Simple Christmas

This Christmas in our home there are few decorations.

It has been an amazing year of living with less, doing with less. As we unpacked our Christmas decorations this weekend, we sorted through them and kept our favorites and gave away the rest.

I promise to give you a peek at our tree. This year we'll be using non-lead vintage tree tinsel to decorate it. I'm so excited! I haven't had a tinsel tree since childhood.

Falling Leaves

It’s a fall wonderland of leaves outside. The beautiful ginko trees have turned yellow.

Their delicate leaves have filled the street of a nearby neighborhood. We walked over the other morning and had our annual leaf fight. The air was swirling with them. Our laughter brought out some of the neighbors’ big smiles on their faces.

In that moment I was grateful for so many things. I could feel that gratefulness, bubbling up, pouring over, and running down the sides of my heart.

Happy Thanksgiving and a Fun Craft for Your Kids

A peek into my kitchen with its brick fireplace. We won't be having Thanksgiving here at home. We always have a beautiful celebration at my MIL's house. Most of the family will be together. We will be missing those who can not make it.

I know that many of you will have your children home for the holiday and may want to involve them in the planning (or just keep them busy while you're planning).

Homemade Thanksgiving Napkin Rings

You will need:

1 Leaf punch

1 Small circle punch

26 or 24 gauge wire

Glue gun ~ Mom, Dad, or an older teenage sibling should handle the glue gun. If you don't have a glue gun, you can use crafting glue.

Glitter

Craft glue

Paint in any color (I used gold)

Thin paint brushes to apply glue and paint


First, punch out a bunch of paper leaves and circles. Decorate the tops of the leaves with glitter or paint. You can have your kids draw patterns on the leaves with a thin paintbrush dipped in white crafting glue. Then have them dip the glued leaves in a small bowl filled with glitter. Shake the excess glitter off and set the leaves aside.

Don't decorate the circles unless you want to. The circles are going to be the backing for the leaves. I used contrasting colors for the leaves and then a contrasting background circle so the leaves would stand out.

Now you want to create rings of gold wire. These will be the bases you glue your leaves and circles to. Determine the circumference you want for your rings and cut twice this length of wire. Fold the wire in half and twist the wire together to form a ring like the ones below.

Place one paper circle on the inside of a gold ring. Apply a drop of crafting glue or a drop of glue from your glue gun onto the circle.

Now sandwich the piece of wire in between the circle and a leaf. Repeat this as many times as you need to surround the entire ring with leaves.

Here is the finished napkin ring.

Enjoy your week and may your Thanksgiving be a joyful one.

PS My computer is on its way out and I'm not doing much blog visiting because of this. I'm posting this from hubby's work computer. I hope to have a working computer soon. Miss you all!

Sunday Vignettes

It's a quiet Sunday evening here. I've finished organizing for the week and I had down time to enjoy my home. This isn't something I've been able to do lately, so I'm grateful for it tonight. I took out my camera and snapped a few shots I thought you might enjoy.

Isn't this a great leaf? It curled up and now I'm using it as a candle holder for my candle holder.

I light candles every evening as dusk arrives. It brings sanity to the end of the day.

A lovely bust I've had forever. The green mums in the vase have lasted three weeks. I recently read on Corey's blog that you never give mums as a gift in France. They are considered a funeral flower!

Sorry for the spotty blogging lately. I haven't had much to share and it's been a busy time. I hope you all have a great week!

Paper Fashion ~ Isabelle de Borchgrave

When I created my Confections de Marie paper shoes a few years ago, I didn't know who Isabelle de Borchgrave was.

A kindly blogger sent me the link to her website. Her paper creations are stunning.

Incredible paper shoes by Isabelle de Borchgrave.

I’m happy to say that the Legion of Honor in San Francisco will be hosting an exhibition by Isabelle de Borchgrave called Pulp Fashion.

Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave
February 5, 2011 - June 5, 2011



Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave is a painter by training, but textile and costume are her muses. Working in collaboration with leading costume historians and young fashion designers, de Borchgrave crafts a world of splendor from the simplest rag paper. Painting and manipulating the paper, she forms trompe l’oeil masterpieces of elaborate dresses inspired by rich depictions in early European painting or by iconic costumes in museum collections around the world. The Legion of Honor is the first American museum to dedicate an entire exhibition to the work of Isabelle de Borchgrave, although her creations have been widely displayed in Europe. Pulp Fashion draws on several themes and presents quintessential examples in the
history of costume—from Renaissance finery of the Medici family and gowns worn by Elizabeth I and Marie-Antoinette to the creations of the grand couturiers Frederick Worth, Paul Poiret, Christian Dior, and Coco Chanel. Special attention is given to the creations and studio of Mariano Fortuny, the eccentric early-20th-century artist who is both a major source of inspiration to de Borchgrave and a kindred spirit.

Can you believe these gorgeous dresses are made of paper? I can’t wait for this exhibit to arrive, I feel like I’ve won the lottery. Visit this link to find out more.

Come Together

What we need is hope

What we need is to let go of the power, ambition and wealth

What we need is to think of the generations to come

What we need is to care more for others than for our own gain

What we need is to stop being greedy

What we need are unselfish hearts

Lay down the agendas . . .

Lay down the hatred . . .

Lay it all down and Love . . .

by NB