Hello everyone

Just days away from Christmas, can you believe??  I am up late and was supposed to be wrapping gifts, but got a little side-tracked visiting many of your blogs!  I can’t resist.  I love hearing what you are all up to this week.  I finally had to stop making my social rounds and got  back to my agenda!

Remember the recent give away  post in which  so many of you mentioned your favorite holiday dishes?  I wanted to list the recipes from the randomly-drawn winners…they were so generous in sharing them with me.  And then I received even more yummy-sounding recipes so I thought I’d list all of the ones I received here.  The post was too long with the recipes typed out word for word, so I’m simply listing the recipes I received with their contributors.  If you see a recipe that you’d like to try, just let me know and I’ll email the recipe to you!  And for those who asked, I’ll compile all of them for you and email them out  once things slow down after the holidays!

CHIPOTLE MASHED SWEET POTATOES from Mary Sullivan (Gift Certificate Winner)

CHERRY, CASHEW AND WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES from Mary McGraw of MK’s Creative Musings (runner-up)

CAROLE’S PUMPKIN SOUP from Juliette of Abeille a Miel (runner-up)

BANANA PUDDING from Diane of Rosa and Josies

CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD COOKIES from Mellisa of Chinook Jewelry **We made this one already and my husband has declared it his new all-time favorite cookie….it is scrumptious!!!**

POTATO CAKE from Jayne of Mamas Got to Doodle

CHOCOLATE ALMOND MARBLE POUND CAKE from Leslie of Bei Mondi

HOT BACON CHEESE SPREAD from Wendy of  from the Heart

BLIZZARD OF ’09 CLASSIC SUGAR COOKIES from Cindy (ME!….and you’ll never need another sugar cookie recipe again!)

Thank you ladies for sharing your delicious tried-and-true recipes with me….I am looking forward to trying them! 🙂  And please don’t be shy – let me know if you see one you’d like for me to send to you, just leave a comment or email me.

Although we’re way past the first 12 Days of Christmas, I realized I never shared the beautiful charms I received from the Charmsters swap.  I’ve grouped the 12 Days of Christmas charms in sets of 4 so you can see each individual charm more closely.  I recently bought the Golden Book version of the 12 Days of Christmas and read it to my kids with the charms as real visual props!   As I read the book, the kids looked through these charms and had to pick which charm went with the coordinating day!    Some were a little challenging for them…but all all of the charms represented their Day with such amazing creativity.  I plan to put these charms on a miniature table-top tree for next year.

Finally,  I thought I’d share a few pictures we took while trying to get a good family shot for our Christmas card this year.  We were really a sight to see, trying to get the kids lined up.  We take very impromptu holiday shots and this time decided to take them by our neighborhood lake.  There was no place to prop the camera to use the “self-timer”, and I didn’t have a tripod.  So we waited (and it was bitter cold that day) for an unsuspecting soul to come by….and we jumped on the first couple that happened to walk by!  The young guy was happy to oblige, but seemed a bit surprised by the responsibility we bestowed on him.  Luckily it all worked out.

I wish you all a blessed Christmas – and that you enjoy the holidays with your family and friends by your side.  Thank you for visiting sweet bead studio and for all of the kindness you have shown me.  My blogging friends have become such a big part of my life, and I thank you for it!  Merry Christmas!