Our sweet little tree ~

Aren't you just about sick of me talking about this ol' Christmas tree?

Oh well, it's what I'm doing and you know good and well

that my blog is all about what I'm up to!

I had to take a few photos today to show you how the decorating is progressing.

The funny thing????

You don't even NOTICE the snow I painted and the glitter...

WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS I THINKING??!!

Oh well....

I'm not quite finished but wanted to share

how the tree is looking with you.

I found six of these gorgeous votives at Ross last week.

They have a beautiful pearl finish and a silver emblem on the front ~

and for only a buck a piece, they were mine!

And I just have to share this sweetness with you!!!

Brent and Emily took the babies to Bass Pro Shops to see Santa and

this is the adorable photo Brent took with his phone...

I LOVE IT!!!

Clara was SO proud to see Santa that she RAN to him!

Can you believe that?

No crying and not scared one little bit!

Just look at her precious hand resting on Santa's hand....

I have a few wonderful friends that have new blogs!

If you would be so kind to pay them a visit and give them a little blog love

I would be so very grateful!!!

A precious childhood friend (I think we were 13 when we met)

Sharon and her new blog:

The Second Half of Life

and

Sue of Miss Phoebe's Perch ~

Please welcome them both into this wonderful blogging world!!!!

Wishing you a wonderful December weekend precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Glitter. is. everywhere!

 But I'm finally finished!

The tree turned out pretty good I guess.

It sure took long enough!

We've started decorating and you know I'll share photos

as soon as the tree is finished.

It won't be something to write home about but

I'm so proud that I salvaged that cheap-o tree!!!




Our tree won't look like one of these but I really tried!!!!

Wishing you a beautiful Friday my sweet friends ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

Making a bit of progress!!!!

I'm still not finished but making great progress!!

I'm loving the look of fresh fallen snow and the glitter

adds such a beautiful, sparkly quality.

But I'm getting tired of the process as I'm painting the tops of each. and. every. limb!!!!

Oh well....the rewards will be beautiful I am sure, I can see it in my mind's eye...

I found tons more tags that I'd made to share with you too!!!

Here they are...a few tags, a few images:

(Click a few times so you can save the largest size)

I can't remember where I acquired these from....

Or these....

Today is my precious husband's birthday!!!!

He is my friend, my strength, the amazing father of our five sons

and my cherished soul mate....

I am so very thankful he chose me!!!

Happy Birthday sweet man ~

Wishing you a most wonderful Thursday dear friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

The ugly Christmas tree dilemma ~

Well, for starters...this ol' tree is a cheap-o.

Yes, it is ~ straight from Wally World.

We wanted one fast and cheap to place on top

of the skirted table in the living room

and for 25 bucks, it was perfect!

We purchased it a few years ago and the bonus??

It was PRE-LIT!!!

How cool is that?

Truthfully?

NOT COOL.

The second year we used the thing the middle of the tree was dark.

So we bought a new string of lights to fudge and strung them

over the un-lit ones and it worked out fine really.

This year the only thing that lit up was the tip top.

So what's a cheapskate to do???

We ripped all the lights off. Even the top!

I'll buy a few 100 light strands and place them on myself.

Still there is the ugly factor.

I attempted to "dust" the tree with snow last year by

taking it out in the back yard and misting white spray paint from the top.

Well, the wind was blowing terribly for one and

the paint color was so white that it was a bluish white!

Anyway, I am trying to squeeze one more year out of this thing.

I've gotten antique white craft paint and I'm painting it on the tops of each limb.

Then I'm using a pretty clear glitter

and sprinkling it on the wet paint to add a little magic.

So, what do you think?

I just wanted to give the impression of a dusting of snow....

Now to finish the other 3/4 of the tree!!!

Hopefully it will be beautiful when I finish...

if not,

let's pretend this post never existed ;)

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday dear friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

So pooped....

I've been a slug.

Too tired to do a thing...

My parents were here at the farmhouse for the last four days

and we really had such a great family Thanksgiving together.

But now that they've gone home,

I'm exhausted!

I just need a little rest to get my steam back ~

I want to make a few more treasures to sell,

decorate the house for Christmas and

finish my shopping...

that's not too much, right?

By-the-way...the wonderful images below

look BEAUTIFUL printed out and glued

onto shipping tags for your Christmas gifts!

Click each image a couple of times

to save the largest size ~

Wishing you a wonderful Tuesday my dear friends!

hugs and love,

Dawn

Precious family ~

We had the most wonderful Thanksgiving!

Both of them!!!!

Yes, we have two ~

We celebrated Thursday with my husband's family and

enjoyed so much delicious food and fun ~

all of our boys were there, Emily, Clara and Murray too!

Friday, my parents came in to town and we had another

amazing dinner on Saturday with everyone present there

as well. The weather was crisp, cool and gorgeous!!

When our boys are all here,

my heart just fills with love and

my eyes with tears.

And to have these precious babies and their mama here too?

A true blessing!!!!

I am so very thankful for my dear family....

Now to get back into the groove around here!!!

I have a few projects in the works and several packages

to get in the mail....

Wishing you a beautiful Monday precious friends!

hugs and love,

Dawn

Tiny sweetness and good wishes!

I had a few orders for these little sweeties and of course,

I went ahead and made a few extras!!!

I love these little candy cups...

my sweet friend Lisa sent a goody package for Clara and I the other day

and she included a package of these yummy Ferrero Rocher candies

just for me to use in my next photo shoot!

Well, they are my fav candy and they've been waiting around

here in the studio for a few days now and FINALLY

I took a few photos with them!

But you know where they are now, right???

GONE.

You can find the new candy cup ornaments in my shop HERE!

I'm linking this post to Becky's Blissful Whites Wednesday!!!

And I just want to stop and wish each and every one of you

the most wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

We all have so very much to be thankful for....

Wishing you all the best precious friends, always ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

Can you tell what I'm up to??

It's so wonderful to have the job of creating something beautiful!!!

I truly am honored and love it so very much ~

I've moved on to my next projects and orders....

here are a few photos of what I'm working on "in progress"!

To have the job of creating beauty is not a job at all...

it's truly a blessing ~

I hope you have the most wonderful Tuesday sweet friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Little creations ~

I just love using my printer to create things!

Having been a graphic designer in the past I also

have a love for wonderful typefaces ~

I printed these out on an 8 1/2 x 11" piece of 67# creme cover stock

and used a scalloped punch to create sweet little tags!

And I FINALLY finished all of my sweet mitten ornaments...

they will soon be on their way to their new homes.

I always have the hardest time selecting just the right button for each ornament!!

Each one is beautifully vintage too ~

I so hope my customer is pleased...

I have a few candy cup orders that I've neglected so those are next in line and then

maybe a few bottle brush trees or how about a snowman??!!

This is such a wonderful time of year for creating these sweet little things!!!

I hope you have a great Monday dear friends ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

Something yummy and something sweet!

First, the something yummy!!

I've made these delicious biscuits for years now...

they have always been a Christmas morning favorite for our family ~

And whenever the boys would have company over,

I would whip up a batch for snacks and

they would be gone in a flash!

They're just great belly fillers and oh-so-tasty...

I found the recipe in an old Southern Living cookbook of mine years ago

and they really remind me of those Cheddar Bay biscuits that Red Lobster sells!

They're not so good for you but great for special occasions.

Here is the simple recipe:

Fast Goodies

2 cups biscuit mix (Bisquick or Pioneer, etc)

1/2 cup melted butter (one stick)

1 -  8 oz. container sour cream

3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

(To have with your dinner,
add 1/4 tsp. garlic powder and 1 tbsp. of chives
and these taste like Red Lobster biscuits!!)

Spray cookie sheet or muffin tin (12 cavity) with Pam.

Mix all ingredients until combined.

Spoon onto cookie sheet or muffin tin and

bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

You can lightly brush the tops with melted butter
to make them really decadent too...

Enjoy!!

And here is the SWEET of my post!!!

We had a few precious visitors stop by the farmhouse today

and I just couldn't resist, I had to take pics of our grandbabies!

Just look at how growny little Miss Clara is!!!

Wearing little boots and all...

I love her beautiful hair, she's growing it out now.

There's that sweet pose again, the hand on the chest thing ~ LOVE!

We were having a serious discussion about coloring books....

And this sweet boy, baby Murray...

He's two months old now 

and growing like a WEED!!!

We snuggled and loved for a few hours ~

Just before they left Clara wanted to hold Murray and he just smiled and smiled!!!!

He's already such a happy baby, just like Clara has been ~

These precious grandchildren truly are blessings from Heaven!!

Thank you for always stopping by to see me

and for your wonderful comments,

I cherish each and every one!!!

Wishing you a beautiful weekend dear friends ~

hugs and love,

Dawn