Christmas Tablescape

Yes, Peeps. I'm thinking about Christmas again. It seems that once Thanksgiving comes and goes, I'm in a rush to decorate and I always have SO many ideas, but I run out of time. Some years, I've decorated right up until Christmas Day, and I've been known to keep the trees up until almost Valentine's Day. I just can't seem to de-decorate. I LOVE Christmas!

So, here's something I did last year, and I'm thinking about repeating it (keep in mind that I hardly ever do the same thing from year to year). 

I decided to do a silver, blue, and white tablescape. I was pretty tickled with it. 

Not that I'm a tablescape expert, but I think the trick is to use a variety of textures and a color theme, but I also like lots of light and sparkle.

The tall glasses were champagne glasses that I purchased at my local thrift shop- 8 for $2. Woot, woot! They're used more for decoration than champagne, but I reserve the right to fill them up with bubbly whenever I want! There are also Waterford brandy snifters, which again, have hardly ever had brandy in them. 

I have two gorgeous Waterford decanters that also needed to be used, so I put blue food coloring in them with some water, and instant color!

Jingle bells from a Christmas clearance sale, paper poinsettias that I cut out, a white table cloth bunched up in the center.

Little droplets.

German status.

Silver teapots and creamers.

Glass glittered stars.

And little white ball ornaments. Seriously, Folks, just use what you have!

And, here's another view of my garland. My neighbor cracked me up when she saw it. She said, "You put all of these on by hand?", as if we had a machine that did it. Boy, now THAT would be a cool thing to have!

Again, just using a lot of what we had. The white flowers were a clearance item from Pottery Barn, which were really just a bag of potpourri, the white "starburst" thingy is a dried allium from our garden that I sprayed white, and the pink flower is a dried peony. 

And, this is one of my favorite ornaments, of which I have many. You can also see one of my beaded snowflakes in the lower left. There's a very cool story behind them, which I'll save for a later date. 

Thanks again for taking the time to look! Fondly, Tami

And, I'm linking to:
Jennifer Rizzo
Elizabeth and Co.
The Style Sisters

Oak Chest

Hey, Froggers. I've been busy getting more stuff ready for my NEW SPACE!!! Yup, I've taken the plunge. I've taken over some space in Lancaster, PA called Building Character. I am uber excited about it. My new business is called Howsewears- Wearable Art for your Home. I'll have pics of my space in a future post. Here's the newest item that will be placed in this funky warehouse:

She started out like this:

All in all, she wasn't bad looking.

She was a little roughed up.

She was missing the top key medallion, but never fear. I had a plan.

She needed some filling and sanding.

I started using some graphite chalk paint, having some idea of what I wanted, but I wasn't quite sure.

After much contemplation, a few sketches, several prayers, and some raw nerve, I started painting, using a dry brush technique and some old white chalk paint.

This was a lot of fun to do.

The key medallion was refashioned. I was going to just leave them off, but they added some character.

When I chipped off the existing 2 medallions, one of them was intact, so I used some mold n pour to make a mold, then I made 2 more out of Fimo clay. You can bake the clay in these molds, so that was incredibly useful. To unmold the clay would have distorted it too much.

Since the top didn't look too bad, I sanded her down, added several coats of mahogany Briwax, and buffed to a lovely luster. The top turned out so gorgeous, if I do say so myself.

The flaming is so lucious.



And here she is in her full glory. I'm kinda likin' her. But alas, she must take a trip to Building Character to find a new home. Do you like her?

Fondly, Tami

BTW, I'm linking to:

Somewhat Simple

Brambleberry Cottage

House of Hepworths

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Savvy Southern Style 

Beyond the Picket Fence

My Romantic Home 

Finding Fabulous for Less 

Simply Designing 

Coastal Charm 

Chic on a Shoestring 

Be Different, Act Normal 

Remodelaholic 

Sisters of the Wild West 

Tip Junkie 

Between Naps on the Porch 

2805 

French Country Cottage 

Miss Mustard Seed 

The Shabby Nest

The Southern Institute 

Knick of Time Interiors 

Today's Creative Blog 

Primitive and Proper 

A Diamond in the Stuff 

My 1929 Charmer Blog





Duh moments

Hey, Froggers! (friends who are bloggers) So, I got contacts again, except that now that I'm older (don't tell anyone), it's a lot more complicated. I tried bifocal contacts, but I couldn't STAND them, in spite of the fact that I have a good friend who popped hers in, loved them, and never looked back (well, I suppose she really DID look back, since now she had new contacts that worked and was probably thrilled). I'm now wearing monovision contacts, which is an oxymoron, since one of them is bifocal and one is for long-distance sight. I'm still getting used to them, and as a matter of fact, I'm squinting at this very moment.
Diversion...(most people call it multitasking, but I think it's just really ADD), I'm watching a very real commercial right now about Pajama Jeans. Seriously, it looks like an SNL skit. I'm waiting for Tina Fey to show up on the screen. It's truly ridiculous.
So, I was trying to take a picture of my new craft with my brand new *not-cheap* camera. I tried and tried to get it focused, and it wouldn't work. I got quite frustrated when I realized that I was looking through the viewfinder with my bifocal eye. When I switched looking through it with my distance eye, it was miraculously clear. So, I guess I'm going to have to change my old ways.
Anyway, I think I'm nesting again. You see, Youngest is leaving for college in the fall (she's such a sweetie). She's currently homeschooled, but she's approaching the end of her senior year and has so much on her transcript, she doesn't have much that she needs to do. She's currently taking 2 college courses, and when she graduates from high school, she will have 27 college credits. So, I don't need to do a "lot" with her concerning school since she's a smarty-pants and can plan her classes on her own. So, after MANY years of homeschooling, I finally have a little bit more time, thus the Crafting Frenzy.
A few days ago, I saw something in a mag., and as usual, I thought, "I can make that", so I did. I have many types of dried flowers in my basement, so I tapped into my reservoir. I use a variety of methods to dry my flowers, and one of my fave methods is drying them in a desiccant (yes, I had to look up that spelling) called Silicagel, although there are several different types out there (and NEVER buy it at AC Moore or Michael's without a coupon). Here's my newest project: These are my delicate little Japanese Dogwood flowers, although my Oldest (who's a smarty-pants college student) tells me that these white "flowers" are actually leaves. I so rely on her to be botanically correct. These "leaves" were dried in Silicagel. You must cut or pick them when they've only "bloomed" for a day or two. You lay down a nice thick layer of the sandy substance in your container, then you lay these pretties right side up. Once they're placed, with edges NOT touching, you carefully sprinkle more desiccant on top, covering them completely. Seal the container (I usually use Rubbermaid) and don't peek for a few weeks. After you have waited patiently (I put the date that I can peek on the calendar which gives me something to look forward to), you carefully open your container, tilt it slightly, and expose your "flowers". They will be dry (after all, that's the point), so be careful. These blooms are at least 6 years old. I dried many when I HAD a J. Dogwood (I have one now, but it's a baby and isn't producing for me yet). I often use them on my Christmas tree or my stairway garland. They are just so pretty. I just realized that this blog post has become l...o...n...g. So, without further delay, I wanted you to see my round key svg file.
*This file is no longer available for free. To purchase, go to www.diecutdesigner.com after April 23, 2011. Thanks. Tami

I hope you enjoy my creations. I really do aspire to encourage!
It's time to go take these *&^%$#@ contacts out! Fondly, Tami