Christmas Favorites

I want to squeeze in one last post about Christmas before I take down the old calendar and put up the new! If I had to list my favorite Christmas related things, these would be my top five:

ornaments

Christmas trees
Santa

snowmen

nativities

My last post feature the stitched ornaments on my tree, but I love all kinds of ornaments! I especially love Shiny Brite ornaments. Several years ago I began seeing them at flea markets and fell in love with them. I display the ones I bought in a beautiful bowl that belonged to my grandmother. Max Eckardt created Shiny Brite ornaments in 1937. He worked with Corning Glass, a company that made light bulbs, to adapt their process to make clear glass ornaments. They were then shipped to Eckardt factories to be decorated by hand. 

I'm not the only one in the family that loved Shiny Brite ornaments. My grandmother had them on her tree. Her ornaments would have dated in the 1940's to 1950's. After her death, my mother displayed those ornaments in her house. Now that my mother has gone, I am honored to display some of those treasured ornaments in my home. 

Of course if you have ornaments you must have Christmas trees. Oh, I love Christmas trees from large to the very small! This year I have 24 Christmas trees scattered around. Along with my large Christmas tree I have bottle brush trees, wood trees, ceramic trees,  and  metal trees.

The only thing I know that could make a Christmas tree better, is for my grandsons to be gathered in front of it!

It's always an experience to get the Christmas pajama photo each year!

Of course Christmas trees must have some Santas on it!
This star-shaped Santa is one of my favorites. 

Although I have pleanty of Santas, I really like snowmen better. Sorry Santa! I have a small four foot tree that is loaded with only snowmen ornaments.

I saved the very best for last. I can't imagine having Christmas without focusing on the birth of the Christ Child.

"For unto you is born this day
in the city of David
a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

~ Luke 2:11

I've enjoyed one last look at Christmas, but now it's time for me to begin putting it all away!

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

A Year In The Making

Last December right about this time I set a goal for 2018. My goal was to cross stitch one Christmas ornament each month. I'm here to say . . . I DID IT!! Actually I exceeded that goal. I stitched 16 ornaments this year; nine for my tree and seven as gifts.

Here's a look at my 2018 Christmas ornaments . . . 

JANUARY

Toyland Sleigh

(Mill Hill)

FEBRUARY

Frosty Flakes

(Little House Needleworks)

MARCH

Quaker 9

(Kelmscott Designs)

APRIL

Chickadee Winter Welcome

(The Sweetheart Tree)

MAY

Tree Farm

(Little House Needleworks)

JUNE

Snow Forrest

(Just Nan)

In July I began stitching ornaments for my family. Each year I stitch one for each of my five grandsons. The oldest grandson now has a collection of sixteen ornaments that I've stitched. I also stitch one for my daughter’s and son’s family trees. My choice this year for the boys was Freezing Season which you can see below.

JULY

Freezing Season

(Foxwood Crossings)

In JULY I stitched the second Freezing Season.

AUGUST

Season's Greetings

(Little House Needleworks)

and the

third Freezing Season

In SEPTEMBER I stitched the fourth Freezing Season.

OCTOBER

In October I stitched the fifth Freezing Season. I also stitched a modified Freezing Season for me. While stitching the five ornaments for my grandson I made a huge mistake on one of them. I usually stitch at night while Jerry watches television. There must have been a good show on that night because when  I picked up my stitching the next night, I realized I had completely left off the section with the word Freezing in it! SO, I started another one for the boys and then finished this one for me without the words!

NOVEMBER

Warm Hands Warm Heart

(Just Cross Stitch Magazine)

I stitched two Warm Hands Warm Heart, one each for for my daughter's and son's family trees.

DECEMBER

Star Of Wonder

(Homespun Elegance)

Cross stitching is something that was moved to the back burner several years ago. I have enjoyed picking up my needle and stitching again this year. Pushing needle through thread is rhythmic and quite relaxing. I have several ornament charts already lined out for next year, but I'm not sure I'll push for one each month because I have run across several other charts in my stash that I'd like to stitch.

The inspiration behind my year of stitching ornaments came from Carol who has been stitching monthly ornaments for nine years. Not only is she a wonderful stitcher, but she has wonderful ideas for finishing her ornaments. If you would like to see her 2018 Parade of Ornaments please visit her blog.

Thank you for stopping by

and

Merry Christmas!

Busy Hands

While everyone has moved on to the new year, I seem to be stuck at Christmas. That's most likely because I spent almost the entire month of December stuck home with a viral upper respiratory infection. I didn't feel horrible, I was trying to be wise and not spread this horrid infection. 

I've reached the other side of my down time, but still deal with fatigue. The fatigue was worse than all the other symptoms combined. I don't think I've every experienced anything like it. Taking two naps a day pretty much explains how bad it was!

All was not lost though, in between coughing and napping I dug around my craft room looking for something to occupy my time. I uncovered a small stack of Christmas ornaments that needed finishing. Some were completely stitched and just needed assembled, some were partially stitched, and then I began a couple of new ones.

In the past I was an avid stitcher. A day didn't go by when I wasn't putting needle and thread to fabric. Then, my interest waned and I developed other passions; first scrapbooking and then photography.

Recently I've been inspired to pick up needle and thread again. The reason for my inspiration? I discovered Carol's wonderful blog, Stitching Dreams. I was fascinated when I read that she stitches one Christmas ornament a month and has been doing this for several years. I love her choice of ornaments and her creative finishing ideas. If you'd like to visit the blog post where she shares her 2017 ornaments you can click here. I've set a goal for myself to do likewise; stitch an ornament a month in 2018. The ornament below is my January 2018 finish. It's hard to tell from the photo, but there are a lot of beads on this and a sweet little bear charm hanging off the back of the sleigh. Toyland Sleigh was a kit from Mill Hill that I picked up a while back.  It was easier to start with all the needed supplies together, since I've been unable to get out and shop.

These are by no means the first cross stitched ornaments on my tree, after all I began stitching in 1972. As I took my ornaments off the tree to pack them away, I decided to count them. I have . . .

65 cross stitch,

27 others handmade by me,

55 ornaments I've been given,

6 ornaments in memory of loved ones,

6 from my childhood,

12 Old World glass,

and

???? miscellaneous ornaments.

(I took off the miscellaneous last and
forgot to count them!! I just know
there's a lot!)

Not only did I enjoy stitching the ornaments, I enjoyed taking pictures of them. It gave me something to do on a very cold rainy day! I must also give Carol credit for great ways to photograph ornaments!

Now that the Christmas decorations are boxed away, maybe I can move on to the new year!

As we begin this new year,

I wish you hope, joy, love, and peace!

Wishing you each a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Friday Finds

It's getting closer to Christmas.

How are you doing?

Stressed?

Calm?

It's been a calm Christmas season for me. I cut back on the decorating and the shopping and spent more time focusing on the true meaning of Christmas. I've had more time to enjoy the things I have chosen to do. Today I'm sharing a few things that have delighted me this season. First up, this little cute jar with it's metal holder. Couldn't pass it up when I saw it at the flea market! 

I found my favorite Cordial Cherries! I only buy them at Christmas, so they remain special. I also have a special way of eating them. First I take a small bite being careful not to get the cherry and savor the sweet, creamy fondant and chocolate.  Next, I pop the whole thing in my mouth and enjoy the cherry!!  Yum!! 

I found myself absolutely in awe of this man's photography. This is Arkansas nature photographer, Tim Ernst. Each year in December he presents a slideshow of images that he has included in his latest photography book. This year his book, Arkansas Nightscapes, features only night photography. My mom, dad, sister, and I attended one of his slideshows. The images include the milky way, the moon, stars, comets, shadows, color, and light. They were absolutely breathtaking! In the slide show he also included several time-lapse videos of those night skies. One in particular made the whole room gasp. He had captured a falling star that burst right above a rock formation!  Of course, I had to have his latest book. That's my book he's signing! We had a delightful evening that filled our hearts with gratitude for the beauty that God has given us even in the darkest night!

One more thing that made me happy this week. After the slideshow we stopped by the Saline County Courthouse to see their lights. It makes me so happy that there is still a Nativity scene sitting on the courthouse lawn!

My week has been full of peace and joy!

I hope the same can be said of your's!

Sunday Sundries - Edition 35

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world,

and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful."

~ Norman Vincent Peale

Finding Christmas

Needing to get out after several days at home over Thanksgiving, I decided to go by my favorite antique/flea market. Now, I know Christmas has been in the stores since before Halloween, but I choose to ignore that. I pretty much refuse to go near the Christmas section of stores until after Thanksgiving. I can't ignore the Christmas music that has been playing for weeks, but that doesn't bother me. I could listen to Christmas music all year long and in fact I have played Christmas songs in the summer before!  Anyway, back to the story. As I walked through the doors I was greeted by a wonderful display of Christmas, old and new. Honestly, I couldn't stop smiling!

There were trees and ornaments and snowmen and Santas. I really liked this rather tall statue of Santa and the children until I looked at his eyes...what eyes? Where are the pupils in his eyes?  With all the details in his beard, why are his eyes blank? The more you look at him, he gets rather spooky!

This aluminum tree brought back many memories. We had one for several years. They were the rage in the late 50's till the early 60's. The tree assembled in about 15 minutes. Then you added the balls and garland; no lights as they might short circuit against the aluminum!  Our tree was illuminated with a rotating color wheel which was placed at the base. No lights!! I could not live with that! My tree has around 200 little lights on in and I carefully wrap and place them along each branch. I love a tree full of multi-colored lights!

 I found this advertisement from the Sears Christmas book in 1963.

"Whether you decorate with blue or red balls . . . or use the tree without ornaments - this exquisite tree is sure to be the talk of your neighborhood. High luster aluminum gives a dazzling brilliance. Shimmery silvery branches are swirled and tapered to a handsome realistic fullness. It's really durable . . . needles are glued and mechanically locked on. Fireproof . . . you can use it year after year."

I can remember thinking we were so modern to have an aluminum tree! My mom still has our old tree and for nostalgic purposes put it up last year!  Makes me feel a little old to realize they're antique and are found in several museums.  Museums? That makes me feel ancient!

Notice the heart-shaped little ornament on the right?  Yes, this is the booth where I found the ornament garland I used in the pictures for my last post. 

This week I found a little Christmas that put a smile on my face and delight in my heart.

I hope you're finding delight in this special season!

Linked with Kim Klassan's 

Friday Finds

This Christmas . . .

It's hard to believe we're already into one of the fastest paced months of the year. A month that is filled with a whirlwind of activities....decorating....shopping....baking....cleaning....busyness. Each year I get to the end of December, look back, and wonder where did the month go. I'm already shaking my head and thinking, can it be the third already?

Although I've always enjoyed the Christmas season, when I look back I don't feel like I've celebrated the true meaning of Christmas. I don't feel like I've spend time just being in the moment or savoring the sights, sounds, and flavors that go along with this holiday. I want this year to be different, so I sat down and wrote my hopes for this Christmas.

This Christmas...

I will pray

I will journal

I will breathe

I will slow down

I will be of good cheer

I will enjoy simple things

I will remember traditions

I will treasure our family times

I will believe in Christmas magic

I will give thanks for daily blessings

I will ponder the birth of the Christ Child

I will capture Christmas through photography

I will listen to bells, choirs, and Christmas hymns

IIII

IIII

IIII

IIII

I'm trying something different this Christmas season. I've joined Journal Your Christmas 2014 with Shimelle Laine. It's similar to a December Daily, but this project primarily focuses on journaling, not photography or scrapbooking.  Shimelle sends a daily journaling prompt and a photo prompt, but the focus for me is the journaling. I don't think I could ever complete a December Daily, but this is simpler. You'll probably see some of my thoughts here, although I will not be posting daily. That's just a little too much work.

I encourage you to take time this December to slow down and enjoy this special season.

I'm also linking with Be still 52, where our prompt this week was square, top down, two sides.

From My House To Yours

 

 

I'm back for a short visit and to post a few more images from Christmas at my house.

 

Christmas cards are arriving and, of course, a few sweets are being eaten.

The decorating is finished with lots of Christmas trees and snowmen.

I love the shine and shimmer of vintage ornaments scattered around.

 

 

So many of my ornaments have special meanings, like this one. My daughter and her family have a tradition of bringing us Christmas ornaments when they travel.

I finally have all the presents wrapped and under the tree.

It's been a rough December with my dad's surgery and rehabilitation, but we're getting through this and looking forward to the new year. We've been grabbing every little bit of joy and light we can. Speaking of lights, this string of lights was in a tree skirt that I made for our first Christmas tree way back in the 70's. I can't believe they still work!!

 

I hope your Christmas is filled with joy and peace.