It’s now the second week of Creating Christmas, and those of us here in the United States are gearing up for Thanksgiving (and of course, the sales on Black Friday). I love this time of year, it is usually this time of year when I do most of my crafting. Years ago, I remember making a commitment to make all handmade gifts for family and friends. By Christmas Eve, I was still stitching pillows, all stressed out and  not enjoying the holidays at all. I resolved to start earlier the next year – but even then, I still got sidetracked and I ended up doing a last minute dash to the stores. Last year, however, was different.  I had been subscribing to FlyLady and in one of the Holiday Cruising Mission e-mails, she says (paraphrased), “If you haven’t finished that handmade project by this time, do not attempt to start. ” That was when I finally got it – or in Marla’s words “the lightbulb moment”.  What I should be looking at is, if the project is finished by a certain date, and not if I have started  the project by a certain date (I know it sounds like plain common sense, and now that I’ve written it, I feel dumb for not realizing it sooner, LOL).  Anyway, so last year, instead of  dashing through the stores, with a grim look on my face, o’er the aisles I go, stressing all the way  ( to the tune of “Jingle Bells”, LOL), I was enjoying the holidays and making  those special moments that loved ones remembered: (to the tune of “Silver Bells”) –  making cards, wrapping gifts, going to church Christmas morning,  baking cakes, singing songs, trimming the tall Christmas tree;  see me smiling, see me laughing,  travel routes all planned out, no more panic, no disasters for me!   Okay, okay, I think I got carried away, LOL!  But really, if your holiday memories are “desserts” spelled backwards, check out FlyLady, specially the Cruising Through the Holidays section.  

Now, back to Creating Christmas, and as promised, here’s my Christmas-themed, two-candle gift bag (if you’re wondering why I call it so, scroll down to week 1 of Creating Christmas for the explanation). This is one of  my handmade projects -  and yes, my handmade projects this year are mostly gift bags, I’m buying the presents. Gift bags are fast and easy to make, and I prefer them to wrapping boxes. Gift bags are also green – well, this one is the color green, but you know that’s not what I mean, LOL – it is kind to the environment. I reuse gift bags that I get, and I know that people who get the gift bags I give reuse them, too. So, without further ado, here it is, ta-da!

Below is  the designed template – just right-click on the image and save in your computer (it might look distorted on your screen right now, but that’s just because Wordpress tries to fit it on this screen; when you open it in any graphics software, you’ll see that it’s not distorted). The graphics that I used came from the Calico Christmas CD, and will be available in downloadable format really soon (really, really soon, LOL!) at Gem’s Cottage. Please note  that use of the designed template consitutes following Gem’s Cottage’s Terms of  Use.  Have fun playing with this project and please use it to do good. And of course, don’t forget to come back often and check this blog and the other blogs listed at Creating Christmas!