Early Show in PA - read and see how Kim and Gary have transformed the Lighted Christmas Balls into Pumpkins

Hi There!!

 

I seen on your blog where you would like to see photos of houses where they have used your lighted ball idea, well here it is.  The Halloween photos with the pumpkins on the side of my house are in fact your ball idea only they are much larger, I used 60 inch and 48 inch chicken wire and doubled my length, THAT WAS A CHALLENGE, hehe!, and in case you are wondering the eyes are coffee cans with red Christmas lights stuffed in them, the neighbors like them, hehe!  our house sits on a hill 90 feet above the highway, kinda far off the road so I wanted them to be seen from the road, just cant sit a lighted deer up here, would just look like a blob, haha! I just make a little cylinder for the top and wrap with green lights for the stem and just pipe cleaner attach the to the balls.  Then at Christmas I put white lights on them for the regular balls, I do plan to make more this year and put them kinda rolling down the hill, this idea fits our house perfectly!! The snow flakes on the side of the deck are made from PVC pipe, I made a design and my dear hubby helped my with cutting everything and all the elbows, they are about 48” in diameter.  I get compliments all the time on the balls and pumpkins, thanks so much for the idea, nothing worked as well up here in the years past, but I think it works now!!

 

Thank You so much!!

 

Kim & Gary Marshall

239 DuBois Rockton Rd.

Rockton, PA  15856

LIghted Christmas Ball Note Cards available now

Daughter Alison(original designer of the lighted Christmas balls) has been drawing and coloring and designing since her earliest days at the Infant Care Center at UNCG.  Every holiday occasion, her father and I have opened cards and projects she has crafted so it was no surprise last Christmas when I unwrapped kitchen towels with a drawing of a lighted Christmas balls.  I really loved it, so she submitted that image to the personalized stationary online business where she is a designer.  I really love how they turned out.  They are Crane quality note cards with envelopes and you can order yours by clicking the link below the card.  
They are lovely to do business with and have a terrific line of kids stationary and calling cards and tags.  There are plenty of other designs which I have given to friends and family.  She has just released one I really like with a bow tie for the guys.  Her designer name is Charlotte Vail so if you see that artist name when you open any of the other designs you will know it is her work. 

  Lighted Christmas Balls Note Cards

For all our friends in Salisbury NC - an opportunity!

Lighted Christmas Ball Workshop at John Calvin Presbyterian Church, 1620 Brenner Ave. Salisbury NC 28146

10:00 AM Saturday December 7, 2013

The fourth annual Salisbury N.C. Christmas Ball Workshop will be held in the Fellowship Hall at John Calvin Presbyterian Church at 10:00 AM, Saturday, December 7, 2013.  The lighted Christmas balls are easily made and are designed to bring Christmas cheer to local neighborhoods.  Pictures of the balls illuminating neighborhoods in Salisbury, Greensboro and Charlotte can be seen at Lighted Christmas Ball Blog.

For each ball you wish to make, please bring 200 mini-lights.  All other materials will be supplied by JCPC.  Please also bring a donation of canned food to donate to Rowan Helping Ministries.  In 2012, over 10,000 pounds of food was collected in North Carolina to support area food banks.

Further information is also available from the Charlotte Observer story and the Salisbury Post’s coverage of the 2012 workshop.

Photo Credit  - http://lightedchristmasballs.blogspot.com

Photo from Frederick Maryland

This from one of our dearest friends - Bill Humphrey.  He and his family made lighted Christmas balls for his daughter Ginger Humphrey Wiley and her family who just moved into a new home the week before Christmas (Oh my goodness)  We love to put up photos from other places in addition to Greensboro.  If you have some photos - send them to us - we will put them up.  
Happy New Year! 

Surprise Joy

Triad Health Project's "pantry empty" status sent Anne into high gear, "Put the trailer back on the street and remember to put all the red and pink balls over the trailer," she said before adding, "and the big red heart goes above the front door, as high as it will go."

The cause of all his ruckus was that Triad Health Project hadn't received a shipment of food for five weeks, and their food cupboard was hours from being bare.

So Anne emailed Lighted Christmas Balls Ambassadors and posted on the Sunset Hills List serve about the food-deficit. A friend in Historic Aycock broadcast the need through her neighborhood's list serve.

Friends of Lighted Christmas Balls brought food. Five big boxes worth of canned/non-perishable food which Jonathan took it over to Triad Health Project. By 2/19, anne figured food donations were pretty much done for the year and it was time to retire the trailer again. And for three rainy days it remained empty.

But on the fourth night when Jonathan hitched up the dogs for their evening walk, he checked the trailer just to be sure food wasn't getting wet. That's when he discovered 12 big plastic bags full of food, each one double bagged to keep the contents dry. Just one more reason we love calling Greensboro home.

Ta Da! All the way from Oregon

I just received this email from people I do not know but some kindred spirits from across the country.  Anne 

We loved your idea for the Christmas Balls and made some each of the last 2 years.  I formed one into the cylinder shape hanging near the front door because we have to borrow the neighbors trees to hang the ones we’ve made so far.  Thanks for all you are doing for your community............  Jim & Carol,  Forest Grove, Oregon

Donation Totals for the Shine the Light On Hunger Campaign for 2012

2007     $734.00     2,974  pounds

2008     $772.00     3,729  pounds

2009    $6,190.00    4,158  pounds

2010    $5,687.00    4,089  pounds

2011   $10,502.00   7,165  pounds

2012   $24,254.00  10,003  pounds

Total   $48,139.00  32,118  pounds

This year has been a great year.  The neighbors continue to store, retreive, repair and re-hang the lighted Christmas balls.  It brings a lot of joy to us and our friends from all over Greensboro and beyond.  It thrills us to see the buses of folks coming in from the local retirement communities and families with children - young and old - who delight in the beauty of the simple design.  

For the last 6 years we have added a food collection drive. Grateful persons from all over the county drop off small bags of food which add up to big pounds.  

Sadly, may of our food banks are already depleted from the overflowing donations from many organizations over Christmas.  Please keep the hungry in mind.  When you have a few extra dollars or if you can tighten up your own consumption, make sure to give donations all year long.  We will attempt to post places accepting donations year long.  

2012 Year in Review!

I realized there were a lot of events we didn't ever get around to posting here on the blog.  This is my attempt to pull some photos from all of them and share them with you.

We kicked the year off with a workshop at the central library - it was a lot of fun and as always we met new friends and sent about 30 new lighted Christmas balls out into the city.  Beth Sheffield is our hostess for that event and it has always been a lot of fun. 

The next event was the Sunset Hills workshop held in our driveway and street on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  Here a just a couple of shots from that time.

  

Next....Off to Morehead Hospital in Eden for a workshop there.  Here are some photos from that fun day!!

Then...
Ferrum College in Ferrum Virginia - some really nice action photos from that Sunday afternoon workshop with faculty and friends there........

Then - up from the basement storage come our personal Lighted Christmas Balls about 40 of them - who is counting?  

 

all ready to be tested, repaired and hung - this is an annual event, everyone!!

*******************

Just to make the season a little more fun - News 2 features Jonathan and gives some great plugs for the Shine the Light on Hunger Food Drive and secures some Lighted Christmas Balls for the weather garden at News 2 

DigTriad 

Fast forward a bit to the Running of the balls - a genius idea from our friend Nick Loflin.  I didn't really ever imagine it would be as huge as it was.  It was a huge success - even in less than ideal weather.  With bad weather comes muddy shoes - the photo of those was just TOO GOOD to pass up.  

Just some random shots from around the Sunset Hills neighborhood - some of our favorite things xoxoxo

The Primetimers group was so kind to ask Jonathan to come share the story with them at their annual Christmas party.  They did a very nice food drive there and sent us home with a nice cart of great things to add to the trailer.  Thanks Christ United Methodist - it was a fun time with you!

All the rest are just pretty lights  and evidence of a completely successful fund and funds for Shine the Light on Hunger - a project solely dedicated to feeding the hunger through our local food banks - 

Greensboro Urban Ministry and Second Harvest.  

We were lucky to have a good number of lighted Christmas balls still shining for our first and only(to date) snowstorm.  

Enjoy!