Crafty bone on Thanksgiving

There are so many wonderful things that happen over a Thanksgiving weekend - family gathering, chats, cooking together...  you name it! 

Sometimes, I wonder if we just give things for granted.  We get stressed because the meal is not exactly the way we want it, or we may get annoyed because someone took the little piece of that dessert we had our eye on...  How often do we stop and think of the greater picture: we have food, a stove with oven, a fridge, central heating; all of them are tokens of God's provision for us, and we are blessed to live in a time and place when and where we can enjoy them and share it with those we love.

Thanksgiving is a big word that means a lot of things for different people; some may even think it's only "turkey day." However, thankfulness is gratitude because there is some level of acknowledgement. 

So, when it comes to spend time with the kiddos that I can't share time with the rest of the year (and that somehow manage to get taller than me), it is about Crafty Bone to the rescue!

Card making with LOTS of glitter was on the menu...

 
And just to make it more interesting, we decided to play with glitter layering:

Beads and personalized jewelry weren't too far down in the list:

And then, with a million football games going on in the background, Yiya starts drawing this crazy looking thing with quilting patterns secretly hidden all over the place...  When FINALLY someone asked if there was anything wrong with my head (little does my brother-in-law knows how close to reality he is, hehe), I was tickled to death to explain everything I could about curls, swirls, feathers, lattices, echoes, loops, stipples and cathedral windows.

Then, the magic question: "So, how do you actually do it with the sewing machine?"

HA! Did I hear right?  Woohoo!!  Demo time!!  Dining table is then overtaken by cutting mat, fabric and all the paraphernalia...  I guess it won't be difficult to guess what happened next: a new FMQ practice piece!  Did anyone say anything about being "tickled to death?"

And here is the drawing that started it all:

And no, I'm not planning on duplicating the paper one - I only wish I were that good at it!  For the actual practice piece, I made a loosely marked rectangle with big loops inside. The loops turn into the perfect practice areas. Think of all those awkward corners or curves that are often hard to fill in; with the big loopy line, you can create the perfect practice piece that can help you learn how to continue stitching your FMQ and get the design into those tricky spots.

With all the excitement and the multiple creative areas going around, it was hard to take more pictures!

But the best part of this Thanksgiving weekend goes beyond the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen or even a bunch of touchdowns...  With no doubt, the best is being aware that our families are constantly blessed and that our needs are taken care of - God is good!

Have a blessed Thanksgiving weekend!