***Vintage Christmas***
*Part Two*

I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus....


"Merry Christmas"

***Vintage Christmas***
*Part One*

*A little mouse village*

Let's look around the corner......

"Welcome to Mouse Village"

~~~~~I'm innocent!!~~~~~

***Holiday Bags***

I had so much fun making bags for family and friends.
I made the first for Halloween and these are the 'how to' pics!
It is made using a placemat.

I made this one out of a place mat, too but using double sided glue
to put the Poinsettia flower (cut from holiday fabric).

These I made from 'scratch' using the dimensions of a place mat.

They are fun and easy.......and QUICK!
Great for a cute holiday hand bag or to put Christmas cards in or to use for a gift bag.

Was it a MOUSE or a MOOSE?

It's a busy month for us so I decided to put Christmas cards in a basket ( basket by 'Fran's Baskets'...she always has the most wonderful booth at the Apple Festival every year!).

These moose......or meese..... are watching over the basket full of greetings from friends and family and some of my pretty note cards from jen.

I love beautiful cards!
Thanks everyone!

***Mice in the house.....and Whimsy jars***


Mice in the house? Could it be TRUE?
Did they come down the chimney or run in the door when Koki wasn't looking?
Just when I have my decorations just the way I want them......
mice come in and take over!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I started this creative blog, I looked at others and kept seeing "Whimsy jars".
I thought they looked like so much fun and something I wanted to do....some day!


When I won the drawing at 'the fabled needle' and received a
package full of treasures from jen, I knew I had the makings of a Whimsy jar!
A wonderful blog to read....with a whimsy jar post is 'One perfect little miracle'!
Love her blog and great ideas for holiday gifts!

*Wednesday Wee Ones*

I've tried to choose a day when I can feature pics of my dolls!
So I thought Wednesday would work well this week.

Wendy is my 'travel' buddy. She's traveled on all of our trips....to New York in the Fall, Grand Canyon in December, California, Texas, Florida for Christmas. She's such a fun little dollie to dress and take along!


And Johnny was my first Lee Middleton doll
and he's so photogenic....look at those EYES!




I made the Gingerbread men. I cut felt, put in a little stuffing and sewed around the edges by hand. The most fun is decorating each one differently with pieces of trim from my stash.



Love my Bath and Body bear that my girlfriend,
Pat gave me a couple of years ago!
He likes Gingerbread men too.......
not to EAT though! heehee!

A quick departure from Christmas posts! We are having the rooms of our new condo painted and have the master bath complete now! I will be hanging pictures and decorating later but here it is so far.......

The color is Golden Fleece by Sherwin Williams! It looks so good with the dark red shower curtain that has a little gold stripe in it! Thanks Nikki! It looks GREAT!

I am excited!

I made some 'snow' to show off my Catherine Holman prints
and enjoyed seeing how pretty they look even before they are framed!

The one I chose as my favorite is the Leadville train station.

I've been playing with
pine cones and berries again! lol

I think I WAS there......once upon a time!

This was taken in Leadville a few years ago....
when my youngest 2 sons were teenagers.....
just a 'few' years ago! heehee!

Now I enjoy staying in my Lavender Cottage!
I'm going to imagine it is just down the road....
in walking distance to the Button Willow Cottage.

I love to DREAM!!!

(I put the snow with pinecones and berries in front of these paintings!)

***Holiday Lighting***

I love soft lighting in the bedroom. Our lamps have always had dimmers on them (thanks hubby!) but in the holiday season, I use inexpensive candle lights instead.


I place them in front of the lamps on our night stands and since they have small bulbs they give just enough light in the room.

Wrap greenery with berries
around the candle for a festive touch
and enjoy the soft glow.

******Happy Holiday decorating!******

One of my MOST favorite blogs is the Button Willow Cottage and I am so happy to see the lady in the cottage is feeling better today. Entering this blog ( I even hesitate to call it a blog ) is like entering another world.......one that is festive yet serene.......
filled with everything beautiful and good. She just updated it for winter!
Amazing images on each side of her posts! She inspires me each day!
I hope your weekend is magical.....visit the Button Willow Cottage and it will be!

***Happy Weekend!!!***

Be sure and visit my friend at the Freckled Hen blog for a fun drawing!
She has made the most adorable Christmas apron to give away!
(And I REALLY need it! lol)

I always enjoy spending time on her blog!

***COLLAGE CRAZY!***

I will post Christmas decorations as I go....but I just had to make a quick collage!
My hubby updated to Picassa 3 and it has so many neat features!

Or do you like this one better?

My hubby walks into the study
and says...Are you making
ANOTHER collage?! heehee!

Click on the picture to enlarge!

***Happy holidays!***

Catherine Holman is having another drawing! HOW EXCITING!

Look at this new painting! Don't you LOVE it?
Check her blog here....Catherine Holman Folk Art.

"Christmas Decorating....Day One!"

I love to start decorating with my favorite pictures to hang on the wall!

These are M. A. Vessey prints..........

*******I love Christmas scenes!*******

I think if I count how many winter scenes I have....I might consider it a collection!




When I get my Winter Folk Art prints from Catherine Holman I will be able to decorate a whole room......or an entire house! heehee! Stay tuned!

I love to find books from 'my era'! This book has an inscription,
"To Helen from Mother and Daddy, Christmas 1956"! PERFECT!
And here it is.......

"Alice in Wonderland"

Tweedledee smiled gently,

The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright-
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.

The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done-
"It's very rude of him," she said,
"To come and spoil the fun!"

Alice in Wonderland By Lewis Carrol

And be sure to visit "the fabled needle" this week for a SUPER drawing! Thanks jen!!!

"Christmas Open House at Curb Market"

I stayed home on Friday and enjoyed the day but Saturday I got up early to go to "Curb Market"! Everything homemade....tables laden with loaves of homemade breads, cakes, candy....Fresh greenery arrangements....ornaments and several Raggedy Annes and Andys and even some sock monkeys!

I saw lots of pretty things but only picked up a few treasures...........


I parked on a side street just as the horse drawn carriage came around the corner with the largest black horse that I've ever seen pulling it. I was parked in front of a Bed and Breakfast with beautiful Christmas decorations on the porch. No camera.......but memories of a simpler time in life. It was magical........scents and sights of the season. Inside the front door I was met with a Christmas tree, the scent of apple cider and Carolers with dulcimers, fiddles, guitars and even a boy with hand bells.....everyone singing Christmas favorites.

When I got home I had an email from Catherine Holman!
I could NOT believe it!
I won her drawing for these beautiful Folk Art Prints!

I was so excited! I would say I was doing the happy dance....except that I was mostly jumping UP and down......and up and DOWN! lol Thanks Catherine......I am THRILLED!
I have been watching her site for the BIG HOLIDAY SALE! Check it out!

"Happy Thanksgiving!"


I am so thankful for my hubby and all of my sweet family
and friends. I'm especially thankful this year for our good health
and happiness. It's been a real help to me this Fall to have creative
blogs to visit, new crafts to try and recipes to make.
Thanks to everyone that makes a difference in my life.
God continues to bless our lives.

Wishing you a special day filled with all of God's blessings!

And enjoy this card.....CLICK HERE!

Ooohhhhh......I love packages in the mail!
It's so much fun to open a package....
even when you know what's inside!
And jen at the fabled needle really does the packages up right! Thanks jen!!!

It's a delight just to open it up and see all the pretty cards and notepads!
I love everything! "SALE"

"Oriental Bittersweet"

We have the most beautiful Autumn vine commonly called Bittersweet,here in the mountains. It is an aggressive plant that is not welcome everywhere but for crafters it makes a fun project. I have wound it around to make a pretty wreath and this year I just put some of the vines on the mantel among candles and pinecones. I love all things natural from the outdoors.

I have a tall basket that I change according to the seasons and I sometimes fill with bittersweet or wrap a vine around the handle.


Oriental bittersweet can be found all along the roadsides here in the Fall but it's hard to spot until the leaves fall off the trees. I spotted this vine in our backyard climbing a tall Oak tree. (and hubby was sweet enough to cut what he could reach!)