Christmas – Joely Sue Burkhart

To celebrate my first Christmas story release–The Billionaire’s Christmas Bargain–I’ll be giving away several small items over the next six weeks as little “gifts” to you. Of course I’ll do some gift certificates too, but personally, I love handmade items. I’ve got a crocheted scarf I made, some small journals, and who knows what else! Note that some giveaways will be exclusive to my newsletter subscribers, so sign up!

Up first, I’m going to giveaway a small (<20 page) journal I made. I bought digital papers from Ephemera’s Vintage Garden and Tsunami Rose, mixed with some Paris-themed washi tape, and some digital raven postcards I bought several years ago. I printed them out on card stock paper and cut them apart by hand, so these are far from perfect–but I think that gives the pages their charm. The journal is tied together with waxed cord and this particular journal has a little pocket inside with raven stamps.

To win this journal, comment on this blog post with your favorite Christmas book or movie. I’ll draw one name from the commenters on Sat. November 7th. I’ll ship the journal anywhere on the planet, and I’ll also offer a free download of any book from my backlist, including The Billionaire’s Christmas Bargain if you haven’t picked it up already.

I’ve totally lost my mind. Seriously.

I had planned to make cute little gift boxes and cinnamon ornaments for the monsters’ teachers. I thought I had a couple of days to do so. However, I got a note tonight that Littlest Monster’s gift needs to be taken to school TOMORROW. *dies* So we made a quick trip to Wal-Mart after the miserable Chiefs’ game and I bought all the supplies.

First up, we made ornaments out of cinnamon, glue, and applesauce. It sounded sooooo easy. In reality, I couldn’t get my dough dry enough. I went through 3 bottles of cinnamon and finally figured out it was easier to roll out small portions of dough at a time, liberally dusted with more cinnamon. Since I needed them for tomorrow, I baked them in the oven at 250 degrees for at least an hour.

Meanwhile, I got the monsters started on their boxes. I bought inexpensive brown boxes and paint. Yes, I told you I was insane. Monsters and PAINT? *dies* But they did a lovely job. For the tops, I used small cross stitch pieces I did earlier in the year (the only smart thing in this whole evening). The linen and silks are both from Vicki at Hand Dyed Fabrics. The swan and flower are from Ackworth School designs that I picked up at Needleprint, and the heart was a freebie from somewhere. I pulled out the glue gun and stuffed a little fiber fill underneath to give it a little texture, and then added a little trim.

They’re far from perfect. The swam one came out the best — because it was the third one I did. Hopefully the teachers will love them. Just in case, we also stuffed the boxes with mini chocolate bars.

Tag: Christmas

Christmas Giveaway #1

Handmade Gifts