Thursday, December 30, 2010

time to name your year...again!

This is not the first time I've shared this subject.

Naming the year.

Resolutions are doomed before they are even attempted - this is why I like to "name" the coming year instead. 

A word, or name, that encompasses all I want to change about myself during the next 12 months - or at least a fraction of what I'd like to change.
Last year it was humility. 

Kind of an oxymoron to say on my blog that I want to work on the "Me Monster" inside of me. 

A blog is everything humility is not.

Oh well.

I did try.

This year?

I thought about the word AVAILABLE.

To be available for whatever God has in mind for me.

But wearing the word "available" around one's neck is not necessarily a brilliant idea.

Especially if one is married...

So another way of putting it is to say I want to be OPEN.

Open to taking chances.

Open to serving.

Open to allowing others to come first.

But I'm a visual kind of gal, and the word open isn't very pleasing to the eye.

Especially if I am to be wearing it.

But how about another language?

French? (ouverte)

Italian? (asperto)

Spanish? (abierta)


Hmmm.
This is what I came up with:
 Expositus.

This is what it means in Latin:
"open, accessible, exposed"

Perfect.

That is exactly the kind of year I want 2011 to be.

Open.
Accessible.
Exposed.

How about you?

What do you want the next year to be?
I'd love to know....


Happy New Year!
p.s.: linking this to Southern in My Heart's Inspiration Friday!

Friday, December 24, 2010

O Come Let Us Adore Him.....

 My friend Kassy recently said this:
Come...let us adore Him - every day! Celebrate his birth on the 25th...but find ways to "be" Him to each other this year in simple, kind, practical, loving ways...come...

“How small and gentle his coming was. He came as an infant. The night in which he came was noisy and crowded; it is unlikely that, in the traffic and travelers to Bethlehem, the tiny wail of the newly born could be heard.
God approaches gently, often secretly, always in love, never through violence and fear. He comes to us, as God has told us, in those whom we know in our own lives. Very often we do not recognize God.”
~ Caryll Houselander

Merry Christmas to all....

...and to all a good night.

xoxo

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

From my home to yours....




Merry Christmas
 2010
Another year is almost over, and a lot has happened in our household...
We traveled south (pulling our RV) to warm weather family and friends in late February. First stop was Las Vegas where we enjoyed a week with Dusty, Aleah, Karise and Dresden. We had a delightful visit, swimming, playing a little golf, and just enjoying being with our adorable grandchildren! It was a bittersweet parting - Dusty left a few weeks later for his second deployment to Afghanistan – this time for a 4-5 month tour. We said our good byes, but the one consolation was knowing we would be spending Easter with Aleah, Karise and Dres who were planning on meeting us over in California for several days after Dusty left.

We went on to Escondido (visiting my dad and his wife, Jackie), Huntington Beach (visiting Dennis’s mom) and Palm Desert (vacationing!), finally landing on the Central Coast to spend time with Jaime and Jake – we were excited to be seeing Jaime very pregnant for the first time! We pulled into San Luis Obispo in time for a beautiful baby shower that was given by good friends for Jaime and Jacob and the newest member of our family.

While we were in California, we were also given the opportunity to work again with the Brighten A Corner non-profit. They happened to be doing an extreme home makeover for a family dealing with ALS, so Dennis and I gladly jumped right in and remodeled/decorated one of the rooms in the home. I don’t know who was more blessed – the homeowners or our team!

We enjoyed visiting with lots of friends during our stay, and loved having the family all together (with the exception of Dusty) for our annual Easter celebration at Judi and Ed’s in Nipomo. We also celebrated Aleah’s graduation from Beauty College – after a year of hard work and sacrifice she was finally done! We ended our trip with very successful Remnants of the Past Vintage Show, the bi-annual vintage show I participate in. Then we said our good byes and took off for home.

On May 10, about one week after we returned home, we got the call we had been waiting for...Corban Sebastian Lewis had arrived! We had planned all along that I would come back down to help Jaime and Jacob, so as soon as I could I flew back to California to meet my adorable new grandson – I stayed about 10 days and enjoyed every moment cuddling taking some of the burden off the new parents.

We had a busy summer – Dennis did a lot of fishing, still loving long afternoons in his boat on the lake. We went on some fun bike trips and I continued to work on my jewelry. (Kriste, my friend and sales rep extraordinaire still keeps me busy – still schlepping my jewelry from store to store) We did another vintage show (up here in Idaho) where we both sold our wares (we’re still carnies after all these years!) and Dennis connected with a local store who asked him to design and build furniture for them. Dennis has created the most wonderful line of furniture ~ all built from new materials but cleverly “aged” to look like it’s been around for 100 years. (What retirement?) I worked on my new website Pammy’s Attic, getting ready to launch it in the fall.

I also began a new routine of walking – a neighborhood friend, Dorene, who is struggling with breast cancer (that had moved into her lungs) was told she needed to walk every day. I needed to shed a few lbs. so I asked her if I could call her to invite her to walk with me. From June until our recent first snowfall we walked every day, and now that winter has settled in, and it is getting increasingly uncomfortable for her to walk, I realize that Dorene and our walking routine had become a very important part of my daily life. The fight against this wretched disease and the toll it takes on families has become very real to me. In August, I joined three other friends (one of them a survivor herself) to walk in our local Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in honor of our friend. (We named our team “Lady Ta Ta”!) I was overwhelmed by how many folks this cancer has touched.

We continue to enjoy our Sunday night neighborhood bible study. Dorene and her husband Matt have joined us, as well as a couple of other neighbors - we have grown! We enjoy great food and a rich study, as well as a time of devoted prayer for each other. During this year of hardship, illness and loss for so many loved ones, this has become an important part of our week.

Over the summer we decided it was time we got more involved at church. We began serving more regularly on the creative arts team, building sets and props for the weekly services. I was asked to join in the weekly creative team meetings and have really enjoyed being back in the saddle again! We work alongside many amazingly gifted artists, and have really enjoyed being a part of that creative process again. I’m even back singing on the worship team every now and then which I thoroughly enjoy!

In October Dennis decided to join me on my annual trek down to California and the fall Remnants of the Past show – he was chomping at the bit to meet his new grandson! Dusty had recently returned home from his deployment, so he and the family drove over and we were all together for one day! (as you can see in our family picture, Corban decided it was naptime right before the camera came out) Dennis loved getting to know Corban, and our time together was lovely, even if it was brief ~ Karise had just started Kindergarten(!!!) and Aleah had just started a new job at a salon, so Dust and his family needed to get back home . But their big news - Dusty has just informed us that in May 2011 they will be stationed in London for 4 years!!! They are very excited and as much as we will miss having them “close” (in the same time zone anyway...) we are thrilled for this opportunity for them – and we are saving our pennies for a trip to England! Dust will return to working on jets on a base just outside of London.

In the fall my website was launched, (http://www.pammysattic.net/) and besides the California show (which was another record breaker for us!) we took on a huge show in Spokane, Washington – Dennis created the most amazing booth for us – we filled it with both his furniture and my jewelry. It was a smashing success, and we connected with so many fabulous artists and craftsmen (and women) who we hope to see as we travel from show to show – we carnies have to stick together....

Jaime and Jacob are enjoying their new roles as mommy and daddy. Jaime has a great blog where she writes honestly (and beautifully) about the highs and lows of parenting ( http://higherhighslowerlows.com/ ). She is also busy with her freelance writing for the food/wine/travel industry and Jacob is still working with Trust Automation - thankfully not traveling quite as much. Oh yes, and their beloved Murphy was on Animal Planet this fall chosen as one of America’s Cutest Dogs!

As you can see from our card, we have been blessed beyond measure, and we thank God every day for good health, a roof over our heads, food on the table and family and friends like all of you. We know this has been a tough year for many, as loved ones struggle with illness, loss and with finding/losing jobs - yet we celebrate the One who can heal the brokenhearted and give strength to the weary.

We celebrate this season because it is...

Christ, who is our Hope.
Christ, who was born the Son of God.
Christ, who was born a King.
Christ who took on the sin of the world that we may have Life everlasting.

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
 ~Luke 2:10-11

Merry Christmas to all and a Blessed year to come!
With love,

Monday, December 20, 2010

a little Christmas fun...


You're welcome.

xoxo


Saturday, December 18, 2010

drum roll please.......

And the winner of a $50 gift certificate from Wallwords is....

Julie Hammett!!!

This is what Jackie at Wallwords had to say:
Hi Pammy,
It was hard to choose, I think they all  great. I've decided to go with:

"Julie Hammett said..
FAMILY`FOREVER`FOR ALWAYS`NO MATTER WHAT
This yr my wonderful son and daughter in law adopted my youngest daughter's newborn baby girl...even though they have a 9mo old daughter! What love!"

I felt the love in this one! We will add this one to our website, within the next week or so. Congrats to Julie and her FAMILY!!

Merry Christmas, Pammy! Thanks for the great opportunity to work with you. What shall we do next??

So congratulations Julie Hammett!!!! I hope you enjoy your gift and your new found fame!!! Your gift is on its way...
 Please send me pictures of your finished project and I will share them with everyone.

Until next time, have a great pre-holiday weekend....

May all your creative days be merry and bright!

xoxo

Friday, December 17, 2010

who will the winner be?????

Thanks everyone who participated in my little contest.

Last night I sent off your entries to the good people at Wallwords so that they can choose a winner.

But while we wait, I thought I would pick the random winner of the sweet Wallwords decal I told you about.

The winner is...

Arlene said...

"Precious things are very few, that must be why there's just one you."

Thanks for the opportunity. YEAH!

So Arlene, I will send off your...


today!

Keep checking back with me to find out who wins the $50 gift certificate!

xoxo

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Hear Ye Hear Ye!!!!


Do I have your attention?
Time is running out on a great giveaway!

You only have a couple of days to enter to win a $50 gift certificate from Wallwords.

That's FIFTY BUCKS!

And all you have to do is think of what your favorite quote is and leave it here.

How hard could that be?

Sorry to be so blunt, but I don't want you to miss this opportunity to win something very personal and unique.

For instance, if I were to enter, (which I can't, because that would be cheating), I would choose this:

"It's not what's on the plates that matters....it's what's on the chairs." ~ Susan Branch

I would use it in my dining room as a disclaimer way to welcome my dinner guests.

So what are you waiting for?

 I have shared, now it's your turn!

I dare you.

 

Monday, December 13, 2010

Project MONDAY IV - your grandmother never thought you would want her old sheet music for this.

Welcome to my 4th Project MONDAY!

I have been so excited to share this project - it is one of my all time favorite designs, and it is really quite easy. 
Though it may be a little bit time consuming, the results will knock your socks off. 
So let's get going....


On the previous Project Monday I taught you how to make this:

click HERE for the tutorial

So you'd better get crackin' and make a bunch of them.

 You are going to need one of these Styrofoam wreaths - I found mine at Michael's.

 You need a way to hang it, so now is the time to wind some wire around it - wherever you want the top to be.

 Did I mention you are going to need a lot of those roses?

 I made mine from this book:


 This was very dry and brittle, so a little tricky to work with.

note the pencil notes from lessons long ago...

I made these assembly-line-style and grouped them in piles - that sure did help to speed up the process.




After I had amassed a fair amount I began sticking them into the Styrofoam.

It is very deceiving how many roses it takes to fill in the gaps.

I want to stop here to tell you what I would have done differently.

I should have painted over the green with an antique white. I should have known better, and I still kick myself every time I see green peeking through.
 Oh well, it's too late for me, but not for you - I highly recommend taking the extra time to paint.

Moving on.....

I decided to leave a gap for a fancy ribbon "corsage".

I just cut wide strips from the same music book, "looped" them, and turned them into a ribbon reminiscent of one of those rosette ribbon awards. 


Pretty spectacular, yes?

Now it's your turn....what project have you enjoyed making lately???

I am also linking this week to Faded Charm for White Wednesday.

Now make sure you link in here and join my party...


xoxo


Thursday, December 9, 2010

the writing is on the wall.....

A few weeks ago I showed you how I made this:


I had a custom stencil made at Wallwords.


Well the good people at Wallwords caught wind of how much I LOVE their products, so they sent me a $50 gift certificate to give away!!!!

FIFTY BUCKS!


They have wa-a-a-ay more than stencils.

Do you have any idea how cool their stuff is???


You can either buy one of their popular quotes, or have them make you a custom one.

They have loads of fonts and colors to choose from - the sky's the limit!

They can even curve it to fit an arch.

 And don't get me started on the graphics...

...the monograms.





...faux windows!

  


For your inner rocker....




...or cowgirl. 




You can apply them anywhere - they're vinyl!

I could go on and on about how much I love Wallwords.

How inspiring they are.

How personalized they are.

How easy they are to apply.

But I think you would rather hear about this giveaway.

Here's what you do:

Simply dream up your own clever idea for a quote, and leave it as a comment here. I will pass it on to the team at Wallwords and have them pick the most original and/or inspiring quote.

You have ONE WEEK to enter.

As a bonus, I am going to pick a random winner who will win a vinyl decal, 8.5" x 4" that says:

Let Heaven and
Nature Sing...

in gold!

So put your thinking caps on and go to Wallwords to get inspired.

Come back next Thursday, December 16 to find out if you won!


And don't forget to join me on Monday for the next

Have fun!
xoxo