The House that Christmas Built...

 Christmas parties.  They are fun!  The party I attended last night is party that is CHRISTMAS!  The decorations start to come out in October, except for the basement, which is left out all year.  This year she moved everything around! 

This party provides visual stimulation to the eye.  This bedroom is a bedroom of trees.  This photo was taken after I stepped into the room.  It's full of trees!












 Turn right in the bedroom, and this is what you see!
More trees!!!!

The main Christmas tree in the room!  Isn't it beautiful?

The light wasn't the best, but this bathroom is not usable.  It's full of Santa's!

Santas to the left of me....

Santas further to the left of me!

Santas to the right of me! 

And that's only two rooms in the house that Christmas built!

Time to make Some Christmas Jewelry!

These are some of the beads that I will be using for my Christmas jewelry.  I hope to make a dramatic necklace, a subtle bracelet, and some AMAZING earrings!  This will be an interesting challenge.

Ok, I have 4 more photos to show you.

You know there had to be some green in this set.  I love the mixture of greens in these beads.  Very pretty.

These beads are very lightweight.  I plan to intersperse these as bits of shock beads for the jewelry.  I want them to be where you don't think they should be. 

This "Mother and Child" heart bead is what I will use for the focal, but since there is no sparkle so, I'll have to do something about that.  I think it needs sparlies!

I added some glitter to the focal.  Truly, it looks better in person than in this photo. 

All I have to do now is seal this heart so the glitter doesn't come off.

















These are my components. 
Soon you'll see what I did with them.
How would you use these components?

Listing Saturday:: Reasons to prepare ahead of time for Christmas

Stores close early on Christmas Eve.

Santa has gotten older and likes to get to bed earlier.

Target bags are not acceptable as Christmas wrapping.

(I wish they were.)

Food doesn't cook itself.

You can listen to Christmas Carols while you get ready.

Newspaper stars for the tree are a true no no, unless the children have made them.

You can only watch so many Christmas moves before your head explodes.  Excuse yourself and get ready for Xmas.

If you're ready early enough, you can gather the family and go to church. 

Even the kid in you wants a present.

Christmas is really more than just a day.

There is beauty in remembering.  You're making memories.  What kind of memories do you want your children to hold near to their hearts.

If you're ready in time for Christmas, you can enjoy yourself. 

In the end, it's all about love, not the rush.

Leo's WoodShop on Etsy

I know Leo of Leo's Wood Shop personally.  We attend the same church and have many spirited discussions on our faith.  Leo is a very busy man.  He's always doing something or making something.  He's a woodworker among many other artisan crafts. 

What I didn't know about Leo is that he has an Etsy Shop.  I found this out today. 

Do you see that birch long advent wreath?  He has that in his Etsy store.  Click HERE to find it.  I have one just like this that I brought out today to prepare for Advent.  You don't have to celebrate Advent to purchase one of these wreaths!

Leo's woodworking is very environmentally friendly.   Leo does not cut down live trees to make these candle holders.  You can also leave his wreaths out all year.  The look great!

I love mine, and during the holiday season, I receive many compliments.  

There are other styles available, too.  Follow the links that I have posted, and you can see all of these amazing works of art.  Leo is a master woodworker, and, even if we have spirited discussions, he's a great guy, too.

Visit his store, quickly, before the wreaths sell out!  You will enjoy your purchase!  

Listing Saturday:: Reasons to slow down and really enjoy the holidays

1) No matter how much you do, you'll never really be ready for Christmas.

Slow down.

2) What would you rather have:: time for family and friends or the house immaculate and presents wrapped like on Pinterest?

Think about this.

3) We don't when our last Christmas will be or when you will all be gathered together again.

This is a fact.

4) Why be stressed and upset about the small things.

When you were a kid, did you stress about Christmas?

5) So many times, we don't enjoy the holidays.

You make the choice.  You can do it!

Day 20:: Awesomeness:: I don't know if this is awesome or not, but I do Have a question...

So many people are shocked to see Christmas decorations in the stores already.  (They've actually been up since early June, but that's another issue.) As lovely as these ornaments are, I need to make some ornaments

out of polymer clay.  (I'm in a big show in December.)  Here's my question::

Do you have any ideas or suggestions for ornaments?  I need to get to work.  

You're help would be 

AWESOME!

Thanks in advance!

Random Thoughts now that I'm Almost Ready for Christmas!

Christmas is less than a week away. 

Most of the Christmas decorations, trees, and wrapping papers are 50 -75% off.  Time to stock up.

 My shopping is finished for this year.

All the gifts that need to be mailed are mailed. 

All that handmade gifts are either purchased or completed. 

We are almost at the winter solstice. 

I think it's ironic that when winter begins our days become longer.  It might be ironic, but I'm glad about that.

I don't bake anymore, but I do enjoy receiving home made baked goods.  Hint.  Hint.  In case anyone I know who bakes is reading this.  I doubt that they are, though.

Many of my neighbors are getting ready to go south for the winter.

I'm ten years older than I was a decade ago.

Time never slows down any more.  That makes me wonder why.

Christmas lights are lit all over town.  I will be disappointed when they are left unlit.

Candles are beautiful.

I'm happy.

Symbols

Even though we are only heading into October, I have started to think about the holidaze--Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I don't make many "holiday" beads for my Etsy Store. 

This year, I've decided to add a few. 

When it comes to the symbols of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I try to be generic.  For example, take a look at this pine cone.   Even though it is neither Thanksgiving or Christmas, it gives me sense of home and family which, to me, equals either holiday.

I remember going to the Sandia Mountains, just outside of Albuquerque, and picking pine cones for decorations around the house for the holidays.  I remember the smell of the pine trees as the cold wind blew through the mountains.  I remember the prickly touch of the pine  aneedles as we dug through the needles to rescue the best pine cones.  I remember the pine nuts that we found and the ones that we bought to feast on for the holidays.  I remember the taste and feel of the pine nuts on my tongue.  The pine cone is the perfect symbol of the holidays for me.

So far, I only have the pine cone listed in my Etsy store.  I made a tree, but I dropped it and it broke.  Sigh!  Trees are another post entirely.

What symbols remind you of the holidays?  Trees?  Stars? Angels?  Turkeys?  I'd love to hear which symbols you like that remind you of the holidays.  Leave a comment and let me know.  

I Heart Macro - Xmas is coming!

I Heart Macro!

Xmas is coming

and

Pixie is ready!

She's Ready!

I Heart Macro!

Artisitic Growth - Christmas in New Zealand and Christmas in Minnesota

Deb Batten

and
I
have challenged ourselves to grow artistically using different mediums for growth.
Our first challenge was to use copper in a non jewelry item. Click here to see that blog.
Then, if you want to see the Reveal, click here.

Knowing that December is a busy month,
Deb and I decided that we would use our cameras to record our Christmas events.
Not only that, we would have a wonderful bit of history to keep for years to come!
CONTRASTS.

Deb lives in New Zealand.
I live in Minnesota.
At this time, we are in opposite seasons.
Deb is in summer.
I am in winter.
Our landscapes, our foods, our activities reflect these differences.

Here in Minnesota, we are COVERED in snow.
This year, there is SNOW EVERYWHERE!

Icicles are forming.

Critters leave footprints in the snow.

The mailbox is almost buried in snow.
The colors of the landscape are like these almost everyday in the winter.

Jenny came home with her kitties.

These are the kitties.

Pixie endures the kitties, and she stays on her couch.

Nick came home, too.
It was a great joy to have both of the kids home!

We added a few more decorations.
The red looks great on the wooden trees.

We lit a fire.

"Santa" brought presents and put them under the tree.

We set the table with the Christmas dishes.
The food was cooked, and we sat down to eat.

Jenny made some green beans and peppers.

Jenny also made black bean enchiladas.
Nummy!
There was baked ham.

We also had baked beans.

This was one delicious meal!
Gifts were fun and practical.
I'm not sure Nick was impressed with his toothpaste!

Family, food, blessings.
What could make Christmas better?
Not much. Not much at all!
Be sure to visit Deb's blog to see her photo essay about her Christmas celebration!

Christmas in New Zealand and Christmas in Minnesota

Have you ever wondered what differences there are in the celebrations for Christmas in different cultures, particularly, between Minnesota and New Zealand?

Well, this month, Deb Batten (Firebird Flamework) and I have decided that our challenge for artistic growth will be to document the differences in our cultures as we celebrate the holidays.

We are going to use our photographic skills to present to you a photo journal
of our lives as we celebrate Christmas.

Our reveal will be on December 27, 2010. We think that this might be enough time to recover from the festivities. I'm already tired!

In case you've never wondered about our cultural differences, I'm sure that now, you will be waiting to see what we show. So, stay tuned and see you on December 27th!

Oh, you can check out Deb's blog for her side of the story. (Notice I put the link to her blog at the end of my blog?) ;)

Celebrate! Celebration!

On Thanksgiving, our "extended" family gathers at one home or another to celebrate
the day.
With an adult table for those of us who are over, well, let's say, those of us who are the parents
of the adult children,
and
a table for the children,
and now,
children of the children,
we gather to celebrate Thanksgiving.
We eat the meal that took hours to cook.
We talk.
The children run and play.
The men gather to watch the game on TV.
The women do the dishes and wonder why.
We sort out the left overs.
Then, everyone goes home to
nap and watch more TV.

Now, Pixie, she puts up with whatever goes on her head,
no matter the season. Then, she sleeps.

Now, when I celebrate my birthday,
I buy a new pair of shoes.
Then,

Jenny drives,
and
I have my margarita for the year.

When Nick comes home, Pixie takes care of her man.
Nick relaxes and Pixie grooms him, then

they cuddle on the couch.

Jenny celebrates with her love for animals.
Then when it's just us,
we talk,
we eat,
we rest,
and
Pixie
sleeps.
That's our celebration.

How Nice! I was featured in a TLUT Treasury!

Isn't this nice? I'm in a treasury. Be sure to check here to see this great treasury!
Thanks so much!