Merry Christmas... and Happy Holiday's

Look!....
It's a photo of a painting my dad did, many, many years ago. (early 1960's?) He carried the photo in his wallet, by the looks of it, for a very long time. My dad passed away in 1993 at age 74.
He was very artistic. I remember this painting hanging on our living room wall.
I love that you can see the painting in the background, of the photo of me at Christmas...about 1962?...with my baby doll, and very favorite "Suzy Smart" doll. the toy phone would be sign of things to come....I'm now an Operator for a catalog sales company. Why couldn't that be a toy cash register instead? : P

It was very large, about 2'x 3'... under glass. My dad loved painting Winter scenes. He didn't have many art supplies, and I'll bet this painting was done on a discarded piece of cardboard, as were many of his paintings. looking at the painting, I wonder what his inspiration was, and what memories of his, were incorporated in this painting. He did grow up on a farm, not to far from where I live. We had the pleasure of visiting there a long time ago, but it didn't look like this at all.
I am ashamed to admit the fact, that I had the painting when I got married. When we moved, I left the painting behind!... what was I thinking?
I didn't know then, what a cherished thing it was.
So. I scanned the 2 x 3 inch photo, at 500 dpi, and it came out pretty clear! and luckily, the main part of the painting is not severely damaged, although, the photo itself, is aged and badly cracked. I tried to digitally repair it the best I could, then using my favorite, simple photo program "LIVE PIX"... I laid semi-transparent layers of color, section by section, diminishing the "crackle" while still allowing the original painting to show through.


I'm pretty happy with the results, considering what I had to work with. I thought the picture would make a wonderful Christmas ornament, to give to my family!
Of course, I never get these brainstorms weeks before, no... I get them hours before. I have to make 16 ornaments, and I've already printed and glued the images on card stock, and decorated the edges. I just have to antique the edges, and attach a string for hanging. I'll also add a little note to the back, giving the history of the painting.
I hope my family will forgive me for leaving the painting behind.

I just watched the Browns lose... and now we're at the mercy of another team, to get into the play offs. ohh well.
I'm going to make Christmas cookies in a little while. Our family favorite "Crescent Cookies"... They're not actually crescent shaped, but round, with a thumbprint, with powdered sugar, and colored sugar. The recipe is common, but I love these cookies!... to me, this is what Christmas tastes like!
My girls and I were supposed to make them together, as we do every year, but schedules got in the way, and it's just gonna be me rolling all those little cookie dough balls.

I'll be going to my sister Susan's house Christmas eve. Most of my family will be there. I love seeing them all, but will be glad when the Holiday's are over.. and everything goes back to normal. .......sorry if I've already mentioned that a million times in previous posts!

Thanks for reading my Blog
I wish you and your families a Very Merry Christmas.. or whatever holiday you celebrate.. (being PC xoxo)
And a Wonderful, New Year filled with good health, and peace!
xoxoox
~MaryEllen