Carrying On Another Family Tradition

As y'all probably know by now, I love tradition.

When my kids were growing up, it was our family tradition to get everyone together to bake our Christmas cookies.  We used an old family recipe, and all my sisters and their kids, rolled, and cut and frosted everything in site.  We would have up to 17 people crowed in someone's house, and chaos usually ensued.  But boy was it fun!

So this year, I guilted asked Amanda to bring over Owen so we could continue the fun.  While there was only us...it was fun.

First it was the boys turn.  While I made the dough, and took the pictures, Amanda was in charge of rolling.  She can be a perfectionist, but she did well letting the boys make a bit of a mess. lol

Ahhhh...two perfectionist sisters working side by side.  You know I stayed out of this one. lol.  And while the girls were working....

...the boys were playing.  Owen would hold Brandon down while PeeWee licked his ear.  Who needs video games when you can have fun like this? haha

Now it's time for the frosting.

No, we don't get fancy with the frosting, mostly because we spent most of the time telling the boys not to eat the frosting. :0)

Time together...that's what we need more of...family traditions.

Share with me some of your family traditions that you try to keep alive.

Be blessed,

Debbi

Friday Featured Artist - Laura Reynolds from Paint It Pretty

Believe it or not, I did start this on Friday (I wrote the title) but then we had the opportunity to enjoy a child free evening (thank you Amanda and Brandon), so now I'm back to finish my Friday Feature on Saturday morning...before we go antiquing. :0)

Ok, we're back.  That's was fun and a much needed couples break.  Now on to Paint It Pretty from The Craftstar!

Would you like to know what I like best about Laura?  She is an artist that likes to promote other artists.  You'll find her all over, tweeting, re-tweeting, and sharing.  Friends like her are worth her weight in gold.  Another thing I like about her is her talent.  This woman can (and will) paint on anything.  And I do mean anything. lol  Let's see what she has to offer for the holidays.

Isn't this Snowman Candle Holder cute?

This would be great on a shelf or anywhere you want to add some soft candlelight.

Or, you can think out of the box, and use it on your dressing table to hold your rings and or keys or change.

They say packaging is everything, and here are some more of her snowmen playing on a painted gift bag.  Just stuff this with tissue paper, candies, jewelry, and give it away, with a smile.

"Sleigh Bells ring,

are you listening?"

Some families have a tradition of getting a new ornament for the tree every year.  How about adorning yours with this holiday bells ornament?

This last piece is my absolute favorite in her shop, a ceramic pitcher with poinsettias.  Fill this beauty with some homemade eggnog and serve your guests with class.

Now don't hang out here any longer, you need to check out all of Laura's beautiful things, and look for her here too...

Pinterest /   Wanelo / Twitter

Be blessed,

Debbi

Getting ready for Valentines Day...at The Craft Star

There's still a few weeks to go before the big chocolate day!!!!  Here's a few wonderful items I found at The Craft Star to give to your sweetie, (or to keep for yourself).

Isn't this Valentines Day wreath AWESOME?  That snowflake at the bottom is a perfect accent, and the butterfly at the top reminds us that summer is coming.  I found this in the shop of Designs by Tiffany.

Valentines Day is not just for adults either.  Every year my mother-in-law gave each of my children a chocolate heart with their names on them, and they so looked forward to that.  And I picked this necklace because this is the song I sang my youngest to sleep with every night.  You are my Sunshine. All of my children are my sunshine, so if you have kids (or not) you can give this necklace to the babies mommy. :0)  You'll find this necklace in the shop of Jabber Jewels. 

And this last item is my contribution to the Valentines Day band wagon.  My original baby elephant card.  The sketch is my late mothers, and whenever I recreate one of her designs, I feel close to her again.  Isn't he a cutie?  On the inside it says "Be My Valentine".  Who can resist?  This is listed in my shop Yankee Burrow.

(fyi....the card is actually white, but there is no heat in my studio for me to spend any time in there to take pictures, and it's too windy outside, so right now this is the best I can get.)

Are you ready for Valentine's Day?

Be blessed,

Debbi

Two Hens and a Chick

Well, it's been way too long and I have been so off my schedule, but now...

I'M BACK!

Did you miss me?  :0)

Let me show you one of my favorite shops over at The Craft Star...

Two Hens and a Chick.  I just love that name, and their banner just makes me smile.

This shop is owned by Shana Jensen and check out what she creates....little people!

Isn't he just adorable????  I have grandchildren in the military, and all 3 of them are in the navy, which is why I picked this navy man.

Shana created him from a re-purposed light bulb, how creative is that?  She has a little light bulb man from every branch of the military.

In addition to service men, Shana has also created animal friends.  This cute turtle named Mosey was created from a vanity light bulb.

And just in time for the holidays....a handpainted brick!

This would be a great door stopper, or just a fun decoration under the tree.

If you enjoy these items, just click on any link to visit her shop and get them for yourself.

Until next time...

Be blessed,

Debbi

only 55 days till Christmas

Wow!  It just dawned on me just how close we really are to Christmas already.  It seems to come faster each year.  Now you could go crazy and fight the crowds and purchase cheap imports...or...



and to that end I want to share what I found while shopping in my pj's.  Today I'm going to focus on  holiday decor items, simply because I love to decorate.  I literally have 12 Rubbermaid totes full of decorations, and it takes me 2 - 3 days to prepare my house for the season.  So, let's go...

 

Christmas wreath with elf legs and hat by woodburlapandlace
green christmas gingerbread couple pillow by cre8urname
christmas holly penguin magnet by cherry cute
ceramic christmas napkin rings by riverrockarts

wiseman canvas painting by madebythehearth
original kitchen wreath by myeuropeantouch
So click on the links above and get your home ready! 

In a few days we'll look at ornaments for your tree.

Be blessed,

Debbi

Saturday Shopping Link Up - Giving Thanks

All righty, we are now into the month of November, and like I was saying yesterday, let's slow down and enjoy this season before rushing headlong into Christmas.  I know that I will be putting up my outside Christmas lights before Thanksgiving, but I will NOT turn them on until the day after Thanksgiving.  Which is the designated day to go tree hunting.  Amanda wants to start a new tradition, we are all going to pile in our cars and drive up the mountain to a tree farm (not the local tree stand), complete with hay rides and hot cocoa.  Chuck is good with that, as long as he doesn't have to hike into the woods and cut the tree down himself.  We used to do this a very long time ago when my children were very little, and it was such fun, despite the below zero temperatures and snow (it was Buffalo, NY after all).  So before we start our linky party, let's see what I found to share...

Oh my, talk about family memory flashbacks...this is sooooo my mom.  She was a wonderful redhead artist who loved the color orange, and she would have loved these cloth napkins from rearchitect.  No traditional fall colors for her, oh no, she had a bit of orange on everything.  And I do mean everything.  Mom went home in 2000, and I miss her so much that orange has become my favorite color.  I hated it as a teen, but I am drawn to it as if by a magnet now that I'm....well, no longer a teen, heehee.

And since this has turned into a memory post as well as a party post, I was happy to have found this embroidered hand towel by quiltsbydebbie.  You see, my oldest sister, (and my second mother) Kathy helped my mom care for me, since I was the youngest of 6.  I was told that Kathy just claimed me for herself from the day I was born.  Now, Kathy is with mom.  She lost her battle with breast cancer at the too young age of 50, in 2001.  This towel is special because as much as mom loved orange, Kathy was crazy over racoons.  And I do mean crazy, lol.

OK, enough melancholy memories, now to perk things up, I think I'll grab this very cute dog collar from RogueCollars for my Pee Wee.  After all, even our pets deserve to join us in our celebrations, :~D

Ok, now it's your turn....time to search your shops/blogs/whatevers and link up what makes you thankful.  And invite all your friends, snacks and drinks are on me!

Debbi

What's new at my place?

Wow, it has been crazy at my house lately.  First I've been super busy with the Besteam, and then I joined the On Fire For Handmade Team, plus we decided that this was the year we are going to enclose our back deck and make it our living/family room....by Thanksgiving.  Is that even possible you say?  Well, here is what my back deck looked like this past Friday.  As you can see, it had become "the junk room".  Do you have one?  Growing up, my mom had a junk drawer which was suppose to be for those items you're not sure where to put?  But our junk drawer consisted of a whole dresser, plus the top, and the table next to it...you can see where this is going.  My mom hated to throw things away.  She once joined a club called the "messies club".  It was suppose to help her organize and sort her stuff, but instead she just started a new pile for the "messies club" newsletters. hahaha.  Well, the deck is now cleared off except for the glass top picnic table, the grill, and the "bowflex" machine. (I have no idea where to put that thing, Owen is the only one that messes with it, sheesh).  So that leaves me 3 1/2 weeks to move the electric meter, add windows, doors, walls, and a new floor.  Hmmm,  we shall see.  Now I also want to share with y'all some new items I finished and listed in our Etsy shop, just in time for fall/Thanksgiving home decorating.

We have this cute little scarecrow just relaxing amongst some bitty yellow flowers in a vintage basket, and a straw wreath wrapped in a rust ribbon and accented with yellow and orange silk flowers and a little pinecone.

And just yesterday I listed this little straw hat just brimming with fall leaves and little pumpkins.  Great for your front door, or you can wear it if you have a small head. :~D
When I found this vintage straw basket with a little scarecrow in front, I knew it just needed some bright flowers to bring it to life.

You can learn about these items, or the aforementioned Etsy teams by clicking on their links.  I'll see you tomorrow with my Besteam finds of the week.
Debbi

made in my childhood

I was looking thru my Etsy teams, when I saw something that brought back memories of crafting with my mom.  She was an amazing woman, always doing something.  And she saw art in everything, 

which was not always a good thing. She had 3 boxes of empty masking tape rolls that we moved so many times...she insisted that she was going to use them in some craft someday. Unfortunately, she went home to be with her Lord before then. I wonder where they are now? (Dawn, if you are reading this, do not, I repeat, do not send these boxes to me, lol).  This is her at the Allentown Art Festival in downtown Buffalo, New York in the early 1970's.  Oh the stories I could tell of my mom and the great memories of all the art shows she participated in, where I got to hang out with amazingly talented people all day.  But I'll leave those stories for another day, today I want to show you what I found on Etsy.

I saw this Hymnal Angel, upcycled from a vintage hymnal in the shop of Romantic Thoughts.   She took the hymnal and if you fold the pages a certain way, the book becomes round and stands up.  We used to do this to our old Readers Digests and then spray paint them green and glue glittery pompoms on them for Christmas decorations.  I love how she took this craft that extra step and created this wonderful angel.  Something you can proudly display all year round.

Now look at this bracelet.  I remember back in high school, taking empty gum wrappers, and folding them in such a way that when you connected them you ended up with a long strand of zigzag.....stuff.  I don't know if there was even a word for what me made.  You can find this Red Upcycled Magazine Bracelet in the shop of Wasted Space.  (Gee, I remember that from the 70's too, hahahaha.  never mind.)  You'll also find some really cool t-shirts and rings there too.

I can't believe I found this Handmade Wreath made with recycled plastic bags.  While writing this post I got to thinking about my oldest sister Kathy (who is now with mom) and how we spent several days taking clear plastic sandwich bags, tying them around a re-shaped metal coat hanger either in the shape of a wreath or a candy cane, then spray painting them.  So I did a search with the key words, recycled plastic bags, and this popped up.  I love it!  You can find this wreath in the shop of Little Vintage Cottage. 

Boy, I've really enjoyed walking down memory lane and sharing these finds with all of you.  And now to continue the fun, tomorrows linky party theme is....childhood memories.  Yours or anyones.  Just link up and share.

Night all!

Debbi

Saturday Shopping Link Up - decorate for fall

Yesterday was the first day of fall, and I said to myself "self, what a great idea for this weeks linky party".  So I went "shopping" on Etsy for some fall/autumn home decor items and this is what I found...

a set of 4 handpainted wine glasses from JudiPaintedit.  What a beautiful way to set the table for your holiday get-together.  Judi will also custom paint glasses to meet your special need.

And I love this owl.  Funny how you never really notice owls during the heat of the summer, but when the temperature starts to dip, and night comes early, you can hear them more.  This Owl Drawing is an original artwork from the hands of LainyArt.  She can make a custom portrait from your photograph, and in her shop you'll also find handpainted scrabble pendants for you jewelry designers out there.

And you simply cannot decorate for the fall season without pumpkins.  Personally, I'm not into Halloween and jack-o-lanterns, so this Trio of fleece Pumpkins is perfect for me.  Weighted at the bottom to stay where you put them, you can find these in the shop of SimpleJoysDecor.

So, now's the time for you to look through your shop and/or blog and find something to share with the world, then link up below.  And it doesn't have to be just from Etsy, share from Folksy, Artfire, or even your own website.  Just join, and then share the fun.

autumn swag tutorial

I finished this autumn swag just in time for Thanksgiving, and I thought that I would share the process. First up, plenty of felt and cookie cutters for the shapes.

Trace the shapes on the felt and cut them out.

I used batting for the stuffing. Just stitch 2 pieces together with contrasting thread.

Then just hang wherever you want a splash of fall color. Instead of one long strand, you can make it 2 or 3 wide for a table runner. Fun and easy to do.