Because He made us in His image, we can create things, too.
Not long before my blog site had its photo problem, I was on the Smithsonian’s open access site looking for an image to share with you. During my search, I ran across several photos of antique ornaments and thought you might enjoy seeing some of them. It is amazing to me that sugar dough is the main component of each ornament. Dating from the period of 1850-1899, they are surprisingly well-preserved.*
I hope you don’t mind if I go ahead and share them with you this morning rather than waiting until next December. Ray and I are still surrounded with Christmas decorations at our house. After all, today is only the 11th day of Christmas. Here is the tree in our pantry with a few of the ornaments from Ray’s childhood, along with a felt nativity my Aunt Nan helped me with a half century ago, Mother’s salt and pepper collection, pictures of Daddy and Daddy Leland at Daddy Leland’s grocery store, Mama Sue and Daddy Leland’s plastic placemats, and many happy memories.
And now, here are those antique sugar dough ornaments from the Smithsonian. I assume that this first one represents Baby Jesus.
Sheep
A bird in a ring
A bird in a cage
A cup
Whistles
A few days before Christmas, Ray and I joined friends for an overnight getaway on the Cumberland Plateau. I’ll call them Glenn and Tina. We four went to a Christmas play in the afternoon and then enjoyed supper at the timeshare where they were staying for a few days. Tina has a generous brother who often gives them a few nights away; and they were generous to invite us to join them. That evening and the next morning, she and I made yarn gnomes. Tina enjoyed making yarn gnomes so much that she made more during their getaway. I particularly liked the one she named Starlight. She designed the hat in the same pattern as a Starlight peppermint. These are the four that I made.
Doing crafts together was fun and relaxing for Tina and me while we four longtime friends chatted and enjoyed each other’s company. Ray joined in our crafting fun long enough to paint this snowflake craft kit.
The human capacity to create comes directly from our creative Father. Because He made us in His image, we can create things, too. The time and freedom to create is another of the many blessings of teaching your children at home.
So God created man in His own image,
in the image of God He created him;
male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:27
*The ornaments are in the collection of the Cooper Hewitt, which is the Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City. They were a gift of Mary M. Renway from the estate of Sarah B. Russell.
