December traditions and to do's

I'm used to the holiday season being completely chaotic ... but every year I keep trying to change that.  I'm a planner ... there are lists on paper, lists in my head, notes on the calendar and "reminder" emails that I send myself, yet I somehow seem to ignore things and wind up pulling a few late nights to get what I need to get done.

Right now though, I feel like I'm in pretty good shape .... most of our Christmas shopping is done and already wrapped, I have a couple of handmade gifts to finish up and some lots of holiday baking to do.

I think one of the best time-savers that I've kept to through the years is using just one or two styles of wrapping paper and keeping all of my bags, boxes, tissue paper, wrapping paper, ribbons, bows & tags - with a good writing pen - in ONE place.  We have one of the long Rubbermaid containers that everything gets stored in and it's a simple, easy and out of the way.  It's especially great since the hubby can easily get to everything when he wraps my gifts!

We have two major traditions on my "side" of the family .... one is making Stroofilies like these: 

and the other is our fish dinner on Christmas Eve.  Much to the disappointment of our non-fish eaters in the family, we don't have any meat on our table on Christmas Eve and we've pared down the traditional 7 fishes Italian dinner to things we love like shrimp and lobster.

What about you?  What are your family traditions?  What's one of your great time-savers for the holidays?

Gearing up for Thanksgiving

This past weekend, we were at the St. James Nursery School Craft Fair.  It was a busy day with a constant stream of visitors, which was great ... not a lot of down time for me!  One of the great things about being a vendor at these fairs is meeting some other great vendors and learning about what they love to make as well.

Here are some pictures of my booth set up and some of our new Christmas items:

I'm finishing up a couple of custom orders that I received on Saturday so that I can concentrate on getting our house ready for the Thanksgiving invasion. 

Thanksgiving is my absolute most favorite holiday.  It's all about families getting together and sharing a meal and remembering what they have in life to be thankful for.  No matter where we are in life at that moment, we can always find something to be grateful for ... and lets face it - the over abundance of desserts doesn't hurt! ;)  Then ... after you indulge and clean up ... then you plot your course for Black Friday shopping!

What about you?  Is Thanksgiving on the top of your list?



We have a winner!

We've reached our first goal of 30 "Likes" on Facebook .... and are now at 31!  Thanks so much for your support!  Courtesy of random.org, the winner is number 24.  The winner has been announced on Facebook!

Veterans, Fairs & Holidays

First, and most importantly .... we at Perfectly Creative would like to thank all of our Veterans - both past and present - and also their families for sacrificing their time together so that they can fight and protect us and our freedoms. We have more gratitude than we can ever say.

Last weekend I was at the Harvest Moon Festival in New Windsor. Here are just a few photos for those of you that haven't visited us in person:

 
 

 

 

 

 

This was the first weekend using my new displays ... thankfully they were very easy to put up, and I think they worked out very well.  While there for the afternoon I met some lovely vendors. 

Shortly after the fair ... like on Sunday morning, I realized that I was getting sick.  This cold has knocked me out this week!  Thankfully after a strict regiment of Advil Cold and Sinus, I'm feeling about 85% ... no telling what a couple of more days will do!  I'm looking forward to being at the St. James Nursery School on Albany Post Road in Hyde Park next Saturday the 19th.

I'm slowly realizing that Thanksgiving is right around the cornter.  It's my favorite holdiay because it's the one that has NOTHING to do with materialism.  It's all about joining together and sharing a kick-ass meal.  We host, so I'll be cooking for about 14 people this year.  I love coming up with new centerpieces and place settings ... so I'll be working on those soon.   While I know what we'll be serving, I'll take the opportunity to tweak things and see if I can add something new and delicious every year!

What about you?  Staying home or trekking out for Thanksgiving? 

Don't forget about our Facebook give away .... once we reach 30 people who "Like" us, we'll choose a random fan to get one of these paper wreaths .... they'd make a great hostess gift!  (Besides ... we're at 28 right now and waiting for 2 more is KILLING me!) Check it out ... you know you want to! 

Facebook, Snow and Craft Shows

First and foremost, I'm happy to say that we've reached 25 fans on Facebook!  Thank you so much to our new "friends" ... you are appreciated!

If you're in the New York/New Jersey area, chances are you were slammed with a lovely snow storm on Sunday that left so many without power and heat.  Luckily, we had power the whole time, but not cable/internet service.

We've also taken in some stragglers .... our niece and nephews are staying with us for a few days until power and heat are back on in their town.  We're figuring out what entertains a 14, 11and 7 year old ... and realizing that it rarely is the same thing!  (Although I can say that my game of Go-Fish is improving!)


This Saturday, November 5th, Perfectly Creative will be at the Harvest Moon Vendor Fair sponsored by the Grace United Methodist Church from 10am to 3pm at St. Joseph's School located at 148 Windsor Highway, New Windsor.  There will be homemade peanut brittle, a baked goods table and a door prize table.  There's no admission fee, so please stop by and say hello!

Here's to hoping for quick-melting snow and power restoration for everyone!

Our First Facebook Giveaway!

I'm not above bribery .... are you?  In my quest to get Perfectly Creative out there, I'm asking for your help ....  Some of you have already "Liked" us on Facebook, and we greatly appreciate that ... but we're a little greedy.  We want more!

We're setting a short goal of reaching 30 Facebook fans.  Tell your husband.  Tell your sister.  Tell your mother, even if she isn't sure what "Liking" someone on Facebook means. For your efforts, all 30 of our Facebook fans will be entered into a random drawing for one of our lovely paper wreaths (a $21 retail value).

I love these wreaths ... (the bigger the better in my opinion!).  This particular wreath is approximately 9" in diameter.  You can hang it on its own or by a thick colored ribbon.  It can be propped against the back of a bookcase as an decorative accent.  Heck, you can even mount it on a colored canvas for an extra dimension against your wall.

So join in if you haven't already and get your chance to win this wreath.  If it doesn't fit your particular decor, then you can always gift it to someone! Share the post, share our Facebook page ... or just click here.

Who doesn't like showing some team spirit?

We here at Perfectly Creative love showing our team spirit.  Now, so that you won't totally hate me before you get to know me ... I'm going to hold off on telling you where our team loyalties lie!

I haven't always been the biggest fan of sports, but with time (and the love of my marriage) I've learned some things - like rivals.  Yankees & Red Sox.  Giants & Cowboys.  Celtics & Lakers.  You get my drift.

So tell me some of your team favorites - or the rivalry that you've got going on in your house.  The only sports rivalry going on in our house is whose favorite player on the same team is better!

Busy, busy, busy!

So the butterflies of "opening" are gone and I'm trying to figure out my own little systems of how and when to update things, list new items and manage everything else.  I felt like a computer programmer for the past couple of days!  HTML coding hasn't won yet!

I've figured out that I'm not a strict schedule person.  I have to "feel" like doing a task - or at least REALLY need to because a deadline is looming.  (Drives my husband nuts!)  Most times I'm good since I don't like to be idle - but there are days where lounging around sounds like a great idea.  Today I'm concentrating on house & home - the fun things like grocery shopping and cleaning, with just a little creating thrown in tonight.

What about you?  Any tips for someone who can't seem to block out time, but just melds it all together?

Here we go!

Welcome to the world of Perfectly Creative!


For as long as I can remember, I've always loved making things.  Whether it was the little DMC cross stitch patterns my grandmother would send away for or those "starter" projects we were taught in Home Ec. class, I have always enjoyed the process - and most especially the end result.  Heck, in high school some friends even nicknamed me Bevi-Crocker!

After years of making things for myself and family or friends and listening to their supportive accolades, I've decided to open up an Etsy shop and do some local craft fairs. Why don't you join me for the ride?

I'll be updating the blog with sneak peeks of creations in progress, and to let you know when the Etsy shop will be getting updated inventory and specials.

Be sure to check us out at Etsy.com and "Like' us on Facebook!