Christmas puzzles, mazes and how to draw and Homer the Scottish bear

Nollaig chridheil huibh

(Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in Scotch Gaelic)

vintage Christmas tag

Welcome!

I just might be alive after my 2-day Craft Bazaar.

Maybe.

:0)

I am happy to be back with my blog friends.

GOOD NEWS:

I sold a Collage Art Doll to a lady who was buying it for her teenage daughter.

It was perfect!

and she was happy.....

and I was happy.....

and I bet her daughter will be happy too!

BIG GRIN HERE!

Let's get started today with some fun games - Christmas themed of course!

a vintage maze

Here is a vintage Betsy McCall mix-up game:

and a fun Christmas bell puzzle -

from a vintage children's PLAY MATE magazine

Let's do a little How-to-draw fun,

courtesy Dover Books:

That's all for today, friends.

I have a LOT of sorting and inventory and packing from my Craft Bazaar!

Let's finish up with how a bear in Scotland might celebrate Christmas -

Homer the Brown Bear

Blair Drummond Safari, near Stirling, Scotland

Merry Christmas, Homer!

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

http://www.myinkspired.com/

http://www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com/

It's a Holly Jolly Santa!

Aapko Christh Janam Din ki badhai

(Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in Hindi)



vintage clip

Today I want to have a little fun with the upcoming holidays,

and Santa Claus!

Today is my last day to get everything ready

and packed and in my van because

TOMORROW

starts my 2-day Craft Fair.

Yeah, you're probably tired of hearing about it, so let's get into some

Father Christmas

or

Grandfather Frost

or

Saint Nicholas

or

Santa Claus

or

There are many names that across the world are

attributed to the same basic character.

After this weekend I hope to get into some of the different

Santa Claus legends and stories from all over the world.

Not today!

This free clip art is SUPER to cut out!

Be careful with the really thin outline lines,

but he will look great when you mat him on a piece of red paper, won't he?

 

Take just a little bit more time, and you can put some silver paper

behind his belt buckle.  Add a little flesh-toned paper behind his face,

but be sure and leave the eyebrows alone.

 

 

A fun little puzzle to do on your lunch break, or to tuck into your kid's lunchbox:

a vintage crate label

Hi Mom and Dad in Santa Paula!

Here is a vintage paper puppet craft:

Trace the outlines, and have your kids color Santa in their favorite colors.

http://www.thevintageworkshop.com/

This picture is copyrighted I believe. Check on their website.

The Vintage Workshop has this great sign-up where you get one FREE image from their HUGE library of vintage images, per month.

I have enjoyed many of their free images.

They also carry way-cool items that you can use to make things with the images.

A few are -iron-on computer paper, fabric computer paper,

and tons of images, in really good groupings

or singles!

c.1909

Well, I'm off to count inventory,

finish my displays and display board

find my price tags (gggrrrrrrrr)

price and tag things

finish my price sheet cheat sheet for my helpers;

(I have 2 for Saturday! Yippee!)

www.girlontherocks.etsy

go to the bank

go to WalMart for picture stands and rubber cement

and then IF I have time

finish 2 more ABC books to sell

finish 10 ornament tags that need ribbon

wash tablecloths

find sheets are something to cover my tables Saturday night

get 3 Thank You cards ready for my 3 helpers

Call one helper to arrange transportation

clean up my sprawling mess in the family room,

flowing into the kitchen eating area

and piled in the dining room!

vintage Christmas record

Oh, I just better stop this blog and go do those things!!!

:0)

hugs,

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

http://www.myinkspired.com/



Beginning a little Holiday Cheer!

Schei Kreschtdeeg

an e

Scheint Nei Joer

(Luxembourgian for Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year)

please forgive me for not being able to put in accent marks,

and those little double .. above certain letters.

Welcome to my readers in Luxembourg!

(and the rest of you too!)

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world,

and behold, everything is

softer and more beautiful."

- Norman Vincent Peale

Good Morning!

At least, it's still morning here for a few more minutes!

I'm going to just touch a bit on Christmas today.

Enjoy!

c.1915

an easy papercutting design for you:

Remember, it is 'backwards' as you can cut on the back side of your paper,

with the pretty side facing the table.

These next paper dolls are just silly!

'Chopper the Reindeer' by Nami's Closet 

and a Bear-y Western Christmas....

thanks to OrigamiBears for her wonderful web site!

c. 1846

Notice how Santa Claus looks different?

It is because the drawing is so old it is before we got our

'standard' Santa Claus!

Well, I need to get signs ready for my Craft Fair

which will be here in

2

DAYS!!!!

EEEK   EEEK   EEEK   EEEK

I am NOT stressed out

I am NOT stressed out

I am NOT stressed out....

Actually, a friend called me and she is coming to help me on Saturday,

which will be a HUGE help and make me feel less stressed.

"Blessed is the season which engages

the whole world

in a conspiracy of love."

- Hamilton Wright Mabie

See you tomorrow!!

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

I'D Miilad Said ous Sana Saida

( Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in Arabic)

miniature horse foal with bird

http://www.newyork.inetgiant.com/

I picked Arabic for my greeting today, because I want to talk about horses.

And Arabian horses are world-wide known.

I read an article today that has deeply disturbed me,

and I hope it will deeply disturb you.

That's right.

Deeply disturb you.

You can read the entire article here:

http://news.yahoo.com/horses-could-soon-slaughtered-meat-us-080907323.html

http://www.animaldiscovery.com/

"Humankind has not woven the web of life.

We are but one thread within it.

Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.

All things are bound together.

All thing connect."

- Chief Seattle

On November 18, US President Obama signed a bill that lifted the 5 year old law banning slaughterhouse horse meat inspections. 

What does that mean?

I never heard of it!

I bet you didn't either, as our Congress reps have pushed this through

 very quietly.

Why? I think because they know that we the people would be against it.

So okay, the govt. is saving money or what?

The lift of the ban means that slaughterhouse horses no longer have to be shipped to Mexico or Canada to die.

It will be cheaper now for the slaughterhouse owners.

http://www.deshow.net/

Do you smell something rotten here? I sure do.

This will profit mainly the slaughterhouse owners.

Yep, it will provide jobs.

But at what ethical cost?

"Contempt for animal life leads to

contempt for human life."

- Edward Abbey

neglected and starved horse arrives at

http://www.sundownhorseshelter.org/

Here  is some more info that your reps forgot to let you know:

Slaughter houses in the USA could be up and running in as little as 30 days.

Currently, there are no slaughterhouses in the US that butcher horses for human consumption.

Pro-slaughter activists are scrambling to get a plant going, possibly in Wyoming, North Dakota, Nebraska or Missouri. Eventually they could kill (‘process’) as many as 200,000 horses a year. The meat is then shipped mostly to Europe and Asia.

Lee Ruonavaara HonMent with Horse therapy for the Disabled

http://www.pathintl.org/

Eating horse meat is virtually unknown in the US at this time.

California and Illinois have banned the slaughter of horses for food. Other states have laws that tightly regulate the sale of horse meat.

Does your state?

http://www.horse-games-for-kids.com/

Where were these lawmakers when the lift of the ban was being pushed through Congress?

Where were the representatives that have been voted to express MY opinion and convictions to Congress?  I answer phone surveys for public opinion. I have a listed number. No government organization ever asked me what I thought about the lifting of the ban of slaughter. Why?

http://www.karenswhimsy.com/

Because it is yet another of Washington’s Big Secrets.

I think our reps knew that we would protest, and protest loudly against killing such a noble, intelligent animal for food. Food that we do not need. Our land is a land of plenty. Yes, we have starving people, and children living below the poverty level. We also have farmers that are PAID to let their crops go to waste. They are PAID to NOT grow crops in their fields.

Hello?

Is anybody with reason listening out there?

Anybody that is not connected with the for-profit slaughterhouse special-interest lobbyists?

http://www.karenswhimsy.com/

Are YOU able to spare 3 minutes to make a call to your Congress representatives and express an opinion?  Take 3 minutes and send your rep an e-mail?

I have had things that I wanted to tell my Senator and State Rep,

but have always had the excuse that I didn't know how to reach them, etc.

Well, today I am so upset that I went onto Google and found out how to contact them.

This is the place to find your senator, and all the contact info:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

To find your Representative:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

you must have your zip code + 4. If you don’t know what your +4 is, check out your bills or magazines. Most of them have it on their labels.

(I found my +4 on the mailing label from the Qwest.)

http://www.phantom-xp.com/

I do realize that different countries have different ideas about what is acceptable to eat,

and what is not.

I think that American history is so infused with the horse,

that it is almost impossible to separate the romance of the horse

and our American History, especially Western history.

c.1909

Horses were used by our native Americans for hunting and travel.

In the Plains region, where I live, the many tribes that make up the Plains Indians used the horse for transportation, hunting and war within their nomadic  lives.

c.1903

So, would Paul Revere be so famous if he walked to tell 'the British are coming'? 

Would we have had such a rapid development of the West

if the pioneers had to carry everything they needed?

Because horses would have been used for food...

not helpmates of the human race.

Paul Revere's Ride to rouse the Minutemen before the Battle of Lexington

http://www.art.com/

Erica Flamand

http://www.pathintl.org/

Oh, I know I'm being silly now, so I will close.

Please consider this issue.

How you feel about it.

Why you feel that way.

What are the facts?

and then.....

Contact your Representative and Senator.

They really are supposed to be reps of what we think and what we want.

But they can't know that if we don't tell them!

vintage Annie Oakley poster

Please copy and paste this blog and send to all your family, friends and aquaintances.

You can also copy and paste this blog address to send.

being sad today at our lack of empathy and care for the animals that God has directed us to care for -

inkspired

http://www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com/

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/



Geseende Kerfees

(Merry Christmas in Afrikaans)

 

Radio City Rockettes rehearsing for the 2011 Christmas Spectacular

photo by Timothy A. Clary

Wouldn't it be fun to see the Rockettes?
I would love that!

Today, again, I will have a short blog.

Only

4

more days until my Craft Fair!

For those of you in the Denver area, stop by and say hi!

I will be in the Main Exhibition Hall, right next to the rotunda in

the Adams County Fairgrounds

just a little bit East from Riverdale Road

Dec. 3, 9am - 4pm

Dec. 4, 9am - 4pm

I had a fun discovery today -

several completed altered paper dolls!

2 of them are Halloween themed, but I'll still put them out.

Here are 3 that I have scanned. The others need to be resized, etc. and I will share!

'Brigette Dark Angel'

I used recycled images for the under-dress and Brigette's face.

I really like how my gown turned out with all the free flowing ribbons.

'Boo' altered paperdoll by inkspired

I still have to fiddle with the color a bit, as the 'Boo' is a bit more glow-in-the-dark orange. Her spider is hanging free. The legs are from a paperdoll, and her round 'skirt' is a recycled tarot card.

'I dare you' altered paperdoll by inkspired

Again, I still need to fiddle with the color, but I do like her attitude!

Next is a copy of a greeting card - Chrissie:

Thank you to OrigamiBears for sharing this paperdoll with us.

What, you don't know what a 'OrigamiBears' is?

Check out her blog right after finishing my blog.

Her addy is to the right.

I need to get to the post office.

I sold my first Collage Art Doll!!!

ooooooohhhhh, I am so happy.

Except...

I really like her and am having a surprisingly hard time letting her go!

sigh.

Here she is:

'Time for an Office party'

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

Sorry, that's it for today!

Have fun on OrigamiBears' site. She is just wonderful for sharing her

humongous paper doll collection.

:0)

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/