family

An Elf Celebration

celebrations, family, Food and Drink, holiday decor, parties, Sugarwings

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Today we had an Elf Celebration.  Sugarwings was so excited, and talked about it all day yesterday, she just couldn't wait. She thought it was the elf's birthday  and sang Happy Birthday all morning.

She and I drew an elf, then painted and cut it to copy onto this little rhyme that I wrote about the party's theme, then we made up gift bags for the kids who were coming over.

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Each small guest got some treats, a black and white copy of the elf picture to color, and an elf of their own.

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I have had a fondness for these cuties since I was a kid and have a big collection of them, that I was happy to share with my friends today.

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We started with edible snowflakes, cut from soft flour tortillas.  The idea was to saute the cut tortillas in butter and add powdered sugar and color sugar sprinkles, but my little fairy grand baby enjoyed snacking on the corners she cut out of her creation.  She also really got into dumping colored sugars onto the finished product.

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There were lots of other goodies to eat, along with sparkling fruit juice in glasses you could toast with.

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At Michael's after Christmas sale, I bought lots of supplies to make elf hats for 75% off, and rolls of snowman wrapping paper to use as table clothes.

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The work could be pretty serious at times.

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But at others, jumping up and down was called for. Sugarwings was a blur most of the day. My friends are a bit shocked at how much energy that little one has coiled up inside of her. She is always on the go!

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But, with her buddy, Julia's help, she slowed down enough to get a elf hat completed.

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Shawn's daughter, Bethany made a really cute hat. She is an accomplished crafter and when Shawn comes out for a craft day, I always know that Bethany will create something sweet.

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Max made a snow guy hat. And asked me to paint a matching snowman on his face.

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When it was Sugarwing's turn for some face painting, she turned the tables and painted me instead.

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We both ended up painted, although, most of my paint is on my saggy, baggy, old lady neck and when I look down, like in this photo, it is hidden.

I just can't imagine a more fun way to spend a morning.  Time to sit and talk with best friends while drinking coffees and eating quiche, hot Cinnamon rolls and crunchy snowflakes, then crafting elf hats with some of my other, smaller pals.    This is a good start to the new year, I can't wait to see what other fun is waiting for me in 2009!

edit- Shawn has a great camera and just sent me photos from today, so I am adding them on-

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What a good year

antiques/junking, family, Sugarwings

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When I'm not feeling productive or creative, a trip to an antique mall usually provides some inspiration.  So, after a bit of shopping, I am feeling the urge to redo something and get moving.

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Beth gave me this stack of plastic frames and I have just the project in mind for it.  Today is limited in time, though,Sugarwings is coming here for New Years Eve and I only have till 1pm today to get going on my plan. 

So, it might have to wait.

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In the last few months, I have developed an interest in busts and statues, so was really happy to find this one while out exploring Kansas City antique malls with Beth yesterday.   Especially after reading the Magnolia Pearl book this week,( cover to cover twice! ) She has them everywhere and likes to play dress up with hers just like I do with mine.  This gal will get a few necklaces to go along with the crown she is sporting.

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Not everything in the book was to my taste, too many colors and too dark for me, but the style of putting it together really grabbed me.  The plushness and layers of luxurious finds is what I enjoyed about it, and want to go toward myself. But in lighter colors. With roses, of course!  This bust will get a paint treatment, she is pretty as is,  but I prefer a more light hearted, lighter look.

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Another thing that I am hooked on right now is boiled eggs. I can't seem to get enough of them right now, so have been keeping a bowl full in the fridge ready to snack on.   I've never been able to resist  drawing faces onto the shells, so every time I make some, I simply have to give them little personalities. 

I'm so glad to finally have a baby girl around who appreciates my little quirks! Sugarwings "gets me" and thinks that of course, eggs should have faces and French toast should always be trimmed with cookie cutters and made into butterflies and flowers. And that chandeliers should have glittering birds tucked into the crystals.  And that dogs need to be sang to.  And that dancing in the kitchen while cooking makes the food better.  Yes,I am so lucky that she has come into my life and I finally have someone who doesn't look at me like I am strange sometimes.

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Its wonderful to have a little friend who understands that fairies can make homes in birdcages around the garden.

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And that if you look around, you can see magic everywhere.

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Of course, there is nothing better than having  a family  member  share my obsession with paint, someone who will spend all day in the studio with me and doesn't think it is an obsession, just a great way to spend time!

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Looking back over some of my favorite photos of 2008, makes me so eager to see what fun 2009 has to offer and realize what a lucky year I just had.

Here's to 2009- and wishing all of you fun and happiness in the upcoming year! (and the joy of sharing it with someone who "gets you")

More sludgy than juicy

family, paintings, Sugarwings

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Are any of you having a hard time getting back on track with normal every day life, now that Christmas has passed? I seem to be in limbo, and unmotivated to get anything accomplished. I guess now that all the hustle and bustle and rush to make the holiday happen is over, I don't quite know what to do with myself.

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My creative juices are more like a sludge right now.  So, here are a few paintings I did for Christmas cards in years past.  My husband works for a golf company and he likes me to make up golf themed cards for him.

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Thats not such a good photo of this drawing, but in my state of lethargy, I'm thinking "so what".  Hmm, you might wonder why I even bothered you all with a half assed post? I'm trying to get myself motivated to make something or DO something and my blog has always been good incentive to keep me moving. 

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After all the excitement, it isn't easy to rush back to work.  We just had way too much fun over Christmas!

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Yes, the holiday was pretty exciting around here. Sugarwing's Mom, the Hippie Chick showed us her fire dancing.

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After opening gifts and stuffing our selves with goodies on Christmas Day, we all went outside to watch the Hippie Chick light her hula hoop on fire and put on a show for us. 

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She's quite talented, and even though it is a bit scary for me to watch, the flames were really dramatic in the dark, icy night. 

Tuesday I have a play date scheduled with Beth, to go junking, tomorrow I start work on my new web shop, then, there is New Years's parties, and puppies due to be born, so I guess a couple of days to meander around the computer, read books, and resettle into post-holiday life isn't so bad.  Is this what it feels like to relax!!??? Maybe that is what I am doing.    A couple of days of doing NOTHING, really isn't so bad, is it? 

OK little girl, let’s give someone else a turn!

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, holiday decor, paintings, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

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We took Sugarwings to see Santa today and she wouldn't leave him alone.  She sat there on his lap and waited for the Mermaid doll she asked for.  Finally, she got down for the bribe of a candy cane, but then went back and got another candy cane to give to Santa.  Then went back for another sit on his lap. Then for another hug.  It looked like St. Nick was enjoying her visit, I think it might be nice for him to have someone with no fear come to hang out a while.

I think this little one loves Christmas as much as her Grammy does.

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She stopped to speak to every single Santa she saw at the mall. 

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And she didn't think it would hurt to put in a word with the giant cow for that doll she wanted.

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When I got back from my trip, there was a stack of packages waiting for me!  One was from a sweet reader pal, Jean, who lives in Virginia. 

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Not only were there surprises for Sugarwings, she sent me some treats too, including a box of these white doves.

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I've added the glass doves to the dining room chandelier along with other birdies and some snowflakes I have received this year.  They might just all stay there a while after the holidays as more "winter decor" than Christmas decorations.

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One of the snowflakes was from Tiffany, a Silver Bella pal.  I'd ordered this cute little bottle of Christmas wishes from her shop, and she sent along lots of pretties, including this card. It brings back memories of a class we took together in Omaha, where she was helping me with using hot wax over parts of my project.  I really like the way she has applied wax over the scene in the center of the card.

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Previously, I  had shown you some of my little paintings that I was making into cards.  Here are a few (of the dozens) that I made while in the hotel room.

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And in case you were feeling sorry for the poor dorkies, at home alone while I was out on a fabulous vacation, they had some fun while I was gone. Twinks was invited over to stay at the farm where her true love, Teddy lives.  And the other two dogs were so happy to have Twinkle away and not bothering them, they felt like a queen and king with the whole house to themselves. (Twinks can be a little bossy)

I'm off to go work on my Christmas shopping.  Typically, I am not a last minute shopper. When my kids were little, we used to love to go to the mall on Christmas Eve and eat lunch at the food court while we watched all the crazed last minute buying, and I'd bask in  a warm glow from the knoweldge that my packages were wrapped and under the tree.  Not this year!

I hope all of you are having a lovely holiday week.  Merry Christmas to all of you from Sugarwings and I.

Sugarwing’s Christmas Tree

Etsy Goodies, family, holiday decor, Sugarwings

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Things have been busy here at the cottage.  I've finally unpacked all my wares from Silver Bella and Miss Frenchie's sales and cleaned up my studio! Wow, it feels good to have the space reclaimed from the piles of junk and boxes and back to usable work space!

Tomorrow, I have a group of blog friends coming over to do Christmas crafts, so got the whole room rearranged and ready to go.  But, sadly, half of the group had to cancel for various reasons.  Well, we should have plenty of space to spread out at least, but the rest of the group will be missed.

I've gathered bits and pieces of trims and baubles and set them out to use for our projects. Everyone is bringing goodies to share, and I have a feeling there will be lots of glittering and chatting.  I can't wait!

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Did you notice that I found a spot for the table I bought from Elizabeth? It now sits next to my buffet garden of old hats.

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After cleaning the studio today, Sugarwings and I solved the Christmas tree dilemma.  We just decided that it was all HERS. Because no matter what else I had tried to do, this is how it would have ended up anyway.  I gave her a box of (unbreakable) decorations and let her go.  After settting out a selection of small trees, and giving her a choice of which one would become her masterpiece, she immediately went for the pink one.  Durn, I wanted that one!!

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Of course, holiday decorating is a pretty serious job. Miss Sugarwings put her heart into the work.

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Some how, I think the tree decor will be going through a few transformations in the next couple of weeks.  It has already been done and redone a few times tonight.

I wonder who she gets that from??

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I did manage to get a few things listed on Etsy this week.

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And I want to thank all of you who purchased little dyed bottle brush trees.  I have a few left, but all are listed, once they are gone, I'm out of the tree game, at least for this season.  I think I'll miss them tho.  Dying trees reminds me of dipping Easter eggs, so I am considering some little pastel trees covered in eggs this spring….

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There is only one putz house left ( out of the 30 or so that I had! That was lucky!).   I use the original old houses, then foof and refoof them up. This one has a flocked wallpaper roof.

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A couple of boxes got added to the shop, and I hope to add a couple more before I have to close down again. I shut the Etsy shop (there is a handy "vacation mode" you can switch on and off as needed) for Silver Bella, and now I will close next week when I go out of town.  My husband says he has a special surprise planned for me, and I have no idea where he is taking me.  I was told that I needed a swim suit and a nice dress. 

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I don't know any more details than that! We'll be in Virginia at the apartment, then down to Richmond for a business trip he has to take.  From there, I have not a clue about what or where the surprise is.  I was hoping that the surprise present was someone to do my end of the year taxes or to clean my house while I am out of town. But it sounds like he has a romantic getaway planned.  So, I'll enjoy being whisked away and will have some fun memories to get me through those horrid tax and housework chores when I get back.

So, the shop will be open until Sunday, all packages sent out on Monday.  Be watching for new things added each day until then!

A “Family Tree” How-to

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, Food and Drink, holiday decor, how to's, how-to projects, Sugarwings

 

 

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Did you have a wonderful Thanksgiving feast?  Sugarwings and her sweet little Pixie Pie cousin sure did. But in hindsight, this idea of using the baby's craft table for their dining wasn't the best. It was a food free-for-all, with two little toddlers up and down and knocking each other over and dumping plates. I can already see that at Christmas dinner we'll be using a duo of high chairs instead.Xmas stars 066 

At my house, we craft before and after holiday dinners.  I prepped the meal way ahead of time, making mashed potatoes in the crock pot, and had noodles slowly simmering on the stove all day, while the green bean casserole (from scratch, no canned soup) and turkey were ready to pop in the oven when the time came.

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 Guests brought side dishes made at home, so we had time to play instead of slaving away in the kitchen!  The guys were watching the game and playing pool, so we went to the studio and started cutting and gluing.

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We were making the Christmas stars in two sizes, large for tree toppers and smaller ones for ornaments. Or wouldn't they be cute clipped to a ribbon and made into a garland?Xmas stars 061 

We decided to use family photos on the ornaments, so we dressed the cousins up in their Christmas gowns and snapped a few quick pics of them to print out onto silver, holographic paper.

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I wish the photos showed how pretty this shiny paper is.

A lot of you asked for how-tos for this Christmas star, so I thought this would be a good day for it. If you have a houseful of family together for the holiday weekend, this is a fun project you can all do together. Take photos of each other for the centers of the stars and you can make a "family tree" for Christmas.Xmas stars 001 

Card stock works best. I wanted a vintage image, so copied this sheet music onto parchment colored card stock. You can use scrapbook paper, or heck, even plain card stock, what ever colors you like for a background.Xmas stars 002

Cut a piece of paper in half lengthwise and then fold both pieces in accordion pleats.

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Then do a second piece to match.

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Staple all four pleated sections together.

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I suppose that for a tidier look, you could use glue, if you had an issue with not wanting staples to show. But if you do, you'll be wishing you were an octopus. I quickly switched to staples, after starting out using glue.

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This is what it should look like.

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You will need to cut 2 pieces of card stock to fit the back and the front of the star to hold it in place.  Any shape, any paper that pleases you for your design.

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For this tree topper, I used plain white on the back.

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For the front, I used flocked wallpaper glued onto the card stock, then cut into an oval.  After gluing, weight the paper down for minute or two till it sticks good.

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That is a good time to take a break for a quick cuddle with someone furry and cute.

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After the glue dries, you can trim the edges to get a star shape.  Then with a paint brush (or fingers, like I use) add glue to the clipped edges and sprinkle with glitter.

At this point, it is ready to decorate however you'd like. Streaming ribbons, photos, flowers, sparkly things, whatever suits you.

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If you think you'd rather make the smaller size, instead of the tree toppers, use one piece cut into 4 equal strips lengthwise instead of 2 pages cut in two strips.

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And if you'd like extra sparkly edges, use Stickles as the glue that you add glitter to. (by the way, Stickles is now available at Hobby Lobby!!!)

 

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There are actually some new things listed on my Etsy site. Some hand dyed bottle brush trees (more to come) and I am about to list some glittering vintaeg doves that I do-dadded up.Xmas stars 073 

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There are also some of my flower packs listed. If you need a specific color that isn't listed yet, just ask.  I might have it!

Old flowers 015  You also have a couple more days to enter the giveaway for November. Good luck!

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

family, holiday decor, Silver Bella, Sugarwings

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Is your turkey thawed and ready?  I have my 22 pounder resting in its roaster, rubbed and seasoned, in the fridge so all I need to do is pop him in the oven on Thursday morning.  I'm quite happy about that, because I am often the type who realizes at the last minute that my bird is still frosty and not going to be ready for dinner on time!  Sbella booth 520 

These birds are courtesy of Deb at Curious Sofa. Doesn't this display put you in the holdiay mood? Of course everything about her store is perfect down to the smallest detail, and I love her style.Sbella booth 512 

Umm, apparently I am not the only one who she impresses! Look at this, it is one of her walls of fame, highlighting magazine articles her shop has appeared in.Sbella booth 515 

Its pretty exciting to be part of a show that she is partnering on.  And guess who else has been added to the sale roster??  Wow, this is pretty cool- Elizabeth Maxon. Yep. For real. (by the way, Deb has photos of Elizabeth's fairy tale wedding on her blog, you really really need to see these!) Sbella booth 504 

Heck, I don't even know yet what I am bringing to the gala.  I should be thinking about it….Sbella booth 532 

Instead, I worked on these today.  This is a tree topper for the Festival of Trees, a fund raiser for a local charity.  My friend is donating a tree from her business, and a group of us made ornaments for it today.  We also made tussie mussies to match, 12 of them will be filled with coupons for a free meal from her store, one per month.

Is anyone interested in a tutorial on making these tree toppers? I really liked doing it, although it took me longer than it should to figure it out.  Now that I know how, I want to make more! If you'd like me to share a how to, let me know.Sbella booth 530 

Beth joined us today while we made tree decorations and helped me figure out the process for the star burst tree topper. I think we probably could have gone to the Martha Stewart site and got directions there, she seems to have a how to for anything you'd ever dream of making.  But, it was kind of fun to figure it out on our own.

Beth has been complaining lately about being a faithful commenter and NEVER winning a drawing! Funny, Cammi won two in a row, and I didn't even realize it until she told me.  Anyway, to shut her up , I mean make her feel better, I gave Beth a bonus prize, this little pear watercolor.  We usually have tidbits of stuff for each other when we get together. I had snippets from all my new wallpapers for her, and this painting, she had  boxful of German rose patterned dishes from an auction and a batch of crisp and buttery,  homemade cookies from her mom for me.  (I'm eating  a gingersnap right now!)

 

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Well, I am at the end of my Silver Bella trip photos! All I have left are the ones of Natasha, Heather and I at my house and at Curious Sofa before they flew back home.

After Bella-ing all weekend, then being blown away by the Land of Never Ending Wallpaper, we had a quiet night by the bonfire when we got back to my house. 

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Oops, Typepad is about to reject me and freeze up my screen again!

I'll try to leave you with a few pictures from our trip to Curious Sofa, and hopefully won't get cut off.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!Sbella booth 521  Sbella booth 506 

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Happy Thanksgiving from Sugarwings and I!

Fun with Fabrics

antiques/junking, family, flowers, parties, Silver Bella, Sugarwings

Sbella_booth_195 I’ve been playing hooky the last few days. Maybe a case of over confidence? I am so close to being ready for Silver Bella that I am doing fun stuff instead of finishing the work that needs to be done.  I hope nothing comes up unexpectedly and I don’t have time to finish after all…

Today was a tie dye day.  Normally, we do  our dying outside, but the weather was just  a tad to cool, so this is what my studio looks like now!Sbella_booth_212

Here is a shirt I dyed last time, its an ombre type style.  To get this affect, you saturate the piece with the base color of dye, then splash on colors that blend, starting with lighter at the top, darker at the bottom.

Then hang it to drip for 24 hours while the dye sets.  I love the way the colors bleed as it hangs.Sbella_booth_213

Last year, these hoodies were sold at Silver Bella, and I wore mine so much this year that I almost wore it out.  It was white to start with and after a year of enjoyment and use, you couldn’t call it white any more. So the dye was a fix to make the shirt "new" again.

I also embellished the faded (from many washings) printed design on the back, with bronze metallic and silver glitter fabric paints.Sbella_booth_171

If my other tie dye creations turn out picture worthy, I’ll show them later.  Right now, they are wrapped up in rubber bands and soaking away in plastic bags.

Beth indulged me and took a hooky day shopping on Thursday, we went to the Jr. League Holiday Shop in KC.  Hmm.  Not my typical type of shopping, and we kept saying that we felt like tourists in another land. Everything was NEW and expensive, not stuff either of us buy!

But then, we came across Deb Dusenberry’s Curious Sofa booth like a beacon of light in the darkness we found her beautiful displays of fab finds!Sbella_booth_169

See why I was so happy? Her style is so perfectly perfect. That woman has an eye for beauty,  I love everything she does.

And while there, I found out that Deb is driving up from KC to go to the Silver Bella  vendor night, so I made sure to invite her to visit Carol and I in our "Glitter Lounge". Carol (who is a good buddy of Deb’s) and I are stocking our room with wines and chocolates and inviting friends up to hang with us there.Sbella_booth_172  (Last year, after Silver Bella vendor night, we had a cocktail in the lounge, then a slumber party in Heather Bullard’s room.  This year, Heather isn’t coming, so Carol and I will be having the girly night in our room instead.)

After eating enough free samples of gift basket style food offerings to justify our tickets to the Jr. League show (every other booth there had jam and crackers or spinach dip and pretzels), Beth and I escaped the newness of the holiday mart and made a run to Mission Road Antique Mall where Beth has a booth.   We did a redo on her spot (sorry, no good pics of that, too bad, she has GREAT stuff- but there are pictures on her blog) and it was joy to play with vintage goodies after an afternoon of walking through booths of brand new goods! Sbella_booth_209

Remember me telling you about the art show at Blue Plate Dinners that I painted a pear for?   We went to the opening last night and what a cool event!  The art was all food related and displayed in one gallon zip lock bags.Sbella_booth_201

Quite a few friends of mine had artwork in the show, so it was fun to hang out with them for the evening. 

Notice anything odd about my picture?  Well my hand is a bit colorful from the tie dying.Sbella_booth_214

Most people didn’t even comment, they are so used to seeing me covered in something, glitter, paint, dye, etc. that it would cause even more comment if I showed up somewhere pristine…Etsy_sales_024_2

Vicki gave me a blog award, how sweet. I always appreciate the kind thoughts behind those, I am sorry I don’t always follow through with them.  For this one, I am supposed to list 6 things that make me happy, so  I thought this photo summed up most of them-

1- Sugarwings!!!

2- flowers

3- summertime and sunshine

4- pretty colors

5- a day with the family

6- spending time in this town I am so lucky to live in, downtown Lawrence has so much to offer.

12,000

family

Etsy_sales_040_2 Have I mentioned before that collect coincidences?  I keep a file (with photos) on my computer of odd co-inky dinks.  But this is my favorite one of all!

Anyway, yesterday I knew that I was near my 12,000th comment and was watching to see who it was going to be so I could send a surprise prize out to that person as a thank you.

When I checked my emails, this is what I saw-

A new comment from “Rich” was received on the post “400th Post and a slew of giveaways including "Karla and Carol’s Romantic Country Celebration Giveaway" ” of the weblog “Karla’s Cottage

It was from my husband who is in DC.   He’d never left a comment before.

And guess what number he was?

I guess he’ll get a nice prize when he gets home tomorrow.

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