Christmas is gone and yet I'm still stuck on it. Me and my decor. 

This is some confetti I found several years ago that I found quite unique.

I use it to stuff my gift boxes with. I love it in my basket on the floor.

It just adds a little bit of whimsy.

 

My mother-in-laws baby shoes ...

Set with an old Christmas card with special meaning.

I like what the silver adds to the grouping.

Our tall, sleeper, simple pencil tree this year.

Nothing but lights, a few candy kanes ...

Add several strings of silver and red beads.

That was our tree this year.

My tree base, I used a burlap coffee bag to wrap around ...

And scattered just a wee bit of the confetti atop.

On this shelf is my daughter's nutcracker ...

One of my radio flyer wagons, holding my Joey Buey Booklets ...

And my daughter's favorite Christmas ball ...

Having her name HOLLY written on the front.

Again, the same setting as above but to show the tree ...

And the stocking hanging from the buffet.

This is the center of my coffee table, circular coffee table with four horses around the base, carved.

I just love this simple antique wooden server tray that I found years ago.

Perfect to hold a few of my favorite things:

The baby shoes belonged to my father-in-law. The plates I found at an antique store.

Of course, one of my collection of about thirty wooden shoe forms.

Cards from my children ...

And an antique mason jar filled with antique sewing thread spools and buttons.

An old lantern with sparkle lights in it (in the basket).

These are stockings I made several years ago ...

From one of my (now in heaven) father's old cardigan sweaters.

I almost didn't hang them this year but I'm so glad that I did.

My two year old grandson loved the stocking. He liked the buttons and wanted to play with them.

That made my day.

He also got the radio flyer down and played with it.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you're well on your way to a ...

Wonderful, prosperous, peaceful and happy New Year ~ 2023!

God bless you all.

WHAT TO DO ON A LAZY SATURDAY AFTERNOON ...

 

So what inspires you on a day when you have some free time?

What makes you "happy"?

I don't have to think very long on that at all.

I LOVE to create ... 

It doesn't have to be something that someone else is already doing ...

Or something that is already happening out there. 

I LIKE "original". It's me. Just me. What I like. What makes me tick.

Here are a few of my "favorite things" ...

This is a photo from a magazine that I found and liked ...

 ~ I placed this on my work-board. It cheers me up every time I look at it. ~

(Above) ~ These are stock cards, plain, from Target. I water colored them in my own way,...

To use as stationary. Cards came with envelopes and I specially designed each one to match the papers. 

I love how the papers all turned out with a natural kind of "crinkly" texture ...

(Above) ~ Those "tags" I of spoke of earlier ... (I think...)

(Above) ~ You see, not as pretty when the sun isn't shining through them. 

These are old photos too, thus the "blur". 

You see all the "strings strung" across the windows for hanging things to "dry" on. 

What FUN!

(Above) ~ Stationary ...

(Above) - More stationary ...

(Above) - Just a little "joy photo" I created from several photos put together.

The above, are little plain white envelopes and cards that I also did in food coloring. 

I love the way they turned out. It gave them just enough "body" to create them to be unique. 

It's just fun experimenting on your own to see what you can come up with. 

And if "you" like it, well, it's all good.

Below is my old inspiration board. 

I put this together gradually and it makes absolutely no sense to anyone but me. 

My mother-in-law however, came and stood for quite some time... 

Intrigued by what "intrigued me" to do this as I did. It was a compliment coming from her.

Below is a cake stand. I just filled it with things that, again, make me happy to look at. 

I had, at one time, my kitchen counter lined with about three different ones ...

 And I have others scattered thoughout the house. 

I just try to make them fun filled. 

This one is filled with different occasion napkins and my printer ink block letters.

Below is a little arrangement from a garden that my daughter did for us upon one of our visits to her. 

Just very, very simple but tucked away in the neatest little places to enjoy!

Below, more flowers. They are peonies. My absolute favorites. 

My daughter-in-law picked these and brought them to me for a Mother's Day gift. 

I dried them and still have them to this day. 

They were so special to me, I wanted to make a keepsake of them.

Below, is an antique buffet. My favorite one.

 I hung all of my tags that I "hand died" and strung on clothes hangers ...

 until I decided where to use them all.

Below, I wrote a poem and had the printers print out each line on fabric for me. 

I cut the lines and then machine sewed them onto tags. 

I put the tags all together as a little booklet. 

I adore these. 

This is a Prophetic Poem for America and a WARNING for the Churches in America in days to come ...

If they don't take "heed" to this "word" now.

(Below) -   I used a meat thermometer to hold the booklet together until it was finished.

 

Below, one of the booklets ...

 with a little stuffed heart I made out of antique quilts, little buttons and fabric. 

They came out "perfect" ...  to my taste anyway!

Below, more tags. This is how I place them around our home. 

(Below) -- More and more tags. 

Some of these are number blocks printed on different kinds of paper. 

(Below) - One more photo of the papers that I work with ...

These are things that have brought "joy" to my days. 

I've been just looking through old photos of what I've done in the past ...

And since a bone marrow transplant that took up nearly four years of my life ...

 I've been trying to find the energy to do more today.

Bless you and bless your day. 

Hope you have had some time to just "enjoy"what you enjoy!

Until next time...

 This is Ginger Renken with Izzy Herriette & Co ...

 In the Country with Rugged Country Collections!

MERRY CHRISTMAS - 2016 - EVERYONE!

Somehow these few photos from a few years ago, slipped in with those of this year!

__________________

I think the Blog must have a "new effect" for the Christmas lights because I don't

recall having twinkle lights ever. I would be so bothered by them but they certainly

do look wonderful here, don't they?

As I stated a few postings earlier, many of the same decorations remain from year to year.

I have storage unit full of decorations that I can't begin to find room for, thus the reason 

for sending some to Houston with my daughter and family when they left from Thanksgiving

visit this year. Always wonderful to hand things down that are appreciated by someone dear

to you!

____________________

It's always been a real gift to my life that my children have enjoyed my decorating in our 

home. Even as small children, all of their friends would comment on my decor, invite

me to come decorate their homes and they always expressed their "likes".  I'll never forget

the neighborhood  my children grew up in, their friends who had such honor and respect

for our home and for the way that we did things there. One boy made certain that everyone

who entered our home "knew that they should remove their shoes first". He was also the one

who loved the smell of the scented candles that I continually burned. Amazing what even 

children will notice, isn't it? Worth paying attention to, in my book.

When my youngest son left home, he came back and stated, "Wow, Mom and Dad. You guys were 

amazing how well you took care of our home. Dad was always fixing things up and the yard work 

was always done and kept up. You guys took such interest in making sure that we had a very nice

environment to grow up in! Not everyone is like that! Did you know that? I can tell you I sure do 

appreciate it even more now that I've lived in a few other places and seen how others treat their 

homes!"

WOW, WOW, WOW! THAT'S ALL YOU CAN SAY TO THAT, HA?

YES, EVERY YEAR, ALL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, I WALK THROUGH OUR HOME AND 

I AM SO THANKFUL FOR EVERYTHING WE HAVE, EVERYTHING WE'VE DONE AND 

EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN SO BLESSED WITH THROUGH THE YEARS OF OUR LIVES.

At the same time that I'm thankful, I'm also praying continually for those who are struggling to make

ends meet. We've been there and know what it's like to be lacking severely. I see so many young ones

who want to start out with what we have now, after we've been at it for forty some years. Patience is 

required and so many don't have that. I have to confess that there were many times when we didn't 

have it either and got ourselves into financial binds that we didn't need to be in. 

SO AS WE DECORATE OUR HOMES THIS YEAR ... AND AS WE ARE SO BLESSED ... 

WE MUST REMEMBER THOSE WHO ARE NOT BLESSED AND ARE STRUGGLING SO!

LUKE 6:38 - 

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

GALATIANS 2:10 - 

“Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.” 

ISAIAH 58:6-11 -

WHAT IS A TRUE FAST?

I TRIED TO POST THE SCRIPTURES HERE BUT FOR SOME REASON, NO MATTER HOW

MANY TIMES I TRIED IT, IT WOULDN'T ALLOW ME TO POST.

PROVERBS 22:6 -

THE BIBLE TELLS US HOW TO INSTRUCT OUR CHILDREN SO THAT THEY WILL WALK

IN RIGHT FOOTSTEPS AND PATHWAYS WHEN THEY ARE OLDER!!

IT IS SO TRUE!

PSALM 41:1 - 

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble

EVERYDAY, OUR HEARTS NEED TO BE OPEN TO BLESSING SOMEONE, LIFTING UP THE

DOWNTRODDEN, PRAYING FOR THOSE IN NEED AND MAKING OURSELVES

 AVAILABLE AS THE HANDS AND FEET OF THE LORD THAT WE LOVE AND MODEL

OUR LIVES AFTER.

____________

AND NEVER DOES OUR SUCCESS OR OUR GAINS OF ANY KIND, GIVE US PERMISSION

TO EXALT OURSELVES ABOVE OTHERS!

JAMES 2:1-9 -

THE BIBLE TEACHES US NEVER TO TREAT PEOPLE WITH PREFERENCE.

PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT IS ADDRESSED, EVEN IN THE WORD OF GOD.

BEAUTIFUL!!!

AS LONG AS WE REMAIN HUMBLE, WE WILL KEEP ALL THAT HE HAS INTENDED 

FOR US TO KEEP.  WHAT HE DESIRES US TO GIVE AWAY, WE MUST CONTINUE TO

KEEP WILLING HEARTS TO DO SO, AS HE INSTRUCTS US TO. AMEN?

I know it's not very Christmassy yet in my office and this isn't the entire of it yet ...

Still working on it. 

But I added the doors to the wall and I really like the mood it sets for me here where I work.

This, of course, is my file cabinet that I've lugged everywhere with me for the past twenty

years and it is filled both inside and out!

So much change I'd like to introduce in this office space and it all takes time and energy

To coordinate everything in just the way you like it.

______________________

My little eight year old granddaughter that was here just this past Thanksgiving

Absolutely fell in love with all of my articles displayed on my office walls. 

She inquired "more than once" if Grandma would make these outfits for her too!

And this ...

There are two of them, created by my youngest two children in their school days.

It's so interesting to see each of their different and unique ideas for a mask that they were instructed 

To create in one of their art classes.

This one, below, is my sons.

This is my hand at an attachment, a new lense given me by my son-in-law over Thanksgiving. 

It's another version of the top of my file cabinet.

This is my daughter's interpretation or idea ...

Interesting? There were two earrings, one on each ear and I woke up one morning and the one 

Earring was fallen on the bed in the room. At the same time,  little strand of jewels she'd made

For a book of mine, fell apart on my desk.

These doors, my daughter and I when searching for and found in a salvage yard / flea market a few

Summers ago. I wanted them put together for my "recording set" for my ministry.

___________________________

And, of course, I think I've shared before that these outfits are ones I made for our ministry

Years ago. 1993, to be exact. 

An entire generation has passed since these were made and used by my own children and nieces.