Giving Thanks For Purses, Pumpkin Pancakes, and Little People
I Am Thankful
Having just celebrated Thanksgiving, I feel the need to share a few of my many blessings. So many years of my life have been spent enjoying the holidays with family, enjoying the food and traditions but not focusing on what the celebration means to me. We all experience difficult situations in our lifetime and hopefully we come out better than we went in.
1.The last few trials in my life have taught to be thankful for God’s provision and not taking a job, food, shelter or warmth for granted. When hubby and I went through a period of job loss while having to choose between repairing a leaky roof or the heating unit for our house, God taught me that the necessities and luxuries in life come from him.
2. I am thankful for the opportunity to experience motherhood. After my miscarriage, I learned not to take my children for granted. Sure, I loved them but I didn’t really grasp that it was a privileged to be their mother. They have blessed me far more than I realized. They teach me to be a better example when I see them mimicking my actions and they put me to shame when they share/show the love of Christ to others more than I do. They constantly teach me how much I need to grow in the area of patience and self-control.
3. I am incredibly thankful for God’s mercy and forgiveness. The other day, we let our children watch the movie
I Can Only Imagine. I have seen it twice but I cry Every. Single. Time. It is the story behind the song sung by MercyMe. I love how God changed the heart of this man’s abusive father and turned him into a new creature in Christ. If you have never seen this movie, watch it! Here is the song.
Thanksgiving Pretties
Last week, I shared the bodice of my daughter’s Thanksgiving dress and here is the completed dress. Those tiered panels on the skirt are not my favorite and I always underestimate the amount to time it takes to gather. But it did not disappoint in the twirl department. My daughter loved the skirt so each gather was well worth it.
And of course every dress needs a matching purse. My daughter LOVES the color orange and requested an orange purse to match. And do you see those gigantic buttons? My daughter begged for them while I was shopping for buttons one day. I think they are really tacky but bought them anyway to make her happy, never intending to actually use them on a project. Whenever I give her the button jars to pick a button for her purse she always picks one of these flower buttons. And she loves to sort and play with them while I am sewing. I guess they weren’t such a bad purchase after all. But I still don’t like them.
Handmade By My Daughter
I mentioned in a previous post that my daughter painted and stamped some fabric for a purse. It took me a while but I finally assembled the purse. I love how it turned out! Here is the front and back.
Quite colorful and fun! And she even helped sew on the button. Here is my little sewist pretending to sew on her sewing machine (otherwise known as her Fisher Price Mixer).
Sketch
The top picture is a sketch that I recently did for an art challenge on Facebook. It is a great way to pass the evening instead of spending it in my cell phone browsing FB or the internet. This side view is a sketch from my library book by Pam Carriker. As you can see, I need to work on this view. It is much more difficult than the front view. That is about all the art I have been doing as of late.
Tea Day
Today is tea day and I am joining the T ladies over at Elizabeth and Bleubeard’s. I am sharing a few of my favorite tea’s from Tiesta Tea. I drink the Fruity Pebbles everyday and save the Gotta Colada and Sweet Ginger Peach for special moments when I need a retreat in a cup.
Recently, I made a yummy Gluten/Dairy free pumpkin pancake. It was delicious! It was made from my cookbook, Necessary Food: Traditional Favorites Made Healthy from Briana Thomas’s Kitchen
Happy Tea Day,
Kate
Hi Kate, the finished dress for your daughter is so gorgeous I love it! and the purse you made with her art is just so special too-you are very talented as a seamstress too. Your teas looks delicious-hugs Happy T Kathy
Oh pumpkin pancakes sound delicious right now, even if I did have dinner. And your daughter’ is adorable, as is her cute dress. I bet she loved wearing that. Your drawings are looking fantastic. I really need to dig out that book and take a stab after seeing your drawings. Have a super T day. Hugs-Erika
Glade you enjoyed Thanksgiving. The dress and purse are really precious. Beautiful art, too. Happy T Day, Valerie
Yes. I so agree. We do not celebrate Thanksgiving but it´s the same with Christmas.
I always so enjoyed the goose my Mum made, it took her hours. I enjoyed the pressies. I hated Dad making us leave the room till Santa brought the pressies and then rang the bell. I was over 20 years old!
But yes. I took it for granted. Now that they´re all gone… I know I should´ve been way more thankful.
Oh, that is the sweetest pic of your happy daughter! Happy T-Day.
Looks like there is so much to be thankful for! I’m loving your daughter’s dress that you made too, the tiered skirt design looks fabulous and the matching bag looks amazing 😁. I happen to like the flower button too …lol 😉. The bag painted and stamped by your daughter looks fabulous, I think you have a budding artist and sewer there, I’m loving the Fisher Price mixer sewing machine too … Ha ha! What a great array of teas – Happy T Day wishes! Hugs, Jo x
What a fabulous post. We all have so many things to be thankful for, and yours are wonderful.
I love your sketches, They are beautiful. And that DRESS. I can only imagine how long it took to sew all those gathers and all the layers, too. Your daughter is very lucky (and very adorable, too).
You have great choices in tea, too, Kate. I don’t drink much tea, but when I do, I drink loose leaf teal You have some wonderful blends to fall back on. Thanks for sharing your art, your daughter’s dress and purse, and your tea choices with us for T this Tuesday.
That should have read TEA, not TEAL. It’s hard to see the words because they are so light on my monitor. Sorry,
Oh, the dress turned out so darling! Nice purse too. Great portrait sketching- not easy, nor is it something I could really grasp. I’ll stick to mixed media and slap paint around:):) Happy T day!
Your sketch looks great and the tea looks delicious. Your daughter’s dress came out beautifully. And I love the matching purse, including the button. The purse she helped make is lovely also. I’m sorry to hear you had a miscarriage.
Your comments about being thankful were thought provoking to read. Bad things happening do put things into perspective. I’m glad God came through for you during hard times. That has never been the case for me. But there are many who have life harder than I do, so I’m not complaining.
Recognizing and appreciating our blessings is a blessing in itself 🙂 Those handmade treasures! You and your daughter have a lot of talent. Happy T Tuesday!
Oh that dress has turned out so beautiful! I’m glad your daughter likes it as a lot of work has gone into that. I do like the button. It is the perfect choice for a little girl. (I wouldn’t use it myself) .
Yes, we have so much to be thankful for. You are right not taking anything for granted. I also appreciate things as I have experienced God’s provision in difficult times.
Unfortunately the video of ‘I can only imagine’ would not play. (not available in my area according to the message) I know a song sung by Amy Grant with the same title which is one of my favorite songs and I well up every time I hear it as it talks about meeting Jesus face-to-face and what would I do. It’s probably the same song. Beautiful. ‘All of creation bowing down and the whole universe saying your Name out loud’. Wow! … One day….
The film sounds great. I will try and get it on Amazon.
You are doing well with your faces. Keep at it. One day you will be able to draw portraits of your children.
Happy T-Day to you,
Hugs,
Lisca
Your daughter’s dress is just gorgeous. And the purse is super cute. Not only have you created a beautiful garment, but you have also created a lovely memory for her. She will remember the dress and twirling skirt and how she helped make the purse and picked out the button. I like your expression about tea as a retreat in a cup. That made me smile. Happy T Day.
A wonderful post Kate, your daughters dress looked lovely, I’m sure she will enjoy giving twirls and remember this very pretty dress. The purses also looked fantastic and I loved seeing the mixer being used for sewing, oh that it were possible yo use them for two jobs. your daughter is going to enjoy crafting and sewing just like here mom.
Your sketches looked awesome Kate.
Happy T day wishes, the pumpkin pancake looked delicious.
Yvonne xx
OH, that dress turned out beautifully, and with a purse! How happy your daughter must be with it and the big button. I had to laugh when you said she was sewing on her machine, otherwise known as a FP mixer. So funny. She is adorable, and the purse you made with the fabric she stamped turned out well, too. Lovely, to read your thankful post. I am afraid, I tend to take blessings for granted. I try to praise The Lord for his goodness everyday and confess my sin of ingratitude. Happy Tea Day, Kate!
Very uplifting comments Kate! The more problems we face the better we become at dealing with the next problem and it’s also amazing how much we learn from our children! I shall look out for the film! The dress looks amazing…and of course it needed an orange bag with a garish button! Your daughter will soon be sewing I think!! Happy T Day, Chrisx
Absolutely stunning muse, Kate. I shared the video on Facebook, though I hardly ever post on Facebook. I imagine I will/would fall on my knees in humility, gratitude and awe. But I would love to dance and sing for the Lord.
The dress is really special. I’m glad your daughter liked the twirl factor. The purse is amazing! She has her own style but obviously inherited your artistic talent.
Happy T-day! Eileen xx