My New Hobby

My new hobby is quilling, also known as paper filigree,
or in the simplest terms, paper curling...and is it ever fun!

A few months ago I didn't even know what quilling was.
Now I'm practically addicted.

It's rather interesting how this all came about.

Here. Let me tell you about it.

It started back on January 9th, 2011 with this "Pay it Forward"
post I copied from one I had received.

Two friends responded to my facebook post, Kate and Lynnda.

For the next 10 months I wondered what sort of homemade item
I could make for them. I could make stepping stones,
(See my October Blog, Creating a Stepping Stone.)
but those are expensive and tricky to make.
Something smaller would be better...
like a crocheted bookmark
or a quilted pillow.

But I don't crochet or sew.

I could bake them some of my famous sugar cookies,
but Lynnda is one of the best cooks I know,
and Kate is really into health and nutrition.


Soon winter, spring, and summer had passed
and I still hadn't figured out what I would give them.

Then I saw this article in the Oct. 30th issue of our local paper.

It was all about a 82 year old woman in the nursing home
who has been quilling for years and still loves it.
Her projects look pretty, and not too hard.

So a few weeks later I googled quilling.
I couldn't believe all the web sites, how-to videos,
and images of quilling I found! Some of them
(especially those created by iron-maiden-art)
were simply breathtaking.
I couldn't wait to give it a try.

So I took a few pieces of card stock scraps,
sliced them into thin strips, wound them, and made this flower.

It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either, for my first try.

I kept practicing and soon I made my first quilled greeting card:
a Birthday card for my mother.

(I spent just as much time on the card as I did
writing the special poem I printed on the back.
You'll find that at the end of this blog post.)

The next thing I made was a Thanksgiving card for my boss.
She was quite impressed.

(She's easily impressed.)

Next I made some snowflakes, using regular white paper
and some patterns I found online.

Then I made a housewarming gift for Jeff's sister.

I spent most of December working on Christmas and thank you cards.

Finally it was time to get to my "Pay it Forward" promise
that started it all. I emailed Lynnda and Kate to ask
if they had a favorite Bible Passage. Lynnda gave me Philippians 4:19.
Kate told me her favorite Bible passages change from day to day.
So I decided to keep it simple and use Philippians 4:19 for both.

Then I cut all different colored strips of paper using my new
Fiskars paper trimmer Jeff got me for Christmas,
and yesterday I finished their pictures...just in the nick of time.
I don't know if I'll get them delivered before the end of the year,
but at least they're done.

Here's Kate's

And here's Lynnda's.

And here's the poem I told you about.

I put it on the back of many of my projects now.


I expect I'll spend much of 2012 the same way I ended 2011,
watching movies on my daughter's old laptop,
as I cut and curl paper to my heart's content.

And I owe it all to that little "Pay it Forward" facebook post.
Who'd of guessed.

I wonder what surprises 2012 will bring...

Happy New Year, everyone!

May your lives be filled with all sorts of
wonderful surprises in the new year.

Then and Now

Back in June I posted pictures from a walk I took through the park.

A few hours ago I went on that same walk.
I thought it might be fun to compare
how things looked then to how they look now.
(Remember, you can click on a picture to see it close up.)

As I was heading home, it began to snow.

Here's how our deck looks now...two hours later.

Maybe I need to go out again in a couple of hours?

Nah.

I'll stay in here where it's nice and warm.

Christmas Music 24/7

What’s your favorite Christmas Song?


Here’s another question for you...

What’s your dad’s favorite Christmas Song?

If you ask any of our kids that question they’ll know the answer. Jeff loves the tune, O Come O Come Emmanuel. I think he likes it because it’s based on an old Gregorian chant, and Jeff’s always been a fan of the Gregorian chant.

Next question...

What’s your mom’s favorite Christmas song?

If you ask my kids that, they aren’t likely to know. That’s because I don’t really have a favorite. I love them all! From The Bell that Couldn’t Jingle, to Gardner’s Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day I’ve never heard a Christmas Song I didn’t like. However, I will admit, I prefer Classical Christmas Music. It’s rich and bright, and usually tells the story of the real reason for the season, as they say.

If you’re not sure what I mean by Classical Christmas Music, (or if you’d love to hear some right now) I invite you to visit my favorite place for Christmas music, MPR’s online stream. Just copy and paste this link to your browser and it will take you to MPR's home page. Then click where it says "HOLIDAY CLASSICS" and you'll be enjoying Christmas Music with me in no time.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/cms/


Too much work?

Okay.

Then just listen to this one.

December

Scroll down for Lyrics

December

I walked down to the frozen river.

I knew what I was gonna see.

In this deep dark cold December

There’s a gray cloud hanging over me.

There were no birds singing in the branches

of the old weepin’ willow tree.

No fish were jumping in the water.

Only ice as far as I could see.

As I walked along this frozen river,

my heart so tempted to despair,

I heard a far off church bell chiming

and took it to the Lord in prayer.

Let it snow, let it snow, December,

aint gonna let it bother me,

cuz winter doesn’t last forever.

Spring comes around eventually.

Yeah, I know that winter doesn’t last forever.

Spring comes around eventually.