SoulPerStocking

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As we're all thinking about Christmas lists- our own or someone else's- I thought it'd be fun to find out what you'd like to find in your SoulPerStocking. List some things below that Santa can bring you that would move you further into creativity and imagination. Or something you use consistently to get yourself thinking in a more creative vein. Or even something new that you've never tried before and would love to test out in the coming year.

For my own SoulPerStocking, I'm eyeing the Beinfang Notesketch journal. Each journal page includes both a blank area (for sketching) and a lined section (for jotting notes.)

I'd love to try my hand at some pen and ink drawings in 2008, and this fine sumi brush pen looks like an exquisite re-introduction to the technique. Of course, then Santa would need to leave me a roll of rice paper too.

I have always loved the way Pearl Ex powder works. I can mix it with almost anything viscous (including plain old Elmer's Glue) and make something look pretty. Paint it (mixed with glue) over a plain piece of watercolor paper and I've got an subtly enhanced backdrop for my next masterpiece. Also good for making things look radiantly holy or explosive. ;)

And then, just for something kind of off beat and inspirational, I'd like something handmade from Etsy.com . The artist's hosted on this site are plentiful. And plentifully creative. You simply must browse.

I kinda like this coaster called, Bird School, by Robot Candy.
So vintage, so colorful, so cheery. I think I had a book like this when I was a kid.

Or this mini glass mobile to hang from my car mirror. Cool, eh? Art in the car.
Made by Leah's Glass Creations

So what do you want in your SoulPerStocking this year?

*Cindy Who Christmas Stocking, by Miss Mosh.

Meaning-Full Gift

Paula, who participated in our last SPS Coffee Cup study in the Book of Ruth, wrote this after making these coffee cuffs to raise money for clean water:

Between shopping for the shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child and the Samaritan's Purse catalog that sits in the basket in the bathroom, [my five-year-old] just hasn't understood why we would give toys to the kids but nothing to the moms. Wouldn't the moms and dads feel bad if they didn't get anything? If she wouldn't have held onto this idea of giving something to the whole family, I would never have followed through beyond the shoeboxes.

Last night as I sat sewing, she made tiny pictures of families to put on the backs of the cards all the while chattering away about how excited these kids are going to be to have clean water just like we do! My heart has been pricked - by the Holy Spirit moving in my daughter's life and by thinking about those moms, who are more tired than I, who really need a cool drink of water.

What I've been thinking about is that my part in the "rest of the story" is to just do the next thing. Am I willing to do my part in God's big picture when I can't see the end result. I don't know how taking care of a needy family will impact my children. I can't see if a water system will really make a difference in another family's life. Who knows if this family will ever get to hear about God because we sent money for water. But, my part is to just do my part and let God take care of my children's hearts as well as the physical and spiritual needs of another family. Ruth followed Naomi, Boaz took care of a desperate woman, I work on a simple project with my
family and send money to another family that is in need of water - living water. Today that is my role in the rest of the story.

What's Your Fave and Why?

Yesterday my family and I spent the day at George Washington's estate, Mt. Vernon. My husband took this shot facing the Potomac from the mansion. Even though the fall colors were "past peak," they far outdid what the trees in our home state of Texas do this time of year. And I couldn't stop saying, "Look at the colors! How beautiful!"

Fall color is not the only thing I miss about being a "transplant" in the Lone Star state. I had forgotten the sight of leaves, three or four at a time, slowly falling zig-zag to the ground. Back at my in-laws', my daughter and her cousin raked a bunch of leaves into a four-foot pile and then ran and jumped into the middle of it.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Family time, pumpkin pie, fall colors (both of our families live in places where leaves change color). I love to set a table full of beautiful china and smell the aroma of nutmeg and ginger and cinnamon.

What's your favorite holiday? Or season? And why?

Thomas Heatherwick

One of my favorite artists growing up was Leonardo da Vinci. My admiration resulted from a short documentory that showed da Vinci as a scientist, documenting, testing, and experimenting with his world.

Thomas Heatherwick is the subject of a Wired magazine article, "Bright Stuff" by Tim McKeough, He is a designer whose work is "the intersection of art, engineering, design, and architecture." In a recent documentary, the BBC referred to Thomas Heatherwick as "the new Leonardo da Vinci". To see his work, you'd understand.

Check out Heatherwick's web site to see his indescribable work including a bridge that rolls up, a three-story rolling staircase, and the sculpture made from thousands of glass beads strung on over 26,000 steel wires.

In the Mood

I'm a sucker for color. Bold and vibrant. Calm and soothing. Festive. Elegant. Riotous. Innocent. Color can bring such emotion and storytelling to a work of art. (And your kitchen, if you paint the walls in just the right hue.)

Recently, I found the blog, Snippet & Ink. The blog's creator, Kathryn, puts together daily "inspiration boards" to lend viewers a hand envisioning weddings, big events, and- I'd even go so far as to say, a sweater and skirt combo from their own closet.

One thing I enjoy about looking through Kathryn's boards are the places my mind immediately goes when I see her color and textural choices. My body relaxes with her pale green and cream combo. I'm slicing into a knife and fork BBQ sandwich when she pairs rustic red with tidy white. I'm bundling up for a sleigh ride when she pulls out the cool whites and Nordic blues. Each board is a scientific and artistic sampler of a slice of human experience.

Here are some lovely examples of Kathryn's colorful vision:

Board #60: Rebeckah's Miami-in-Toronto Wedding

Board # 57: Blue's Clues


Board #48: Autumn on the Beach


Board #13: Curious George

GodTube

Have you checked out GodTube? It has the potential to be the greatest tool ever OR one huge violation of intellectual property rights. While you're debating, if you haven't viewed the little girl reciting, Psalm 23 it's a must-see--especially for those of us who claim we can't memorize. (Case in point: What word comes at the end of this important phrase: It's the story of a lovely lady, who was bringing up three very lovely girls. All of them had hair of gold like their mother--the youngest one in ???)