CCollector's Alley #2

Christmas Collector's Alley #2

Well, here we are in the HEART of Halloween territory thinking of Christmas!!  lol

I could have never thought that I'd be looking to close on a new home by the end of Oct.  We've been in Beagle Run Cottage for exactly 17 years.  I'm looking around holding back tears as I remember all the projects we've done but we can't agree on an addition.  So, we took advantage of the soft market and LOW interest rates.  We are walking by FAITH and not by sight!!  Some are letting FEAR reign in our area but we are refusing to worry.  I'll be decorating a new to me home for Christmas...so we'll get to go thru it all together..you all and me.

I was out and never intended to but got Lil Guy's 2010 christmas ornament along with mine, Hubby's and oldest a whole bucket of non-breakables for a UT tree.  Can't wait to show all that later.  Hobby Lobby was doing Christmas ornaments at 40% off.

Here is the ornament I got yesterday to go with this month's collection.

Meet Mr. Nutcraker

blown glass version (plastic)

This is the largest 1 we own.  My mom got it for him 1 year, after-Christmas clearance.

There are too many of them!

Pier 1 had wrapping paper and boxes last season but I was too cheap to pay their prices for them.  I could have gone crazy for William Sinoma's brand of dishes too.

I've gotten them over the years for my precious son.

My mom gets them for him too.

I didn't even get these guys out of the box for you but they are nice sized.

This is his favorite out of all of them.

I got it last year at World Market as his 2009 ornament.

He's a Roman Soldier.  My guys are really into wargames and historical references to war.  What boy doesn't love a spear or hatchet. lol

Scarecrow is my fav.  My mom got him and the Tin Man from OZ for him.  I've never met a scarecrow I didn't like and he sure is different than most of them.

He wanted me to take a stylized picture for ya'll.

They all start to look alike after a while. lol

This is 1 of my fav's.  I need to clear coat spray it so it is shiny.  He painted it himself several years ago.

His best buddy next door made him 1 a few years ago out of clay pots.  She worked real hard on it but it fell over and broke. :(  I think it would be fun to have a party and have all the kids paint their own and eat Christmas cookies after.

Nutcracker Love!!

What do you have to show us:

Nutcrackers are gonna party at:

Tinsel & Company Deck the Halls Friday
FrouFrou Decor Fabulous Friday Finds
A Few of My Fav Things Fav Things Friday
My Romantic Home Show n Tell Friday

Smiling Sally Blue Monday
Got my book that I won from Sally's giveaway...can't wait to have time to dive into it.

Candy Cane Kisses! DeniseMarie

Gate??

Well, I've never owned a gate before.  We've never needed to use that cool feature in our truck and SUV that you can put your remote into with your sunglasses. It looks like I'll need to get savvy with my ability to click a button to open the gate at my new home.

I'm imagining a HUGE wreath or lighted garland here for Christmas.  I'll have to make a BIG bow and put an uplight to shine on it.

Ya'll...please don't feel that I'm bragging.  I'm anything but!!

The Lord brought this scripture to mind the moment I was inside that gate with my Hubby and long-time friend who is a real estate agent..AND, you better believe I broke out in spontaneous song and quoted it outloud with them on-looking in astonishment of what a goof ball I am.

Psalm 100:4

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with Praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

You'd have to know too that scripture has been in my living room near a painting of a garden gate/door.  I typed it out on pretty paper and printed it off my computer and LOVE that scripture so much.  So, the second I put my feet on the ground the Lord intended for me...WOW!!  I could almost feel the electricity. This will be the new to us "basketball court" that my boys and their friends play on too.

Maybe I'll finally really do it up big for Christmas this year.  I certainly already have in my possession all that I need to pull it off.  Hubby has already announced that we'll have his entire branch over for a party.  I'll keep ya'll posted every step of the way.

Candy Cane Kisses! DeniseMarie

New place to Trick or Treat??

Ya'll...I'm trying to Keep Calm and Carry On!!

That would have to be peppermint tea right...or Snowman soup. lol

We might be moving Beagle Run Cottage 2 neighborhoods behind where it is now.  My lil guy could still ride his bike to our friends house and then they could ride to school where they are in the same class.  I'm hoping they'll let him finish out his elementary career where I've been a Mom for the 10th year now.  I've seen them do it for other friends.

Have ya'll seen the genius peeps in blogland that can make a snack that takes you back to being 6 and wanting a big ol' Candy apple??

Oh Mandy pulled these candy apples together like it was nothing.  I still have her page on my desktop to do this for my boys.  I haven't even told her yet how amazed I am.

copied this image from Holly at Banner Haus News

Talk about an afternoon snack to run home for!! 

Santa would LOVE it too. lol

Candy Cane Kisses! DeniseMarie

Precious Moments

Are there any Precious Moments Lovers out there??

I know it is kind of an 80's thing, huh.  I've gifted several of my pieces over the years or given them for auction/benefits but still have quite an extensive collection.  I'll always love them.  My mom has a huge collection of Memories of Yesterday...Love those too.

None of these I'm showing are mine...I'll show ya'll my collection of nativities at the next

Christmas Collector's Alley:

I hope you will post my Meme reminder on your side bar and come on by with some kind of Christmas collection on the 1st week of October.  I know...I know...who will be thinking of Christmas?  I sure hope you will.  lol

Remember...I'll have a collection to show 1st week of each month until we hit Dec.   Then, we'll show each week.  Maybe we'd all want to see 1 more time in Jan and I'll put the Meme to rest.

Awww, I've never seen this piece before.

They are following the star..looking for the baby.

Isn't this piece nice??

I love the poinsettia flowers and the cardinal detail.

Gotta love the Angel with the Star over His head.

Precious Moments: Come Let Us Adore Him

Love the cap on the lil guy and the sheep taking a peek.

Precious Moments: Hope

This seems to be a new piece available this season.

I'm bagging up my matchbox advents today and shipping them off.

I can't tell you how much fun this was when I was stuck on the couch getting over my Fibro woes last month.  It made me feel creative, useful and productive.

I owe Linda at A Swap for All Seasons a big thank you for the inspirational swap.

Hope you have a blessed week!!

Memes:

Happy Blue Monday with Smiling Sally

3 or More Tuesday at The Gypsy's Corner

Candy Cane Kisses and White Snow Wishes! DeniseMarie

99 days on the countdown!!

I gotta figure out an awesome way to use this olden Santa image for my mom who is a major Santa lover.

Please notice the PINKish propeller.

Happy Pink Saturday with Beverly

If you need pink eye candy...you'll be hooked, go check it out.

Mom's fav are the images of Santa trecking thru the snow with the animals in the woods along to entertain him. lol  I'll have to look thru my old Christmas cards and see if there is anything to use to make her a card.

99 days to work on your crafting and ordering.  I got youngest's Lego Advent in the mail and have tucked it away...Ready for Dec. 1st.

He will be soooo excited that I got it for him.

Hope ya'll have become familiar with my Christmas Blog even though it seems ridiculous at this date to be looking at images or thinking of the beloved time of year.   I hope some bloggy buddies can find pics on their computer to share a collection the 1st week in Oct with us.  Please...Christmas Collector's Alley is gonna flop without help.  Join in...put my poster on your blog sidebar.

Flying by to say Hi at:

Show n Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Candy Cane Kisses and White Snow Wishes! DeniseMarie

Wowza

Boy....Oh Boy..am I NOT so computer savvy!

I keep messing up my bloggie bling.  I hate the new blog Design on blogger that won't let ya do what YOU want. 

I can't make up my mind and if so...can't figure out how to execute what I need. :D 

I'm very content with Bloomin at Beagle Run Cottage but still fussin' with CITHOC.

Enough about woes...how about Joys..

I'm looking into ordering brads for my cardmaking and scrapbooking stash and have to have these

North Pole brads along with penguins, caramel apples and rabbits & more.  This has been a neat resource for me.  Their sample card was so cute showing how to use the brad that I had to show ya'll.

Eyelet Outlet & Brads

They have many styles on sale/clearance and I'm getting in on it.

Ya'll I may really follow thru with starting a card-making/scrapbook/paper crafting business.  The Lord gave me a scripture and signature stamp idea 2 years ago and I've only used it personally.  How fun if He blesses a business venture doing what I love.

Ecclesiastes 5:19 NIV

Moreover, when God ...enables "her" to enjoy, ..to accept "her" lot and be happy in "her" work—this is a gift of God.

Candy Cane Kisses! DeniseMarie

Elf Name??

Is my Christmas Elf Name.

Just in case anyone needed to know.  lol :D 

 Elf Name...go find yours.

Love all Ya'lls Elf names.  Gotta share that youngest got up with the worst beagle lick hair that I've seen to date and was laughing with me at the names...his came up..

Chipper Bed-Head

Cuteness!  He is always chipper and boy, do we have some serious bed-head most a.m.s

I got to cheer my Mom up too with her name:

Dingy Sugar-Socks!!

She laughed...:D

3 spots available for the Matchbox swap..you can still get in the party!

Click my sidebar for the party or

A Swap for All Seasons

Candy Cane Kisses and White Snow Wishes! DeniseMarie

Lover of Papers!!

I love paper...ran across a paper pk sale at JoAnn's yesterday.  There were about 20 pks featured in this $9.99 sale to choose from and I walked out with 2.  I thought it would be impossible to pick, but I instantly knew which packages I could not leave at the store.  :)

I'm highlighting 1 of my new packs & showing that non-traditional Christmas papers can be used.  I have never seen a paper pk labeled for Christmas that I loved!  I am however on pins and needles longing to see what Basic Grey will have this Winter.

They don't even label their Specialty Paper Packs with names!?  Maybe I need to get my resume to

 K & Co. and help them out.  LOL!

I'd name this set Shabby Chic Cottage.

I LOVE these papers! 

I will make scapbook pages, Christmas art, Framed pics and Christmas cards with these papers..

Red Foils

Chocolate Brown

Iceeee Blue Foils

Green with red dots!

Folks, Maria @ Bubblegum & Duct Tape knows how to scan the papers.  She made her own border.  I just recently saw a Christmas lover scanned for her background also, but can't remember which bloggie.

Candy Cane Kisses! DeniseMarie

Countdown Oct or Dec

What can I say, Peeps...I'm a NASA Space Station/Space Shuttle wife and use to work in the industry myself.  I'm apparently into countdowns.  lol  And...yes, Dear Holly from Banner Haus..they are called Space Weiners, Geeks...I was a Bean Counter to them. lol

Hubby got to stand on this Ares II platform recently and watch from across the lake..

while this happened..

Amazing!! 

So glad he ran out and bought a new video cam combo for his special trip.

We were suppose to all get to go, I think back in May, but he thought it would slip dates and didn't buy our no refund tickets.  He'd have missed this extraordinary opportunity to watch from on site if his family had been with him so I'm happy for him.  We are running out of ops to see launches, Peeps. 

Jessica at Me and My Bucket does a weekly meme...

Show us What You are Working With Wednesday.

Jessica is very talented and gets to collect really cool posts thru her meme.

Her recent post stands out as a cool idea in my mind this week..

Her Christmas Countdown version..

Her Halloween Countdown version..

Yes, she's a rock star with an Etsy shop and all. 

I like that you can repurpose a frame and have the countdown be a simple display that you can have your child go to once a day and remove a number to reveal what is under. :)

See, Peeps...I'm not just Ms. Jingle Bells.  I love me some Fall and Halloween mayhem too.

Candy Cane Kisses! DeniseMarie

Advent dreamin'

This is really cool!!

Ya'll know I've been thinking of advents.

This is the last year youngest will desire a set like this.

I sure wish there was a StarWars set of these. 

But, he loves the knights & castles right now too.

Lego Castle Set #7979 Advent Calendar, $79.99

OUCH!!

24  little sets inside the box so that each day there is something to build.

Lego Advent Calendar

$149.00...that is sooooo much $$$.

You must end up with a whole Christmas town in this set.

Littlest Pet Shop Advent Calendar, $34.99

This would have been fun when he was into these guys with our neighbor, his best buddy.

I think it would be so much fun for him to have a little piece to work on each day in December to set the whole scene up on his lego table.  I might have to splurge because this would delight his precious heart.

Happy Blue Monday with Smiling Sally

Edit:
I did it...folks.  I'm a sucker for my youngest!
I ordered the Castle set for him.
It was the only 1 available and apparently is gonna be rare in the U.S.
He will be beyond the moon thrilled.
His b-day is in Jan so it is always fun to do it up for him in Dec & Jan.

 

Candy Cane Kisses! DeniseMarie

1st Collector's Alley

It's finally time...

It is my 1st Showing of Christmas Collector's Alley.

What to show???  I'm a collector's collector.  I will NOT run out of collections to show ya'll over the next 3 months.  Join me in showing a collection in Sept, Oct, Nov and once a week in December. 

Since I've been working on a Christmas Countdown swap I'm gonna have to show everyone my advent collection this month.  It sure is a fun way to help the kids with their excitement about Christmas approaching.

Here is what I need to get ready to ship for the Christmas Countdown Swap with Linda at

A Swap for All Seasons. 

I started with 3 sets of 10 matchboxes from Dollar Tree (kitchen utencil area).

I'm a scrapbooker and cardmaker and that is the supplies I pulled from.

This shot shows all of them complete.  I finally put the numbers on them.

Do you want to look closer??

#13 has a glittery snowman ornament inside

I found a set of 12 at Michael's for $3.

I also used a scrap of wrapping paper and felt ribbon inside.

#15 is so festive with red, white and green.

Girls, I tried so hard to use up my mini pom-poms and still have a ton. lol

#23 is this the cutest thing ever?  I put the number on the wings.

#10 with foil accents and poinsettia flower.

I pulled the flower off of a candle ring that was never gonna be used again.

has a gorgeous set of earrings that my Mom made.

I need to make inserts for the boxes with jewelry.

#3 is so sweet!!  It has a Christmas bell brooche.

Advent

The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus in his First Advent. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God.

Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing.

I'll be receiving an entire set of matchbox countdown boxes like the 1's I've made above.  Nate and I are gonna put them on a small tree and use them to count the days until Christmas a.m. this season.

And...

I have a quilt from Pottery Barn Kids that I bought years ago for my boys.  I am sure this was a splurge but it was still gotten 50% off.

Isn't it sweet?? 

It is a lap size quilt and I have hung it up on the wall near our tree in past years.  I gotta find a spot for it this year and start putting stuff in a drawer to fill the pockets..like candy, money, notes of a family idea to do that evening together to celebrate the season, gift cards for the boys to use up in Dec.($5 McD, Subway)

And..

I have a countdown Christmas tree set of boxes.  I got it 2 years ago right after Christmas when it went 50% off at Starbucks.  The picture could be changed with Scrapbook papers, it is a Winter Wonderland scene once you've eaten all the evidence and flipped the boxes around.  Whatever fits in each drawer will do to countdown the days of December.  It will be fun to get some gourmet chocolates this year and we can all 4 take turns opening a box as we countdown to Christmas.  It will probably sit on my kitchen counter top.

We'll start out with the numbers showing and flip it around to the picture as we go along.

I have seen some clever crafters create their own with boxes glued together.  This 1 is nice quality.  If I don't misplace it, we'll have it for years to come.

I have bought the boys chocolate advents since they were in pre-school.  There are companies in Europe and Canada that produce this product.  This is what mine usually look like.  I get them at Garden Ridge Pottery (seasonal foods), the Dollar Tree, Walgreens, Eckerd's or World Market.

I would let them pick out their box and I'd sharpie marker their name and then we'd start looking for the numbers to countdown to Christmas morning.  How fun to get a little chocolate treat each day in December.  The fun part is to open the "door" with the right # and see what shape it is each day.

I won't have any of these this year because there is already enough to play with.

When I was in high school there was a set of Jewish twin sisters and they really did Advent season up.  I was in aww each day as they came in with a new item that they got during the season.  1 day watches, another day pairs of boots, jewelry item.  Wow!!  I think the teacher had them explain the opening of gifts all thru December and that was the 1st I'd ever heard of it.

What do you have to show us this month? 

It is your turn now.

Candy Cane Kisses and White Snow Wishes! DeniseMarie

Joining in at:

sue loves cherries for Rednesday

Show us What UR workin' with Wednesday

Whatever Goes Wednesday

Show n Tell at Blue Cricket Designs

Strut your stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple

Show n Tell Friday