What is new for Christmas at The Patchwork Heart,Co.

Christmas is coming the goose is getting fat,

please put a penny in the old man's hat.
If you haven't got a penny a half penny will do,
if you haven't got a half penny, then God Bless you!

When I was a girl and we started pulling out Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations I remember singing this little childhood rhyme. I can remember such excitement filled the air. There was something special about the holidays! I don't know exactly where this little jingle comes from I imagine it to be Old English...anyway, I feel the holidays coming don't you?

The smell of wood burning in the hearth, the changing of leaves and the temperature, pulling out warm sweaters, mittens, scarves, hats and cozy slippers. Soon we will be preparing for our Thanksgiving Feast and start ramping up our efforts to get Christmas gifts done. In a effort to practice what I preach I have come up with some wonderful crafting projects for the holidays this year, so you and your favorite girl can get to crafting special gifts too! I am so excited I am bursting at the seams!

These are available now at The Patchwork Heart, Co. Grab a cup of hot Harvest Time Cider and come sit for a visit. I look forward to hearing from you.

Here is a peak.... Gingerberry Apron Pattern for Girls,

Molasses Pup Plushie Kit

Also available, Ginger and Lil' Spice Dolly Apron Kit and Lil' Spice Pin Kit. You can find these and more wonderful gifts for Christmas under Seasonal Fun on my website:

The Patchwork Heart, Co.

Great News I Just Have to Share!

I am so thrilled to be published in Sew Somerset! What a great honor to see my artwork on the beautiful pages of a top sewing and mixed media magazine! My heart is just singing! I submitted work this last spring when I had some time to devote to it. So what a wonderful surprise to find this magazine in my mailbox, only to discover, as I poured over the pages,that I had been accepted!
Here are some pictures enjoy...

I feel like a real Artist now!

Girl Time Tidbit # 7 Gingerbread Cottage of Faith~Quote and Notes

Lil' Spice Pin

"Building your faith is necessary in order to know God and have a relationship with Him. And you need to know God in order that you may recognize and reap the blessings that He wishes to decorate your life with. Building your faith can take hard work, it may take longer than you expected and may be filled with life’s frustrations. These are necessary in order to know the blessings of God. It is important to experience the hardships, difficulties and disappointments of life, so that you may know and recognize the sweetness of God’s blessings. God loves to decorate your life with promises and the blessings of friendship, family, work, and school. He will bless you with the beauty and creativity of nature and His workmanship that you see in others. You serve a creative God, one who delights in blessing those who love and serve Him. Remember, life’s blessings are not a reflection of who we are to God, but of who God is.

So, as you grown in wisdom and understanding, no matter how young or old you are, God will use it to build relationships, character and faith, so that some day you will have a house filled with the riches and blessings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is this faith and character that will prove to be sweeter and out last any earthly gingerbread cottage!"

~Heather Wombacher

From: The Gingerbread Cottage of Faith

For those of you who listened to me today on the internet with Jill Novak on Girlhood Talks, thank you- what a privilege to share my heart with you all, it was wonderful. ( I'm really glad you hung in there with me even though we got disconnected.) I was so excited to talk to you today that I forgot I had made up a study sheet and so I will post that link below for you to download. I humbly ask that you please use for your personal use only, thanks.

Here is the link enjoy!http://www.camerahunter.org/webinarstudentnotes.pdf

Girl Time Tidbit #6- Harvest Time Cider

I wanted to share a harvest season recipe that can be used right through Thanksgiving or until you bring out the Egg Nog. I have given this recipe to my daughters to put into their very own recipe notebooks. What is a recipe notebook you ask? There is an article in the latest Girlhood Home Companion click here to go to The Patchwork Heart, Co. find out more about this. This can be any kind of note book, but of course, we have made ours special by creating a unique cover and then using that theme design throughout the rest of the notebook. We collect recipes, projects and tips that sound wonderful to us and put them into our notebook.

I started these when the girls were around 9 or 10 as they developed an interest in cooking and baking. We started with baking skills since making treats is so much fun especially since you get to lick the beater on the Kitchenaid mixer. We then moved into other cooking, for example, dishes for everyday meals. Now we are into meal preparation. It has been such a joy to watch my youngest, especially, enjoy this skill and learn it well.

From our home to yours here is our wonderful recipe for:

Harvest Time Cider

Apple juice or Apple cider whichever you prefer
Good Earth brand Tea or other cinnamon flavored tea
1 Whole orange- sliced in rings

In a sauce pot combine 1 cup of cider for every person you will be serving and 2 tea bags, for every 4 servings. If you are making 8 servings then use 4 tea bags and so on. Bring to a simmer until tea has seeped 3-5 min. Then slice up your orange into rings and add to your cider and heat through. We like this cider hot but you can also serve it cold. However, you must heat all ingredients together first and then chill and serve. Cuddle up by the fire and enjoy!

Women's Retreat-Live, Laugh and Love

Live Well, Laugh Often, and Love Much!

Got home a couple of days ago from our annual women's retreat at church. Can we just say F-U-N! I had a wonderful time with my sisters in the Lord. We learned a ton from Sari O'Malley our speaker. She was such an encourager and spoke the truth of God's word over us so that we can Live well, Laugh often and Love much. What a total blessing. I have heard some of what she talked about before but, she illuminated it with the love of Christ like no one I have heard. I could tell it was her true desire to be there sharing her heart and insights with us as she lovingly taught us the healing power of Christ's love.

It was so good for me to get away from the day to day and spend time doing the things I love with some of my favorite people- my sisters in Christ.

This is what we made for a craft.

We also made a wonderful shakers full of bath salts (as in salt shakers-get it?)and embellished them with beautiful tags and ribbons. Just can't get enough gold glitter! I even blinged out my name tag with a bit of gold glitter. Too cute!

I made this for the speaker's podium.

Details of pendant medallion

The lodge where we met for meals and our speaker time had a black, cream and gold theme. It was very creatively decorated with white Christmas lights, candles and lots of carry over ideas from the craft using the Layers of Color Fleur Stamp. All Around the room were paper rosettes similar to the medallion on the craft, made from newspaper and the center of the medallions blown up and decoupaged onto paper plates. Now that is what I call creative.

The tables had black and white patterned paper and the words live, laugh, love cut out and golden leaves from the maple trees at camp all nicely arranged under clear protective plastic table cloths. There were large Hurricane jars with golden Japanese maple branches in them and pumpkins with different black and white ribbon. Black and cream Toile was draped over tables, counters and large surfaces and Toile covered pillows were added to the couches. The final touch of ambiance came from the toasty fire in the fireplace! Didn't I tell you it was fabulous?

I had planned on getting there and taking lots of pictures so that I could brag on my sisters but guess what? No I didn't forget my camera... I FORGOT the card in my card reader at home. So you will just have to use your imagination and trust me when I say that it was glowing with warmth, smiles, hugs, and friendship!

Live Laugh and Love

This is what I have been creating for our women's retreat. I was inspired after a bout of migraines. It was nice to feel better and be able to really live out these 3 little words. Live Laugh and Love. I hope that you will do them with abandon this week!

I use wallpaper samples along with old text pages from old books. I use black ink and Layer of Color Stamps, and of course the peace de resistance: gold glitter!

These are little favors to give to each woman when she arrives. Our crafts and activities will both incorporate these design ideas and color scheme. Look out ladies we are going to live laugh and love a ton at this retreat!

Altered Art Thankfulness Book

This is my Grateful Book for the Layers of Color Designer Challenge. The challenge was to take a chunky child's book and alter it, the theme being what we are thankful for. Doesn't this theme lend itself nicely to the Fall season we are in? I used a big board book the kind that has flaps to open. I thought this an interesting element that would lend itself to the wonderful world of altered books. That is one of the things I love the most about altered books- the unexpected treasure that you find along the way, as you explore each page. Flaps are perfect for that! This is the cover and first inside pages, there will be more to come as they are completed. It is entitled: The Wondrous Gift. I got this out of an old 1883 Gospel Hymnal.

The first page is Faith and without it I am truly lost. This is true in all areas of my life. When I married and had my first child I turned a corner in life and followed a different path. On this trail I realized that I simply could not live my life separate from my faith...

and I am grateful I have never looked back.

There and many uses of symbolism, the colors gold, brass and copper. These metals are so beautiful when they are aged even thought they may tarnish on the outside the inside still glows with warm light when polished. Its reflective properties are reveal too. I often feel this way when I think about how God sees me. He is the one that rubs away the tarnish of my soul to reveal my uniqueness and who He created me to be. I am also able to glow with the peace of Christ. Sometimes in life others don't see this or don't even bother to look, its old, tarnished... no good. I think that is why I like things that are old and worn in all the right places. It reminds me that what I see isn't all there is in the journey that has been traveled.

There are words and music which are part of who I am, without them I am lonely. The jewel and key: reminders of how being grateful is such a jewel of character and is often the key to changing our perspectives in life.

I hope this inspires you to remember all that you have to be thankful for, letting all that you have overflow into generosity! That is my desire this Thanksgiving. I have so much to be grateful for....I hope my art expresses the gratitude of my heart.

2 Corinthians 9:10-12

10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 12This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.