A special request for my newly created wearable art Recycled Vintage Christmas Light Angel Earrings came through and off they flew ~ What an honor ~ I look forward to making more dreams come true! Silent Night ~ the Holidays Happen All the Year Through… Let me design YOUR dream earrings !

Local officials in many areas have gotten creative with public Christmas trees and decorations in these tough economic times. Ben Tracy reports from Concord, Calif.

Only eight Christmas trees this year (down from nine last year), but with a new lighted Christmas village display

Cropped!s guest designer, Karin Aguirre, shows you how to create a beautiful babys 1st Christmas photo book cover. The techniques youll learn in this FREE Cropped! video can be used for many scrapbooking projects. … “scrapbooking albums” paper scrapbooking pages scrapbooks scrapbook baby creative ideas memories Christmas “babys first Christmas” “how to” free crafts “baby scrapbooking layouts” “making memories” “paper crafting” ribbon embellish “crepe flowers” flowers snowflake sewing sew …

Follow these easy instructions by Susanna from www.PaperCraftPlanet.com and learn how to make this adorable and simple tag album! For more videos like this one, check out www.PaperCraftPlanet.com … scrapbook “rubber stamping” stamping christmas tags holiday wraps “how to” books mini-books “paper crafts” crafting origami

► XmasFLIX.com What To Get The Hacker On Your Christmas Shopping List! “If you’re trying to figure out what to get the Hacker on your Christmas shopping list” then this is the video for you! Let’s start with “the ultimate high tech Christmas present for the Hacker on your list”, a Christmas Card on a floppy disc for 10 bucks! With stunning animations and graphics, and stereo quality music. Hot! We go to the mail and hear nerds from Radio Shack and Computer Craft stores talk about how …

Want to wow with your holiday cookies this year? Well show you how to make some amazing cookies from the book Cookie Craft Christmas.

Jenna shares the techniques and tips to make a door wreath from some old, weathered books. It’s easy, inexpensive and fun. You probably have everything you need to make this now and at home! From expert crafter Jenna DeAngeles. More info at www.JennaDeAngeles.com.

► XmasFLIX.com Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1948). The last cartoon ever produced by Max Fleischer who produced the Popeye the Sailor man, Betty Boop and Koko the Clown cartoons from the 1910’s to the 1940’s. You know Dasher, Dancer, etc., as the song goes and for the past several decades, you’ve known Rudolph as well. He’s become so familiar a part of the Christmas scene that, like his contemporaries, the gremlins, a lot of people aren’t even aware that he only goes back to the early-to …

Your friends, relatives and neighbors are eagerly looking forward to your annual Christmas photo cards.  But how do you make this year’s holiday card really fresh and original? Here are seven ideas to help you make your new photo Christmas cards stand out.

1. Go black and white photo for a dramatic look.  Many digital cameras have a setting that will enable you to take your photo in black and white. Or you can change a color snapshot to grayscale in your photo editing software. If you don’t know how to do it yourself, most photo card companies can do it for you at no extra charge.

2. The more, the merrier.  This year, include more than just the kids in your photo Christmas cards.  Get in the picture with them!  One year my uncle remarked that while he enjoyed receiving a photo of the kids every year, he would like to see a picture of us, too. So, gather the entire family, even the pets.  And if you have an opportunity during the year to attend a large family get together with grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins, you might consider using a large group family photo.

3. Pack the Santa hat on vacation. Whether you’re going to the beach, sightseeing in the city or pumpkin picking in the fall, bring along a holiday prop or two, such as a Christmas stocking or ornament.  When you’re taking photos of your family excursion, include a few with everyone holding or wearing the Christmas props for refreshingly different holiday photo.

4. Think personality.  While you might enjoy a posed photo of your children all cleaned up, in nice clothes, with not even a hair out of place, it doesn’t show off their real personalities.  For more interesting photo Christmas cards, try taking some candid photos of your kids doing things they enjoy.  Or pose them with props that reflect their interests or accomplishments.

5. Scrapbook a page.  If you’re creative, you can put together several cropped photos and your greeting on holiday background paper, then photograph or scan it to be used as your photo Christmas card.  Since most photo card companies use 4 x 6 inch photos to produce your cards, trim a standard 12 x 12 inch scrapbooking page to 12 inches wide by 8 inches high as your background for your layout.

6. Embellish it.  Even if you have already ordered standard photo Christmas cards, you might still be able to jazz them up a bit.  Check out the scrapbooking aisles in your local craft store for tiny embellishments, such as bows, ribbons, and other holiday dimensional items.  These are practically flat, since they are meant for a scrapbook page, so they will still fit into your envelope after you glue them on your cards.

7. Shop around.  There are so many photo Christmas card companies on the internet that are offering unique, original, personalized designs.  Some designs can even contain multiple photos, so you don’t have to worry about getting that one perfect snapshot.  Or they will put your photo into the shape of an ornament, tree, or other holiday symbol.  Many companies will let you write your own message, so you have more choices and options.  They come in all price ranges, so it pays to do some browsing.

So, don’t be afraid to try something a little different with your photo Christmas cards this year.  With a little imagination, your holiday photo cards will be truly special.