You saw my handsome guy cousins below. Last year for Christmas I made all the lovely lady cousins handknit scarves, so the guys were a little neglected. This year I made up for it by hand stitching linen ties for each of them. Not many men, much less young men, need to wear ties very often these days, but these athletes dress up frequently for away games. Tim's father and brother are also like to look sharp and I know their ties will also make an appearance. I know they'll all look dapper with their handmade ties! I used the pattern from the purl bee, and in general it was a pretty simple pattern. Taping together all the pieces was annoying and not very accurate, but I just rolled with it and they turned out great!

I have such awesome cousins! Here we are... almost all grown up... on Christmas Eve at our grandparents house. Half of us will be in or graduated from college next year, and we had our first almost totally teenaged Christmas this year of gift cards and money. We spent the evening eating, opening gifts, and watching old movies of us as little kids. I love that we see each other every year without fail... not every family is so lucky!

Tim and I are back home after a super busy holiday with family in Pennsylvania -- during which I had the amazing opportunity to photograph the wedding of a friend I've known for almost 10 years. The bride and groom were so easy going and it was so fun to photograph them and their families. The beautiful sunset filled ceremony (with groom's grandfather as the officiant) was the sweetest I've ever been to, and I was totally tearing up behind the camera.  Wishing Mr. and Mrs. Rogers a lifetime of love and happiness! Thank you both so much for letting me be a part of it.

Merry Christmas! Now I get to show some of my recent work without spoiling any surprises. Tim and I collaborated on this gift for my mom, and it's definitely my favorite this year. I wish we were keeping it, but instead I think we're going to make ourselves one more like the original drawing (including the beer can and the hot dog).

I always think its funny how well Tim and I work together. We get annoyed with each other, but we do actually have fun while arguing over which color each little piece should be. Sometimes I think its just important for us to finish something together. These are the times that I love being with someone who is creative, but not only that respects my creativity and vision. I always think its funny when people say 'two artists make a bad pair'. Sometimes I think the best thing we have in common is our work and desire to make things.

Projects like this one also make this time of the year really feel like something meaningful. There's a build up of all the hard work, then the excitement over the finished product, and finally the moment you are able to give it to someone who means a whole lot to you!

Just about to bloom, and just in time. Now if I could just get some snow, my holiday might just be complete.