Creating just a few Christmas gifts ~

Today I decided I would put together a few gifts...

lavender sachets created from old postcards printed onto muslin.

Maybe a few wooden tags with precious images and messages.

A tiny framed dried flower for the botanical lover?

Accented by a little vintage lace and of course my fave,

crinkled seam binding!

I so hope they love my gifts...

For the last few years I've realized my dear parents have become

increasingly difficult to buy for!!!

They are still so active, have fun and buy whatever they need...and when they need it!

So today, knowing they love their precious "snack-time" in the evening,

I went and bought all of their most favorite goodies!!!

I purchased a canvas container and have stuffed them all inside....

now they'll be ready for their next "movie" night or really ANY night!

Now to get this thing wrapped......

I do hope your Christmas plans are coming together!

I reach a point every single year where I realize....

Oh well, if it's not done, it's not getting done and who really cares,

let's simply enjoy one another ~

I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

A little peek at something wonderful...

First... a beautiful old postcard and

a couple of ideas for you!

I scanned these way back in 2008,

maybe you don't have them?
(click images a couple of times for largest size)

When I find something wonderful,

you know I love to share it with you!!

Well, I was picking up a few items a w-mart

a few days ago and had to stroll through the magazine section.

Now, I've gotten REALLY picky about buying magazines.

It has to be just wonderful for me to buy it.

I used to not be that way, but times have changed...

Lisa had mentioned the new Christmas magazine that

Matthew Mead created this year and that I'd love it...

and I found it!

She was right, it's really wonderful ~

I thought I'd give you a little sneak peek to see what you think.

It's a little pricey at 12.99 BUT

there's not ONE ad inside...

so to me, it's really more like a book!

Pretty, huh? The time is upon us dear friends...

Cathy of Cathy's Crazy By Design

won one of my lavender sachets a few weeks ago

and sent me a sweet thank you gift in the mail!!!

Just look at this gorgeous lace she sells in her Etsy shop!

Thank you so much Cathy, you know I will love creating

something with these wonderful pieces of lace!!!

Be sure to stop by Debra's blog Common Ground
to see her Monday Marketplace post!!
She is so sweet to promote others
and their wares!!!

My thoughts and prayers are with those

affected by this terrible storm,

I pray for the safety of everyone in it's path.

Wishing you a beautiful Monday precious friends...

hugs and love,

Dawn

Working on a few new things ~

I love the process of gathering elements that I think

will work together in an art piece ~

I found this luggage pocket the other day,

I had used color remover on it (you know, from Rit Dye)

and it turned the most beautiful blond color.

(I can't remember the former color either!)

Well, I've been meaning to make another piece

with this wonderful woman's image that I love

so the process has begun.

I took a few photos just to give you an idea of what

I'm thinking of. Maybe fill the pocket with beautiful

items she may love????

Then I became obsessed with these sweet little peat pots

that I have ~ they are only about 2 1/2" tall but I want transform

them into precious little tree ornament baskets to hold candies ~

We'll have to see how they turn out,

you just never know when an idea will bottom out on you!!!

I hope all is going so good in your world ~

Wishing you a beautiful Wednesday dear friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Come....sit with me a spell sweet friends ~

I have a tiny story to tell ~

We were having a wonderful Sunday evening....

Clara had spent the afternoon with us, we'd taken her to w-mart and had a big time!

We were planning on having an old fashioned vegetable meal for dinner.

My hubs makes an amazing squash casserole, plus we planned on

black-eyed peas, cabbage, new potatoes, biscuits and even cornbread.

Brent and Emily had gone fishing together and were coming to eat

and Chase was coming over as well...

we always seem to have a crowd around here!

We were in the home stretch with dinner....everything was almost finished.

I pulled out the squash casserole and placed on the stove top.

I had just removed the new potatoes from the burner, so it was still really hot.

I decided to move the casserole over and it EXPLODED in my face!!!!

Well, first I screamed...

Emily and Clara were both in the kitchen with me

and I just happened to be right in front of the dish.

I'm just so thankful they were on the other side of the room!!

I was cut in a couple of places and GLASS WAS EVERYWHERE!

Of course, next I started bawling my eyes out...our wonderful dinner was ruined.

Glass shards were all in my new potatoes....all over the cornbread....

and of course the amazing squash casserole was ruined.

Thank goodness the other items had lids ~

My sweet boys cleaned up everything as I cried on the front porch :)

What a baby I was. Brent and Chase cleaned it all up and headed to the

grocery store to save the day....what would I do without my sweeties???

But what I wanted to tell you was that this isn't the first time

this has happened to me with a Pyrex dish!

They just can't handle high heat!!

I googled it and found TONS of folks this has happened to.

From now on we'll cook in a metal pan ~

this was just way too scary.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And for a complete change of subject....

I have a little book review for you!

I love Victoria books...the old ones and even the new ones.

I bought this gorgeous book last year and have to share a teeny bit

of the goodness that's inside this one ~

Victoria 500 Christmas Ideas

Here's a tiny peek:

These were some of my favorite ideas from the first few pages!!

It's not too early to starting thinking Christmas ~ it will be here in the blink of an eye.

I bought my copy on Amazon.com in the used section too :)

Fall is tickling us here in Georgia.

We have been having wonderful mild temps

AND GUESS WHAT?

My Country Living Fair ticket arrived!!!!

I have got to start saving a little money to spend :)

Have a beautiful Monday precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Thoughts on Christmas and a special birthday!!!

I love this beautiful old image ~

for you....

And you don't think I'm going to forget to wish

Donny Osmond a happy birthday today,

do you???

I was so in love with him back in the day that I memorized his birthday

and now every year on Dec. 9th...he always comes to my mind!!

You're not getting older Donny, just better!!!

When I went to the grocery store yesterday,

they had bundles of fresh cut evergreens and

Christmas tree cuttings! I  just had to get a bundle....

I arranged them on the mantle to give it a simple

Christmas touch...the few ornaments finished

off the trimmings ~

This time of year we all put so much pressure on ourselves, don't we?

We want everything to be just PERFECT...

Perfectly chosen gifts,

perfect decorations,

a beautiful home to welcome our families,

the best tasting food we can make....

There's so much we can demand of ourselves

that we become absolutely exhausted

with Christmas and everything about it.

So, if you don't have time to make your own ornaments...it's no big deal!

If you have to bag your gifts rather than wrap each and every one,

do it! You can slip the gifts in the bags really quickly ~

I think as I've gotten older I've finally realized to back away from

trying to do so much this time of year ~

Why make myself irritable, rushed and completely nuts...

It's so much better to enjoy being with your family,

and enjoy this wonderful season of love ~

Be gentle on yourself,

and if it doesn't get done ~

it simply doesn't get done!!

~ My advent calendar from a few years ago ~

The days are really flying by!!!

Enjoy each and every one precious friends ~

Have a very happy Thursday!

hugs and love,

Dawn

Evergreen bundles ~

Sometimes the most simple ideas can spark your imagination ~
This is one of those...

I've been thinking of these little evergreen bundles and wanting to share them with you. I have little conifer bushes around my garage and snipped a small limb off.

I cut it into three pieces, but you gauge how large
you want your bundle to be ~

Lay the very tip on top of the middle section to form a bigger bundle ~

Take about a 24" length of hemp and tie, wrap and knot the bundle together leaving two strands.

Tie on a snippet of old lace and you could even add a strip of ribbon you love, seam binding or a strip of torn fabric ~ tie onto your bundle. This is where you get your creative energy going...maybe tie on a cinnamon stick, red berries....etc.

I've added an old clip-on earring to the bundle.

So now, instead of hanging tassels on your cabinet knobs or doors.....

Hang a festive greenery bundle to add a special touch to your home or gifts!! Plus you can salvage your lace and earring should the greenery dry out after Christmas....

Any greenery will do, clippings from a pine tree, boxwood or even a snippet from a shrub outside your door ~

A few Santa tags for you!

Look at Diana of Vintage Blue Studio's new snowman ornament!!!!
I love how different they all can look ~ use your creativity, the colors you love and make your own little snowman ornament ~







Today we just about finished up our Christmas shopping!!!! YAAAAAY!!! I'm so proud to have it done ~ just a few gift cards left and they are pretty stress free.

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend sweet friends ~
hugs and love,
Dawn