Glass Dome Christmas Decorating

I am IN LOVE with this pedestal & glass dome set from Blessings Unlimited. I ordered it just in time to start my Christmas decorating:

It reads: "Grace and Peace be yours in abundance" 1 Peter 1:2, both on the glass dome and the base of the pedestal:

Isn't it gorgeous? This piece has found a new home on my kitchen island. Can't wait to decorate it different ways throughout the seasons and holidays! I love SIMPLE ways to infuse my home with scripture AND make it look pretty. If you like it too and want to see what else they offer visit Blessings Unlimited to view their catalog online. They are a direct sales company with exclusive product offered through home Gatherings. If you're interested in ordering or even being a consultant, drop me a line! (wink wink)

Wrap up Those Gift Cards - teacher gifts

Christmas is coming up SO fast! Tomorrow is the last day of school before Christmas break! Last year I talked about giving my kids' teachers gift cards for Christmas. I made little tetrahedron boxes for a nice gift card presentation and posted a tutorial.

Well, a little while ago I discovered something similar, but cuter IMO - "Petal Pockets" from Create Studio. So this year I gave them a try for our teacher gift cards. I was going to have the kids design/color a pocket fold holder idea I also had, but there is just no time, considering my daughter has 2 teachers and my son has 4!! These two box ideas hold a card and chocolate or other little treat quite nicely and are pretty easy to throw together:

Basically, it's four curved sides, or three straight sides.

I used blue & brown snowflake patterns with narrow satin ribbon for my son, and red & pink with curly ribbon for my daughter. A little message tag attaches to the ribbon and we're ready for Christmas parties tomorrow!

Visit the links at top for either tutorial. Enjoy!

New Art, Wrapped Canvases and SALE!!

I am SO EXCITED to show you what DaySpring is now offering!! They've added one of my favorite new paintings to their framed collection of my art- God is Good All the Time:AND they're offering a few of my most popular paintings in gallery wrapped canvas!!!! Yeah!!
So, now you have a choice of the gorgeous quality black frame style OR the new gallery wrapped canvases:
They've done such a wonderful job with these - my art flows to the sides and they really match my originals which are painted on large wood panels.
AND this week they're offering a 30% off coupon! Enter coupon code "ART30" during checkout through December 17th.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!

My kids LOVE Christmas! But even now, at ages 4 and 5, they'll give the kind clerk at the store a blank stare when asked the ubiquitous "What is Santa bringing you this year?" Our Christmas does not revolve around Santa. We're not fanatics about it –we don't banish all things red, fat and jolly from our holiday– we simply focus on Jesus' birthday. What little child doesn't understand and get excited about a birthday party? We read stacks of Christmas story books that all tell about Jesus' extraordinary birth in wonderfully unique ways. They get it and they love it!

A highlight of our family traditions in making our holiday all about Jesus is to make a Happy Birthday Jesus cake. It's our main Christmas dinner dessert ... because everybody gets a cake on their birthday, right?! We let the kids decide what kind of cake each year and they join in the party planning ... just as if Jesus were a part of our family. It's so precious to see my kids growing up grasping basic Biblical truths!

When DaySpring created this sweet Happy Birthday Jesus celebration kit – well, it just makes it so easy to carry out the "party" theme and add to the festivities for the kids! They have the honor of blowing out the candles, since "Jesus can't do it, he's just in our heart." Warm fuzzies!

We have several nativity sets that give the kids a 3D picture of what Jesus' birth was like. We talk about His lowly birth and why He came and how the kings brought Him gifts. Naturally, presents are a big deal to kids, big and little, and that fits right in with our birthday theme. In our house it goes like this: Jesus was SO special that even KINGS brought Him gifts! Now, because His is the MOST important birthday of anyone ever, EVERYONE shares presents with EVERYONE all over the WHOLE world! That's how special His birthday is!!

And that's a lot to look forward to! An advent calendar is such a neat way for little ones to understand "when is it going to be Christmas?" Especially since we start decorating right after Thanksgiving! Taking part in the countdown brings it right to their level. Christmas activity books, puzzles, that ever growing collection of Christmas story books that gets read over and over and over and over ... they all point to the REAL reason to celebrate. They keep my kids focused on celebrating Jesus!

This post can be seen in DaySpring's new Christmas blog-magazine. I'm on pages 12-13! These pics are some of my out-takes of the kids. Click the box to see the whole Blog-a-zine and read all the great Christmas posts:

And don't forget to look in the back for shopping discounts and coupons!

Here are some of the products the kids were sent:

Really Woolly Kids - Christian 3-D Advent Calendar

Really Woolly Kids - Happy Birthday, Jesus! Celebration Kit

Really Woolly - Happy Birthday, Jesus - Christian Christmas Ornament

(and, yes, I am a DaySpring affiliate.)

Christmas Charity Craft Idea - Bracelet Gift

Last year my "Girls' Night Out" group had a crafting party to help a charity for our December gathering . We made these Glossy Bookmark/Magnet gifts for the clients of our local Pregnancy Center: (to see that post, go to the Bookmark Tutorial.)

This year the director came to us and asked if we'd like to help again! We'll be making the ladies beaded bracelets. They'll be in the style of this Salvation Bracelet I used to sell in my shop years ago:

We may not be using sterling silver next week, but the Salvation Bracelets will still carry special meaning, as each colored bead represents something and shares the message of God's love:

Black - My Sin

Red - The Blood of Christ

White - Forgiveness

Blue - Gift of the Holy Spirit

Green - Promise of Eternal Life

Gold - Heaven with Streets of Gold

When making a large number of bracelets, I recommend using stretchy wire, so you'll have a "one size fits all" gift. Pretty crystal or glass beads are so inexpensive now and come in gorgeous styles. Choose 6 colored beads and fill in with silver or clear beads. Print out pretty tags with the special meaning of the colored beads and you have a lovely, meaningful gift!

I'll take some pics next week to show you the results of our crafting party! I couldn't wait to show you this year's idea as I know some of you are looking for ways to be a blessing to others in your groups this Christmas, too!