Friday, December 28, 2007

The ornament swap



The rest of the photos are forthcoming! Does this count as an update??






This year I decided to host an ornament swap with all my friends. I sent out an email and invited everyone to participate. It was a 5 for 5 swap - which means you send me 5 ornaments that you create and I send you back 5 different ornaments from other people (this math has confused a LOT of people don't ask me why it works it just does!) Luckily only 10 people said yes and this was a truly awesome swap - I loved each one and of course I adore everyone that participated. First was my girl Kristin from Staten Island - I love talkin' NY wit her. She made the 3D stars. SEE


















Then my wonderful and talented friend Amy (you know she owns Inspireco) and we were so lucky to have her join the swap. Do you see how great the packaging is on those babies?








My dear friend Trish - she and I have been stampin and scrappin together for about 6-7 years - she joined us and made this lovely glittery angel.










Susan from NY sent this awesome ornament.








The sisters fabulous - Coree and Babs - sewed the cutest gingerbread man - love him with the quilted fabric - and this filled tussie mussie - is that thing gorgeous or what.







Becca dressed up some snowflakes with chenille and glitter.







Sunny - what a fantasic idea - made little mini books - I can't wait to put pictures in mine and put picttures in them.







Friday, December 07, 2007

Magnolias

I received this story in my email this morning and I love it! It has really made me think. How many times has God given me the opportunity to be someone else's angel? Am I using my abundances as an opportunity for my own ministry? A lot to think about on this snowy Friday.

MAGNOLIAS
By Edna Ellison
I spent the week before my daughter's June wedding running last-minute trips to the caterer, florist, tuxedo shop, and the church about forty miles away. As happy as I was that Patsy was marrying a good Christian young man, I felt laden with responsibilities as I watched my budget dwindle . . . so many details, so many bills, and so little time. My son Jack was away at college, but he said he would be there to walk his younger sister down the aisle, taking the place of his dad who had died a few years before. He teased Patsy, saying he'd wanted to give her away since she was about three years old!
To save money, I gathered blossoms from several friends who had large magnolia trees. Their luscious, creamy-white blooms and slick green leaves would make beautiful arrangements against th e rich dark wood inside the church.After the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, we banked the podium area and choir loft with magnolias. As we left just before midnight, I felt tired but satisfied this would be the best wedding any bride had ever had! The music, the ceremony, the reception - and especially the flowers - would be remembered for years.The big day arrived - the busiest day of my life - and while her bridesmaids helped Patsy to dress, her fiancee Tim, walked with me to the sanctuary to do a final check. When we opened the door and felt a rush of hot air, I almost fainted; and then I saw them - all the beautiful white flowers were black. Funeral black. An electrical stormduring the night had knocked out the air conditioning system, and on that hot summer day, the flowers had wilted and died.I panicked, knowing I didn't have time to drive back to our hometown, gather more flowers, and return in time for the wedding
Tim turned to me. "Edna, can you get more flowers? I'll throw away these dead ones and put fresh flowers in these arrangements."I mumbled, "Sure," as he be-bopped down the hall to put on his cuff links.Alone in the large sanctuary, I looked up at the dark wooden beams in the arched ceiling. "Lord," I prayed, "please help me. I don't know anyone in this town. Help me find someone willing to give me flowers - in a hurry!" I scurried out praying for four things: the blessing of white magnolias, courage to find them in an unfamiliar yard, safety from any dog that may bite my leg, and a nice person who would not get out a shotgun when I asked to cut his tree to shreds.As I left the church, I saw magnolia trees in the distance. I approached a house . . . no dog in sight. I knocked on the door and an older man answered. So far so good . . no shotgun. When I stated my plea the man beamed, "I'd be happy to!"
He climbed a stepladder and cut large boughs and handed them down to me. Minutes later, as I lifted the last armload into my car trunk, I said, "Sir, you've made the mother of a bride happy today.""No, Ma'am," he said. "You don't understand what's happening here.""What?" I asked."You see, my wife of sixty-seven years died on Monday. On Tuesday I received friends at the funeral home, and on Wednesday . . He paused. I saw tears welling up in his eyes. "On Wednesday I buried her." He looked away. "On Thursday most of my out-of-town relatives went back home, and on Friday - yesterday - my children left.I nodded."This morning," he continued, "I was sitting in my den crying out loud. I miss her so much. For the last sixteen years, as her health got worse, she needed me. But now nobody needs me. This morning I cried, 'Wh o needs an eighty-six-year-old wore-out man? Nobody!' I began to cry louder. 'Nobody needs me!' About that time, you knocked, and said, "Sir, I need you."
I stood with my mouth open. He asked, "Are you an angel? The way the light shone around your head into my dark living room . ."I assured him I was no angel.He smiled. "Do you know what I was thinking when I handed you those magnolias?""No.""
I decided I'm needed. My flowers are needed. Why, I might have a flower ministry! I could give them to everyone! Some caskets at the funeral home have no flowers. People need flowers at times like that and I have lots of them. They're all over the backyard! I can give them to hospitals, churches - all sorts of places. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to serve the Lord until the day He calls me home!"I drove back to the church, filled with wonder. On Patsy's wedding day, if anyone had asked me to encourage someone who was hurting, would have said, "Forget it! It's my only daughter's wedding, for goodness' sake! There is no way I can minister to anyone today."
But God found a way. Through dead flowers.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Am I the last person in the craft world to see this?

So my friend Amy emails me and mentions this shopping site Bayberry Cove. So I check it out and fall madly in love with it and want to buy at least one of everything. Then while checking out blogs this week, EVERYONE mentions I bought this at Bayberry Cove and I bought this at Bayberry Cove and I have to think where on earth was I the day they announced that Bayberry Cove was the place to shop?!?!?! But now I know.

In other news, I now have wireless at my house. I know big deal so does everyone in the free world. But I am so happy to lie in bed and check emails and I am already thinking about laying out next summer and surfin the net.

Christmas shopping - tonight I am heading to The Mall in Columbia to get a few things crossed off my list. So excited for the Laurel House Tour with Natalie and Adam on Saturday. It is always so cool to see how real people decorate their homes for the holidays. I always get a cool new idea.