Still Playing House

I know, it's been a looooooooonng time. But I am not giving up!! Still learning to balance my job and house stuff and still have some little bit of time left for my blogging. I came up with a vignette for the mantel and I REALLY LIKED IT. Just a mixture of neato stuff I have around taking up space in other places. I really have enjoyed the little girl bust. do you notice her necklace and tiara? We were sitting watching TV one evening just as the sun was starting to go down, and look what happened!! The sweet little princess is in the spotlight! It only lasted a few minutes and then it was gone. I grapped my camera to try to catch the image.

Still need to do something about the fan, don't I?

Hope you all had a great Memorial weekend. We throughly enjoyed it, but really did not do anything big. Just stayed home and worked on stuff in the yard and our NEW deck. Pictures soon to follow. Darling DH just outdid himself on this one!! It is sooooo beautiful and will be so nice to entertain outside.

I got a painting table set up in the garage and started spraying away all those great thrift store finds. I think I have about four or five boxes of miscellaneous items that need to go white or ORB. So, I got a pretty good start on it.




Most of my planting is done, may add a few more pots to the deck, but for the most part it is finished. The weather was just wonderful and it was so refreshing to just spend more time outside.





Until next time, be blessed and happy dear friends.

Singing His Praises,


Linda

Playing House

I'm linking up to Marty's Table Top Tuesday party. Be sure and visit all the other beautiful collections at A Stroll Thru Life. Enjoy!

Happy Spring Dear Friends!! I have been really busy with my new job and it has not left me as much time for blogging! BooHoo, However, I AM really likeing the work, and it gives me a chance to stay home, which is perfect to me!! Anyhow, I recently changed a few things in the hallway and thought I would share them with you. This little table is a "dresser" that I found for 19.95 at Goodwill a couple years ago. The proportions were great, but it was a little too deep to fit in the areas I had in mind, so my wonderfully talented DH cut about 4 or 5 inches off the back of it and then re-attached the back and the legs. Since it has drawers, those too had to be shortened. I usually have it in the entry way, but decided to put in at the end of my long hallway to see how it would look and I really like it here. I like how the black looks with the picture too. This used to be over the mantel until I changed to my round mirror a few years ago. I need to hide the cord, don't I? Things really who up in pics, don't they? :-) The lamp also came from GW as did the umbrella basket below the table.
I am really having fun with my new hall bookcases too!! Have been doing it all in a Spring look with mostly whites. I will share more of the vignettes later, but this is one of the shelves that is at eye level. Lots of junking finds here: The stand, the little girls bust, the mirror, and see the little jar with the eggs. I picked up the lid about a year ago and knew someday I would find the perfect jar for it. Another find from GW! That place can really make my day!!

Hope Spring has finally arrived. We had 4 to 6 inches of new snow on Saturday, but by today it is mostly gone, and HALLELUYAH, THE SUN IS SHINNNNNNNNNING!!. That makes such a difference in the way I feel. This has been such a gray winter!!

Hope your day is filled with Sunshine Too!!
Singing His Praises,
Linda

Happy Valenines Day!!

Happy Valentines Day everyone. Hope you all have just the best and warmest day with your"forever loves". We went out for a special lunch after church today and enjoyed a warm meal while the snow flakes are flying outside!! Winter is still raging it seems around here. But, our hearts are warm with love for each other, family,and friends. A home to keep us warm and safe. What more could we ask for? My guy built a fire and we snuggled on the couch watching the Olympics for a while.

Thought I would share with you two of my favorite V-Day postcards. Isn't the top one sweet? I didn't get my traditional Valenine heart cookies baked this year. My new job is keeping me very busy, but I am enjoying it. Just nothaving as much time for all the other things I love to do. Are there ever enough hours for all the things we WANT to do?

I did manage to get a little time to visit my favorite Goodwill store and found a few treasures. Some old Christmas tinsel trim, an old angel ornament and some decorative Christmas Carols which would be neat in a Christmas assemblage. Also a pretty blue and white teapot ( like I need more blue and white) but I could not resist. I also found some pretty glass candlesticks to make little cupcake servers.
Love the little brush Christmas tree and look at the neato Bronze picture frams with the base for baby shoes!! The shoes are gone, but I am sure I will be able to come up with something else to glue to the base.






How do you like my collection? Been playing a bit with Polyvore.com. It's really fun to put things together for no $$$!! We are in the beginning stages of finishing our basement and this is the look I am going for. We are going to do the board and batten walls in off white and maybe a light golden tan on top. I love the casual look of all these items together. There is a very cool shop here called Gallery Classic and the owner really knows how to combine rustic things with elegant things. She coined the phrase "Rustic Elegance". I like it a lot. I plan to use lots of wicker and texture. Some painted pieces maybe in the robin's egg blue with tones of brown, honey beige and sage green. I think it will be restful.

Missing you all, hope it won't be so long between posts as this last one. Praying each of you are enjoying a blessed Sunday with those you love.

Blessings, Linda

Still looking a lot like Christmas!!!

Okay, so this is how our tree looked the evening of the 25th. All ready for our kids and grands to come the next day to celebrate!!!

And this my friends is how our tree looked on January 1, 2010!!!. That's right, it's just the same!! You see, we had a mysterious visitor come to our house on the evening of Christmas and it wasn't SANTA CLAUS!!! No, girls it was Mr. Stomach Flu who came calling, and he left us both sick as dogs for almost a week!! Oh my, this will be a Christmas to remember and not for good reasons!!!! I seriously thought of just packing it all away for next year. Then I could say I was all ready for Christmas of 2010 in January!! But, I guess that really wouldn't really be fair to the granddaughters. We will hopefully get together with of family next weekend.

I have already started taking down stuff and packing it away, except for the big tree, which I will leave for another week or so. It feels good to kind of start putting it all away. This Christmas arrived way before I was ready this year, and the weeks of December just seemed to fly right by. My mother always told me it would be like this and I didn't believe her!!!

I have the "urge to purge" ( maybe symptoms left from the flu)!! Ha. But It is time to go through stuff and weed out what I don't just LOVE and pass on the rest to someone else. I have never liked the word Downsize..... it sounds like I'm ready for the assisted living center or something, but I do feel that eventually the possessions of life can sometimes FEEL like they own us and weigh us down. Is anyone else wrestling with these feelings also? I mean, I really love my Junk, I really do!!! A lot of my friends cannot relate to my love of JUNK anyway, so this is difficult to describe, but I KNOW many of you can relate. I really hate to get rid of something BEFORE I've had a chance to make it into something else. The joy is in the transformation itself!!

Maybe I need to take a lesson from the birds, Just look at them. They don't have a possession in the world and they are taken care of so well, aren't they?

Isn't he so beautiful?

Still enjoying the lights on the house at night. I think the icicle lights are soooo beautiful!! We still have lots of snow and it keeps snowing little bits almost every day. So beautiful!! Was so good to get out to church this morning. We helped take down decorations there too and pack them away for another year. After lunch then went by Walmart to pick up a few items and of course I found a few Christmas items that were 75% off!!! I couldn't just walk out empty-handed could I? So, I managed to pick up a few little things here and there to add to my already overflowing decorations. I am afflicted!!! Is there any hope for me??

I pray that the New Year will bring each of us a sense of His presence inside us and guide us into how much is enough.

Blessings, Linda

Happy New Year!!!!

Happy New Year dear friends!!!!! I hope this past year had been one to reflect, learn, and give thanks for, as we all look on a clean, fresh, piece of paper to write another chapter on!!

Remember when you were young and you got a clean fresh piece of pretty paper to create a work of art on in school? I was always so excited to see what I could transfer from my mind onto that piece of paper. Our lives are so much like that, we are all artists!!! First, we are inspired by a dream of something, and then we sketch it out on paper for just the right proportions before we begin to color it in with the colors we love best. We also have the "Master Creator" to help shape, mold, and color our design. Our lives are filled with these little masterpieces that we and the Father create together. Sometimes He tells us to "go ahead" and do what we want, and sometimes he whispers gently in our ears to let him take over and watch him work, and we are amazed at his handiwork, his knowledge and skill to bring out just what we dreamed of!!!

May you all know the feeling of creating with the "Father" as your teacher as you paint in the colors of your life.

It has been now nearly a year since my first post, and I have so enjoyed this journey on paper!!!. To meet so many new friends and women who "get me". I have drawn confidence from that, to know that I am not alone and not as weird as I sometimes feel in this world. So many kindred spirits that I would have never known, had it not been for taking that first step of putting it on paper. I am so grateful for Dawn at The Feathered Nest for guiding and encouraging me to try even when I didn't know what I was doing. In many ways, I still don't know what I am doing, but I sure am having a good time!!! Thank you for all of your kind comments to me to inspire and encourage me. I really appreciate each one of you who have taken the time to leave me a little comment here and there.

May we all look forward to 2010 with creative anticipation of what we will create together!!

Linda

Have yourself a merry little Christmas!!

Hello my friends!! It's been a while since I've posted. I have been sooooo busy!! You see, last week I began my medical transcription intership!!. Oh my, it has been overwhelming at times, but slowly I am getting the hang of it all! There are so many new things to learn besides the acutal transcription work, but I am hanging in there!! I really do find it interesting and am glad I will be able to work from my home. I did take time out last Thursday to host our miniature club Christmas party. We had soup, salad and all the trimmings with toffee browies and frozen custard for desert. It was so good!! There were girls in the kitchen and the diningroom. Thought I would share pictures with you!!


Sorry, this picture was dark and a little blurry too!! After our lunch it was time for our annual "mini" gift exchange!! Everyone makes a miniature gift to give and exchange. This year there were some beautiful items created, so I thought I would show you some pictures of these tiny works of art!!!

First up a tiny tussie mussie and tree ornament made by Blossom. She made it for her granddaughter to bring and exchange, so Blossom made two gifts. Isn't it sooo sweet?? Blossom LOVES any thing pink!! You should see her magnificent dollhouse!!!

See the tassel?

Minature quilt and matching pillows made by Allana. She has some new quilt program on her computer and she can PRINT out these gorgeous designs!!! She said she can make a design from anything. This one is in colors of blue and yellow. Gorgeous !!

These little wreaths were made by me. A larger pine wreath in greens, reds, and ivory, and a smaller bead wreath like the ones everyone is making this year in full size.

Blossom again made this tiny silk purse with lace and tiny, tiny pink crystals and pearls. Isn't it exquisite?? Also, the tiny ornament to go on MY tree. Yes, this is the gift that I drew!!! I was thrilled!!!

A very tiny Candy - Cookie tree made by Charlsia. The cookies and candies are made of tubes of fimo clay which are formed in a design in tiny pieces. Then the larger piece is rolled out to become a very small cylinder. The design stays, and then the pieces are sliced off with a razor blade. This is the same technique that hard candy maker of old used. Soooooooo sweet!!!

Joann sculpted this tiny fairy!! She is about 5 inches long! She is made from oven-bake clay and handpainted. The wings are from a pheasant she said. Isn't she beautiful? WOW so impressive!!

This little bed was not actually a gift in the exchange, but a sample of an upcoming class taught by Allana. Isn't it so beautiful?

A tiny arbor for a winter vignette made by the talented Debbie. What wonderful addition to any dollhouse landscape this would be!!!!

Tiny chest filled with Christmas wrapping supplies and so cute!!!! Well, now I'm embarrassed!!. I made a list of who brought what but forgot to check it twice!!! so I can't give the artisan credit where credit is due. But narrowing it down, this precious little chest was made by either Carol or Lyn.

Little Miss Candy cane dressed by Joyce. She used a little doll she got at Dillards that was an ornament. Redressed her and worked on her hair. She also makes the little bears out of pipe cleaners. Her little red shoes are made from some kind of plastic tape. She is soooooo precious, isn't she?

I scanned this old postcard to share with you.

As well as this precious old card. It is tiny. Didn't scan as detailed as I would have liked, but isn't it beautifull?

May every one of you in this wonderful family of Bloggers know the perfect peace that only Jesus himself can bring to your hearts. May you make wonderful memories this Christmas with all those you love.

It is snowing like crazy here right now, so we will be having a white Christmas for sure!!! Our children, all but one family, hope to come to celebrate with us on Saturday, so that means I still have another day to "get everything done"! I am keeping food simple this year and no one will mind. We always eat way too much anyway.!!!!

Warm Christmas Blessings to you all, Linda
and many thanks to all of you for blessing my life through your blogs and comments this year.!!!

Christmas Tour

Hi Friends, Today I'm joining in the Tour of Homes with the Nester!! I'm showing the remaining Christmas decorated rooms in my home. To see all the homes of the tour, click HERE!! It's so much fun to see how each one interprets CHRISTMAS in their homes using the talents and creative gifts given to us all.

I have always loved Christmas for the reason that it focuses our attention on the great gift the Heavenly Father sent us on that dark night in a little stable, so ordinary and yet so extraordinary in the way he chose to bring Jesus and the salvation he brought to a world without hope. Today he comes and takes up residence INSIDE each of us who invite him in. There is always room, because without HIM there is a "space" that only He can fill.

The world needs Him more now than ever before, and yet He waits patiently and quietly for the doors to be opened. Praying that the Lord will speak to your heart in a still and quiet voice to tell you that He loves you more than you could ever imagine.

And now, on with the tour!!

This picture is in the guest bath. It is actually a "framed" gift bag. I loved the Santa and also the monkey, so I thought why could I not frame it? You see, I have this little affection for monkeys....... I know, I know, it's weird, I've just always like them.



This is the window in the entry. It is clear, not a mirror. Rather than a solid wall, we had an old window frame built in to let in light and add character. I have vintage Shiny Brites hung on the garland. The iron piece hangs on the other side.

An old wash bowl filled with old looking ornaments in silver, gold and white on the diningroom table.

I keep thinking I want to work in some red into this room also, so I put a few balls on the sideboard. What do you think?? It might look more country French with the 3 primary colors. I don't know. I like just the golds, whites, silvers, and blue too!!

Does anyone else every wish you have several houses to play in? Sounds silly I know!! These days, I can barely get the one house in shape!!

This is the little fake dormer over the diningroom. I have lace curtains to eventually hang on the window, just haven't yet asked DH if he would go up the ladder and do that for me yet.
For Christmas I have a lighted tree on the table, the rest of the year, a lamp.

My fontanini nativity set. I think the pieces and the colors are so beautiful!! A dear friend gave me some of her pieces when she had to downsize recently, so now I will treasure them in my home for years to come and they are a precious reminder of her.

These are my "star" trees. I really enjoy them and the way they sparkle and shimmer in the lights!!. I think next year, I want to hang some stars from the light fixture also.

The master bedroom, sorry I forgot to pick up the camera cap!! Just have a few extra touches of Christmas in this room. The biggest piece is my "angel tree". I have collected angels for so many years. Colors are mostly pinks and creams. It's so beautiful to lie in bed and enjoy the lights and the glow.

This tree is in my art studio and holds special momentos from the past. Old pieces of lace and crocheted work, dolls, and things from my childhood. See the baby shoe? It was mine.

The little green tatted basket was a sweet gift from my Aunt Jo. She does such beautiful work!!
I love the porcelain dollhead with the real fur hat and the angel that is very old.

The blue beads were the only gift I ever received from my paternal grandmother. The rhinestone bracelet I received from my parents for 8th grade graduation. The baby hairbrush was mine.

Pieces of jewelry and other special things I have received thru the years, another tatted piece from Aunt Jo. Sorry about the glare on the mirror ornament!

Well, hope you enjoyed seeing the rest of the house. I look forward to seeing all the other great homes on the tour!!! Many thanks to the Nester for hosting this fun blog party!! She is a daily read for sure!!

Warm Christmas Blessings, Linda