More Christmas and Winter Wreaths!

Christmas was just five days ago, but it seems like it was longer than that. I have been transitioning out of the Christmas mode and getting ready for the next season of wreath making, crafting and quilt making! My most creative time of year is during the winter. I am not housebound and on nice days I like to get outside; but on snowy days, I really enjoy staying home and hunkering down and making things. It is also the time of year when ideas for writing short stories and essays come to me. I like to think winter is the time that God gave us to rest, just like the earth does. When springtime comes, I can hardly wait to get outdoors and smell the fresh earth as it awakens from its long winter sleep. For now, though, I am so happy to be inside making things while it snows and the rooms are filled with the reflected light from the snow-covered ground.


To catch you up with what has been happening in my studio, here are some photos of wreaths that needed to be gifted before posting here on my blog. I would hate to ruin a surprise by posting too soon.

Please click on the photos below if you want a closer look.

After Christmas has passed and we get into January, I love the look of cool blues, whites and silver. This wreath just screams cold winter days to me! Brrrrrrrr!

A custom order for someone who saw the wreath I donated to the Gateway Home Winterfest fund raiser. You can see the other wreath I am referring to here:  https://studioemmy.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-no-autumn-autumn.html  This one is a bit fuller and fancier with a few more embellishments than the one I donated. Buffalo check and the little red truck was very popular this Christmas season.

A bit simpler style winter-theme wreath, than the one pictured above. As it turned out, the colors of the ribbons and mesh I used in this one matched the recipient's living room perfectly! Wreaths can be made without a center ornament and still be very pretty. This one is very calming in those denim-like shades of blue.

There are only two more days left in 2018. Something my husband and I like to do is write down a few of the highlights of the past year and share them with each other while the old year passes. When we look back at our calendar, a lot has happened in the last 365 days. Some days were wonderful and some were challenging. But the good news is we survived. We definitely learned many new things, thanks to new experiences, people we have met, our smart phones and Google. If you want to know about something, it is as close as your fingertips. That is a wonderful thing about technology and expands our knowledge and spurs us on to new interests.


As always, I look forward to hearing back from you with any questions or comments you may wish to share. You can comment here on my blog or on Facebook. I read all the comments and will respond.


I hope the close of the year brings you a sense of peace and that the promise of 2019 fills you with hope. May you and those you love enjoy good health and happiness, and until we meet again, may the Lord hold you in the hollow of His hand.


Emmy

An old adage proves to be true . . .

There is that old saying "if you want something done, give it to a busy person". I believe this is accurate and I have experienced it in business and in various volunteer organizations. This is the first Christmas in 5 years that my husband and I have not been impacted by me having surgery or convalescing from surgery. Looking back, we both wonder how we got through those years or got anything done. They were very challenging, especially when almost every time I needed to see my surgeon for checkups last winter, the weather was blizzard like, which made the 45 minute drive to his office a white-knuckled ride. I am very grateful for wonderful surgeons who have helped me get to where I am now . . . healthy again. And even more grateful for my husband, who did everything for me to assure my recovery was the best it could be. From grocery shopping, drug store runs, listings and sales for our real estate business, to nursing care, cooking and cleaning, my husband more than stepped up to the plate. He was my guardian angel. Nobody could ever give me better care than he did. It was demanding and tiring, but not once did he utter a discouraging word, complain or leave me needing anything. He was there for me at all hours. He sat up with me on the tough nights and somehow held it all together.




So, this summer and fall, when Christmas was in the distant future, we were sure this would be more like the kinds of Christmases we used to have . . . before 2014. We'd go to the theater, enjoy long leisurely lunches and dinners while out Christmas shopping, and visit some favorite places that make the holidays more special. But, this Christmas, without the urgency of pre-planning because we knew we'd be quite impacted by me being housebound and him my caregiver, we kind of just drifted through the fall and suddenly, it was almost Christmas! Happily, we had gifts in mind for most people on our Christmas list, so we got to work on shopping and mailing things out. We put the final gift in the mail yesterday with a guaranteed delivery in time for Christmas. Decorations are partly up, but there is much more I want to do. I think that I will be able to focus on those things now that I am finished with gifts!


Because it is the Christmas season, I only show photos of wreaths on my blog after the intended recipient has opened them, like the one below. After Christmas, I will post others, . . . and the new year will bring more designs and wreaths. Watch for Winter-themed, Valentines, Mardi Gras, Easter and Springtime wreaths! I am excited about the new year and what it will hold. I am already taking special orders. :-)

Click on the photos below if you want a closer look.

"Nutcracker Christmas Wreath"

Side view to show the wreath's depth.

My husband and I love the Christmas season, with the special festivities, the pretty lights on people's houses, and our home with our big Christmas tree and all our cherished ornaments. We might make some cookies and decorate them this weekend. We plan to have a nice day here at home, just the two of us, on Christmas. We will make a special breakfast, open presents, and later in the day we will have a special dinner. We will hear the voices of our family members, who all live in other states, when they call; and we will spend the evening enjoying the warmth of the fireplace and the glow of the lights on the tree. We will cue up a favorite old Christmas movie and that will be our Christmas day.




We aren't looking for any more years to be like the last 4, but we are looking forward to being busy and having our lists made by the end of summer, our decorations and purchases taken care of and being ready earlier than this year for Christmas. I think that having things going on, like surgeries and the sense of the unknown recovery time that followed, required  us to be better planners and do-ers. It turned us into the busy people who got things done, instead of the content and complacent couple we have been this year, who just kind of drifted into the holidays. In some ways, we were more ready and on our game then, than this year when we've had good health and the gift of time to carry out our plans . . . had we made any!




Regardless, we are still enjoying every minute of it and the next 4 days will be filled with the fun stuff we have been putting off. So here's to Christmas! I hope yours will be merry.




Thank you for taking the time from your busy day to read my blog. As always, your questions and comments are welcome. You can post them below, or on Facebook. I will read them and respond. And until we meet again, may the Lord hold you in the hollow of His hand.




Emmy

"The No-Autumn Autumn"

Autumn weather went missing this year. It threw me off balance and now I am feeling like I need to play catch up in the gardens, which are still snow covered, but might see the light of day during the warm spell we will have this weekend. The weatherman is predicting a balmy 43 degrees and partial sun for tomorrow! Even though I knew what the calendar on the wall was telling me, I experienced a disconnect between the date and the weather. Out of the 30 days in November, only 4 were without rain or snow! The odd weather patterns fooled the trees into holding on to their leaves, and they did not drop until mid November when we had a hard freeze. They all came down at once, leaving a deep mushy mess on the yard and gardens. Too wet to rake, the brown waterlogged leaves laid on the ground . . . heavy and slippery to walk on. I continued to wait to go outside to do a few things and lost track of the passing of the month until I flipped the calendar page. December arrived . . . right on time and just as promised. Then, it became very cold and snowed. It boggles my mind that today is December 14th! Fall will be officially over in one week when we observe the winter solstice. The best news about that day is that the days will slowly start to get longer. The darkness at the end of the day will fade during winter into spring light. But for now . . . I am playing catch up inside, not outside, since I put off my annual autumn inside chores while I waited for it to arrive. But, do I really have anything to complain about? The answer is "no." When I think about some of the news I have received this week about people who are having serious health concerns, my problems are minuscule and while I pray for them to be comforted during their trials, I thank God for sparing me the unimaginable heartache that is theirs to bear 24/7. There, but for the grace of God, go I.




While I spent the days inside in limbo, awaiting beautiful autumn days that never came, I continued to hone my wreath-making skills. Here are a few I can now show you because they have been given to their recipients. Each of the wreaths is approximately 24 inches across and about 6 to 7 inches deep.

Click on the photos to enlarge them, if you want a closer look.

"Let it Snow"

This wreath can be left up well after Christmas! My husband liked it so much, he asked if we could keep it for ourselves.

Since he has chauffeured me around Buffalo on countless shopping trips for the materials I needed, and has been my sole design consultant, I think he is more than a deserving recipient of this one! 💖

"Little Red Truck"

I donated this to the Gateway House in Attica, New York, for their basket raffle event during the Attica Winterfest. It sports the very popular little red truck and Buffalo check that you find just about everywhere this Christmas!



"Merry Christmas"

I made this for my sister and her husband. It made the trip across the country in one piece! My sister has a Santa collection, so I thought this would be the perfect accompaniment to go with it

Part of today will be spent getting more of the house decorated for Christmas. Even though we are behind schedule, we are not going to let the joy of decorating be diminished by any feelings of being late. Every year just can't be the same, and they never really are. So while we listen to Christmas carols, watch Christmas movies and eventually get all, or just about all, the decorations put up, we will rejoice that we are able to spend one more Christmas season together and pray for those who are having challenges and difficulties that are sometimes made larger by the existence of all the merriment surrounding them.


During this season of advent, I am grateful for you, my readers, for taking time out of your busy days to read my posts, and I will keep you close in prayer, hoping that your holiday will be one of comfort and joy. As always, your questions and comments are welcome. You can leave a comment below or on Facebook. I will read it and respond. And until we meet again, may the Lord hold you in the palm of His hand.


Emmy