I'm Off Visiting

Hello lovely people!  I just wanted to pop in to say "hi" and tell you that I have a guest post/feature/interview type thing over at Modern Country Style today, just in case you would like to take a peek.  Sarah has such a nice blog and loves to create wonderful things, so I was pretty happy that she asked me to come over.

On a separate note, it looks like Christmas around here.  See, this is the view outside my window today....lots of snow.  I've been trying to get all of my Christmas decorations out and arranged to my liking.  I'm trying to do more with natural elements this year, hopefully it all works out.  My big plan is to show you some of what I have done later this week.  I'm sure you can hardly contain your excitement...right?  So, until then...I send you my best wishes for a wonderful day ♥ Tricia

Felt Flowers

Hello lovely people.  I have a new project that I have been working on...felt flowers.  Well, poinsettias actually.  They are very easy to make and I want to put them everywhere.

The idea for the flowers came from this little purse that I had sewn awhile back...I thought it would be a cute addition to my Christmas decorating, but it seemed like it needed a little something first.  I decided that a flower would be the best way to go, and since poinsettias are Christmasy they were the obvious choice.

If you want to make one, here's what you do.  First, get some felt.  Each flower is constructed out of three layers of felt and each layer has five petals.  I just randomly drew a design and cut it out, so all the petals on each layer are attached to each other and each is a little bit different from the others.  Then, I used a little spray-on fabric stiffener to shape the petals and after they were dry, I just stacked the layers and sewed them together.

I made the centers of each flower different depending on the look I was going for.  I sewed a jewelry pin-back, or whatever you call them, on each one so that they can be easily removed and used for different things, or in case I want to wash the item.

After I made the one for my purse, I wanted to make more, so I put together another one for this pillow and just embroidered the center.  This one is my favorite.



Thinking they would look good on a gift, I whipped up another, but this time with a beaded center.

I'm trying to think of other places I could use these.  Hmmm...maybe as part of a wreath, or as a little girl's hair clip...made smaller of course.  Maybe you have some ideas?

Well, that's all I got for today.   Until next time...

I'm linking up to Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Inspiration Friday at Southern in My Heart, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest and Make it 4 Monday at Cottage Instincts.

Weekend Highlights

Hello people!  I thought I would take a little break from all my crafting to give you some highlights from my weekend.  Sounds thrilling, doesn't it?

{Friday}

Friday seems to have been a day of food.

In the afternoon, I met my sister at TGI Fridays for our weekly lunch.

This restaurant has somehow become our regular place.  Let me just add, when you go to a chain restaurant and the hostess recognizes you, tells you that your sister hasn't arrived yet and the majority of the waitstaff knows your order by heart, it may be a sign to find a few new places to add to your lunch rotation.  I feel like Norm from Cheers, except that I'm a girl, I don't drink beers and everyone doesn't know my name...thank heavens.

Okay now, fast forward to pizza night at the parents' with lots of Christmas cookie talk.  {Yawn.}  After gobbling down all of our pizza, the conversation went kind of like this:

My sister:  "Look at this new cookie magazine...it is just EVIL" (Of course, I did look and yes it was.)

My dad: "How many cookies do we have on the list now?"

My sister:  "Ummm...sixteen."  (Yes, you read that correctly, SIXTEEN KINDS of cookies.)

My dad:  "Do we have pretzel sticks, peanut butter Ritz, peanut butter blossoms, those triangle things..."

This went on and on and, to my ears, started sounding similar to when the adults speak on the Charlie Brown shows.  Nonsensical.

Then he adds " Well, if we need chocolate covered pretzels, we'll just buy those."  Which he repeated about five times.  And I finally had to say " Ummm, helllo?  You have sixteen kinds of cookies.  Do you really think you need to BUY chocolate covered pretzels?"  Which he ignores and starts talking about all of the baking items he needs to get at Costco.



{Saturday}

It is 7:30 in the morning and I am laying down, all cozy and sleepy, when my three year-old awakens to see that it has snowed out during the night.  She is sooo excited to bring me her news and at first I can't figure out what is going on...is she happy about this?  Immediately, she wants to put on her snowsuit to go play, exclaiming "I half fu build a snowman."  Not wanting to hear that there probably isn't enough snow, she says "NO MOMMY!  I half fu make a snowman, I will jus woll it and woll it."

So essentially, I spent the better part of the day taking her snow gear on and off and on and off AND on and off.



{Sunday}

I was hoping for one giant lazy day, but instead I:

• Found that our dog, Murphy "The Mischief Maker", had stolen a pack of gum from my purse and ate it for breakfast.
• Cleaned.
• Ate Chipotle...which was very good, I might add.
• Cleaned some more.
• Washed clothes.
• Looked at some blogs
• Wrote this.

Exciting, aren't I?  Hope you had a good weekend ;)

Christmas Crafts

Hi everyone!  While I don't want to rush into winter, I've been thinking about, or should I say...feeling pressured by...all of the things that I want to get done before December arrives, so this week I've been hard at work on some of my holiday crafts.

Let me just add, that I've also been dreaming about how great it would be if I had some elves for helpers.  Wouldn't that make life so much easier?  I'll have to ask Santa about that ;)

My first project involved these letters.  I got them at Joann and they are made of paper mache and cardboard. 

What to do to them?  I thought.  What to do?  Hmmm...I could cover them with some cute Christmas scrap booking paper and distress them.  Yeesss, that would look good.  Umm...what else?  I could give them the paint and glitter treatment.  Maybe...not.  Okay...how about just paint and distress?  That seems the best.  Something I would be less likely to grow weary of down the road and that will look great no matter what way I decide to decorate.  Yeah...let's go with that!

I am planning to nestle them amongst all of the Christmas presents.  Won't that look good?  Cute, very cute.

Patterns are one of my favorite things to draw, and lately, I've been trying to paint them as well.  Trying, being the operative word.  It usually doesn't go quite as smoothly as drawing.  Why? You ask.  Because I do everything freehand, without any planning, and usually at the end, and I mean the VERY END...I mess it up.  Here are the ones I did this week with a red and white "holidayish" feel. 

Visions of an earthy green painting are also floating around in my mind, so there will be another one coming.  However, the canvas for that picture is a bit large, so I think I am going to take a little sabbatical from painting for awhile.

Next up on my list is to slipcover my ottomans.  Uhhh...so not looking forward to that.  It is often the case that my Singer and I don't quite see eye to eye.  So, say a little prayer for me...okay?

Of course, I have other decorating and crafty things in the works too.  I've been really enjoying all of the holiday things that other bloggers are posting...aren't you?  There sure are some talented people out there.

Well, hope you have a great weekend.  Until next time...

Tricia♥

This post is linked up to Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Inspiration Friday at Southern in My Heart, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest and Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge.

Painted Ornaments

Hi everyone!  It's getting to be that time of year...the busy season. 

December is always such a chaotic time for me, not only do I have to get ready for Christmas, but it is also my daughter's birthday month.  Between the two, it always seems like there are a million things to do.  Okay, maybe not a million, but at least a hundred.  So, this year I'm trying really hard to get ahead of the game and save myself from some last minute stress.  You know what I'm talking about, right?



Okay, to get things rollin' I decided to make some sweet girly Christmas ornaments for my little one's bedroom.  To be put up high of course, since she LOVES to mess with stuff.



I started with plain glass ornaments that I got from Michaels.
And since I had a bottle of Armour Etch, I figured that I might as well use it...etching three and leaving two shiny.  I actually think the etched ones turned out the best.



After that was out of the way, it was time to get out the paint.  The nice thing about this project is that the paint is INSIDE the ornament so it won't get all scratched.  Nice, huh?

Just choose a couple of colors of acrylic craft paint...I had two shades of pink and a metallic white, squirt a few colors inside the ornament and and slowly turn the ornament so that the paint coats the interior. 

Easy.

After the paint is dry, it's time to decorate the outside of the ornament.  I wanted my ornaments to coordinate, so I used a few different kinds of ribbon, some glitter and some paper flowers.

Then, I just mixed and matched.  I thought about adding some little crystals too, but decided against it...I'm not big into the bling, bling shiny look...that's just how I roll.

On two of the ornaments, I decided to throw caution to the wind and paint on some little flowers...perfect for a little girl's room.

One project done...only ninety-nine to go!  Hmmm, how many days 'til Christmas?  ;)

I'm so glad you came by today.  I have a few other ornament and holiday ideas brewing, so I hope you'll stop back and check it out.

Best wishes for a wonderfully fun and happy day ♥  ~Tricia

This post is linked up to Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Inspiration Friday at Southern in my Heart, Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest, Show and Share Day at Just a Girl and Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors.  Whew...that's quite the list.

Photo Talk

I never realized how much I enjoyed photography until I started my blog.  I love to put together different arrangements, try multiple angles, adjust the exposure and, hopefully, capture a beautiful glimmer of light.



In the past, I have mainly taken pictures of my children, and while I love doing that, they are usually wiggling all over the place, looking in different directions or just plain arguing, which can sometimes leave everyone a little frustrated. 

So, I guess I should probably rephrase my thought, what I really like is the final product...capturing their lovely little selves so that I can gaze at them for a lifetime.

Taking pictures of inanimate objects is sooo much easier, although maybe not as gratifying.  Items can be arranged according to my whims and they usually stay that way.

Looking at all of the beautiful photos that everyone posts makes me want to improve my camera skills.  I have a few florabella actions and I like a little picnik too.  I think to myself "Hmmm...if only I had a new camera rather than this old Olympus dinosaur...I'm sure I would be a much better photographer."  That would make a difference, don't you think?  It couldn't possible me, could it?  LOL. 

I've compared a few different camera brands and I think I prefer a Nikon or a Canon, not sure which model yet though.  I'm looking forward to having a camera where I can attach a macro lens, so that I can take close up photos with dreamy blurred backgrounds.



Have you felt the desire to improve your photography skills since you've had a blog?  Do you have any helpful hints or camera suggestions?  I would love to hear them.

Speaking of beautiful pictures, did you see this one at Secret Garden Cottage today?  My lovely friend, Jo, is having a giveaway and has put together this wonderful collection of items that some lucky soul will win.  I know I have my fingers crossed ;)

{Dreamy Whites}

You may want to pop over to her blog and check it out for yourself, if you haven't already.

Well, that's all for today my friends.  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Hope you all have a wonderful day.  ♥