THANKSGIVING

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. ~Johannes A. Gaertner

Christmas, in the making!

For as long as I can remember I have loved Christmas! My mother had a way of making everything in our home feel special but when the holidays arrived our house became it became a wonderland of glitter, felt, sequins, Styrofoam, tulle, pom pom fringe, velvet, lace, spray paint and paraffin.

I can still remember all the crafts she made to decorate our home and sell at the Optimist Club Christmas Tree Lot. My favorites were the candles that she made with milk cartons full of ice. Although I too young to help, the idea of creating beauty was planted and soon I’d be in on the action.

The first Christmas ornaments I ever made were made out salt dough. My mother made the dough mixture from equal parts of salt, flour and water and our family sat around the kitchen table shaping the dough onto cookie sheets. We baked them in a oven on low heat until they were dry. Later after they were cool, we painted them with acrylic paints. I loved every minute it and must have made dozens. Here are two of them.

As a newly wed working in the Houston Galleria, I made 250 tennis racquets for my employer at the Forty Love Shop.Then when my children were little we made them around our kitchen table. Year after year, I’ve enjoyed making these.

Last year was no different and it brought me great joy to sit with both my mother, daughters and granddaughters and make them again. Four generations creating little treasures to be enjoyed for years to come.

And after they were dry it was paint time!

Boring to bright. Color makes everything come to life!


Start your own tradition. Perfect for all ages, Make some today.

Next: Paper Mache Ornaments

They always said her head was in the clouds but in truth it was much further than that.

Is it just me or do we all love to make stuff?

Paint, paper, scissors, glue, glitter, rubber stamps, chalk

are just a few of my favorite things!

Fresh flowers, moss covered twigs, birds nest, real eggs

birds, fruit trees in bloom, quotes, colorful décor set my

mind in motion. Dreaming and scheming of fun things to

create! I find it exhilarating! Whether it be painting the

walls in a room, gluing oyster shells on a lamp base,

repurposing a vintage travel trailer, gardening, photo-graphing, collaging, collecting, sewing, quilting or 100

other hobbies. I hope you will make time soon to sit down

and create something beautiful. The possibilities are endless

And like the quote above by Elise de Wolfe, you too can

‘Make everything around you beautiful’!

Try creating some of your own gifts and decorations this year.

Some of my fondest gift memories include homemade gifts.

I’ll share some ideas over the next few weeks. Start soon and

keep it simple. Most of all make it fun!

Like a big helium balloon, let your mind go up. It’s where I

find the best ideas.

Happy Thanksgiving Holidays!