Christmas reflections

When I was a child, one of my favorite Christmas memories was waking up really early and sneaking out to see what Santa had left for us. Usually there were so many toys and gifts under the tree that the ring of patents extended several feet beyond the lowest branches. As I became a parent I fought the urge to do the same for my children, instead trying to place the emphasis on the reason we give more than the material gifts themselves. I think we have a lot more we could do to really get that message ingrained into our kids, but I think we have done ok.

 This year with trying to budget tighter, and save as much as possible for the adoption, it has been even more important. We did not buy much. I made quilts for the twins as I could not bring myself to buy them yet another toy to be left on the floor.  My son got a little money towards something he is saving up for. My eldest daughter got some art supplies that she had asked for. Our middle daughter got a giant dry erase market board that her dad built for her, and some duck tape. I am quite happy to report that they were all very happy with their gifts. Oh how I love my children. Between that and our wonderfully supportive family digging through their homes to find things for us to sell to help with our adoption, I don't think I have had a more wonderful Christmas. I hope yours was equally wonderful. God Bless!

Soooo close!

We are so close to being able to send in all of the commitment forms, but alas the HS agency is closed for the holidays (understandable). So we will have to wait until at least the 2nd of Jan before we can get everything sent in. We are sooooooo close but it feels like so far away! A week. A whole week! Maybe I can funnel all of this energy into getting the sculptures and medallions done.

One of two owl medallions that I am casting for my Etsy shop.

And the winner is...

And the winner of this lovely wall hanging is.. 

Laura Sokol!! Congrats!! 

Thank you everyone.  Now stay tuned to our FB for more auctions to start in Jan. :) LOTS of new (to the auction) items.

Almost Christmas

Today is the last day of school for the kids for the next nearly 2 weeks. They are pretty excited. Most of them just had movies or read in parties today. A last chance to give gifts to their friends and teaching staff. We stayed up baking chocolate chip cookies for the teachers, bus driver, and reading tutor, while watching some classic movies. I still have shopping to do tonight. With everything in a slightly different perspective this year, I have found it a bit difficult to get into the materialistic side of this holiday. My children and family have far more than they could possibly *need*. The kids have toys they hardly ever play with, books that sit on the shelves, clothes that seem to get washed repeatedly despite my not ever seeing them wear them, stuffed animals enough to stock a plush zoo. We have food, warmth, education, treatment for medical issues, freedom to worship Christ. Seriously what more do we need? This week I have slowly come around, but mostly we are just giving little things that will bring a smile to someone's face. Enough that they know we appreciate them. I also mailed out our family Christmas card for the first time in several years. If you get one, please be sure not to mention anything about it publicly online. We are still bound to privacy in that aspect.  As far as the adoption plans go, we are getting close to being able to commit on Reece's Rainbow. It probably won't be by Christmas but very very soon!! There is an extra stocking in the pile next to the Christmas tree this year anyway. What ever Santa leaves will just be delivered a little late. We are still hoping to travel this summer. I wish he was here now. I still pray for him daily. That he is healthy and that someone in the orphanage shows him love. For years I have felt like a piece was missing, and in some ways it is easier knowing where that piece is, but in other ways it is harder. He has no idea that we are coming for him. Has no idea what real living is like. I wish I could reach though my computer and touch his cheeks.

We finally got a bit of snow last night. Just enough to make everything beautiful. I hope it stays for a little while. The drab muddy brown was getting old, though I don't really mind the water troughs and dishes staying thawed outside! I love the snow, but not the ice. Even our coldest days, however, are no match for the -56f that is hitting parts of Russia right now. I cannot even fathom cold like that. At the single digits the insides of your nostrils freeze pretty fast. There, people are dying of exposure. :( How many of them are the homeless street orphans? Are they even counted among them? Will anyone even notice? It breaks my heart.

This along with the juvenile power trip going on with Russian law makers that is threatening to ban adoptions by US citizens. Please be praying for those families in process, as well as the innocent children who will suffer because of this legislation.


Deuteronomy 10:18
He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.


PS. Don't forget about the give-away! Just a few more days to get entries!

Taggy blankets!

I did some sewing today and got some really cute taggy blankets done. I wish we had stuff this cute when our kids were little! Here are pictures of the ones I did today. If you are interested in purchasing one, they can be seen in this album on our FB page.  I will also take requests for colors/fabrics. I have a large stash of fabric. :) The 12x12 are $15 and the small 5x5 are $5.

Auction totals!

Through the auctions the last 3 weeks, we were able to raise $475 total!! There is still a bit of stuff left. If you missed out and were interested in something, feel free to make an offer on it. I have listed some of it on Craigslist. We do have a few adoption books up for grabs if anyone is interested. These are good for those learning about the process. One is Complete book of International Adoption.

The other is Ultimate insiders guide to adoption. 

Both are paperback in very good condition. If anyone is interested in them for a small donation to our Chip-in, just lmk.

Now that the auction is over, as soon as I get all of this stuff shipped out, I will get back to sewing and  working on artwork. We are almost half way to our goal. How awesome it would be to make it the rest of the way by Christmas?

Plugging along!!

There is only one more day left on our fundraising auction on FB and lots of stuff still with no bids.  I would really love it to all move to more appreciative homes! Can you share our page just one final time? Perhaps there is an album or an item that you think someone on your friends list might be interested in. Could you share it with them? https://www.facebook.com/TheKrollClutterClearOut Remember that you get an entry into the give-away for every person that Likes our page and tells us who sent them! So far *no one* has done it, so everyone has just the one entry. The give-away for the Chicken Raggy Wall Hanging ends on Dec 24th. I have edited the # of entries you get for adding $ to our chip-in as well!!! The winner should get it in the mail just in time to have it take the place of the Christmas decor as it comes down for the year.

I have mentioned a few times how I hoped to raise a large chunk of the money we need through art sales. Some of you may not know what kind of art I do (beyond the crafty sewing stuff), so I thought I would post a link to my FB studio page. I have a piece I am working on right now that I hope will help get us a bit closer to our first goal. Here is a picture of it so far.

There is still a lot of work to do plus she still needs her mane and tail added. Those will be done in natural mohair fibers. The effect is very realistic and beautiful. Often times when I get them photographed outdoors with a good background, it will look like it was a real horse. That is the effect I am after. Here are a few I have done in the past. 

Here are a few more of my favorites. 

The one that I am working on right now is much smaller than any of the others that I have done with mohair. I am sure it will be quite the challenge! I do paint and sculpt them with sculpted manes and tails as well. They are simpler but the effect is just not the same. 

So that's what I am up to! Painting, sewing, drawing, sculpting, and decluttering to bring our little one home! 

Good news!

I spoke with the Homestudy Agency that we are going to be using and they require half when we start and the rest at the home visit. That will let us start just a little bit earlier, and keep raising the rest. So the new *first* goal is $2100. By my calculations we should be over $650 or so when this week's auction ends. Plus I have some artwork income coming soon which I hope will bring us up to around $1300 or more. That would leave us with just $6-700 to raise for this first goal. Oh how I pray that it comes soon.

Can you share our fundraising FB page on your wall for us? Just once? I would be so very thankful!! And if you have already I wish I could hug you! Here is your huge cyber hug!

(((((((((((((((((((((((hug))))))))))))))))))))))) 

Thank you!

Last auction is live!

I finished posting all of the items for the final auction (at least for December) late last night. What a busy day! I also ran out of most packing supplies so there are a couple of boxes that still need to ship out from last week. My husband was looking at the stuff I posted in the auction last night and mentioned he hadn't even seen a lot of it before. LOL This is because we still have stuff in boxes in the basement from moving in over a year ago. Obviously we don't need it if we have not even seen it in a year and our lives went on as usual. Now I did go dig the iron out 2 weeks ago. I had been sewing at my inlaw's house, where my mother-in-law has a sewing studio. I just moved all of my stuff home so that I could work more than just the 1-2 days a week that I was over there. I don't have an ironing board though so ironing consists precariously pressing fabric while trying to not scorch the cotton batting I lay on the table to keep the table from being damaged. It works for now though. Maybe I will score a cheap one from the Salvation Army at some point. I've been busy enough lately that I have not even had a chance to go look. The only trip I have made there was to drop off 8 bags of clothing we had sorted out of the excess. (That's a post for another day!)

I have a few art pieces I need to work on today and try to get finished up within the next few days. One is a sales piece, the other a commission. I think I only have a handful of commissions left to finish. Yay! I don't think I am going to make the Jan 1st cut off but it will be very soon after. This will free up a lot of stress so I can put all of my energy where it needs to be.  Between getting the house in order (finally) and having this mental burden off of me I may be a new person in 2013. I cannot wait! The house might even get painted at long last!

And speaking of being a new person, I hope that will include becoming a mom of 6. I emailed to get the commitment process started. We still have a bit of $ to get raised though. The sooner we get all of this going, the sooner we can travel. This weeks auction is a buzz of activity. What a blessing! I would love to sell everything in it! Our Amazon link has made us $12.36 so far! That's awesome. Every penny counts in this house. When we clean, if we find a random penny(or other change) on the floor, or in a couch cushion, it goes into the coffee can. When it is full, it will be taken to the credit union and deposited in the adoption account.  It's almost half full!

Give-away!!

Ok! Here it is!

This beautiful country chic Floral Chicken wall hanging measures approx 15" x 27". It is completely one of a kind and not made from any kind of kit. It was made from vintage print fabrics as well as some lovely off white linen and deep chocolate quilters cotton. The colors are warm and inviting with rich golden tones, creams, reds, and browns.

 There are a number of techniques in just this little piece including chenille, reverse applique, and quilting. The raggy linen flowers were all hand made. The hang tabs have been attached in such a way that you may hang it from either hooks (as shown) or a rod. It has been washed with detergents made for sensitive people so there are no strong smells. It can be washed if needed but I suggest gentle cycle or hand washing. The flowers will need refluffing afterwards but the fraying only gets better.

(It is even signed and dated in the bottom right corner)

In making this wall hanging I also learned how to make these beautiful linen raggy flowers. Unwashed they are gorgeous and crisp. Washed they soften and fray which gives them a nice loved look. They can be made 2", 4", or 6" wide (or larger if needed I assume!). I think they would look lovely on a decorative pillow, in a wreath, or attached to a headband. I could even see them put in the Christmas tree.

Now how do you win this? First, 'like' our Facebook fundraising page https://www.facebook.com/TheKrollClutterClearOut. If you already 'like' it, then you are already entered! Next share the page with your friends! Each friend that 'likes' the page and tells me who sent them will get an extra entry for you! If you follow this blog you will also get an entry. And here is the last way to get entries... you may add to our chip-in (top right corner of this blog).

$5 you get 5 additional entries
$10 gives you 15 additional entries
$15 gives you 30 additional entries
$20 gives you 45 additional entries
$25 gives you 60 additional entries AND a dozen gorgeous fabric flowers (2"-4" size, white or off white)


The give-away will end on Dec 24th. I cannot wait to see who gets to take this home! Oh, did I mention that shipping is on me? Merry Christmas!