Thanksgiving Evening

It's been a wonderful day of cooking and spending time at home with family and my friend Diane.

Here's a few photos of our Thanksgiving table.

Hope you had a wonderful day filled with blessings and love.

I am thankful for all that I have in my life and I love being a part of this blogging community.

Looking forward to Christmas decorating the rest of the weekend.

You Gotta Love Wal-Mart

look at this cute cupcake stand I found there last week for $5!

It was perfect for thee lemon-filled gingerbread cupcakes we made for the Holiday Open House! I don't know why, but the filling looks green in this photo and it was really a nice lemon yellow.

Here's a few pics of the ornments...

Some of the travertine coasters I made....

Here's another great find from Wal-Mart. I bought two of these 6.5 feet trees for $35! They will be going into the kid's bedrooms and the cottage . You can get them with clearn or colored lights. They literally snap together in about 5 minutes.

Everyone seemed to like the little snowshoe ornaments and they look good on the white tree and the traditional green tree.

Hope you are are enjoying your Sunday. Diane and I are starting to pack up the autumn decorations and prepare for Christmas decorating in a few days.

The kids are off school all week....so we will also be running interference with them and trying to avoid the constant "I'm bored" statements.

I'll keep you posted.

Love This....Photo Placecards

I love this holiday table idea. Rather than a name placecard in this cute little birdie placecard holders I made, how about a favorite sepia photo of your precious ones?

Ok....back to work making more little birds and leaves. I want to make a Christmas variation of these placecards holders also.

What do you think? Any suggestions?

More Birds and Some Snowshoes

I realized I haven't done a post since Saturday...where does the time go?

I decided to take a quick break from a full day of crafting to show you some more ornaments.

Here's some "bird on a perch" ornaments I did....

Here's some place card holders I made out of my little birdies....

And these are the snowshoe ornaments I did.....

a whole basket of them ready to go!

Well...I'm back to work making some more until I just can't work anymore tonight..

Hope you are having a great evening.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

Christmas! Here's a peek at some more ornaments I've been working on. It feel just like Santa's Workshop here at Starview Place.

You know how it goes....glitter everywhere, kitchen work surfaces covered with paint bottles, glue, pipe cleaners, and patterned paper. I decided that I will move my operation over to the guest house, since I won't have any guests for a week. That way my family can actually sit down to eat a meal without knocking over a plate of glitter...ha!


When Diane comes next week she will help me with the final preparations for the holiday open house (especially pricing, always tricky for me).

So here's three of the snowguys in the blue hues...I find myself getting so attached to them I'm tempted to start naming them...

Here's some bird ornaments that I made out of a vintage clay molds (found on eBay, of course), using Creative Paperclay. This is just one version, there are several more in the works.

Isn't he just so chubby and endearing?

It is a glorious sunny day here and I am so excited to get some more ornaments made today. The inspiration and creativity just seem to keep flowing--gotta take advantage of that.

Hope you are having as much fun doing what you love to do today : )

Prett y And Oh So Practical

Over a year ago I purchased these two wire window boxes for around a $100 (for both) on eBay.


There were a dozen places I could have used these in my house, but I decide tthey would be wonderful towel holders in my bathrooms.



This is an arched window in our walk-in shower. I placed the window box just under the window and keep it filled with rolled towels. All you have to do is reach around the corner after a nice long hot shower and your towel is right there.

Perfect practicality!

Here's a view from inside the shower looking out at the main window and the bathtub.

This is the one in the guest cottage bath. A very small bathroom with limited space, this works out great as a storage solution. Just reach up and get a towel after your shower.

Now for my "look for less" tip. These ribbed towels are from K-Mart and the Jaclyn Smith Home Collection. They are wonderfully luxurious and very budget-friendly. They come in a variety of colors including a nice white-white.

Happy Friday everyone and have a wonderful weekend.

It's Been A Busy Day

I've been making Christmas ornaments most of the day. Here's some that I finished. It's a vintage little girl working hard on old-fashioned skis.

I think she is pretty adorable.

I will be going to a Holiday Open House Sale a week from Saturday and bringing some of the ornaments I've made.

Whatever doesn't sell, will end up in my etsy shop or on one of my many Christmas trees.

It's never too early to start getting ready for Christmas.

I'm Just So Tickled...

to receive this prestigious Kreative Blooger Award from my wonderful blog friend Shellagh at Ticking and Toile.

If you haven't visited her blog yet, you are in for a real treat. Her style is so wonderful and personal to her. She is a total "can do" lady! What they have done to their home is just amazing! Check out the slipcovers she made for her sofa and her wing chair. She just began selling a gorgeous burlap and crocheted pillow in her brand new etsy shop. I am pleased to say that I was her very first customer!

I'll be sure to post about the pillow once it arrives--you may want to get a few for Christmas presents.


Ok...part of this award involves sharing seven things you may not know about me, So, here goes...


1. I am the oldest of three children. I have two wonderful younger brothers who are very fine men and wonderful partners to the women they love. We all know how to clean a house very well, thanks to our wonderful (and extremely organized) Mother : )

2. Without sisters, I have learned the importance of close friendships with a few special women (including my Mother) . They are my sisters by choice. Without them in my life, something would definitely be missing.


3. I am a creative girl--always have been. I can't sit down and paint an oil painting, but I can visualize things in my head and put them into motion. I knew there would be a great use for all those leftover Crystal Light tubes!

4. I have three children-Logan, Allison, and Jackson. Allison grew in my heart and came to us from Kalinigrad, Russia at the age of 13 months in the year 2000. One thing I know for sure--there is absolutely no difference between our biological children and those who are brought to us, just the way they arrive. I thank God every single day for these blessings.

5. I love to throw a great party! Entertaining makes me happy. Is there anything more fun than planning and putting into motion a wonderful celebration? I had a baby sower a couple years ago for my sister-in-law. The theme was vintage baseball. I spent months scouring ebay for treasures and putting together gifts, centerpieces and favors. The end result was spectacular. It made the Mom and Dad-to-be VERY happy, and isn't that the whole point?

6. I don't like to play board games, with one exception--Scrabble. I love words. So, when I sit down to play a three hour game of monopoly with my kids, it is with great sacrifice!! LOL!

7. I am a certified scuba diver. I took lessons and became certified in Maui 22 years ago. It was a remarkable experience that I enjoyed during a long vacation. I haven't been out since (just snorkeling)....children and life got in the way. BUT, I will always cherish the fact that I reached for that dream and swam with the sea turtles 35 feet down.

Well, there you have it.....now here's what I do:

~thank the person who nominated me for the award
~copy the logo and place it on my blog
~link to the person who nominated me
~list 7 things people may not know about me
~nominate 7 creative bloggers
~post their links
~leave a comment on each

~ ~*~ ~

Here are my my Kreative Blogger nominees:

1. Rita at www.arefocusedlife.blogspot.com. I love her beautiful photographs, her style and the home interiors she features. Every snippet is an inspiration.

2. The beautiful Savannah at www.everydaypitterpatter.blogspot.com. She has such a great variety of posts including wonderful fashion ideas, crafts and beautiful spaces. It's always a delight to visit her. What a stylish and all-around young woman!! Her Mom must be so proud of her and her husband.

3. Daryl at The Vermont Cottage. Her blog is just beautiful. She has so many wonderful ideas to share. Her photography of special places provide some of my favorite eye candy.

4. Jeanne at A Bushel and A Peck. What a doll she is! You will love readying her clever posts and visiting her wonderful shop filled with darling aprons and bags. Somehow I really feel like I know her. I would just love to sit down over lunch with her is she lived closer. I don't know if anyone looks cuter in hats than she does : )

5. Then there is Laura at WSU Laura She is a fellow Washingtonian herewith me in the Great Northwest. I love visiting her blog and seeing her growing family and their day to day adventures. She is very crafty and I just love what she did for a Halloween decorating. The first time I visited her, I got to see her fabulous chicken coop (a dream of mine).

6. Next is Chelsea from www.roomtoinspire.blogspot.com. She has an unbelievable knack for getting the "look for less". She sees things that many people don't. You've got to check ou the TJ Maxx crown she recently re-did--just stunning! I will continue to enjoy her view of the world and learn from her crafty repurposing.

7. Last, but certainly NOT least is the beautiful Princess Anne from Fiona and Twig.
She has recently embarked on a new adventure--her own spot at an antique mall. I love seeing the items she places in her booth. You will also get some wonderful ideas here and great referrals to super inspirational websites and blogs. Just love Anne!


Once again, thank you to Shellagh for nominating me for this great award It is has been so much fun to meet so many of you out there in blogland. I love being invited into your lives and homes and knowing I'm not the only one that lies awake at night thinking of design ideas! Ha!

Here's to "not being alone" out there and to all you creative and capable women!
Happy Wednesday.

So Long....

I just hate good-byes....This morning my Mom & Dad left after a five day visit. It is so hard to see them go home.

I'm so happy I got these photos with the kids after school yesterday.

I love you Mom & Dad! Hope you will be back soon. Thanks for all the help you gave me while you were here!

xoxo