Show and Tell Friday: Heritage

Posted on November 2, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home hosts “Show and Tell Friday” asking “Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there’s a story behind your special something, that’s even better! If you would like to join in, all you have to do is post your “Show and Tell” on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky. Guidelines are here.“

This last weekend my step-father and two sisters came up to visit from Texas, and we got together with my two sisters who live in a town about 30-40 minutes from here. All of my immediate family was together except my brother in TX who couldn’t come. It was the first time we had all been together since my mom’s funeral almost two years ago, and though there were a few sad moments of missing Mom, overall we had a great visit.

They brought a big tub full of old pictures and assorted papers, some from my mom and some from an old trunk of my aunt’s that she brought to them when she was downsizing to a smaller home. We spent Saturday evening going through all of that, laughing til we cried over some of the pictures, how we looked, what we wore, or the situation in the pictures.

There were several “historical” treasures there as well. My grandfather’s 7th grade diploma, my grandmother’s college diploma, his death certificate, her obituary notice were all there. There were also the books from each of their funerals:

Old recipes tucked into my mother’s baby book:

The baby book itself only had my mother’s name, weight, and a list of gifts received for the baby. I smiled over the fact that my grandmother kept up with baby books less than I did, especially with the third child.

There were pictures of my great-grandparents:

And my mom and two of her siblings when they were kids (my mom is on the right):

And me, around 4th or 5th grade:

My mom’s high school graduation picture:

One of the things I most treasured was my grandmother’s college graduation book. Her name was Harriet, and I hadn’t known before that she went by Hattie:

Inside was a place for autographs, school colors, and a homecoming ribbon:

Her school song:

And notes from the Commencement sermon:

My grandmother passed away when I was four years old. To have some her her things written in her own hand is very gratifying to me. I enjoyed getting to know her a little bit through these items.

My oldest son is scanning many of the one-of-a-kind older pictures, enhancing them (removing reddish or yellowish tones, making them clearer, etc.), to make CDs for each of us.

The background in these pictures, by the way, is my Aunt Dot’s crocheted bedspread that I mentioned a few weeks ago.

Show and Tell Friday: Embattled model space ship

Posted on October 19, 2007 by Barbara Harper

This week’s Show and tell is a little off the beaten path for me, but when I see it it often makes me smile, so I figured that qualified. 🙂

My two older sons liked to put together models when they were in their pre-teen to early teen years. They didn’t care for WWII planes, like my dad did, or classic cars: they liked space ships, mostly Star Trek models. Once Jason saw some pictures online about a model whose maker wanted to make it look like it had been in a battle. Jason thought that was really cool and wanted to do the same thing. Here are the results of two ships:

I think it primarily involved using a match or a lighter to lightly burn it in spots. I have to admit, when he first asked me if he could do this, I was loathe to “mess up” a perfectly good model. But the battle scenes were what both boys most liked about Star Trek at that point. Plus he had a fascination with fire for a while there, and this was a more creative means of handling flame.

So he got to do something creative and fun, and I got to “loosen up” a little. 🙂 And those memories of his boyhood make me smile.

Show and Tell Friday: Felt Books

Posted on October 12, 2007 by Barbara Harper

When my older sons were small, I discovered these small felt books from Betty Lukens. Some of you may be familiar with their beautiful flannel Bible story sets. We used them to look at at home or to take with us in situations where the kids needed to sit still and quietly (church, doctor’s offices).

The one in the bottom left hand corner was our first one. You can tell it is a little more worn than the rest. The other three were purchased years later when my youngest came along. It didn’t occur to me til the fourth book to make a protective cover like the one on the bottom left corner.

These came in kit form. All the flannel pieces were on a length of fabric that had to be cut out. There was a little cutting and gluing to be done, then the pages were put in order and tied with yarn. Little pockets were glued on backs of pages to keep the pieces in.

Two of the books are Bible stories, one is a farm book, and the last has various means of transportation.

This one of the story of baby Moses shows the little basket with the baby, a flap where the bush is that was hiding him, Pharaoh’s daughter discovering him, and his sister Miriam watching from behind another bush. For her hiding place cuts were made along the branches of the bush and a pocket was glued to the back so she could be tucked into the bushes without falling through to the other side.

This one shows Moses leading the children of Israel through the Red Sea. Flaps pull back to show the parting of the waters.

Jesus’ disciples fishing with a net:

Grandpa’s barn:

Hot air balloons:

My children enjoyed these a lot when they were younger. Now they are in a box in the closet awaiting grandchildren.

Someone asked if they were still being sold. Yes, Betty Luken’s site has all but the transportation one plus several more than what they had when I was buying mine here. I originally got mine at a home school conference fair — I hadn’t attended the conference and wasn’t home schooling yet, but they opened up the sales booths to the public.

Show and Tell Friday: Lampshade

Posted on October 5, 2007 by Barbara Harper

I’ve mentioned that I don’t have many of the things I have made, except things for our boys’ room made when I was expecting. Most other things I’ve made have been for gifts. But this caught my eye (it should — it’s right beside my bed!! But sometimes we get so used to our things we don’t really “see” them any more) and I thought it would make for a fun show and tell.

I made this lampshade some 20 years ago at a little adult ed class at a Christian college.

This is a “cut and pierced” design. The teacher taught us how to cut out an arc out of special paper (I don’t remember what it was called. It’s firm but pliable), then center and trace a pattern onto the back side. Then we took Exacto knives and cut around the outer edges of the leaves and flower petals, then bent them back just a little so the light would show through. We had a little instrument with a wooden handle and what looked like a big needle on the end to pierce little holes in various places in the design. The we attached the arc to a top and bottom circle and glued — and we had a lampshade!

Here’s a closer look:

I’ve seen some where the designs are painted. I like those, too, but I like the simplicity of this one as well.

At the time this kind of craft was going around and we could find all the supplies at a local craft or hobby shop. I don’t know if that would be the case now, but I just did an Internet search and found kits and patterns available.

I did go on to make a couple of other lampshades as a result of this class, but this was the only cut and pierced one. I’m glad I kept it and I am enjoying it all over again.

Show and Tell Friday: Fall decorations

Posted on September 28, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Last week I showed a couple of fall door decorations. This week I put out most of the rest of my fall decorations. I don’t do a whole lot with fall decorating, partly because it’s a busy time of year, and partly because with all the pink I have around here, fall colors don’t really “go” very well. But I put a few out anyway because I love to bring the season in. None of these things was a major expense — they’ve just accumulated, a few dollars here and there over the years.

This is yet another door decoration. We don’t use this door, but it does face the driveway and we see it coming and going.

I don’t remember where I got these little bows, but they used to go on the double doors that I showed last week. Now one is on the mantle and one is on a window.

I took several shots of this with and without flash and couldn’t get it any clearer, but this is a little scarecrow, a couple of small bales of hay, and a stuffed pumpkin on the mantle in the family room.

By the way, that clock is in the shape of Idaho. My husband is from there and his pastor did woodworking for a hobby and made this for us. Maybe someday I’ll showcase that for a show and tell. 🙂

I usually only put a couple of little things on the windowsill, but I decided to group several things there this time. I like it.

Here’s a closer view of the left side…

…and the right side.

Close-ups:

A little Thomas Kinkade house.

I didn’t really set out to have a scarecrow theme, but that’s just what caught my eye over the years.

I love this figurine, the flurry of leaves and the label that says “Joy.”

I also love the little strand of leaves behind it — I love the fact that they’re fall colors, but muted and pinkish so they go with the rest of the room. I’d love to find more like that but haven’t been able to yet.

You can visit Kelli’s to see more show-and-tells or link to your own.

Have a great weekend!

Update: someone asked for more details about the figureine above with the little girls tossing leaves. It is from the Vintage Virtues collection by Kathy Killip for Demdaco.

Show and Tell Friday: Autumn door decorations

Posted on September 21, 2007 by Barbara Harper

I’ve told you before that I love hearts….so when I saw this heart-shaped autumn wreath at Hobby Lobby I just couldn’t resist.

I usually look for something small and matching for our “back doors” (actually the doors by the driveway. As many come to those doors as to the front), and HL also had these.

Those are all the fall decorations I have up so far — it has only started to feel like fall the last few days. I hope to put more out this weekend or the beginning of next week. This afternoon some friends of Jesse’s are coming over for a belated birthday sleep-over, and we’re all supposed to go tomorrow to one of those places with video games, laser tags, go-carts, etc. So I need to dash off to the store and do a few things to get ready.

Have a good week-end!

Show and Tell Friday: Tapestry

Posted on September 14, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home hosts “Show and Tell Frida y” asking “Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there’s a story behind your special something, that’s even better! If you would like to join in, all you have to do is post your “Show and Tell” on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky. Guidelines are here.“

Some years ago we had an outlet mall nearby set in an old textile mill. One of its stores sold different sized tapestries. It seems like most of them were smaller sized, not the museum-wall kind. I don’t remember if the store sold anything else. But once day I needed something of a proportionate size to go above our piano, so I looked in the tapestry store and found this:

I loved the colors, the style, and the setting. And it was only $14. I covered the edges with bias tape binding (I don’t know if that is the “proper” way to finish off a tapestry, but it worked) and made a pocket on top for a small curtain rod to fit through. It fit above the piano nicely.

In one sense it doesn’t go as well in this room — we had a lot of blues in the living room in the house where we lived when I first got the tapestry. If I ever have a sewing/craft/guest room combination I think I will move it into there. But from time to time I like to look on this peaceful scene of these ever-diligent ladies (who convict me sometimes) doing their handwork.

Show and Tell Friday: Jason’s African souvenirs

Posted on September 7, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home hosts “Show and Tell Frida y” asking “Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there’s a story behind your special something, that’s even better! If you would like to join in, all you have to do is post your “Show and Tell” on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky. Guidelines are here.“

About 3 years ago, between my middle son, Jason’s, junior and senior year of high school, he had the opportunity to go with his youth pastor and some of the youth group from church on a mission trip to the country of Cameroon in West Africa. It was a wonderful experience for everyone who could go. They did various things to aid a couple of missionary families plus got in a little sight-seeing and souvenir buying at the markets. They saw missionary life first hand, and visiting another country is always enlightening on may levels.

I don’t feel I can post pictures of the team or missionaries or people of Africa since I don’t have their permission to do so. But I did want to show some of the souvenirs Jason brought back.

The carved box on the left was a gift to me, the little figurines on the right a gift to his dad.

This is a side view of the carved box. I believe the figure is supposed to look like a jar or vase, but it looks to me a little like a cartoon assassin or Ninja. I’ve either watched too many cartoons or have a weird imagination. 🙂

These wooden utensils with zebras on top (a little too dark to make out, my apologies) were also a gift for me. I haven’t actually used them — I haven’t wanted to mess them up, plus not knowing what they were treated with, I wasn’t sure if it was safe. But I was at someone else’s home a while back who had similar ones and used them to serve salad, so I might do that some time.

I went up to Jason’s room to photograph some of the other things he brought back. These are hand-carved arrows. The airport security confiscated the bows, but not the arrows. Seems a little strange, doesn’t it?

These are some knives in sheaths.

On the right is a handmade musical instrument (a little dusty right now, but Jason has played it some) and on the left is a small chess set. The wooden guy in the background didn’t come from Africa. 🙂

A mask:

And a sword with a woven strap to carry it with. It’s not a sharp sword at all. I don’t know if it is just an item they sell tourists or if they use blunt blades like this for something. Since I am interested in crafts, though, especially usable ones, I thought the strap was neat.

If you or your children ever have a chance to go on a mission trip, by all means, go, or let them go. Our youth pastor’s father is a physician’s assistant and a veteran missionary to Togo and went with the team. That made me feel a lot better as a mom, even if he did have to tell us about malaria and yellow fever and other such risks. But both because of his profession and experience I felt a lot more confident about the inoculations and medicines involved. Jason received six inoculations, plus everyone took medicine to ward off malaria. This man also was able to warn about what was safe and unsafe to eat in the markets and to plan for bringing bottled water and other provisions. Everyone stayed well except, I think, for a couple of minor tummy upsets. Jason did have some experience with uncontrolled shaking in his arms that at first they thought might have been due to dehydration, so they loaded him up with something like Gatorade. But our youth pastor’s father was reading up on altitude sickness when they came back and thinks that might have contributed to it. He hasn’t had any problems since he’s been back. Even with all the potential risks, though, I had to remind myself that missionaries went and took their small children without any major problems, and ultimately they were all in the Lord’s hands.

Even without such a person on the team, though, the missionaries you’re going to visit can tell you what you need to do and bring. Our group mostly got inoculations at the health department, and they were very helpful, too.

You can check out this week’s Show and Tell here, and while you’re over there at Kelli’s check out her new online publication, “Seasonal Delights.” It’s gorgeous and creative!

Show and Tell Friday: Shepherd picture

Posted on August 31, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Way back in March, I posted a drawing portraying the Good Shepherd hugging the lost sheep who was found and asked if anyone knew the artist or anything about it. A commenter provided a link to the full-color print by artist Katherine Brown. I had seen this years ago and loved the truth it portrayed as well as the expressions of both shepherd and sheep.

Well, my husband saw that post, and, unbeknownst to me, ordered it and gave it to me for Mother’s Day last May. He also printed the words to the hymn “That One Lost Sheep” which I had referenced on a previous post.

Though I loved the print and loved his thoughtfulness, I also wrestled with whether such a print was a violation of the second commandment about not making any graven images. I hadn’t thought of it when I saw the small image online, but for some reason seeing it big and full color, that came to mind.

My husband had thought the picture was just of a shepherd and didn’t realize that it actually represented Christ — he didn’t notice the nail prints at first. He said he thought it was ok, but if I felt uncomfortable with it, it would be fine to send it back.

I rolled it back up and put it in the mailing tube to keep it safe and thought about it off and on.

I read over the passage where the second commandment of the ten is contained in Exodus 20:

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

I felt that, if we took it to mean we shouldn’t make images of anything in heaven, we also shouldn’t make any likenesses or images of anything, really, the way the verse reads. But just a few chapters later, the Israelites are told to make cherubim out of gold whose wings were to cover the mercy seat in the tabernacle (Exodus 25) and curtain hangings with designs of cherubims woven in (Exodus 26). So the verse in Ex. 20 must not mean that people aren’t to make any images or likenesses of any kind whatsoever. Verse 5 of Ex. 20 seems to indicate the main idea is not to worship or bow down to those images or likenesses.

I tossed out a question about it on a Christian message board, and one man said he didn’t feel we should have pictures of Jesus because we don’t know what He looked like — I guess maybe he felt any representation would then be a false one. But to me it’s better that way: if we truly knew what He looked like, people might be more tempted to venerate the picture in a wrong way. The point of this picture is not to show what someone thought Jesus looked like, but rather to portray the truth of the love the Good Shepherd had for His sheep, the relief that it was found, and the contentedness and safety of the rescued sheep in the Shepherd’s arms.

So, with all of that in mind, I decided to keep it. My husband had also given me a gift card to Michael’s to get it framed, and they have weekly 50% off coupons for framing, so I took it in a couple of weeks ago. I just got it back today! I should wait til I have it properly hung to show it. I just took the picture down that was above the fireplace and put this up to see how it would look. I want to put the framed hymn next to it or near it somehow. I’ll have to wait til Saturday when Jim can help me with it. But I wanted to go ahead and show what it looks like:

And here is the hymn:

I’ll put the words for you here:

That One Lost Sheep

Safe were the ninety and nine in the fold.
Safe though the night was stormy and cold;
But said the Shepherd when counting them o’er,
One sheep is missing, there should be one more.

Although His feet were weary and worn,
And though His hands were rent and torn,
Although the road was rocky and steep,
Still the good Shepherd searched long for his sheep.

There in the night He heard a faint cry
From the lost sheep just ready to die.
Then in His arms to shield from the cold
He brought the lost sheep back safe to the fold.

The Shepherd went out to search for the sheep,
And all through the night on the rocky steep
He searched till he found him,
With love bands He bound him,
And I was that one lost sheep.

— Seat