Flickr Favorites - That Time of Year

1. a 'whatnot' gleeful tree..., 2. Day Three Hundred and Fifty One, 3. Untitled, 4. Taft

It's that time of year.

A time when I feel like I am racing against the clock everyday. With the holidays come a surge of holiday orders, putting up our small collection of holiday decorations, lots of baking, visiting family, and having family visit us.

Sorry to have neglected this little space, but every holiday season I have to pick and choose where to spend my time. This year my number one priority has been spending time with my little man. He's going to be 1 in two months and that has been hard to swallow. I feel like I only had him yesterday. Rest assured after the holidays I'll be back here with regular posting and lots of new work! For now I am just keeping up with sales, and spending time with the ones I love.

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Gift Wrap Alternative

A bunch of new bags were recently added to Pine Hill Forest, and I am in love!

I love the different combinations of fabrics combined with the unique felted brooches and zipper pulls.

It got me thinking about the various uses for the bags. There is the obvious pencil case, makeup bag, purse organizer, etc. But what about using them as an alternative to gift wrap? I would love to see one of these bags peeking out the top of a stocking with a pair of pretty socks inside, or a new set of markers for a child who loves to draw. The possibilities really are endless, and instead of throwing paper away afterwards you'd have a beautiful bag to keep using!

Here are some of the recent additions which I love:

Poodle Bag

Fresh Poppies Bag

Bubble Blast Bag

Swimming Sisters Bag

Poppy Bouquet Bag

West Hills Horses Bag

Lindy Leaf Bag

You can check out these bags and more here.

Do you have a favorite?

Mine is definitely the Fresh Poppies Bag. I love the color combination, and the beautiful handmade felt zipper pull.

Organization

1. Button Wall Collage, 2. a few happy things..., 3. stacked, 4. crochet

I am very excited for the upcoming holidays. Thanksgiving will be our last official drive up to see my family until after the little boy is born. But with this came the realization that we will be having Christmas at our house this year.

And with that means cleaning and organizing like never before!

I want everything to be just so, since it's not every day we have 4 dogs and 7 people stuffed into our home. (I realize this might not seem like a big gathering, but it's big for our home!) Currently our coffee table is a mess of birds waiting to become the little one's mobile, and the floor is littered with Christmas wrapping supplies. There is much to do to make this house spic and span and with each passing day my growing belly takes away a little bit more of my energy.

It's going to be an interesting Christmas for sure. :)