Shopping for Christmas wrapping paper is usually an exercise in frustration for me.  Why doesn’t anyone make simple, blue and white paper for Christmas?  Is that too much to ask?!  Well in previous years, it has been.  This year, though, I was able to find the best collection of papers and ribbons that fit my style. The blue and white plaid is from the .  I bought enough for this year and stocked up for next year (and perhaps the year after that, too!) I found the green and white polkadot, blue and white snowman scene, and craft papers from TJ Maxx and HomeGoods.  The ribbon and twine are from Hobby Lobby. (I found the wooden horse at TJ Maxx and decided to snap it up.  I’ll paint it to sell at Lucketts this May.) I prefer to use ribbons from the non-holiday section.  I found some particularly great plaid

I had it in my mind that I wanted to use bay leaves in my Christmas decorating this year.  I wish I had it in my mind back in the spring, so I could’ve planted some…  But, anyway, I looked around for some bay wreaths that were fluffy and full and reasonably priced.   I ended up buying a pair on from to hang on the corner cabinets in my dining room. They are just the perfect touch and just what I had my mind set on. They came with a small hook that I was able to slip over the top of each cabinet door to hang them. And I’ll have plenty of bay leaves for soups, stews, and sauces this year! I’m just going to let them dry and see how long they keep. I also added a few Christmas touches to the home office. This room is a passthrough

When it’s rainy and glum, Kriste and I usually drag ourselves around the studio, giving ourselves pep-talks to get something accomplished.  For some reason, it’s harder to be creative and productive and ready to tackle the world when the weather is blah.  But, today was drizzly, cold, and gray, yet it was still, despite all odds, an amazingly productive day. I feel like celebratory hot chocolates are in order. Unfortunately, it was so dark outside that I didn’t take any pictures of what we were up to, but I will share what we accomplished in a post soon. Until then, I’ll share what I did over the weekend. I made gingerbread houses and ornaments for the first time last year and I absolutely loved the creative process and incorporating the gingerbread as a part of the holiday decor.  It smells amazing and, come on, what is more homey and sweet than gingerbread?