One World One Heart Giveaway!

Better late than never, right? Sorry I'm so behind the other giveaways!

Here is my One World One Heart Giveaway prize - all you need to do is comment to this post in order to be added to the drawing and be sure I have an email addy to contact you on your win.

For further details on this great event see the main page here and enter in on the hundreds of other giveaways offered on the many many blogs participating.

And without further ado - here's the 58 Cherries Giveaway:

It's a silhouette stenciled on a wood plaque - a very cute Jane Austen-style piece. I've just recently begun making these and thought it would be a great giveaway. It measures 5x7" and looks very cute in a hallway or bedroom. This particular female silhouette is my favorite of them all. I've painted, antiqued, stenciled, signed and sealed it in matte finish. There is a little groove and notch in the back to hang on the wall.

Thank you for visiting my blog and please be sure to look around here and come back any time! I look forward to exploring the blog list at OWOH, but I know there are so many I probably will miss a few.

Oh, and one last note to those not familiar with this event - the name will be drawn on Feb. 12th - I'll contact the winner then! Good Luck!

Coming Soon...

Just a quick little post to inform you and remind myself that I'm posting my One World One Heart Blog giveaway tomorrow. I only found out about this event a week or two ago and then pulled my hair out trying to decide on what to give. It'll be photographed tomorrow and posted so if you are interested remember to check back here soon. And if you would like to know more about this event visit here. Til tomorrow, then!

Austen has invaded my brain...

We finally have a decent snow fall here and it promises to snow more tomorrow so I'm enjoying the view of the snow capped trees and beautiful bright colors of the birds feeding on the bird feeder outside against the white backdrop. I'll have to see if I can get some pretty pictures in the morning.

So as the snow falls outside I snuggle up inside to watch period movies with pretty costumes, horses and carriages, love letters and all sorts of sappy little chic flick things that I love to watch. My favorites are Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and of course, Persuasion. I've also taken to Netflixing a gazillion Masterpiece Theater productions lately (Wives and Daughters, the Barchester Chronicals, etc., etc.) and all that over indulgence has led to this:

Beautiful silhouettes have been pictured a great deal lately in magazines like Country Living, etc. and I've been hankering for a few of my own, but a quick search on Ebay led me to realize that the real thing can cost a pretty penny these days as everyone is collecting. I ended up purchasing some very pretty stencils and have decided to make my own for my home and a few for the shop as well.

These are currently up on my shop at the moment and are ever so Jane Austen-y. I think these two remind me of Anne and Captain Wentworth in Persuasion and I have made another set of different profiles to put up on the shop tomorrow which remind me of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy of P&P. There will be yet more silhouettes coming out over the next few weeks so if you'd like a few of your own please check in now and then. I'll update here when I add them. I also have a few slightly smaller child silhouettes which really adds to the collection. I'm so excited to have something very romantic and suitably Valentine like for sale.

While making these silhouettes I can't help but remember Marianne Dashwood tracing out Willoughby's profile in Sense and Sensibility. And hanging them up in the hall I could swear I hear "Oh, Mr. Bennet!" being cried in the background. I think I've been locked up in the house too long with my Austen collection. Perhaps I need to take a walk outside tomorrow and clear the senses. Isn't that what Elizabeth Bennet would do??

Yep, I'm hopeless...

Update!

I updated my shop and listed some new items and one relisted. The new items are just so cute - my favorite balloon animal necklace (a crazy jewelry idea, but it's so fun to wear and get comments on) and a little shabby fleur de lis canvas that is currently looking very chic on my mantel just now.

And this photo features one of my favorite Christmas prezzies, too - my very own mannequin! It's brand new rather than vintage, but mom and I have plans to 'vintage' it up ourselves courtesy of a Romantic Homes magazine example.

A close up of the little poodle at a bit of an angle:

It's made with glass beads and twisted silver wire, strung on a matching organza ribbon. So pretty! I can also make these with real pearls and in many different colors so if anyone would like to commission one, just let me know!

And the pretty fleur de lis:

And as for the Macaron Craze - I seem to be joining it. Not by eating them or making them, but by seeing them everywhere - here's a store that sells them as jewelry. You can get a necklace (as seen here) or smaller versions as earrings or a ring or even a bag charm. How funny!

I'm not quite sure I'd want to wear something that looks so much like a real food - hungry people might try to eat them. lol

Popping in to say hello!

I'm still recovering from the holidays. Christmas went by in a flash, but the week after that I was rather sick and have taken quite some time to get back on my feet again, but I'm finally feeling ready to create and explore again. Hope everyone else had a great time over the holidays!

I'm rather relieved to see 2008 put to bed finally and eager for the new year. Many people are posting resolutions or maybe a word or phrase that they hope will the mood/goal/achievement for the year and I think that's a great idea. My goal this year is Focus. I am in great need of it. I have a million ideas bouncing around in my head and half finished projects littering my house. I always put myself last and this has led to very little achievement so I must put myself first this year and avoid distraction and listening to my fears. I will do better this year - that's my resolution.

And on a much more fun note: I have been greatly amused at just how many blogs I've followed that seem infatuated with the macaron this past year. Black Apple posted endlessly on her love of them and recipes she tried, etc. And ever since then I can't help but notice lots of posts on other blogs about these odd little cookies. I've never actually seen one in real life myself that I can remember, but I must admit they look good so I guess I'd better find one to try soon. And just tonight I found the cutest little felted macarons being made on this etsy store.

(Image from Sweetice on Etsy - not mine.)

So many colors to choose from - I want some myself now! lol

My New Home on Gingerbread Lane

Welcome to my new house - just finished and oh so tasty! There's a fresh coat of powdered sugar snow and the winterberry seen next to it is from my grandmother's garden.

It's a two bedroom, one bath with a new sweet tart roof and large pretzel windows.

The gumdrop and peppermint fence adds to its charm...and no need to paint it every year!

I put up some christmas lights and a wreath on the door - all ready to move in now. If only I can resist nibbling on the fresh baked walls.

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And in other news - Danita's having a doll giveaway!! Check out her blog for the details. Her dolls are super cute. I especially love her Alice in Wonderland and Snow White.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

I'm craving snow right now, but the weather keeps yoyo-ing back and forth between cold and warm and we've only had little flurries so far. But that isn't the only part of a white Christmas I like. When I was younger I liked to decorate with bold dark colors, but the last five years or so I've turned to a lighter taste - mostly shabby chic. I love shades of white, vintage off-white mixed with crisper cooler whites, shades of light pink, etc. So it's little wonder that my Christmas decorations are starting to reflect that, too.

I've decorated most of the house with the traditional green and red decorations, but my bedroom is still a haven to the lighter shabby side of the holidays. Just check out my little white tree - got it at Target last year and I decided it goes best on top of my dresser just now.

I still haven't found quite the ornaments I want, but for now I found some cute vintagey colored ones at Kmart last year. They'll do for now. Mostly what I'd like to do is decorate it with small mercury glass ornaments and maybe some handmade ornaments that give it a more shabby french feel.

And I've been busy decorating my bookshelves, too - I used two of my music houses (the little one is on Etsy already and the big one will be by tomorrow) and a few little decorations we had - the little picket fences and wreaths are just too cute. Plus the large bottle brush trees are a great find from Jo Anne Fabrics last year.

Mmm...smell the gingerbread

It's that time of year that I start dreaming of gingerbread houses. I just love searching the web for cool pictures and dream of making my own little house someday. So I bought a little kit this year to take a crack at and decided to look up a few pictures to get inspired. Check these out:



A Better Homes and Garden house - oh so cute - the little sled is such a cute touch. I love the peppermint hedge.

This has lots of details!

And if you really wanted to rock out - this first place winner looks fantastic!!

Who wouldn't want to live there?? How did they get it so realistic?? Beautiful. Now I'll go to sleep with visions of sugar plum fairies, gum drop roofs and pretzel fences dancing in my head...

Gobble Gobble

We had a nice Thanksgiving this year - plenty of food leftover and a whole weekend to relax and recuperate. Below is a picture of the desserts we made - I made little mincemeat pies (on top) and mom made pumpkin and pecan pies.


Check out the little pie toppers on the pumpkin pie - cute!!

Little squirrel and turkeys ready to gobble up acorns pacman style. lol

And we used my favorite sugar bowl and creamer found at a flea market a few years ago.

I just love their little feet - I polish them up every year and use them for the holidays. Coffee, anyone?

And now it's time to pack away the fall decorations and pie tins and haul out the Christmas stuff. I'm looking forward to picking out a tree. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thankful

Just a note to everyone that's read my blog and/or purchased something from my shop this year. Thank you very much! I've had a great time getting my shop opened and starting this blog this year. I've got so much more planned for the future, but for now I'm just grateful for what I have and hopeful for the future.

Here's a few of my Thanksgiving decorations.

The Indian corn garland is made by my mom. It's so cute and festive. I put some fruit and nuts in the apothecary jar (which at Halloween had skulls in it - lol) and there's a few displays of feathers and acorns up there. And even Henry VIII gets a sprig of bittersweet to decorate his frame.

And over in the window I put the Thanksgiving stacked boxes I made for my mother with a few other odds and ends. It looks so cute there. I made another set for my shop a while back (which is still for sale, by the way...) ;-)

And that's all for now - I'm getting ready to post a few new items in the shop and trying to get the house ready for Thanksgiving. I have a few great recipes I'd like to share when I get around to baking and I'll take pictures to go with them. Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season.

Edit: Shop Update - two new items up.

Happy Friday, everyone!!