Today We Remember

To the soldiers, sailors and airmen and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in their fight for freedom...
To the families and friends of all our fallen heroes...
To all who are still fighting at what times must seem insurmountable odds in the struggle for peace, freedom and right...
Today we remember you, and what you have done for our country and our world.  And we say...

Thank you.



Re-Inventing The Wheel

One of the art projects that shows up frequently in the Crafter's Devotional is ATC's, or Artist Trading Cards.  I think typically they're paper or fabric-based (don't quote me on that, though), and the artist decorates them however he/she sees fit.  One night while I was flipping through my devotional, it occurred to me that I could make these little pieces of art from plastic canvas and decorate them with stuff from my crafting and scrapbooking stashes.  So I grabbed a sheet of plastic canvas and a ruler, and away I went! Here's what I've come up with so far.

1. Eeyore: "Be Happy".  Even though I'm more of a Pooh fan myself, this one is actually one of my favourite cards.  I hot-glued the applique to the card because I am SO not a seamstress!

2.  Faith.  This was the first one I made, and I was more or less just playing around to see how the whole idea would come together.  It turned out pretty well though, I think.

3.  Red & White Flower: "Grow".  I found the cute little red button (actually I found several of them) in my mom's button container, and I was really wanting to do something with them.  Then I realized that they would make perfect flower centers!



4.  Pooh & Piglet.  THIS is my very favourite one, and one of the less time-consuming cards I've made.  I hot-glued the applique to the card, added the red flower brads, and I was done!

5.  Bible Verse ATC.  This was an experiment to see how attaching strips of Dymo tape would work.  I'm not sure how much I actually like this one.  Actually, for a long time all I had was the base with the four crystal brads in the corners - once I got that far I didn't know what to do with it after that!

6.  Pooh & Tigger: "Friends".  It was actually supposed to say "Friends", but I kinda ran out of room to put the "s".  Oh well, I still like the way it turned out. 

Well, hope you enjoyed my little "Show & Tell".  I have one more card to share, but you have to wait until tomorrow to see this very special creation.  I'm also planning on posting a tutorial so you can make your own stitched ATC's (or SATC's, as I call them) and have as much fun as I am!

Until next time,

J.

Cool new craft blog I stumbled across

One scrapbooking magazine that I pick up occasionally is Scrapbook Trends.  At $15 an issue it's a bit pricey to pick up every month, but occasionally I buy it when I see a cover story I like.  I recently picked up the November Thanksgiving issue because the cover said the issue included 17 ways to showcase gratitude.  Anywho, while reading through it I found an ad for a new blog published by the magazine's (and some of it's associated magazines) publisher.  I haven't had a chance to check it out too much yet, but from what I've seen it looks pretty neat.  You can check it out at http://northridgepublishing.com/blogs/create/ (I'll also post the link in my favourite links list).

Until next time,
J.

Only 54 days til Christmas!

My favourite holiday is Christmas, hands down.  There isn't anything I don't love about Christmas.  I love the decorations and the lights.  I love the decorations and gatherings.  I love working with my Sunday School class on the Christmas concert.  I love going shopping for the "perfect" gifts for my family (but then I love shopping period).  I love the special foods that only get made at Christmas.  I evenv love the snow and cold weather - it means flannel pajamas and candy cane hot chocolate!

At the heart of the celebration is the thing I love most about Christmas: celebrating the birth of the Saviour.  When I think of what God did for His people by sending His son to earth as a little baby...well, I can't even put into words what I feel.  This is why, for me anyway, Christmas season starts on November 1.  I hope that my celebrations and enjoyment of this holiday glorify Him and the meaning of the holiday.

As is my tradition, I grabbed a handful of my Christmas CD's to listen to in the car on the way to work this morning.  The current selection is one of my Point of Grace albums.  So in honour of being able to get out and dust off my Christmas CD collection, here are five of my all-time favourite Christmas songs (in no particular order):
1.  "Let There Be Light" - Point of Grace with John David Webster
2.  "Snoopy's Christmas" - The Royal Guardsmen
3.  "Six White Boomers" - Rolf Harris
4.  "Somewhere A Child Is Sleeping" - Frank Mills & Friends
5.  "Hark The Herald Angels Sing"  - by anyone (although Boney M does a really good version)

Until next time,
J.