'Twas the Night before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
in hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.

And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
had just settled in for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
gave the luster of midday to objects below.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
and he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher!

Now, Dancer!

Now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet!

On, Cupid!

On Donner and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
with the sleigh full of toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
down the chimney St Nicholas came, with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
and he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes, how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
and the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
that shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.


He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
and filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.

And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
and away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all, a good-night!"



After the big trip is over and the gifts have been delivered on Christmas Eve, Santa is taking a greatly needed vacation with Rudolph.  He’s booked some sunny days in a resort to go surfing.

Packing List:
            
Suntan Lotion              

Sunglasses

Swim trunks

Hawaiian shirts

Surf board

Visor

AAA card

Garmin

Stay tuned for future sitings of Santa and Rudolph on their tropical vacation.

Black November

We hope you’ll enjoy our paper play, Black November (A Turkey’s View).  
Nikki and I have worked diligently to create a barnyard scene that reflects the atmosphere of a young turkey’s home.  Our characters and their costumes have been thoughtfully constructed with vibrant colors and markings.  Please take time to notice the expressions on our paper characters, as they have practiced many hours.
 While it is important to us that you are aware that absolutely NO animals were harmed in the production of this paper play,  we suspect some trees have given their lives in support of this art piece.  We have planted some young trees to replenish the forests, in support of our habit. 

Our Characters:

Big Brother Mike: He’s the larger turkey with the developed rubbery thing under his chin.  He has become rather cynical in his many months on the farm.  He does strut his stuff in the barnyard.

Young Turkey: This cute little fella’ comes from great breeding and it shows in his colors.  He’s a little like Chicken Little, who claims the “sky is falling” from the hen house across the way.  Probably because of the stories he hears hanging out with Big Brother Mike. 

The Farmer’s Wife: We hear about her and catch a quick glance at her nurturing side…or is it? You decide.

BLACK NOVEMBER
(A Turkey’s View)

When I was a young turkey, new to the coop,
My big brother Mike took me out on the stoop,

Then he sat me down, and he spoke real slow,
And he told me there was something that I had to know;

His look and his tone I will always remember,
When he told me of the horrors of ……..Black November;

“Come about August, now listen to me,
Each day you’ll get six meals instead of just three,

“And soon you’ll be thick, where once you were thin,
And you’ll grow a big rubbery thing under your chin;

“And then one morning, when you’re warm in your bed,
In’ll burst the farmer’s wife, and hack off your head;

“Then she’ll pluck out all your feathers so you’re bald ‘n pink,
And scoop out all your insides and leave ya lyin’ in the sink;

“And then comes the worst part” he said not bluffing,
“She’ll spread your cheeks and pack your rear with stuffing.”

Well, the rest of his words were too grim to repeat,
I sat on the stoop like a winged piece of meat,

And decided on the spot that to avoid being cooked,
I’d have to lay low and remain overlooked;

I began a new diet of nuts and granola,
High-roughage salads, juice and diet cola;

And as they ate pastries, chocolates and crepes,
I stayed in my room doing Jane Fonda tapes;

I maintained my weight of two pounds and a half,
And tried not to notice when the bigger birds laughed;

But ‘twas I who was laughing, under my breath,
As they chomped and they chewed, ever closer to death;

And sure enough when Black November rolled around,
I was the last turkey left in the entire compound;

So now I’m a pet in the farmer’s wife’s lap;
I haven’t a worry, so I eat and I nap;

She held me today, while sewing and humming, and smiled at me and said “Christmas is coming…”

Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving!

Storing Un-mounted Rubber Stamps

Nikki and I learned the best secret known to us for storing our un-mounted stamps from Maria, of Another Stamp Company. She puts 2 in 1 glue on the back of her un-mounted stamps and allows the glue to dry to a tacky residue. Page protectors are reinforced with a cardboard (like the kind on the back of your paper tablet) then a white 81/2 X 11” paper is put on the inside of both sides of the page protector. The white sheets can be stamped on so you know where to store your stamp. The rubber stamp sticks nicely to the page protectors and with the pages stored in a notebook it’s easy to flip through your stamps.



I’ve just completed this procedure for all my un-mounted stamps and was surprised how far a small bottle of glue went.  I brought some of the Sailor 2 in 1 glue back for Nikki to organize her stamps as well.  It's easier to share your stamps when you know what you have and where it is. 


Well, if any of you are frustrated with looking for your stamps and this sounds like the solution for you, go to www.anotherstampcompany.com and get some Sailor 2 in 1 Glue.

Nikki Stays In The Office and Dave Travels To Fort Wayne

Dave, my husband got to work the Fort Wayne show.  Nikki stayed in the office to get the show contracts out to the exhibitors for 2010.  Dave loves to travel and thoroughly enjoys visiting with the exhibitors and patrons.   

We anticipated rain for the Fort Wayne show, yet not a drop fell.  It was cold however, low 40’s.  We enjoyed sunny days with some wind and cloudy skies.  The changing colors of the leaves danced on the tree limbs in the parking lot.  Many of the exhibitors wore their heavy coats and hoods to set-up.

Greg from Marco’s Paper rolled into the Coliseum first to set-up.  Trucks, trailers, vans and compact cars loaded with treasures were emptied Friday to create a shopping paradise for all our customers.  It never ceases to amaze me the number of hours it takes to set-up a show. Then, after the show, in just two hours, how empty the hall will be again. 

Friday we offered classes to students covering all sorts of coloring techniques and card making.  Darlene of Stampland, Zana of Stamp Zia, Beth of Endless Creations and Sandy Hulsart, a Copic certified instructor.  Dave let me leave the show floor so I could take the Copic Class.  I learned a great deal from Sandy and now I need to practice and fine tune my skills.  Nikki and I will learn together during our lunch break as I show her what Sandy taught in the class. 

Dave was very impressed with Zana’s Design & Treasure project for the Friday night class.  We used crayons, ink and a scraping technique to create a beautiful piece of art.  Here is a picture of some of the completed projects.  Unfortunately the picture doesn’t give you the texture detail.  The tiles have a mosaic feel.  Dave wants to make a large piece of art for our home using this technique and I’m looking forward to working on it with him.
  

Saturday morning we had a good crowd come out for the show and enjoyed a steady stream through most of the afternoon.  Due to the chilly weather folks were dressed in warm seasonal clothing.  Here is a picture of three gals wearing festive fall tops.  Even though we were inside all day we got to enjoy the autumn colors displayed on the outfits of our patrons.  Thanks for the donning the festive harvest attire.

Congratulations to our winners!
We had lots of winners during the Festival.  Here is the list of names drawn from the tub of postcards.  Deb Long, Fran Dutton  Louise Truex, Karen Gumbert, V. Halac, Lyn Morningstar, Donnoa Jones, Molly Mekus, Erin Weebel, Kathy Merrett, Kelsey Mullen, Vicki Luebke, Susan Yee, Penny Snyder, Jodi Mook, Sheryl Penland, Chandra Carpenter, Janet Leslie, Melinda Miller, Mildred Wagner, Joan Lewis, Renee Vsetula, Lexi Rabel, Marlene Volkert, Kathy Newton, Barb Marlen, Elaine McClure, Loretta Ritchie and Deanna Stuckey.

We want to thank all the companies that donated prizes.  We appreciate their generous support of our Festival events.

Another Stamp Co., DeNami Design, Endless Creations, Gary M. Burlin & Co., Lost Coast Designs, PK Glitz, Polly’s Pals, Scrap-Mart, Scrap-A-Holic, Stamp On It, Stampland, The Happy Scrapper, TooMuchFun RubberStamps, Stampendous, JudiKins, RubberStampMadness, Clearsnap, and Stampington & Co.

The ATC Contest theme for Fort Wayne was: “Queen for a day!”

Our Saturday Winner is Kathie Williams.  Each of our daily winners were inspired by Halloween.  On Sunday, Debbie Herrick won with her Scream Queen ATC.  Congratulations girls!  Each of them won Rubber Bucks donated by Heirloom Productions to spend at the show with the exhibitors.  It’s always fun to pick your prize.

 

 

On Saturday, the local CBS station interviewed Dave and featured our Festival on the 7 p.m. news. 

We’re looking forward to returning to Fort Wayne October 2 & 3, 2010.  We will be at a new location, the Allen County Fairgrounds, 2726 Carroll Road, Fort Wayne, IN  46818. 

Dave and I took a peek at the facilities, there, before flying home, and found the folks to be very helpful and the location easy to get to.  It’s only 5-10 minutes from the Coliseum.  FREE parking!!!  We’ll keep you posted as the show approaches.

 We appreciate you all coming out and making the Festival a wonderful time for everyone.  Please mark your calendars for next year.

Happy Howl-O-Ween

Here’s a fun, moving card, sent to us by Auntie Amy for the season. 

Thought y'all would enjoy it, as well.

 

  We don’t dress up in the office…the costumes get caught up in the chair wheels and the masks are cumbersome when talking on the phone, but we have festive spirits.

We have giant bags of candy to give to the trick or treaters.  

 

Our weather in Newport is looking like rain, so we may have fewer kids coming to the door and then, well…we may need to eat the extra candy ourselves.  

 

It’s a spooky situation.

Happy Punkin’ Carving!