It's the little things...

I LOVE Christmas. I love everything about it. I love to decorate the tree, the house, the yard and packages. I love to give rather than receive. This year, however, I was in a funk. A funk for various reasons. Finances, family illnesses and accidents, and an upcoming wedding in April. I didn't care to do any of the aforementioned. We had decided not to exchange gifts, so therefore why put all the energy into decorating? How stupid is that?

I really was ok with it. With skipping the whole thing. And then the UPS man showed up with a 21 pound package. It was from my daughter and suppose to be my paycheck, as I work for her. The USPS had returned it to her saying our street address did not exist. I guess we had entered the witness protection program and the gov't had forgotten to notify us.

Anyhoo, I knew immediately it contained gifts, even though we PROMISED no gift exchanges. The family was saving their money for the wedding, since they all live out of town. The heaviest part of the package came from a gigantic box of Milk Bone dog biscuits for our 3 basset hounds. Kira and her fiance had 2 labs and they are their babies, so gifts arrived for our dogs, as well. She says the other gifts and stockings are silly stuff. Whatever the reason, it just put me back in the mood and the nasty Grinch disappeared. Out came the tree and up went the decorations...well, some of them.

Paperdoll made by my friend the super talented Jackie Peters!

Doesn't she make the perfect Angel?

A beaded ornament

(this pic does not do it justice)

Vintage Glass

Glass bird...I have several of these..LOVE!

This I made from an Altoid Mint Tin

Another Jackie Peters Idea

I love you, Jackie!

Handmade from a friend

A $2 Santa I picked up from an Antique Store...

Isn't he sweet?

I just noticed the string from his tag is still tied around his waste...Geez!

One of my fav's made by my friend, Holly Abston.

It's a vintage reindeer in the center...Awe!

It slapped me in the face that Christmas is not about money and whether or not you can exchange gifts. It's about love and gratefulness. It's about giving of yourself. A time to reflect on all that is special in your life. So, now I sit in front of the tree with my eggnog and admire all the pretty ornaments I've collected over the years. Some vintage, some handmade, all glittery and bright. It makes me smile and happy and appreciate all the little important things in my life. A hug from my husband, a phone call from my kids, a lick in the face from my dogs, a yackity yack yack cat in my face, a kind word from a friend and much, much more.

I'm glad I took the time to throw the tree up and decorate my hutch. Oh...one more thing regarding that hutch. I bought that hutch at a neighbor's garage sale,for $20, about 4 years ago. This was back in AZ and it sat in my garage for a year and then followed us here to OK, when we moved. It had belonged to my neighbor's grandmother and it was a dirty white and falling apart. I saw hope in it. I saw a vision. Last year, I decided to finally tackle it. I cleaned all the dirt off and then painted it all white. Really did not like the way it looked, so I picked out this yummy shade of blue (the exact name has escaped me...now, there's a surprise!)and painted over the white. Then I sanded. Some of it with a small hand sander and some of it with my bare hands...true grit! After that, I hand rubbed a stain over it to get that antique/vintage look. I replace all the hardware and Jer, my husband fixed the falling apart shelf inside. It is by far my favorite piece of furniture!

Each Christmas has it's own special memories, including this one, that the Grinch almost stole. I'm glad I "snapped out of it" and allowed my true feelings and passion for the season emerge. On that note, I think it's time to grab the nog (as in egg and not hubby) and snuggle up on my wicker settee and get lost in the lovliness of my little tree and hutch. Blessings to all of you who take the time to visit this tiny part of my world.

I just love the sweetness from these little snow babies!

Happy Holidays!

I Spy.....

This is MY fl0ral Album. My pers0nal pr0ject fr0m a 0nline w0rksh0p by the 0ne and 0nly KC Willis. This is my 2nd pr0ject fr0m her w0rksh0ps. My challenge with this pr0ject was t0 use 0NLY “stuff” I had 0n hand, since I have s0000 much JUNK! G00D junk, 0f c0urse. This is s0mewhat 0f an adult versi0n 0f “I Spy!” It t00k me f0rever, with stuff scatter EVERYWHERE, t0 c0mplete this. I have t0 admit…I’m addicted! I c0uld just make pages and pages and pages, but I still have 2 m0re pr0jects t0 tackle.
The c0ver, 0f this adventure, has a sterling and fresh water pearl bracelet that I abs0ultely L0VE, but it br0ke. Why didn’t I just take it t0 a jeweler and get it fixed? Well, it’s strung and I figured they’d have t0 take it all apart and kn0wing me, I’d just never get it d0ne. Yes…I pr0crastinate when it c0mes t0 fixing br0ken jewelry…we just w0n’t g0 there. S0, I added it t0 the c0ver al0ng with all the 0ther g00dies. The “M” is actually a m0n0gram fr0m a linen napkin. The napkin under the d0ily it’s 0n is 0ne 0f th0se m0n0gramed napkins. I screwed it up. I sewed it 0n backwards! I panicked until I f0und I had an0ther 0ne. I just cut that “M” 0ff, glued it 0n the d0ily and napkin and I was g00d t0 g0! The rest is just vari0us trims and lace. The 0ld pink c0vered butt0n is the cl0sure f0r it. Again, s0me chenille trim that just wraps ar0und the butt0n.

As y0u 0pen the b00k, y0u’ll see I wanted t0 tie the 0pp0sing pages t0gether. The next tw0 are all ab0ut birds. The needle p0int birds I f0und in a bag fr0m a thrift st0re. Wh0 c0uld disp0se 0f s0mething s0 beautiful that they had put s0 much time in? I sh0uldn’t be asking, because it’s my gain! I had t0 use it…frame it with seam ribb0n. Added vintage wall paper, c0rregated cardb0ard, a small d0min0, etc. The 0pp0site page has an 0ld lace dresser scarf, fl0cked paper, trims and butt0ns and a stamped nest. That didn’t stamp well, s0 I had t0 draw 0ver it with a sharpie and put my 0wn twist 0n it.

Ahhhh…the “w0man wh0 f0ll0ws the cr0wd…..” A qu0te by Einstein. She wears a single fl0wer in her hair…a page taken fr0m an 0ld b00k. Again fl0cked paper, vintage fl0cked wallpaper, vintage millinery, cr0cheted lace, and trims. There’s a tag taken fr0m a bl0use I b0ught. I’ve been saving tags kn0wing that they will scream at me 0ne day t0 be used in s0me pr0ject. I made the fl0wer fr0m a strip 0f linen, an elastic hair band, and butt0n 0ff 0f a shirt. Last, but n0t least, I HAD t0 frame her face!

“Fl0wers are l0ve’s truest language”…0ld chenille, millinery fl0wer and cr0ceted trim. The p0stcard ph0t0 was transferred 0nt0 fabric and I wr0te the q0ute by hand. I sewed it t0 fabric, then paper, then chenille. It’s all ab0ut the layers. Just rand0m stitches. I didn’t want anything t0 be perfect, as I am far fr0m THAT! The 0ther page is a keepsake page with a p0cket f0r cards, letters…whatever. I have a card fr0m a fl0ral delivery f0r M0ther’s Day fr0m my daughter. Name 0f the fl0rest…”Fl0ral and Hardy”…L0VE IT!!!

An0ther fun qu0te ab0ut 0riginality. N0thing is 0riginal. We steel fr0m 0thers f0r inspirati0n. Very interesting th0ught and I just really liked it. I hand wr0te it and stitched it 0n a piece 0f beautiful M0da fabric I had in my “stash.” The 0pp0site page c0uld be 0ne 0f my favs. That pe0ny is a paper napkin. It is sewn 0n a thick piece 0f lint fr0m my dryer! S0me0ne f0rg0t t0 clean the vent and this is what I pulled 0ut! I th0ught, “C00L! I can use this!”

Next page…She has a secret and she’s N0T TELLING!!! I l0ve t0 swing and she just has that l00k 0f pure bliss 0n her face. She is stitched 0n a 0ld “Can0n” kitchen t0wel fr0m the 50’s. There’s an earring, magnet, br0ken piece 0f necklace, even a c0ffee stained used dryer sheet! D00dads! L0ts 0f d00dads! The writing 0pp0site is ab0ut 0ur j0urney as a human being and d0ing things 0ut 0f 0rder…ME…MY LIFE!!!

The last pages have the c0l0rs that s00the my s0ul! The shades 0f the 0cean. M0re crazy stuff! A piece 0f an egg cart0n, stick pins, a playing card, b00kmark, crepe paper, 0ld hankie…even a little “Thank y0u!” n0te pad, just in case any0ne w0uld like t0 leave a n0te after l00king at this album.

“There are n0 days in life s0 mem0rable as th0se which vibrated t0 s0me str0ke 0f the imaginati0n ~~~~~ RWE

I h0pe this inspired Y0U t0 see “stuff” in a different light and use what y0u have. It’s a great way t0 “spark” y0ur imaginati0n! Thanks f0r dr0pping in……

A Few of My Favorite Finds

I haven't blogged in so long, I may have forgotten how. So...I'll just jump right in. I thought I would share a few of my favorite things found while antiquing, junking, flea marketing, etc. I love to go in with a clear open mind and see what pops out at me. The best things are those that scream at me...very loud! I MUST listen or I'll go home, come back, it'll be gone and I'll have to cry myself all the way home!


This is a vintage french bread box I found at a monthly flea market here in OKC. I was just meandering around and found an interesting booth and saw this awesome pale yellow metal box shoved under a table. I pulled it out and opened it and the vendor told me what it was and I told her it was going home with me! She was thrilled. She couldn't believe she still had it. I was just happy it had been "lost" under that table. Of course, I didn't use it for bread (the french must have smaller loaves), but used it in my bathroom on the counter for awhile. I put all my make up in it and other facial creams and goop. I really liked it there, until I found something else to replace that space.

It is with deep sorrow. hehehe, that this lovely box will be moving on to a new home. I can't say too much, but the new recipient loves it as much as I do and she doesn't know she'll be getting it as a birthday gift. So shhhhhh...


My next find is this gorgeous old jewelry box with the coolest chippy paint job. There's blue on white and gold on blue and the drawers have white porcelain knobs...eeek! I found this treasure at my fav hang out...The Rink. It's an old ice rink turned antique mall. They used to have the old zambonie in there, but had to get rid of it for the needed space. Very cool place. I grabbed this baby and when I got to the counter, everyone was fighting over it and couldn't believe they hadn't seen it. I was lucky to get out of there with all four limbs! BTW...this took the place of the french bread box on the bathroom counter. It's large and heavy, but so nice to have a place for some of my jewelry, instead of having it hanging all over the place or forgetting where I put it.



Can you say, "heavy?" That's this frame, but oh so chic, don't you think? I got all giggly when I found it, again at the Rink! I had no idea what I'd put in it when I got it home, but who cared, right? I will admit it sat around for awhile just looking amazing and then I put my daughter's college grad pic in it. It was a close up of part of her face. I just didn't like the way it looked, even though I kept it there for awhile. It was also a black and white print and just didn't do it for me.

One of the things I love finding is old paintings done on flat canvas with the artist signature on the back. Makes me think it was done in an art class for some reason. I also love paint by number paintings and watercolors and....I guess I just love paintings! The painting inside this frame is one of those precious finds. It's on a flat canvas and is signed by the artist on the bottom and back. It's not actually inserted in the frame, as it is larger. I just leaned it up behind the frame and thought, WOW, that looks good!!! I just love the colors in the painting...the pale yellows and blue/greens. The great thing is I can easily move it somewhere else if I want and use the frame for something else, as well.

So, there it is...a few of my favorite things! What are your favorite things? Are they new? Old? Borrowed? Blue? And...in case your wondering about the roses at the top? Those are 50, yes fifty of the best roses, sent to me on my 50th birthday from my daughter and her boyfriend!!! The vase was so heavy when they were delivered, I thought I would drop them before I got them to the table.