Meadow on the Ledge: Crafts, Christmas, and Canyons

Just a warning, this blog is going to be a little all over the place. Also, be prepared to be photo overloaded.

Since I've been home for the past couple of days, I've been a bit crafty. Of course, the fact that is was Christmas also contributed to my craftiness. I won't be blogging one of the things I made until I get back to school, as it will then ruin the surprise of the gift. Anyhow, the two sort of nifty things I will be sharing is a personalized cork board and fabric scrap keychains.

Personalized Cork Board

I made this cork board for my eldest brother, who recently moved into his own apartment. He needs a message board to place important notes, as well as something to cover his bare walls. To personalize the cork board, I took a piece of fabric, sewed the edges to create a nice seam, and used it to cover the cork. To the fabric I added a few useful pockets, one big enough to hold paper and some smaller ones to hold pens, pencils, notecards, and other things of that sort. This is a pretty simple project, but it makes a plain cork board more personal and also more useful on those bare walls.

The plain cork board.

At this point, I have already sewn three sides of the fabric to create a nice seam and fit it to the board. I am measuring out the last side of the fabric to sit the board.

The finished piece! At the bottom left are not 3, but 4 pockets. Tricky tricky.

Another project of mine that I am currently working on is inspired by Pinterest, an amazingly inspiring blogging site similar to Tumblr. I am currently in the process of making keychains from pieces of scrap fabric with several different designs on them. This is my first. Its a bit.. off, but I'm working on it! W^2 is for Walla Walla, and its a square. Get it? I hope to sell them on Etsy or something of that sort. Any thoughts? Would you buy something like this?

Since I have been back home, it has been busy with family for the holidays. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, at around 75 degrees F for the past couple of days. It has been a very long time since I have had a white Christmas, but this will do for now.

I felt like this Christmas passed by way too quickly for me to realize that it was actually Christmas. Once I finished school, it felt like BOOM, okay now its Christmas. Surprise! To me, the holidays (Christmas + New Years) mean family, which means all the world to me. Now that my family is growing up and more of the kids are in college or moved out, time spent with the whole family is rare. However, I feel that its meaning often gets lost amongst all the shopping, gifts, and toys. This year, I haven't spent much time thinking about why we celebrate this holiday, but it all goes back to here...

Matthew 1:18-2:12

"18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[d]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[e] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[f] because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[g] (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew 2

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a]from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’[b]”7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route."

And that is why Christmas is celebrated. I mustn't forget.

Anyway, I spent Christmas eve with the Stephan side of the family, where we had a big gathering with a great white elephant gift exchange, clam chowdaa, stuffed mushrooms, and lots of laughter! Christmas day was spent at my grandparent's house on my mama's side of the family. The day after Christmas, my dad, David, and I went on a 12-13 mile hike in Black Star Canyon in the hills of Orange County where we stumbled upon a waterfall without water, an old bus pushed down over the side, and several other cool sights. This place is known to be haunted and contain cool stories and treasures. Apparently there is also a remote waterfall extending out of a mine, which I would love to find someday.

Anyhow, here are photos taken over the past couple of days!

Every year, my mommy makes a gingy house that our family decorates with a bunch of candy! At this point, one side of the roof is half eaten and there are several bald spots all over the house.