Fun with Thank You's

Chers Amis,
I am sure that many of my family and friends giggled, or at least puzzled, over my choice of blog name as I am a terrible letter writer. I have boxes of letters, written, but never sent.
Maybe it is the long walk to the mailbox (1 min.), the high cost of postage, or fear of the postman? I actually - stop the presses - sent some (not many) Christmas Cards and a Christmas letter this year. The next logical step - thank you notes.

I try to have the kids write thank you notes every year, but sometimes they disappear, get lost in my desk, or are not finished. This year we have tried something new that is easy if you have a scanner or color printer.
Each child designed their own card images that I scanned in the computer. In Word, I inserted the pictures and enlarged or shrunk them to fit on a piece of landscape card stock as a basic template. The kids then either typed or narrated their letter as a text box. Using the text box we could move the msg around easily. They enjoyed drawing their own cover art and choosing different fonts and colors for each card. We still have to put them in envelopes, stamp them and actually get them in the mailbox. That will be the hard part! Wish me luck.

--Marjorie

A Little Advent Sewing 101

Chers Amis,

About seven years ago I made my biggest ever over-the- top purchase - a Bernina virtuosa 150. Over-the-top because I do not sew frequently, but at that time I was expecting #3, quilting quite a bit, making window treatments and recovering a couch. Also, I received a very generous gift from my equally frugal grandmother. I had been using a 1950's Singer that still had spunk but was growing lethargic. My husband had inherited it from his great-aunt, a dress designer with her own boutique on Palm Beach for 30 years. With i, she crafted finely tailored garments for the well-heeled and glamorous. It taught me how to sew. I made crib linens, quilts, curtains and little girl dresses. I still have it and will pass it on to my girls when they are ready. When the Singer declined, I splurged and I am so glad I did. Berninas last and are well made.

Alas, the beautiful machine's foot pedal had been quiet for a long time, so I decided to do a little Advent sewing this year. Nothing grand - I still have a queen-sized quilt I need to finish piecing - something simple that I could use - place mats. We use place mats for every meal and I have made several sets for my sloppy eaters. This time I wanted something liturgical that we could throw in the wash when the lemonade, milk or gravy spilled and puddled. Purple is a great choice because it can be used for both Advent and Lent - and it doesn't show stains :-) As you can see, these aren't fancy - or difficult, but I was pleased. Here are some simple directions in case you want to make your own set.

• I purchased @ 1.5 yds pre-quilted, double sided fabric at JoAnns. I loved that I didn't have to cut backing and batting and bind the whole project. Easy and fast.
• Using a ruler, marking pencil or a white colored pencil, draw cutting lines - 16.5 in x 11.25 in
• Cut using pinking shears if possible
• Edge the mats with a straight stitch to stop fraying.
• Add a decorative stitch in white or a contrasting color thread @ .5 inc from your edging.
• Clip loose threads and apply Fray Check along edges.
• Fini!

-- Marjorie

O Antiphons - Our Altoid Advent Revealed

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Chers Amis,

At the beginning of Advent I mentioned that we were planning a special craft using the many cinnamon Altoid tins we found sprinkled through the house. Et voila! Our O Antiphon shadow boxes. It took a bit longer than we expected as the girls have so enjoyed working on them, finding just the right background and symbols to include.

Here they are from the outside adorned with rhinestones (on my Advent sewing project) Aren't they adorable! Of all the crafts we have done this year this has definitely been their favorite. Part of the fun was searching the house (and yard) like the Borrowers, looking for found objects that could be used to illustrate their scene. A piece of lichen with a silk leaf became the burning bush, a draw pull, a candlestick holder, a toothpaste cap, a vase, etc. All the kids love the Look-Alike books, especially Look-Alikes Christmas: The More you Look, The More you See! The author/illustrator uses everyday objects to illustrate charming vignettes. Try your hand at making a shadow box. It is addictive! Here are some directions for using Altoid boxes for your own creation.

• Wash and dry Altoid boxes
• Carefully remove tops from boxes using a butter knife to gently bend the "latches" if necessary
• Spray paint box exteriors gold- interiors are optional and the paint seems to pool
  
• Punch two small holes in box to allow ribbon for hanging if using as an ornament
  
• Reassemble boxes (butter knife helps with tightening)
• Using Microsoft word draw a basic shape of a rectangle with rounded corners
• Format auto shape so it measures 3.33 x 2 in.
• Cut and paste text for each O Antiphon into the shape.
• Format shape for "Colors and Lines" and pick outline size/color
• Cut out text boxes and past on inside lid of the Altoid box
• Cut a background measuring 3.33 x 2 in for the shadow box. We used images from the web, old Christmas cards, magazines and workbooks
  
• Make small shadow box opposite each reading using found objects and a glue gun
  
• Decorate outside cover with symbols/fruits for each Antiphon
• Add glitter glue, trim, rhinestones etc.
• Let dry!
• String with ribbon and display

Have fun!

-- Marjorie

PS -This is my first year really paying attention to these beautiful liturgical gems and they have added richness and depth to our Advent celebrations. Jenn at O Night Divine has a fabulous piece on the history, music, meaning, and symbolism that you must see and Katherine has a wonderful Parade of O Antiphon houses.

Let there be Light!

Chers Amis,

Once, many, many an August ago, some friends and I made an adventurous 3-week camping tour of the Isle of Corsica. Driving along the craggy coast, there was but a short gray stone barrier to keep the car from plunging down to the sea. (Which nearly happened on a road with NO barrier once.) But what a view! One summer's eve as the sun set and the darkness swallowed the road, tiny lights appeared ahead. Villagers had lined the wall with thousands and thousands of candles and luminarias - one every few feet - for mile upon mile. That breathtaking image of the string of lights has stayed with me. This year as I put together our Advent/Christmas reading and came across The Christmas Path: A Legend of the Luminarias by Sue Wright. It is nicely illustrated book that tells of how the innkeeper and his wife gather every lamp and lantern thy can to light the path to the Christ child. On the last page there is a button the reader can push to light up the luminarias much like the Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle.

Putting the two images together, I decided to try to make our own luminous path leading us to the Christmas stable. To that end, we began saving all our tin cans and, with at least one can a day grace a notre chien, our pantry now abounds in empty silver shells awaiting decoration. Outside in the frigid December air, a line of gold luminarias has started winding around our deck - very slowly, one by one. If you haven't tried your hand at making luninaria before, it is easy and the result is much nicer than my photo.
So far I have just used basic holiday shapes - holly, ornaments, a tree, snowflakes etc. The easiest way to add the design is to draw or trace it on a piece of paper, tape it around the can and use a hammer and nail to pound holes through the pattern. Last nite I found this site . It has a lovely collection of Christian theme patterns for creating Chrismon tree ornaments and other Christian hobby projects. It would be a great source for lap book elements. I copied several different crosses - including a papal cross - a chalice, butterfly, ChiRho, TriCircle and a Fleur de lis. As you can see from the photo, we have a pile of cans waiting to be decorated, spray painted gold, and lit. It may not be as stunning as that dusk drive en Corse, but it should illuminate our Advent journey nicely. Try it, its fun!

-- Marjorie





PS - This beautiful picture of is Dusk on mountain sea coast (photo #fran1352) photos by photographer Jef Maion" from his collection.

Fling open every door! An Altoid Advent

Chers Amis,

Advent starts this Sunday and it is time to "fling open every door" and prepare our hearts for our King's Christmas arrival. This is the theme for our Advent - Open the Doors! It comes from a little booklet by the same title that a friend gave me last year (oop). It is a series of daily Advent devotions for the Church's youngest members. Each day there is a little meditation on opening some door in joyous expectation of the Christmas season. Opening your hearts, mailbox, oven, church, home, nursery, the inn, etc. It is very simple and leads to natural rabbit trails. With this theme in mind, I wanted to find a craft that focused on opening doors beyond the typical Advent calendars that we have made in the past. I also wanted to do something lasting that would use materials at hand. Hmm. Caddie and I found the perfect solution at Stamp Camp of all places, while doing a Google image search on St. Gertrude the Great! They suggest making a miniature shrine
inside an Altoid tin using their vintage stamps of saints. My dh loves cinnamon Altoids so the girls were on a mission to find as many tins as they could. We are up to 7 and dh has a tin half full - that would make 8! We decided that we do not have enough to make a full Advent calender - that will have to wait until next year. But, it would work well with either the Sundays in Advent, the O Antiphons, or characters/locations from the Nativity story. We will spray the outside of the boxes gold and purple and the girls will make a tiny shadow box inside and place a bible verse, description, quote or design on the left hand side. I will poke two holes in the top and thread gold ribbon through so they can be hung. It should be a new twist on our theme of opening the doors for Advent. Now it's off to find some spray paint. Check back next week as I hope to post pictures of our creations. Si ca marche. If it works :-)

-- Marjorie

PS - Thanks St. Gertrude!