For a chance to win The Substitute Bride...

I'm posting at Seekerville www.Seekerville.blogspot.com Monday, December 14 on Giving--the Secret to Success. Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of my February 2010 release THE SUBSTITUTE BRIDE.

Hope to see you there!

Blessings, Janet

For a chance to win Courting the Doctor's Daughter

Today I'm at Pepper Basham's blog, Faith and Fiction on Fire, sharing an excerpt from Courting Miss Adelaide where hero Charles Graves comforts an abused child and in the process finds his way back to God. I hope you'll stop by at:

http://pepperbasham.wordpress.com/

Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Courting the Doctor's Daughter.

Blessings, Janet

Gourd Christmas tree

Several years ago in my pre-pubbed days, I went through a gourd painting phase, producing Santas, large and small, snowmen, even angels with netting wings. I loved painting with friends. We used hard shell gourds that last for ages and acrylic paints, then sprayed them with a topcoat that protected the paint and gave them a sheen.

I made so many I had enough to decorate a small tree in my kitchen. Here's a close up. They are a bit weird but they make me smile.

To paint Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus I looked at Christmas cards. I left the background of the gourd natural to give the look of the stable walls.

I painted the snowman from directions in a gourd painting How To book.

If you like to paint with acrylics, try painting on hard shell gourds that have been cleaned. It's fun!

Blessings, Janet

We're decorated for Christmas

I love Christmas! I love celebrating the birth of our Savior through music and carols and the giving of gifts to family and those in need. The whole month of December is such a happy, hectic time that we decorate the house early so we can enjoy it all month long. I thought it would be fun to share a couple pictures from one of our trees and the significance of the ornaments hanging on it.

I call this my Victorian tree because it's loaded with ornaments of every color and style. My mother decorated the blue and silver ornament in the close up photo, just one of the many she made that are now hanging on our tree. I remember the joy she had crafting them and the beauty of her trees. She's gone now so each one holds a special place in my heart. The sand-filled ornament is a souvenir from an anniversary trip to Bermuda. The sand really is pink there. :-) If you look carefully, you'll see the holy family in the glass ornament purchased the year we had our first child. The little red Chinese lantern is a Shiny Brite, part of my collection. On the left is a sideways glimpse of the Mickey Mouse ornament from a trip to Disney World with our grandkids. The entire tree is hung with precious memories.

It looks nothing like the trees I had growing up. We hung icicles with care on each branch. When the furnace kicked on the icicles would dance. The lights had large hot bulbs and we didn't have a lot of purchased ornaments. But I loved looking at those trees, as I do now. There's something magical about a Christmas tree!

Blessings, Janet