Pink German Stars

Imagine a full Christmas Tree of Pink German Stars floating by clear thread, looking as though they are suspended in mid-air!   Magical!


Pink German Stars.  I have done these stars in every color, except pink, until now.  I'm not sure why I haven't ever made pink before, but now in celebration of Pink Saturday,...here they are!  They won't be my last!  I've just added them to my Etsy shop, too.  

If you love Pink, drop by and visit Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for Pink Saturday.   Beverly is all about pink, so check it out!   (She asked that we share a favorite recipe also, but honestly, my cooking isn't my strong suit.   I'd rather eat these paper stars!  He he he!)

Hopefully, I'll get a chance to blog again before next Saturday.......  Where is the time going!?


Warm Christmas Wishes,
Rebecca

Oh My Stars!

It's the week of Thanksgiving and I'm cooking, cleaning, blogging, and making stars!  Well, it wouldn't be a holiday at our house without these geometric sparkles at each table setting.  I place one at each table setting (this year in festive fall oranges and browns) to decorate the table.  They make wonderful bowl fillers too.  One bowl in the center of our table will overflow with German Stars.   (I'll take photos of Thanksgiving table settings and post that at a later date, but due to time limitations right now, I'll post a few other German Star photos).

I started making stars for a dinner party about five years ago. I needed a bit of sparkle on a budget.  Yet, I wanted something for each guest to bring home to remind them of our time together. Since then, they've become a tradition in our home.  They are the favorite place setting decorations, decorative bowl fillers on the coffee table, and Christmas Tree Ornaments (my favorites!)   We hand them out to the teachers, Sunday School teachers, friends that visit our home to show them they are a star in our lives!
I've made them for wedding favors!  White is a very popular star color this year, as that is what I've made the most of! Strung on clear thread, they look as though they are floating in mid-air.

One of my friends calls me every year as she decorates her tree, to tell me that she has just put the German Star that I made on her tree!  She remembers this star ornament had time and love put into it so it would match our dinner party decor years ago.  She remembers the laughs we had at dinner, and the quality time our families shared together.

A German Star......light-weight, geometrical-origami-magic, created in a rainbow of different colors.  And when they are glittered, they are like a little bit of heaven!

Sugar Plum Cone Ornaments!

It's been so busy at our house, that my crafting time has been limited, but I did get a few things made in the past few weeks and I wanted to share.  They're so cheery, that I have these little cones hanging all over the house.  I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet and I'm already thinking of Christmas Ornaments, but they're so much FUN!  And before we know it, those Christmas cards will be arriving in the mail again.....it's right around the corner!  I just can't wait!

I have fond childhood memories of cranking the homemade ice cream maker! Sugar Plum Cone Ornaments bring back those memories. These zero-calorie cones were made with the thoughtful suggestions from my professional ice cream crew, (my two little guys).

The countdown is on.  Just over a month left to plan, create, and prepare!  Are you getting ready for Christmas?

~ There's Nothing Like A Homemade Christmas ~

Change Can Be Good.....

A few years ago, I found out I was diabetic.  Yep, 35 years old and the genetic genes of my father's side caught up with me.  I decided to do all that I could to fight having complications for a very long time.  I attended a Diabetic Education Class.  The instructors taught me to shop differently, cook differently, and definitely eat differently.  I began to walk on my treadmill and be more active with my children.   I turned my life upside down...but I also lost twenty pounds of weight that I'd held onto since having my children.  


In my struggle to eat differently, I realized I didn't want to pass this diabetic gene on to my children if I could help it.  So, my new diabetic lifestyle went full circle!  The whole family needed to get on board.  Thankfully, my husband is a great support.  And we all made some healthy changes for our lives.  


My family has joined me in eating more vegetables, and less sweets.  We eat whole wheat bread, choose organic fruit when we can, and have cut out sodas.  We eat "colorful" fruits and vegetables to give our bodies wonderful health benefits.  When we aren't very happy about eating that veggie, we support each other by reminding that it's going to benefit our body by keeping fighting diseases, building our immune system, and giving us strong muscles!   (The boys love the strong muscle thing....they're in Martial Arts. Good muscles and strength are a big deal to them!)


Sometimes we cheat.  We have to eat cake or a cookie now and then!  But we shoot for eating our best 85% of the time.  It doesn't sound like that would be too difficult, but when lives get hectic, it can be a struggle.  We're improving and doing our best day by day!  


I remind my guys that a few simple, but good choices now will hopefully help them avoid pricking their finger daily for glucose samples like Mom does. 


We try to live by these simple tidbits at our house:


*  If it needs SUN to grow, it's probably a good food choice.  (Snicker bars do not grow in a garden!)  
*  Food items with just a few ingredients at the grocery store are better than the ones with a long list of huge words that you can't pronounce (which are likely chemicals and preservatives). 
*  Drink water! (Add lemon or lime slices if you're bored with plain water.  Green Tea is good too). 
*  Make it all homemade.  Even a cake is better for you if it's made from scratch.  Pre-packaged has too many preservatives, trans/saturated fat in it.
*  Eat veggies!  Fresh, frozen, canned.  Whatever.  Just eat them.  Veggies should be the main part of the meal with the meat and bread as smaller sides.  
*  Exercise is good!  (This one is a big one for me.  I'd rather be creating a fascinating new ornament  than working up a sweat!)  


Well, there you have it.  Diabetes is not what I had in mind for this time of my life.  It did get my attention though.  It made me re-evaluate my priorities.  Once my diabetes was under control, I felt better.  I pushed myself to take off the first pounds that I had been hanging onto.  I still am working toward the perfect hour-glass figure, but I'm a work in progress!  Change has helped me, and I have faith that the changes we've made as a family will benefit my children's future health, too.  

The Name "ChristmasGal"

Are you ready for Christmas?  My favorite part of Christmas is the preparation!  I know most people dislike that part, but I start early and go slow and steady.  If cards are ready to drop in the mail before December 1st, cookies are in the freezer, and gifts are purchased and wrapped, I can enjoy every single minute of The Season when it slips upon us!  .....It also helps that I love to make Christmas Ornaments year around.  That's how I chose the name ChristmasGal!  I can't wait for Christmas just for the reason that we get to get out the ornaments!

My fascination with Christmas Ornaments started when I was a child.  My mom took my brother and me to pick out one special ornament each year.  We often choose something that reminded us of an important event.  Other years, we simply chose one that interested us.  I remember the year I choose a vanilla ice cream cone with sprinkles on it (my favorite).  Another chosen favorite ornament: a small gift with a red ribbon and bow attached to it.  The tiny gift box is made out of squares of mirror.  My dad was a glass man at the time, (replacing windows and windshields) so that ornament reminded me of that.  I could go on and on!  The ornaments I chose over the years were given to me once I had my own tree to decorate. A whole set of ornaments full of love and memories to put on our tree the first Christmas after Tom and I were married.   

I have the same tradition with our two children.  They choose their ornaments with such care.  Each year when the tree goes up, it takes hours to decorate because we look over each ornament and reminisce over who chose it and where it came from.  We've also started the tradition of making one ornament each year.  The kids love that just as much as the ornament they have purchased!  

Through the years, I started crafting my own ornaments.   It turned into a hobby that I now enjoy all year around.  Sometimes it's a pretty "girlie" ornament that I've envisioned, and other times, it's something like this TaeKwonDo Ornament that I made for my boys, who love their Martial Arts TaeKwonDo class.  I made duplicates of each of their uniforms.  Each year I make new ones to show their current belt color.  They love to see them on the tree each year as they graduate to higher belt colors.  

And so the story continues.....follow me as I craft ornaments!    Tell me some of your crafting ideas and traditions.  

You can view more of my many ornaments on www.ChristmasGal.etsy.com