My 2010 "Mom's Here" Christmas Blessing!

Since I received so many sweet comments about my 2011 "Mom's Here" post, I thought I would share last year's "Mom's Here" moment!   My Mom was welcomed in to Heaven on Christmas Eve, 2009, which makes this time of year a little bittersweet.   When it was time to start Christmas shopping last year, it took a bit of willpower to get into the mood but I set out to do my best.  When you live in the Phoenix area with over 4 million people,  you can imagine the amount of traffic and how likely it is to see the same vehicle several miles away, several hours later, well, this is what happened ...at the main road by our house, there was a car stopped in front of me at the light with a personalized license plate that read "Rejoice". I had never seen the car before and it made me smile. I went about my day, shopping and driving all over the place. Several hours later and quite a few miles from home, I came to a stop at a traffic light and who do you think was in front of me?! "Rejoice"! I laughed right out loud, looked up to Heaven and said "okay, I get it!"...I decided to spend the rest of the Holiday rejoicing! I have never seen that car again, either!  God's orchestration of our footsteps never ceases to amaze me.  I hope I will continue to be blessed this time of year with little surprises that remind me of Mom's presence and I pray God will Bless You  abundantly, as well!  Merry Christmas!   Hugs,  Janice

Mom's Here!

About a week ago I was making room for a new little bear that I added to my hug ... as I was moving things around, I picked up a wee bear that my Sister and Mom collaborated on to make for me in 2004.  The wee bear sat on top of a very sweet little Longaberger basket with a lid.  I have removed the bear to dust the lid over the years, and even moved the basket from place to place but have not looked INSIDE the basket since it was given to me!   Well, last week as I was moving the basket and I heard something jiggle inside, I opened it up and found this note:

My beautiful Mom left this earth on Christmas Eve 2009.  I miss her so very much and I so needed this!  I love you, Mom. Thank you for being here. 

New (Old) Booh Bear is here!

Well, I finally cut in to my new (old) ... over 100 year old mohair this past week and Clara is who came to be!   I made her long and lean so she could wear the vintage coat I found at a local doll shop.  Clara has found a forever home!   Hugs, Janice

Candy Bar Wrapper - Inexpensive, Quick Stocking Stuffer idea!

I had so much fun sharing my hat tutorial last week that I thought I would share another little ditty I make!  I've been making these candy bar wrappers for quite a few years, too, and thought you might be interested in using the idea for a quick, inexpensive gift!   Each photo describes how I made my candy bar wrapper but you can make substitutions - this is simply an idea I thought I would share!   Hugs, Janice

I just finished the two below - they are both made from an illustration of two birds, one printed out on glossy photo paper while the other is printed on cardstock.   Just an example of a couple other ideas for your candy bar wrappers!   They can be shared year round - just choose different postcards/photos!  Have fun!

Tutorial - Felt Hat for my Next Bear (Modeled by my Jun Planning Dal :O)

Many years ago, I taught a workshop on making molded wool felt hats for bears - it's been years since I've made one but with my new/old 100 year old mohair, I decided I would make a hat for the bear I am going to make.  This way,  she'll have something to wear once she comes to be!   It's done in the old world way (though I did try to use the microwave to dry it after forming it ... fail, can't use the microwave!!).  I've decided to share a tutorial of exactly how these hats are made - the explanation for each step is printed on the photo.  The top does not have to be round, you can use any number of things for shape - I'm trying a styrofoam ball tonight for a mini hat!  If you have any questions, please let me know - I'll be happy to help you make your own "molded felt hat"!   Hugs, Janice

I finished a little hat last night for my wee Lati Doll - although she's not impressed, I kind of like it!  The top was molded and formed on her tiny hat using a styrofoam ball.  I carved a small 1/16th of an inch groove around the entire ball at the spot I wanted the top of the hat to end and the brim to begin. This way the rubber band fit snugly over the felt and sat in the groove while it dried.