Gatlinburg Winter Magic

We spent the afternoon and evening in Gatlinburg for our first date from the Date in a Box.  I have heard about Gatlinburg Winter Magic and I was looking forward to going and I am so glad we did.  We had a great time.  Gatlinburg Winter Magic runs for four months (November through February) and the streets of Gatlinburg are decorated with over a million lights. Winter Magic started in 1989 and is a popular tourist attraction.  The lights have been changed over to all LED lights so the lights are brighter.  The downtown area is decorated with white lights with special displays of lights in different areas.  Once you leave the downtown area you can continue to drive through crafters row for colorful displays of bears featuring the different crafts in the area.  We choose to visit Gatlinburg after the holidays and when the local schools were back in session.  It was a good decision because it was quiet and we were able to enjoy the shops and restaurants at our own leisurely pace.  We had a late lunch at Crawdaddys then walked all over downtown.  We even did a wine tasting and moonshine tasting.  We did the wine tasting at Bootleeggers Home Made Wine and they had some great sweet wines (our favorite) but the names they had for their wines were great.  I liked them all and we bought a bottle of Scuppernong.  After the wine tasting we then went to visit Old Smokey Moonshine Distillery.  We tasted almost all the moonshine they had to offer from the flavored 40 proof moonshine to the 180 proof white lightning.  I even tried a moonshine cherry.  The white lightning burned all the way down and I thought it was yucky.  Our favorites were the Apple Pie moonshine and the peach moonshine.  So, I can now say I have had Tennessee moonshine and that it was not bad.  The lights and lighting displays were beautiful and it was a great way to end our day in Gatlinburg.  We had a great time enjoying Gatlinburg with George and Lisa and we found even more things we want to do in Gatlinburg so we will be back!

I Work For Stamps

I received a wonderful box from my sister Pam yesterday.  It was a box full of new stamp sets but it came for a purpose.  My sister Pam is a Stampin Up demonstrator and she hosts Stamp And Stacks (SAS) classes six times a year.  It is a very popular event for her and the last few I have helped her with some of the cards and Doorprizes.  So, I will be busy this next week or two working on one card, first, and then the door prizes.  The January event is featuring the new stamp sets that come out today from the Occasions catalog along with the Sale-a-bration catalog.  There are some really great sets in it and I am looking forward to begin to create with the sets.  I will be showing what I have done on this blog from time to time.  If you are interested in Stampin Up, looking for a demonstrator or just curious please contact my sister Pam and she would be happy to help you out.

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Today we are doing our first date from Date In A Box gift that Lisa and I gave Tim and George.  We are going to Gatlinburg, TN to see the Festival of Lights.  I have heard it is beautiful so we will find out.  Check back tomorrow to see how it was!

Wacky Weather

Yes, it has been wacky weather here at the farm.  A couple of days ago we were bundled up and trying to stay warm then we get three days of rain and yesterday the temperature was 66 degrees.  Today it is suppose to be 40 degrees.  Then it is going to be cold the rest of the week with 20s and 30s during the day and single digits at night, yuck!
Yesterday I took down all the Christmas decorations, packed them up and Tim put them away in the shed.  After cleaning up I then spent the rest of the day cleaning up the crafty cottage.  It looks pretty good and I am now ready to spend the next few days creating door prizes and cards for my sister's SAS at the end of this month.  So I will be busy for the next few days.  Check back and see what Iget done!

Date In A Box

I gave Tim one final Christmas present yesterday, this was the surprise I mentioned a couple of days ago, it was A Date In A Box. I saw this idea on Pinterest before the holidays.  I mentioned the idea to Lisa and she liked it so she made one for George too.  I came up with 12 different date ideas and then figured out how to represent them then placed the "date" in a box or envelope and labeled the dates

1 - 12. There are two ways your can do the date in the box; the first way is when they open the box they can also open each number to see all the dates.  The second way is that at the beginning of every month they open the corresponding number for that month and see what date it will be.  We chose the latter and so Tim and George opened boxed number 1 and inside was a Christmas tree lightbulb.  What did that mean?  It was our way of representing an afternoon in Gatlinburg, staying after dark, so we can see the Christmas light displays.  Gatlinburg is suppose to have a spectacular display and it is open through January so that is date one.  I think Tim and George liked it and Lisa and I will get the benefits of the dates too!  I won't mention what kind of dates we placed in our box that way the element of surprise will be there each month for Tim and George. Some ideas could be coffee at a favorite coffee place, boat ride on a river or lake, dinner and a movie, a walk in the forest or park, etc.  so each month I will share what each date will be after they have opened it.  We had fun in coming up with ideas and then figuring out how to represent the date.  I spent about a day getting everything together and making the boxes, cards, etc.  once that was done putting the "dates" in the date  box was easy.  So for a fun, once a month date try making up your own Date In A Box.  The ideas can be simple or extravagant, cheap or expensive but will be creative.  All you need is a good size box,12 ideas, and then things to represent the date.  Keep checking back and see what our "date" will be each month!

The Making of Trees

Starting at Thanksgiving and through Christmas I was busy making several of the gifts I gave this year.  For the past few years I have given several gifts that I made.  This year was no exception.  I could not show some of the items I made because some of you were going to receive them. I did take pictures while I was making some of the gifts. The trees was a brand new item that I had not made before but one I really did enjoy making and ended making eight.  One for myself, one for Lisa and the rest were gifts.  If you were one that received a tree I would love some feedback as I am thinking about selling some of my paper items next fall during the Fall Festival season.  What I would like some feed back on is the like of tree, price if you were to buy one and opinion on whether they would sell or not.  The trees were a fun item to make and I look forward to making more.  

Today Lisa and I will finish up a surprise then I will share what it is in tomorrow's blog. Check back and see what it is.

2015 Started Quietly

2015 started quietly and it may be how 2015 will be for us this year.   We had a nice and quiet New Years Eve and spent it with our wonderful friends, George and Lisa.  I spent most of the day yesterday in the Crafty Cottage working on Thank You Cards and getting the cottage cleaned up.  Working on Christmas crafts until the day I left for Florida did leave a small mess.  Now it is time to put away my Christmas craft supplies and start thinking about Valentine's Day decorations and get my CCC club cards done for January.  Over the next few days I will be blogging on some of the Christmas crafts that I have made this year as gifts.  I could not do it earlier since some of you received the gifts I made. If you did receive a gift I would love some feedback because I am considering getting my own table at the different Fall Festivals next year and try selling some of the crafts I made.
One new change for me this year, I am now a Tennessee resident.  I got my Driver's license, registered to vote and became an organ donor.  Eventhough I have lived in six different states this is only the third state that I have become a resident; Illinois and Florida were the other two. The three other states  I lived in while we were in the military but we keep our home state residency.
2015, so far, has been quiet, creative and we have officially made Tennessee our home.  Just Another Day At The Farm will continue to be everyday events for me here at the farm and wherever or whatever I do and there is a lot to do around here both at the farm and around the area.  Check back tomorrow for a surprise that Lisa and I will be preparing for Tim and George. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Welcome 2015 and a fond farewell to 2014.  2014 was a good year and we have a lot to be thankful for.  Our travels, our family and friends, the birth of our beautiful granddaughter Rory and settling down in Eastern Tennessee.  We are happy, healthy and blessed.  Thank you 2014.  2015 started off for us sharing the new year with Lisa and George.  We watched the bowls games, had great chicken parmesean and drank wine from a local winery just a couple of miles from where we live.  So Welcome 2015 and Happy New Year to all!