Bah! Humbug ?

I don't think so.

Christmas....

At the Blue Castle

The little deer at the front door - which I moved there to add a little something to the pot of Christmas greenery and "things".

Nothing is in focus in this picture, but it's more romantic that way. I have that right, don't I? Romance makes everything a little fuzzy?

Ta-da! We finished the Christmas decor as the family was arriving for the Christmas Eve gathering at the Blue Castle. We were a little late decorating this year.

I don't even remember what this thing is called, I just know I've had it packed away in my personal Christmas box for several years - and that I've wanted one since I was a little girl. I'm going to have to remember to buy more candles for it. It really did add something to the Christmas feel at the house and it was sad that that the candles burned so fast.

In the midst of all the chaos, I love that the Christmas decor makes things feel grounded, like home is here at last. And yet, somehow, I'm also almost ready to see them packed away again. I didn't think I'd be ready this soon. We've never decorated this late before, that I remembe), and I don't know why I'm feeling ready to move on so soon. Maybe I need to see a shrink, get to the bottom of my issues. (Finds mirror, stands in front of it, "Now why do you think you feel the way you do?" Hmmm.... )

Quilled Ornaments

I always feel like everyone else has all the good ideas. Especially if I spend too much time browsing blogs. They can be very inspirational, but they sometimes leave me feeling an inferiority complex. "Wow, why can't I ever think of anything that creative?" God has given me creativity and talent in some areas and I need to remember to be thankful for those gifts and utilize them, while I still appreciate the talents of others.

Most of the time I don't think of myself as too creative, but every once in a while I come up with something and really impress myself. Let me share with you something that I thought was quite brilliant on my part and brought all these thoughts on creativity about. It makes me very excited to be a channel for Divine inspiration!

Here is a Partridge pattern for a pillow and ornament out of a book called Country Christmas Crafts that we've had for a long time. Several years ago I got the idea to use the pattern but transfer it to a small stocking. It turned out really cute and I made one for all my sisters, grandmother, friend, etc.

You can just see the pillow and ornament the pattern was originally made for:

And the stocking I made for myself:


And then another Christmas I made all my sisters ornaments using a pattern for quilled snowflakes from Martha Stewart as the inspiration. Only, I couldn't find quilling paper so I made do using strips of white card stock cut in narrow strips. I also improvised since I didn't have a quilling tool; I used a Q-tip and rolled the paper tightly around the stick.




I try to make all my sisters handmade ornaments each year, and the combination of those two projects was the inspiration for this year's Christmas ornaments.

Quilled Partridge:

Which led me to something else, which I made especially for my mother who loves country things, especially woolly sheep, even though her herd of "girls" is goats.

The sheep I think turned out to be my personal favorite. Again, no quilling paper, just strips of white card stock, a Q-tip and wooden toothpick for slightly tighter curves. They aren't too hard, I really should put together a tutorial for next year.

And I think the hidden moral of this post could be that we all have creativity within ourselves, but we must focus on and nurture our natural gifts and not covet the gifts and abilities of others. And I need to take more time to be creative!

Christmas Images

Breakfast:

Monochromatic fruit with shining berries:

The top of the refrigerator:

And my favourite:

Isn't he darling?

I hope you had a wonderful, Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11