The Prince of Peace

ryanslds

Love and peace to you
as we celebrate the birth of Christ our Savior!

~LuAnn


Christmas Harmonies by Straight No Chaser

wosu.org

Have you heard of the a cappella group, Straight No Chaser?

Wow, are they terrific!

They began in 1996 as 10 college guys from Indiana University.

They've come a long way since then.

 I'm sharing 2 YouTube videos for your viewing pleasure!

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First is my favorite, The Christmas Can-Can! 

So much fun!

Next is the newly released (as of November 2014) video

Text Me Merry Christmas featuring Kristen Bell.

Visit the Straight No Chaser website!

Christmas at Feeney’s Garden Center

Feasterville, PA is the home of Feeney's Garden Center,

a popular place year-round for landscaping & gardening needs.

They also have a great selection of classy patio furniture, gifts, Yankee candles, etc.

But at Christmas, Feeney's is really something extra-special!

The designers create Christmas trees, centerpieces and wreaths

that are absolutely over-the-top!

We go every year at this time, not only to shop, but to get into the Christmas spirit.

Here are some photos I took so you can see what I mean.

Plus, their contact information if you'd like to visit them yourself!

One of our favorite displays: a candy & cookie theme!

Shelves and shelves of Byers' Choice Ltd. Carolers!

White, silver and purple, accented with crystal - so elegant!

Beautiful nativities, this one by Jim Shore.

Festive red and lime green!

Feeney's Garden Center

1134 Bustleton Pike

Feasterville, PA 19053

Here's the Feeney's website

and Facebook page.

Lovely Scripture Art by HopeInk

Emily Hope, of Fresno, California, is mom of 4 children.

Working from home, she creates works of art that incorporate Scripture verses,

which, as she says, "...offer true hope and healing. And life."

See for yourself; each one is a delightful inspiration!

Emily sells art prints and greeting cards at her shop on Etsy.

Also find her on Facebook,

 Twitter @hopeink, 

& on her Website.

Images used with direct permission from Emily Hope.

DIY – Making Our Own Snow Globes!

My daughter and I decided to tackle a Christmas DIY craft project

over the weekend: handmade snow globes!

We saved several glass jars from jelly, olives, etc.,

soaking off the labels and removing any extra adhesive with Goo Gone.

Thought maybe we'd use a mason jar also, but it ended up being too large for our needs.

We found some small figurines at our local

Impact Thrift Store and at the dollar store.

We also bought distilled water from the grocery store

and some glycerin, which we found at a drug store.

Sequins and glitter were fun to pick out!

We used epoxy to glue the figurines to the inside of the lids.

Allow plenty of time to dry completely.

See that cute little snowman scene on the right?

(More on that later.)

Pour the distilled water into the jars.

Adding a few drops of glycerin allows the glitter to float longer

instead of sinking right to the bottom of the jar.

Add as much glitter as you'd like.

So, remember that snowman scene I'd mentioned above?

Turns out I was a bit over-zealous with my gluing,

which resulted in an over-crowded lid that wouldn't fit back on.

2 of the 3 pieces popped off, so I was back to the drawing board. Live and learn.

(I don't think Martha is worried about me usurping her throne.)

Sigh. I guess sometimes less really is more.

This little tree looks adorable all by himself.

In order to hide the salsa lettering on this lid,

I hot-glued on some cheery red burlap

and then topped with a twine bow. Cuteness.

Excuse the blurry photo, but I really wanted to show you

the blue sequins that we paired with a white bristle brush tree.

Winter wonderland!

What a fun way to spend a Sunday together!

We decided to display our snow globes on this

vintage aluminum tray that we found at a yard sale a few years back.

"Mary, Did You Know?" - Art and Pentatonix

VickieWadeFineArt

The video performance of Pentatonix singing "Mary Did You Know"

may have made its way to your ears via social media.

If so, you know what I'm excited about! 

Their fresh rendition of this gorgeous song is amazing!

Before we listen in, though, I'm sharing several beautiful

pieces of art from Etsy; each one depicts the precious bond

between Jesus and his mother Mary, as does the song.

Then hold tight for that video, as well as some info 

about the a capella phenomenon called Pentatonix! 

CiarciArt

ByzantineArt

ExpressivePaintings

FlorLarios

LoveHeartsArt

DorisEttlingerStudio

RoseWalton

kboing

Members of Pentatonix are

Avi Kaplan, Kirstie Maldonado, Mitch Grassi, Kevin Olusola & Scott Hoying.

They got their name from the pentatonic -or 5 note- scale, and often abbreviate it as PTX.

They won the 3rd season of the TV competition show "The Sing Off."

Their album "That's Christmas to Me" is on Amazon.com.

Find more of Pentatonix on their

website and on Facebook.

Gingerbread House Competition at Peddler’s Village 2014

Each year, Peddler's Village in Lahaska, PA holds a gingerbread house competition.

What made this year's extra-special was that my daughter Laura created a house to enter!

I'm sharing my photos so that you can get an up-close-and-personal look at her creative talent!

The big moment of checking in her house.

Believe me - we drove there very carefully!

The houses are displayed in the Village's lovely gazebo,

which they close in for the winter.

There it is, entry #22 in the traditional category.

You can bet I'm so very proud of her!

A week later, we came back to see the results.

Notice the long line to get into the gazebo! A very popular attraction!

Laura's house won an Honorable Mention!

How wonderful!

It was such a great experience for her. 

She designed the house, sketched it out, then made it a reality!

She had so much fun pulling it together!

The Gingerbread House display will be open until 1-3-15.

(I have the feeling she'll be back next year with another entry.)

Here's the Peddler's Village website.