Canada Geese... Happy New Year!

Winter Visit (snippet)

Happy New Year!
I hope all of you have been enjoying
the season and making wonderful new memories~

I love the holidays because it means
my hubby and children are on vacation!
Time together is wonderful~

I have had a few deadlines to complete before
some upcoming business travels~
It's a great excuse to set up a table in the
living room to paint on while
we enjoy Christmas movies as a family!

Hope your celebrations are merry & safe~
Wishing each of you all the best in 2010!

Calico Buttons...

A Christmas surprise for our daughter...
She LOVES calico buttons!
These antique sweeties are very difficult to find~

I stitched them to the wee little file folders
that I made HERE!

Small finds that bring great smiles!

These are blues, purples, blacks...

Her favorite color is green...
Haven't been able to find any of those!
Maybe by her birthday~

Gift Tag Time!

My daughter and I LOVE to have
Christmas craft days!

We turn the house into an artists dream...
ONE BIG STUDIO!
We have rubber stamps here~
mounds of paper scraps there~
punches n' paints~
ephemera and photographs~
fabric n' buttons...
GLITTER!!!!
a nightmare for anyone else who lives here!

These cute mini file folders will be
the perfect size for wallet portraits...

Double sided papers are sweet for these...

Last December I made buttons & tags
with tissue papers...
This is a different look...

Thin coat works best...
Try not to move it around once it is in place
tissue paper becomes very weak...

I put a solid tissue layer on the back...
Once it dries I will write a Christmas message
with a fine tip black marker.

Held to the light...

This tag is going on an antique glass trivet.
They hang their colorful trivets against windows...
The light flows through them so beautifully.

Hope you're having time for some holiday fun!

Endless Photo Corners...

I like the finishing touch photo corners add.
I have a nice collection of standard black,
white, gold, silver, jewel tones & craft paper...
even clear ones are available in 50+ count packages.
Now I make my own!
This craft punch from a Martha Stewart
collection is my new favorite punch!
Diane Knott was blogging about her Martha
punches... you should take a peek at her projects HERE.

Photo corners from a map...
I'm working on a travel page...
I punched in a solid area so you could see
how the punch makes score lines to fold along.

Somewhere toasty warm!

Finished pieces...

I like how these punches stand up.
Plus the silver icon...

Extras I made while hanging out with our daughter
while she did homework...

Endless possibilities!
I can't wait to add tiny buttons... flowers...
glitter-punched confetti stars...

Few More Vintage Christmas Cards...

Vintage Christmas Notes...

I love the little guy...
His sweet face n' toes~

I think our children tried this once!
ha ha ha...

The kids maybe even tried this!
ha ha ha!
Hope your day is filled with great memories...

Vintage Candles in the Window...

The soft glow of our jar candles don't
seem to compare to the sturdy, hard, waxy
ones my family used growing up.
Dripping a little on the plate to get them
to stand upright...
I had half the candle melted down the side
before I could get it to attach.
BUT!
With our three little furry, curious and mischievous
cats... the jar candles are much safer!

When I was growing up we also
put the plastic, oval based, vintage
candles in every window...
One year they'd all be orange...
The next red...
One very sad year~ they were blue.

Little plastic holly & mistletoe arrangements
were carefully placed on every end table...
The top of the television...
The dinner table...
The back of the toilet!
With candles in the center~

I always kept my candle from the
church service...
It was great to rub on the bottom of
my runner sled and toboggan for speed!

Pretty to drive at night...
Many homes put up loads of lights~
The cute air-filled characters~

I love the simple candles in the window...
I love that they are in style & hold meaning
throughout the year.

Vintage Christmas Cards...

One of my favorite Christmas traditions~
Christmas cards!
Vintage images... parchment papers...
I am somehow more familiar with these images
than the ones I see daily.

As a child... I remember
two red and white thumb tack cards in our
collect-all drawer...
The tacks were only used at Christmas time
to put cards up around the door frames~

I loved climbing through mounds of snow...
...winded,
...clumps of ice inside my boots!

But to finally reach the post box and discover
envelopes from family and friends!

Once opened and read through I was
given the honored duty
to find the perfect place for them...

I have collected vintage pieces for years.
Our family didn't save cards from
year to year...
These are just as dear~
Plus, they don't have the tack holes in the corner!

More to come soon...

Father Christmas Prints in Etsy...

A few of my hand signed prints to share
in my Etsy shop... even have frames with them.

My grandma always told stories of an older man,
he had rosy cheeks and pleasant eyes...
Long heavy, itchy wool coat...

Sweet cherry colored lips that never stopped smiling!

Typically had a bag filled with gifts that he would
share with thankful neighbors...
At times he might even carry an evergreen for
miles~ sure to place it in clear sight for
when the children would come down for
breakfast in the morning... the first thing they'd see!
Oh the stories!

None so wonderful as when we she would read
from her Bible... of the bright star, the shepherds...
The Miracle of His birth~

Hope your weekend is wonderful!

Artist Samples...

A few weeks ago I received a box filled with
T-SHIRT artist samples!

These are a few of the designs...
The company chose six of my originals.
I'm not sure where they are sold...
Samples typically come on white!

The Chickadee is one of my favorites!

I will be listing these on Etsy later today...
I have a very limited supply~
Two or three of each design!

I love being able to share samples with all of you!

Hope your Friday is FANTASTIC!

Even Our Pup is Artistic...

Our morning potty trot, see the top paw print...
My pup made a paw-print flower for me!

The first snow...
The most wonderful time of year because~
All it took to get our two teens out of bed this morning...
...My hubby singing three sweet words,
"We've got snow!"
Feet were on the floor in seconds and big smiles on!

This is the type of snowfall that paintings are made from.
I went around taking photos of evergreen
limbs hanging with a perfect sprinkling of white...
Branches with tufts of snow
just waiting for the perfect cardinal to pose!

All cozy indoors, look who has found the
sun beginning to peek through?
Tippy boy!
(Oh my... look at those whiskers!)

Hope your day is wonderful~