Oh Christmas Trees

Last Friday I co- hosted my first ever cookie swap. It was ah-maz- ing. Sadly- I was so busy I didn't take any pictures :-(. I even put up a Christmas tree and everything. I really regret not taking pictures. Oh well. We had it at the church building- because I live about 30 minutes away from everybody. And the lovely lady who co- hosted with me lives an hour on the other side of town- so the church building was more accesible to everybody else.  I brought the tree home and put it up in my craft room, along with a mini- tree. So, I thought I would upload some pics.

This tree has been up for a few weeks. Since mid- november. I just can't help myself- I love Christmas too much.

This tree was the tree I put up for our Cookie Swap- very feminine, but just so pretty and bright.

 

This mini- tree went on the snack table at the swap.

 

Above are our mantel and Banister. I feel like the Banister isn't quite finished. We shall see.

Happy Holidays from the Kenyons!

Thankful for the thorns

You may have read this before- but I just enjoy it so much- especially around this time of year.

The Thorns

"Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes when she pulled open the florist shop door, against a November gust of wind. Her life had been as sweet as a spring breeze and then, in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a "minor" automobile accident stole her joy . This was
Thanksgiving week and the time she should have delivered their infant son. She grieved over their loss. Troubles had multiplied.

Her husband's company "threatened" to transfer his job to a new location. Her sister had called to say that she could not come for her long awaited holiday visit. What's worse, Sandra 's friend suggested that Sandra 's grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. "She has no idea what I'm feeling," thought Sandra with a shudder "Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?" she wondered.. "For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended me? For an airbag that saved my life, but took my child's?"

"Good afternoon, can I help you?" Sandra was startled by the approach of the shop clerk. "I . . . I need an arrangement," stammered Sandra .

"For Thanksgiving? I'm convinced that flowers tell stories, " she continued.. "Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this thanksgiving?" "Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong." Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the clerk said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you." Then the bell on the door rang, and the clerk greeted the new customer....

"Hi, Barbara, let me get your order." She excused herself and walked back to a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and what appeared to be long-stemmed thorny roses. Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers.

"Do you want these in a box?" asked the clerk. Sandra watched - was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed..

"Yes, please," Barbara replied with an appreciative smile. "You'd think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again," she said, as she gently tapped her chest.

Sandra stammered, "Ah, that lady just left with . . . uh . . . she left with no flowers!"

"That's right," said the clerk. "I cut off the flowers. That's the 'Special'. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet. Barbara came into the shop three years ago, feeling much as you do today," explained the clerk. "She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had
just lost her father; the family business was failing; her son had gotten into drugs; and she was facing major surgery. That same year I had lost my husband," continued the clerk. "For the first time in my life, I had to spend the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too much debt to allow any travel."

"So what did you do?" asked Sandra .

"I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered the clerk quietly. "I've always thanked God for the good things in my life and I never questioned Him why those good things happened to me, but when the bad stuff hit, I cried out, 'Why? Why me?!' It took time for me to learn that the dark times are important to our faith! I have always enjoyed the 'flowers' of my life, but it took the thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort! You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others."

Sandra sucked in her breath, as she thought about what her friend had tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God." Just then someone else walked in the shop. "Hey, Phil!" the clerk greeted the balding, rotund man. "My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement . . twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems!" laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator. "Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you mind telling me why she wants a bouquet that looks like that?"

"Four years ago, my wife and I nearly divorced," Phil replied. "After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's grace and guidance, we trudged through problem after problem, the Lord rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she had learned from "thorny" times. That was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific "problem" and give thanks for what that problem taught us." As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra , "I highly recommend the Special!" "I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life" Sandra said to the clerk. "It's all too fresh."

"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that the thorns make the roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember that it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love....Don't resent the thorns."

Tears rolled down Sandra 's cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on her resentment. "I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke out. "I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in a minute." "Thank you. What do I owe you?" "Nothing. Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart...The first year's arrangement is always on me." The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra . "I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first."


It read: "My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked
You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach
me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show
me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me
that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more
brilliant."

Praise Him for the roses; thank Him for the thorns."

Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving

Stephanie

DIY Award Ribbons

Every year our congregation holds a fall fest- with my love for Halloween, crafting, etc- I organize it. I really enjoy it. One of the events we have during fall fest is a costume contest. I make ribbons for that every year. Want to make your own? They can be used for anything at all--- birthdays, bachelorette parties, showers, etc. Here is the How To:

Supplies Needed:
Scissors
Paper Cutter
Circle Cutter
Scorer (OR ability to fold a 5.5 in x 4 in paper into 1 in folds)
Glue gun and glue sticks OR craft glue
Paper (2 - 8.5x 11sheets plus embellishment sheets)
Ribbon or extra paper to make paper ribbons
Attachable clip or pin

    Cut your paper in half on the 11 inch side. This creates two 5.5 in by 4 in rectangles. You will need 4 of these (2 sheets of paper total) to make the back of the ribbon. Score.

 The picture above is wrong- it is 2 inches folded. Sorry!

I use hot glue for a quickly finished project- no wait for glue to dry. However, you can't reposition as much as with regular glue.

If you don't have a circle cutter, trace around a cup bottom and cut out.

 I created my own numbers freehand, but you can print off numbers and letters easier, and probably have them look better, too. I forgot to add in between the numbers and placing pin on the back that you need to attach your ribbons to the back (I made paper ribbons by scoring 1.5 in strips and .25 in strips and gluing them together).  Also, embellish the front- it is easier before you add the pin. THEN you can place the pin or clip on the back. I used clothespins this year because in the past the pins poked everyone and were harder to keep attached.

This is my finished product! They turn out different every year, but I am always excited to hand them out to the winners :).

Happy Haunting.

Halloween Buffet

I hosted our montly Ladies' Bible Class this past Tuesday at our home and I thought I would share my ideas with you. I was, of course, trying to incorporate my crafty side and I really just enjoy making things a little different from how they usually run. Here are my menu, decorations, and of course- the drink section- which was my favorite part.

Swamp Cake: Banana Bread   Witch's Brew: Chocolate cauldrons with yogurt filling
Broken Bones: Haystacks        Scurvy Scabs: Peel and Eat Shrimp

Werewolf Bait Chocolate Dipped Ritz sandwiches (filled with PB or Marshmallow)
Vampire Venom: Clear Soup served with mushroom, crispy tempura, and green onion toppings
Mummy's Garden:  Cold Cut Veggie Platter
What's Your Poison drink Station:
Hemlock- Coke
Arsenic- Cream Soda
Strychnine- Crystal Light Lemonade
Belladonna- Diet Coke
Cyanide- Sweet Tea
 

Like I said, though- my favorite part were the drinks. That is because of these cute drink bottles. I found the idea here:

Above: All of my drink bottle tags (I used stamps from Michaels $1 section)
Below: you will see the whole bottle with the tag. I used Yoohoo bottles. I love the shape of them.

This was my centerpiece for the table:

I placed ornaments in Halloween colors in the cake stand lid on the table. I used a short vased with bats taped on it, and I topped it with the cake stand with treats on top. I was surprised how this simple cake stand added so much color and fun to the table.

I hope you are eagerly anticipating yoru Halloween parties. I can't wait for our fall fest!

Halloween wreaths

This year I have discovered love for a new craft- wreaths! I just love them- so when Halloween time rolled around I had to basically tie my hands up so I wouldn't have time to make 100 of them. In the end I only made three... I know mine aren't as wonderful as everyone elses's, but remember- I just started "wreathing" this year. I like to think I can still improve.

Here are my little treasures this year:

I think they are "spooktacular", but I am a little biased :)

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Halloween that is.... I LOVE Halloween. There's just something about it-- I guess because I love fall best (too bad I live in FL-- it's still in the 80s here right now). Anyways, I finally finished my mantel last week. I can't stop looking at it. I really do love the finished product! I got my inspiration for it here ,but I found the link on this website.

This garland is SUPER simple: I purchased 3 fabrics at Hobby Lobby- and got 1/2 yd of each and still had some left.... I cut the fabric into 1 1/2 in. to 2 in. strips. I then tied string to nails on the edge of the mantel and hung the fabric strips over the string. Voila...... simple inexpensive garland (overlapping them really gives it some texture).

Of course, what living room would be complete without a handmade Halloween banner? Our TV cabinet plays host to it this year.

You can't tell that we are gearing up for Halloween by watching fantasy genre movies at all, no siree- not our house..... :-) Hope you are enjoying October as much as we are!

Guest Bedroom Reveal

My aunt and uncle came for a visit this past week, and let me tell you did we enjoy it! They are some pretty awesome and fun family members- we got to play some card/ board games and hang out. Nothing motivates me to clean/ renovate like company! I finally finished our guest bedroom (finished being a tenative word- I may decide to make some more improvements), I finished moving the furniture and boxes that needed to be moved, and I also finished the crafts I had been trying to wrap up for a couple weeks...

SO, here is our guest bedroom in all it's glory:


                                                           These are the before pictures:

                                                           And these are the after pictures:

I got the bedspread set above in Target's clearance section (originally $59.99) for $11.99. The "thing" hanging above the bed is the back of a hutch I tore apart with beads stapled to the back.

 I got the curtains from Big Lots ($6 per panel!) (they look sheer in the picture, because it it so bright outside, but they are white linen),  and the frames and beads were from our wedding. I painted them white and stapled the beads to the back.

 

The chalkboard basket on the desk I found at Hobby Lobby for $1.79 (originally $4.99)

The frame wall is not finished. I found those frames at goodwill, each $2 or less. The rug was at Ross for a mere $13.

 I made the wreath out of fabric scraps ( a tutorial on it should be up by the end of the week) and I stripped the lamp shade on the left down to its wire frame and made it up again (the broach was worn on my wedding dress sash). The lamp on the far right, I purchased (50% off) at Target for $8 and change.... I made the flowers and covered it in green and gray fabrics.

Overall, I love the outcome. I kind of wish we were sleeping in there now!

With all my love, Stephanie