Boudoir Tree

Yesterday I gathered all of the many past issues of holiday magazines that I've saved: Home Companion, Country Living, Southern Accents, Traditional Home and Martha Stewart's Living. So far I've found not much worth keeping so into the recycle bin they go.  The keepers are Home Companion, however.  What a great magazine that was, sniff.  What I do like are the decorated rooms where there are trees and holiday decor everywhere.  Why shouldn't I have a small tree in my bedroom?  And here it is.  Will it be trimmed with ornaments?  Perhaps.  I think it is pretty as is.   

Start Me Up

 It's beginning to look like Christmas around here.  Oh, boy! 

Vintage Shopping

 I stayed home on Black Friday.  On Saturday, I cleaned up and headed to the big city of Gig Harbor, population 6,000.  This is how I looked, minus the long thin legs, the high heels, the tousled mane of blonde hair and the big sunglasses. 

 eBay is my shopping venue of choice for all things, new and old.  On my wish list has been those 12" tall old bottle brush trees that are covered with vintage bulbs and gee-gaws.  Know the ones I'm talking about?  The artist who makes the ones I want sells them for $120-$170. Gee, why can't I make one myself.  In town I found just the right bottle brush trees for $6 each.  Oh, and that small empty dome in the background, $12. 

Need ornaments and more ornaments to fill the domes, and decorate the bottle brush trees, and for filling bowls, and, oh yeah, the Christmas tree, too. 

Whoops!  How did this get in here?  Heh, heh. 

 I shopped at 2 vintage stores and spent less than $125.  Above are Victorian buttons, rhinestone chains, lace and crochet bits, and a length of the most fab Victorian beaded trim.  I think that trim will go on a jean jacket pocket, affixed with Velcro. 

 I just love these whimsical old Christmas doo-dads.  These were $1 to $2 apiece.  The Santa head is quite old and fragile, made of celluloid, like the old Kewpie dolls.  Remember those? 

Finally, I came upon a 50% off basket filled with old lace and trim.  Some of this is marked as Victorian, I don't know, but it is lovely and rare, I'm sure.  I paid around $7 for yards and yards of this plus some more.  That gorgeous hat covered in velvet flowers?  A Doree for $10.  Can I possibly cut off the flowers to use for crafting?  Probably not.  Lastly, because I still had a check left in my checkbook, I walked over the the town's nicest gift and holiday decor store.  Boring.  Give me vintage shopping any day.

On to the next...

 Thanksgiving has come and gone.  Here is my table BEFORE the hungry hordes descended.  That's Mom claiming her spot, next to my husband.  He amazed me yesterday by bringing extra chairs to the table AND laying out the silverware.  Truly, I was stunned that he did these things without me asking for the specific help.  Full of surprises, that man.  As I was in the throes of cooking and more cooking and cleaning, I realized that this is the only big dinner I host.  For Christmas Eve we have my husband's family over, yes, however for several years now I've claimed as TRADITION the consumption of purchased food.  It's good, everyone eats what they want, when they want, and it is surely easy on me.  Last night?  I was in bed with an ice pack and a Vicodeine as soon as my guests left. 

 Today I finally made it to the post office to mail off the 2 early Christmas cards.  First, I needed to put the finishing touches on this little greeting for Josef, so that it could get mailed, too. 

I like the back maybe better than the front.  I hope this brings a smile to my friend who has just lost his best friend.  Now, it is on to the next thing.  Could that be CHRISTMAS? 

Happy Thanksgiving

The day before Thanksgiving, I'm taking a minute, while my cranberry sauce bubbles away, to feel grateful.  And to think about my table setting.  I try to have a new table scape each year.  I think it's fun for my guests and I get to use stuff that might not be on display often.  This year shall feature antlers and acorns and mini pumpkins and votive candles.  One fun idea for each place setting is to make simple placecards; each with a topic of conversation question.  Above are examples of what my Sis and I did one year.  I need a few more for this years' crowd.  My placecards were simply made with text printed on cardstock, adding a digital image to some, or using a craft stamp on others. (The more elaborate one on the bottom was done by Sis). For some I used an Xacto knife to cut out the top part of the image before folding the card in half.  Add glitter and voila. If I'd thought about it before TODAY, I would have done a quick pic tutorial which would have been fun for me.  Some of the questions are :  What do you want for Christmas?  Who would you like to be a guest at this table?  What do you think is the most important invention of the 21st century?  You get the idea.  Gobble Gobble.     

Today's Mail

Going in the mail today, or maybe tomorrow, are a couple of early Christmas cards for 2 of my friends.  I set out to make 3 of the cowgirl cards, using small bleached bottle brush trees, since most of my friends are horse crazy and have been riding since they were wee lassies.  However, that red/green old crocheted rosette was on my table, waiting for a home.  Which means I am guaranteed more cowgirl fun next time I get to my studio. 

Domed

 I love old fashioned domes.  When I saw these miniature domes from Alpha Stamps I immediately ordered 2 sets, for fear they would sell out.  I got what I asked for...but what was I thinking?  These are TINY.  Which means that anything that fits inside the dome has to be even tinier.  So far I've managed to insert a piece of a vintage bottle brush tree in one, and some Tim Holtz elements and doo dads in another. 
This is part of my dome collection.  My sis finds clock domes at Goodwill for a few dollars.  She made the mermaid theme; the seashell one on the left is old, from Gramma.  The one behind my 2 miniatures is a Wendy Addison original. 

Boldly Done

Today I got back to my studio for the first time since my road trip to Salem.  I began these 3 items there, crafting with my friend.  But they weren't properly finished.  So, now they are done.  And they are BOLDLY DONE because I took a deep breath and cut up a piece of old jewelry and an old crocheted doily for elements.  Whew, I did and it and want to do more. 

Salem Sojourn

 Just back from a 5 day road trip to visit my friend who moved from CA to Salem, OR.  First on the agenda was to sight-see some of the area's covered bridges.  I fondly recall the covered bridge at DeLaveaga Park, Santa Cruz, near the bridle trails, so I was all for this outing. 

Finding the bridges took a smart phone, the car's GPS, and some back tracking, but we managed to find 3.  Two are way off the beaten path in farm country; still in use.  Here is my friend getting her bearings.   

We did plenty of shopping, eating and cocktail sipping.  BUT we had to get in crafting, too.  We took over her dining table as our craft center, using the pub table as an inking station and part of the kitchen counter as the gluing station.  We happily puttered for hours. 

Here is our inventory.  My pieces are the 3 at bottom of pic.  None are completed because, after all, I couldn't take my whole craft studio with me!  As it was I took my Big Kick die cut machine, several Tim Holtz embossing folders, the rosette and tattered floral dies, craft mat, ink pads, perfect pearl mist, paper, doo-dads, plus hot glue gun, and 2 types of tacky glue and more.  Driving for 4 hours, instead of the former 2 hr flight, has its advantages.  Now I'm back home with all my chores and cleaning waiting for me.  Maybe it can wait a little longer? 

So cool

I just saw an animated image on someone else's blog and had to try it.  It works.  So cool.  As you read this, I am in Salem, OR, visiting my friend Ellen.  Since she has moved from CA to OR, we will no longer be riding and sunning in November.  We shall be 1)crafting, 2)shopping, 3)having a Magarita-tini...probably all of the above.

Form and Function

 Remember all those goodies Tim gave us on the cruise?  And they've been splayed over a twin bed upstairs?  Which I found convenient to walk a few steps from my work table to paw through the goodies to find just the right element for a project.  However, "bed storage" wasn't going to do; a solution was required.  It so happens that weeks ago I saw a cabinet at Pier One that I really liked.  Really, really liked.  But I had no space in my home for it.  Yet, once the need was felt, the hunt for craft storage began in earnest.  I looked at catalogs, ebay, Target yet couldn't commit.  Then, on Halloween Day, I dropped in Pier One to see if the cabinet was still there.  Was that a 50% off sign?  SOLD!  Getting it up to the 3rd story was not for the faint at heart. (My husband supports all my dreams, with never a "What are you, crazy" comment, and I want to take a moment to recognize it.  Thank you, honey.)  The form and function of this cabinet is ideal for me.  Later I will take the time to arrange goodies just so, like a store display.  Or maybe not...I do like to paw. 

Another solution was required for my craft chair.  I had been using a small dining chair that made it awkward to shift around my tight space to grab this from that basket, and stretch just to there to reach stamps or whatnots.  Again the search through my usual shops.  All selections were expensive and not quite right.  Then, at CostCo last week, just for the heck of it, I dropped into a floor model office chair that was totally the wrong color and style.  But it was so comfortable!  And reasonably priced.  SOLD!  OK, so the form is lacking, but the function is superb.