Transition from Christmas

I love decorating. Maybe that is part of why I love Christmas so much. This year I am going to transition slowly away from Christmas... I am thinking of new years decorations...and you know I am going to blog it!

Christmas time

My tubside sanctuary. This is an Ivy plant I started from the Ivy in my yard. It has rooted but seems to like the water.

Nothing makes an architectural statement like Columns. I love them and even though I probably own 6 or 7 I cant pass them up in a thrift store.

Snowy weather in a suit case. We all know I have had an addiction to the suit cases. I love thinking about where they have been and who has used them.

View from the Dinning room. When we moved in there was not a lighting fixture in the dining area, so we put the chandelier in. I added the crystals and now it is decorated with pointsettas.

The view from the front door. There is nothing like a fire in a home to make it feel cozy. The Theater seats are from the Orpheum Theater in Phoenix. They have the original art deco from the 20s and 30s.

I hung the Christmas fairies on fishing line. The fairies started as balerinas and I added wings and Christmas touches to them. They look like they are decorating the tree.

This Suit case is by the front door and contains the Christmas spirit. I am not done with this yet. More stuff I think!

You know I always decorate the bathroom too...

Trees in the bathroom window. The two blue ones are actually cones that have been covered in sparkle and blue then flipped upside down to look like trees. Our bedroom is brown and blue. I lucked out and found these brown flocked ornaments at a thrift store.

My antique wash stand in the bathroom. :) We found this stand 8 years ago in a thrift store in Oregon. It needed a lot of TLC. My husband replaced the bottom and the tray in the back although you cant tell. I just love it. Being able to put this in the bathroom was a wonderful treat!

This is a couble of stockings my husbands aunt made years ago. They are hanging in my bathroom because the rest of the house is red, black and white. I hid sashe inside the stockings so the bathroom smells good.

Our middle son next to the tree. (notice the football shirt) He is a big guy!

Spunk and Tanka posed on their own.

Scary stuff...

This was our home out in the desert years ago. The fountain was backlit with a black light so all these masks glowed.

It looks like a guy on my porch but really its my sons clothes stuffed. The white mask guy is now a staple of our halloween decorating. some years I have this guy hold the candy and we scare trick or treaters when they walk up..fun stuff.

Oranges get in on the Halloween fun. :)

Fall at our house..

This marble table was the find of the century, I paid $20.00 for it.

Years ago I made these antique paper ornaments from prints I had. They are one of my favorite things in my fall decorating box. I have thought about designing some to sell.

I love the fireplace but it was fairly boring when we moved in. I added the ironwork to the mantel to bring it out a little.

This is Franky Stein. He greets people though the window in our front door. Isn't he cute.

This is the top of my hutch. :)

Etsy

I have opened a shop on Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/shop/legauchepapillion Come visit me!

Bottles fun..

I save glass bottles all the time. I can not seem to let them go in the trash. The stranger the shape the better. I decoupaged these so the picture shows when the bottle is empty, or has very little in it. Of course nothing is safe from the fabulous doodary that I put around them.

Gift bag- made from a calendar

This bag started life at a Bath and Body works promo bag(it was yellow and red). Most people toss them... but I am repurposing this bag as a gift bag using the stampington calendar. These bags are reused constantly in my home.

Pedestal Pin Cushion

This was my first pedestal pin cushion. It is still my favorite and it is the one I use all the time. :)

This is one of the dream catchers I have made its over two feet wide. the picture is my husbands native American ancestors Jefferson and Amanda Riddle.

Recycled Calendar...

This was a scrap piece of wood, the Stampington calendar and hooks that I picked up at the hobby loby for $3.00. Now it is a towel hanger in my bathroom. :)

new sign

New sign.

I found this violin case at a thrift store, I could not resist painting it. Even though I do not have a violin I love this piece!

There it is in all its creative glory. The place where I can create fantastic items. As you can see I was in the middle of several projects when I took these pictures. In this house my studio is visible from the dinning room and Kitchen. This is both convenient and bothersome since I make big messes in my space. I am doing better at picking things up, sort of. lol

New studio

In the last house my computer was in another room. Now I have brought it into the studio. My easl is holding the Declaration of Independance. This patio door lets in the beautiful morning light.

New Studio

This filing cabinet use to be an ugly army green. It is about 60 years old. I hit it with a couple coats of paint. As you can see my jewelry has come with me. The baskets have stuff for future projects. As you can seen my studio is now open to the rest of the house.

New Studio

The wall of Ribbon is back in its new home. I have to say that I love this ribbon. The note board was made our of silk fabric and a piece of luan my husband had laying around. The picture is an old magazine clip of a baby drinking out of a dogs bowl. It is hanging right above the doggie door for Spunk and Tank. (yes doggie decor) lol.

Work in progress ...

My new studio is coming along slowly. Its funny that sometimes we feel a sense of urgency in projects that do not have deadlines. There is a time to put things away and even walk away until the next day. That time came for me yesterday as I realized we had covered the power outlet with my crafting desk, as I tried to move it myself I heard the crack (still not sure what pulled loose on the desk. At the same time my little cute guitar fell off the top the bookcase next to it and broke in half. At that point I needed to stop and wait for husband, and I sort of decided to call it a day (it was 9pm anyway). Tonight I will try to get back in there and do something positive. :)

The realization that this is going to take time has hit me. I did get my logo done... so I guess that is progress! lol!

On the Move...

It has been the harsh reality of my life that I am constantly moving. So here we are again with the boxes and I am looking at the studio and realizing that I will have to rebuild it from the ground up, even though I love my little space. I am going to take a few photos before I pack it up... and then I will be leaving my little country home. See you on the other side...

Catching up on the Scrapbooking...

Pictures of my great aunt and uncle in the 40's Mississippi. I copied the back of the pictures where my grandmother and family wrote things and incorporated it into the scrapbooking. This is my Mother and my Grandmother. You have to love my mom's 60's cat eye glasses.

These pictures were taken in panama during WWII by my grandfather while he was in the army.

My mom at 14 in fashion show...

I still have so much to do...

Taj Mahal Bench

The back to this bench is an old tin headboard from the 1970's. When I purchased the head board it was with the idea that it would make a great back to a bench. My husband built the bench and attached the headboard. I played around with various ideas for the paint and then settled on the blue. Then came the question of what to do with the center panel. Of course the Taj Mahal seemed appropriate since the bench looked a little like some of the more ornate details one would see in India. There is storage under the seat. This bench currently resides on my front porch.

Vintage

This is the birth of my new line of jewelry. These are vintage looking velvet chokers that all have a unique charm. The clasps are hand sewn to the ribbon.

Magic Mirror

This started out as an ugly blue mirror with a funky design on the back. As you can see I fabric magiced it, and added some ultra special lace with a muted green ribbon. Now it has a classy vintage look to it.