Merry Christmas

We went and took Christmas pictures yesterday. My old dance coach is amazing at everything she tries to do...and she's taken up photography! I can't believe what a great job she does. I was just lookin' to get one...ONE picture of all of us looking in the camera with me looking at least half-way decent. I got so much more...and a fun time catching up with her and her husband (who was also my dance coach and my old boss).

Our Christmas Bedroom

When I saw this picture in the Pottery Barn Catalogue, I knew I had to do something similar for our bedroom.


And here it is with our lights off.


I love our bedroom. Black, white and red...but I'm lovin' the mocha color on the walls in the Pottery Barn picture...

A Bit of a Beauty Lesson

Hannah is already checking herself out in the mirror. Oh, how the small things women do send a big message to little girls! I have made a conscious effort not to weigh myself in front of her and am desperately trying to curb my negative tongue about my body. And after four kids...wow...I have some complaints!

I've been wanting to do something like this in Hannah's room for a while, but just recently remembered this flower frame I had in my craft stash. I thought it was a fitting Christmas present for her adornment gift and since she's young enough to not care that it came 2.5 weeks before Christmas...I went for it while she watched.

So, I drug out the mirror, had Hannah stand next to the wall so I could see what level to put it at and then drew on her wall. And then painted on the wall. It took all of fifteen minutes and the only thing I could think of was how there went all the lessons about not drawing on the walls for my kids. Oh well. It's for a good cause, right?

After drawing the stems, leaves, other flowers...I put a scripture all the way around the mirror:

It says:
"Your beauty should come from within, the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God." It's a paraphrase of 1 Peter 3:3-4. I conveniently put it below her pegs of hair bows and head bands. Maybe someday she'll understand that the outer adornments are not nearly as important to God as what she chooses to adorn her heart with.

Maybe someday I'll fully understand that the older I get in Christ, the more beautiful I become.

Hhmm.

Christmas Tree Meaning for Pennies

Or...you know...free.

One of my friends gave me some oval frames and I've toyed around in my head what to do with them for a while. Leave it to Christmas and some blog stalking for me to find an idea.

I found the meaning of the Christmas Tree for Christians at a blog (sorry! I can't remember which one!) and copy and pasted it into a word document. I shaped the meaning to be a tree and then cut out the paper, glued it to some burlap (I still have tons left).

Then, I lined it with some ribbon and glued the burlap to the back of the frame with a few dots because I didn't necessarily want this to last forever in these frames (they are gorgeous frames), but if you had frames you knew worked perfectly for this, you could make it more permanent.

Then, I took two smaller frames and made scrapbook paper trees out of three triangles and a rectangle. Slapped them on some burlap and there you go.
I added ribbon (with just a dab of hot glue) to the back of the frames, tied them in a knot at the top...
and hung them by my Christmas tree.
I also framed (with red foil ribbon that you have to uncurl and scrap paper) a Santa Claus quote from Miracle on 34th St. (1994) and hung a Santa hat next to it.

The quote says:
"I'm not just a whimsical figure who wears a charming suit and affects a jolly demeanor. I'm a symbol. I'm a symbol of the human ability to be able to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule a major part of our lives. If you can't believe, if you can't accept anything on faith, then you are doomed for a life dominated by doubt."

Both things, I think, would make cute ideas for hostess gifts for parties this holiday season. Lowe's has gift certificate holders that are Santa's coat and it has a hanger, too, which would be a cute ornament if you put the Santa quote on card stock that would fit where the g/c is supposed to go. It costs all of $3. You could put candy in a Santa hat and have the quote in a small frame. The possibilities are endless, really. You know you've got old frames just hanging out waiting to get a coat of black or red spray paint! Get 'em out! Send 'em out! Make someone happy!