Decorating

I'm so not in the mood to decorate, but I found two of these swags that I used to put in the flower boxes in front. They were the perfect lengths to attach to my new railing around the front porch. So, I've started doing some Christmas decorating. I've also unearthed two artificial wreaths I made several years ago. I'm going to clean them up and add some new pics to them. So, you'll be seeing them here in a day or two.
It's been cold and overcast here today. Makes me wish I had a fireplace. I'd snuggle up in a quilt and read.

December 4

No photo today. I went to church and then did the grocery shopping. It was my intention to go to the Messiah which is sung by a community choral group each year. But I started reading a good book after lunch and lost track of time. When I realized what time it was, it was too late to get out there in time. So, I've addressed quite a few of my cards and that's the extent of my Christmas preparations for today. Guess I must have needed the break.

Christmas Cards

Most years I have made my own cards, but this year losing a sister-in-law in September and my father-in-law in October and having a cataract removed in mid-Nvember just didn't leave much time for me to collect my thoughts to make a card.

So, today I went in search of a nice, inexpensive card. Luckily my local Hallmark store was having a $5.oo off sale and these pretty cards were just the right price. I came home, wrote my annual letter to friends I only hear from at this time of year, and printed off a photo of Eli and me to enclosed with the letter.

All I need to do is address, stamp and send them. Perhaps they will even arrive by the 24th.

December 2nd

Today I went to the annual Christmas Fair that is held at our county fairgrounds. There were so many vendors that they filled four buildings. I was looking for unique tree ornaments for both my granddaughters. I think I found good ones for each of them. Not much else caught my fancy. There were lots of jewelry, potholders, baby blankets, wood carvings and everything Christmas. I took several photos with my phone but none of them turned out well enough to post. However, there was one other item that I just couldn't resist. This angel is so unlike any of the other angels that I have collected over the years that I just couldn't let her stay there. So, she came home with me. The lady who made her told me that the jewelry had been some of her mother's. That made her even more special to me.

December Daily

After wavering for several weeks about whether I would document this Christmas season or not, I finally decided today that it will be do-able on my blog. I'm not really in the frame of mind to go all out this year. I'll be spending Christmas in Portland, but have decided to do a bit of decorating here as well.
So today's effort is to put out my Christmas flag. I don't know how long I've had this particular flag, but it's been awhile. We're having beautiful clear and cool days, so he looks pretty good hanging out there.
In other news I'm starting a class at BPC to try to make better use of my time. I really enjoy Karen and read her blog at least a couple times a week. I'm hoping to figure out where I waste the most time (think computer) and use that time to do things I want to accomplish (quilting and art).
Here's to December.

Using stencils

I'm taking a weeklong classes from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer on using her great stencils that she has designed. Today I learned about using products with too much liquid and those that provide crisp edges. I was so enthusiastic that I just had to try it out. I used a 12 X 12 Dalia stencil in my weekly art journal. I used Pumice Stone Distress ink for the stencil and then used Jenni Bowlin's Chicken Feed ink with a blending tool over the rest of the page. I then dropped some ink blots of Maya Mists Earl gray and Sunflower Yellow over the page. I LOVE how it turned out.

Teacher of Piano

Some time in the past couple of months, while trying to 'declutter' my scrap space, I found a business card that was my mother's. When I looked at it, I knew I wanted to tell her story of being a teacher of piano. Recently, I found these two photos when going through another stack of 'stuff' in my scrap space. So, this layout was born. The most recent number stencil that was an add-on for my monthly Cocoa Daisy kit provided the perfect background. As any musician knows, numbers are an important part of being able to play music.

The journaling recounts her college education in the heart of the depression and how her dream of being a concert pianist, or a school music teacher had to be put on hold. She taught piano many years to help support herself until she married. Several years later, she again took piano students into our home to add to our income, never forgetting her dream. She again returned to college to get her teaching certificate, but my father's move for a new job ended that just when she was to start her student teaching. She didn't have the energy to start all over in a new state, so continued to teach piano students until her 70's. Her dream was totally broken.

Looking back, I'm so sad for her that circumstances stopped her from realizing her goal. And I'm sad my father was so selfish that his job could not have been put on hold for my mother's dream.