A Truckload of Pumpkins

Here is my version of a truckload of pumpkins as inspired by The Farm Chicks. My vintage toy truck makes a perfect candy dish and I love the combination of aqua and orange together.

New Addition

This little table has been in practically every room in my house as well as up at our cottage. It's been an end table, a sewing table, a table next to the front door, etc. It looks vintage, but I bought it for a song in the clearance section at HomeGoods many, many years ago. I was initially drawn to it because of it's color, but I also loved it's worn look and plaster molding details. It's latest reincarnation is as an island in my kitchen. My kitchen is tiny, so an island was never an option. But this little table fits the dimensions perfectly and for the time being, this is the new home for my shabby-chic aqua table.

Hey Doll!

One last post on Christmas crafting before taking a break to celebrate Christmas with my family. These Matryoshka Doll ornaments are another result of taking Christy Tomlinson's 12 Artsy Ornaments of Christmas e-course. I got so many good ideas and inspiration from taking this course both this year and last year, that I highly recommend taking the course if she offers a third round next year.

I love the color combination of red and turquoise. It's a contemporary spin on the more traditional red and green Christmas color palette. I bought a bunch of gift bags, tissue and tags from Target in the red and turquoise theme, so it seems to be really big this year. So I decided to paint my Matryoshka Doll ornaments in these colors. Have you been able to guess what I used as the base for these little cuties?

It's a light bulb! What a great way to up-cycle your burned out bulbs! Maybe next year Christy will teach us how to make something out of those curly CFL light bulbs :)

Vintage Hat Boxes

I was so inspired by Jessica Enig's pretty little hat box project featured in the March 2011 issue of Romantic Homes Magazine, that I decided to make a few myself to give to some special friends I was seeing for lunch yesterday.

I used this lavender, aqua and green floral vintage wallpaper that I bought ages ago to cover the paper mache boxes.

The girls just loved them and now I have to find some time to make one for myself!

Longing for Springtime

Swap Arrival!

In the previous post I told you about the swap I was in - One String At A Time. I showed you the banner I made and..... guess what? My partner, Susie's banner arrived yesterday! Yipee!!! Don't you love it? I can keep it out all year. RIght now it's hanging from the plate rack in my dining room.

Here's a close up of the detail. On one side she used a variety of pink buttons...all different ones. These are a few of my favorites.

The garland is held together by this crocheted string of little flowers. I think she made them. I'd love to learn how to do this. Does anyone have any instructions they want to share?

But until I can figure out how to do it myself, Susie sent me this darling card with some of my own to play with! Thank you so much Susie...you're a doll!

52Q - Week 6

~Front~

~Back~

Back Among the Living!

I'm back and feeling much better than I was a week ago. I think I am at the end of this New Year yukkiness and glad of it. I hate being sick....it seems like everything I try to do is in v-e-r-y s-l-o-w motion. Thanks to all of you for your well wishes...somehow I think all those kind thoughts helped keep me on the road to recovery.

I thought I would share my favorite Christmas gift of all with you. Just look at the picture above. . .yessiree, that is my very own antique chandelier for my studio! It's from my DH and it couldn't have been more perfect! He hit all the marks that I was hinting at all year. . .white, old, hanging crystals. . .it even has a little cherub hanging onto the center post. He made me nervous when he told me one day he was going to Menard's and Home Depot to look for a chandelier for me. I know they have some nice ones there, but not any that fit the look I was after. I think that must have been a diversionary tactic, because in the end, this is the one he bought me and I do love it so! And just like my friend Cerri wrote here about one of her Christmas gifts, I think DH finally gets me!

He didn't waste any time getting the chandelier hung, complete with a dimmer switch which is, as you know, essential to getting the proper aura from the light. What a peach he is! Then after seeing this photo from Holly, I got out a few of my cherished vintage Christmas balls to hang from the bottom. Such a great idea, Holly ~ thanks!
Another favorite gift I received was this little ingenious bit of technology. I've been needing a new phone since my contract expired at the beginning of 2008, but procrastinated and kept putting it off due to not wanting to have to learn how to use a new phone. But so far this one is a cinch to use and I like being able to have access to email and the internet (if needed) wherever I am.

Finally, I wasn't going to mention this little faux-pas that I had this past week, but then I thought, oh why not! It sort of rivals Karin's little miss-step she wrote about here last year. Because I was bustling around trying to get something out of the messiness of the laundry-room-turned-gift-wrapping-room-during-the-holiday-season, which happens to be a very tiny room and currently has very little floor space to walk on, I had a slight accident. Somehow I turned around and found myself tripping over an empty laundry basket and watching (in a sort of out-of-body-experience kind of way) the whole thing occur in the slowest of motion, but was unable to stop the momentum my body was already in and CRASH! There I was sprawled out on the floor, with my head resting on a bag of discards ready to take to Goodwill and the laundry basket popping off all four of it's plastic handles in the force of the impact! My DH, called out from the other room asking, "What fell," and came to my rescue after I managed to reply, "Not what, but who!" He offered to remove the Goodwill bag from under my head, but I told him I liked the way it was cushioning my head, since I wasn't quite ready to get up and see how much damage I had done to my body. Fortunately I came out of it with only some bumps and bruises and a knot on the side of my head. . .all of which is a lot better than a broken bone in the middle of winter here in the Midwest! A friend of mine told me last week that she believes that the way you bring in the new year sets the tone for the way your year is going to be. Oh dear, I hope she's not right about that, because with the awful head cold and now this fall, I looks like I will be in for one heck of a year! Perhaps my DH should up our insurance just in case!

A Pretty Little Christmas Tour of Homes

Welcome to A Pretty Little Christmas Blog Party! The 'oh so talented' Heather is our hostess and wait till you see her delightfully cozy home all decked out for the holidays. . .you definitely will fall in love with this girl's style. Also Boomama is hosting a huge Christmas Tour of Homes as well, so let's get going...there's lots to see!

This year I've decorated our home in cool icy tones of pink, aqua, silver and white. Much to my DH's dismay, I have ALOT of Christmas decorations and a NOT SO BIG house, so I never have enough room to put them all out at one time. I still do my gingerbread tree in the kitchen, a snowman tree in the livingroom, and a Paris themed tree in my family room. But the rest of the decorations usually vary from year to year, which I kind of like as it breaks up the monotony each year.
I love, love, love mercury glass and anything covered in silver glass glitter. I got these goblet style candle holders at Homegoods to use at my daughter's wedding last month. The flickering candle light creates a wonderful glow when they are lit. The glitter deer is from Target. The mercury glass tree is from Michael's. And the best part is I didn't even have to polish my sterling silver tray, because I think the tarnished finish suits the mercury glass very well.

These vintage tinsel trees sit in a grouping on top of my grandmother's baby grand piano. A string of mini white lights weaves it's way through the display. I am so obsessed with tucking those small $1.47 strings of 50 Christmas lights all through the house.

This sweet little angel is new this year. She was displayed on top of this wispy wreath in the store and I couldn't resist buying them both, just the way they were. Now that's what I call a smart shopkeeper who knows how to double her sales!

This pink organza stocking is another Homegoods find. Both the color and the layers of ruffles at the top are what caught my eye.

If you need to sit and rest a while, you can do it in this wicker chair in my 'studio annex.' Since my daughter's wedding, I have taken over her old room and am using it as an extension of my studio. Unlike my original studio space, I am trying my best to keep this one tidy. So far, so good...but then it's only been a month since she moved out!

I adore the sparkley aqua color of this tree. Most of the ornaments on this tree are new this year, either made by "moi" or handmade by talented friends.

JOY has been my word for this year. . .I can't seem to help myself when I see that word pop up wherever I go.

I keep this little guardian angel out all year long. I got her at a tiny local craft show a many years ago. She is made by a textile artist who uses vintage lace on everything she creates. I have her hanging on a small quilted memo board that was also handmade by another crafter I know.

Pink snow cottages and a vintage aqua Santa ~ what could be better than that?

More mercury glass and a wee pale pink bottle brush tree trimmed in pearls.
This creamware pitcher holds pink and aqua vintage glass bead picks ~ very festive indeed!

A darling mica covered ornament made from a kit designed by blogging friend and fellow Joli Paquet artist, Beth Quinn. FYI - Due to popular demand, Joli Paquet will be returning after the first of the year. Check back here in early January for all the details.

An aqua clip-on glass candle ornament "lights" up the night. . . . . . . . . .while a bottle-brush tree balances atop a snow covered aqua glass ornament. This is my version of a 'contemporary' Christmas tree, using a glass and silverplate tiered cookie server loaded up with silver glittery ornaments, pinecones and glass balls.
Well, thank you so much for stopping by. . .if you want to see a lot more of the Pretty Little Christmas homes, then click here. I'm on my way out the door now to visit some of my friends places too. . . .who knows, maybe we'll bump into one another along the way! Enjoy the day!

A Day of Sweet Memories

It all seems like a dream now, but only 2 short weeks ago our darling daughter ~ our little girl ~ our only child was married. A year of planning and preparing and it all went by so quickly. It seems like things started out slowly over a year ago when Natalie told us Jon asked her to marry him. They had been dating for 5 years at that time. Soon after the proposal, the prep began for the major things like securing a venue for the wedding and reception, the music, the photographer, the dress, etc. Then, for what seemed like forever, things just seemed to stand still. And all of a sudden, about two months before the wedding, the whirlwind of all the little details and deadlines started to make my head spin. The details are the part that I love to work on ~ you know, the little things that when put together create the aura, the look, the feeling that you want the evening to exude. But the details are the part of the planning that can be exhausting and stressful because you want everything to be just right for this one special day in your little girl's life.

The wedding gown Natalie picked out was magical ~ like something a fairy princess would wear. Afterall she is OUR princess and always will be. All of the flowers were amazing. . .Natalie's bouquet was exquisite. The cream roses, calla lilies, and hydrangeas matched the champagne color of her dress beautifully and the brownish foliage added the perfect touch for a fall wedding. The florist was such a joy to work with. She understood exactly what we wanted and "got it" right away with out hardly any explanation at all. Even her proposal was a piece of art, as it was handwritten in the most beautiful penmanship. For us, flowers are such an important part of a wedding. My own wedding flowers (many moons ago) were the most beautiful that I had ever seen ~ until my daughter's wedding, that is. The bridsmaids wore beautiful truffle brown dresses with sweetheart necklines and the best part of all. . .pockets hidden in the side-seams!

I made the necklaces and earrings for the girls using pacific opals, freshwater pearls and a single wire wrapped Amazonite pendant.
And more bouquets of cream roses and these have blue-green hydrangeas and foliage all elegantly ribbon wrapped. These bouquets lasted a full 10 days and have dried into the most beautiful arrangements which I have sitting in mercury glass bowl vases in my studio. Lucky for us, a couple of the bridesmaids left their bouquets behind at the reception, so both Natalie and I have them to treasure.
I'll have more to share in the upcoming days, so stay tuned. . . .

I can't believe the enthusiastic response you all have had to the kits I put together for Joli Paquet.

Thank you SO much. . . .you guys are the best! I've listed a couple more kits in my Etsy Shop and I have a few more that I can put together this weekend if you know anyone who still wants one.

Today I was busy packing up the ornaments I made for the swap my friend Heather from Speckled Egg has been organizing. We couldn't decide on just one theme for the swap, so our "assignment" turned into a combination of our favorites ~ create an ornament that is a little vintage, a little glittery and all done up in pastel colors. I can't wait to see what everyone dreamed up!