Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

  9 December Christmas Countdown #25envelopes : Holly . The Druids of ancient Britain believed holly leaves had great powers of fertility and longevity . Nowadays, Holly has become a symbol of a Christian Christmas. It is also said that the sharp holly represents the crown of thorns that Jesus wore, and the red berries the blood he shed, so it has quite a religious significance. Today’s envelope is a simple collage with paper and fabric. I couched (stitched) Holly ribbon and embroidered French knots for the berries. The Holly theme is inspired by one of my favourite Australian Christmas stamps, depicting an angel with holly leaf wings . Today, I was stitching the holly ribbon onto the envelope at the Wednesday group and had planned to glue on some paper berries but a friend convinced me that embroidered ones would look much better and I think she is right!

Most of us know about the holly and the ivy - plant symbols of Christmas, but have you heard of "The Story of Holly and Ivy"?  watercolour, pencil and ink sketch - Wilma Simmons  I is for Ivy...  Ivy is the main character in a heart warming  1950's Christmas story by Rumer Gooden.  The Story of Holly and Ivy  has the sparkles and sugar of Christmas, the wish fulfilment and whimsy and talking toys. It's also a story about lonely people finding solace in acts of charity, and the importance of taking care of the weakest members of society. A fairy tale with a social conscience. from  http://www.goodreads.com/ I vy is the only child from St. Agnes orphanage not placed with a family for Christmas. Ivy tells the matron that she could go to her grandmother's in Appleton, although there is no grandmother and Ivy wasn't even sure if a place called Appleton even existed. Ivy is put on a train and arrives in Appleton on Christmas Eve, left to ...

Christmas Countdown ...8...Wreaths have been used as Christmas decorations for hundreds of years, mostly on doors, in windows and over mantles. They are a symbol of growth and everlasting life. Wreaths were usually made of evergreen branches and decorated  with holly, pine cones, fruit or berries, and nowadays are  more than often artificial, with all kinds of decorations. From a Christian perspective, a wreath represents eternal life. 

 I have been counting down Christmas from 1 December on my Facebook page... here is some trivia I have been uncovering during the process. 25 Christmas Bells...   In older times he very shape of the bell is reminiscent to dome of heaven. In Christianity  the ringing of a bell is a sacred announcement to the presence of Christ at mass. In Buddhism, the sounding of a bell is the resonance of pure wisdom - a tonal symbol of perfect harmony & clarity. In Asian thought the bell is also a harmonic symbol - the bell itself considered female, the clapper or pendulum within the bell is male. The two working as one to create a beautiful tone is symbolic of the union between male and female ( yin and yang ) to create perfect cooperation and balance  24  I use these pillow cases every December and have done so for about 30+ years? I have enough for everyone in the family so now I guess I have a set of "vintage" Christmas pillow cases   To see ...