The True Meaning of Christmas

Christmas is just around the corner--how could we not know?  Wal-mart already has its Christmas tree up...Of course, Hobby Lobby has had Christmas decor out since August...Holiday commercials are already playing on TV.  Its hard to not be reminded that the holidays are near~

My resolution for this Christmas season is to remember above all else---the REAL reason we celebrate.  The gift of our Savior and what his birth meant for the whole world.  Salvation.  Redemption.  Eternal Life.  Life is created by and for Him...and the best news we could ever hear is that he has created us with purpose: Bringing glory to His name!  Living our life in complete surrender because of how much he loves us... He is the reason we celebrate Christmas.

The last couple of years I started creating Christmas ornaments that communicate the true meaning of the season.  This year I decided to make an ornament of Baby Jesus in the manger...here is the finished product!  I am very pleased with the way it turned out--and how it keeps the theme of the ornaments I made in the previous years. 

The Nativity is the very first ornament I made--Christmas 2009.

Here is the one I made in 2010...the 3 Wise Men.

I'm excited about the tradition of making these ornaments every year...I'm hoping to create an ornament that tells part of the story each Christmas.

I would love for all of my followers to own one of each of these ornaments!  If you are interested in purchasing one, please go to my Etsy and I will be glad to send one to you just in time decorating for Christmas!

Happy early Thanksgiving and Happy Birthday to my dad--the most amazing Father in the world!

Christmas in August

I can't believe its already been a month since school started!  I guess its a good sign if the days are flying by...must mean I actually do enjoy my students a whole lot this year.  I have some great potential in my classroom and am being inspired every day.

It felt like Christmas yesterday when I opened the kiln to see the students' finished pots.  They have just finished their pinch pot project and they turned out great!  I was also excited to see some of my finished pieces as well.  A couple of platters, a few birds, and some other pieces I worked on while teaching the students.

 This was a commission piece I did for a friend...love how the glazes turned out!

 This was also a commission piece...love the purple!  Never would have thought of it.

These coasters were just for fun...I love birds and wanted to try a new technique.  And guess what?!  You can buy them on my Etsy!

I didn't get a chance to photograph everything that I've done recently...but I am going to try to post more soon!  Thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog!

Have a great week!

Love,

A Very Different Christmas

Buster and I hosted the family for the holidays this Christmas--we had a lot of fun getting ready for them to come. As hard as it was to not be able to go "home" to our house in Clinton for Christmas, we were still grateful that we were able to be together.  It was sad not to have Kristin with us--Skype is not the same! But it was still a special time.  We did alot of shopping (me and mom especially!) and cooking for sure!  My favorite time was Christmas eve with all of us in the living room--after watching Loui Giglio's talk "The 12 Words of Christmas", we sang christmas carols while dad and Jason played the guitar and I played the piano.


Mom taught me how to use the sewing machine! And how to make pillow cases for my couch pillows! Since I can't take her Decorative Pillow class at Liberty, she can give me personal lessons! I wish I would have been more interested while I was younger...because now I can't have her to help me avoid mistakes!





Christmas 2010

I must say that the Christmas holidays--however stressful and crazy--are the days I look forward to most all year. Ever since I was a little girl, putting ornaments on the tree was my absolute favorite part of Christmas (other than the presents of course!) I guess because setting up Christmas decorations meant mom and dad were done with teaching for the semester--so we got to watch It's A Wonderful Life, drink hot chocolate, and sing Christmas carols before bed.

My inspiration for these ornaments displayed comes from Mom and Dad's tradition of giving us children special ornaments on Christmas Eve. Each year Mom would find the best ornaments that truly represented who we were and she would date them. So my first Christmas as a married woman, I had 22 ornaments to start the decorating on mine and Buster's first Christmas tree!

Last Christmas I made these nativity ornaments inspired by the true meaning of Christmas. Every single one of them was either given as a gift or sold. And so--because of the popular demand (and with the advice of a dear friend), I decided to add to the collection series, the three Wise Men.

I'm excited about this series--the glazes I used are the same and the design for the Three Wise Men is very similar to the Nativity ornament.