Merry Christmas

I am sitting here today as the heavy clouds of Winter release a steady and soothing rain.Stark and naked trees are silhouetted against an early morning sky.Christmas Eve has arrived and is being welcomed by brilliant red cardinals and watchful hawks.The hectic frenzy of Christmas preparations are coming to a close and it is now that the stillness of these precious moments remind me of what it is that I am to be focusing on.The beautiful and miraculous birth of Jesus Christ.His birth created a joy unlike any other and in those chaotic moments of daily living His presence is like a calming sea upon the soul.I am reminded that my personal joy, peace, contentment and happiness are not dependent upon objects, hopes, dreams or people but on Him, and He never has nor will ever let me down.

My  Christmas wish for you is this;May thoughtful people bless your life with soft spoken words of  kindness and gentle care.May the dawn of Christmas day bless you with joy and a heart that is full of love.As Christmas day unfolds it's gentle wings of magic and wonder, may the presence of that single ray of hope guide you gently through the end of this year and into the upcoming one.Merry Christmas with Blessings and Love,Jemma

Christmas Joy & Hometalk Live

Hello friends!Well, I am just beside myself with Christmas joy and anticipation of my first Hometalk live DIY tutorial.You know me and my Christmas happiness, the music, lights and magic.Simple abundance and gratitude are my guides for maneuvering through life and Christmas is such a perfect time to practice both of those mindsets.So, today I am saying thank you to you!You have made this past year fantastic!You have loved me, accepted me and have given me such joy and encouragement that here I am just about to make my first live video with Hometalk.Did I just say a live video...

The house is decorated, a few of the presents wrapped.I have made brownies, cooked pasta, laughed like a child and loved on those that have taken the time to surround me.

I have done my share of reminiscing of those that have gone on before me and held them close to my heart.I am thankful.

A few packages wrapped just waiting to be loaded into Santa's sleigh.

Candles that burn with the glow of hope and salvation.

A white and feathery winged Angel adorns the top of the traditional red Christmas Tree.

The home fires burn with a gentle glow as our Texas temperature dip below freezing.Oh yes, we have been waiting for those cooler temps.

The clouds have hovered all day long, but just prior to sunset the sun suddenly comes alive and casts a beautiful afternoon glow in our family room.

I always have a Christmas village set up somewhere, I love them.Do you??Sometimes it is snow-babies and sometimes it is this sweet Christmas village that I purchased ions ago from the Dollar General in Tueplo Mississippi.I remember buying an entire village for each one of my oldest kids too. These are timeless keepsakes...

I will always enjoy a Traditional Red Christmas.

It would do my heart good to know that you are out there somewhere!So if you could please join Hometalk and I for my live DIY and the chance to win a Hometalk Tote on Monday December 12th I'd be ever so thrilled.You can even comment to let me know that you are there...smiles...I would love that you know.

Thank you again for dropping by!xoxo

I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas Home Tour

I would like to thank my friend Katie from Let's Add Sprinkles for organizing our Cozy at Christmas Blog Tour. Today eight bloggers are sharing their homes, you will find all the links listed at the end of this post.
For 18 years and then some, I grew up with a white Christmas, and I just must say that there is nothing quite as magical as fluffy, frosty snow for Christmas - at any age. I imagine that many of you have either read or have heard the story Twas The Night Before Christmas. "The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow gave a luster of midday to objects below," is a true statement.

You see in my little cozy bedroom growing up I had two corner windows and on Christmas Eve I would fitfully turn a multitude of times under a cumbersome stack of multi-colored handmade quilts which rested heavily upon my child sized frame. There were even times that I felt certain that the weight of those quilts will surely cause me to smother. Just to be sure that didn't happen I would always make certain that my nose was well above the folded edges of those quilts...

The moonbeams and magic of Christmas Eve combined with intriguing shadows on the frosty snow that time of year fueled my young imagination with the anticipation of sleigh bells ringing in the crystal clear cold night. Even now I am able to reflect upon these special memories and dreams of Christmas with such fondness that my heart overflows with wonder and joy over the magic of Christmas both at the North Pole and in Bethlehem. 

My Mother did a fantastic job of combining the pure magic of the season with the sacred observance of the Holy birth and I too have always incorporated that sense of wonder and thankfulness in mine.
Thank you for joining me today as I share with you my Dreaming of a White Christmas Home Tour.

A snow-flocked Christmas Tree combined with gold and silver tones of baubles, ribbon and stars sets the tone for our White Christmas in our dining room. 

Along the way various trinkets of past and present add to my White Christmas Dining table vignette.

My new motto in life no matter what the season....thank you to Tina.

As long as we share, love and Believe our world stays on track.

Silver snowbirds perch for a moment or two on my Grandmother's China cabinet.

Finding Joy in the midst of the hurrying and scurrying.

Never forgetting the Story of Bethlehem and that Jesus is truly the reason for the season. Celebrating this season with our young grandson Wyatt!
With Love, Jemma

DIY Wooden Christmas Ornament

I wanted to let you all know we have a winner for the Holland House cooking wines.The winner was chosen by random.org and the winner has been notified by email.Thank you to all who participated!I have always enjoyed creating and even though I do encounter "dry spells," I am always super inspired during the Holidays and this year is no exception. This is our first true Christmas settled in our new home.Last year at this time we were in a Hotel counting down the days, minutes and hours for the magic moment when we could move into our  country home.I may have gone a little crazy with Christmas crafts and decorating this year, but goodness I have thoroughly enjoyed every second.

Today I am sharing a short little tutorial on this  DIY Wooden Christmas ornament.The inspiration to create my own Christmas ornaments all began when I collaborated with a fantastic group of creative bloggers for 31 Handmade Christmas Ornaments.My contribution to this festive and crafty group were these rustic Christmas Wreath ornaments.

The joy didn't top there, the next ornament up is this primitive and yet dressy set of Clothespin Angels.

So here we are today with another simple and yet cute little wooden Christmas ornament that you could make with a group of many or a few.This craft could easily be completed in a Sunday school class, girl scout troop, with children of all ages or a gathering of gals for a Christmas luncheon.


Supplies Needed For The DIY Wooden Christmas Ornament

1. White Acrylic paint2. Green Acrylic paint3. Bulky red yarn4 .Wooden Christmas ornament5. Stick on acrylic embellishments6. Paint Brush
Directions For Making DIY Wooden Christmas Ornament

The beauty of this ornament is in the simplicity and minimal cost involved.
I purchased all of the materials including the wooden ornament at Michaels Craft Store.
1. Remove twine from the wooden ornament.2. Lay ornament on a flat surface and tape off the lower 1/4 portion of the ornament.3. Paint the lower 1/4 portion with green acrylic paint.4. Add red stick on embellishments.5. Cut red yarn to desired length and use as ornament hanger.6. Using white acrylic paint dry brush white snowflakes on upper 3/4 of wooden ornament.7. Let dry for 30 minutes and wooden ornament is ready to hang.

I am so excited to be able to share with each of you on how to make two of these ornaments, plus one other Christmas ornament live on Hometalk on December 12th.It's going to a nifty experience for us all!
I also wanted to mention that this week there will be a little happy party going on with these lovely blogs.
Details are below!

Monday

    Let's Add Sprinkles/ Hyacinths for the Soul/ Southern DayDreams/ White Spray Paint/     Garden Up Green/ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson/ Ellie and Elizabeth  

Tuesday

Brookhollow Lane/ At Home With Jemma/ My Heart Lives Here/ The B Farm/ Botanic Bleu/ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen/ Art and Sand/ Ash Tree Cottage

Wednesday

Sweet Nothings/ At Rivercrest Cottage/ Opulent Cottage/ Decor to Adore/ Fern Creek Cottage/ The Dedicated House/ Bluesky Kitchen

Christmas With Stencils~Rustic Planters

Good Morning!I have been enjoying stenciling these past couple of months.I shared a stenciled jar candle holder back in September and today myself along with 5 other bloggers are sharing a themed Christmas with stencils project that we all hope you will enjoy and find inspiring.

Our friend Carole from Garden Up Green organized this Christmas with stencils blog hop.You will find  links to everyone of these creative artists and bloggers at the end of this post.
This post is twofold as it is also the debut of my hand-cut Cedar Christmas Tree from our property.I set out about 2 days ago to find the perfect Christmas Tree and here it is.I shared the details on Instagram and just when I was about to bring the little Cedar inside an IG friend advised against it, because of bagworms. Truth be told Cedars are very prickly and I suspect that I have a couple of chigger bites too.Oh well,  one might think it looks a little like a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, but to me it is beautiful and jut perfect for our front porch!

For this project I decided to use some rustic planters that my husband made for me a few years ago.I freshened them up with some gray chalk paint.Then between the two of us (the hubby) and myself we designed, cut, sanded and painted two signs for me to stencil.

The Project Using Salvaged Pieces Of Lumber & Cedar Planter
1. Cut your salvaged pieces of lumber into the size of board you'd like to stencil.2. Sand rough edges of board3. Paint the board4. Let board dry before stenciling.

Stenciling The Project
1. Secure the stencil to the board with painters tape2. Gather all of your paints together, I used acrylic paint.3. Use paper plates to put your paint on4. Keep scissors and various paint brushes handy5. Remove stencil after painting6. Attach to planter
The hubby and I enjoyed this project and the weather was positively wonderful so most of it was completed outdoors.

Now, this stencil design would not have been possible without Debbiedoos stencils.Her stencil line includes various seasons and themes as well as being a quality stencil that is forgiving.These stencils are sturdy, but yet flexible and they stay in place!She is a one man show so to speak and her products are all made in the U.S.A.!

This sign started out like this.

Then to this...

Then finally to this!

Thank you for joining us today with our themed Christmas With Stencils project.
Our talented friends have links below.

               Patti From Garden Matter | Karen From To Work With My Hands  |Jane From Grit Antiques

       Meredith @ The Pallette Muse|  Jemma @ At Home With Jemma| Carole From Garden Up Green

This post contains affiliate links of which I may receive a small compensation.