My Wish For You

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Happy New Year!

Christmas in the 1700's

We took a family trip this week to Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens Christmastown.  We had a fantastic time!  The weather was mild, the crowds were very manageable, and family memories were made.  My only regret is that we never took a picture of all 4 of us together.  But of course, we did take a lot of other pictures!  My older son has an interest in photography, so he and I have fun seeking out the photographic moments.  :-)

Here is one that he captured.  I'm particularly fond of this one.

These are some sights from the streets and doorways of Williamsburg...

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Two For Tuesday

You haven't heard much from me this month thus far, and you likely won't hear much from me for the rest of the month!  Life is busy, busy, busy right now.  I am still working on a couple of special orders from my open house.  And of course, I'm still working on ticking items off the Christmas gift list.  Aren't we all?  And then there are cookies to bake and cards to send....oh wait, I'm not sending out cards this year!  Something had to give, but it's not the cookies!

I did, however, find a little time to upload more items in my Etsy shop.  If you haven't browsed there lately, go check it out and see what's new.  I hope you will find something special!  If you want to place an order for Christmas, please do so by Sunday, December 18 at the latest.

Now, head on over to Thy Hand Hath Provided blog on Tuesday for a special giveaway and a special offer!

Dreaming of warmer days...

Everywhere You Go

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Everywhere you go...

Just wanted to keep it real, folks!

Hope to see you at my annual holiday Artful Accents open house at my home on Friday, December 2 from 6:00 - 9:00 PM.  

(Goldie will be there, she wouldn't miss it!)

Hope

"Bright Hope for Tomorrow"

Up, Up, and Away!

For my youngest son's 10th birthday this month, his grandparents gifted him with the experience of flying in a little 4 seater Cessna.  I got the privilege of going with him.  My husband went with our oldest son when he turned 10, so it was my turn this time.  :-)

My son with our trusty pilot

It's like nothing else to go up in the sky in a little tiny plane like that.  At times, my son and I would look at each other and not know whether to smile or to freak out!  It was the kind of fun that has an edge of fear to it.

But the sights we saw were totally worth any fear or reluctance we might have had.

Happy Hollow - a favorite place where we gather with friends

"With the farmland like a tapestry passed down through generations..."  ~ Indigo Girls

Holiday Bazaar

To my local customers...I will be selling Artful Accents designs at the Holiday Shopping Bazaar at John C. Myers Elementary School this weekend on Saturday, Nov 19 from 10 am to 2 pm.  

"Festive and Merry" earrings

"Joy to the World" necklace

This event is a fundraiser for the PTA, so please come out and support JCMES!  Here is a list of the other vendors who will be there.

Gold Canyon Candles
Beauti Control
Creative Touch
Broadway Custom Engraving
Lia Sophia Jewelry
In All Sassiness Designs
Close to My Heart 
Forgotten Creek Candles
Wildtree
Blessings Unlimited
Scentsy
Touchstone Crystal
Thirty One
Artful Accents
Cloth Craft
Mary Kay
Pampered Chef
Miche Bag
Crafter Pauline Wells
Scott Showalter's 4th Graders
Crafter Helen Arbogast
Tupperware
Premier Jewelry
Evergreen Florist (Poinsettias)

Peppermint Patty

Black Red White Medalli... QuiltsFabrican... $8.99	Elegant red white and b... bluehollow $4.30	Clutch bags, handbags, ... PaperFlora $25.50	Embossed White Snowflak... 3GIRLSandaGOAT $20.00
Wool mittens/Red and wh... lyralyra $36.00	Decorative Pillow Cover... CottagePixie $21.00	Fantastic Black and Whi... becauseimme $85.00	Amor Vintage Inspired- ... Amordress $35.00
Red and White Flower Ri... zaisy $9.99	4 Pcs 16mm White Beaded... ebeadstore $7.95	Floral art giclee print... JoannePooreART $30.00	Red and White Hand Knit... hideandhair $30.00
Hostess Gift Soap - Van... SakuraBathAndB... $12.50	Cinnamon Vanilla Soap -... ItsAlmostBathT... $4.25	Beautiful Custom Black ... mysweetbabylov... $28.00	Handmade Polymer Clay R... BeadsByEarthTo... $8.50

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Awake at 2 AM with creative juices flowing, but too tired to create with my hands.  I played around on Etsy and made this treasury tonight.  These are not usually colors you see on my blog, right?  A little bit of change is good!

The colors in this treasury were inspired by Alison's red and black tapestry beads made from polymer clay.  Plus I was making mini brownie bites tonight, and I stuck peppermint patty candies into each of them.  That's how I came up with the name for the treasury!

Enjoy browsing these handmade delights that hint at the coming of the festivities of winter!

I Love Lima Beads!

I entered a little contest this week at one of my most favorite online bead stores, Lima Beads.  I browsed through the beads, picked several, arranged them just so...and by jiggedy, I won for best composition!  


Best Composition: Artful Accents’ “October Skyline“

Matt of Lima Beads writes:

We had a hard time picking just one for this category because there were so many picks with great composition. The more I look at this pick, the more I like it. You can tell just how much care went into picking each and every product. Just look at how that Lillypilly Verde Patina Copper Sheet works so well with the Red Creek Jasper!

Thanks for choosing me and for the great gift certificate, Lima Beads!

The Results Are In! Lima Beads

Seriously...

And now we have snow on our pumpkins and fall leaves!  And tree branches down everywhere!  And no power!!  But at least my Mac is still running.  ;-)

Scenes from today...

Seriously?

Umm, what season is this?  Fall.

Umm, where do I live?  Virginia.

What color is the grass right now?  Vibrant green.

What color might the grass be tomorrow?  WHITE!

UGH.....

Winter Storm Watch

 from Sat, 12am until Sat, 2pm EDT 

1-3 in of snow over the next 36 hours 

• Map 
• WeatherREADY: Prepare for the Storm

• Winter Storm Watch

   from Sat, 12am until Sat, 2pm EDT

RubySky

I appreciate all styles of photography, but I particularly enjoy modern artistic style.  Keesha and Katie from RubySky Photography are talented photographers/artists who captured our family last fall.   Keesha started the business 4 years ago.  They came to our house on a windy fall day and shot some pictures on our property and also on our neighbor's.  It was a memorable time of having fun together as a family and being windblown!  Keesha says about our time together, "There were many laughs during Kathy's family session!"

This duo of talented women has a seemingly effortless way of putting their subjects at ease and capturing both the posed and the candid shots.  When asked about her favorite part of capturing a family for a portrait session, Keesha replied:

"It's a wonderful feeling to finish up a family session with a smile on my face and know that I have captured a moment in time.  That one time in their lives will never happen again...children grow up."

Above, you see the posed shot.  And below you get the candid shot of my oldest son swinging on his homemade tree swing!

My youngest son has eyes that are different colors.  He thinks it's pretty cool.  So do I, and I think it's cool that he thinks it's cool.  

Goldie was pretty happy that she got to be included in some of the family pics.

Lovella, this next one is for your dear hubby!

We walked over to our neighbor's field, where treasures abound!  I'm not sure who took this next shot, but it's one of my favorites of me and my man.

And this one too.  We literally stood right in the middle of a field of goldenrod behind our house.  

I sure do love my little family.  

Love these boys, yes I do...

Yes, our younger son (on the right) is taller than our older son.  Please don't tell the oldest to "go ahead and catch up with his younger brother", because really, there's nothing he can do about it, and mostly, he's okay with it.  

They are sneaky sometimes.

They are often mischievous.

But they are always one of the greatest joys of my life.  

Keesha and Katie, I'll always be grateful for these moments in time that you captured for our family.