Ciao Sorella - Black Friday sale!! 15% off everything!!!

My sister and I, as Ciao Sorella, are SUPER excited to be participating in Somewhat Simple's first annual Studio Holiday Boutique, November 26-30.  We are offering 15% off EVERYTHING in our store for the entire weekend!!  Go check it out HERE for the discount code!!  There are lots of other wonderful online stores participating as well - you could get ALL of your holiday shopping finished without ever leaving the house!

Paper Trail Blog Hop - Coming Soon!!

You are cordially invited to join me here on December 1st at midnight PST to debut the December Paper Trails Kit.  I am SO excited to be a Guest Design Team member for Paper Trails for December, because this kit is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!   Each of the Design Team Members will have a DEBUT project to share with you using the kit and a little birdie told me that there will be giveaways too!  Then you will want to race to the Paper Trails store to purchase the December Kit because they will be gone quick as a wink.  Karen truly outdid herself this time!!!  The blog hop will last until December 4th at 11pm EST and then giveaway winners will be pulled on December 5th and announced!!!  Are you ready to get your hop on?  

My big news!

Okay, so I mentioned a couple posts ago that I was going to have some SUPER DUPER exciting news to share with you all.  And I DO.  In fact, this news is SO exciting, that I now need...

a

new

blog

name.

Because

Party of FIVE


no longer describes my family!!!

We are now SIX.  And I don't mean that I'm pregnant (that would be pretty darn amazing in and of itself, seeing as how I had a hysterectomy earlier this year - I mean, that would probably get me on some kind of talk show, right?!).  I mean, literally, we have a fresh, new baby boy in our home!   It's SUPER exciting and crazy fun, and while I can't share all of the exact details, you CAN read more about it on my NEW family blog at Six by Grace.

In the meantime, I need a new name HERE.  But I'm drawing a blank.  Party of Six just doesn't sound...right. It falls flat on my ears.  I need something more creative.  So...help me out.  Throw some new creative names out at me!!

And...that's not ALL of the news!

I get to let you in on two additional bits of crafty excitement!!

First, I've been asked to be a Guest Designer for the month of December over at The (Paper) Trail Makers Challenge Blog!!  I am super excited about this opportunity to work with Karen and the rest of the team over there!  Check out her store, The Paper Trail, and the awesome kit club she has available (and for an awesome price, too!).  The November kit looks GORGEOUS - and I cannot wait to see what's in store for the December kit!!  Make sure you come on over to the blog and join in on the challenges - even if you don't purchase the kit - and enter for a chance to win some great prizes!!

Second, I have been invited to join (and accepted!) the design team for Consumer Crafts/Crafts Unleashed!!!       I am incredibly excited about this new adventure, which is also to begin in December.  If you've never checked out Crafts Unleashed, you are in for a treat!  Whether you need inspiration for a project, want to find a review on the latest crafty tools, or want to learn how to use the tools you've already got, Crafts Unleashed is the place to be!  And if you've never shopped at Consumer Crafts - you have been spending too much!!!  I am constantly checking prices of products against theirs, and am always pleasantly surprised by their lower prices.  Make sure you sign up to follow them on Facebook and Twitter, as well - because they are always running specials, especially on shipping!

So as you prepare to delve into your holiday projects this year, I hope you'll find some great inspiration, both here, and at these great sites!!

And don't forget - leave me a comment with some suggestions for a new name!!!  :)

AH Jolly Jumpstart Blog Hop - WINNERS!!

So, first I have to apologize for my delay in posting the winners!  Sometimes life just gets in the way...stay tuned for an update to that regard.  :)

But without further ado...the two winners, chosen using random.org, are:

studiorose said...

This is SO cool! I just ordered the rosette die and looking for great ideas to use it. I can't WAIT to get the die and try this! Thank you so much for sharing; your tutorial is awesome.

Tue Nov 02, 08:05:00 AM PDT

AND

Lillian Child said...

Tim Holtz rocks! And you "rocked" his techniques with your fabulous tag creation! WOW - it's awesome!

Wed Nov 03, 01:22:00 PM PDT 

If you ladies will both email me at jenspartyof5 at gmail.com, with your mailing info, I will get your goodies out to you!!!

A time for everything...

Ecclesiastes 3

1There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

2a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

In a few days, I am most likely going to have a REALLY exciting announcement to make here on my blog.  I mean, like SUPER DUPER exciting.  Something that hasn't been in the works for too long...but which, I promise, you will most certainly want to come back to read about!!  I can hardly contain my excitement about it - and really, I can hardly keep my mouth shut about it!!  I want to tell you NOW.  But I can't.  Really, I can't.  Not just yet.  But my stomach, oh my...it is rumbling with excitement.  I can hardly focus on anything else, and sleep?  That's out the window...I'm literally counting the hours until I can let you in on the big secret!

But.

There's always a but, isn't there?

All the while, as I am counting the hours toward this huge, exciting, wonderful thing that's about to happen in my own life, I have just learned of two other lives who have also been changed - tragically, horrifically, for the worse.  First, yesterday afternoon, I learned through the wonders of the internet - Twitter, to be more precise - that Paula Prass, an artist and fabric designer who I do not know personally, but whose work I adore, and who, thanks to the internet, I *feel* like I somewhat know, lost her son Jonathon.  I do not know the details, but I don't have to.  I "only" had a miscarriage, and I was devastated.  I was completely broken.  It will be 4 years this coming week, and I still remember the pain.  I cannot EVEN begin to imagine the horror of raising a child, watching him grow up, and then having him die.  The world just isn't supposed to work that way.  Parents aren't supposed to have to bury their children, at any age.  They just aren't.  And still, they do.  One of my very best friends buried her daughter at 6 months of age.  I can't imagine.  


Within an hour of learning of the death of Paula's son, I received more tragic news yesterday.  In the past, I have blogged quite a bit about my daughter Mackenzie's special needs, leading to her involvement with the Early Intervention program in our state.  We have been blessed - HUGELY blessed, to have had ONE teacher for the entire 2.5 years Mackenzie has been in the program.  Susan.  Dear Susan has, as I've said before, been a God-send to us.  Not only is she absolutely wonderful with Mackenzie and has done amazing work with her, but she is much, much more than a teacher to us.  She is a friend, and has become a part of our family.  While Mackenzie is the only one in the program, Susan has always worked with both twins, even though she doesn't get paid for that.  She even lets Anthony participate.  She lets me vent about whatever is going on with me.  She looks at my artwork and ooohs and aaahhhs and gives me pats on the back, and the encouragement I sometimes need to keep going.  She picks up cold medicine when I'm sick or the kids are sick and I can't get out of the house.  She has brought me soup when I was sick. She VERY often lets me leave while she's here, so I can have a little break from the kids.  She and her husband have even stayed with the kids so my husband and I could have a date night.

So, you see, Susan is not just Mackenzie's teacher - she truly, truly, is a dear friend, and a dear, sweet part of our family.  And yesterday afternoon, she was so broken that she couldn't even call me - she had to instant message me - to tell me that her father had died, suddenly and unexpectedly.  Her father, who raised her, because her mom had died of breast cancer when Susan was very young.  Her father, who was her best friend.  She couldn't even speak.  She is broken.  She is lost.  She feels guilty, though she has nothing to feel guilty about.  She blames herself, though there is no blame to be placed.  She knows now that when she has children, neither of her parents will be here to see them or hold them, to rock them to sleep or to help in those early days of night-feedings and frequent changings.  She's not even 30 years old.  And she feels orphaned.  My heart is breaking for her.  I have no words to comfort her...both of my parents are still living.  I don't know what it is like to lose a parent.  I don't know the grief she is feeling, but I know my friend, and I know pain, and I wish I could take it away for her.

"The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." -Psalm 34:18

I have such a mixture of emotions today...hope mixed with grief, joy mixed with pain, fear mixed with laughter.  It's sort of a strange place to be, because it leaves me feeling both unbelievably grateful, and yet somewhat guilty at the same time.

Please pray for these families.  They are hurting.  They will be hurting for a long time.  I thank God for His promise, though, that there IS a time for everything, and that "while weeping may last through the night, joy comes in the morning." -Psalm 30:5

Art-Full Horizons Jolly Jumpstart Blog Hop - Day 5

Welcome to the Art-Full Horizons 
Jolly Jumpstart Blog Hop!

Check out all of the fabulous holiday-themed projects, gift ideas, and more from our wonderful Blog Hop Contributors from around the world!!

1. Art-Full Horizons http://art-fullhorizons.blogspot.com
2. Tammy Inman http://tammyi.com
3. Nan Paturzo http://scrappynan.blogspot.com
4. Robyn Weatherspoon http://herebygrace.typepad.com/
5. Mykle Parker http://scrapbohemia.blogspot.com
6. Sherry Mendoza http://sherryscreations.typepad.com/
7. Robin Redd http://robinredd.typepad.com/west_coast_scrapper/
8. April Meeker www.suaviloquy.blogspot.com
9. Erin Bassett www.erinbassett.com
10. Jennifer Clark http://jenspartyof5.blogspot.com
11. Jennifer Edwardson http://frommypapercraftstudio.blogspot.com/

Here's how it works:

1. Hop through each of the blogs listed above to get fabulous holiday inspiration. If you are starting at a blog in the middle of the Hop, please start back at the Art-Full Horizons blog.  You should be arriving here from Erin's blog.
2. Leave a comment on each blog hop post in the list above between now and November 7, 2010.
3. Enter to win our giveaway by doing any of the following. For each thing you do, you will be entered into the drawing one more time:

• Leave a comment on the Art-Full Horizons blog hop post between now and November 7, 2010.
• Join the Art-full Horizons email list (fill out the form in the left hand column on the A-H blog).
• Become a follower of the Art-full Horizons blog! Just click the "Follow" button in the lower right column on the A-H blog.
• "Like" the Art-Full Horizons Facebook Page.
• Join the Art-Full Horizons Facebook Group.
• Share about this Blog Hop on your own blog, posting a link to the Art-full Horizons blog.
• Share about this Blog Hop on Facebook, posting a link to the Art-full Horizons blog.
• Share about this Blog Hop on a message board or forum, posting a link to the Art-full Horizons blog.
• U.S. entries only please

To let us know you've done these things, please return to the first Art-full Horizons Jolly Jumpstart Blog Hop post and leave a comment for each thing you did, i.e. one comment for posting on each blog, another comment for posting on facebook, and another comment for joining our email newsletter. Please note: if you post it all in one comment, it will only count as one entry, so be sure to post EACH ENTRY as a separate comment.

On November 8, 2010 we'll choose the winners using the Random Integer Generator from random.org. U.S. entries only please.

*****************************************************

Today, here on Party of Five, I'd like to share with you one of my favorite holiday recipes!!  Actually, to be honest, this recipe is one of my favorites all year round...but Christmas would NOT be Christmas without my mom's special version of monkey bread!  Now, before you stop reading...I know there are a LOT of monkey bread recipes out there, and most people make it in generally the same way.  But THIS recipe is different.  I promise!  And the difference is what makes it special - AND what makes it SO. UNBELIEVABLY. CAN'T. STOP. EATING. IT. YUMMY.  Really.

Ingredients:

1 bag of 24 frozen dinner rolls (the yeast kind - like Rhodes brand)

1 3 3/4 oz pkg (the small one) box of butterscotch pudding mix (NOT instant!)

1/2 C. butter

3/4 C. brown sugar

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

PREPARE THE NIGHT BEFORE for a yummy breakfast or brunch!!  Spray a tube or bundt cake pan with non-stick spray.  Arrange FROZEN rolls in the greased pan and sprinkle the DRY pudding mix over the rolls.

Melt butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small saucepan over low heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture bubbles.  Pour hot, scrumptious-smelling mixture over the frozen rolls.  Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil, and let stand overnight (or for a minimum of 6-8 hours).  

The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and bake for 30 minutes on 350.  I usually leave the foil loosely over the pan until the last 10 minutes or so, to avoid the rolls getting too brown on top.  After the 30 minutes, remove from oven, let stand for 5 minutes, and then invert onto a large platter, letting all of the sauce drip down over the rolls.  Use a heat-resistant spatula to scrape out any extra sauce if left in the pan.

And finally, make yourself a pot of coffee, and enjoy!

(Now, if you are REALLY ambitious, this is EXTRA EXTRA yummy when made with fresh made bread dough instead of the frozen yeast rolls - I've done it - and it truly is so delicious I could almost eat an entire pan of them myself!)

Remember, you have through November 7 to complete your entries for the A-H Jolly Jumpstart Blog Hop, and each comment gets you an extra entry.

***Additionally...here at Party of Five, I will also be having a giveaway at the end of the week!!  I will be posting throughout the week, from now through November 7, various posts about holiday projects, recipes, traditions, and memories.  On November 8, I will choose TWO winners of surprise grab bags filled with goodies to get you in the holiday spirit.  How do you enter?  Several ways!  You will get one entry for each comment you leave (one per Jolly Jumpstart blog post).  You will get another entry by becoming a follower of my blog (if you are already following, just let me know) and leaving a comment letting me know you are following.  You can get another entry by posting about your own holiday traditions and linking to this post on YOUR blog, and leaving me a comment with a link to your blog.  Make sure you check back on November 8 to see if YOU are a winner!!***


Thank you for participating!!  Comments are now disabled, and winners will be announced soon!!

Art-Full Horizons Jolly Jumpstart Blog Hop - Day 4

Welcome to the Art-Full Horizons 
Jolly Jumpstart Blog Hop!

Check out all of the fabulous holiday-themed projects, gift ideas, and more from our wonderful Blog Hop Contributors from around the world!!

1. Art-Full Horizons http://art-fullhorizons.blogspot.com
2. Tammy Inman http://tammyi.com
3. Nan Paturzo http://scrappynan.blogspot.com
4. Robyn Weatherspoon http://herebygrace.typepad.com/
5. Mykle Parker http://scrapbohemia.blogspot.com
6. Sherry Mendoza http://sherryscreations.typepad.com/
7. Robin Redd http://robinredd.typepad.com/west_coast_scrapper/
8. April Meeker www.suaviloquy.blogspot.com
9. Erin Bassett www.erinbassett.com
10. Jennifer Clark http://jenspartyof5.blogspot.com
11. Jennifer Edwardson http://frommypapercraftstudio.blogspot.com/

Here's how it works:

1. Hop through each of the blogs listed above to get fabulous holiday inspiration. If you are starting at a blog in the middle of the Hop, please start back at the Art-Full Horizons blog.  You should be arriving here from Erin's blog.
2. Leave a comment on each blog hop post in the list above between now and November 7, 2010.
3. Enter to win our giveaway by doing any of the following. For each thing you do, you will be entered into the drawing one more time:

• Leave a comment on the Art-Full Horizons blog hop post between now and November 7, 2010.
• Join the Art-full Horizons email list (fill out the form in the left hand column on the A-H blog).
• Become a follower of the Art-full Horizons blog! Just click the "Follow" button in the lower right column on the A-H blog.
• "Like" the Art-Full Horizons Facebook Page.
• Join the Art-Full Horizons Facebook Group.
• Share about this Blog Hop on your own blog, posting a link to the Art-full Horizons blog.
• Share about this Blog Hop on Facebook, posting a link to the Art-full Horizons blog.
• Share about this Blog Hop on a message board or forum, posting a link to the Art-full Horizons blog.
• U.S. entries only please

To let us know you've done these things, please return to the first Art-full Horizons Jolly Jumpstart Blog Hop post and leave a comment for each thing you did, i.e. one comment for posting on each blog, another comment for posting on facebook, and another comment for joining our email newsletter. Please note: if you post it all in one comment, it will only count as one entry, so be sure to post EACH ENTRY as a separate comment.

On November 8, 2010 we'll choose the winners using the Random Integer Generator from random.org. U.S. entries only please.

*****************************************************

Wow, I can't believe we're already halfway through the week!!  Today, instead of sharing a holiday craft with you, I want to talk about holiday traditions.  I know that the older I get, and the older my children get, the more important traditions are becoming to me.  I want my children to grow up with a sense of family and faith, and when they are older and look back, I want them to remember specific things about how our family celebrated the holidays.  Traditions bring familiarity, comfort, and often a sense of "home," when "home" may not actually be physically "home" any more.

So first, I want to share a Christmas tradition that I remember from my childhood, which I have continued with my own family as an adult.  It may seem like a very strange tradition to some - but for me, it is comforting and reminds me of many wonderful Christmases celebrated together when I was younger.  I was raised Catholic, and every Christmas Eve, we would attend mass - sometimes an early evening mass, and sometimes the midnight mass...but either way, it was tradition that our dinner on Christmas Eve was ALWAYS Chinese food!!!  Sounds strange, doesn't it?  BUT, when you really think about it...how many restaurants are open on Christmas Eve, especially later in the evening?  As we found during my childhood, Chinese restaurants were amongst the ONLY ones open for business, and so it became our annual tradition.  These days, we usually get take-out, but it is still always Chinese food, and it, oddly, is an important part of Christmas for me!

Second, I'd like to share a Christmas tradition that I started just last year with my own children, which I hope to continue throughout their growing-up years.  I would like to think that when they are adults and think back to the Christmas season, they will remember this as a crucial part of the season for them as well. It is a Jesse Tree.  While everyone does theirs slightly differently, our actual "tree" consists of a real birch branch, which I "planted" in a metal bucket using plaster of paris.  Every night, starting 4 weeks before Christmas, we read a different passage of Scripture, and an accompanying story from this book.  Then the kids hang a handmade felt ornament with a symbol representing that night's story on the tree.  I feel like it is a way for our family to keep our faith at the center of the holiday season, and is a reminder of what Christmas is really all about for us.  The Jesse Tree is a nightly reminder for us of why we celebrate Christmas in the first place, and while I hope it helps my children understand the meaning of Christmas, it also helps keep ME grounded and focused - and helps prevent me from becoming too overwhelmed with the commercialism all around us.

So what traditions do YOU celebrate each holiday season?  Is tradition important to you?  I'd love to hear your own families' holiday traditions!!

Remember that you have through November 7 to complete the Jolly Jumpstart blog hop. (See instructions above.)

***Additionally...here at Party of Five, I will also be having a giveaway at the end of the week!!  I will be posting throughout the week, from now through November 7, various posts about holiday projects, recipes, traditions, and memories.  On November 8, I will choose TWO winners of surprise grab bags filled with goodies to get you in the holiday spirit.  How do you enter?  Several ways!  You will get one entry for each comment you leave (one per Jolly Jumpstart blog post).  You will get another entry by becoming a follower of my blog (if you are already following, just let me know) and leaving a comment letting me know you are following.  You can get another entry by posting about your own holiday traditions and linking to this post on YOUR blog, and leaving me a comment with a link to your blog.  Make sure you check back on November 8 to see if YOU are a winner!!***

Thank you for participating!!  Comments are now disabled, and winners will be announced soon!!

Art-Full Horizons Jolly Jumpstart Blog Hop - Day 3 (and CCC #20)

Welcome to the Art-Full Horizons 
Jolly Jumpstart Blog Hop!

Check out all of the fabulous holiday-themed projects, gift ideas, and more from our wonderful Blog Hop Contributors from around the world!!

1. Art-Full Horizons http://art-fullhorizons.blogspot.com
2. Tammy Inman http://tammyi.com
3. Nan Paturzo http://scrappynan.blogspot.com
4. Robyn Weatherspoon http://herebygrace.typepad.com/
5. Mykle Parker http://scrapbohemia.blogspot.com
6. Sherry Mendoza http://sherryscreations.typepad.com/
7. Robin Redd http://robinredd.typepad.com/west_coast_scrapper/
8. April Meeker www.suaviloquy.blogspot.com
9. Erin Bassett www.erinbassett.com
10. Jennifer Clark http://jenspartyof5.blogspot.com
11. Jennifer Edwardson http://frommypapercraftstudio.blogspot.com/

Here's how it works:

1. Hop through each of the blogs listed above to get fabulous holiday inspiration. If you are starting at a blog in the middle of the Hop, please start back at the Art-Full Horizons blog.  You should be arriving here from Erin's blog.
2. Leave a comment on each blog hop post in the list above between now and November 7, 2010.
3. Enter to win our giveaway by doing any of the following. For each thing you do, you will be entered into the drawing one more time:

• Leave a comment on the Art-Full Horizons blog hop post between now and November 7, 2010.
• Join the Art-full Horizons email list (fill out the form in the left hand column on the A-H blog).
• Become a follower of the Art-full Horizons blog! Just click the "Follow" button in the lower right column on the A-H blog.
• "Like" the Art-Full Horizons Facebook Page.
• Join the Art-Full Horizons Facebook Group.
• Share about this Blog Hop on your own blog, posting a link to the Art-full Horizons blog.
• Share about this Blog Hop on Facebook, posting a link to the Art-full Horizons blog.
• Share about this Blog Hop on a message board or forum, posting a link to the Art-full Horizons blog.
• U.S. entries only please

To let us know you've done these things, please return to the first Art-full Horizons Jolly Jumpstart Blog Hop post and leave a comment for each thing you did, i.e. one comment for posting on each blog, another comment for posting on facebook, and another comment for joining our email newsletter. Please note: if you post it all in one comment, it will only count as one entry, so be sure to post EACH ENTRY as a separate comment.

On November 8, 2010 we'll choose the winners using the Random Integer Generator from random.org. U.S. entries only please.

**************************************************

Today, here on Party of Five (and if you stay tuned...we may need to change the name of this blog soon...just sayin'...), I am sharing with you a holiday wall hanging made from a simple, ONE DOLLAR wooden picture frame from Michael's craft store.  

Seeing as I finished it VERY late tonight, I didn't get a chance to actually HANG it for you...so sorry for the pics of it just laying down with the ribbon on the table!!  But trust me, the ribbon is staple-gunned to the back, and it will hang nicely!!

I started out by using gel medium to cover the front of the frame with some gorgeous Donna Salazar cardstock.  I sanded the edges, and then added some Tim Holtz Tidings tissue tape around the outside and inside edges, making sure to push it all down well.  I then used distress inks (Pine Needles, Peeled Paint, and Barn Red) to ink around the edges of the frame, and used my fingers to add a layer of gel medium over the tissue tape to be sure it stays in place well over time.  Next, I covered the two strips of what looked like lace, on the cardstock, with a thin layer of Rock Candy distress stickles.  You can see the shimmer over on the left side of the frame.  If you can only get ONE color of distress stickles, I guarantee you will never regret going with the Rock Candy!!!

Next, I took a holiday pick and cut a couple things off of it - a small piece of evergreen, and a leaf.  I covered the leaf with a copper Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber, and then I used hot glue to attach both pieces to the frame.  I cut a tree out of grungepaper, using my Winter Woodland Cricut cartridge.  I then ran it through my Sizzix, using my Tim Holtz sheet music embossing folder.  I inked it with distress inks, and then applied Peeled Paint distress stickles on it.  I attached it to the frame using foam squares.

Next, I made the snowflakes.  Because I am using this pieces for the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge for this week (you should totally check that out!), I can't explain just how I made the snowflakes.  ;)  Just know that I used a technique explained by Tim Holtz in his awesome book, A Compendium of Curiosities.  I attached the snowflakes in layers, so that they would pop off the frame a little at a time, with the biggest one being popped out the most.

Finally, for the center...I started by simply using the cardboard filler that came in the frame as a foundation.  That way I would know for sure that my center would fit perfectly.  I covered the back with a scrap piece of coordinating green cardstock.  The front, I covered with a piece of vintage Christmas music from a songbook.  Then, using the same Cricut cartridge as above, I cut out the word "Joy" from another sheet of Donna Salazar's cardstock, and a shadow from a sheet of coordinating green cardstock.  I glued the two together, and glued them to the music, then replaced the center into the frame.  I used a staple gun to attach a length of dark red, 7/8" wide grosgrain ribbon to the frame so it can be hung, and I was finished!

I hope you've enjoyed today's holiday inspiration!  I know that I am going to pick up a few more of these dollar frames the next time I am at Michaels, because this was a fun project!!

Remember that you have through November 7 to complete the Jolly Jumpstart blog hop.

***Additionally...here at Party of Five, I will also be having a giveaway at the end of the week!!  I will be posting throughout the week, from now through November 7, various posts about holiday projects, recipes, traditions, and memories.  On November 8, I will choose TWO winners of surprise grab bags filled with goodies to get you in the holiday spirit.  How do you enter?  Several ways!  You will get one entry for each comment you leave (one per Jolly Jumpstart blog post).  You will get another entry by becoming a follower of my blog (if you are already following, just let me know) and leaving a comment letting me know you are following.  You can get another entry by posting about this project on YOUR blog, and leaving me a comment with a link to your blog.  Make sure you check back on November 8 to see if YOU are a winner!!***

Thank you for participating!!  Comments are now disabled, and winners will be announced soon!!