Art Journal January

My dear friend Milliande is going to be taking us on a Journal Journey again this year.
I am going to try to play along, if you want to join us, please click the picture below, and we can all create a fun art journal for January!

Happy Feet

One last Christmas present.

My sister asked me awhile back if I would be willing to crochet and bead some socks for her daughter, like the ones I made when my girls were little. I said - SURE! I would love too. I didn't realize that I wouldn't be able to find thread, needles, and beads in all my recent moving in. So here I was with a project and Christmas approaching quickly.

I didn't make it in time for the big day, but I have spent the last couple of days finding all the stuff I needed, crocheting the edgings, and adding beads.

I took them over to their house today all wrapped in a package. My little niece was so excited to be able to open another present, and when she saw what they were she was so happy! The joy of a four year old is so precious. She ran around and showed everyone what she had received, then she decided today was a good day to try them on. Fancy feet we call them. :)

She even picked the pair that matched her clothes with no help from anyone! The girl is going to be a diva, I can just picture it now.

Here is a couple of picts of her new Fancy Feet.

A Little Festive

My girls REALLY wanted to decorate gingerbread houses this year, and now that they are teenagers, I feel like I can let them loose, with the warning that If You Make the Mess- You Clean It Up!
They were so good! I gave them each their frosting packets, a ton of candy, and they went nuts.
(They even cleaned up when we were done.)
I am surprised that there wasn't more on the floor, but they did remarkably well.
Here are the houses...
The left one is Abby's, the middle- mine, and the right one is Quincy's

Here is Quincy standing on her chair trying to press the last of the very thick pink frosting out of the tube, to make flowers. She must have needed a little more push than she could get sitting down. lol

This is Quincy's finished house.

This is Abby's finished house.

And mine, as you can see it is rather simple. I think it is too hard to stay focused.
So instead I was looking at the lights and ornaments on the tree, when...

A little visitor came by and landed in the tree outside my window. This birdie was so cute filling up on berries. I wish we had more birds come visit, as the trees are just chock-full of berries... plenty to share.
I can't wait til Spring when the new birds come and partake from the feeders. I think we moved in just a little too late in the year for them to recognize the feeders before it got cold. I will keep them stocked with seed just in case some stop by, maybe they will tell their friends. :)

Christmas Spiders

The Legend of the Christmas Spider

If you’ve ever gazed at the beautiful tinsel sparkling on your Christmas Tree and wondered who came up with idea of decorating the tree in this way, wonder no longer.

According to German legend, it signifies a Christmas miracle from many years ago. The day before Christmas, as the small house in Germany underwent its Christmas Eve cleaning, the resident spiders, not wanting to be swept up with the broom, hid in the attic. When nightfall came and all were settled into bed, the spiders crept downstairs. To their amazement, in the middle of the living room was a beautifully decorated Christmas Tree. They were so excited that they ran all over the tree. They scurried up the trunk and leapt from branch to branch. Unfortunately they had left their mark. A gray spider web now covered the whole tree.

When Weihnachtsmann, also known as Father Christmas, arrived he was amused to see the tree covered in spider webs. Now he faced a dilemma. The family would be disappointed to see their beautiful tree all wrapped in the webs, but the spiders were so pleased with their handiwork that he did not have the heart to take it down. What could he do?He thought and thought and came up with a wonderful solution. He turned all the webs into beautiful shimmering silver strands. When the family awoke on Christmas Morning they ran to the living room and saw their tree sparking and glittering in the morning sun. Their delight was unsurpassed. They had never seen such a beautiful tree. Only the mother knew that a true Christmas miracle had occurred overnight.

From that day on tinsel became a treasured ornament for trees all over the world. Those who know the legend make sure that they give thanks to the industrious spiders by hanging a beautiful silver or gold spider ornament in a prominent location on their tree.

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I made a bunch of beaded spiders this year for all my fellow Fireflies on Milliande Ning site, it was a ton of fun putting them all together and making each one unique.

This is the collection of spidies that I finished.

Close-up of one of the spiders.

12 Days of Christmas giveaway

Christmas gifts

Lisa Vollrath from Ten Two Studios and Go Make Something is giving a free download every day til Christmas!
Check out her link to the Christmas downloads HERE! (or the link on the right side of my page)
Merry Christmas from Lisa! Gotta love her!