halloween and decorating

at the nagging of my munchkins who say that our house is seriously lacking in the halloween decorations, each year, i try to step up my game. this table in my entry hall typically serves as my decoration spot throughout the holidays. the problem with halloween is that it is so close to thanksgiving, so i prefer to have decorations that do double duty. the vintage bridge tablecloth will carry through seamlessly and i will just have to trade out a few of the added decorations.

my newest purchase is the glittery owl under the dome. i got him at target and i hope that every target across the country have lots of these in stock because they are seriously one of the cutest things i have ever seen and you all must go see them for yourself. this guy is wearing a top hat with a silver glittered band. also for sale is a owl wife for this guy. she faces the opposite way and sports a pointy witch hat. so very cute!

i whipped up this boo banner with a circle punch, some glitter and some black and white bakers twine from may arts. i still need to add some cobwebs, but after that, it's pretty much done! now i have to get the munchkins approval

another estate sale and goodies

estate sale show and tell time! i went to the best sale last thursday and i can't wait to share what i found... this was in an iffy part of atlanta, but as soon as i saw the preview pics online, i was hooked. i begged my partner in crime to go because i just had a feeling about this sale. you know "that" feeling when you can think of nothing else and look through the pics to the point that you have them all memorized. well, the sale did not let us down. the woman's name was lucille and we were told she used to own a hat shop in atlanta. the vintage clothes, linens and craft items where everywhere! i don't think the napkins above are particularly old, but i loved the lemony yellow.

she was a huge canner and these tags were stuffed into an old canning jar. yes, i can buy these tags anywhere, but the age and stain cannot be bought new - perfect for my artwork.

ever since i used these hoops for my christmas ornaments, i have been obsessed with making mini wreaths. i use these wooden drapery hooks, but they are a bit pricey. when i came across a bag of about 30 for $2, i snapped them up!

lots of vintage wrapping paper for my canvas art. plus i also found these cool rolls plastic backed foil. we finally figured out that they are what potted plants used to be wrapped it - thanks joy! the colors are so bright and luscious.

and, do you ever doubt that i can leave an estate sale without snatching up vintage ornaments? you know i have an addiction when i put christmas ornaments on my blog in the spring, but i love them. these are all the best easter colors, so i actually have used them in my dining table easter decoration.

mixed into the basket of ornaments, i discovered these gems when i got home. they are obviously homemade and are so, so, so sweet!

what things have you rescued from an estate sale lately?

bunnies and banners

 i have become totally obsessed with easter decorating this year, but not just easter, i am doing an overall spring theme so that it can last longer. i have a table in my entry hall that i always like to change with the seasons and when i recently found and purchased my first dome lid, i knew just what i wanted to do. first, my favorite little iron bunny is decked out with home made pompoms as a necklace. have you ever made pompoms? you are left with a ton of yarn fuzz that usually gets everywhere and on everything. the pink and peach fuzz was so pretty this time around that i sprinkled it on top of the cake plate for some extra texture. when i returned from my trip, i noticed my mom had added some moss she found in my studio. and that's all it took to pull this vignette together.

above the table is a mirror that i strung with my latest mayarts tutorial. this spring banner is so easy and versatile because it can be adapted to any sentiment you want. to download the tutorial, click here. i love this corner and it makes me smile every time i walk down the steps or come through the front door.

link to:
the lettered cottage spring fling party
between naps on the front porch 
vintage gwen
ginger snap crafts
DIY by design

hearts and yoyo's

happy valentines day my friends.

can't talk long because i have a to do list about a mile long sometimes i feel like i fail at follow through. i do such a  great job decorating the house and planning for a holiday, but then the day comes and i feel like i have nothing substantial like, um, a card or plans. one of these days i will learn :)

green and goodness

i am always touched when i receive thoughtful gifts from friends. you know, when you can see that someone really, i mean really, knows what you like and puts that knowledge into a gift. i received this as a hostess gift for my ornament exchange from my friend jenni and just love it.

it is a vintage sewing box that is in almost pristine condition and the best part about it is it's kelly green. LOVE!

joy and wishes

all i wish for you today is JOY in every minute. merry christmas!

love, me

boxes and gifts

a new addition to my house is this beautiful long wooden box. my talented brother made it and i gladly scooped it up when i was in pittsburgh over thanksgiving. the addition of christmas greenery and ornaments puts a smile on my face every time i walk by.

balls and blemishes

so here a pic of the vintage ornament wreath i made. good and bad...

it is currently hanging in my hall bath which is painted green, so excuse the crazy bkgd color. so, instructions for these wreaths are everywhere and really, not very helpful. i started out shaping a wire hanger into a circle and stringing the ornaments onto it. such a bad, bad, bad idea. a wire hanger is simply too flimsy to make a wreath comprised of breakable objects. but, like a crazy person i kept moving on because i thought if i hot glued ornaments in the empty spaces that it would make a very strong finished piece. wrong again. not sure if it was because the ornaments are vintage, but hot glue and these beauties did not go together. after they released themselves from the glue, i was left with a lot of blemished beauties that you can see in the pic above.

i then went to the craft store and bought a 3-wire wreath frame. i attached the ornaments to it by taking off the tree hanger, pushing it through the back of the frame and then gluing the hanger back on to the top of the ornament. this was a bit cumbersome at times, but in the end, i think it worked pretty well. the only problem i have now is that you can see the frame through the ornament spaces. next year, i might add some greenery into the holes.

so as i said, good and bad. i'm glad i did it and it's definitely one of a kind :)

wishes and white

has this month flown by for everyone??? last weekend (a week ago) was so hectic and i knew once i made it through, i would be able to relax and enjoy the holidays.

i hosted my annual ornament exchange party last friday. i usually keep it to around 6 people, but this year, i had one too many drinks at one too many parties and somehow i ended up with 15 girls on the invite list. haha - the more the merrier! the final headcount was 12 people who had to make 12 ornaments to share. we had a wide range of creations and i LOVE every one of them. they all have center stage on my tree this year!

i went all out for this party because i am hoping to submit it for a magazine article. well, that is after i go through the 200+ photos i took. so i won't be showing you all the details, yet, but i did want to show you the ornament i made.

yarn wrapped wreaths have been all over blogs this year and i wanted to celebrate that in mini form. it's a bit hard to see in the photo, but the a white dove is sitting on a yarn nest and a sprig of greenery. i love. love. love them!

and as usual, one of these will go into the ornament boxes i keep tucked away for the munchkins to receive when they grow up and get a house of their own. it's my favorite holiday tradition hands down.

fun and glitter

my brother loaded me up with these tiny plastic containers because he thought i might be able to store some supplies in them. during my 11 hour car ride back from thanksgiving, i thought up another idea. snow globes!

the munchkins rooms are filled with tiny trinkets from quarter machines at the grocery stores, not to mention all the christmas miniatures i have in my craft drawers. this was a quick and easy 3 step project to do with them and they were so excited.

1. hot glue trinket to lid of container
2. fill the container with baby oil and a small amount of glitter
3. screw lid tightly onto the container.

then you shake, shake, shake :)

ornaments and age

over the past year, i have been collecting vintage ornaments from estate sales. and by collecting, i mean 2 HUGE bins of ornaments. one sale, i brought the bin of about 70 ornaments up to check out and one woman behind the table said to the other woman "see - i told you they would sell!!! and you wanted to throw them in the trash!" just cracked me up. true, some people think vintage ornaments are old and stained, but the cracks and discoloring are what i love.

when i got back from traveling to pittsburgh for thanksgiving, i promptly opened the bins and started spreading these lovelies throughout the house. i also attempted to make an ornament wreath which i am here to say is not fun - not at all! but that's a whole other post.

christmas and clutter

munchkin #1 is having a sleepover for his birthday tonight and munchkin #2 is going to the movies which means that i am going to tackle this mess! lucky me, right? actually, this is just a very small portion of the holiday clutter waiting to be used. time consuming, but i LOVE the look of christmas throughout the house, don't you?

what i am most excited about is turning these paper doilies into a snowy winter wonderland. more pics to come...

ornaments and wishes

with thanksgiving behind us, i can now saw that i have officially begun my christmas ornament making. actually, i started in early october, but thought that would have been a tad premature to announce :)

do you make your own ornaments each christmas - what have your favorite ones been?

tricks and treats

happy halloween to you! the past week has been filled with halloween decorating and costume making. i am currently a mother to an airforce pilot and a smurf, one costume bought and one made. i am trying to hold on to their innocence as long as i can, so no blood and guts from this address, yet :)

white and bright

happy mother's day to all! as oprah says, "it is the hardest job on earth" - but the sweet little things like breakfast in bed and fresh cut flowers held by a smiling face with chubby cheeks make it all worth it.

if you live in atlanta and haven't picked something special up for your mom yet, head on over to the dunwoody art festival, i will be set up from 12:30 - 6.

bunnies and brothers

some new additions to the Linwood Avenue house arrived yesterday in the munchkins easter baskets! aren't they so innocently sweet???

my boys are definitely getting older and would rather be watching icarly than sponge bob, so i know my days of handmade easter treats are winding down. however, i couldn't resist this cute bunny pattern, so i bought it, then adapted it in a few ways to make it more suitable for my boys. i omitted the diaper bottom, and gave them some curious eyes which i think made all the difference. the part i love most is that i used men's shirting fabric to give it that extra masculine look that boys of 8 and 6 desire :)

i couldnt' help but giggle as munchkin #1 snuggled his bunny at bedtime and said he knew the easter bunny would bring him one because he saw it in a store and wished for it.

um, no, but the sentiment was sweet anyways!

i just wanted to stop by and wish everyone a happy easter! i am currently laying in bed trying not to fall asleep from food overload. we had a wonderful dinner with extended family and some good friends. before dinner, the kids overdosed on egg hunts while i worked on getting the table setting just right. do you do that, stress over the smallest detail? it's not often that i can set a table with pale pink glasses, so i went with it.

i hope everyone is having a day filled with love, relaxation and some creativity sprinkled in there somewhere :)

spring and wreaths

who says wreaths are just for christmas??? lately, we have had a few 70 degree days here in atlanta and it has made me wishing for spring. just because the weather is getting warmer doesn't mean that i don't want to make a yarn wreath though. i loved all the wreaths i saw on blogs over the holidays, so i decided to make one for easter. this wreath is wrapped with a creme yarn, then embellished with my stash of miniature yo-yo's. the flower petals are created out of the same circular fabric i made the yo-yos from. i was inspired to make fabric flowers from this tutorial, they looked so cool on her site, but mine didn't hold the shape i wanted them to. my stiffen spray was not the same brand she used, so maybe that was my problem. i still like how the petals turned out, just think they could have been a bit more 3-D.

hearts and love

 

 i'm tyring to get back on track after a long weekend away, so just popping in to give you guys a little valentines freebie. if you are looking for the perfect card to give to your someone special, click here and you can download my sweet little sketch. the file is set up to print as a card. simply cut it out and fold, then write you and your partners initials inside the carved heart. enjoy!

apron winner will be announced on friday!

feathers and nests

don't you just love after christmas sales? i get so excited about them, but this time, it seemed the pickins were a lot slimmer than previous years. it's a good thing that what i did find, i loved. these cute feather bird nests were found at kmart no less! they are about 5 inches in diameter and covered with sparkling/glittered feathers - i couldn't resist the dollar price tag!

i am seeing stuffed fabric birds sitting in the circle with maybe some hand painted miniature eggs added in. my friend jenni is the bird lady, so i have no plans of selling the finished product, but wouldn't that be such a cute easter table centerpiece?