a fall family reunion...and rediscovering shrinky dinks

My sister & I hosted our Nicol family reunion yesterday.  I know that reunions are usually summertime affairs, but really a fall family reunion was delightful.  We had a potluck, with so many potato and cheese dishes, Jell-o salads, pies and even oyster dressing.  As we said on one of our Nicol-ism cards, "You might be a Nicol if your 4 food groups are:  Meat, Potatoes, Noodles & Cheese."  It's the truth in our family!

Instead of a White Elephant gift exchange, we decided to invite everyone to bring a handmade gift.  (We treated it like a White Elephant exchange however, as we drew numbers, then each person had the choice to "steal" a gift, or select a new one from the table...we got up to the number 22 before someone actually stole one!  Then the fun began...)

There was everything from jalepeno jelly, a paracord bracelet (that Young Boy made,) homemade candies, handsewn potholders & aprons, photography, handmade birdhouses and even a treetop angel.  At the end, my dad asked everyone tell who had made what...it was great to see so much talent, right there in our own family!

I took some handmade holiday ornaments for my gift.  My favorite was the one below.  It's a vintage photo of our family (waaaay back when!) printed out onto Shrinky Dinks, then shrunk into a little credit-card sized ornament.  It took a little trial & error, but it was so much fun!  Watching it shrink up in the oven, it was like I was ten again.  Might have to make some more for the holidays.

So grateful for such a warm & loving family!