When the Thanksgiving Holiday visitors inspire you to DECORATE for the Holidays,

When you really hadn't planned to do it at all this year!

My little Christmas Tree came out of storage just for our brand new little granddaughter - 2016.

It's one of many trees I possess but the only one small enough to fit into our downsized home now.

You can never have enough Starbucks Christmas Coffee Bags on hand.

I find creative, inexpensive ways to DECORATE every year. 

I have boxes and boxes of brand new DECORATIONS that I've not even had space enough

to use yet and somehow, these little "self made ideas" seem to "hit my spot" better than the

store bought produced ideas. It's just the creative side that comes out of those of us who create!

Old Christmas tins I've bought through the years. When I buy, I usually buy in bulk, so I have left

over for "whatever and whenever". Anyone else do the same?

And this is my antique croquet set that I so admire and all my "little visitors" are immediately drawn to.

And THAT makes me SMILE!!!

I love when my little eight year old granddaughter, Abby, visited. She stayed busy for days, looking 

at everything around my home, just like I'd hoped she would. I leave these little "goodies" out year 

round, hoping that someone who drops by will find them to be as "whimsical" as I do.  Abby didn't

disappoint. She loved EVERYTHIng!!

Next visit, I have to remember to have ink pads and paper on hand so that she can actually

use the things she desired to us this time and couldn't because I wasn't efficient enough in my 

preparations for her.  Christmas ... we will be READY for her!

Little "antique dresses" hang all around my home: bedrooms, office, bathrooms, living room and 

Rugged Country Collection little aprons hang in the kitchen.  Always, they arouse the "curiosity" in

visitors.

Rugged Country Collection designed Christmas Stockings also hang around our home, warming our 

walls, sometimes year round.

Antique Christmas books, antique shoes and my antique Raggedy Ann Doll, touch every little

girl's fancy. 

Our Rugged Country Collections - Joey Buoy Booklets - fill these "candy decanters", again year round. 

My one and only Mr. Santa comes out this year, just for Abby. I would not have pulled him from

the boxes of storage this year, otherwise. It's delightful to fill someone else's heart with DELIGHT!

And we had to fill this tall decanter with all of my grandson Ethan's crayons from years ago. He is 

fourteen years old now and I'm sure no longer would find all his crayons a point of interest. 

But Grandmother still has a "storage full of memories" from these crayons on display. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS - 2016 - EVERYONE!

MAY YOUR DECORATING AND HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES BE AS DELIGHTFUL AS OURS. 

FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS.

WE BLESS YOU ALL.

Beautiful musings ...

On a beautiful, serene ...

Saturday, Mid September ....

Afternoon ...

I'm a little sleepy ...

It's very, very quiet here ....

I'm all alone ....

And I'm enjoying "peace" and "rest" with the LORD ....

And some settings of "creation".

It's wonderfully comforting.

Restoration comes from relaxation.

Note: Photos from Bella Betina & Pinterest

How can we NOT savor those last, fleeting moments of ...

SUMMERTIME?

More and more, as time goes by, I find myself thinking on

the "idea" of living somewhere, where summer is with you

year 'round!

Fall and winter are special in their own right and spring as well ...

However, the warmth of summer, although too warm much of the 

time where we're located now, summer, is still healing to the bones!

The flowers, the beauty ... 

Summer, don't go just yet!

Just what do you find to do indoors all through the fall, winter, spring ...

Until summer comes 'round, once more?

Well, it matters not what the seasons are ...

The days continue on and something will require our attention,

Our love, our forgiveness, our work, our playtime,

Our worship, praise and prayer!

Oh, yes! These are NOT seasonal,

But are necessary and vital to be ALIVE at all times!

At Rugged Country, we love to explore!

To create something that's perhaps not been imagined in such a way prior

to our vision.

It's always "lovely" when someone passes by, stops to take notice of and to pick up, examine 

and SMILE with GREAT PLEASURE!

That's the response we're looking for! 

Create on!

We took ordinary, store purchased Thank You cards and antiqued them with

the same antiquing that we have chosen to always use on our tags.

This creates an "all new - old" experience for those who are on the

receiving end of things!

Send these "non-typical" cards and watch the responses!

We LOVE "rugged"!

What's your opinion?

You'll want to MAKE ROOM for more than one set!

Yes, this is US. 

This is the "big question" at the beginning of 2016 - for us - and for you: "What will you ASK of the 

Heavenly Father in this New Year?"

Perhaps you are in the place that I was for most of my young, religiously educated life. I didn't know 

that part of our relationship with God, is that He commands us to come before Him and to ask of Him, 

in His Sons' Name, whatsoever we will.

I had no idea, no right,Biblical knowledge to tell me that God wants us to "ask of Him". How about 

you?

So, read the Word and then tell us, are you being prompted by the Holy Spirit to "ask" in a way 

that you never have been before? Do you have a new comfort in asking, now that you've found the 

scriptures to back you up in the Word? 

Thinking of you.

Izzy Herriette & Co / Ginger Renken 

Yes!  This is exactly how we start the New Year every year: PRAYER!

And the scriptures of promise for our lives, families, our future and all of our steps forward. 

HAPPY 2016 - EVERYONE!

From our Trunk Treasures set table, filled with leftover 2015 Christmas stuff.

Some things remain the same - year round.

Izzy Herriette & Co / Ginger Renken / Rugged Country Collections

Some white gift bags we decorated ourselves a few years back. 

Since we still chose not to use these particular ones because we liked them SO MUCH OURSELVES, 

they've become part of the decor.

Love the WHITE PAPER, reminding me of the purity in Christmas.

And of course, being the avid Starbucks fan that I am …

I collect those little gift bags too and they somehow show up all around the house as some kind of 

"novelty" decor.

You can never have enough SNOWFLAKES for winter decorating or enough twine!

We search for twine of many varieties. Great for gift wrapping those special gifts any time of the year.

I missed so, the "fresh" sprigs of greenery this last year. I much prefer the wonderful smell and realness 

of that brought in from the outside but we were just far too busy this year with other things and …

so the sacrifice this time. 

Next year - Christmas 2016 - watch for it!!

My "more than likely" last project of 2015. 

Well, you never really know. This was a total accident.

I was so wanting a piece of wood just like this about a week ago but didn't have time to go shopping 

one. Moving that old buffet in the background, I noticed a backboard barely hanging on the back, 

which I realized did NOT need to remain attached ….

Yes! It worked absolutely perfectly for what I was imagining!

Love it.

So, here's hoping and praying that you had a wonderful Christmas with family and perhaps friends. 

I don't know why but my mind has spent much time over these last several days,  pondering all that relates to our American way of doing Christmas and I've been wondering just how many families were able to celebrate the holidays in the way that they would have liked to this year. I guess I find myself doing a deep cleaning "examination of my own life kind of thing"these days; wondering and praying about changes I need to make in order to see myself become more of what my imagination tells me I'd like to be.

Change is not always easy. Not usually easy. Most often very uncomfortable and challenging. It's making ourselves step into things that we've never done before, causing us to become something we've maybe never been before and going places where we may not have been bold enough or curious enough to venture into, in the past. Sometimes it means an intentional effort to create within ourselves an interest that doesn't come naturally for us but one that needs to be a part of our lives. 

Whatever you're looking at today, as we head toward another New Year - 2016 - may the LORD direct your thoughts, your contemplations and yes, even your imaginations. 

I BELIEVE we can always do more, always strive for better and always improve our quality of life. That's what I BELIEVE he would have us to involve ourselves in this coming year. What can we do to make things more exciting, workable, profitable and beneficiary for ourselves and for those around us; for our children, grandchildren, friends, neighbors and beyond? 

Maybe we all need a "special page" in our 2016 Daily Planners for just this kind of reveling! 

I plan to create one in mine. 

God bless you all as you do your little soul search.

Izzy Herriette & Co / Ginger Renken 

Still loving everything we do here …

Still more than satisfied with our style …

When you're happy with your own creations …

It's a great feeling!

Well, Rugged Country Collections was a little bit neglected this past 2014. So much went on with family this past year and little attention was able to be directed to something that I truly was passionate about. 

As I look back, I wonder how that could happen. How did everything get so far removed from me? It took ministering, sharing much with Trunk Treasures/Teaching Moments with Izzy Herriette & Co and then nearly half of the year spent on family who encountered illness; including myself.

As you know, we don't believe in "illness, sickness or disease and malady". We believe in the Cross of Jesus Christ that stand as our deliverance from all such evils. (Is 53)

So, we are headed into 2015 with great hope, faith and love; first for the Father who took such awesome care of us in 2014, second for keeping His promises to us and third but not last, for being so close to us as we walked daily through the past year. 

Everything we experience, as we cling to Him, becomes a "rose" of sweet smell and beauty. It is our lives unfolding before us. 

How we SEE it all … depends upon our faith and trust in Him and His Word. 

Here's to your great 2015!

All our love!

Izzy Herriette & Co 

Rugged Country Collections

More displays of Rugged Country Joey Buoy Booklets ...

Our Rugged Country Pampered Heart

with 

Joey Buey Booklet/Prophetic for the Persecuted Church 

Displayed in a glass apothecary vase allows you to view 

it daily and offer up your prayers for

the Persecuted Church of today

every time you walk past it. 

No matter how you display it

it's the contents of the booklet

that matter most. 

Under glass, in glass, in a basket ...

Done in cloth or in paper tags

"vintage" is Rugged Country Exclusive Design!

Place your orders here:

http://www.izzyherriette.com/#!product/prd1/512090781/rugged-country-joey-buoy-book-%26-pampered-heart 

Playspaces/Workplaces ...

I consider myself to be VERY BLESSED!

Some grow weary of their workplaces, I know ...

At "rugged country" however ...

We don't have that issue!

My space came out of years of "yearning" for a very CERTAIN type of ATMOSPHERE ...

One that is antiquated, filled with FUN ...

Built around places I visited as a child ...

Old stores with hardwood floors, antique looking display cases ...

You get the pICTURE ...

Today, I absolutely DELIGHT in my spaces ...

Ones created from years of collecting exactly those SELECT PIECES that make up the entire MOOD!

I am HAPPY!