December 2008

Happy Solstice! The sun is returning! (This is a Nebula around a star or sun.)

"Yule" literally means "wheel," and it's often celebrated at the Winter Solstice, which marks the beginning of a new cycle - a new solar year. It is probably one of the oldest of mankind's ritual celebrations. I always make a point of celebrating this day, when the long, dark nights of winter start to shorten and the days lengthen. I usually celebrate with a big feast, burn a yule log, light lots and lots of candles, put out Farolitos (Luminarias) if weather permits, and drive through local neighborhoods to enjoy the light displays.

Spiral Galaxy - one of my two favorite celestial objects!

Take a few minutes to gaze through the Hubble telescope at the heavens above. Our human habits have clouded our atmosphere with too many pollutants to see the night skys in the same way our early ancestors did. Thank goodness for the Hubble telescope! It is out in space and it sees all!

My other favorite - Whirlpool Galaxy. Wheel. Cycle of Life. Interesting.

Just look at all the galaxies out there!

Millions and millions of them.

Interacting Spiral galaxies ...you did know all this infinite and soul-stirring beauty was out there... right?

Back to earth...

The ancient ones would always bring evergreen plants into their homes at Solstice as a reminder that the cycle of life will eventually bring the return of Spring, and new growth. Usually I follow their lead and bring into my home...

Fresh Rosmary

Ivy (It's snowing like crazy! See!)

And, Holly (or Oregon Grape).

But this year, I have received the most amazing gift and reminder of the coming Spring - my pink Epiphyllum is in bloom - right now in the dead of winter! We always bring our Epiplyllums into the garage just before the first frost, since they are really not designed for life in the cold northern states. We have never had a single bloom during the winter months. But we have one this year! Beautiful isn't it? (We stuck a blue screen behind it so you wouldn't have to look at the rest of the garage!)

My backyard OUTSIDE the garage...

And the snow is just starting!

Just outside my kitchen window...

An adult and juvenile Rufous-sided Towhee are grabbing a quick lunch before we get the ice storm.

After an early Solstice feast, we blow out the candles and hop in the car to go visit our favorite neighborhood light displays. This gorgeous tree, growing in Ester Short Park in the heart of downtown Vancouver, is always our first stop. The huge tree is decorated with these beautiful lights every holiday as a gift to the citizens of our little town. I love that the lights are blue, magenta, green and purple. My eyes are happy just gazing at it!

And we wouldn't miss a visit to our favorite "Christmas House", a gift to the residents of Vancouver and Portland from a man with a very big heart. Do you see the moon??? Isn't THAT perfect!

But since we may not be able to visit our beloved lights this year (at least on the Solstice), we may have to settle for a yule log on the fire, a plate of cookies, and a few virtual light displays, like this tour of Christmas Trees at the White House that many of our past presidents have enjoyed.

I thought you might also enjoy a little visit to Iceland for Yule. (The people living in Iceland no doubt really look forward to the return of the sunshine!) In Iceland, the word "Yule" or "Jol" is used for Christmas, so actually you are going to visit Iceland for Christmas!

HAPPY SOLSTICE EVERYONE! I wish you all a stary night that looks like this:

Tomorrow we will have one more minute of sunshine!

It wasn't Christmas when I was growing up without a drive around town on Christmas Eve to see the Luminarias. Actually, they are known as Farolitos (little fires) in New Mexico and the word "Luminaria" is reserved for the small bonfires used to light the way for participants in Las Posadas. But since most of the world knows the little bags with candles in them as Luminiarias or Luminaries, I am using that word in this post.

The photo above is of Erickson Farms here in Vancouver, WA. In the Summer, the farm is one of our favorite places to seek out raspberries and blackberries. During the holidays, the Ericksons give a gift to Vancouver residents by putting up this wonderful light show, complete with Luminarias.

Luminarias have been used during the winter holidays in the American Southwest for a long time.

The Desert Botanical Garden in Scottsdale, Arizona carries on this tradition every year during their winter celebration of Las Noches de Las Luminarias. As you can see above, the entire garden is lit with strings of lights and every path is outlined with luminarias. Throughout the Southwestern US, you can see homes, neighborhoods and businesses decorated with lights and Luminarias like the photo above.

Link over to this beautiful image, which shows a gorgeous Luminaria display on the Inn at Loretto in Santa Fe, New Mexico. That will give you some idea of the magic I remember from my childhood Christmas Eve explorations. More images of Luminarias (Farolitos) can be found here and here. Take the time to visit and savor the quiet beauty in these galleries.

I am delighted that people everywhere are using Luminarias as part of their decorations these days. They are the simplest of decorations to make and very inexpensive. Even though I struggle a bit with the WET Pacific Northwest weather these days, I still make the traditional candle-based Luminarias. (You can get electric ones, of course, but it's just not the same!)

LET'S MAKE SOME LUMINARIAS!

You will need:

- Brown paper lunch bags (You can certainly use white and colored bags, I but I prefer the good old fashioned brown paper bags.)

- Clean sand (if you don't have any leftover from Spring planting, small bags of washed sand are usually available in the garden section of home improvement stores. Don't use any sand or dirt that has wood chips or sawdust in it - these are flammable!)

- Votive candles or tealights

How to make them:

Luminarias are usually placed about 12" to 18" apart for best effect. Measure the length of the area you wish to use for display and divide it by either 12" or 18" to determine the number of bags you will need.

Open the bags so they sit flat on their bottoms, as shown above. I usually place my Luminarias on cookie trays, which makes for easy transportation once they are ready to go outside. The big cardboard flats you got last Spring from the garden centers work well too!

Fold the tops of the bags over about 1". This gives the rims a little more stability and helps keep the bags from closing. The fold is a little tricky at first, but it gets easier as you practice.

Pour a little sand into each bag. You don't need a lot - about 1" is plenty. The main reason for the sand is to keep your Luminarias from blowing away if there is a little breeze. (Don't even THINK about lighting Luminarias if it is windy, by the way - that's just not safe.

Place a votive candle or tealight in the sand. I prefer the tealight because the aluminum cup provides an extra margin of safety, and it contains the melted wax so it doesn't run all over the sand and soak through the bag.

Carry your completed Luminarias outside and put them in place. Always be careful to place each Luminaria well away from buildings, outdoor plants, or anything flammable. Then, just as dusk is falling, light each tealight. (I recommend using the long butane lighters we all use to light our grills in Summer.) Be careful not to catch the paper bags on fire!

(Indulge me one last safety warning, too: Never leave your Luminarias unattended, and be sure to blow them all out before you go to bed.)

If you use tealights, then this display is totally green!!! The sand and the bags can be reused next year, and you will end up with a stash of aluminum cups to use for light collars or Espejitos next year!

In Mexico and Latino communities throughout the United States, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated with processions and special church services. You can find beautiful pictures of Our Lady of Guadalupe here.

Debra-Duran Geiger, a Santa Fe artist, designed and hand-painted this lovely representation of Our Lady on high fired ceramic tile. I am so fortunate to have this piece as I understand the artist is no longer making these tiles.

Another cherished treasure! A small ornament depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe - she is handpainted on a small wood block. I picked up this little piece years ago in a shop in Santa Fe and unfortunately don't know who the artist is.

Mexican culture, art and celebrations have been an influence in my life since I was a small child, and during the winter holidays I always make time around the Feast of Guadalupe to honor Mexican culture. Allow me to share!

Christmas celebrations in Mexico begin with Las Posadas, a symbolic celebration of Mary and Joseph searching for lodging. Las Posadas begins December 16th and ends nine nights later on Noche Buena (Christmas Eve). The evening of Noche Buena is celebrated by feasting on tamales and breaking open a Pinata filled with treats for the children. Martha Stewart offers a great tutorial for making a pinata, and if you want to try your hand at making tamales, you can find recipes here and here.

As for my own celebrations, on December 12th, I put a small pinata on my tree, set up a small Nativity scene (called a Nacimiento), and prepare a special meal of favorite dishes made with roasted green chiles such as Green Chili Stew. I also make New Mexico's very own deep fried "bread pillows" known as Sopapillas. Dessert is always Biscochitos, a tender, flaky anise-flavored cookie (it was voted the New Mexico State Cookie a few years back). I save Tamales for Christmas day. I prepare and freeze them in November so that all I have to do at Christmas is pop them into a steamer!

Of course I always make sure to find a little time for crafts that reflect the beautiful arts and crafts of Mexico. Visit my recent tutorial for making Espejitos (little mirrors). You can find more great crafts inspired by Mexican art here. These crafts are designed for childrn, but even though I am way past being a child and I had lots of fun with them! See lots of beautiful Trees of Life over at Casa Mexicana.

Try making the Tree of Life on a small scale using Sculpey! These sculptures represent the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and they often take the form of candleholders.

Latinos are now the largest ethnic culture living in the United States. I have always found the Mexican people to be very kind, generous and loving. I hope you will make a craft or prepare a special meal or simply spend a little time on the internet getting to know more about the gifts the people of Mexico have brought to the world that enrich all of us.

I have been wanting to learn to make Norwegian woven paper heart baskets for years, but always felt intimidated by the instructions available to me. So this Fall, Diane and I spent the day together figuring out how to make them. (Of couse, SHE caught on right away and by the time I had finished my first practice basket, she was already in the middle of constructing a 5-strip basket with variations in the strip widths.) Sigh!

I thought I'd share the process of making a basic three-strip basket with you...

Before we begin: I have tried to write this as if you and I are sitting together at my craft table and I am showing you step by step. This project may seem a little tricky at first, but just be patient and follow the photos and instructions slowly, one step at a time. Once you have completed the first one, you will understand the trick to the weaving process. And... you will be addicted to making them!

Hang them on your tree and place little treats inside. A great gift for young and old alike when they come to visit.

YOU WILL NEED:

Wrapping paper or letter weight crafting paper in two colors

Scissors

Ruler

Pencil

Elmer's or Aleene's Tacky glue

Select two pieces of paper in contrasting colors. Although white and red is traditional in Norway, I am using colors that will show up better in photographs.

Measure and cut a strip 3" wide and 9" long from each piece of paper.

Fold each strip of paper exactly in half crosswise, as shown.

Place a 3" diameter biscuit cutter on the OPEN end of the folded papers. Use a pencil to trace the outline of the biscuit cutter onto the paper to create a half circle. (Or, you can draw the half-circle freehand.)

Normally, I would draw my lines very lightly, but for this tutorial I am drawing them dark so you can see them! Cut along the curved lines you have drawn. Again, be sure you are cutting the curve on the open end of the paper.

In the steps that follow, you will be dividing each folded piece into three 1" strips. You'll be cutting these strips most of the way across each piece, leaving those rounded ends un-cut. To help you gauge how far in to cut your strips, place one piece over the other, as shown. The cut lines you'll be making in the coming steps should be 3/8" longer than the point where these two pieces overlap. (When you've read the rest of the steps, this should make more sense.)

So, as we just discussed, mark three 1" strips on each piece of paper, and draw them on the paper. See how these lines begin at the fold and end in the curved edges? Now you are ready to cut! Reminder: The curved edge is on the OPEN end and the lines are drawn from the FOLDED end.

Cut through both layers of paper along the lines you drew, beginning at the fold and cutting toward the curve.

For your first basket, you may want to number the strips as shown above. (Once you have made your first basket, you will not need to number the strips again - it just helps you with learning the process.) Lay the two folded paper pieces in front of you on the work table in the position shown above. (Don't worry if those numbers are hard to see here - they'll be clearer in the coming photos.)

Slip strip #1 between the top and bottom layers of strip #4.

Now, slip strip #5 between the top and bottom layers of strip #1.

When you have completed the first two weaving steps, your "heart" will look like this.

Now slip strip #1 in between the two layers of strip #6.

Congratulations! You have completed the first row! And it should look like this!

To weave the second row, begin by slipping strip #4 between the top and bottom layers of strip #2. (See how I had to slide the two halves of the heart into different positions so that I could manuver my second row of weaving in?)

Now slip strip #2 between the top and bottom layers of strip #5.

Slip strip #6 between the layers of strip #2. Your "heart" will now look like this. (And the weaving pattern begins to emerge!)

Now that you have finished weaving the second row, slide the woven strips down toward the curved ends of the heart until they can go no further. This will give you some "wiggle room," which you'll need in order to weave the last row. Weaving the last row can be a little "fiddly," but just go slowly and be patient while you get the feel of it.

Slip strip #3 between the layers of strip #4. You will need to gently bend the strip in order to do this. As you can see, the first two rows of weaving are being held in place by your other hand.

Pull strip #3 through strip #4 and flatten it back out. Your heart will now look like this.

Place strip #5 between the layers of strip #3. Stay with me! You're almost done!

Finally, slip strip #3 between the layers of strip #6. This is probably the most fiddly step, so it may feel a little awkward. Keep working with it until it falls into place.

TaaaaaaDaaaaaaa! You did it! All the strips are woven together. A couple more little steps and you are done.

Holding the curved tops of each side of the heart, gently pull them outward so that the edges of the heart become nice and even.

Now to add a handle. Cut a strip of paper about 8" long and between 3/4" to 1" wide. Glue each end of this strip to the inside of the woven heart, as shown. If you are thinking of putting little treats inside, then you may want to also tape down each end of the handle on the inside of the basket with some clear tape.

Make a couple more three-strip baskets to get the process down, and then you're ready to make a four-strip basket, like the one on the right. It is constructed exactly the same way, except that you divide those initial pieces of folded paper into four strips instead of three.

You can make hearts that are smaller or larger by using a copier to enlarge or reduce the template in this tutorial.

Try making heart baskets with patterns and different colors if you wish. Craft stores and scrapbooking outlets have so much to offer as inspiration. (Just be sure to stick to lighter weight papers.) Embellish with whatever your heart desires - from sequins to buttons, to beads..... Fill your baskets with cookies, candy, small gifts, baubles, or even dried flowers.

Have fun! And thank you for crafting with me today!