The Maker's Space

http://christmasartwalk.com/ Go to the above address to find out about the Barrington Christmas Art Walk.  Original art pieces depict to Christmas Story placed all around the city.  It is now open for self guided tours through December 24!

By Jenna Sveen To keep you interested, I promise I will make a connection between Santa Lucia and ISIS.  As you all know, I love being Scandinavian and relish in the traditions and culture that were passed down to me by my grandparents. As a pride-filled Swede, I was looking on Ikea's website yesterday (duh) for some Christmas candles that I needed. I stumbled across what appears to be Ikea's version of a blog titled "Celebrate Christmas Like a Swede." Most of the stuff I alr eady do or at least was familiar with, however, I was reminded about the importance of light during the month of December in Sweden. Two of the tips were "No room without a candle" and "Make you indoor light come alive." The blog reminded readers that the darkest day of the year is in December and on that day in Sweden you can hardly, if at all, see the sun.Thus to combat this, Swedes fill their homes with light. Each room contains numerous candles and special Christmas l...

I wanted to hang above our mantel something that would remind us not just of the Christmas season, but something to carry into the new year. After reading through many Christmas hymns, I settled on O Little Town of Bethlehem. I love the imagery of the ending of the first verse that speaks about our hopes and fears colliding together the night Christ was born. For decades, the Israelites waited hoping for their savior to come and deliver them. They lived in continuous fear of what nation would be next to control them. Would the next nation make them slaves? Would the next ruler be kind or cruel to them? Similarly, we all have hopes in our lives that we cling to, that keep us forever moving one step at a time to the next thing. Sometimes these hopes are the only thing that get us out of bed in the morning. However, the hopes are often crushed or tempered because of the fears the hopes won't come true. We battle back and forth between succumbing to our fears and fighting for our hop...

Taking a break for creative paper ornaments at The Maker's Space 7pm. Photos from Thursday, Dec. 3 paper crafting event are below.  What a wonderful way to slow down.

http://eeditionmobile. chicagotribune.com/Olive/ Tablet/ChicagoTribune/ SharedArticle.aspx?href=CTC% 2F2015%2F11%2F30&id=Ar00401 Adults coloring to relieve stress, have fun Creative hobby gains popularity as a convenient way to unwind, with or without the kids BY BARBARA BROTMAN AND CORILYN SHROPSHIRE  CHICAGO TRIBUNE BARBARA BROTMAN/CHICAGO TRIBUNE  Moms color at the Purple Monkey Playroom in Chicago for a BYOB coloring book party for adults. Inside a North Side play gym, the scene was one of quiet bliss. Women sat at a long table, quietly coloring in pictures in coloring books. It could have been kindergarten, only the paper cups with pictures of Elsa and Anna from “Frozen” were filled with wine. “Wine and coloring — you can’t beat that,” Heidi Jacobson said happily as she headed over to take her place with a coloring book of her own. This BYOB coloring party, hosted by a toy store owner for a meetup group of mothers, was evidence of the expl...

Just in case you’ve been watching the trees change colors, here’s a list of photos that compare   various locations   before and after they change   into their autumn colors. Besides the nip in the air and the delicious autumn fruits and vegetables, the   changing leaves are probably the greatest sign   of autumn that there is.  Chlorophyll, which is the green   pigment in leaves that produces energy for trees, gradually   breaks down in the fall, revealing the many other colors that also exist in leaves.  That’s where we get the rich browns, oranges, yellows and reds that we associate with the season .   Tu Hwnt I’r Bont Tearoom in Llanrwst, North Wales Image credits:  unicorn81 Image credits:  g7preston Gapstow Bridge, New York , USA Image credits:   Jessica Jenney Image credits:  BooRad0859 Japanese Mapl...

We had a fun evening Playing with Clay at the studio of Susan Ferrell of www.Feralpots.com. We focused on making textures on whatever we decided to make which included wall plaques, vases, ornaments, and soup spoon rests.  All of us did something about the Fruits of the Spirit to display in the Glen Ellyn Evangelical Covenant South Alcove Gallery.  It is always a fun evening.....so don't miss the next time that Susan opens her studio to play!! @www.feralpots.com for classes

  When I think back to family dinners, I remember my grandmother's meals.  The gift of time and love that she poured into our dinners together every Sunday is what I remember.  Have we sacrificed family dinners because we are so busy?  What are we not passing down to our children in the art of slow food when we opt for fast food? Our cooking class learned the art of presentation as well as the art of preparing the meat with garlic, oil, searing and sauces using the drippings and adding butter for flavor.  The appetizers of a pesto and sun=dried tomato loaf, olive tapenade, Havarti and sundried tomato cheesecake, were decorated with thyme and basil and tomato bits for a Christmas flair. All helped prepare the meat, the Elephant-ear potatoes, and wilted spinach salad. The conversation was lively and everyone enjoyed eating the fruit of our labors. The crowning moment was the chocolate cranberry torte.  That dessert also takes a bi...