We need a little Christmas

As a little kid I remember Christmas being a really exciting time, well even as an adult I still get all hepped up as I consider the possibilities that come this time of year.

President* David O. McKay (1873–1970) declared: “True happiness comes only by making others happy—the practical application of the Savior’s doctrine of losing one’s life to gain it. In short, the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit, that makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service.

“It is the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ, obedience to which will bring ‘peace on earth,’ because it means—good will toward all men.”

Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. Enemies are forgiven, friends remembered, and God obeyed. The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than things.

To catch the real meaning of the “spirit of Christmas,” we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the “Spirit of Christ.

My friend Carolyn has two traditions in her family. One is to find a family in need and then she spends the exact amount on that family as she does on her own. There is no difference to her. She also places beautifully wrapped gifts under her tree as they come into the house. There to be admired and wondered about as the weeks progress towards Christmas. Each gift has a tag with a name. The week before Christmas she has a family night, and at the end of the lesson, each person goes to the tree, chooses a gift, and gives it to the Salvation Army. The idea was, that because they had no idea what they were choosing to give away, they wouldn't miss it. Carolyn told me one year that even she winces a bit, because she does know what they are giving away, and sometimes it is the gift she wished to give them most. But she reminds me, someone else may need it much more than her family, who have warmth and food and shelter beyond what is considered "need". She is an amazing example to me.

Not too long ago, we hadn't had work for over two years and money was tight. Fewer presents would be under the tree, and the dinner, well it wasn't going to be gourmet, but we weren't eating "holiday hot dogs" as I had as a child!

Our family was young, our kids had always had what they needed but had never been indulged with every toy they wanted, so this particular year wouldn't be much of a change. Toys, a few, and maybe some needed clothes from Santa. We also had set a bit aside to help another "someone" who, we felt, needed our help. We hopped in the car full of anticipation and secrets and made our midnight run with a car full of little elves too young to leave on their own. Everyone was singing silly Christmas songs and searching the skies for Rudolph's red nose blinking in the dark until we arrived at our determined place and then, as stealthily as we could, we placed our meager offerings on the porch of our intended family and with a quick rap on the door - we left, unnoticed.

By the time we got home all the kids were completely asleep. We began to carry them into the house when, to our surprise, someone had played "Secret Santa" with our family! Both Thor and I were completely surprised! Who knew we were "the family" in need? The porch was filled with small cars for the boys, a couple of dolls for the girls, a bolt (yes a complete bolt) of fabric, a large plug in push button telephone (I am still wondering about that one, but hey, someone was being thoughtful!),a bottle of perfume that was about a third gone (someone was sacrificing their perfume so that I would have some! ) and a recycled tie for Thor, among other gifts that I have forgotten over the years. Our Christmas was added upon and we felt both humbled and blessed by the generous offerings.

As a little girl I remember being the kid who had less than the neighbors, yet always, always, mom made sure we found someone who had even less than we. I am grateful for that lesson. I look back on our runs to "Mars Family Discount" with the money we had earned from neighborhood chores, recycling pop bottles, or squirreling away over the year. We would choose small toys and items we wanted and knew they would be fun for the other kid we were trying to help. It was a yearly tradition that has lasted a life time.

This year, as we are fast approaching the day of days, the celebration of our Lord's birth, let us become as the Wise Men of old, let us bring our gifts to the Saviour and become His hands as we serve and give to those around us. May we find someone who needs our love, our hope, our forgiveness, and our substance.

* President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

"Mouse-a-lina" Ballerina

A thousand years ago when I had little girls I wanted a special little child sized "cookie cupboard" for the to pretend and play with. I drew up some plans and gave them to a friend of mine and he build the little cupboard you see in the photos.

He used scrap lumber and finished it off beautifully with a gorgeous stain that match all that country look we all had back then. My two girls (and yes, my boys too!) played with that little cookie cupboard for years and years.

Eventually they grew up and away from pretending and the little cupboard was placed in the garage to wait.

A couple of months ago one of the kids decided to give it another try. His wife thought it would look fresh with a new coat of paint and some frills. It was sanded and handles and hinges were removed and Gramma went a painting.

Mommy decided that a "Mouse-a-lina Ballerina" would go perfectly in a French nursery, pink, celery, creamy butter, and a few variations on those colours would do just right.

A few days work, new pewter finish hinges and hardware, rose coloured glass knobs and pulls- she's all updated! The little cookie cupboard is seeing a band new day and gearing up for new little people playtime. When all is said and done, this recycling job was well worth it!

I'll post more photos after it hs been completely reassembled and I can get to it!

TIMOTHY

Here's another set, this time for a little guy named "Timothy". He is a huge fan of the movie "Automobiles", so his parents wanted his letters to reflect that theme in his room.

Luckily for me, this was a 'freebie' job so they didn't complain about the way the cars actually came out. Yikes! I need to work on drawing cars more often...these are a tad funky.

Tomorrow: Not letters but a recycle project!

NATHAN

I hope you don't mind, but here goes some more of those projects that have been keeping me busy.

A while back I did two sets of nursery letters. One thing leads to another and it seems that I am getting a bit of business decorating wood letters now! This is way fun! This set spells out "Nathan" whose mother said loves all kinds of animals, so we have the following in his name:

a shark, a lady bug, a skunk, and a peacock "eye".

a turtle shell, flamingo feathers, and giraffe skin.

an orca/killer whale, snake skin, and cheetah print (his personal favourite).

tiger , zebra, brown bear, and alligator skins.

butterfly wings, brown cow, raccoon eyes, and a clown fish.

a toucan, an elephant, a honey bee, jaguar and dalmatian skin.

All they need now is a ribbon and to be placed on the wall!

Tomorrow: More letters!

projects

Every once in a while I actually get some art work or craft done. It's been a while since I posted anything I have done, so I thought I'd post a few photos of projects from the past few months.

The lamp was an inexpensive find at Michaels, but came in a very plain shade of putty. I knew exactly where it was going and who it would be for, but I had to make a few changes.

The nursery would be done in shades of pink, celery, beige, cream, white, milk chocolate, and a very light true butter. The theme would be French Country. So I painted a few of the details on the lamp and painted wood letters to match in the baby's name. I added small crystal fringe around the base of the silk shade and thought it could use some pretty flowers as well.

The flowers only came in that creamy true butter so I grabbed a can of floral spray and tinted a few of the petal edges the softest shade of pink and added them to the shade base.

That mommy was happy with the results and soon I am off to paint more nursery furniture to match, big brother names in wood letters and a toy trunk to boot. Sounds like my kind of fun!

Another mommy asked me to copy one of her favourite paintings and switch it up just a bit. We changed the mommy from the artist's version to the actual mommy, same with baby and added a daddy too. I made the colours more vivid and put a bit of pearl essence throughout the water and shells. It took forever, but it eventually was a success.

I have a few more projects in the works, but they are also taking time. So when I can I'll get them finished and then post some more.

Can I buy a vowel?

I have been busy lately. But I took some time to make something for a new baby girl. The letters in the photo will help to spell out the new little girl's name in coordinating colours and patterns used in the crib bedding.

I purchased the letters in raw wood form, spray painted an acrylic base and then used acrylic paints to make the small designs.

White, beige, tan, pink, and a very light celery green painted with florets and "lace" with textured details and a bit of glitter. Eventually they will hang from pink satin ribbons and compliment the French Country look of her nursery.

I think that song scorched my omlette...

We got up early this morning to attend a Chamber of Commerce Breakfast and for #5 to receive another $500.00 (THANK YOU! THANK YOU!) towards her collage fund!

It's an interesting thing. All my life I have always thought of civic leaders in a certain light. Suits, straight carriage, moral, etc. Then you eat with them. Kablooey! I should be used to this now, as I have eaten with politicians! Talk about dissolutions! But I digress. I also am surprised at what kids these days1 consider "business attire2". You'd be surprised. This stated, I will promptly back up and announce to the world that I am not an expert and make these same faux pas, however, I am not in a leadership capacity, nor do I represent anyone other than myself.

All in all the morning was quite interesting. The room was filled to capacity and everyone was really warm and friendly, very chatty and inquisitive. Nice really. I did note, however, that when addressing the audience that everyone of the speakers, informal and keynote, referred to the members of the room as "you guys"; which I was always brought up to be a major "no-no" within a social or business frame. Perhaps a more appropriate choice would be: "For those of you in attendance...", or "All who would like to...".

That and the use of gender specific titles, such as: "The girls in my office...". I have been told that one currently should use P.C. terms such as: "The co-workers in my office..." or even better, "My associates...", lest you offend those whom work for you, beside you, or have authority over you.

Credit goes out to the 4th grade children who presented a well planned program, including a power point presentation. They each stood straight and slowly enunciated their names and titles, then took a step back and allowed their class mate to do the same. During the speaking portion of their presentation they spoke distinctly and with factual information pertinent to the presentation.

Another part of the morning was the entertainment. Entertaining it was, although #5 and I were a tad blushed when the story-teller broke into song about "Hot hot Sadie, that brazen baby, that hot little lady they all knew!" The story lady was dressed like most story-tellers are, in bright bold colours and completed her ensemble with the obligatory wash board, kazoo, and bicycle horn. Her song was indicative of the 1800's ragtime, although the lyrics were as scorching as the firemen whom "dated" Ms. Sadie. I don't think any others in the crowd were offended at all. She received an ovation and whoops and whistles. Poor #5 was about to burst into flames.

The events were kept on time and on track by a man with a sledge hammer - seriously! He would bang a contraption similar to those used at the county fair to test your strength -DING!- if you went over your allotted time. Everyone had a good laugh over this "tradition", although for all the newbies in the room, it took us a couple of DING!s before we didn't jump and flinch any more.

So there you have it. The leadership folks in the community right next door, who evidently know how to party on a Wednesday morning! God Bless America!

1 - Yes, I have become my mother, thank you very much. 2. jeans, logo t-shirt and basketball tennish shoes; skin tigh black leggings (I thought those went out inthe 90's) with a very thin skin tight turquois t-shirt and bright yellow sking tight shrug wrapped around Dolly Parton-esque torso, with neon strappy stillettos; or camoflage - um, we can still see you.

How to torture a 2 year old...

It's good to be 2!
Originally uploaded by S'mee.

Today (yesterday) was our grandson's 2nd birthday. We had a party over at the other gramma and grampa's house, and man did that little boy make a haul! Each time the door bell rang he would run to the door, "Hi!" grab your package and run to give it to his Aunt, who insisted all presents were for her. The fire place hearth was full to the edges! He hadn't really caught on that eventually all those present would not be hers! He's a pretty good little guy about sharing anyway. (He has a REALLY good mommy, daddy's not so bad either.) His 3 year old cousin was there. Sadly, she did understand who was going to be opening all those gifts. We allow the kids to play a while, eat some pizza and it's time to open the gifts.

I got trash! : )
Originally uploaded by S'mee.

It takes a minute for him to realize, "Hey, I get to help mommy open this stuff!" But once he's into it, he's into it! Everyone is excited for him. The first package comes down from the hearth and it is filled to the brim with red tissue paper, striped tissue paper and lots of it! The anticipation is rising! We all know what's in there! We can't stand it anymore we want to see that little face light up! Egads, child open that present! Very soon one and then another person is asking him, "What did you get?" He keeps digging and digging and pulling all the paper out. He almost there...He replies, "Trash!" He looks up and is a little confused but seemingly very happy that we all gave him trash! He giggles some more and then finds the toy. This is pretty good!

Where's the guitar?
Originally uploaded by S'mee.

There are lots of presents left to be opened but the toy he got first was pretty good. Mommy is able to convince him that waiting to play and opening some more toys is a better idea. So he sits down in her lap and opens another one. This time he has hit the mother load! It's a "Wiggles" musical guitar and it's RED! And plays familiar songs! And has a hundred million buttons to push! And the "Wiggles" have their pictures on it! THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER! Man oh man does this kid think that guitar is it and a bag of chips!

But there are more toys to open. So mommy talks him into putting the guitar aside and opening one more package. He doesn't really want to, but mommy says we have to, so o.k. Open up one more box... yeah o.k. big deal, books! Where's that guitar? And he FLIES out of mommy's lap and into Great Gramma's because she has the guitar! This scene is repeated with the addition of more dull books, a possible prospect for the middle of the night "Wiggles" flashlight car, some lousy clothes, a couple of crumby church type toys, an interesting but not quite up to par ambulance with lights and sirens and a man who shouts orders, a red Hawaiian shirt that merited an unsolicited "CUTE!", but, MAN! WHAT DOES A KID HAVE TO DO AROUND HERE TO GET TO THAT GUITAR? I was losing it! It was so funny to watch him go for that guitar and finally he got to play with it. WHEW!

He was pretty good about not being crabby, but he really wanted at that guitar! It worked out well, however, because the 3 year old was able to get her hands on all the other toys and play with them while he was occupied with said guitar! So everyone was happy.

After the toy playing came candle blowing. He stood straight up until the signal was given and then practically ate the candles in his attempt at blowing them out. First shot -there out! (I think we had practised this!) And then before mommy or daddy could react, he grabbed the candle out and showed everyone the prize! "Whoa, that's HOT!" He said in surprise. Luckily he didn't grab it by the wick, but he still felt the warmth of the wax on those tiny fingers. Then he began to laugh and said, "It's mommy's, it's YUMmy!" We all ate dessert and took a million pictures and had a grand time.

I love that little boy!

No clever title for this one...

Weird happening of the day: One of the gals I work with had come to church early and sat in on the Primary before us. The gal teaching the lesson used the ol' knot in the string idea to help the children there understand this mortal life and yada yada yada. Later I walk in to set up our Primary and she is telling me about this very interesting way of explaining time, life, immortality, etc. and there you go... "Have you ever heard of it as a knot in the string?" I had to chuckle a bit. Yeah. Pretty cool.

Church was pretty great today. A new family, all of the new family, gave talks. Even the 7 year old talked! It was really fun for a Sacrament Meeting. The the entire family sang together and Dad finished up the schedule. Pretty cool.

Something that occurred during Sacrament meeting prompted me to leave. Here is this beautiful and seemingly perfect family all singing together and pretty much filling the room with a sweet Spirit. I notice a sister leaving with tears in her eyes. Normally you could just say, "o.k." and leave it at that. But I know this sister and I know of her situation and I know why she left. She did not cause a scene in any way and I doubt that anyone besides my self even noticed her leaving. I waited until the verse was ended and then I too slipped out. I found her in the hall overwhelmed with emotion. Her circumstances are such that sometimes when she sees the "happy complete family" it stings just a bit.

Years ago I had a friend whose husband was not a member. He was very supportive, but she knew he would never join, or if he did it would be a long time off. She attended every meeting and social without fail, and with out her better half. Her kids had long left for their own families and now here she was every week, alone. Alone in a church of families. Alone in a place that stresses happiness dependent upon eternal covenants and companionship. And there she was, without hope. She described it to me like always being an invited guest to the country club, but knowing you can never join in on your own.

Well intended folks would inquire where her husband was, how he was doing, and always invite her to join with their families at dinners, socials and during meetings at church. As the ward grew, new folks would move in and seeing her always alone, assume she was single. Replies to questions and concerns were always polite and between smiling lips, but in her eyes we all began to see the sadness.

She missed the fall social, and then the Thanksgiving Toy Drive, and by the time the Christmas Party came she had found reasons to be "too busy to attend this time." By the following summer she was missing all the meetings and eventually quit coming at all. I spoke with her from time to time, we were friends for heaven's sake! There were lots of us who went to lunch with her and plead with her to come to "homemaking, if nothing else." She would politely refuse and one day she explained to us after a matinée, "It just hurt too much to constantly be reminded of what I will never have. I can't do it anymore." They put the house up for sale about two years later and they moved. The letters and cards were always returned unopened. I wonder about her to this day.

People tend to judge their futures by their past. Because I lost one friend I fear I will lose another. All I could do today was give her a hug and whisper to her that I understood how hard it was. I admire this woman more than I can write. She is amazing and strong and smart. She is always responsible in her calling, and will do anything for anyone. She is always in leadership positions and her children have been or will be sealed in the temple. She is constant and she attends the temple regularly. She is a beaming light shining to the Young Women, and an example to their moms. She is funny, witty, charming, and willing.

But she never comes to the socials.

A sStiiicKy Venture, (but totally fun, dude!)

shell frame 2
Originally uploaded by S'mee.

This shows the corner detail. I began by choosing the shells and star fish I thought I would use. I used many more than I anticipated! I laid out the larger scallops and added sand dollars around the frame. They were the larger of the pieces, so I needed to know where they would look best and how far over the edge I could go without looking intrusive.

In this first corner, the peachy scallop went down first and I topped it off with the dollars. Using the silicone as glue, I spread it thickly on the back of the ornaments and gently pressed them in place. I needed to be sure that the spaces under, beside, between and around the larger pieces were filled with the tiny shells before the larger ones were set permanently. To apply the tiny shells I used the silicone directly on the frame, spreading it about an eight of an inch, and hand placing each little shell one at a time. I would turn some with the smooth side down, others on their sides and gave as much variety as possible so that it looked as if they just fell on the frame and stuck. I used a paper clip (unfolded) to manipulate the tiny shells into spaces that were hard to fit; and made sure that the frame was completely covered.

I added star fish randomly, but with some composition. Also, with the star fish I needed to be extremely careful as they are most fragile. They dry stiff in whatever position they were laid out, so some are flat as pancakes, while others are convex and concave. Figuring out which would look best curved over this shell or that was pretty fun. I also made sure that if a star fish had a curved leg that it was supported by another object, thereby protecting it from future breakage.

I will allow it to dry for about 48 hours just because, in these matters, I tend to be paranoid! After that it will be filled with one of the many family photos we have taken while at the beach and hung in a place where I can see it everyday! Wahoo! (I really love that big blue!)

Super Models

faux window with birds
Originally uploaded by S'mee.

Sometimes artwork is for the birds. This is an example of faux windows. In a model home, the developer wanted the windowless laundry room to look less claustrophobic, cheery, and someplace pleasant to a chore. I began by chalking out the space and matching the ledge and colours to the existing windows in the house. (This is where my painter's fan deck comes in handy!) I snap some photos for reference (my model of the house features). Next came the painting as desired by the client. Sometimes they want a few plants other times they go for a virtual jungle!

This client, the developer, wanted "subtle vines, very few, but straggling into the room. And birds." So this is what I came up with. We also have a two little birds sitting on one of the door frames unraveling a baby sock.

It's difficult to see in this photo, but the sky is lighter at the horizon line than it is towards the atmosphere. The haze and clouds are done with white, blues and a tad of yellow. The birds were taken from a local ornithology catalog, although they have the benefit of plenty of food! No one wants skinny birds. Most folks think that an artist just has these pictures already in their memory banks and can reproduce them without models. There are some who can, but most cannot. I try to use models as much as possible, so I can get the details correct; such as the higher the sky - the deeper the blue.

Ever really look at things? Most pine trees are more blue than green, dirt is rarely brown and clouds come in so many more colours than white. But our collective memories tell us that clouds are white - all the time, unless they are stormy and then they are always grey. Not so much.

Where would you place eyes on a head? Most people don't realize they are dead center, (about a nostril to nostril width apart) when looking straight on the face, tip of head to tip of chin. Of course there are always exceptions, but again that proves my point on the necessity of models.

Next time you venture to draw, which I hope you do, use a model! Take time to look at your model with seeing eyes, not memory eyes. It will make all the difference! And remember, even Michelangelo had to pick up a brush for the first time.

Awe, the smell of cremated cow in the afternoon!

Speaking of blessings... Thanks to two of my good friends who, a few years back, presented me with new pots and pans. Now some may think this a strange gift, but trust me when I say - Wa Hoo! It's days like today -when I burnt a perfectly good roast to a crackly crunch- that I appreciate the pots more and more.

I had another lovely migraine and had headed for the dark room for relief. I fell asleep and awoke to the scent of burning money. As I pulled the pot from the oven I knew dinner was a loss. The thought of prying charred flesh from the bottom of a pan is, well, there are no words. But pull I did. Because of the pot (yes!) the meat pealed right off and the pot was almost clean enough to just throw in the washer.

So, once again ladies, THANK YOU for the pots and pans!