Simply Kids Christmas Crafts

One of the most fun things about Christmas is sharing the experience of handmaking Christmas decorations with children or in this case a child teaching me how to make a super simple but fun project...Simply delightful!

Get Ready, Get Set.....

The holiday season is fully upon us. We put up our Christmas tree last night and decided our tree still needs to have a few more touches before we are satisfied with it so I will be visiting a few stores to find just the right ornaments to set off the tree. Where do you find just the right decor to add to your holiday decorations? I love to visit Tai Pan Trading and Cost Plus World Market during the holidays, I find amazing finds there! Another favorite is my local Roberts Crafts, Hobby Lobby and Michaels Crafts.

I look forward to putting on some finishing touches to the tree very soon...We'll invite over some friends, have some yummy dessert and eggnog, and enjoy some favorite Christmas music.  

In the meantime I wanted to share a simple handmade Christmas Chains idea I found at 300dpi.com, a digital scrapping site I like to visit. All you need is a stack of your favorite holiday print and solid papers cut to 6" x 1" pieces and advesive to glue the chains together. Look how cute!

Good Morning Sunday

Good Morning Sunday!
There's so much on my mind today....
The Joy of Family
Gratitude for Friends
Freedom to go after my Dreams
Appreciation of opportunity and resources to help others
The scents of Fall in the air
Thanksgiving celebrations with Loved Ones
The Thrill and Anticipation of Christmas
The wonder of Jesus Christ sacrafice and His choice to love Me

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. -Hebrews 13:15 NIV

Here's a cute offering praise :)

Celebrations Potlucks and Crafting

About 4 years ago God and I began a conversation... I definately could not see His point nor His direction at the time. I have learned though that He is capable and patient and willing to continue the work He begins. Our conversation centered around the biblical character Esther and quite honestly I did not have a picture where this conversation would lead me but I was quite sure it was aimed at helping me to grow into a new role in life. It seemed God was useing ths character Esther to help me to find my way and as it is often the case it did not happen overnight, instead it was a lesson here and an opportunity there until finally I found myself taking an active role "leading" in many areas of my life. This may not seem like an odd thing or a difficulty from your perspective but for me it has been a monumental adjustment in life. So what has this to do with Celebrations Potlucks and Crafting? Where I attend church I have felt Gods calling to head up various activities but "leadership" is NOT a comfortable hat, in fact I am much more comfortable in the background helping as support. For years I have struggled with the fear of taking on leadership...but when God begins a work He is faithful isn't He :)
Tomorrow our church women are having a potluck-with merriment, food and sharing to celebrate and remember the story of Esther and the words of her surrogate father..."And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” So who knows the change God has wrought in these few years since He planted a seed in the heart of me? For change to occur in us the pain or discomfort must shift and it did...it has become more painful to see a need and do nothing than to act. Is leadership now suddenly my fortay? The answer lies within...I realize I have become passionate about the need for leadership in every area of life from our church to our business. Our world is desperate for leaders and there it is...I'm finding I CAN take baby steps and I'm finding I can do it. Gee God, you are so-oooo clever! In fact God you are amazing...I'm having fun (most of the time) and it is not nearly as painful as I imagined.
Tomorrow our women will enjoy time together in fellowship, share what they learned from our study of Esther, enjoy creating together and we'll also bring some food gifts for the poor. Its amazing to me that my part in this began four years ago with a conversation with God and me saying I can't!

World Cardmaking Day!

I was blog hopping this morning and discovered it is a very special day for card crafters, do you have anything planned? I think this calls for a trip to my favorite local craft stores, don't you ;)

 

WHAT?

• World Card Making Day is a holiday especially for card makers around the world to celebrate the creativity of handmade cards and the personal connection that they create between friends and family Kick off (and get a head start on) the holiday card-making season ;)

WHEN?

• The first Saturday of each October, kicking off the holiday card-making season, the most popular time for creating and sharing handmade greetings.

WHO?

• The card-making community worldwide, including hobbyists, beginning card makers, manufacturers of card-making products, retail sellers of products, educators, and press are invited to come together to celebrate this holiday and creative passion.

WHY?

• It is a day to connect with fellow card makers both near and far, to applaud the creativity that powers the craft, and to provide an opportunity for card makers to connect and find resources that will empower, inspire, and encourage them in their card making.

HOW?

• Well the HOW is entirely up to you but I thought I'd share a few of my ideas to get you started so here goes.

1. Call a few friends and hop on down to your local craft store for a visit, they may just have an event planned. Too far to drive? How about an online visit ;)
2. Plan an impromptu cardmaking party.
3. Dig through those cardmaking supplies and find the last new goodie you purchased. Create a card for that special someone.
4. Visit this link for even more great ideas!

Everyone Loves a Wedding

I've been so busy getting ready for the many events of this year that I have neglected to blog about them. I am in awe of how time flies, especially as an adult. I really need to create a timeline of events for the coming year before it runs away like this one has!

Our dear friends the Sibsons are excitedly making last minute preparations for the marriage of thier daughter Elya. She is to be married on September 25th, 2010 at our home.

We have been busy making preparations to ensure the yard is in good shape. Since the weather warmed in the Spring our focus has been on getting the garden beds looking good, planting new flowers, eradicating weeds and clearing out brush from the Scrub Oak stands. As the summer approached our thoughts turned to adding visual appeal. We found a darling iron bicycle plant stand, gazebo and planters which added an ever so charming look to our yard!

Our hill is looking really beautiful now and you wouldn't know all the problems that occured in late spring. A heavy snow felled our mature Golden Willow and we had to begin replanting on our hill with more sun tolerant plants but befor we could begin, there was a huge job in getting the tree and its roots out. It was quite a chore and we were so thankful for friends that worked tirelessly with Tom to cut, haul, drill and scrape all the debris.

Shannon McKnight has been creating lists,orchestrating people and planning all the details for the Sibson family in preparation for the big day.

The day is nearing and our storage is filling up with all sorts of decor. We look so-oo forward to celebrating Elya & Adams day!

A Must See Iphone App