Ornaments - Day 4

 What's more warm and cozy at Christmas than a quilt?  these ornaments make me think of cold winter nights snuggled on the couch with a quilt and a good book.

This mitten ornament is from a piece of a very old quilt made by Nannie, my Grandmother. My Papaw was going to throw the quilt away because it was in such poor shape with numerous holes. I told him I wanted it, but he didn't want to give me a quilt that was in such bad shape. He finally let me have it, but only after I promised to make something from the quilt. So I did, I made a teddy bear with movable arms and legs and  I made this ornament.  The buttons are also hers. I made ornaments for several family members from Nannie's quilt. Nannie died when I was young. I love to have little things of hers to touch and bring back memories.

I made this little stocking from scraps. I'm very old-fashioned when it comes to the ornaments I enjoy!

How I miss that Old Fashioned Christmas!

Memories that last through the years

Call me sentimental; Don't mind if you do

I wish an Old Fashioned Christmas to you!

Lyrics to An Old Fashioned Christmas

Artist unknown

Inspiration Everywhere

I'm participating in an online class with Jessica Sprague called Inspiration Everywhere. It’s for us to find and ORGANIZE all the inspiration we’re surrounded with. We’re focusing on five distinct paths to inspiration: 
■Words
■Music
■Art
■Tools
■Play

Our first assignment was to create an Art Journal that we will use each day to record our inspirations. I created mine this morning in my favorite color, with my favorite embellishments, tiny buttons.



 This in itself was a challenge for me. I can scrap lift anything or copy anything and add  my own little touches, but I cringe when I think of me being the creator with nothing to copy or follow.  Therefore, the reason I'm taking this class. I know I'm creative I just need to be more confidant. I'll try to share a little more as we go along.

Ornaments - Day 3

Thistlehair The Christmas Bear

He comes around this time of year

Spreading lots of Christmas cheer.

The kids all love this shiny coat

And the smell of honey on his nose.

He tells them all about that star

And everything that it stands for.

The birthday we all celebrate

Is still our favorite holiday.

 

Oh, Thistlehair the Christmas bear

Spreadin' the good news everywhere.

About Christmas time and what it means

To all the children of the world.
Every little boy and girl

Out there, love Thistlehair

Written by D.Lowery

Sung by Alabama

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love bears. Bears of every kind, whether they be stitched, plush, or figurines. There is just something comforting and cuddly about a bear. So, of course, there has to be bears on my tree. These are two I stitched several years ago.

Beary, Merry Christmas to You!!

Ornaments - Day 2

O CHRISTMAS TREE!

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

Much pleasure thou can'st give me;

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

Much pleasure thou can'st give me;

How often has the Christmas tree

Afforded me the greatest glee!

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

Much pleasure thou can'st give me.

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

Thy candles shine so brightly!

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

Thy candles shine so brightly!

From base to summit, gay and bright,

There's only splendor for the sight.
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Thy candles shine so brightly!

The most well known version of "O Christmas Tree" was written in 1824 by the Leipzig organist, teacher and composer Ernst Anschütztt. The melody is an old folk tune. The first known "Tannenbaum" song lyrics date back to 1550.



An Ornament A Day

I decorated my Christmas tree.  What fun!!

Well, it was fun after the lights were on. I put several hundred lights on my tree. I love the old-fashioned look of the multi-color bulbs. You see, I am very old-fashioned, I love anything vintage. Anyway, back to the lights. Every year as I take them down and store them, I carefully roll them around those reels that are made to store lights. They are checked after they are on the reel and they are working. So, I get ready to put the first string on the tree and half of the string does not work. Pooh!!   How does that happen, is there a light Grinch that sneaks in every year and sabotages the light strings? I had three strings that did not work! But, I know how to beat the Grinch. I always buy at least three boxes on sale after Christmas. So I was prepared and the lights went on!!

Now I'm having fun, I'm ready to add the ornaments. I have hundreds of those also. So many of the ornaments have such special memories. Some ornaments have been given to me by family or friends. Some I have purchased. I have a weakness for buying Christmas ornaments. And some, I have stitched or hand crafted.  I also have several from my own childhood. I guess you could consider those vintage, they're from the 50's. Maybe that's why it takes me so long to decorate the tree, I'm lost in memories. Several hours later...it is done! Sometimes I stay up a little later than my husband, and then I turn off all the lights and just gaze at the tree lights. A quiet time to relax or reflect on the season and my family.  I take off my glasses and they blur together. How beautiful!!

I want to share a few of my ornaments so, I thought it would be fun to show you an ornament or two every day until Christmas.

This beautiful ornament tells the true meaning of the season...the birth of Christ.  Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus by Jim Shores. I love his work. The quilt patterns are gorgeous.

 I have always enjoyed cross stitching. It soothes me to put needle and thread to fabric. Every year I try to stitch an ornament for my tree. I really should count the cross stitch ornaments that are on my tree. Maybe I will as I take them down. This ornament I stitched after Christmas last year, so I just had to make the cording and assemble it.

I also stitch an ornament for each of my gandsons and their parents' trees. I  gave them  their ornaments on Thanksgiving so I can now reveal them. I enjoy stitching them a new ornament each year. It's fun to look through my numerous books and magazines and pick out the perfect ornament. The boys all love trains, so when I found this pattern I new it was the one. I started the tradition when my children were small and have continued with my grandchildren.

 for the boys

for the parents

Christmas is my favorite time of the year!!

 It is so bright and magical, yet so reverant as we celebate the birth of Christ.

Snapshots Of Live

I'm joining the Linky Party at Eighteen25. At an appointed time we take a picture of what we are doing. Our appointed time was Thursday at 4 P.M.

all is quiet

family has gone to visit others

I am reading

my husband is watching football

missing those who could not be with us

thankful for my blessings

wonderful Thanksgiving Day

Treasures On Thursday

On this Thanksgiving Day...

Giving thanks to God for the wonderful "treasures"

I have been blessed with!!

MY FAMILY!!

Jake

Drew

Josh

Aaron

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

above by Julia Stainton at Belle Papier

This Prisoner of War and Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Table was on display in the Layman Public Library in North Little Rock, Arkansas.  It touched me very much.

 

This table honors our missing comrades in arms. Remember them!


As you look upon this empty table, do not remember ghosts from the past. Remember our comrades we depended on in battle. They will remember what we do. Remember them!

No American should ever forget the brave men and women who answered our nation's call and served the cause of freedom with honor. Remember them!

A toast with water glasses is usually made at events where this table is present to honor America's POW/MIAs and to the success of our efforts to account for them. Remember them!


Meaning and Significance of the Items on this Special Table

The table is round-symbolizing our everlasting concern for our missing members.

Set for six, the empty places represent Americans still missing from each of the five services - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and civilians. This table symbolizes that they are with us in spirit.

The table cloth is white, symbolizing the purity of their intentions to respond to their country's call to arms, so that their children could remain free.

The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of the missing and the loved ones and friends of these Americans who keep the faith while awaiting answers.

The vase is tied with a yellow ribbon, a symbol of our continued determination to account for all our missing and bring them home.

The lone candle symbolizes the frailty of a prisoner alone, trying to stand up against his oppressors.

The black ribbon on the candle reminds us of those who will not be coming home.

A slice of lemon on the bread plate is to remind us of the bitter fate of those captured and missing in a foreign land.

A pinch of salt symbolizes the tears endured by those missing and their families who seek answers.

Their glasses are inverted-symbolizing their inability to share toasts with their comrades.

Their chairs are empty-they are missing.

Remember them!

Snapsots Of Life - 9:00 P.M.

At 9 P.M. on Thursday, I was on my laptop looking at all the holiday cards, layouts and decorating ideas on Spellbinder's Holiday Blog Hop. I love anything vintage and so many blogs had gorgeous projects with the vintage look. Their blog hop lasts for two days. So, I'll be on my laptop again tonight to see what other beautiful projects they have completed.

Here's an example from Spellbinder's blog of what you will find on the blog hop.

You ought to check it out. There's also a giveaway involved!!

Treasures on Thursday

My treasures today are really special.  My daughter and her husband were in Alaska this year and brought me back these wonderful souvenirs.

The spool pincushion is handmade from beautiful Acadia wood and the center part is made of beeswax.

The quilt pin, designed using polymer clay, is the Double Wedding Ring pattern. The pin measures about 2".  The design is assembled with extremely tiny pieces of colored clay. Those small pieces, some less than 1/16 to 1/32 inch squares have not been painted.  I cannot imagine anyone having the talent or patience to put those small pieces together.
 
The bear is handcrafted of jade and has as a tiny fish in it's mouth.
 
The gifts they brought me were beautiful and just perfect for my collections...pincushions, quilts, and bears!

Croptoberfest 2010

I've just spent two wonderful days scrapbooking with some great friends and family members!! We get together twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall, for two days of cropping, talking, and laughing.  It is such a relaxing time, yet an intense time as we plan our pages, crop our pictures, add the embellishments, and journal.

We meet at the 4-H center. It's a beautiful place.  This was such a pretty view, these trees were gorgeous.  It's a peaceful and quiet place.  If I weren't so busy cropping, I would be sitting out here just simply enjoying the beautiful world God gave to us.  We are blessed!

This tree is in a small garden.  It was so unusual.  The right side of the tree is full of red berries and left side does not have a berry anywhere on it.  The garden was designed to be beautiful year round with something green or blooming.

My work area.  I worked on my pictures from my trip to Jefferson, Texas, which I've blogged about several times.  I enjoyed this trip with my sister, Judith, so very much!!  I was able to complete 23 pages. Yeah!! The most pages I've ever finished at a retreat.  And, I did a bunch of journaling, which has not been one of my favorite things.  But you know, I am finally getting comfortable with journaling!!  I counted and I wrote 862 words in two days.  Awesome!!  I'm starting to enjoy putting my thoughts and memories down one paper. 

The room was large enough that we had tables for our Cricuts and Cuttlebug and for spreading out our pages.  As the time progressed, we had to start stacking some of our pages so we had room to add the new ones.  We were able to admire every one's creations!  And let me tell you, there were some beautiful photos and gorgeous layouts.  These ladies are super talented.  I don't remember the exact number of pages finished, but I remember someone saying it averaged about 30 pages per person, so it must have been over 180-200  pages!!

These are the wonderful, wonderful ladies I crop with.  Once again I am blessed!

 From left to right is:

Aimee (my daughter-in-law) and Bev (our fearless leader and Creative Memories Consultant) They're touching up their makeup for the upcoming photo shoot.

Donna (Aimee's Mother), Allison (Aimee's sister), Judith (my sister)

They're doing a little high kicking. Were they singing Do Re Mi?

And Whitney (a new friend added to our group this year) who is wondering,

 "What did I get myself into?"

We certainly have a good time while we're together. There's lots of laughing and giggling. There is a difference between laughing and giggling, you know. The giggling starts late at night! And it does get late! Half of our group stayed up all night! I'll have to admit my sister and I crashed about 2 A.M.

Wow, what a group!! Love these ladies!!

Wow, what a weekend!! I came home tired, but relaxed, full of inspiration, and grateful for such wonderful friends and family!! And thankful that we have found a way to preserve our photos and memories in such a beautiful way!

Take a moment today to laugh out loud, giggle or maybe

sing your own rendition of "Do Re Mi" from the Sound Of Music!!

Snapshots Of Life - 10:00 AM

I was having fun at 10:00 a.m.

gathering papers, photos, embellishments, and tools to attend Croptoberfest, a scrapbook retreat with a great group of very wonderful ladies.   We crop and eat and crop and eat for two days.  And surprisingly finished a lot of pages.

Here's my pile at 10:00

and it grew

 and grew!!

Here's my pile sorted and condensed ready to go in the morning!!

GOD BLESS AMERICA

I take my freedom for granted.  I go through every day not even thinking how blessed I am to be an American.  Today, I want to stop and remember that an enormous price is being paid to keep my freedom. Thank you to each one who has served or is now serving our great country, the United States Of America. My prayers are with you and with your families.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!

Treasures on Thursday

Welcome back to see a few more of my treasaures.

little thimble cases

holding little thimbles

Down On The Ground - Photo Challenge #2

Down on the Ground is another photo challenge I tried. I read about this one on Becky Higgin's Blog. She encourages trying something different with our cameras. I love to take pictures and like to try something new. The more I learn the more I enjoy this little hobby of picture taking. Although it doesn't always work as good as I think it should, probably because I use a point and shoot camera. Some of the photos posted on her blog are fabulous!!  My pictures look really grainy. I don't think my camera wanted to be on the ground especially inside where the lighting is not always good. Oh well, I tried it and I'll try it again. It was fun.

I thought this was cute. A forgotten train while Drew watches TV.

He's probably watching a train video!!

Josh and his trains.

Drew playing trains again.

Drew asked me to take a picture of Thomas.

Aaron playing on the floor.

Hand-laid bricks on a street in Jefferson, TX.

Just so you know, there was very little traffic in this small town.

Fall leaf. I like the way this one turned out.

The kids gave me really funny looks when I was on the floor with my camera. So, if you see me on the ground or on the floor, don't laugh. I'll be trying this challenge again. I think maybe Christmas time would be a good time to try. All those gifts, bows and paper on the floor!

Why don't you grab your camera and try it?

Blissful Morning

BLISS:  COMPLETE HAPPINESS!!

It doesn't take much to make me completely happy.

 the popping and crackling of a fire

wearing a warm jacket (because it's in the 40's)

reading a good book

My morning was blissful.

 I sat outside and read near a pile of burning wood.

Snapshots Of Life

Thursday, November 4, 2010

8:00 AM

I have to confess here's what I saw at 8 a.m. Thursday morning.

Yes, I'm a little embarrassed, but I was still snuggled under the covers.

Not asleep as you can tell, just didn't want to get up!

I knew this would happen, so I put my camera on the nightstand.

I'm usually an early riser, but I'm a little under the weather from taking some antibiotics that make me not sleep and when I fall asleep, I dream these WILD and CRAZY dreams!

Thus, I don't want to get up I the mornings.

Just one more day then the medicine will be gone!! Yeah!!

Here's the view facing the other direction.

It was a good day, even if it started a little late!