Irish Blessing

Credit Scrap : weed and wildflower design kit “sweet and simple life” – Iowan http://weedsandwildflowersdesign.com also credit to http://Nubiagroup.blogspot.com/

Santa Cookie Tray - Craft

Who couldn’t use an extra tray or two to serve up all the yummy cookies that everyone loves to bake or receive during the holidays?  If you are feeling crafty and love to paint, here is cute little tray I found online at http://www.saralpaper.com/santa_tray.html  Designed by Dianne Buscema-Gerogianis

Required Materials: White Saral Wax-Free Transfer Paper Wood Tray from Michaels Delta Ceramcoat Acrylic Paint in these colors: Antique Gold Light Foliage Green Apple Green Medium Foliage Green Black Nectar Coral Bright Red Pumpkin Buttercream Santa's Flesh Candy Bar Brown Spice Brown Cape Cod Blue Tomatoe Spice Dark Foliage Green Golden Brown Loew-Cornell Comfort Handle Brushes #1 Liner (series 3350) #8 Flat Shader (series 3300) #4 Flat Shader (series 3300) #2 Round (series 3020) Delta Ceramcoat All-Purpose Sealer Delta Ceramcoat Matte Varnish Stylus Old toothbrush Sponge brush Brown paper bag Small 1/4" check stencil Small stencil sponge

Instructions:
Step 1: Surface Preparation
Apply sealer to entire tray using sponge brush and let dry. Basecoat tray with "Cape Cod Blue" paint. Use old toothbrush and "White" paint to "splatter" tray. Let paint dry completely.

Step 2: Transfer Santa Pattern to Tray
Download the Santa Pattern by clicking here using Adobe Acrobat Reader (if you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, click here to get it for free!). Using "White" Saral Wax-Free Transfer Paper, transfer the pattern you've downloaded onto the tray.

Step 3: Paint the Pattern using this color guide:
Santa's Head:
Skin Santa's Flesh
Eyebrows, Moustache & Beard Buttercream shaded with Golden Brown
Nose & Mouth Nectar Coral
Cheeks Nectar Coral dot with White
Eyes Black
Santa's Body:
Jacket Tomatoe Spice with stenciled checks and shading with Candy Bar Brown and highlights with Pumpkin
Jacket Trim Buttercream shaded with
Golden Brown
Belt Black with buckle in Antique Gold
Hat Tomatoe Spice shaded with Candy Bar Brown and highlights with Pumpkin
Pompom Buttercream shaded with
Candy Bar Brown
Pants Tomatoe Spice highlights with Pumpkin and shaded with Candy Bar Brown.
Mittens Medium Foliage Green highlights with Apple Green and stripes with Bright Red
Boots Spice Brown shaded with Candy Bar Brown highlights with Golden Brown
Boot Soles Black

Holly:
Leaves Dark Foliage Green
Leaf veins Medium Foliage Green
Berries Bright Red

Tree:
Needles Dark Foliage Green highlights with Light Foliage Green
Trunk Spice Brown
Peppermint Candies White with Bright Red stripes
Garland Bright Red
Gift Box 1 White with Bright Red ribbon, bow and dots
Gift Box 2 Bright Red with Medium Foliage Green dots
Gift Box 3 Medium Foliage Green with Bright Red and White stripes
(Note: When finished painting gift boxes, outline each with Black)

Background Snowflakes:
Flakes White

Step 4: Finishing
When painted tray is completely dry, apply two coats of varnish with sponge brush, allowing each coat to dry completely before applying the next coat. When dry, lightly "sand" tray using brown paper bag.

Enjoy Your Santa Cookie Tray!

My Divine Lil’ Diva’s…they keep Christmas in my heart year-round!

A sharp tongue can cut my own throat.

If I want my dreams to come true, I mustn't oversleep.

Of all the things I wear, my expression is the most important.

The best vitamin for making friends.... B1.

The happiness of my life depends on the quality of my thoughts.

The heaviest thing I can carry is a grudge.

One thing I can give and still keep...is my word.

I lie the loudest when I lie to myself.

Ideas won't work unless ' I ' do.

My mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.

If I lack the courage to start, I have already finished.

The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime!

It is never too late to become what I might have been.

One thing I can't recycle is wasted time.

Friends are like balloons; once you let them go, you might not get them back.

Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives and problems that we may not even notice that we've let them fly away.

Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we forget what's right and wrong.

Sometimes we just don't realize what real friendship means until it is too late.

I don't want to let that happen so I'll tie you to my heart to never lose you.

A Winters wish!

Today...I wish you a day of ordinary miracles- 

 

A fresh pot of coffee you didn't have to make yourself.  

 

An unexpected phone call from an old friend. 

 

Green stoplights on your way to work or shop.

 

I wish you a day of little things to rejoice in...

 

The fastest line at the grocery store.

 

 

A good sing-along song on the radio.

 

 

 

Your keys  (or pen) right where you look.

 

 

I wish you a day of happiness in little bite-size pieces of perfection that give you the funny feeling that the world is smiling on you . . .

treating you gently because you're someone special and rare.

 

 


I wish You a day of Peace, Happiness and Joy.

 

 


It takes a moment to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, and an entire life to forget them.

 

 

 
A short message to let you know that you'll never be forgotten.

 

 

Take some time for yourself!

 

Wishing you the very best 

and.... 

The Doll - A Touching Christmas Story, Kinda Like The Christmas Shoes

 

(Better grab some tissues…this is a real tear-jerker)

 

I was walking around in a Wal-Mart store, when I saw a Cashier hand this little boy some money back.

The boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old..

The Cashier said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll.'

Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: ''Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?''

The old lady replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.''

Then she asked him to stay there for just 5 minutes while she went to look around. She left quickly.

The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand..

Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to.

'It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas.

She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.'

I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry.

But he replied to me sadly. 'No, Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.'

His eyes were so sad while saying this.. 'My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.''

My heart nearly stopped.

The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.'

Then he showed me a very nice photo of himself. He was laughing. He then told me 'I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won't forget me.'

'I love my mommy and I wish she didn't have to leave me, but daddy says
that she has to go to be with my little sister.'

Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.

I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. 'Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll!''

OK' he said, 'I hope I do have enough.' I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money..

The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money!'

Then he looked at me and added, 'I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give it to my sister. He heard me!''

'I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much.. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose.''

'My mommy loves white roses.'

A few minutes later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket.

I finished my shopping in a totally different state of mind from when I started.

I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.

Then I remembered a local news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl.

The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma.

Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young woman had passed away.

I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was for people to see and make last wishes before her burial.

She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.

I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed for ever.. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine.

And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

'Twelfth Night'...Begins on Christmas Day and Ends the Evening of January 5th

I just have to set the record straight.  Twelfth Night begins on December 25th (Christmas Day) and ends on January 5th (12 days AFTER Christmas). The Twelfth Night marks the last day of the Christmas Season and before Epiphany (January 6th).

It just irks me to no end when people mistakenly think that 'Twelfth Night' is all about the 12 days leading up to Christmas. I suggest reading the article I have linked to below, which just may surprise you, while  you learn the real meaning (and time frame) surrounding 'Twelfth Night'. 

The best definition I found is 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' written by Dennis Bratcher.  Oh, by the way, the article is copy-righted so I wouldn’t suggest posting it on a website or blog…I know this because I asked the author a few years ago and he kindly replied saying it would be OK to post a link, just not the entire article. He also stated that the article  may be printed out for teaching purposes only. An explanation surrounding the origins of the song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' (probably one of my least favorite Christmas carols other than 'Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer') is also referred to in the article.

All religion aside, I have to admit I like my mom’s explanation much better. So here I am, all these years later, posting a blog of my own personal view of 'Twelfth Night'...for what it's worth. The story shared by my English mother explains how the Victorian era celebrated ‘Twelfth Night’. 

Beginning on Christmas Day and each evening thereafter, a ball was hosted at someones home. This was back in the day when it wasn't uncommon for the wealthy to have homes that included ballrooms. The grandest ball of all (usually hosted by the most affluent family) was the one held on the 12th evening after Christmas.  This was the one that everyone impatiently waited for. This is the one where dreams are fulfilled.

In those days it would have been extremely frowned upon to take your holiday decorations down before the season was over, as the decorations were very much a part of each and every celebration.  So for anyone who believe they have to have all their Christmas decorations boxed up and put away before welcoming in the New Year...I say....BAH HUMBUG!!!

Picture this...Imagine you are part of the gilded age, the phrase ‘less is more’ had not yet been coined, and place yourself smack dab in the middle of one of those snowy Christmas scenes you see depicted on an old fashioned Christmas Card.  (One that Thomas Kinkade may have painted)

You are standing on a snowy walkway all lit up with candles aglow in glass lanterns, each one adorned with glittering tinsel and  brightly decorated wreaths. 

The guests are arriving in their fancy horse-drawn carriages, all wearing the latest fashions from Paris, France.  Every breath you take can be seen in the chilly night air. 

The warmth from fireplaces brightly burning awaits you inside. Candles ensconced in chandeliers provide the only shimmer of light. Every room is lit up by what seems to be  a million tiny flickers of flame, as if they are twinkling stars raining down from the heavens.  

The scent of cinnamon and orange mingle with honey glazed meats and other enticing aromas, all promising yummy flavors that will surely appease everyone's pallet.

As you hear the orchestra tuning up their instruments,  you are reminded to quickly check your handbag and ensure your dance card is easily accessible. A quick glance around the room gives way to the fine gentlemen in top hats and tails, all making mental notes of whose card they hope to add their names to first.

Young and old alike fantasize of swirling around the ballroom at least once, preferably twice with the lady they favor. 

Lifetime adventures filled with grand memories await you.

Now can you see why the above explanation would be so much more appealing in the eyes of a young girl with fairytale dreams?  

Not all my dreams have come true but that hasn't stopped me from dreaming.  May I wishing you all the abundance, happiness and joy your heart can handle this year and every year!!! 

P.S. Please don't feel you have to take down your holiday decorations so soon after Christmas.  It's really OK to leave them up until after 'Twelfth Night'.  :)