Happy, Jolly Holiday Party! Let's Party!

It is our last day of the Henry Glass Jolly Holiday Party! We hope that you've been inspired and have had lots of fun! Thank to all of the designers for their wonderful posts and to you for following along! Remember that there's some special gifts to be won. The rules can be found here. Remember to collect all of the secret words and e-mail it to the address listed in the directions on the Henry Glass blog from the 20-26th to be entered in the Jolly Holiday Party giveaway. I was told what the grand prize will be and it is fabulous!

I share the party hostess duties with Chelsea of Pink Fig Design today so hop over there to see what she's up to. 

Now to my Q & A's. Many of my holiday stories have been well documented already. You should start here for some fun and inspiration. Otherwise, stick around here for some more storytelling!

1. What is your favorite holiday food?

I don't eat a lot of sweets but I do love butter tarts! [My secret word, btw!]

2. Does your family have a favorite holiday tradition?

We used to travel to Canada for the holidays but weather conditions made that a dicey undertaking. The entire NY Thruway was closed one year. We do have my mom here and that's special and I need to take an official photo every year. This year, the boys wanted some friends to be in the photos too. There are other funny stories that I've written about in the past and you can read all about some other holiday escapades here.

3. Did you love or hate sitting on Santa's lap?

I think that I only sat on Santa's lap once and I loved it. Hard to believe it but I was a very social butterfly and was not shy at all! Although I can't find the photo right now, I remember my orange and powder blue plaid jumper and red tights. Stylish, I know. My son's have not inherited this from me though.

4. Was there a gift that you desperately wanted? Did you get it?
I never wanted much for Christmas as a child.  I lived with all of my aunts, uncles, grandparents and great grandparents and whatever we got was special. As an adult, the only gift that I wanted was a Leica camera. Yes, I did get it.

5. What is your favorite holiday movie?

I love all of the traditional movies but I enjoy Love Actually. Who doesn't love seeing Colin Firth during the holidays? Now that would be a lovely present.

6. Favorite holiday song?

I have two! I love, love, love, Darlene Love.



Nothing beats Diana Krall and my boys especially love the last line of the song, "I'm crazy about horses!"



7. Do you make any holiday presents? What do you like to give?

My friends, Colleen and Joanne, and I have a plan this year. We are going to get together once a week to make something small. We figure that by the time Christmas comes along, we'll have a few projects made up for giving. What sort of things are we going to make? I think that we're going to make little zippered pouches.

8.  If you could go back in time, when would you say was your most favorite memory?

I love watching my mini-Marthas decorate. They're so funny. I wonder how long their decorating streak will last. I hope that it will be around for a few more years! In the past two days, my little one has been cutting out paper snowflakes with the gusto of a strong wind in a blizzard.

9.  Do you prefer a big family gathering at the holidays or a small dinner followed by hot chocolate by the fire?

I like a small intimate time with my family. It's a great time to sit down and enjoy each other. We're so crazy busy the rest of the year and this is our quiet time. We enjoy the day and have lots of fun. During the day we like to talk to all of our relatives around the world.

Don't get me wrong. I do love to get together with my family and friends too during the holidays. I grew up in a large household with my great grandparents, grand parents, aunts and uncles so I've enjoyed large gatherings. When we do get together it is lots of fun but since we get together outside of the holidays, I don't feel as though I have to get together just because it's Christmas. I love watching all of the little cousins play together . Right now, most of the cousins are boys so it is always crazy busy.

10.  Do you love a big tree or Charlie Brown tree?

I love Charlie Brown's tree and in that spirit,  I have some branches in vases so that the kids can hang up their ornaments and paper snowflakes. The reality is that I love glass ornaments and I buy my kids an ornament every year. We have two trees now and both are fairly robust so that they can hold all of my ornaments.

My project for you is this fun pillow. I tried out different color variations and thought that it would make a great center for a placemat too. You choose. I'd love to see what you do with it! Pattern here and template here.

See, it's cute and simple as a placemat. With the gray/white combination, it's a bit funky and modern.

Here are my giveaways to you. My books are going digital soon on the Leisure Arts APP but they so kindly sent along some of the printed books for you to win!

Martingale sent me a few amazing new books. If you leave a comment here or on Facebook, you might be selected to win a copy of one of these books. That's my pincushion on the cover!

Jelly Babies is such a cute little book! It's great especially if you love the 2 1/2" strips.

Love this one! There are lots of fun designs to make!

Mary Lou Weidman does it again. She and Melanie have written a fun book about easy free-form pieced blocks!

Comment here or on Facebook until midnight of the 26th and tell me your favorite part of the holidays for these drawings.  I will select winners for these special treats! If you comment here on the blog and on Facebook, you'll get two entries! Yeah! If after one week of notification there is no reply from the winner, I reserve the right to save the prize for a runner up or to use it in a future giveaway [my choice].

Come back soon, I will be announcing my new pattern venture. I'm starting to get into the holiday spirit too. You'll have to see what sort of diy projects I work on with my boys.

Happy holidays!
xo, L