Merry Christmas -Froehliche Weihnachten -Joyeux Noel -S Roždestvom Khristovym

As we prepare for the holiest of all nights, the celebration of birth of our Lord and Savior, we take some time to reflect on the passing year. The things that made us laugh and the things that made us cry. Each and every one is a gift to help us grow in the Lord. To find his favor and blessing and are a part of our journey in preparation for eternal life.


From the Book of Luke, Chapter 2

The Birth of Jesus

¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³And everyone went to his own town to register.

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^a]">[a] the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

May His blessing be with you and yours this most Holy season and always.

A few very favorite things

Our tree this year too is a real one. I love the smell and I love the look, but I do think that I will be finding another faux one to fit this spot. An the problems is that the branches don't really support all the heavy ornaments. What's your opinion?
I love this stocking solution!! I saw it last year but finally ordered it this year. You can order the stocking holder at Ballard Designs. Last year I waited with hopes to catch it on sale. But was foiled. So this year when the catalog came out, I let my fingers do the clicking (on the computer that is).
Here is is by the fireplace... I just love not having to put nails into the mantel.
And to finish, another video by my favorite quilter, composer, artist...Ricky Tims.

It's been quiet on the blog.... here's why!

We had a group of friends over for dinner last Thursday evening. Can you believe I have pictures of the table, the house but no pictures of who was there? The camera was out and ready, but not one picture was taken. Although the thought crossed my mind during dinner, it left just as quickly as it came. Sad indeed.
Found this charming placemat at SteinMart. Make sure you sign up for their preferred customer's card. It attaches to your key chain and then you always have their coupons at your finger tips. Dinner plates are Waechtersbach (Made in Germany). They are a very sturdy casual set. We bought these for the cabin we once had for which the casual look was perfect. Still love them here.
This set of brassware belonged to my mother-in-law. I was delighted to get them when she downsized and moved into a senior living community.
This "crystal" is some of our favorite. Is there a story behind these pieces? You betcha. Years ago in a land not so far away, Long John Silvers gave patrons on option to purchase a piece with each meal. We ate there two Christmases in a row. One of which my mother and godmother were here and helped further the cause. We now have a set of twelve of this great "crystal". Not shown are the cups and plates and a couple more pieces... all for twelve! Who knew back then that all that fat would be bad for you!
Found these great mini wreathes at Hobby Lobby years ago. I tie them to the backs of the dining room chairs with a wired red/white gingham ribbon.
If you have a sugar mold (the long wooden thing down the center of the table) buy some fluted votive holders to insert into the conical openings. Drop votive candles into the holders and light. So charming and easy!

I hope you enjoyed visiting us for a casual get together. Stay tuned for some of my favorite things this Christmas.

Christmas in the Kitchen

Even our kitchen has it's own tree with specially designated ornaments. It was as much fun to "gather" these as it has been any other. The two little gingerbread people in the cupcake forms came from Paris in Las Vegas. Many of the mini kitchen utensils came from our local Christmas wonderland - Holland Gardens. The mini dishes came from Dilliards, and the tree was purchased at TJ Maxx several years ago, pre-lit for $9.99!! What a steal.
I saw ornaments like these in Las Vegas for half an arm and a leg. Well the idea never left the creative storage area of the brain and one day I sat down to figure out how to make them. After several bottles of wine, I finally had enough corks. Man was that a tough day - JK!! If you ask nicely at restaurants they usually will part with one or two...
Then I purchased some silver chain at a craft store along with some scrapbooking round brads. I needed one for each end of the cork, so two per ornament. I hooked the chain on the brad and then pushed the brad into the cork. (E6000 forms that mysterious bond that holds all this together.) Oh, that rooster - well he was/is a napkin ring from Stein Mart.
Nestled in the branches are even some stockings made from QuicKutz dies.
Ornaments made from mini copper cookie cutters.
And a mini mold. I am so not sure where I found this. Used a metal punch to get the hole in the top and voila! another ornament.

I want to apologize for having to turn on the comment verification, there's been some spam floating into the blog and I certainly wouldn't want any vile comments or nasty bug to come your way. It won't be long, just long enough to make this nonsense stop. :-)

Be Creative!

Collections.. surely I'm not the only one.

It's St. Nikolaus day in Europe. So in honor of the Saint of all good things, the forerunner to our Santa Claus, I'm going to share my homage to this jolly old man.
My name is Marlis and I am a Santa-holic. I love Santas and have them everywhere. Not that I believe that Santa is the reason for the reason, but because I love the jolly old man.
This Mark Roberts Santa fairy was a gift from my sister in law. She won it at the Taste of Home cooking show and knew she'd never display it. I was the lucky winner!
This Santa is only about 4" tall, made of resin....

And this cuddly version is one of my fav's. I think I bought him so I could make another but that never happened.
This is a German Steinbach smoker. His body separates at the waist and you can put a scented smoker cone inside. When you put the upper body back on, the smoke comes out of his mouth. He's also a 'mover'. If you wind him up, his sled undulates as it moves forward.
See that smoke coming out?

Another German Santa. This time with candle. I purchased this at Design Today on 34th street not too many Christmases ago.
Oh and another Santa I purchased to remake.. Never did. but he's really a small gift bag!
Love this guy, so rustic.
This is a Debrecht Russian santa.
Another collectible. I loved him for all his toys..

This was a Santa that I made our of my youngest son's baby clothes. And then I used toys that resembled the toys he used to play with. The little brass box was a gift from his Granny.
I totally love this guy's beard... it's so long and so many strands of yarn.
This is a Pipka Russian Santa.
And this is the jolly old man all in shades of white with lots of 'frosting' all over. So sparkly.
Purchased last year at United Market Street. He is a bottle topper.
I've had this Santa lantern so long I can't remember where I got him.
Our hallway, the delight of the granddaughters. So many Santas and soooo much temptation!

Favorite Decorations - go tell your stories..

Do you have favorite decorations? What makes them favorites? Does anyone know this besides yourself? Have you written any of this down? Although I think that my children know which holiday decorations I cherish most, I wonder if they really know it. This year before I put away the decorations, I'll be taking some pictures of heirlooms, favorites, and just some things whose story should be passed down to the next generation.

I love this cross-stiched Santa. I made him so-o-o many years ago. I think the pattern would have created a picture twice this size, I did it my way and made the crosses very tiny - his coat almost looks like velvet!
I love this bell. The idea came out of a parchment paper book that I purchased in Chicago on the Million Dollar Mile! The street has a real name, but it escapes me right now. And although I've not made any of the parchment paper crafts, they seem to have translated well to fabric..
I love these angels. They were among some of the last things my mom gave me before she passed away. These angels belonged to my grandmother. Their dresses are made of velvet and satin. Gold trims bedeck their edges. My grandmother cherished these and now I can too.
And this.. well it was such a surprise when I first saw this. Bernina chose my quilt to use as a media piece when they introduced the Bernina artista 200 sewing and embroidery machine. Then they found someone to make a picture of the quilt into an ornament. I have two other ornaments depicting my quilts, but the first one is my most favorite!

This year, take time to enjoy your decorations and remembering the stories behind them. Those stories are what make them really special anyway. What are your stories? Tell them.

Christmas Traditions - What are yours?

Traditions are a big part of the Christmas Season. I find that as I get older that they mean more and more. They a bit of permanence in this hectic world. They are a soothing ritual. They are a way to connect with those who are not with us anymore.

In this photo:
a lace table runner from my godmother
an old family photo of my grandparents
and a Schwibbogen.

I am of German descent so we partake in lots of German traditions. We have St. Nikolaus day on December 6, the Christkind comes on December 24, and we have lots of European delights. So just what is a Schwibbogen? As taken from Wikipedia:

Schwibbogen

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A typical Schwibbogen

A Schwibbogen is a decorative candle-holder from the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge) region of Saxony, Germany.

The first metal Schwibbogen was made in 1740 by the blacksmith Teller in Johanngeorgenstadt, a town in the west of the mountain range. The next candle arches always consisted of black ore. There were made out of one single forged piece and could be painted. The number of candles varies with the size of the arc. The original one featured 11.

The most famous design was created by Paula Jordan in 1937 for a show in Schwarzenberg. It depicted the 3 main sources of income of the people in the region in the 18th and 19th century. Thus the Schwibbogen showed apart from some traditional symbols; 2 miners, 1 wood carver, a bobbin lace maker, a Christmas Tree, 2 miner's hammers, 2 crossed swords, and an angel. It holds 7 candles. Contrary to popular belief the candle holder was always associated with Christmas. The light symbolizes the longing of the miners who didn't see the daylight in winter for weeks sometimes due to their long working hours below the surface. Over time the designs changed. Especially in the last few decades after the World War II the Schwibbogen has reached not only a new popularity, but has changed a lot in its looks. Now it is typically made out of wood which depicts historical or religious scenes. But there are even landscapes, skylines, advertisements ... there is almost no limit to the possibilities. What remains is the link to Christmas traditions. Especially in the Ore Mountains the windows of the houses in villages and towns feature a lit candle arc - usually with the traditional designs or at least local scenes.

The town of Seiffen is particularly noted for its production of Schwibbogen in its craft shops, usually wooden arcs now.