Happiest

Of  Thanksgiving Blessings to you!

It Was Such Fun

Thank you so very much to everyone who attended my Christmas Open House this past weekend.  Many of you know I have been working toward this event for a while, creating some handmade goodies for you to give as gifts or keep for yourself.  And this weekend was the big reveal.  Since I never posted a preview last week as promised, this will be a sneak peak for Christmas in Kaneville, December 4th.  So much to see so grab a cup of something warm and take a few minutes to see what I’ve been working on.

Greeting cards, where the whole handmade adventure began for me.

A few autumn and harvest inspired things.  The playing card garlands have found happy homes.

Some whimsical, girly things.  Oooh, kind of blurry.

Lovely French inspired greetings.

 

Vintage sheet music and china.

A pear tree.  No partridge.

Hairpins and bracelets.  Vintage button rings too.

Repurposed children’s blocks.

Pretty things and glittery things.

 

 

Journals, flower pens, art collages, gift tins.

And many one-of-a-kind art pieces.

As you can see I love to make things.  And chances are good that if you receive a gift from me it will be handmade.  My hope is that you, dear reader, will give something handmade this holiday season, perhaps you’ve made, or even something I’ve made.  And though you will likely have to purchase supplies for whatever it is you make, you will know that the end result is a gift that is original, one-of-a-kind and heartfelt.

 

Happy Tuesday!

Still. Working.

Oh, stay with me here.  I’d hoped to have some photos of what I’ve been working on.  My Christmas Open House is this Saturday and there is so much to share.  Perhaps I’ll have something this afternoon, so please check back!

Hard At Work

Getting ready for three holiday shows and fininshing up some special orders.  Come back next week for a sneek peek at what I’ve been working on.

 

Until then, have a lovely weekend!

Today She Said

Seven-year-olds say the funniest things.  Said A to P this morning on the playground, in the most serious and informative voice, “Hey, did you know?   Pickles do not taste like oranges.”

 

I wish I knew the original context of that conversation.

 

Happy, happy Wednesday!

Pretty Shelf Redo

Okay, Okay!  No more posts, for a while at least, with the month name in the title.  So perhaps just a random photo today.  This shelf is in our bathroom and I saw a photo somewhere, online or in a magazine, that inspired me to change out what had been there to this.  Apothecary jar of soaps, tins holding misc. bathroomy stuff, bamboo that has finally found a happy home in the humidity here and is reaching toward the ceiling,  old empty frame.  And of course, a pretty candle.

 

 

Happy Tuesday!

November Blooms

I cannot believe these beautiful days that just keep coming.  And though last Friday it was pretty cold on the playground after school, the sun was shining and that makes all the difference.  It is November and I suspect those raw, damp, dark days will arrive sooner than later, we’ve all been enjoying the gift these days have been.

 

So of course I spent some time outside, walking about enjoying whatever caught my eye.  The leaves are for the most part, on the ground, and those are beautiful too, it was the berries on this day that were in abundance.  This first picture was taken in our backyard of a porcelain berry vine.  The berries don’t stay this color for long but I think they are just so beautiful.  Some are a delicate blue,

and some are a deep, rich purple while others are green.    They don’t last long, between the birds finding them and the threat of a hard frost which turns the leaves brown and shrivels the berries.

These next photos were taken at the farm, all on the same day.  I don’t know what the first two trees are but they grow right next to each other.    I noticed some little bird’s nests in nearby trees now that the leaves are gone, so these must be a favorite treat.

 

This orange berried bush is pyracantha, or Fire Thorn.  It is growing here in a great tangle so I didn’t get too close but it is so pretty hanging in dense bunches against bare branches, and thorns.  Did I mention the thorns?

This last photo is a variety of cranberry bush (though not edible to us) and again the berries don’t last long once the birds discover them.

That is all this Monday morning.  Enjoy this lovely weather to start the week!

November Rose

That’s a song name isn’t it?  If it isn’t, it should be.  Again, I peeked over our neighbor’s fence and found this beautiful rose.  Should probably save this photo until deepest dark winter when we need a reminder of what the garden gave us this past season.  But it’s just too pretty and I couldn’t wait.  So enjoy this. . .

. . .and your weekend too!

Happy November

Hard to believe we are here already.  Happens every year though, doesn’t it?  October was lovely.  Many nice days to spend outdoors.  Here is how we spent some of ours.

Some evenings were spent outdoors too.  Wish I could say those are the beautiful stars on this clear, crisp night, but alas, it is a dusty camera lens.

Same night, same corn field, with an amazingly huge corn maze.  P and I made it out just as the night came.  I would not have wanted to have been in the middle of this as the darkness settled.  Some where behind us are the boy cousins and their uncle, lost in the maze for at least another twenty minutes.  Remember, no flashlights allowed.

So much to enjoy from nature.

And a Saturday afternoon discovering a new source for crafty endeavors.  Now I can make more wooly acorns.

Beautiful color in early October.

And the same tree this past Sunday.