More embossing powder on this one - it turned out really glossy and and looks good with the red jewels.  I am really liking the sledding children today....it's in the mid-80s here!

This card was hard to photograph because the top layer is silver mirrored cardstock.  I used an embossing folder and my Cuttlebug to imprint the Christmas tree.  It looks so pretty in person, but no matter what I did with my lens and camera, this is the best shot I could get.

Kraft cardstock and embossing powder are two of my favorite supplies.  And a girl can never go wrong with pearls!

I made this card with with embroidery floss and wide rick rack I found on Etsy.  This is a very simple card, but it's one of my favorites.

First up, my 2009 version of the Christmas cards I mailed to friends and family last year. 

Here's a shot of my 2008 holiday card - which a few of you may recognize!  I have a few left over, so they're headed for the Fall Bazaar.

• Check out "the boy made of post-its" at Anne Jackson's site, Flowerdust.  Very cool handmade art with an important message.
• Better Homes & Gardens has 32 warm and cozy fall dessert recipes. 

I received my new Vera Bradley "home for the holidays" catalog in the mail.  It is so full of beautiful photography, it could be a coffee table book.  It includes the paper dolls and house pictured above.  Sweet Petunia was so pleased.  She is hoping Santa knows Vera.  I spotted new ornaments, gift wrap (yes, it looks like their fabrics!), a stationary collection and wine wraps.  Also included, instructions for making adorable ornaments and a wreath from metal cookie cutters and - most unexpected - a recipe for Lemon-Blueberry Bread! 

On October 17, 2009, a portion of the proceeds from purchases of Vera Bradley products in stores and online will be donated to the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer.  The Foundation offered this update on their fund raising:

This year we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer. What a remarkable year! I am delighted to report that we ended our 2008 fiscal year with a $1.75 million contribution toward our $10 million commitment to the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center. 

This brings our total giving to $8.45 million since the inception of the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer in 1998.

As the year comes to an end, I also want to share a few other highlights that have made 2008 special, all of which would not have been possible without you:

RESEARCH BREAKTHROUGHS: Dr. Linda Malkas, the Vera Bradley Chair in Oncology at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, started the company CS-Keys to translate her biomarker discoveries into a cancer blood test kit that will be available in doctors' offices. CS-Keys was awarded the Mira Award, the top honor in Indiana for Innovation of the Year. Dr. Malkas was featured in both Indiana Business magazine and Guidepost magazine.

Exciting additions have been made to the team of cutting-edge researchers and clinicians at the IU School of Medicine. This team will move into the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer Research Laboratories at the IU Simon Cancer Center in February.

Pretty purses and generous community involvement.  Many thanks to the fine people at Vera.  Consider Vera Bradley for some early holiday shopping today.

A freedom loving Cuban rocker who wears hand made anti-government t-shirts, frequently denounces the Castro brothers as geriatric tyrants, and heads up perhaps Cuba's only explicitly political punk band, Porno Para Ricardo?  What's not to love?  Check out this interview from our friends at reason TV and you'll fall in love, too.

Lisa at Stop and Smell the Chocolate is having a Fall Fruit Festival October 12-16.  Her Sour Cream Apple Pie recipe is not to be missed.  Her entire blog is great, especially Chocolate Fridays.  I wish I had thought of it first!

I have been traveling - lots of flying, sitting in airports, and driving unfamiliar rental cars in rain storms while trying to figure out how to turn on the windshield wipers.  Lola, the lovely voice living inside my navigational system, got me through just fine.  I came home to this beautiful Fauve-style Oil Pastel, which earned Sweet Petunia an Honorable Mention at a local festival.  

So glad to be home.   After a day of hiking and visiting historical sights (including touring a beautifully restored supper club where a couple were about to be married!), we enjoyed a walk on this beach.  Peaceful.     

Great "handmade" music.  Yes, that's comedian Steve Martin.  He's also a talented banjo player.  Enjoy!