The Night Before Christmas

by Bet Corsaut

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, except one, tiny, little mouse!

Looking for some crumbs, that hopefully the dog didn't find,
But Kobe had licked clean, all the floors till they shined!

The tree was decorated, trimmed in the style of the day,
Shining with everything recycled, to make it merry and gay.

Our stockings were hung, by the chimney with care,
Hoping St. Nicholals would leave, anything he could spare!

We put out the cookies and Lactaid milk, for Santa to find,
And a carrot for the reindeer, because they are so kind.

Then we got all nestled, and snuggled into our beds,
While visions of a turkey dinner, danced in our heads;

We dreamed of Santa dressed in red, so jolly and merry,
His white beard, rosy cheeks and his nose like a cherry.

We didn't see the little old driver, so lively and quick,
We were busy snoring, and didn't hear good old St. Nick.

But we knew he would come, he never forgot us before,
And he could use his magic key, to open the front door.

He was quiet, we didn't hear him go straight to his work,
He filled our stockings, with nuts, fruit and turkey jerk,

And putting presents for us, under the Christmas tree,
Then he left in his sleigh, laughing and singing merrily.

I'm sure he was heard saying, ere he drove out of sight,
"Merry Christmas, Nana and Booby, and to All a Good Night!"

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Christmastime....

Wheeeeeeee! I love shopping!

"Girlie"

Our little shepherd!

"Nick"

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Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

Nick and Girlie are counting the days......so is Nana!

(Girlie is still holding on to Nana's Halloween card to her until Santa comes! Yesterday she insisted on taking it in the car with her.)


Only 11 more days till Christmas
(we don't count today and we don't count Christmas day!)

Nick used Nana's "Old Timey" Royal Portable typewriter to write his letter to Santa Claus. He found it in the guest bedroom under the bed! He did such a great job on the letter.....I love it!

(Be sure to click on the picture to see it up close and personal!)

Nick and Elise's letter went out to Santa and we are waiting for a reply. Actually, Girlie couldn't write so Nick made sure he asked for a new dolly for her in his letter to Santa. He asked for Lego City, a new truck, a toy car, and a new bike.

We sent it to the NorthPole and put the correct amount of postage on the envelope (.72 cents to North Pole, Canada HOH OHO)

As soon as Santa's reply letter arrives, I'll post it on the blog.

Don't forget everyone....be good....Santa knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!

Postscript: Well, the letter from Santa arrived and Nick couldn't wait to open the envelope! He took one look at it and said, "This is a fake!" He's 6 yrs. old but knew it wasn't from Santa. It had been printed on a computer!!!! He's only 6!!!! I wonder if he will still believe next year. Girlie has a few years to go so he'll have to believe in the spirit of Santa or spoil it for her! He's only 6 yrs. old!!!!!

I still believed when I was 12 yrs. old! Of course we didn't have computers then......lol. I still believe!

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Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

On this Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for my grandchildren.
I love this picture! So sweet and so special. Big brother and little sister.

Pilgrim, Nick, and his helper, Girlie, handing out programs for the
Thanksgiving Play at Porter Gaud School.
Nick is thankful to be handing out programs and Girlie is thankful to be helping him!

To my family and friends;

I sincerely hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.

My daughter, Deb, and family are here visiting from Charleston, SC. They will be staying in San Clemente, CA with my son-in-law, Steve's family, the Glazier's (who really live in Alexandria, VA but have rented a house on the beach to spend the holiday with family and friends on the west coast!)

My son, Robert, and I will join them for the big feast on Thanksgiving Day. I'm so looking forward to the turkey and all the goodies but most of all to spending the holiday with family.

Actually, my biggest treat for the day will not be the turkey, but being able to spend the time with my grandchildren Nick and Girlie who are waiting to see Nana! I miss them a lot. I just saw them for Halloween in SC, but it seems like it's been so long ago! We'll get to spend time together while they're in town for the week. I'll fill you in on the festivities soon~

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Fun Halloween Books

Don't you just love Witches?

I love a "Good Bargain"! In fact, I think it might be my middle name! While shopping at Michael's Craft Store I spotted some real bargains, cute little note books marked down to .50 cents....

As a child of the Depression, I learned at a very young age to be thrifty. It has never left me! One day I will share my memories of that time, but today I'm crafting some fun Halloween Books for my grandchildren (and myself!)


With tons of scrapbook papers, stickers, die cuts, alphabets, google eyes, distress inks, Prismacolor pencils and my good old Golden Gel Medium, I started out to create some fun books for the kiddies to write, draw and sticker. I plan to use mine as a journal and notebook for the upcoming holiday (I also made one for my daughter, Deb...we both use notebooks every day to keep track of to-do lists and important events).

It was fun to cut up scrapbook papers with unusual Halloween Monsters and Ghosts and Witches (most of the papers that I used were from (Rusty Pickle, Pinecone Press, and DaisyD's). Stickers were from several companies available at local scrapbook stores and Michael's.

After cutting out the "spooky characters" that I wanted to use, I got out my Gel Medium (using it as glue for the papers and for a finish top coat to protect the artwork on the covers).

Once again, I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks to tone down the color of the books and add some dimension and interesting contrast. I added lots of google eyes in odd sizes to the characters making them even more whimsical. The finishing touches were ballpoint pens with skeletons and ghosts which I purchased at Walgreen's.

The 4 books I created

I opened the books and layed them out flat so I could photograph the front and back covers.

Nana likes Witches and Black Cats!

Nick loves Skeletons and Frankenstein!

Girlie loves Pumpkins and Kitties!

Mommy likes Frankenstein's Bride and Bats!

A closeup of the Bride!

I'm off to pack my suitcase with all the important things...Halloween Books, Creepy Candy Critters, Bats, Spiders, Halloween Recipe Book, Wax Lips and Fangs....It just wouldn't be Halloween without them! TRICK OR TREAT!

Halloween Fever Has Struck...

Good Evening....

I bid you "Welcome".....

Come in and sit a spell! I've been so lonely since last Halloween. My friend, the Raven, and I are looking forward to a ghastly long chat!
Rest your bones awhile. We have so much "dirt" to dish, so many old chums to "dig up" for a visit!

We'll light the lantern to keep you warm. Maybe it will shed some light on the subject of Halloween's past. We so love to reminisce!

The Raven, says "Nevermore".....but I say "Evermore", the more the merrier!

It's always so special spending time with you, but now it's time to rest. The big night is coming and we all want to be ready to frighten the little goblins who come to the door looking for treats!

So for now, we'll say "Good Night"....... and "Lights Out"!

Sweet Dreams......hmmmmmmm!
AAaaaggggghhhhh!

R.I.P.

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Halloween Fever.....

Oh yeah, it's autumn and that means Halloween! I've been a busy little bee making my Halloween wreath and decorating....I just couldn't resist.

I'll be in SC for the holiday so I have to decorate in CA early enough to be able to enjoy it for a few weeks before I leave for the east coast. I have been storing up nuts (not really, just bargain items to make my halloween decorations) and my nest is full. Remember the Victory gardens that people planted during the war, well because we are in a recession and money is tight, this is my thrifty, Victory wreath!

After finding the last group of crows at the Dollar Tree Store for $1.00 (duh!), I couldn't rest until I made my wreath for the front door. I purchased a grapevine wreath from Michael's Craft Store, on sale for $1.99! After scurrying over to Walmart to purchase flat black spray paint, only .97 cents a can, I hurried on home to get to work. I sprayed the grapevine wreath with several coats of the paint until it was a nice shade of black (my favorite color!)

The berries in the wreath came from my "Mock Orange" bushes in the front yard. Lastly, the flowers and leaves in the wreath are from my old summer silk flowers that were ready for the recycle bin (but they still had one more season as the dead, painted black flowers adorning the wreath!) After painting almost everything in site, I heated up my trusty hot glue gun and set to work creating....and the rest as they say is history.

The wreath turned out great...I JUST LOVE IT! (stay tuned....more pictures to follow....the decorating has only just begun!)

Well, I'm adding another picture today (October 14th) because the berries that I used (from the Mock Orange bushes in my yard) for my wreath have all opened up to expose their seeds! The wreath looks even better than the day I made it!



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Let's PLAY !

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(Click on photo to see the collage canvas up close and personal!)

There's nothing more fun than a collage, except maybe an Encaustic Collage! Today was fun, I had a PLAY day! I made an Encaustic GAMES Collage Canvas. The photo I used for my project was my school snapshot taken in 1947! I printed a copy on photo paper, cut it to size, and used a black mat.

I LOVE TO PLAY!

As a child I loved to play.....I still love to play.....and as I always like to say, "I hope I never grow up"!

Remember Monopoly, Old Maid, Go Fish, Kick the Can, Checkers, Bingo, Chinese Checkers, Dominos, Marbles, Button-Button-Who's Got the Button, Hide and Seek, Hangman, Clue, Tiddly Winks, Puzzles, Jump Rope, Rummy, Simon Says, Pick Up Sticks, Scrabble, to name a few? We didn't watch TV very often, but actually played games to amuse ourselves!

My initials are B.A.D. for Betty Ann Decoteau, the name I was called growing up and all of my old schoolmates still call me that today!

To start the project, I colored my canvas with Tim Holtz Distress Inks, and heat set the ink. Then I created a layout that was appealing, using the photo, old game pieces, napkin, ribbon, ephemera, and set it aside.

To begin layering the pieces of the collage, bees wax was heated in a Melting Pot. Using a small paint brush dipped into the wax, adhere pieces to the canvas board, applying thin layers of encaustic wax. Embed objects in the hot wax and then paint another layer over the top. While applying the wax and layering pieces, the buildup may become too thick and can be melted again with a heat gun (Ranger's Heat It Craft Tool is preferred) by gently blowing some of the wax off the board or away from the thick areas.

This was a fun project and brought back a lot of fond memories. Playing with my 5 brothers and friends, from the days of Howdy Doody and The Lone Ranger......a simpler time, when no one worried about setting their Tivo.

We were too busy PLAYING!

Let's ALL Go To ZINNIA'S!

Oh, how I love this place!

You'll find lots of treasures here!

And just loads of inspiration!

"Road Trip" with Sally and Bets again!

This wonderful, quaint shoppe, chock full of "vintage junque, crafts, ephemera, and gifts" is called ZINNIA ! And you'll just love the owner, Tamara...such a warm and friendly kind of gal.

One of our favorite places to just browse and browse and find a treasure or two or more to take away!

And some of the most inspiring projects adorn the store (classes are available to make most of the things you see!)
Thank you to Paul Murray (such a warm and generous man) who shared this picture of his grandmother and her friends with me. The class for this collage on canvas is taught by Joe Carrion, a mixed media artist.



If you can get away, the trip is well worth it ....you won't be disappointed (take me with you, please!).


*But be careful where you park....Sally will tell you....they are very strict on their parking regulations and love to write tickets!

Lots of pretty stuff, vintage stuff, unusual stuff, comical stuff, hard to find stuff, cards, books, papers, ribbons, trims, and the list goes on and on! Just looooooook at all the eye candy!

What are you waiting for..........?

Start the car..........!

"La Maison Rustique" Excusion!

Bet and Sally on the road again!
This time we went to the Barn Sale at La Maison in Temecula, right in the middle of Wine Country! Grape vines as far as the eye could see.
Then we spotted our destination. The barn!

We set up camp and then decided it was time to browse around.....!
(Isn't this cute? It's all decorated inside with 50's pink everything including poodles and a velvet Elvis! What a blast from the past! The trailer is vintage 1953.)

There were rows of artists tents, and loads of goodies to see. The barn, La Maison Rustique, was chock full of chandeliers, furniture, jewelry, artwork, beds, beads, baubles, bangles.....you get the picture!
So much to see and so little time!

A courtyard of bird cages, adirondack chairs, pots of flowers, lawn furniture and decorations was a site to behold!

After viewing the vintage treasures, purchasing a few trinkets and having some refreshments, we visited with some old friends and met some new ones from the Blog-Her group. What a nice bunch of gals. For more pictures of this event just click on this link: Prairie Home .

We left wine country and headed into town. Time for lunch at Mad Madeline's Grill, where we enjoyed the best cheeseburger with fries and a tall, thick, real malted milk!
Then a visit to Scrappin' Divas and The Stampin' Post. Really nice owners at both stores and great merchandise. We checked out with our bags of goodies and headed for home! What a nice, full day.

Mamma Mia! San Diego Premier!

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Scrap-A-Me-A!

Fourteen "wild and crazy gals" met at Scrapbook Your Life in San Diego, CA on Friday night, July 18th, for a Mamma Mia Party! The fun filled event was sponsored by Scrapbook Your Life, who provided all the goodies for the night.

We started off the evening at 5pm with a Mini Mamma Mia Scrapbook which we glued, inked, pasted, stamped, wired and embellished. Jen took pictures of each diva in her tiara and boa for a keepsake momento to add to the book. Three of the pages were clear plastic pockets for our movie ticket stub and other ephemera of the evening (I saved a piece of pepperoni from the pizza!-just kidding).

At 7pm the pizza arrived and wow...was it good! Some of us ate while finishing our books; others ate huge warm chocolate chip cookies as big as CD's and licked their fingers before they could finish their mini books.

Then at 9pm we waited in line to see the movie "Mamma Mia" at the Fashion Valley Mall. All showings were sold out, but we had our tickets! (Hey, what happened to the Pink Bags?!!)

We sang along to some of the old standards by Abba. We laughed a lot at the movie with Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnon and Collin Firth. We made some new friends, enjoyed some old friends and can't wait for the next party in August! (Possibly a P.J. party is the buzz!)

What a great girl's night out for sure!

Thanks again, Jen, who was overheard saying:

"If you haven't dressed up to go to the movies at least once in your life - you are missing your life!!!"

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4/06/09

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