Whoville! The Grinch popped his eyes! Then he shook! What he saw was a shocking surprise! Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, Was singing! Without any presents at all! He HADN’T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME! Somehow or other, it came just the same! And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling: “How could it be so?” “It came with out ribbons! It came without tags!” “It came without packages, boxes or bags!” And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! “Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.” “Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!” And what happened then? Well…in Whoville they say, That the Grinch’s small heart Grew three sizes that day! And the minute his heart didn’t feel quite so tight, He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light, And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast! And he, HE HIMSELF! The Grinch carved the roast beast!
For those of you counting, there are only nine more shopping days until Christmas! Yikes!
Todays blog?
First we will start with the project above.
This is the coolest paper mache' project ever brought to us courtesy of Kristie Coleman, using Jolly By Golly papers and chipboard. I think by golly she did a great job.
If there was a television show entitled "Scrapping with the Stars", and if I were a judge, I would be giving this project a 10!
Last week, I saw the movie Elf twice on DVD for the first time last week (I know I'm a little behind the times, okay maybe a lot). The movie had it's moments. The clip below is my favorite.
I have played it over and over at the office. The office staff has threatened me if I play it one more time.
I love it! Every year I have my most awesome, terrific, incredible, fantastic Holiday song, and this year is it.
I have You Tubed every version of this song and this one won hands down. This to me, won hands down Zooey, wherever you are, I am your number one fan!!! I wonder if she scrapbooks.
Of course what would a Lindsay blog be without Lindsay having a giveaway? In honor of the Holidays, we will be giving away to 5 lucky blog followers a Jolly By Golly and an Oh Joy Paper Crafting Kit for you to work you're holiday magic.
Simply comment, and let us know your favorite Christmas movie (mine? While you were Sleeping, Die Hard, the first one, and A Christmas Story, Hilarious) or your favorite Holiday song ( have you heard Hanukkah by Adam Sandler? Grown-up Christmas list by Amy Grant- Love em!)
We will pick the winners on Friday.
Good luck and thanks for stopping by and visiting us!
Are you feeling the Christmas crunch? Sometimes it just comes down to the wire and you still haven't figured out what to get that one family member.
For me it's always my dad. He is one of those people that has everything he wants and no desire to have anything else. I rack my brain every year. He loves reading and so books are always a good choice, except that twice I have gotten books for him that he got himself for Christmas. Then add in that I have four siblings who are also thinking he would like a book and combine that with the only things he reads about (woodworking, jeeping, Mormon history) and you are likely to duplicate with one of their gifts too. One year, my brother, myself and Santa all got him the same book.
It's for situations like these that the gift card was invented. The thing I don't like about gift cards is that they are impersonal. Our solution to that is to make fun little gift card holders. You can then use patterns, colors, themes, etc., that apply to the reciever. Also, I think making something for someone shows them you care.
Here are our three takes. Special thanks to Tiffany for these great ideas.
My internet has been down all morning. Sorry for the late post, did you think I was MIA again?
With no internet, I couldn't get much work done this morning, this led to a long chat with Mr. Lindsay Moore. Lindsay is my very best, outside of my family, friend. In fact, I often tell him he should have been a girl so we could shop together, paint toe-nails and stuff...... I mean he's already got the name for it. This always makes him cringe, which makes me tease him about it all the more.
So, what would we talk about for more than 30 minutes this morning?
Different types of talkers...... OF COURSE! Did you know there are many different types of talkers? Our conversation started with what we call "Pause Talkers."
Maybe you know a pause talker or two. These are people that you can never quite get in sync with during the conversation. You may be talking, then you pause, so that they can start talking. But, they don't start talking, the silence is too long for you to be comfortable, so you begin talking, but as you do so do they. So, then you stop, but since you had started talking again, they stop too. Then you both start, then you both stop, then you repeat until at last the conversation ends.
Another type of talker is the "Mumbler". I find that most teen boys fit this category. I can never understand what my 12 year old is saying. I feel like Marlin in Finding Nemo, "Look, you're really cute, but I can't understand what you're saying. Say the first thing again."
I'm sure you have all met "Close Talkers." There is a close talker I know in this industry who comes to chat with me at the trade shows. The first conversation I had with this man started with me leaning on the counter in our booth and him standing next to me. He got closer, I inched away. This went until the counter (5 feet long) ran out and I almost fell over thinking I still had some in front of me.
Whisper Talkers. Lindsay claims there are two different types of whisper talkers, cool ones and normal ones. I'm not sure the latter really exists. I just think at 49, Lindsay is losing his hearing. But, I do agree on the "Cool Whisper Talker". Matt, are you reading this?!?!? The clear signs of this type are: a whispering voice, eyes closed slightly, lips not really moving. Think Batman, he is one cool whisper talker!
Lindsay claims I am a "Bob and Weave Talker". I suppose it is somewhat true. Have you ever asked me a personal question? If you have you will probably agree with Lindsay. I have a way of never answering questions I don't want to answer. My approach? Answer the question with a question.
Big Word Talkers. I have a friend that is a big word talker. He uses words that I am sure are not English. I never know what he is talking about. I have to look up dozens of words everytime he emails me. When I am around him, I become what Lindsay calls a "Face Talker."
Face Talkers are people that use their face and head to communicate rather than actually saying something. There is a lot of nodding, smiling and Uh-huh-ing.
By the end of our conversation we were laughing pretty hard. I hope it brought a smile to your face too!
Oh and you probably want to know who won yesterdays prize. Congratulations Leese Christine, send us your address and we'll send you your prize! Have a great weekend everyone. And if you have any gift card holder ideas, we'd love to see them out of our products.
Let's start with the apology. I'm sorry there was no blogging to be found yesterday. I had just sat down at my computer to write a post when my daughter called from school. She had forgotten to tell me that it was the NOVA (similar to DARE, or other anti-drug use school programs) graduation and she really wanted me to come. More about my thoughts on this later in the post.
Have you seen Tia Bennett's rumpled paper flowers? I saw a tutorial for them on the CK blog. I thought they were really fun so I passed along the tutorial to our design team. Here are two different takes.
First by Laura Craigie, using Chemistry mixed with Lil' Man. You'll notice Laura's flower is made with a folded piece of paper, so that it is all one color. Natasja's below is quite different. These are also cute done with ribbon or torn fabrics.
Then, Natasja, took Kate's ballet school photos and made this layout using Everafter. It's nice having talented scrapbooking friends!
Ok, now for a giveaway. Lindsay and Eric are out of town on a rare trip together. But, just to show that Lindsay isn't the only one that can give away big prizes, one lucky person commenting today will win an Earth Love/ The Boyfriend Paper Pad, one of each of our Blackboard Albums and boxes and a Nutmeg Paper Crafting kit. I don't even know how much value that adds up to. If you're good at math, maybe you can tell me!
I told you I would tell you a bit more about my experience at Kate's graduation. Kate is in the 5th grade. Dedicated followers will remember she has had some friend issues and is trying to figure out how to fit in.
Well, it was quite eye opening to see the entire class of 5th graders, especially considering we live a small town in an extremely conservative state.There were the girls like Kate, which to me seem normal, healthy and perfectly average 10 year olds. There are the girls who appear to still be dressed up and styled by their parents like they are some kind of life-sized doll their mother is playing house with (honestly, sometimes I would like to be one of these mom's but my girls are far too independent). There are a few quirky girls that have their own fashion sense and confidence to pull it off, I imagine Abby will be like this in 5th grade although I could be wrong. Then there was a surpising number of girls that looked like small, underdeveloped teenagers.
I know I'm old-fashioned, but I couldn't help wondering why we as parents and as society push our kids to get older faster. Some girls were wearing make-up, sexy tops meant to accentuate cleavage which very few had and oversized bangle earrings that I didn't know were making a comeback. I realized instantly why Kate wasn't fitting in to particular groups, and I was relieved that she wasn't! I worry about the expectations people will have of these girls based on their appearance. I worry that they don't understand the messages implied. I worry about the next things that will be pushed on them to make them grow up faster.
I will always try to be sympathetic to Kate when she complains about not fitting in, but I'm not going to worry about it so much anymore. Sometimes standing out is better.
Today is a crazy day for me, and so I am really thankful to all our fans that send in projects to share! Take a look at some of my favorite gift giving ideas we have gotten lately.
First up, a project by Anabelle. Look how darling those tags are! If I made something so cute, I'd have a hard time giving it away. But, I sure would love it if someone gave them to me!!
I love these notebooks by Andrea Wiebe. I have an idea for a project I want to do with notebooks and "journal jars." I hope I get it done because it won't be nearly as fun to just describe it to you!
And our last blog helper today is Shari Morris who decorated up this cute container full of goodies. I think I see some hot cocoa packs in there...... which means she must have intended this for me. Shari, Shari, I only got the email, sweetie..... when is the cocoa coming?
I hope we all know by now that it's not the price of a gift, but the thoughtfulness behind it that makes it special. Have a great day everyone and a very happy holiday season!
