Merry Christmas to All

Anyone for a snowball fight?



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Well it's supposed to snow tomorrow, on Christmas Day!!!!  Wanted to add a couple of last minute vintage images showing some "snow fun".  And couldn't resist the Santa babies.

                      

My Wish for You....

May your home be filled with family and friends,

your table topped with food from end to end.

May you live Christmas all through the year,

remembering to spread love, kindness and cheer.

If this we do, it'll be a better world for all,

no matter how old, nor how tiny and small.

Merry Christmas!  from Linda

COMING SOON:

In the next week or so I'll have information on a special all-you-can-make-and-take workshop in January.  I'm calling it the Amore-A-Palooza, or Love Extravagana.  It will be like the special make and take at Christmas two years back that was sooo much fun and was well attended.  I've already gotten some signed up...details coming soon.  Hint: it will be just in time for Valentine's Day and the projects will be a combination of V-Day and Country French designs, your choice.  $15 workshop fee....with proceeds going to the Boys and Girls Club of Bryant.   

Season of Lights

Christmas is the season of lights so it's the perfect outing to go to Garvan Botannical Gardens in Hot Springs.  We went last night and it was the perfect night....clear skies with stars adding to the ambience and just a tad bit of crispness in the air.  Perfect!!!

Photographs just don't do the lighting displays justice.  But just imagine walking along lit paths with just about every bush and tree covered in some type of lighting...white, blue, red, multi.  There are also hundreds of different figures and characters and some reflected in the water near the displays.  Oh, and it was soooo much fun to see all the families with children who were staring in amazement with their ooohs and aaaahs.  The kids were all bundled up, with hats and gloves and you could remember back to your own experiences as a child going to special Christmas programs and outings.  You just couldn't help but feel the Christmas spirit.  Christmas is all about lights, children and love and good will.  You could feel the good will in the air as even strangers would stop and talk to you.  

One of my favorites was the VERY TALL tree which had a light show combined with music that was similar to Trans Siberian Orchestra music.  The tree changed colors and the lights danced around on it to the music.   It seemed to be the place where everyone wanted to congregate because it was mesmerizing to watch.

At the end of the walk there was a massive display with about six different trains running throughout villages and lit bushes.  My pics of the train village just didn't pick up all the detail so I didn't post of any them.  There was so much to see that it's really hard to describe it all....but it was one of my alltime favorite holiday outings. 

 Take a look at the pictures...but be sure to try to find time to make a visit to see the Garvan Gardens Christmas lights.    On the way back to our parked car aboard the Elf Express we were told by one of the volunteers that this show was voted the second best light show in the country (I think he meant Botannical shows).  This year they changed out all the lights to LED so the lights are brighter and there are fewer cords and he said they started putting all the lights up the beginning of September and barely got finished in time this year.  It's spectactular....hope you go see!


Be Good, Be Kind



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Like everyone else, I'm so busy right now in getting everything ready for Christmas. 

I'm pulling out a project from a year or two ago that I had painted and given to a couple who are friends.   I saw it hanging there, next to their fireplace when attending a party at their home last week.  This is a project I would like to paint again, but I did keep a picture for myself as a reminder to do so.

Santa's reminding everyone to Be Good, Be Kind.  That's something we can all think about during the year also. 

Today I opened up some mail from a financial institution, with the usual inserts...usually pretty boring stuff such as actuarials, etc.  But instead it had a good article about how we can all give back to others simply by having Youmanity each day.  The article specifically mentioned that you can (1) share a journey, (2) share a lesson, and/or (3) share kindness.  When I started my blog back up after a one year break, I wanted to change the format to include some inspirational thoughts, along with projects that you can give to others.  I've received some good feedback from some of you and I do appreciate that. 

Anyway, because I'm short on time right now, Santa is filling in with his slogan "Be Good, Be Kind".  Have a nice day today!

Victorian Christmas Projects



The Victorians loved layers upon layers - notice all the layers!



I needed a few more decorated gable boxes to use for food gift containers.  I like to make each box a little different from the others.  For these two boxes I used a mix of botannical holiday printed papers, along with some vintage images.

Remembering that the Victorians made their own cards and gifts, and that they liked to layer and layer and layer things they had on hand or that they had treasured and saved, I decided to play around with lots of layers and a mixture of items. 

Some people might not like all the mixtures and assortment of papers, but I find it is quite visually appealing.  Your eye can see so many different items on a card, or in this case a food container (gable box).  My photography skills being not so good, the Dashing Through the Snow box does not show that the sled is embossed with copper embossing powder, nor that some of the embellishments are covered with copper colored glitter. 



"Warm Holiday Wishes" greeting is perfect to pair with icicle border!

 My "can't do without" tool for holiday projects is the Martha Stewart icicle border punch!  I use it so much that I'm now on my second one....and I cannot find it in the stores any longer.

My favorite of the two boxes is the one with the little Victorian child.  I am drawn to the unusual mix of soft green, along with Christmas red and of course the image of the child.   Again, the Victorians layered and pieced their cards and projects together to make little individual statements, or expressions of themselves.  While making projects to give to others be sure to take that time to think about the intended recipient and how they add to your life.  It's like a little secret ounce of heartfelt good wishes....kind of like pixie dust.  You cannot see it, but you can sense it.

My food goodies (homemade candies, cocoa mix, jellies and beer bread mixes) are waiting to be put into their decorative containers and given out.  But in the meantime, visions of more gable boxes are dancing in my head so I'll be making a few more.

Have a nice day today.  May you layer your holiday with tidings of good cheer, love and handmade items from your heart and home. 

Victorian means old which means distressing your paper is a good look.  Papers on both boxes are distressed with sponging for that old look. The Victorians liked a lot of sparkle so add glitter or metallic embossing to your vintage projects!


Some distressed sheet music could have been used on the Dashing Through the Snow project...so many options!




If you don't have a source for sheet music, just go to the left hand column of my blog and go to the Graphics Fairy website to find some sheet music.  Then distress it, tear it or tatter it...just have fun with it.  My workshop ladies always laughed when I said "it's only paper"!!!!  So play around with it and experiment.





The Little Shepherd Boy



 Today was one of the most meaningful Sundays for me.  Our choir was amazing...just amazing!   Of course there were some of the older Christmas carols that we all know and love.  But sometimes a new carol or hymn can nudge you because you pay a little closer attention to the words because they are unfamiliar to you.  Our last carol was just that, unfamiliar, to me at least.  The words spoke of what the Star might have been seeing and thinking, as it was shining down brightly, leading the wise men to the baby Jesus.  Or what the star might have been seeing in the amazement and wonder of people out in their fields or stepping outside of their dwellings to see this very bright star.   

When I got home I remembered an old, dusty wooden plaque or banner that I had painted years ago (1997 according to when I signed it).  I went down to the basement and pulled it out and dusted it off a bit.  There was that Little Shepherd Boy, with his sheep.  I had painted a star and the words from St. Luke 2:11.  His face reminds me of a boy who is looking at baby Jesus with reverence, deep in thought of the wondrous gift to the world.

I often give away painted items to others.  I would much rather give them to those who would enjoy them.  But this Little Shepherd Boy was one that I kept, and just put down in the basement to gather dust.   Some of my favorite things are old and dusty....items and people too!!!  In fact, when I think about getting old and dusty myself, I have to remember that, hey, I like old and dusty things, so it's really okay to get old and dusty!

As I dusted off the Little Shepherd Boy banner I also looked up and one of my other favorite old and dusty things in my basement workshop is my Sugarbaker and Associates sign.  Yep, it's THE sign from the show Designing Women.  Harry Thomasson, the show's producer used to teach with my husband, as well as some of his other friends.  One "friend in common" was another teacher, Vernon, who remainded one of my hubby's friends until his death a few years back.  Vernon's sisters had invited my husband to come over and go through Vernon's belongings to pick out some items to remember him by.  Vernon had done filming for Harry Thomasson, and in fact had taken the picture of the Villa Marre at the opening scene of Designing Women, which included the Sugarbaker and Associates sign that Vernon hand made himself.  Vernon was a genius....he built his own camera equipment, his own canoe (which we now own), his own airplane, etc. etc. etc. 

Naturally I mentioned to Danny that I would love to have some of his photographs, and particularly the one of the Villa Marre in downtown Little Rock.  Danny and his sisters searched and searched and could not find any of the pictures, but what Danny brought home was the Sugarbaker and Associates sign that Vernon had hand made and painted for the filming of the show.  WOW!  It was covered in dust, because it was hanging from the rafters in Vernon's workshop, collecting dust and grime.  I dusted it off, but some dust just remained there.  I kind of like the dust and it reminds me that it was handmade by Vernon and had been just hanging from the rafters in his workshop.  Oh, and we also inherited Vernon's cat that he so loved.  He had named her Ginger, and I'm not sure why, except she has a little bit of an orange tint on her belly and she loves getting her tummy rubbed!  And Ginger....well she is now pretty old or as I say, "old and dusty".  Some of my favorite things are old and dusty!

Hope you have a lovely day today! 

Who's That In My Bed?

Oh, wait a minute....that's from Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  But Santa, "what big feet you have!"....oh that may be from Little Red Riding Hood!

I'm posting a few pictures today to emphasize two things:  Have fun and don't be afraid to add  a little whimsey to your home and your life.  It makes life fun and brings out the child in us.  This Santa (Jolly Old Elf) turns up somewhere different just about each year.  One year he may be on the porch, holding a greeting sign.  One year he sat atop a stack of presents near the tree, as if he were on guard over them....no peeking!  This year he's adding a little whimsey to my bedroom.


My bathroom mirror....love using garlands!





I wanted to show two areas in your home that you may overlook in holiday decorating (your bedroom and bathrooms).  And I'm talking different holidays....maybe Valentine's Day or Halloween. 



The bed is an old English headboard and footboard.

It lends itself to decorate and takes a little of the "stuffy" out of it when you add something fun or decorative to it.  And the bathroom mirror....well, it needs a little magical touch also.  I find decorating mirrors adds so much POW and sparkle to the room. 





Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!















Plaid for the Holidays!



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I really like giving food gifts during the holidays.  These medium sized gable boxes are the perfect size to fit a group of three or four items.  Some combinations could be beer bread mix, small jars of jellies, herbed butter spread and little spreader.  For those with cihldren a gift of cookies (or cookie mix), homemade candies, fudge or brownies, holiday napkins and maybe some cocoa mix.  Or, for families who have movie night or game night, you could put some salty snacks, a few boxed candies (like at the movie theater), packages of popcorn, popcorn boxes and napkins.  Hobby Lobby carries packages of popcorn boxes and bags with matching napkins that are so cute (red striped just like at the movie theater). 

I used the new Hallmark gift wraps to cover around the box.  I'm CRAZY for these handsome, masculine plaids!!!  And the plaids are versatile because the print is great for men or women.  You could cover only the front of the box if you wish, but I covered all four sides.  Their paper is thicker than most others, but it is still a bit fragile, compared to scrapbooking paper and cardstock.  I recommend you use a really good glue stick to adhere the paper to the box.  I used a Stampin Up glue stick (the best around) after wasting time using a cheapie glue stick that made a mess and left bumps, etc.  Also, for those who have a brayer, I recommend you use the brayer to push the paper flat when gluing it to the box.  I mostly use my brayer to apply ink to paper or labels in order to change their color, but it really works great to force a good seal between paper and a box, or card front to card base.



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One gable box was decorated using different stamps (rustic plaid box) but I also wanted to show that you could instead use store bought die cuts and stickers to really make the project quick and easy so two of the boxes used packaged die cuts.  I'm also showing different ways you could decorate the handle....but you could leave the handle bare if you wish. 

You can't tell from the photos, but two of the gable boxes are covered with rustic wood print on the top portion....drats, a really cute look in person but doesn't show in the photos so well).

In the County -- click on photo to enlarge



 

I like that plaid paper so much (that cabin look again) so I made a couple of rosettes, just to see how I would like the plaid.  I am a plaid kinda girl so I don't think there's any way to mess up when it comes to plaid.  Oh, and don't be afraid when working with plaid or a masculine print, to add some feminine touches just to add a little interest!  Poinsettias and plaid are a good look.  Also, although you cannot see it, there is a lot of glitter on the rustic post card box, which adds that little bit of feminine touch to the project.

Hope you have a Glad Plaid Day today!!!!