Christmas Ornament Memories

I love Christmas! It's my favorite holiday. There's just something special about celebrating the birth of our Savior and spending special times with family and friends.

Decorating has always been a joy for me, and I often get teased by my husband that I overdo on it. But it's only once a year and I like to make it really special. My decorations are simple and not fussy, so I think I do keep it a lot more simple that he does.

For many years now I have made a unique ornament for my family and special friends. It's become a big tradition and every year someone or two or three, ask me what I am making each Christmas. I love to keep it a secret, and although my husband and kids get to see the whole process from start to finish, others who do not live in this house, don't! I love keeping it a surprise.

Over the years I have made things from cloth, wood, paper and plastic. You just never know what my mind is going to come up with or I might find inspiration from as I am out and about.

These are just a few of the ones I have made, and each one is signed by me and dated so I can remember that year easily.

So what is this year's? Well, here it is.....

And this is the happy bowl holding the few I have left to hand out to some local friends and loved ones. Many, many more have been mailed off to their new homes.

I hope you find a way to make each Christmas special and full of memories you can cherish for years to come.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I Love Carrying This handmade Leather Journal With Me

I have a ting about paper. I love it! I love the feel. I love the way it looks and i love the many things you can do with it. I especially love journals. There is something about them that just draws me to them.

One I recently got to try out is really nice. It is from Penseur Co. This journal is has a handmade leather cover, which is another big draw to me. The journal inside has 100 unlined pages just ready to fill up with drawings, memories and more.

The cover has front and back sewn in flaps that make it easy to remove the journal inside and replace it with a new one when the old gets full. It holds a 5x7 book. The leather is really nice an supple. I was impressed with how it feels and looks. I had one similar years ago and the leather aged beautifully with use. I am looking forward to this one doing the same as I use it over and over.

The paper in the journal is a really nice quality. You can use all kinds of markers on it as well as pencils. Chalk would work well too. It is a heavy enough paper to keep most markers from bleeding through, although I do not recommend Sharpies or similar in it. They definitely bleed through.

The journal opens and lays flat for you, which is nice when you are out and about. You can open it and not struggle with keeping it open while you write or sketch.

This is a great journal and I love the size and quality! It would make a great gift for anyone who loves to write, journal or draw.

You can purchase the Penseur Co Handmade Genuine Leather Refillable Journal HERE!

This reviewer received the product free or at a discounted price in order to bring you an honest review. No other form of compensation was given. All opinions are those of the reviewer.

A Small Handmade Book To Inspire Creativity

I love paper in all its forms and styles. To me it is a wonderful tactile thing and I can't get enough. But one kind of thing I like even more is good paper all put in one nice book, a book that is hand made and full of empty pages I can play with!

SamutNote has a lovely hardcover handmade book that I am just loving! Since I got it, I have been having fun using it for something very special to me, Bible verse journaling.

The book I have is about 4" x 6", which is a fantastic size to carry with you in a pocket or bag. It is filled with 160 unlined pages all bound beautifully in this little book. You can get the book in other sizes too, small (4"x 6" with 60 pages), large (5" x 8" with 80 pages), or extra large (5" x 8"  with 160 pages).

The paper is a light cream in color, which is something I like a lot. It's not as stark as white paper and will not reflect sunlight as much when you use it outside. In fact they made it that way on purpose. It is a top quality paper that is acid free and lots of inks do not bleed through the pages. I love this since I tend to draw a lot in notebooks with markers and colored pencils. I don't want what is on one page to interfere with what is on the next!

The whole book is very well bound and I love how it feels in my hand. It has a lay flat binding, which makes it very easy to journal or draw in. And I love the options you have for the cover. You can get it blank or with a neat variety of things to choose from. At the writing of this there are 23 cover choices, something for everyone.

I think one of these little handmade books would be a fantastic and inspiring gift for so many people and highly recommend it to you!

Here area few of the pages I have done in mine.

You can purchase one of the little SamutNote Handmade Hardcover Books HERE!

This reviewer has been compensated with receiving the product free or at a discounted price in order to bring you an honest review. All opinions are those of the reviewer.