Handmade Christmas~ Week 2

My girls enjoy wearing pretty things in their hair. I have seen a bunch of neat ideas on blogs for making hair things (Check out those links at the bottom of this post) and I also got a neat book (Heirloom Ribbon Work by Helen Gibb) from the library on ribbon flowers. That book was the inspiration for today's project.

Ribbon Rose Pony tail (or Megan will want them for pig tails I am sure) holders.

Here are the basic instructions for making a ribbon rose:

1. Fold the ribbon over as picture above. (Folding the ribbon forward)
2. Fold the folded down portion in half.
3. Then roll in a cylinder. (Several rolls) Secure at the bottom with thread.

4. Now fold the ribbon back as shown.

5. This next part is a little bit tricky, pull the cylinder part in front of the folded part keeping everything the same level. Now roll until you reach the end of the fold. Secure with thread at the bottom.

6. Keep repeating steps 4 and 5.

7. Shape the ribbon rose as you go, stitching it in place.

8. Add leaves. (sorry for the blurry picture) Fold the ribbon as pictured and stitch the ends to the bottom part of the rose.

9. You can add as many leaves as desired. You can cut off unnecessary length below where you stitched. Try to pull the ribbon over loose ends and stitch in place.

10. Now connect it to you pony tail holder or to a barrette, a brooch, a choker, sewn items, etc. You can use ribbon roses in lots of places. I have quite a few other plans for making and using these and some other ribbon flowers. Hopefully I will be able to share them with you before too long. :-)

Here are the links to other fun ideas that I mentioned above:

• This pinwheel bobby pin (or actually I think I will use an alligator clip) is next on my list to make. It is so sweet and looks very easy to make.
• I think these butterflies would be cute on a barrette (or the flowers would too).
• I love the idea of using up little scraps especially when they are turned into a sweet little tiara for a little girl to have fun using for dress up.
• Or if you want something for the boy's head- check out this manly little cap!
• A cute floral hair bow using fabric scraps. I think this looks very cute as an embellishment for clothes too.
• Easy hair things we made for Christmas last year.

Now it is your turn! Please share what handmade fun you have been having!

To link up~

• Write a post about anything you are doing that is handmade for Christmas. (Gifts, decorations, food, etc.).
• In that post please link back to here.
• Then using MckLinky, add your link to the list. Please make sure it is linking to your specific post (not just your blog).
• Then have fun following the links to see other's great ideas!

Thanks for joining me!

The winner to last weeks gift tag giveaway is Sherri who blogs at "Design to Shine". She linked up her very neat idea for jar candle holders. I encourage you to visit her blog, she has lots of neat posts!

In Honor of Our Veterans

Today is Veterans day. Many thanks to all of you who have served, who have been willing to give up so much in order that others can experience freedom. We appreciate you!

Last night we had a special Event in honor of Veterans day. I was honored to sit by a Veteran from WWII. He had served all over Europe (in the 87th division I believe) and now he has a son over in Afghanistan serving. It was a privilege to be able to hear a little of his story. He was willing to give a lot for our country (including getting shrapnel through his arm and getting a portion blown off) and I want him and all the rest to know how much I appreciate them!



I don't know about you but often I don't know quite what to do to show my appreciation for those that are serving. Lately we have felt we need to do more so I have done a little research on what can be done and I thought I would share it with you.

Here are a few things that we as normal civilians can do:

• Pray! Pray for them when they are overseas but don't stop there. I was reminded in the event we attended how hard it can be for some when they come back, pray for them as they readjust to normal life too!


• Say "Thank-you". When we see those that have served, saying thank-you can mean a lot to them.
• For those of us who know men and women stationed overseas we can send boxes of fun stuff to cheer them up and let them know we are thinking about them. Send stuff that they can share too.
• And even if you don't know anybody there are several programs that you can get involved with where you can send boxes (or just contribute to boxes) that are sent to soldiers that don't normally get boxes from home. This is not something we have done yet but Ken and I are thinking that we would like to.
• Just be there for those serving and for their family at home. Be their friend even when you don't understand what they are going through.

Please understand as I am writing this, that actually I don't think I have done a very good job in this area of supporting our troops, but I would like to do better and these are things that I have learned will help.

Here are some good resources that I have found for more information on what you can do:

• Operation Minnesota Nice ~ A friend of mine is involved in this and I think I will be getting involved too. You make a commitment to send a box once a month. This is mainly for Minnesotans but it looked like Colorado might be involved as well.
• Any Soldier ~ This sounds like another neat program for matching you up with soldiers overseas.
• Ideas of what to send.
• The value of a letter.
• A young woman's blog with ideas and inspiration for sending boxes.
• Good information on sending care packages.

A moving video....

Honoring the veterans works for me.

Making slipcovers for a couch and chair

The other day several of us had fun tackling a slipcover project. A chair and couch had been donated for use at the church building that weren't all that pretty, so Mom went searching for fabric and was able to find some that matched really well with the church building's colors at a thrift store for a pretty good deal. So we arranged a day and Mom, Mary and I, with some help from Keren and Becky, got to work.

Here is the chair that we covered up:
It wasn't in very bad condition, it just really didn't match the color scheme!
Here is the couch. As you can see it had some stain issues.

We decided to tackle the couch first. We had 6 yards of 58 " wide fabric. We weren't sure if it would work or not. (the couch was an extra long at 7 feet) We did some very careful measuring and figured out just how much we would need. We used another fabric to put under the cushions and on the bottom side of the cushions. We also had to do a little piecing in the back. In the end I don't think we had any scraps bigger than 2"x2" left over.
Here is Mary at work on cutting out.

Here am I pinning pieces together.
Mom busy putting zippers in the cushion covers.
The part I found the most challenging was fitting the arm pieces with the front and back.
A tip I had learned from another blogger was to put sections on wrong side out and then pin the seams while they were in place. this worked pretty well! At last it was ready to try on. Would it fit good? It did! Hooray! I new looking and clean couch! (The lighting is rather weird in this picture however.)
The next day Mom, Keren and I came back to work on the chair. Again we did a lot of careful measuring and this time we actually made pattern pieces for most of it as they were a little more precise than the couch.

The picture above shows again how the inside out pinning worked.
And the finished product! It was fun on Sunday to see people enjoying sitting around on comfortable seats during fellowship time. (Before we made slipcovers they had been relegated to the basement.)
This is linked to Do It Yourself Day at A soft place to land.
Also linked to Trash to Treasure at Reinvented.

Thanks to the Giver of all things beautiful!

"One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the Lord,

And to meditate in His temple.

For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;

In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;

He will lift me up on a rock.

And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me;

And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord."

Psalm 27:4-6

God has filled my life with beauty and for that I am giving thanks....

101. Little Johny-jump-ups who keep blooming even through frost and snow and they look so sweet when we pick them to go on our table.

102. Pretty little tea cup that I enjoy looking at.

103. Cute little acorns that always look so fun and ready for some sort of craft or decoration. They make me think of chipmunks, squirrels, fairies, pretend little people... :-)

104. Handmade lace from another generation. It is so fun to think about who might have made it and what they were like. I enjoy seeing the beauty in such sweet little things like that.

105. My alto recorder and the many fun memories that come with it. My fun older brother that gave it to me for a birthday present and then playing it with others at church and trying not to laugh while playing because when we did all that would come out would be a bunch of squeaks.

106. My Cello. Found at a garage sale broken, but thankfully I have a very handy father who can fix "anything" and now it looks lovely again. I love having it out where I can see it each day. I love the rich deep tones that come from it.

107. Lots of wheat. We are blessed to be well stocked up again (300 lbs should last a while) and I love the way it looks and knowing that it will help to keep us well fed throughout the coming year.

108. Children playing happily together. That is something really beautiful I think!

109. A beautiful sky. I love the way God creates beauty in the sky each day! It was Megan that noticed it on this day. She kept pointing and saying "Mom look! It's blue!"

110. The beautiful orange that God made the pumpkins. It is so cheerful and fun!

111. Pumpkin cookies, pies and bread. They taste so yummy!

112. Pumpkin seeds. We are truly enjoying them.

113. Pretty bowls stacked in the cupboard.

114. My beautiful children
115. On a beautiful fall day.

116. Designs in Blue and White ~ Every time I see them I think "How pretty!"

117. Pretty little rocks sitting on my kitchen windowsill. In our Wednesday night class the kids used a kit to turn them from plain rocks into Crystals.

118. African Violets blooming on the windowsill at the Church Building. I love how God provides flowers even in the cold seasons!

119. God's patience with me. I struggle so often with having patience and then feel immediately humbled when I realize how God is being patient with me all the time!

Seeking....

In the book of Jeremiah it tells about the Israelites being in Exile in Babylon. Life was feeling a bit uncertain for them but God tells them:

"For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-14

I still think that God has plans for us today. To me that is so comforting because it means that even though I can't see the big picture and sometimes life feels pretty uncertain, He still has a plan for me and is going to make everything work together for good.

And I know beyond a doubt that God is still waiting for us to seek Him, to search for Him with all our hearts. He is still listening and He is still there ready and waiting and reaching out to us! Let's remember to seek God and His will for our lives daily!

Looking back at the garden

Stephanie at Keeper of the Home (a very neat blog by the way) is hosting an Organic Gardening Carnival. The idea is to share how you garden went this year. What worked and what didn't and what we want to do next year.

This is something I have been thinking about anyway so I thought it would be fun to post about it as well.

We have a large garden by most peoples standards (If you compare it to my parents it is quite small!) and we try to fill it up. This year I planted in good time (What is thought to be the correct time for our zone 3 but ended up being a bit early) but then our summer got very busy and the garden was a bit neglected. There were disappointments but all in all God truly blessed and we were able to eat lots of good organic food all summer and we still are from what we have put up.

At one end up our garden (in the fence that keeps the deer from eating everything) we have a couple little apples trees (they aren't producing yet), strawberries, little northern blueberry bushes, perennial herbs the compost bin and this year I added 5 raspberry bushes and a grape vine. We also have a some perennial flowers and some room where we plant other herbs and flowers.

In the main part of the garden I planted this year:

• Lots of corn! I wanted to a bunch but I planted at the normal time (memorial day) but this year it was a bit early and it got cold again after that and so germination was pretty poor. A couple weeks later I did some replanting but still ended up having some germination problems. We did still get quite a bit of corn. We ate a lot fresh and froze some.
• Tomatoes (around 40 plants). The plants were all started either by my, my dad or a friend. I wasn't very careful about keeping them labeled (so it was a surprise when each of them produced) I would like to keep a bit better records next year. We had tomatoes earlier than most people I knew (we had an extremely cool summer) but never ended up getting a lot. I only canned a little salsa and one canner full of regular tomatoes. The tomatoes were very weedy, I think next year I might try to use black plastic around them.
• Lettuce (a wide row about 10 feet long). We were able to eat a lot of lettuce (and I enjoyed all the salads) but couldn't keep up with it. Next year I want to plant less but then plant a little more every few weeks. I liked our leaf lettuce better than the romaine that we tried this year.
• Carrots. We planted a wide row about 10 ft. long. They did good for the most part even though I was neglectful in the weeding. We enjoyed eating them throughout the summer and then when we dug them up we had a nice amount and we still have some. The kids loved pulling them too, which made them enjoy eating them as well.
• Beans. These did horribly. Much of the seed never germinated and what did grew super slow! But in the end it didn't really matter. My family is not really enjoying the home canned beans anyway and they don't like frozen beans. We did enjoy a few meals of fresh beans. They also like canned beans from the store and have liked my canned beans in the past just not these last few years. SO... Next year I either just plant enough to eat fresh or I find a variety that will not get wide and stringy or yellow.
• Cucumbers. These were very slow growers. But I did end up getting a few. Next summer will hopefully be warmer and I will probably plant the same amount again. Maybe more so I can try making pickles.
• Zucchini. I planted 2 and that seemed just about right.
  
• Peppers. (hot and sweet) I planted around 10. They actually did better than normal (peppers do not do well for me- anybody have any advice?) and I was able to have some to cook with and make salsa with. I think that would be a fine amount if I could get them to be more productive. Maybe I will look for a different variety. I would like to have enough that I could freeze a bunch of chopped up green pepper.
• Broccoli. I planted around 8 plants. We got some but they didn't form very big heads. I need to study up on that. They didn't get worms though so that was nice!
• Cabbage. I had 3 plants and they produced. This is my first success with cabbage so I was pleased.
• We also had various herbs (which I didn't use very well- I want to get better at that. ) and lots of flowers.

So that is what we did do, here are some of my dreams for next year:

• Carefully research and order seeds early. (Does anybody have any suggestions?)
• I think I will go ahead and plant tomatoes in black plastic. So far I have always used old carpet, newspapers and natural stuff for mulch but I am thinking maybe the black plastic would be better for keeping the weeds at bay and warming the soil.
• I also plan on planting less tomatoes but caring for them better.
• Add more Raspberry bushes.
• Get some BIG loads of manure from my parents farm. I have been hauling some over little by little but I want to really get a bunch!

There are probably other things but I can't think of them right now. I am excited about doing it again however. Even when it is discouraging there is something very neat about growing your own stuff!

Something that always brightens my day is seeing all my perennial flowers blooming. I think they are the way to go and hope to keep adding a few more each year.

What are your gardening plans for next year?