The NY Shelter Event - You can Help!

"Quoted from the Enchanted Makeovers site" 

 The Sisterhood of Dreamers into Doers Shelter Event NYC

On January 19th, 2010, 40 women from around the U.S. who are part of the Dreamers Into Doers group at MarthaStewart.com will make a difference at a New York women's shelter for domestic violence called Safe Horizon. Each will share her God given talents at this event. For some, this will mean cooking or baking delectable treats; for others, this will mean handcrafting personal gifts; and still others will share stories and songs. We all need to stand together--not apart.

You can help Enchanted Makeovers bring hope to the women and children at the shelter by donating items on our dream list below.

Please do not ship donations to Enchanted Makeovers location will have the New York shipping address in the upcoming week. 
      

Have an idea or suggestion on donating an item but don't see it on the dream list please contact Terry.

I'm so excited to be a part of this amazing group of women. For this event I will be creating inspirational plaques/signs for all of the womens' apartments. I will also be working on table centerpieces for the inspirational lunch we will have with the women of the shelter. There are still so many items on the donation list. You can see the list HERE at the Enchanted Makeover website if you would like to be a part of this great event! 

Dreamers into Doers!

A couple of months ago I joined Martha Stewart's ning group Dreamers into Doers.

It looked interesting and includes a great group of women who have started or want to start a variety of businesses.

So much has evolved since joining this creative group!

We are all meeting in NYC for a taping of the Martha Stewart Show. This event will also now include many other events including visiting a women's shelter all organized by Terry Grahl, the owner of Enchanted Makeovers. I have supported Terry's cause in the past and am so excited to meet her and be part of another one of her very special projects.

You can read more about our group and Join Us if you are interested right HERE.

The group is growing by the minute!

Tree in a Bucket

I loved the idea that Melissa posted at The Inspired Room - putting a tree in a bucket.

I realized I had the perfect ones.

I love the look!

A simple tree (I prefer real but used what I had closest to me today!), some hydrangea blossoms and burlap ribbon.

French bucket available HERE.

New! Burlap 4" wired ribbon available HERE.

Don't forget to visit A Soft Place to Land for some great DIY projects.

And be sure to visit Melissa's Inspired Room for more Holiday Inspiration!

Shopping in your Jammies this Weekend?

I am! I am not one to fight the crowds, wait in line, sit in traffic...

Too stressful for me. I will do some online shopping this weekend as well as some much needed organizing in the playroom...(that will take most of the weekend).

So, to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas Shop Hop going on at Make Mine Pink, starting today I have marked everything in my shop 10 - 50% OFF. Oh and all products in my Etsy shop have been marked 10% off too.

If you'd like to join in on some fun and prizes over at Make Mine Pink, just click on the graphic below.

I'm so excited, one of my floral garlands (pictured above) has been chosen as a prize this year!

Happy Thanksgiving to You!

I have so much to be thankful for - family, friends, health...(and the bittersweet vine I just discovered growing in my yard).

But this year's highlight is my mom's milestone...5 years breast cancer free!

For that I am most thankful.

Hope you all have a great one!

Oh and it's White Wednesday at Kathleen's Faded Charm. Hop on over for some white inspiration.

Trash to Treasure-End Table

It was a great weekend. The weather was good. Lots of leaves were bagged and I got one piece of furniture out of the garage. This cute little table was at the curb (of someone I know actually-Hi Rita!). I picked it up a couple of years ago and finally got it sanded, primed and painted.

Here it is in it's new home...the basement.

The best part about this project is I didn't buy a thing! The primer, we had. The red paint was left over from the boys furniture. The basket was in a closet full of things that found a new home. And the knob was a spare knob from our kitchen in our first home. Love that!

Here is a closeup of the finish. I basically stopped painting after one coat of paint. I just loved the look of the brushstrokes.

Even Bella enjoyed being outside and just laying in the pile of leaves.

There are so many GREAT blog link parties out there for projects like these. So I'm linking up to the following. Make sure you stop by for some more DIY inspiration!

Between Naps on the Porch

House in the Roses

A Soft Place to Land

Reinvented

The very talented Jen at Sanctuary Art is also having a before and after party.

It's also Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage.
And let's not forget the Frugalicious Friday projects at Finding Fabulous!

And Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special

You can also see more of my before and after projects HERE.

Have a Great Weekend!

This weekend my plans include to complete just one piece of furniture patiently waiting in my garage! I know my husband will appreciate it.

I'm Getting in the Mood...

Creating this festive piece has gotten me in the mood today. I'm not playing the music yet, but maybe I'll think about doing some shopping, decorating....
How about you? Are you in the Christmas mood yet?

I'm not one to do much before Thanksgiving because I like to enjoy that one too. We LOVE Thanksgiving food and this year we're thinking about going into the city (NYC that is) for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. We always watch it on TV but I would love to take the kids in to see it in person. I know it's going to be crazy, but that's ok. Have you been? I'd love to hear about it.

Click HERE for more info on creating your own Holiday cones like the ones shown in the pic above.
Click HERE to visit more Holiday Inspiration at Melissa's blog The Inspired Room.

It's a Tassel Party

It's So Very Cheri is hosting a tassel party today. Here are a sample of some of mine. I love making these little pieces of art!

This is my newest one...

Using silk blossoms, metal findings and crystals...
Decoupage and german glass glitter...
Hand painted, my favorite ones to work on...
More with rose blossoms and metal filagree...
Hand painted...
Hand painted and chandelier crystals...

Tassels make the best gifts especially for those who have "everything". Hope I've inspired you to create some of your own special tassels. I also sell my little creations on my website or etsy shop. I don't have many available right now as they sell pretty quickly but I'm working hard on making some more so check back if you "need" a tassel of your own!

Don't forget to stop by the Tassel Show and Tell party for more inspiration!

My Favorite Tea!

Sweet Coconut Thai - Chai Tea... Love it! And when I went over to the Celestial site I found this one - Chocolate Caramel Enchantment Chai - I have never seen this one in my supermarket - the search begins!

So, I'm enjoying my Chai by the fire - that I'm actually supposed to be tending to. My honey started it for me before he went to do the nightly sports and dance driving because I don't start fires and I'm not to good at keeping them going either - mostly because I forget - I'm easily distracted.

Isn't this a pretty fireplace? It's not mine, I found it on the Country Living site. Mine isn't as pretty, it has one of those black stove inserts - but it sure keeps the house warm!

Anyway, speaking of the "Comforts of Home", it happens to be the theme for tomorrow's shopping event at Make Mine Pink. Maybe I'll even mark down some of my products for this so very fun weekly event. See my listings HERE on Friday! Or late tonight...but that's a secret...

Embossed Wallpaper

I love this stuff. I bought this huge roll years ago and I'm still not tired of creating with it! That's unusual for me.


It's such a pretty and simple background between glass for a sepia or black and white photo. I'd love to do a collection of these on a wall.

Here is the shape I use to make my holiday cones (to be added to my shop this week)...filled with creamy white glittered hydrangeas, and fastened with an old white button from grandma's collection (yes, I'm still creating with them- I still have cookie tins full!)




Don't forget to visit some more White Wednesday pics at Kathleen's Faded Charm Cottage.

This post is also participating in Kimba's DIY day - click on the graphic for more do-it-yourself ideas!
Also posting to Today's Creative Blog

Let it be a Handmade Holiday

I love what the girls at Frenchie and Flea are doing.

They will be promoting a Handmade Holiday season by featuring Etsy artists and vintage sellers.

I also pledge to buy Handmade or Vintage this Holiday Season.

Don't you agree it makes the Holidays that much more special?

I also pledge to create new and exciting Holiday decor for sale in my Etsy shop and website - I've got lots of ideas in my sketchbook and in the works.

When at the gift show this year, I wasn't inspired to order any of the Holiday Decor the vendors were offering.

Hope I can keep up with production!

Click on the graphic below to meet some new sellers the girls will be introducing beginning Monday...

Oh yea, there are giveaways involved too!

I'm excited!

Happy Halloween!

The last couple of days have been a whirlwind of parades, parties, trick-or-treating and add to that 3 soccer games today! The house is now quiet, the kids are all sugared up and I am done for the day. But before I shut down the computer for the night, I wanted to share these really cute and really quick and easy Halloween snacks that I made for a party.

I got the recipes for the Monster Fingers and HERE and HERE from the Family Fun website.

And the spiders are just chocolate munchkins with chow mein noodles for legs and a little icing for the eyes.

Hope you had a great Halloween!

White Wednesday...Inspiring Rooms

I just grabbed these photos from my inspiration folder for my "White" obsession.

They came from a Swedish site... skonahem.

Visit Faded Charm Cottage for more "White Wednesday".

There's a New Blog on the Block!

Have you heard? One of our favorite magazine editors now has a blog!

And of course it's beautiful....

White Wednesday...Shades of White

I've been so inspired by all of the neutral decorating I've been seeing lately. And I'm finding that I'm so drawn to the calm, serene feeling of Shades of White that I've decided to redecorate my home. We have lots of color in our home now but I'm feeling like it's just adding to the clutter. So, my goal is to Simplify and choose lots of neutral shades and lots of texture so it doesn't get boring. I will be sharing our progress right here on my blog. But don't hold your breath, we're a little slow in the project department......so... I've learned to be patient.

I just put together a few photos of some favorite white pieces in my boutique and I'm participating in White Wednesday over at Faded Charm.

Make sure you stop by for more White Inspiration!