Creative Therapy Catalyst #126

I've decided to join some of the things happening

in Blogland this coming year and will be
posting about them on my blog.

 Over at Creative Therapy

the idea is to use different forms of creative

and artistic expression as therapy.

The newest catalyst is

"tell about a time when someone hurt your feelings"

This sketch above reflects a very painful

memory of a New Years Eve a few years ago.

I had arranged for myself, and someone

I loved, to go for a special New Years trip

to a beautiful, sunny beach and stay at

a lovely hotel.

On New Years Eve the day began to go

wrong early on and as the evening

advanced things began to fall apart.

Half way through dinner I left the table in tears

and went alone to my room because of

the hurtful things that had been said.

I chose to use only black and gray for the

colors in the sketch even tho my tendency is

to use a lot of color in all my crafts

so the feeling would be dark and sad.

It may seem an odd post for New Years Eve

but I hope it will help me heal and forgive

the past...
(It helps me to know that the person who hurt me
had a disease and I didn't realize it, so now
their behavior is easier to understand)

I hope each of you will have a safe
AND HAPPY New Year's Eve!

Gingerbread Granola

(Gluten Free)

 Gingerbread Granola

3 c. old fashioned oats

1 c. chopped pecans

1 c. chopped walnuts

1/2 c. flax seed

1/2 c. dark brown sugar

1/3 c. molasses

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 T. vanilla

3/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

3/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1 c. golden raisins

1.Preheat oven to 300*.

Line jellyroll size pan with foil.

2. In a large bowl, mix oats, nuts and seeds.

In another bowl whisk rest of ingredients.

Stir molasses mixture into oat mixture.

Spread evenly in pan.

3. Bake granola until browned, 45-50 minutes

stirring every 10-15 minutes.

Let cool, stirring occasionally

Toss in raisins and mix.

modified from recipe in "All You" magazine

Being Blessed

Yesterday afternoon I walked

into my kitchen and found a

beautiful basket full of all these

things! The hand crafted labels

were lovely but gave away no names

as to the giver of this gift.

It touched me so because whoever

gave all this to me knows me well

and also knows the difficult time I have

been going through...

I have no way of thanking them except to

put this on my blog in the hope that

they are a reader!

Being blessed in this way is humbling

but also gives the recipient great value,

SO THANKS TO WHOEVER YOU ARE!!!

May the blessings return one hundred fold.

My Perfect Morning



Christmas Has only Begun

My niece included this poem in her Christmas letter

and I wanted to share its thoughts with you...

Christmas Has Only Begun

When the Baby is gone from the manger

And the Shepherds are back on the hill,

When the hosts have returned to the heavens

and the grand Hallelujahs are still,

And the Wisemen gone back to the Orient,

When the Star of the Midnight is gone

and when Bethlehem's streets are all silent,

Christmas has only begun.

Now the news must be told from the housetops,

The Gospel of Christ must be spread

The blind and the lame must be lifted

the poor and the hungry be fed;

The power of Death must be broken,

the will of the Father be done,

When Bethlehem's streets are all silent,

Christmas has only begun.

Oh, follow the Lord from the manger

To Gethsemane's garden and more

Climb with Him to Calvary's mountain,

In wonder to die and be born;

For Christmas is just a beginning,

Of a joy that awaits those who come,

For when Bethlehem's streets are all silent,

Christmas has only begun.

 author unknown

Christmas at My House 2010

Our Christmas celebration this year

was about an excited 2 yr old...

 Foods prepared by family and guests that

originated from their heritage

 or part of their nationality...

 Receiving a joyful announcement of a new

grandbaby on the way!!!!

 The food was enjoyed at a table decorated with

toys from around the world...

 Was celebrated by sisters who seem like part of our

family now...

and was embraced heartily by our little one

who played with her new toy kitchen

so busily that we were all exhausted

just watching!!

Thank you, Jesus, that because

You came, we can have so much joy

each and every year....

Merry Christmas to All

and to all a good night!



Silver Challenge #4 and the end of Color My World 2010

  A Silver Challenge recipe was a bit too difficult for me

so I chose to use an English Christmas tradition

and put a coin inside the cake!

Whoever gets that piece supposedly has their

Christmas wish come true.

The baking is done and the yummy gifts from family

and friends are added to the display...

now the time has come to eat

and celebrate!!!

Snowy Days

My two younger sons, Shad and Drew, along with

Shad's GF Marrisa and myself took a couple day

trip to our house in Central Ore.

During the first night there it snowed a foot

and surprised us all when we woke up to

a white world!



Bah Humbug!

I had a converstion the other day in the checkout line.

The man who I talked with was unhappy about everything

to do with Christmas, even the fact that gift cards

have taken the place of cash etc...

As he grumbled on and on I started

thinking about what Christmas means to me

so I asked him,

"Do you celebrate the true meaning

of Christmas, Jesus birth?"

and he responded "I believe he was a 

good man, but other than that, no, I don't."

Well there you have it, if any one of us forgets

what Christmas means we have plenty to grumble 

about and if we forget that every day 

of every year is a celebration

of Christ then I believe

we not only miss out on Christmas

but we miss out on life!  

I pray that each of you is living a full

and joyous Christmas season,

even if things might be hard in life

or you may be lonely...

I'm both of those things today,

but I am choosing to celebrate the

King of Glory and the Prince of Peace,

I hope you'll join me!

Holiday Treat for Me!

 I was finally able to get away for part of a day

and do something fun and relaxing:)

I have never been to Camas Antiques 

and it was a real treat!

The concept is part bazaar and part antique mall

so there are wonderful displays everywhere

 and eye candy around each corner.

I highly reccomend it to anyone who still might be

trying to find an unusual or perfect gift

for that special person, or just to

take some time and browse for yourself:)

Silver Challenge #3

 I found a great idea for an unusual use of silver

for this weeks challenge on Rusty Rooster Vintage!

Over at Graphics Fairy I found this free clip art

and I had an antique tart tin and tree ornament.

Once it is put together it is a unique and

vintage looking ornament for the

top of a package or on the tree.

(Oh and by the way my new camera is up
and running--a Kodak Easy Share
with enough bells and whistles to keep
me busy for a long time! I can't believe
the great camera I could purchase for
the same price as my old point and shoot:)

Silver Challenge #2

My silver challenge was an experiment

with arranging some ephemera

around my blog pic and scanning it.

I'd like to work with this idea in

the new year so my blog looks

a little more like a scrapbook.

I think buying a program to do it with might

be a better idea, but not sure which one.

Where is this weeks Silver Challenge?!

My silver challenge is not going to be posted this week

as my precious granddaughter that I was bragging about

 last post, dropped my camera and broke the lens!

Actually I wasn't upset at all as I had been longing

and wishing for a new camera with a lot more to it

and had planned to use my artisan fair profits to

buy one! Yippee, my new one is on its way

by Monday!

catch you then

My Precious is 2!

 Newborn

 1st Brithday

2nd Birthday

I thank you, God, for giving me the honor

and privelege to be this little girl's Gramma!

I don't want to take any moment for granted

or be in such a rush that I miss any little thing

she does. I think when You heard my prayers

years ago (that when I got grandchildren

I wanted to be really involved with them)

You smiled and said "here you go!"

cause I get to see her every day and usually twice

a day...and she lives a few yards away from my

front door! You are a good God and I praise You

for Brielle! 

Artisan Fair 2010

 The Artisan Fair has come and gone!

Thank you to all who purchased so generously

from my booth and made this year

A HUGE SUCCESS!

Now to enjoy the rest of this Season of Christs' birth

with peace and rest!

"Winter Picnic" from Polka-dots and Posies

These are the last items completed for the

Artisan Fair, Friday evening and Sat all day.

It's a small line called "Winter Picnic"

and the colors are spectacular!

Hope to see some of you there...

Silver Challenge #1

Well here I am at the last month of this years

Color My World Challenge!

These are some things I like in silver...

Black Challenge #4

Black Bottom Cupcakes

That was as black as I dared to go on this challenge!

These are an all time favorite at my house,

and can be made gluten free also.

ONLY ONE MORE MONTH

OF

COLOR MY WORLD !!!

Crafty Weekend!

I worked on a lot of crafts for the Artisan Fair

this weekend...

journals, scrapbooks, banners and boxes

lots of fun and just what I like to do to relax!

Black Challenge #3

 I used an old poloroid camera bag for this

challenge. I cut off the handle, sewed a new one,

and put lots of travel stamps all over the chipped spots.

The finished product is still a camera bag,

but for my digital camera and accessories!

The inside is a nice, soft felt so I didn't have to

do anything with that.

Butternut Farm from Polka-dots and Posies

The new line from Polka-dots and Posies

is almost done and ready for the

Artisan Fair on Dec. 4th!

It is called "Butternut Farm" and

from the samples above you can see

the colors and a few styles...

looking forward to seeing how they sell!

Black Challenge #2

My craft challenge this month was an

easy one as I had picked up this 12x12 frame

without the glass

at a garage sale for .25 and knew

what I could use it for.

This idea is from Creative Memories...

so thanks!

Start of the Holiday Season!

The Holiday Sales and Bazaars are in full swing

starting tomorrow!

But tonight "Main St. Station" in Battleground

was the beginning of the season for me.

They had their store open for some evening hours

and had everything done up so beautifully...

check out the "chandelier" above the table!

The gals who put this stores' displays

together have a real eye for 

the vintage look. 

Ge sure to check it out tomorrow if you have time. 

Wee Wee Slide!

My grandaughter and I took advantage of another

beautiful Fall day and went to the park.

She calls the slide and swing 

"wee wee slide".

She goes down and then hollers to me

"Gamma, you do it!"

so I go down the slide too!

Over and over...and over!

I remember this age well from my kids,

they never tire of a playground.

(Gramma however will probably need

a chiropractor and a massage, playing

is exhausting:)

I Think it is November?

 I am sitting outside in the brilliant sunshine,

with the heat on my face,

doing my hand sewing...

it feels like July...

But when I look up, and see this,

it sure doesn't look like July!

It looks like November!

This is one day in a million and I hope

every one of you NW people enjoyed

it to its' fullest.