Monarch Post

almost there

Monday I finished up twenty stockings for a family shopping night at church.

The local food pantry teamed up with our church to provide low income families a shopping night for their kids.

Stuff at the church has been hopping this week...

The place was filled with toys,

stuffed animals,

goodies, hats, blankets...

you name it.

Really well-organized and the volunteers even served the shoppers cookies and cocoa.

HAPPINESS :)

DOG HAPPINESS at home...

Winston discovered the bag of stuffed animals I'd left in the kitchen,

they were his, Greta's, and Frank's Christmas presents.

He went CRAZY for the bunny.

I gave in and gave it to him.

I bought more stuffed animals yesterday....

He ran around the house with it

non-stop for twenty minutes...

and then he played with it on his back

for another ten minutes...

And this is how you look after all that exercise- haha!

I wish I could make everyone that happy

for one whole $1.00!

Sophey made a kiln-fired clay candle holder at school.

She gave it to us.

That was happy too...

And the kids are now out of school till after New Year's.

Happy X's three people.

I helped Sophey make some melted crayon hearts.

They are fun to make... (if you're not the one peeling the crayons :0)

Just put the crayon pieces in the oven at 350 for about fifteen minutes,

and then you have new psychedelic crayons when they've cooled.

I seem to keep decorating (and shopping ) right up to Christmas.

Santa cups make good candle holders too.

I added glass votive candles to them this year...

and again to the glasses.

All thrift store specials last year.

Score!

I found this pair of old windows at an estate sale a year ago

for fifteen dollars.

(I KNOW ?!)

They are hung on a wall going into the living room.

 

I decided to hang the Xmas cards on it this year.

Added a sign to the mirror

 

and few more ornaments

 

stars

art : )

bows.

 

The poinsettias are not looking too good though...

they may barely make it to Christmas.

 

I am a trained professional poinsettia killer ;)

You didn't know that about me did you?

(But the poinsettias do).

 

 

Well, that's it for me.

Today I'm cooking and baking.

Tomorrow we're skiing in the afternoon.

Not any snow in the valley

but enough in the mountains.

I think I'll stop here until New Year's.

 

SO:

***** MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!*****

               XOXOXOXOXOX!!!   

 

 

 

 

this amazing internet community

I almost finished my Christmas shopping today.

My first day of "store" Christmas shopping.

(And school plays and ballet chauffering)

Running all day long... I am pooped...

And tired of hearing cheesy Christmas music in the stores.

(Sorry Elvis, but you should never have sung Christmas songs.)

 

I LOVE shopping on the internet for Christmas now.

It is sooooo much easier for me...

And Etsy... I luv it too.

Just got some vintage SHINY BRITE ornaments in the mail yesterday.

From ETSY seller GLAMOURAMA.

She did such a great job packaging them.

None of them were broken...

until they got to our house...

and a (will remain nameless) child had to inspect them.

Whoops...

We are one less SHINY BRITE ornie here.

The clay pottery was my first ETSY purchase a few years ago...

From FARMER JULIE.

She is so talented.

Her designs make me happy.

And this made me happy when I spotted it today...

www.PROJECT320.blogspot.com

Not enough time for me to enter to do a giveaway,

but I wanted to share the link

so that you can enter the giveaways going on

through the weekend.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'm marking all the great Christmas charity projects in blogland,

so that next year I'll be ready to participate too!

 XOK!

 

TGIF

 

 Oh, happy day. It's Friday afternoon...

I spent most of my week trying to work with a major backache. I think I might have had a pinched nerve. Me and the old heating pad are like BFF's now. (I'm thinking all the headaches lately have been part of the same back pain issue.) 

Yesterday, we went to Salt Lake City with our Girl Scout troop to Primary Children's Hospital . The girls had made about thirty-five hand-tied blankets for a troop project and we delivered them all last night. Primary Children's is considered one of the nation's top notch hospitals, and it's easy to see why-- everything there is so well thought out. The hospital is absolutely incredible, and the attention to every detail is amazing. We were greeted with such warmth, and the girls were fussed over and even photographed with their blanket donations. (Two minutes later we were handed copies of the photos.) We were also treated to a wonderful tour of the facilities. Our tour guide, Marie, was so great with the girls-- taking lots of time to thoughtfully answer their every question. It's the kind of place that leaves a big old lump in your throat.

What else is new? Lots of half-finished holiday crafting projects in my studio at the moment. I've got an explosion of ideas going on and the studio looks like it!

I'll have lots of show and tells by next week for you. Happy weekend everyone. XOKelly

 

P.S. If you are ever in need of a great service project for church, scouts, etc. Primary is always in need of toy and clothing donations. Handmade fleece blankets, quilts, and muslin therapy dolls are very appreciated too.

P.P.S. No dogs were harmed in the taking of photos or writing of this blog... Winston is just weird ;)

P.P.P.S. I really didn't want to do my link in purple, but Typepad decided that purple would look really special today.... Ggggggrrrhhh!!!

 

Fair Trade Friday giveaway-- bird feeders to start off the summer!

 
I was thinking about what would be a good giveaway for June and the start of summer-- and then I ran across these very charming gourd bird feeders! Perfect for today's June Fair Trade Friday giveaway I decided.

Here is a little bit about the artisans who carve the birdfeeders:

"Sanyork Fair Trade operates an artisan studio in Lima-Peru that hosts sixty-one artisans who are experts in the fields of weaving, knitting, ceramics, painting, metal welding, silver smithing, stone carving and sewing. In the name of Fair Trade and social consciousness we have built our crafts center to house and board twenty two of those artisans who come from remote country areas giving their talent an opportunity against poverty and in doing so we generate a fair paying trade."

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Please leave a little comment, tell me what great summer plans you have, what you're planting in the garden, if you're taking a vacation.... etc, etc. :D And I will draw a winner for a charming Peruvian handmade bird feeder by Tuesday 9:00 pm MST. I will post the winner Wed. June 30th at 9:00 am MST.

The above photo is of two of several carved designs-- they will choose a design to sendto you. And BTW, if you really like the bird feeders and don't happen to win, they are available at Amazon with lots in stock right now.

Thanks you guys, I love ya! xoKelly

FAIR TRADE FRIDAY(s) giveaway!

I've been reading the book I blogged two posts ago, In Her Hands. The pages filled with colorful photos and stories of craftswomen around the world inspires me, and truthfully, it saddens me also. I simply cannot imagine the hardships that women in developing countries face every day of their lives.

For the last few years I have grown increasingly interested in the native crafts of women as a vehicle for social transformation. When women are supported in their creative efforts, their families, villages, and ultimately the world benefits. In large part, women who can support or help support themselves through traditional crafting handiwork, or by learning new crafting handiwork, use their money to feed, clothe, and send their children to school. They are also less likely to be abused by their spouses.

My creative blogging journey has truly been leading me along these past two years... (I am so grateful for this brave new world of bloggers :)) This blog has functioned as a journal for me to see where I've been, and maybe, where I'm heading... It's been two years of wandering in the forest here for me, trying to find my way back to creative (paid) work after ten years off to raise our four children. I haven't known where I'm going at all, but deep inside I've known there's a business I want to build and my husband wants to help build with me-- we've both felt this for along time, but the time and the business has never been clear till now. I've figured out in the last few months too, that it's a business about and for children and women. And we've figured out that it's about helping others in developing countries, and employing fair trade practices.

So with all that being said, we're learning and studying, and really, just putting one foot in front of the other right now as we make our way along a path that isn't charted, but at least for now, shows us a destination on the horizon.

And in the meantime, while we're learning, I thought I'd share a giveaway here on Fridays...

Fair Trade Friday sounds like a good name-- and every last Friday of the month, we'll do a giveaway from a Fair Trade company. Cool stuff made by equally cool women, who really need a break.

So girlfriends, here's your chance to win a new purse courtesy of Global Girlfriend. It's just one of loads of wonderful items there for sale-- go look, you'll see!

I'll leave this post up till next Tuesday, March 30th at 6:00 pm. MST, and I'll announce the winner later that evening. Oh, and I'll leave it up to you on the color. So leave a comment and tell me what color of the purses at the top of the post you would like if you win, and then I'll order that color for the winner!

This is going to be fun, grab your purses-- we're going on a journey! And tell your girlfriends there's a swell giveaway over here, girlfriend ;)  Love, Kelly

**********

P.S. Here's a good definition of Fair Trade I just found:

Simply put.... fair trade is a system that empowers disadvantaged producers by creating economies and new markets in otherwise poor developing countries. Fair trade occurs with payment of a fair price, technical assistance, social programming, environmental protection, while respecting the traditional customs of the artisans.