I cannot believe that it is Christmas Eve! Today is a special day for me as not only does my “last peep” fly home later today but a tradition our family does on Christmas Eve is to get together with 3 other families and their children and have THE most special meal and time!

I can honestly say that my late Mom used to look forward to this time for MONTHS…. planning out what she was going to wear….figuring out what she was going to make for an appetizer…and just sooooo excited with anticipation to see what my dear friend Emma would make for dinner and to see how she would decorate her beautiful home!

We all have friends with a variety of talents…and I will say – Emma is TALENT to the max with flower arranging, menu selections and cooking…and she just knows how to have a special time! My dear Dad still comes to this fun event and we all share Gi-Gi stories and we all know she is with us!

Here is a card that will be on my “peep James” pillow when he goes to bed to let him know how special it is to have him home! It will be great that Santa will see that all 3 peeps are home…making it easier for him to do his job!

I am showing you a “sneak peak” of one stamp that is in NEW Occasions Catalog that will be coming out on January 3^rd and it is sooo over the top great and I think that you will be doing the “happy dance” not only with the new stamp sets…but there are several bundles! This stamp set is called Just Sayin' and it is filled with great sentiments!

Bundles are great for many reasons…for one thing they save us a bunch of time as having a framelit makes it easy to cut out an odd shape…but the BEST thing is when you make a purchase as a bundle…you will save 15%…another reason to say WOOT-WOOT!!!

This is a very straightforward card but it is sweet and one that will bring a smile to you!!! The fun little “monster” stamp came from the Monstermaniacs stamp set …. these little guys are sooooo cute and fun to make someone smile!

This set is a bit different – please read below in italics and who knows – maybe you will be the next one to have their idea created into a stamp set:

Monstermaniacs, by Doris D., is the second winning stamp set from In With You, our new stamp set design challenge beta program.

In July, art enthusiasts were given the challenge to create a monster themed stamp set. Voters fell in love with her design and voted the set to victory!

Stampin' Up! will be running ongoing contests and would love your participation! Join the fun at http://inwithyou.ideascale.com

I knew that I wanted to “watercolor” this little guy so naturally I used the Water Color Paper to use the Aqua Painter…this really is a necessity in my opinion…this paper is meant to have water on it!!!

Matting it onto a piece of Crumb Cake before putting this on the Night of Navy was as simple as 1,2,3!! I did POP it up with Stampin’ Dimensions to give it a bit of simple bling!

The envelope was simple…I looked to see what “color family” the Night of Navy was from…”Regals” – then went to the Regals Designer Series Paper Pack and PRESTO – a perfect color match and with the help of the envelope liners framelit and the Big Shot…Done with a quick turn!

I hope that you are ready for the festivities that tomorrow brings…have fun – make lots of memories – laugh a lot – and eat some great food!!! The reason of the season it the most important part of this whole busy time and I hope that you can take time to remember the reason of the season with great reflection!

I have soooo many things to be grateful and thankful for…seeing my wonderful husband getting stronger and stronger each and everyday has been a wonderful process to witness! He is my rock! His positive attitude and gratitude has been amazing and I admire him so!

Tomorrow is going to be a “real simple” post as I am sure that we are ALL going to be super busy with family and friends! I hope that each of you know how much I appreciate your support, comments and it is YOU that makes me sooooo dedicated to my blog….

I thank YOU for giving ME the gift you give me everyday…popping by and inspiring me!

Merry Christmas…until tomorrow!