Joy to the World, the Lord is Come

"Joy to the World, the Lord is come" The lyrics and tune are familiar to most of us.  We hear it played every Christmas.  Its message is simple.  Jesus Christ is born and because of that, we have joy.  We have joy because Jesus has come to conquer sin and death.  He is triumphant over Satan's power. He brings us peace and hope in the midst of our care and sorrows.

Below are some lyrics from traditional Christmas hymns.  There are more that I haven't included which speak of hope and peace. 

Joy to the World, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King.

God rest you merry, gentlemen,
Let nothing you dismay,
Remember Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray.
O tidings of comfort and joy, (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen)

O Come all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant ( O Come all ye Faithful)

Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the new-born King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With the angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem! (Hark the Herald)

Good Christian men rejoice with heart and soul and voice.
Give ye heed to what we say, Jesus Christ is born today. (Good Christian Men Rejoice)


O holy night,
The stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of
Our dear Savior's birth!
Long lay the world
In sin and error pining,
Till He appeared
And the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope,
The weary world rejoices, ( O Holy Night)

Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel  Shall come to thee, O Israel. ( O Come Emmanuel)

Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o're the plains;
And the mountains in reply, echoing their joyous strains (Angels We Have Heard on High)

When you hear these songs this Christmas, I pray that you will consider the message they bring.  May God richly bless you and your family this year with joy, peace and hope.  Merry Christmas!

Yellow and Gray Baby Shower with Elephant Theme

Baby Shower Favors

Laminated Bookmarks

 Light gray/Light yellow - Dark gray/Dark yellow - Light gray/Dark yellow

These are large in order to fit everything in - 8"x 2.5"

 Tea Envelopes

                                                    

         Style #1 -

 4"x3"

                                          Style #2 -

 3" x 3.25"

                                          
                                          Style #3  

This one is probably the simplest because you just have to slip the tea bag in the top - no ribbon to tie.

 3.75" x 3.25 "

Wishing Tree Tags 

         You can choose any colors.

 Dark yellow and gray

Light yellow and gray

Names Ending with "el" in the Bible

This school year, Holly and I are studying the names of God, beginning with Elohim - God - All Powerful One - Creator. Many Bible name end with the letters el which means "God" and I tried to find a list of Bible names ending in el and their meanings on the internet but couldn't find one.  So I thought I'd make one myself.  This is not yet an exhaustive list so if I've left off your favorite, please let me know.  Eventually I want to add the Bible references.

Abiel - God is my Father

Asahel - creature of God

Ariel - lion of God

Azareel - help of God

Azarel -  God has helped 

Bethel - house of God

Daniel - God is my judge

Emmanuel - God is with us

Ezekiel - God strengthens

Gabriel - man of God

Gamaliel - benefit of God

Hazael - God sees

Ishmael - God will hear

Israel - who prevails with God

Jahleel - God waits

Jazeel - strength of God

Jeheiel - God lives

Joel - Yahweh is God

Lemuel - belonging to God
 
Lael -  to God

Michael - who is like God

Nathaniel - God has given

Reuel - Friend of God

Samuel - Asked of God

Shemuel - appointed by God

Uriel - God is my light

Uzziel - my power is God

Zuriel - my rock is God
 

Mission Trip Bookmarks

Hannah is going on a mission trip to the country of Romania. It will be a bit like going home since we lived there for seven years as missionaries. However, she is going to a part of the country that none of us have been to before.  We're all excited for her.

Yesterday, Hannah and I made bookmarks for the camp kids that she will be teaching.  We were able to make them entirely out of leftover paper and stickers from my stash.  They turned out really cute.  Of course I still have more paper and stickers so I just might make some for my Etsy shop - Ellie Marie Designs. I probably can't duplicate these but if you would like me to make something for you, send me a message.

Patriotic Graduation Party Decorations

Last week we celebrated Gabriel's graduation from Pensacola with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. We thought a 4th of July themed party was appropriate for the aspiring politician.  I'm thinking about selling some of these in my Etsy shop.  Here are a few of the pictures:

Stay tuned for more pictures.....

Home Sweet Home

I love the home that God has blessed us with. There are many trees giving us beauty and shade for most of the year. The winter is a bit dreary but more worrisome than the bleakness is the threat of falling trees.  We are expecting 10 - 15 inches tonight and tomorrow.

 I don't really know how tall the trees are.  Notice that the back yard goes down hill yet the trees are still much taller than the house.  There are also lots of trees on each side of us and across the street.

Praying that none of them fall on our house and the neighbors' trees don't fall on theirs or on the power lines!

The Gingham Dog and The Calico Cat

This weekend I am babysitting the Gingham Dog.  She belongs to my sister-in-law who has gone out of town with John to visit their dad.  So I get to baby sit the dog.  Our cat Pippa does not appreciate that very much at all.  She spends her time growling at the dog, sitting under a chair where she thinks she's safe.  Sometimes she will sneak up on the dog to remind the timid pup who is really in charge. The rest of the day the Gingham Dog and the Calico cat sit in the living room about ten feet apart from each other.  John calls it the "Mexican Standoff".

And on a completely unrelated note, here is my new listing for today -

Baseball Goody Bag Tags

I did not get around to any destash supplies because I was so busy with cutting out kraft wedding escort tags and babysitting the Gingham Dog and Calico Cat.

Creations from craft stash - 12 down, 88 to go

Destash of craft supplies - 8 down 42 to go

Mulberry Street

As I sit down to blog, I cannot help but to think of Dr. Seuss' And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.  (If you don't know the story, you'll have to read it for yourself.)  I sit here long and hard and wonder - did anything excite me or make my heart beat? "Nothing," I say as I sit in my seat, "Nothing blog worthy on Mulberry Street."

So in my normal days of homeschool and doing housework, I also fit in some time for my Etsy shop. And at the end of the day, I am thankful for another blessed day.

 Here are my newest creations. 

Floral Scrapbook Embellishments Paper Flower Posies made from cardstock and vintage dictionary pages -

 Floral Scrapbook Embellishments Paper Flower Posies made from patterned scrapbook papers - 

These scrapbook embellishments and more can be found here at Ellie Marie Designs

 Destash Craft Supplies #8 - Scrap Paper Pack

Craft supplies are here.

Creations from craft stash - 11 down, 89 to go

Destash of craft supplies - 8 down 42 to go

The Countdown Continues

I had a lot of fun making these adorable fabric bags.  They will make great favors for any spring or summer event.  I can just see them now at a country wedding. I'm planning to make some blue ones next week.

 Baby Shower, Bridal Shower, Wedding Guest Favors

Destash # 7

Better Scrapbooking by Vanessa - Ann

Creations from craft stash - 4 down, 96 to go

Destash of craft supplies - 7 down 43 to go

Custom Bridal Shower Order

Here is the sign I made for a book themed bridal shower for Ellie Marie Designs.  It's a cute idea.  A lot of work. And a lot of adhesive! Now to get it shipped along with the "Bride" banner and matching place cards.

Bride Banner

Supply Fast

Well I don't even know if anyone reads my poor little blog any more.  But I need to keep a list of my "Use Your Stash" challenge started by Karen from Chocolate Dog Studio.  And I must participate in this challenge because my expenses are huge this year.

We won't even talk about the $400 crown I just had done today or John's root canal right before Christmas.  Let's list the fun things:

May - Gabriel's graduation means a trip to Pensacola, Florida and a graduation gift.  What do you buy for college graduation anyway?

November - Hannah's last extra year at college means she'll be there without Gabriel for the first time.  So we've been planning to spend Thanksgiving with her.  Yes, that's another trip to Pensacola.

December/January - Gabriel's talking about getting married which means a trip to PA, a dress for me and most likely Holly, a rehearsal dinner, a wedding gift.

I think I need to make about 2,000 sales this year. And go on a supply fast because I have a lot of things here at home.


Here is my continued list:

These cards were made entirely of things I already had here at home.  Destash challenge numbers 2 and 3:

 

Thinking of You Card

 

 Blank Inside Encouragement Card

And for my own challenge of listing supplies, numbers 5 and 6.

Silver Heart Beads

Round Silver Spacer Beads

 

Creations from craft stash - 3 down, 97 to go

Destash of craft supplies - 6 down 44 to go

Countdown

Gabriel left for his last semester of college before the new year. The last two weeks he has been busy taking an inter term class - a semester crammed into ten days. Hannah left yesterday and the busy semester begins on Tuesday.  This will be the last one for Gabriel and so the countdown has begun!  There are 108 days until graduation.  That is a mere 15 weeks.

I do not really need anything extra to keep me busy.  Between homeschool, church, Etsy and housework (yes, I sometimes get to that), I have enough going on.  But graduation and a trip to Pensacola is going to cost money.  So here is my attempt at earning a bit extra.  Karen from Chocolate Dog Studio has challenged me to use my craft stash to create 100 new items.  And I have challenged myself to list an additional 50 craft supply destash items.  Do I have that much stuff?  Probably.

Here is the beginning: 

Newly created item #1

 Valentine's Day Card

Here is the first few destash items:

 Radiant Orchid Purple Tags

(I have a lot of purple cardstock leftover from a custom order I did last summer.)

 Wild Berry Purple Tags

(I call this Barney Purple but that's probably not a good search term for brides searching for escort tags.  Wild Berry or Light Magenta is a better choice.  What would you call it?)

 Mixed Beads Grab Bag

(These belong to Hannah and the profits will go toward her mission trip to Romania.  But it counts as getting rid of clutter in my home.)

Mixed Beads Grab Bag in Browns, Golds, Reds, and Pinks

(Also Hannah's)

Creations from craft stash - 1 down, 99 to go

Destash of craft supplies - 4 down 46 to go