Cross and Crown

Holly Wreath Note Cards offered by PFD Original ArtWorks

We have woven the Holly into our celebrations of the holidays, and we see it reflected in the wonderful gifts created and offered by the BBEST team. Holly wreaths hung on a door or draped along a mantle represent welcome and long life to all who enter, says one ancient legend. As I decorated this weekend I found myself thinking about our wonderful BBEST Holly delights, and I thought I might take some time to learn a bit about Holly legends, and share both the stories and the crafty goodness with you!

Holly Berries Soy Candle offered by AJ's Country Cottage

Despite the prickly Holly leaves, I love to have decorate my mantle and windows with holly and evergreen pine. I always enjoy that incredible holiday smell, and now here is a way to enjoy the scent without worrying about drying greens in the house!

Holly King offered by SixSisters

Druids believed that holly was a sacred plant. They thought that it stayed green year round because it was especially favored by the sun. One christian legend; however, says that one winter night the holly miraculously grew leaves out of season in order to hide the Holy Family from Herod's soldiers. Since then, it has been an evergreen as a token of Christ's gratitude. Our feathered friends certainly love the holly as well, and the bright green leaves and the red of the berries attract many feeders. Yankee Girl has immortalized this for us in her painting of Christmas Cardinals.

Christmas Cardinal's offered by YankeeGirl's Watercolors

In Germany, holly is called Christdorn in memory of Christ's crown of thorns. According to legend, the holly's branches were woven into a painful crown and placed on Christ's head while the soldiers mocked him saying, "Hail, King of the Jews." The holly's berries used to be white but Christ's blood left them with a permanent crimson stain.

Holly Angel, offered by Nonnie's Treasures

Another legend about this plant says that a little orphan boy was living with the shepherds when the angels came to announce the birth of the newborn king. Having no gift for the baby, the child wove a crown of holly branches for its head. But when he lay it before Christ, he became ashamed of it's poverty and began to cry. Miraculously, Jesus touched the crown and it began to sparkle while the orphan's tears turned into beautiful scarlet berries.

Holly Candle offered by Yarrow1

Holly is said to be the tree used to make Christ’s cross. Legend has it that the other trees refused and splintered when touched by an ax whereas the holly remained true as a tree, and it is as a Passion symbol that the holly tree is seen in pictures of saints.

Mistletoe and Holly Berries offered by JemsbyJBandCompany

Though the holly is said to be a man's plant and is believed to bring good luck and protection to men while ivy brings the same to women, that doesn't stop me from enjoying it, and decorating not only my house but my EARS with the wonderful holiday red and green! These earrings are sure to bring a smile to anyone that loves the holidays!

Holiday Time offered by Chauncey

Holly was hung about the doors and windows to keep away witches, spells, evil spirits, goblins, and lightning. On Christmas eve, English virgins hung holly on their beds to protect their virtue from Christmas goblins. However, elves and fairies were welcome in British households, and sprigs of holly were hung as hiding places for them. Romans gave gifts of holly to their friends during Saturnalia as good luck charms and protection against evil.

And thus, the Old English Carol that many of you may know - The Holly and the Ivy!

The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown.

The rising of the sun
And the running of the deer,
The playing of the merry organ,
Sweet singing in the choir.

The holly bears a blossom
As white as the lily flower,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To be our sweet savior.

The holly bears a berry
As red as any blood,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good.

The holly bears a prickle
As sharp as any thorn
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
On Christmas day in the morn.

The holly bears a bark
As bitter as any gall,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all.

The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown.

Holly Bear ACEO offered by BackRoom Treasures

I couldn't "bear" to leave you without a look at this wonderfully fun Holly Bear!

Whatever memories, legends, or traditions you may have, with Holly or other trappings of the season, here are wishes for the happiest of Holly Days to you all!

Meet the Boomers: Pam

Q. What is the name of your shop, and what kinds of items do you sell?  My shop is called Bags and More by Pam.  I sell hand-crocheted items for people, pets, and homes, including but not limited to hats, scarves, sweaters, ponchos, rugs, handbags, tote bags, baby items, pet sweaters, and spa sets.

Q. How long have you been engaged in your art/craft?  I have been actively fulfilling my passion for crocheting for the past eight years.

Q. Do you consider yourself a hobbyist or a professional craftsperson?  I would consider myself a professional craftsperson as I am creating and selling my products via several venues.

Q. What inspires you?  Yarn!  I love yarn!  The way it looks and feels.  I also tend to be practical, and items that are both beautiful and useful make me want to create more.

Q. What's a typical day like in your studio?  My husband would laugh at this question. He says my “studio” is all over the house!  Actually, my main work is done in the evenings while my husband and I watch TV.  He says I treat the TV as a radio and mainly listen!  Not so!  I do look up from my crocheting all the time, especially if I am making something familiar and can continue crocheting by feel.  We may be watching TV in our living room or in our family room.  Those are my crochet “studios.”

Q. What keeps you company while you’re working on a project?  My husband, our two dogs, Daisy and Eddie, and the TV.

Q. What is your favorite task related to your art/craft?  Looking at it when it is finished, although I’ve been heard to say, “Oh, isn’t this going to be so cute?” way before the item is completed.  And having someone purchase one of my creations ranks way up there, too!

Q. What is your least favorite task related to your art/craft?  Weaving in the loose ends is not a favorite task.

Q. What are some of the venues you use to promote your shop?  Do you blog?  Use other sites?  Which teams do you belong to?  My teams on Etsy are the Boomers and Beyond (Bbest) team, Etsyhookers Team, and INCrowdteam. In addition to my Etsy site, I have stores on Artfire and 1000Markets.  My blogging includes contributing to the Bbest team blog once a month, posting to my own blog, and creating the featured artist section of the Crafting4Animals blog.  I’ve recently signed up for Twitter and Facebook.

Q. Related to your craft, tell us about a funny, strange or unusual situation you found yourself in.  One Friday I was checking my Etsy store, and there was a sale. When I looked to see what had sold, it was the gray men’s cable design sweater. A customer from the Netherlands had purchased it. There was just one problem. I had sold that sweater locally and hadn’t made another yet. So, Friday evening I had to go get the yarn. Between Saturday and Sunday and Monday morning, I crocheted for 30 hours to complete that sweater so I could meet my own self-imposed “I will ship within two days” deadline! That was one of those lesson-learning life experiences. Needless to say, the sweater is not in my shop right now since it isn’t made again yet. That was what I would consider just a bit stressful!

Q. Tell us something about you that we wouldn’t necessarily know about you by talking to you in the forums.  I have lived in the town where I was born my whole life except for 14 months when I joined my husband in Colorado Springs while he was stationed at Ft. Carson.  I taught one year in Security, Colorado during that time. When he was discharged, we returned to Bloomington.  We have lived in our current house for 36 years, and the one before that for 5 years. It is safe to say we don’t like to move!

Q. Tell us about your favorite books, movies and music.  Oh, my. I like so many books that I will have to give you authors instead: David Baldacchi, James Patterson, Robert Ludlum, Iris Johannsen, Nora Roberts, Tony Hillerman, and Mary Higgins Clark, to name a few. They all have mystery and intrigue; I especially enjoy the ones about government and international conspiracy.

I also have a list of favorite movies: Air Force One, Sleepless in Seattle, Enemy of the State, Conspiracy Theory, Shawshank Redemption, An Affair to Remember, Three Days of the Condor, and all the Bourne movies. My book and movie tastes run in the same vein . . . mystery, romance, international intrigue.  Sleepless in Seattle is just downright cute and sweet!

As for music, when I’m in the car, I listen to the local country station or a relaxation CD like the ones with the nature sounds, especially the ocean. I also like pop rock, easy listening, the music from the '50s and '60s. I guess you could say I like it all except I’m not really into rap or hard rock.  Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is my classical favorite.

Q. Would you care to share any words of wisdom with other aspiring artists or crafters?  Do what you love and love what you do, continue to learn more about your craft, and have patience while others learn about you.

Please be sure to leave a comment for Pam.

It's Jean Hood!

This week's Meet the Boomers article is on someone whose name we've all seen on the forums and all over the internet.  Now's the chance to learn even more about Jean Levert Hood and her beautiful work!

Q. What is/are the name of your shop?  On Etsy, I am JeanHood.

Q. What kind of items do you sell?  I sell small watercolors mostly, but I generally have several of my oil paintings listed too.

Q. How long have you been engaged in your art?  I started painting in 1997, so I’m into my 13^th year!

Q. Do you consider yourself a hobbyist or a professional craftsperson?  I consider myself a professional painter.

Q. What inspires you?  Nature, colors, shapes, light, shadow. If I had to pick one, it would be “Nature,” which I guess would encompass them all!

Q. Please share with us what a typical day is like in your workshop or studio.  I try to have my studio time defined before I get in there. When I leave the studio the prior day, I like to have my paints ready, brushes ready, canvas and reference materials picked out for my next session. That way when I walk in, I’m ready to get to work. When I walk in the door, the first thing I do is put on the music!

Q. What keeps you company while you’re working on a project?  Music. Loud music and occasionally my cats Stella and Clothilde. Stella really enjoys painting with me.

Q. What is your favorite task related to your art/craft?  I love squeezing out fresh paint onto my palette! It’s so beautiful I can’t wait to dive in!

Q. What is your least favorite task related to your art/craft?  Hmmm. Keeping the studio organized, I guess. I need a certain level of organization and I can get past that rea-l-l-l-ly quick!

Q. What are some of the venues you use to promote your shop/ware?  Do you blog?  To which teams do you belong?  Which other sites do you use?  I do blog, and I have my own website. I have several other internet sites as well:

• Design Style Guide  has a portfolio of my work.
• My blog is where I share new paintings and my beautiful area of Texas.
• My website features mainly my oil paintings
• At Trunkt  I have a large portfolio of both sold and available items.
• I belong to VAST – Visual Artists Street Team, a fantastic team, and to Design Style Guide as well.
• When I blog for Design Style Guide and my own blog, I enjoy featuring my team members from BBEST. When I see BBESTers in Trunkt, I include them in my showcases (so let me know if you are there!).

Q. Related to your craft, tell us about a funny, strange or unusual situation you found yourself.  I guess the most adventuresome painting I have done is on trips to Taos, New Mexico. I went there with a friend for several years and we’d paint on locations all over the area.
     We were trying to set up to get a great view of the Rio Grande Gorge, and I had my tripod legs in positions I never knew they could be in. Rocks kept everything steady, and the challenge was to keep one of my feet braced against a tree stump so I didn’t go falling down with all of the painting equipment! We really were on quite a slant! It was a wonderful day. My friend’s entire set up overturned with a wind gust. There were little tiny bugs that were entirely annoying and bit in spite of repellant, it was dusty and hot. I love painting out!

Q. Tell us something about you that we wouldn’t necessarily know about you by talking to you in the forums.  I’m from South Louisiana and can cook a mean gumbo.

Q. What’s your favorite book and why, favorite movie and why, favorite kind of music?  I’ve been a reader all my life, and simply cannot pick a favorite!! I don’t see too many movies.  Music — I’m all over the place there. I have five CD slots in my player in the studio, and it isn’t unusual for me to have classical, rock, late '60s, opera, etc., all at the same time.  The only requirement is that the volume is up.

Q. Would you care to share any words of wisdom with other aspiring artists or crafters?  Find your passion and keep at it!

Now that you know her a little better, please leave a comment for Jean.

New Year ~ Time To Try Something New

This month our BBEST Team challenge is to create something new and a little different. Stretch our wings and envision new horizons. We find ourselves just about midway through the month.

How many of you have started on your challenge? Tomorrow marks one year since I first blogged and there is no way that tonight, one year ago, I would ever have dreamed that I would have written, created, or learned so much in one year's time. Do any of you feel the same? I bet you do.

I love trying new techniques and finding new interests. The same time I joined this team I joined a small group we named Create-A-Day. Our challenge was to create something every day ~ if it was a large project ~ to work on a portion of it. Our January Challenge is a much smaller, baby step version. But, who knows? It just might be the little nudge that makes a big change in your life. Time will tell. Your friends anxiously await. Inspiration fosters inspiration. And that's what BBEST friends are for.

You know I love games. This one: Find the items pictured above by searching bbest and ??? what term ??? Can you guess why each one was chosen? Good luck!

Twelfth Night.... or, What You Will

Tomorrow being 6 January will be twelfth night by which time, the story has it, all Christmas decorations should be taken down otherwise bad luck will befall you!

I included the title What You Will since this was the alternative title given to this classic William Shakespeare play.  Like many of his plays this one centres around mistaken identity.  I remember one of the characters, a pompous steward named Malvolio.  This was only because when I was at school I played this character and loved wearing the outlandishly brightly coloured knee high socks.  Malvolio thought they were very fetching! 

However, the play has also garnered much critical attention for its nuanced and sometimes elusive treatment of issues of gender, ambition, and love.  There was a lot of cross dressing but we move on swiftly!

Going back to the start of this post I do mention that in UK it is the latest date by which you are supposed to take down the tree and remove any Christmas decorations.  We did this over the weekend and it is lovely to get the house back to normal.

Another description of Twelfth Night is Epiphany Eve which some areas of Christianity celebrate the conclusion of the twelve days of Christmas.  In some countries the Epiphany or Adoration of the Magi is marked by the exchange of gifts the this night takes on the same relevance as Christmas Eve.  In modern times food and drink are consumed heartily (when are they not?) with traditions going way back.  For instance in UK a punch called the Wassail was consumed particularly on this date as well as throughout the Christmas period.  Indeed some catholic countries this time marks the start of the carnival season which lasts right through to Mardis Gras Day!

Searching through the BBEST team for items to cheer us up I came across this beautiful suncatcher from Diana's Stained Glass

Peace Dove Ornament-Suncatcher

A reminder in some of our troubled times when the peace dove can be welcomed into our homes.

 

Do you have 'thank you' notes to send?  Why not take a look at these lovely ones...

Thank you Notecards - A play on patterns in blue and tan, set of 4

by Green Willow

 

 

I could not ignore this listing, could I?  The butterfly is one of my favourites so I just had to include it!
 

Yellow Butterfly Ornament

by Talking Dog

 

 

 

And so, my friends, in my first post of 2009 to our team blog I have covered a wee bit of history, legend, drama along with some offerings to show off our very talented team!  May 2009 be kind to us all!!!!

Thanks for having me...

Well, friends, here we are with the year winding down and I am feeling more than a little nostalgic when it comes to BBEST. I first posted on the Famous Boomer Forum thread on New Year's Day, 2008. I joined the next morning. I never dreamed I would be here today posting a feature on our team blog. I took a little journey back through time. The first day of that thread was 12 pages long. Today's first 12 pages took us to 7:30 AM. In my search for this Joony Toons guessing game, I was getting a bit weepy. Luckily, I hit pay dirt and the smiles settled in. Are you ready? Here we go on a wild little ride through...

2008: The Thread Revisited

"welcome to the most talkative group on etsy!" {Barb/Blazing}

" I'm kinda happy the holidays are over. Does anyone else feel like they ate their way through the last 10 days? " {Chauncey}

"it's great to have kids when your mind starts to go" {Pam/Mags}

"What did they use prior to glue? (curious minds)" {Van/Brett}

"I see we all had misspent youths!" {Pat/PQ/Ona}

"I LOVE POP ROCKS!!!!" {Pearl/fehu}

"Ooo - cake! Let me know when its ready!" {Barb/Blazing}

"I hate ironing. yuck." {figments/Kat}

"I love to iron." {joon}

"The only kind of ironing I like to do is with wax!!" {Pat/PQ/Ona}

"I really hate to iron LOL " {Junky}

"DH usually gets something or other on his shirts from my ironing exploits but I don't admit it and he doesn't seem to notice:)" {LizPlummer}

"ok really for real this time.. do not say one more funny thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" {Pearl}

"That's the advantage to all the leaves being off the trees. A good view." {Chauncey}

"...is everyone eating chocolate and crab legs but me???" {filigree/Liv}

"Okay, this is very strange....where did everyone go? Six hours since the last post???? " {Kimbuktu}

"Hey gals!!!! No more chatting on this thread, its dead to us." {Chauncey}

"Joonbeam, this is a great group, we'll be glad to have you. It is always positive, encouraging and supportive. Go Boomers!" {JeanHood}


Here's to 2008. It will always hold a special place in my heart. Here's to 2009.
I'm ready.

PS. Leave your best quote ID guesses in the comments section. This should be fun!