Wednesday 29 December 2010

White Christmas!

Well we certainly had a white Christmas!  Alex and I made the journey down to my parents in Somerset on Christmas Eve...the journey was remarkably good until we turned into my parents lane to be met with a skating rink..not my idea of fun, but we got there in one piece.
After lunch we headed out into the snow where the little boys (Alex and Daniel) had fun running round and digging with seaside spades,
whilst the adults had a snowball fight! Needless to say, my brother, Andrew, being the biggest and fastest, won hands down,
even when Nel and I ganged up on him!
On Christmas morning we all piled into Mum and Dad's bed for the grand stocking opening, which was the greatest of fun! Even 11 month old Nicholas got in on the action, playing with his stocking presents on the floor at the foot of the bed before having a cuddle with Grandma.
After a leisurely breakfast and games with the stocking toys, it was coffee time and time for everyone to have their main presents. The boys were delighted with their new toys and had great fun opening them...the wrapping went everywhere in the excitement.
Alex and Daniel then played very nicely together with the new Castle, Snapping Dungeon and knights
and then Gran (aged 86) read them a story before my Aunts and cousin Tamsin arrived for Christmas dinner (she looks a little squashed by them both!)
Christmas Dinner was a great success, the food was wonderful
and all the little boys behaved very well. 
They enjoyed the attention of their various great Aunts
and it was a wonderful opportunity for us all to catch up.
After dinner we went out for a Christmas walk and ended up sledging!  The little boys had been given small skid pans which they loved
while the adults (Andy, Tamsin and myself) went on the bigger sledge...all very silly and good fun!
After Christmas cake and tea, Tamsin and Daphne left and once the boys had gone to bed, the rest of us settled down for an evening of reading (three siblings on a sofa!)
and card games. All in all it was a wonderful Christmas Day!
Boxing Day was very gentle by comparison. Alex spent some time cuddling Juno,
then playing with Grandma and Daniel
and I spent some time bird watching...I just love the contrast of a bright robin red breast on snow
as well as a fat male pheasant!
We finished the day with another game of cards.  In the morning the snow had begun to thaw so Mother took Alex and Daniel for a walk across the fields while I packed the car ready for our return journey after lunch.  We arrived back safely having had a wonderful time!
Yesterday we celebrated Christmas as a family with more presents and Alex was delighted that he also was given a castle which he played with for much of the day. I also put away my new crafting stash (promarker pens, stamps and scrapbook papers) and organised my desk with my new drawers (a belated birthday present).
For today's WOYWW I wanted to show you my desk in action making the first of many thank you cards.  You can see my new drawers in the background, my adirondack ink pads which were used for the background of the card (with my brayer), various Lavinia stamps and acrylic blocks, and some scrap paper which I used for masking on the card.
Here is the final card which I will enter for the CCC and PTW 'thank you', and creative craft and Sew Many Cards  'anything goes' challenges. This blog post has taken an age to upload with blogger being a complete pain today so thank you for bearing with me.  Have a great day and rest of the week. 
Love,
Caro
x

24 comments:

Sid said...

Lovely card and tidy desk !!

Mervi said...

Lovely card and beautiful scenery.
Thanks for showing your C'mas pictures!

Happy New year, thanks for joining us at Papertake Weekly this special week;-))m

Susanne said...

What wonderful lovely times you had at Christmas. Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year! S #48

Minxy said...

Looks like you had a great time, I live in somerset so know all about the ice rink roads lol
Love your thank you cards, very pretty.
Happy WOYWW and wishing you a very happy new year x
hugs Minxy #33

JoZart Designs said...

Lovely post Caro! It really shows the happy family time you shared over Christmas. Thanks so much for sharing and I hope 2011 brings only happiness to you all.
JoZarty x

Deborah Frings said...

What a fabulous Christmas you had!! Looks like lots of fun.

I really like your thank you card - so organised!

Happy 2011 to you.

Maggie's Crafts said...

Great pics! Thank you for sharing. :)

Do you know about my candy? Pop over and join...

http://maggiescraft.blogspot.com/2010/11/woyww-blog-candy.html

Happy New Year!

Maggie
xx

Sherry Goodloe said...

What a wonderful Christmas you and your family had! Thank you for sharing such lovely photos with all of us :)

I'm #20 on the WOYWW list this week. Stop by when you get a chance.

And a Happy *almost* New Year to you!!

Anne said...

Great family photos and love your Lavinia stamps on your Thank You card! Phindys Place has a Thank You challenge running too at the moment, do please pop by and enter:)
Happy New Year
Anne
x

Carole Campanile said...

Looks like you had a fabulous family gathering for Christmas.
Happy New Year.
Carole #62

Marjo said...

Wonderful pics, looks like everyone had loads of fun inside and outside...lol

Happy creative crafting in the New Year. Thanks for the peek and sharing, hugs Marjo #10

sandra de said...

It looks like you had a fabulous christmas with family. I love card it turned out beautifully.
Sandra #29

Anonymous said...

This is just beautiful. LOVE the scenery that you have created. Thanks for sharing wonderful pics too :D
Thanks for joining us at Sew Many Cards Challenge. We hope you will join us again :)
Blessed Christmas and A Happy New Year ..hugs Annie

Susan said...

Great card. Thanks for sharing your family Christmas photos...looks like everyone had a wonderful time!
Happy final WOYWW for 2010 and Happy 2011!
Susan #13
http://stamponme.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth said...

You clearly had a perfect Christmas - picture perfect too and what a lovely record of your holiday. Love the card, you've achieved a great affect with your brayering technique which is on my list of new techniques to learn - I've just ordered some of those Lavinia Stamps so can't wait to give it a try. Thanks for sharing. Wishing you and yours health, wealth and happiness in 2011. Elizabeth #57

Ciara said...

What a brill set of photos! Looks like lots of fun was had by all!

All the best for the new year,
Ciara
xx

Victoria said...

beautiful family photos your eleder sons look the same age as my two they would adore the castle. Love the brayering and lavinia stamsp, I was given money to order some but I am not sure where to start or whether to wait till a craft show so I can match sizes etc better x

Pam said...

Thank you so much for sharing your Christmas photos with us as well as your official workdesk! Looks right out of a Rockwell painting! Happy New Year from #1.

oneoff said...

Thanks for sharing your Christmas; it looks like a really lovely family time. I love the picture of the kids piling into the big bed with their stockings. The stag on the hill thank you card is beautiful.

Bernie #17

Anonymous said...

What a stunning piece of art. You could almost walk into it. And what fun you could have there!

Have a wonderful New Year.
cheers, rachel #15

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

What a wonderful Christmas and holiday. Loved that you shared it. I've never seen a pheasant that wasn't in a field before. what a shock you can get so close to them. Here's hoping you have a lovely, safe, New Year, too.

Serendipity Stamping said...

Thank you so much for sharing all your family Christmas fun. Desk must be calling to you soon. #75

Liza said...

Great work, I love the colours. Thanks for joining us at CCC.

Liza x

Unknown said...

Great photos!
Love your card!The deer silhouette on that layered background is stunning!
Thanks so much for joining us this week @ Paper Take Weekly!
I am now one of your followers.  ;)  I would love it if you came to visit my blog and become a follower too!
Hugs,
True :D