Don't Miss the JOY in the Season

#stampinup   #faithfulinkspirations   The Christmas season is well upon us and the year is skidding to an end...and a new beginning.  We're all so busy at this time of year that it's easy to forget the JOY of the season.  My twins are high school seniors and their big brother is a young man.  There's not a lot of  "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" excitement for them anymore.  (I miss the days when just a few lines of "Oh, you'd better watch out; you'd better not cry" would get them back in line.)  But we have new joys to experience as a more mature family.

No kidding:  This was the first year we baked cookies together.  Actually, the twins baked the cookies while I was the sous chef and dish washer.  It's an almost-grown-up memory that I hope we will all cherish.  Later this week, we're going to make my super-secret-squirrel recipe baklava.  I haven't made that in, oh, gosh, is it 20 years?!  I'm looking forward to passing that family recipe on to the kids.

We're having Christmas at home for the first time in several years.  We'll certainly miss our family in Minnesota this year, but there's something JOYFUL about having our own tree and decorations and time to bake cookies together and to just cocoon in our little family nest.

Speaking of joy, here's a card I got in a card swap that I simply love.  It's glittery.  It uses non-traditional Christmas colors. And it uses the Balloon Framelits in an unexpected way.

The artist (Is it you? Let me know!) embossed a Pool Party mat with the Pine Bough Embossing Folder. Next, she cut the letters J and Y using the Large Letters Framelits from Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper.  She also cut a Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper balloon using the Balloon Framelits.  She adhered these to the Pool Party mat before adhering everything to a Basic Gray Card Stock card base.

For finishing touches, she cut a Basic Gray bow using the Balloon Framelits and added that to the Christmas ball. She added one tiny Basic Pearl Embellishment as a finishing touch.

Isn't this card adorable?! It brings me so much JOY.  Don't let this time of year run away from you.  Remember to find the joy in the little things. And especially the JOY of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

tams# 10567

Product List

Pearl Basic Jewels Embellishments [119247] $5.00	Balloon Framelits Dies [137362] $17.00	Large Letters Framelits Dies [141712] $99.00	Pine Bough Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [141831] $7.50
Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper [135315] $5.00	Pool Party 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [122924] $8.00	Basic Gray 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121044] $8.00