Creative Gift Giving and Other ways to get the best Holiday Photos!

     

My son, Ross, has been wanting a set of double kick pedals for his bass drum but did not request them for Christmas. We had already spent a bundle on a huge Star Wars Lego set with 1758 pieces and I was looking for some things to fill their nesting boxes...a little Christmas tradition in the Taylor household.  Every year I divide up the 10 boxes between the boys and tie them up with two different color ribbons (one for each son) then tell them which color is theirs on Christmas day.

I have taken photos of Ross standing by these nesting boxes for the past few years.

Then, call it a Christmas miracle, I actually found a gently (if you can use that term in percussion speak) used pair on craigslist for a very reasonable price. Unfortunately, the double kick pedals were way too large to fit in even the largest of the nesting boxes so Phil (my husband) decided to take off one piece that would fit and just wrap that.

What happened on Christmas morning made for some interesting photography and fond Christmas morning memories.

He finds the piece in the largest of the nesting boxes.

We ask him if he can figure out what it is.

Then after several agonizing minutes and failed guesses, his Dad gave in and went to retrieve the REST of the gift from the closet.

 

I just love the look on his face!

I think he is pleasantly surprised!

And that's what makes great Christmas memories.

Cypress Knee Santas, Popeyes and other ways to Celebrate Christmas!

I have just spent about 40 hours painting 8 cypress knees most of which are going to the daughters-in-laws of a very sweet man who harvests the cypress knees from his property, boils them til the bark is soft enough to pull off, and dries them in his oven.
There is nothing quite like the smell of cypress knees drying in the oven.
Why I forgot to photograph the naked cypress knees before I painted them, I have no idea, but there is something curious about the twists and knobs on the knees that just speak to me.  Just check out this LINK to get an idea of what they look like naked.  Not all cypress knees can be a Santa Claus, although I've seen other artists just slap a face and beard on any old thing (actually, I've done that as well) so I like to "find" the Santa in cypress knee.
My friend, who began bringing me his cypress knees to paint about 10 years ago, made some special requests for this year's lot that reflected the individuals who would be receiving them as Christmas gifts.

My friend's family has grown in the past couple of years with the addition of two grandson's, a 21 month old and one just born on Monday the 20th, and two more special grandsons by marriage all who call him "Popeye".
So I want to share these with you all.  The tallest of the lot is only 9 inches tall and the smallest (not pictured with this group and was to be a gift for a friend at work) was only 2 inches.
Here are some other photos of the individual cypress knees.