Jesus' Birthday Gift 2020

 Happy Holidays my Friends,
I'm coming to you a few days earlier, because my usual post day is Friday, most the time, and this Friday is Christmas, so I don't wanna be thinking of blogging. Well we're in the home stretch of Christmas and I'm barely holding on to my sanity. As all families we have traditions in our house that we try to do every year. Putting up the tree close Thanksgiving, my parents start playing just a Statler Brothers Christmas album in October, I prefer to start listening to Christmas music after Thanksgiving and decorating the tree. My parents get into the spirit early. Late in December traditions include my Momma's Christmas goodies, I just ate the left over dipping chocolate she used to make "suckers". We also go Christmas light looking, which we did last night. I also have personal holiday traditions that I do. Every year I use my creative powers and make a gift for Jesus, that way He has a gift just for him, since to me this was the day chosen to celebrate his birth. I also do a tradition I learned to do from Reba's Happy Birthday, Jesus on her Merry Christmas to You album, before you open a gift you wish Jesus a Happy Birthday and that your opening this one for Him. Well this year I decided to write another poem one that involves the various trials we have faced this year. No point sugar coating it this year was a dumpster fire, and even though we were battered and bruised, and in my case low on faith, we came through. I actually contemplated not doing it this year, cause I was, and still am that low, but the morning of the 21st inspiration struck.  So here is my poetic birthday gift this year:

Jesus' Birthday Poem 2020
This has been a dumpster fire year
But you've still been here
Through the chaos of a pandemic
You've remained stoic
As we treaded a crazy election
You've kept us in your recollection
When the mental health ills grew bolder
I'm sure you were at my shoulder
In the bleakness of our push and shove
You continue to show your never-ending love
So, I take a moment to remember all you do
On the day we choose to say "Happy Birthday to You"

I actually decided to make a small video of me doing a reading, that I also made the same day, I took pictures of frost on the truck for visuals. In the audio, you can hear my Mom doing Christmas cooking. I was going to rerecord it, but I'm like this is what my Christmas sounds like, so what the hey. So please give it a watch and a like.

Hope you all have a good Christmas, enjoy your eve, and God bless!
*Thrifty Geek*

Artsy Fartsy Time: Gift for Jesus 2019

Happy Friday my friends,

It's the final Friday post of 2019 and the decade. Sorry for the radio silence. This holiday days ran together, there really wasn't anything to write about, and the Mental Health Hydra reared it's heads. But I am back with a couple posts to close out the new year.
Today we are gonna talk about my yearly Christmas tradition of making a gift for Jesus. I had thought of writing another poem, but inspiration was lacking. Well while diving in my craft drawer I found some CD art I never finished and was inspired to make an art piece:

I took a CD and traced around it on a piece of black construction paper. After cutting out the circle I hole punched various holes in it then glued it on the CD's rainbow side. Then I cut a circle of yellow paper and pasted it in the middle. I was gonna use the baby party favors I've been using for a while now for Christmas themed gifts, but I couldn't find them. so I had to make my own. I wadded up a couple balls of paper for the body and the head, and glued strips of paper around it till I got a babyish shape and let it dry. Then I painted it with brown with a water color set I have, the with a blue marker colored a "blanket" on. Then drew an ink face on him. After it dried I glued the baby in the center. With a blue marker I wrote Merry Christmas. That's how you make this years gift.

I had a good Christmas, visited, and was visited by, family. We had good food and had some good gifts. If you celebrate I hope yours was good.
Are you guys having a good holiday? What have you guys been up to? Let me know in the comments.
I hope you have a good week, make art, and God bless you!
Ninja <[0000]---------------[0000]> Writer

Birthday Gifts for Jesus

A freezing hello friends,

Well we have survived Christmas again. I know it's awful to say that about the day chosen to celebrate the birth of Christ, but with my fragile mind state (I suffer from Anxiety, Depression, and OCD) and holiday stress most often I feel like I'm held together by a thread and Christmas day turns into some emotional/mental finish line to the world of normality.

But this post is not to lament about Christmas woes, but about Christmas Traditions. I mentioned in a previous post recently about how I like to make a gift for Jesus every year and that I'd elaborate on it. It's a tradition that started accidentally when I found myself creating Christ inspired work at Christmas, over time I officially decided every year as a way to remind me why I celebrate and allow Christ to have a birthday gift especially for Him.

I think one of the first gifts I made was during a Christmas Eve when due to snows our power had been off for a day or so. I was listening to a Christian station's Christmas Music and I did this drawing:
 

 

One thing that I did on this was use this special invisible ink pen that reveals what you write with a special light. Great idea, but because it was a restaurant kids meal toy pen, think it was for the last Indiana Jones Movie when it came out.

I've written a couple poems as well. I wrote the poem He the Christmas after my cousin's youngest child was born, she inspired a line. I think the next year I created a little video with me reading it, I haven't a clue what it's saved on.

Last year I wrote In Your Honor, it was a struggle trying to create that year, but I'm pleased what I managed to create.

My most ambitious gift was a little house scene featuring a little baby Jesus as a Christmas present:

 

It was the first time I used these little bag of Wilton babies I bought, and you'll find I have used them multiple times for my gifts.

I've made many other decoration gifts there's the ornament I made to replace my favorite one that broke:

 

 

I've even created a bottled/jarred display using a craft store jar, one of the babies, a fabric white poinsettia, and a 50 cent machine king necklace charm that I felt was too bling for me (yes I will rock 50 cent machine jewelry if it suits my style).

 

This year I channeled my lacking origami skills and created another little scene:

 

 

 

Sorry for the crappy webcam shot. I made 2 origami boxes, the red on for the scene and the green one to lay the baby that I wrapped in scrap fabric. I made a origami star and stitch wrote Jesus in a golden yellow. Then using that old school cootie catching making skill I made the small red poinsettia and glutted it to some green leave shapes I cut out. The image of Marry comes from one of these fabric rose bunches we found so I cut a petal off and glued it inside.

 

I hope maybe my friends next Christmas season we can all remember Him in our celebrations and all make gifts. Or maybe if you already have a like tradition share in the comments. May all be well with you the rest of the year friends and God Bless You!

 

Ninja <[0000]---------------[0000]> Writer

 

 

 

Sister VS Christmas Tree

Hello My Friends,
We are still trying to get melted from our nice little 7+ Inches of snow.

Snow in the Backwoods

So yeah we've been holed up in the holler keeping warm by the fire. But cold and snow is not what this post is about. Today's post is about our Christmas tree.
In our household we prefer the stately Faux Ever Green. We have nothing against real trees, it's just not a practical choice for us. A. We don't have the dough foe a new tree every year, and B. We're the type of family that puts our tree up around Thanksgiving (American) and it doesn't come down till sometime in January, yeah living tree wouldn't last.
Now when my sister still lived here, she seemed to be in an unintentional battle with the tree. I mean she had it out for it.
I think the earliest attack was actually my fault. Our tree is set up near the doorway into the kitchen. Now one night when I was angry with my sister over something. We tried passing through the door at the same time and I brushed into her hard enough to send her into the tree, knocking it over, and causing her to land on our little cousin's gift, a tricycle. Angry, understandably, Pop sent us to our room, then a few minutes later we heard him laughing his head off.
She's nicked an ornament with a dart, did result in a new tradition where we search for the ornament she hit. She ran into it with her skateboard, I think she hit it with a tape ball.
Her most horrific attack was the morning of her birthday, which fell on the day after Thanksgiving, and apparently Thanksgiving meal did not agree with her. So she was hauling butt to get to the sick. She made it to the front of the tree... And she didn't just get it on the floor. Yes my sister has created many great memories for us to laugh over for many Christmases to come.

I hope you have a great pre Christmas week, remember not to get to burned out and remember the true meaning of the season, for me it's Christ, for you whatever it be. God Bless You my Friends!
Ninja <[0000]---------------[0000]> Writer

The Snowy Post of Christmas Past

 Hello this Snowy Night,

My friends it appears we have had a nice helping of snow dumped on us, and glitter but that's a whole other matter. At last measure, earlier in the day we had 7 inches and it's still snowing. I'm enjoying it, it makes every thing feel Christmassy. Unfortunately for grocery stores it also means bread and milk is in limited supply. So since this snow has added to getting us into a Christmas mood I figure I'd talk a little Christmas in tonight's post.

Charting Christmas Past

You may recall in a past post that I had mentioned that I'd made a list of past costumes, well I did some minor Christmas mapping. You know certain years that had special memories attached or special titles given to certain years, like the Harry Potter Christmas of 2001 or last year's Time Traveling Christmas.

The above mentioned listing exercise could prove helpful in a new tradition I want to do. I mentioned I want to start doing a Halloween Charm Bracelet, well to also do a Christmas one as well. Along with the mapping of past Christmases I've made notes on the page of memories and things that are very special to me that pertain to this time of year.

One charm memory I'm going to attempt to create myself is with a button. Why a button you may ask. When I went to the Art Room during Pumpkinfest, I found myself reliving a minor yes permanently seared moment from the fragments of Christmastide memories. They had a decorative storage box that was filled with buttons. I couldn't help myself I had my hand sifting through the buttons, travel on a past Christmas road. When I was younger when my Dad and Uncle would go hunting Mom and I, maybe even my sister if she hadn't gone with the hunters, would go out Christmas shopping. I recall one time we'd stopped in a fabric shop right near where my Grandmother use to work. It was filled with fabric rolls, lace samples on the wall, and buckets or barrels of buttons. I remember sifting through them looing for pretty ones to purchase, actually the Art Room box contained I believe similar buttons. But I that little speck of memory opens the door to the feelings and other pieces of memories I have from those trips, hence why a button shall be gracing this bracelet I hope.

A Gift For Jesus
I shall be continuing my newer tradition of creating a gift for my savior Jesus. Every year for the last few years as a way to focus on what this season is about for me and to ensure my Savior gets a gift on His birthday, I make Him a gift. I've written poems, done drawings, and made various other gifts for my Lord's enjoyment. As with the old blog I'll post what I've done, or a step by step of the building. I may take a post to show some past gifts for you all.

Well friends that about does it for this snowy night rambling. I hope your weekend is good and the holiday season is good to you. God Bless You!
Ninja <[0000]---------------[0000]> Writer