Song of Promise

This image was not intended to be a Christmas image, but I feel it is the perfect way to end my Christmas postings. I looked again at it this morning and thought of the Christmas story. In particular the part of the angel coming to the shepherds and telling them..fear not, for I bring you tidings of great joy... To me this symbolizes everything about the St. Joseph's family. A haven to help those who we would consider cast outs. A place for children to have hope and rest. A place where opportunity can be found. Not only to help themselves, but to also learn the joy and reward of being able to help others in need. Despite all our problems, there are always others who have things more difficult and need someone to lend them a helping hand. So with this I end my Christmas postings and wish you all a blessed holiday season; and remember, fear not, for God brings us tidings of great joy.

http://www.heirloomcrafters.com/gallery/songofpromise.html

Silent Night

As the carol goes; " All is calm, all is bright..." was the inspiration for this shot. It was taken in our home from our own Christmas tree. I was sitting in our den when I happened to glance over and notice the soft glow given off by the ornament and the lights surrounding it. Isolating the ornament and the other two lights gave the impression of time standing still and just enjoying the moment. I hope everyone has an opportunity to enjoy such stillness and rest over this Christmas holiday. Merry Christmas.

http://www.heirloomcrafters.com/gallery/silentnight.html

Hidden Treasures

I used this image as Christmas card one year and it received rave reviews. I named it Hidden Treasures, not because of the berries hiding under the leave, but because this photograph was not taken during the winter. I took this in the fall, and when I stripped the color, it gave it this wintery appearance. It is amazing what can be accomplished through digital technology and creativity.

http://www.heirloomcrafters.com/gallery/hiddentreasures.html

Winter Wonderland

I am willing to bet a number of people suffer from the same dilemma I do. A cold or flu either during Thanksgiving or Christmas. It seems every year I end up with a bug on one of the two holidays. I dodged the bullet last year and are hoping for a two for two. During one of those bouts I was home and it started snowing. As we live in NC, snow is pleasantly absent most of the winter. So while I was buried under a blanket drinking warm tea I sat looking at this little snowman. His cheeks were rosy and he had such a fun loving smile I had to snap his picture. I have since learned there is quite a large group of individuals who love to collect snowmen, myself being a recent convert. So wherever you are this holiday season, may you enjoy a winter wonderland if you love snow, and for those of us where snow at Christmas equals a snow balls chance in hell, may we get some to look pretty and then quickly melt away.

http://www.heirloomcrafters.com/gallery/winterwonderland.html

Season's Greetings

This is one of my first images for Christmas. It lent itself well to become a contrast image. I enjoyed the smile on the little snowman's face and how his hat matched the poinsetta. Now, some 4 or 5 years later, I look at the image and the title and think about how non denominational we have become. Season's Greetings has become a part of our lexicon to avoid insulting any one person's religion. I think it is sad we have gone so far to this extreme, and instead of celebrating everyone's diverse religious beliefs, we worry about offending them. God came to everyone, not just a few. Each religion has a God and a mediator and different ways of expressing their faith. We should be celebrating during this season the graciousness of an inclusive God and not a divisive one. Perhaps one day we will all learn to appreciate the diversity and practices of each other, without the need to feel any one group has the correct answer. Maybe then we can truly say, "Season's Greetings" and have it mean a season of love, togetherness and peace on Earth.

http://www.heirloomcrafters.com/gallery/seasonsgreetings.html

Old Father Christmas

Christmas time is here, happiness and cheer. Those are the first couple of lines of a favorite Christmas song from a holiday cartoon classic. In our house we have a number of Santa Clauses. It is one of the few things collected. They vary from old fashioned, current, art deco, etc. Each one has it's own story surrounding what was going on. The two here have especially good faces and make a perfect companion to my other Christmas images. Over the next couple of weeks, I will post my Christmas image collection which are available on our site, www.heirloomcrafters.com. So enjoy this holiday season and don't let the bad economy dampen your spirit. We have a time honored tradition with our friends. We get gifts for the children, but for each other we provide a donation to a favorite charity. This relieves the stress of holiday shopping and gives a gift that gives back. Merry Christmas.

http://www.heirloomcrafters.com/gallery/oldfatherchristmas.html