Merry Christmas!!

Can you see us? :)

 We usually eat by candle light Christmas Eve.  

I enjoy the days between Christmas and the Epiphany and have yet one more family gathering on Saturday here at our home. 

I wish you all the Merriest of Days!!

An Easy Project...thanks Alice!

Two years ago, I saw these free printables and thought how fun it would be to add them to Christmas decor.  

What's really amazing, besides Alice's wonderful art is that I remembered I wanted to do this when I had the time.  So many plans get forgotten...can you relate?

These cute and slightly quirky cars are available for free here from Alice Wingerden from her Thoughts from Alice blog.

She is using them as part of an adorable little hand drawn village.  I just was smitten with the cars, especially this one.  Sometimes I have trouble with sizing when printing from a download.  You made need to futz a bit to get the size you want.  These were printed in the portrait mode and are 7 by 3.5 inches.  

I printed on plain old cardstock and then used water colors to add the little bit of green, brown, and yellow.  I also used a sharpie to bring back the blacks that didn't print as well (running out of ink) or where the water color paint dimmed the black.  This step really wasn't necessary though.

I cut a strip of paper and glued to the back to make a quick easel so they will stand.  Glue, fold, fold, and glue the other end.  I think you can figure it out by the picture.

This one is bigger at 9 x 4.5 inches. I printed in in the landscape mode.

Take note: I downloaded and printed from the jpeg files she shared, not the PDFs. The PDF files have the cars with a house on the same page.  The jpegs are individual.

Aren't they just so cute?! They would make great tags too if you printed them smaller.  Thank you so much Alice!!

Nature Inspired Tree

This year for our tree we decided to go with a nature theme.  And, by we, I mean me.....ha!

I bought some birch logs at an estate sale a number of years ago and really haven't found a good place to use them for decorations.  Well, now one has been sliced up!

I started wood burning and experimenting with designs and these are the ones that will go on the tree.  Wood burning at my skill level demands a simple design and great for me, I like simple designs! (I found inspiration via Pinterest)

I used water color paint to add the red and white washes.

I have  few I did that I won't hang on the tree, but will find another place for them.  The little white dots are not faces. I tried a coat of varnish on this one and the sun was reflecting off of that on the heads.  In person, it's just a dark circle.

I've also had cedar logs cut and stored for projects in our barn so made some very rustic bird houses out of them.  A piece of old trim was cut for the roofs.

As I was sitting them out when I brought them upstairs, my husband said, "You could make a village."  And, the wheels began to turn!  Maybe something to experiment with in the new year!

I'll post pictures of the tree when it's finished.  I've made a few bird nests, and wreaths from the wild grape vines on our property. 

I should have added that the budget for this nature tree was very low....as in no money was going to be spent.  Just using up what I already had or could forage.

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There are some in our extended family that will be having a very difficult Christmas this year due to a sudden and tragic loss. And, others in our periphery who have struggles, fears, and losses. My heart this Advent is with them and all who find themselves grieving or in despair this time of year.  So much and so many to pray for.  And, what a blessing to be able to do so.

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