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what does it mean when someone from your past walks through in your dream or sleep? I don't know that I was dreaming anything in particular but suddenly a person walks through your thoughts and then disappears.

love one another as God loves us.

"At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart?" Mother Teresa

In this Silhouette Studio tutorial, we will continue to work on the two inch cube box project. We will design the word JOY and glue it to the front of the box. This will give us a nice ornament for our Christmas tree.

JOY Ornament Silhouette Project

Such truth. Love works miracles. If only we humans could recognize that love the the greatest power on Earth, and I don't mean romantic love.

In this Silhouette Studio tutorial, we will create a 2 inch cube box cut file. We will create both the cut and score lines and save the file for cutting on your Silhouette Cameo.

Silhouette 2 Inch Cube Box Cut File

“Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!” (Psalm 119:1)

In this Silhouette Studio tutorial, we will create a Print and Cut napkin ring for the holidays using your Silhouette Cameo.

Silhouette Print and Cut Holiday Napkin Ring

When autumn seems chillier than expected, sewing projects made with fleece fabric seems a great compromise to using heaver woolen materials for outdoor wear. Today's fleece fabric can be anti-pill, ultra soft and perfect for a variety of sewing projects.

Sewing Fleece Fabric

"Dark Lady of the Silents: My Life in Early Hollywood" by Miriam Cooper (1973)


Miriam Cooper's autobiography is a breezy read told in a very conversational style. Cooper entered the acting profession in 1911 strictly for financial reasons. Her father abandoned her mother and three siblings while the children were very young. As a teenager, Miriam started earning $35 a week as an actress and supported her entire family. A member of D.W. Griffith's troupe, she played important roles in two of America's most influential silents: "The Birth of a Nation" (1915) and "Intolerance" (1916).

She married actor/director Raoul Walsh and here is where she displays some less admirable qualities. Walsh was a womanizer and Miriam was the jealous type. She relates the tale of inviting one of her romantic rivals to her home. Miriam mixes the woman a cocktail and throws in some cleaning fluid. Hmmmm. The unstable couple adopted two boys although the idea was Miriam's and Raoul was not an engaged parent. Miriam essentially abandons the boys when they reach the age of sixteen. She writes she had no further contact with them and has no idea whether they are dead or alive. In a rare moment of introspection, she writes of her son Jack "I had thought I was giving him something good when I took him out of the orphanage, but as a motion picture star I hadn't been able to give him what he needed most: a stable home life with a mother and father around all the time. Now that I was divorced, Theresa (her cook) and I tried to do the job, but the damage had already been done."

Cooper's accounts of family life are confirmation that the nuclear family was often not the norm in America, even in the early part of the 20th Century. Along with the sociological aspects, the book is worth reading for Cooper's anecdotes regarding Hollywood's A-listers, including Charlie Chaplin, Pola Negri, Lillian Gish, Theda Bara, and Douglas Fairbanks.

Only love can heal the wounds of the past.

bell hooks

A feminist pioneer and social critic, bell hooks (1952-2021) is known for her writings on the intersections of race and gender, centering the experiences of Black women. Her book “All About Love” recasts love as a choice, as well as a crucial foundation for social change. She advocated for developing a “love ethic,” one that acknowledges the needs of the collective as well as the individual. Her words remind us that even the deepest injuries can mend if we are patient and compassionate toward ourselves and other people.

In this Silhouette Studio tutorial, we will create a simple card design with holiday phrases. We will be using the Text tool and the Layers panel. The design will be the phrase Have a Very Merry Christmas, with the words in different Christmas colors.

Text Tool in Silhouette Studio

and if you are with a group of reseachers who have a tree on FamilySearch, open the app on you phone, click on the menu tab, click "relatives around me", and FamilySearch will list those who share a family connection with you as determined by the information on the family trees. This can be a lot of fun.

“Praise the Lord, my soul!” (Psalm 146:1)

As a national U.S. holiday, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It is a day to remember that first gathering of English settlers and Native Americans for a harvest feast in 1621. At that time sewing quilts, clothing, spinning and rug making were vital daily endeavors.

Thanksgiving Themed Sewing Projects

Hello everyone,

Like many others, I'm trying to adjust to the new political reality here in the US. One small thing I can do is no longer expose myself to the the toxic environment of X/Twitter. I'm letting that account go dormant and have moved over to Bluesky. So far, I find it to be a friendlier space. Here is the link to my new social media and I hope you'll give me a follow.
Selective Focus/Drama Movies Bluesky Account

Use the Search FAMILY TREE tab to look for ancestors. When the list appears, select the ancestor who interests you the most then you can either look at the ancestor on the tree or select person and review the "group sheet" and then check the sources that have been provided by other researchers.

“Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.” (Psalm 105:3)

In this Affinity Designer tutorial, we will create a simple tricolored striped Christmas paper.

Tricolored Striped Pattern Paper

One digital art product that never goes out of style is the digital paper jpg or pattern fill for svg cut files. In this series of tutorials, we will design a group of patten papers for your Christmas projects.

How to Design a Holiday Theme Collection of Papers

“I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.” (Psalm 22:22)

“In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.” (Psalm 131)

In this Affinity Designer tutorial, we will create a gingham plaid digital paper. This pattern will be great for digital papers and pattern fills svgs.

Gingham Pattern Paper SVG

“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” (Psalm 23:1)

In this Silhouette Studio tutorial, we will create a cupcake topper from a gingerbread man graphic. We will be using the gingerbread man graphic from a previous tutorial and the print and cut feature in Silhouette Studio.

Quick Easy Xmas Cupcake Toppers