May Your Cup Be Full....

...of Christmas Cheer!!!!

thanks to my daughter for the photo from instagram

Christmas on the Mantel

Inspired by a picture that Simply Bungalow posted, I decided on a whim to do our mantel in old bottles and vintage ornaments.

There are a few odds and ends of dishes thrown in too because I discovered that I had sold most of my bottles.  A little tinsel here and there is nice too.

And some candle holders.....

 I think some vintage mirrors and windows leaning up along the wall in the back would be a perfect addition.

But, this was on a whim and I was out of time and oomph.

If you had some really special ornaments, this would be a great way to display them. Just a few as a small grouping on a shelf or as your table centerpiece would be nice. 

Blog posts may be a bit scant for a couple of weeks, making merry and all.  But, I have to say that I've been detached from the "busy" in a really good way and am enjoying the season.  I pray the same for you. 

I also hope I maintain that attitude and detachment at the end of this week, ha!

A Little Tree Surprise

When I came across this free pattern at Lark Crafts for a sand bag Christmas tree, I pinned it.

Unlike my other "pins", this one got done!  The pattern comes from the book Flip Dolls & Toys That Zip, Stack, Hide, Grab & Go by Laura Wilson.
I may need to buy this book.

I used vintage fabric scraps that I had on hand and filled the pieces with non toxic plastic toy filler (not sure what it's called) because I had a bag of it from a garage sale.  Otherwise, I would have used rice.

It's already been received by a special someone....

Who last I heard was playing "fetch" with them with her Daddy.

My daughter did not realize that they were supposed to be a "tree".  Hmmm...maybe I should have used all green fabric!!

How are your Christmas preparations going?  My youngest informed me that it was 12 days until Christmas this morning. "WHAT?!?! " She laughed at me and went to the calendar to show me.  She's right!

Madonna of the Kitchen Comes Home

On April 7th, 2011, I posted about my Madonna of The Kitchen Holy Water Font that had broken.  You can read about it here and see the sad pictures. 

Early in November someone commented that they had one for sale on Ebay.
I was thrilled.

Well, look what came in the mail!

Now, I'm not sure if I'm going to hang it in the same spot or not for fear of it breaking again.  Also, I'm afraid to put the holy water in it without some kind of liner or it may crack again too.  Details I'll need to figure out.  I'm just so happy to have another intact one!

Thank you Ebay seller jademani!!

Today is day 12 of Rebecca's 12 days of Mary.  I'm very happy I found this link up party. :)

A Living Rosary

In September, the LIHM Sisters in our town hosted a "Living Rosary" to honor our Blessed Mother on her birthday.

I had never been to such an event and did not know what to expect.

I grabbed my camera on our way out the door 'just in case' I may want to take a picture.

Well, I took a lot of pictures.  They had balloons and as we prayed, they handed out the balloons to some people and they formed a circle with one sister tying them together.  I thought, 'Well that's neat, the balloons will be let go and represent our prayers.'

It wan't until they floated up, that I saw that they all hung together just like a rosary!!  I'm a little slow I know!!  But, what was I moved to photograph??  The rosaries hanging from the hands of those praying.  All before I knew what was going on.  Not a coincidence.

If you would like to watch a slide show to the song of Hail Mary that I made of this event you can click here.

The slide shows shows all ages and our diverse community coming together for the love of our Blessed Mother.

I'm joining Rebecca for day 11 of her Twelve Days of Mary series.

There Is A Cure For Hunger

Today is the beginning of a campaign to end world hunger.  Pope Francis is asking everyone to begin at noon today to fast and pray for an end to hunger.

I just heard about this on Sunday at Mass and honestly had trouble wading through some sites looking for details, but then realized, who needs details?  My prayers, your prayers will matter even if not prayed at a certain time.

There is a cure to hunger.  Feed the hungry person.  There is enough food.  Each of our roles in this will vary and we don't want to trip up on the "how".   Pray.  Fast.  Donate. However you are led to do.

And, when you "remember that you forgot" to do something.  Don't kick yourself.  Don't think it's too late.  Try again.  Utter a little prayer.  And, then when you forget again...okay, enough, ha!

And, do you know that you can ask God to give you reminders to pray?  

I'm linking up again with Rebecca on her 10th day of Mary.

And, with Kim for Texture Tuesday.  My ebony Mary photo was textured with two layers of "Wisdom".  Seemed a fitting texture to choose today. :)  This Mary sits on a shelf in our den.  

A thought that came to mind as I was thinking about this post....  We know there is a cure to hunger.  As we administer the cure so to speak, I imagine that we will indeed be curing or feeding what we hunger for in our own lives.  Hope for despair, Peace for anxiety, Love for animosity.

A wonderful way to spend Advent and to prepare our hearts.

Mondays With Mary

Friday, I went down to our small town flower shop and bought some greenery and a few red carnations.

Then my second daughter and I filled my collection of Mary vases.

We like to pretend we know what we are doing...we had to arrange and rearrange many times! 

I swapped out the white candles with red in my coffee cup/saucer turned candle holders.

Yesterday was the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception and marked 11 years since my husband and I met which was also when the 8th of December fell on a Sunday. So this feast day is extra special to us.

Today, I am linking up with Rebecca at Recuarda Mi Corazon (translates: Remember My Heart) for

day 9 of her 12 days of Mary.

I hope this Advent time is full of joy for you!

Repurposed Embroidery Hoop Christmas Tree

This little project took far more time in the thinking department than in the creating department!

While sorting and regrouping my stash...I discovered that I had almost 100 embroider hoops.  :)  Most wood.  Then I found my stash of metal ones..20ish...of them.  I have plans of using the hoops for framing fabric and collages.

But, I've also always thought they could be stacked into a tree.  Well, I tried a few things and none of them worked very well until I thought of a two dimensional tree.

I made jump rings out of baling wire to hold the hoops together.  Then I found a few vintage balls in my very small stash of vintage ornaments and hung them with wire ornament hangers.

A command strip hanger on the glass....and it's done!

It would hang easily from the wall with a small nail but I had no light where I had wall space...funny how decisions are made...

You could do the same with the wood ones...maybe paint them?  wrap fabric around them?  Make some more somwhat flat ornaments to hang inside?  LOTS of possibilities!  But, for now, I like the rustic and aged look of this one!

I'm linking up with Christmas Junkers Unite and Laurel at Chipping with Charm.

George Is Going to Travel the World

There are lots of good things going on around here, all of which seem to keep me from posting here.  It's a Wonderful Life...  I know so corny, but so true!

My instagram photos show a bit of what we've been up to.

I took this picture last year on Christmas Eve.  One of our traditions is to watch It's a Wonderful Life after Christmas Eve dinner.

How about you and your family?  Do you have many Christmas traditions?  

I really enjoy our traditions, but I also don't feel bound to them. 

I'm linking with Kim Klassen again and Texture Tuesday.  I used "postale" on the above image which tweaked the color perfectly!