A "Quick Fix"

At Doodlet's, we had a few little trees left over from the Christmas stuff - they had candy canes on them. Yesterday, I brought one home and played with some hearts to take the place of the candy canes, so they would not have to go on the SALE shelf.....

What do you think?

We chose the bottom one with the larger hearts on top of the glittery stars...instead of the little circle with heart. I like both of them, actually, but I didn't care which went out on the floor.

Gosh, I love my job! I work with such fab people and we all have such a great time together! Everyone who walks in is pretty happy, or needs a "pick me up" and we are more than happy to oblige. I know you would all love it.

Guess we'll have to get together in Santa Fe sometime!

xoxo

Looking for the Spirit

I was trying to find the spirit of the season in my home....

I pulled out boxes and shuffled through ornaments, and such, and ended up putting out just a few of the things that I really love.......many of which are new to me this year.

For example, the red and white plate below was $2 at Hidden Treasures - how could I not bring it home?

This precious bear is by my friend, Patience Brewster (of Krinkles fame) This woman IS magic!

Everything that she does is an extension of herself - delightful and unique. I am lucky to have several of her extraordinary pieces and I treasure them....

Above is the top of the cabinet in the living room...and below, next to the cabinet, is my mushroom shelf, with a few additions of late. I imagine I will have to move them all if I add too many more....
I try to change some of the art on the wall to Christmas goodies during this season.... I find them pretty inspiring, but can't seem to find the time to pursue that inspiration.

A couple of years ago, our stockings got left in DC when we "Christmassed" there with Cullen's brother and family. I decided to make new ones this year. I must admit that the quilted ones are oldies that I got 15 years ago and I just added our names to them. Grayson's, however, is one I made start to finish. well, it is not quite done, but close! It is hard to "replace" a stocking that someone grew up with. He would like to have his original back someday, but he told me that he does like this one, too......

the TREES - two smaller ones instead of the much LARGER one that we usually have. Years ago, we decided to buy one that we can use year after year. I miss the smell of the cut trees, though. It is a dilemma - buy a cut one that is grown just for this purpose? Or try to be "green" and have a tree that you can use year after year?

I don't know the answer to that......I guess that all I really want is the little, sparkly, white lights. They are what say "magic" to me and I almost don't care where they are hanging as long as I can turn them on at night and feel sure that things are good and safe and cozy........

it's been awhile....

I have been busy - really busy!

And, with the holidays here, I feel sad, a little, and miss all of you.

I am so disorganized. No presents sent to those whom I love and it makes me feel like a loser.

I always think about getting cards out ...... just after Thanksgiving ........ and the time comes and goes and here it is hours before Christmas and nothing has been put in the post.

Cullen and Grayson were gone for four days over the weekend and I finally got a semblance of Christmas up - two small trees instead of the big one this year. Perhaps I will post photos of that later........

Anyway, not to be too much of a downer, here are some photos from my visit to Los Poblanos last Saturday. I am designing tiles for behind the stovetop in the new house and needed to get an opinion from Penny and Armie as well as some measurements. I'll share more as that project continues.

This is the kitty in the Farm Shop at LP. Isn't he cute? He posed right there above us on the shelf so that I could get his picture.....

It snowed all day on Friday, so it was pretty frosty driving to ABQ and back. This is a pretty good shot of the snow and some of the shorter mountains in the background on the drive home.

And, to get into the spirit, I went downtown in the evening to see the lights on the Plaza. I guess that a photograph does not really do justice to the magic, but it gives a little idea.

Cullen and Grayson got home safely. It is raining today - snow forecast for tomorrow.

Can't stop thinking about everyone overseas having to deal with unaccustomed weather! Hope no one is traveling and staying warm and cozy at home instead of sliding on the roads!

Love to All of YOU!

xo

a few stamps

my friend, Beth, had her annual Tea yesterday, and I made stamps for everyone.

Anika, Beth, Cheryl, Laura and Stephanie

I wrapped 'em in stamped cloth and tied 'em up with twine.

cute, hunh?

And on Saturday....

This is what my son Grayson looked like at the Swim Meet on Saturday. He is a really good swimmer, though could be even better if he actually swam every day.

Looks pretty "cool" though..... hangin' out with friends...

Teahouse Christmas Tree

Yesterday I went to the Teahouse and painted

this tree on the back room wall...

I thought about it before I went, for several days actually, but, as often happens the end result is quite different from the original image in my head. I am, however, quite happy with what I did! This is not the best photo, but the tree looks like a very large bonzai - rather on the Japanese theme perfect for the Teahous - with a wonderful poem by e.e. cummings written in gold along the branches.

Here is the poem:

LITTLE TREE

little tree

little silent Christmas tree

you are so little

you are more like flower

who found you in the green forest

and were you very sorry to come away?

see....i will comfort you

because you smell so sweetly

i will kiss your cool bark

and hug you safe and tight

just as your mother would,

only don't be afraid

look....the spangles

that sleep all the year in a dark box

dreaming of being taken out and allowed to shine,

the balls the chains red and gold the fluffy threads,

put up your little arms

and i'll give them all to you to hold

every finger shall have its ring

and there won't be a single place dark or unhappy

Isn't that beautiful? It makes me tingle and my eyes moisten....

I love this season.

Three New Ladies

This morning, I finally took three new ladies in to Curiosa......

The angel on the left is magnificent, I think. The photo does not do her justice at all.

The one in the middle is my least favorite of the day, but she is sweet.

The dancer on the right is great in person and really is not very photogenic. Her skirt is nice, though, and I am sure she is magical......

Felt good to be in the studio.

Hope everyone is well and starting to feel the spirit of the season move in....

xo

Waldorf Holiday Faire

Today was a wild day! Long story, but Grayson was to be at the bus at school to take him to a Swim Meet at 7 am this morning - WE WOKE UP AT 7 am!!! it was a race in and of itself, I tell you.....whew! Cullen was asleep, too, which is so unusual for him. I got Grayson up. The coach called to see where we were. Cullen had to drive to Los Alamos - an hour away - to get G there for warm-up. I woke up my mom, who had to go with them early so that Cullen would not have to drive back and then go BACK up t the meet.

I was also getting myself ready for the Faire. Had to be there at 9 am for set-up.

Got dressed, ate a little something, packed the car....got there at 9:05. Lots of back-n-forth to deal with - tables, tablecloths, setting up, etc - but by 10 am, it was all ready.

Below is what my little part of the Faire looked like:

I made the display last week - pretty cute!

The Santas and toadstools fit nicely on the shelves.

The sale was slow, but I did okay. People were very happy to see the things I had done and I had four good sales, I would say, with a handful of minimal ones. Still, it was worthwhile to me.

There are some things left.....hmmmmmm....Christmas gifts?

You never know, do you?

Thinking about all of you.......missing you, too.

xo

Hand-Stamped Fabric

finally....after months (years?)

of talking and dreaming about it,

I have stamped a bit of fabric!

I made small "linen-y" bags - very simple....

then used my stamps and voila!

Here is a photo of the bunch (so far) that are being stitched into bags...

LOVE this one! I think it is my favorite...

I love the lines of vines and blossoms...repeated..

Sure would be cool 45" wide (!)

These birds look very "60's" to me - graphic design-y

They remind me of something my dad might have done at one time

This is very "India Print" like the

gauzy clothing I bought a bunch of in high school

At some point, some of these will get onto my etsy... but I am preparing for a show this Saturday and want to be sure I have enough to make an impression (a statement?

... whatever........

xo

and need lots of goodies for that.

....a few things.....

This is not a very colorful post, but I do like this little bird box that I took to Curiosa this morning. Mom suggested the little white bird to go on the little nest....looks nice.

I like how you can see the shadow on the wall behind....

Below is the photo of the entire box, though it is not a great shot. Still, it does have a little bit of charm, don't you think?

And now, a funny shot of fresh pasta that Cullen made. We decided that the best place to dry it was on the shower rod in the bathroom! I wrapped foil around the bar and Mom and I carefully carried it from the kitchen and hung it over the bar - ha! Pretty funny....hunh?

Holiday Fun

I am pooped!

It has been a long few weeks and now the holidays are kicking into high gear!

Last night, I stayed up til 2 am (!) making these little goodies....

They are one yard lengths of paper, decorated to be shelf edging - cute!

I will share photos of the "finished products" when I have some.....
The finished ones are all tied-up with fuschia silk ribbon - pretty.

Here's a close-up of the packages - love 'em...

These two designs look great on the shelves - the red & white is really nice.

hmmmmm, tired, but happy....

xo

helllooooooo!

It has been a while - whew!

Last week, I met my mom in California to take her to the doctor.

We got there a day early so that we could do a little shopping at a couple of our favorite shops.

Below are a few of the treasures I picked up......sigh.........

Okay, Oolie, don't stop breathing! AREN'T THESE FABULOUS?!!!???!

Castle in the Air is an amazing shop in Berkeley on Fourth Street filled with beautiful, magical things that inspired me soooooooo much.

And Tail of the Yak - wow. Also in Berkeley, Tail of the Yak is located on Ashby near College and if you are anywhere near the Bay Area, you MUST take the time to visit - really!

Mom's hand surgery went quite well and we had nice visits with two very good friends that we do not see very often. We flew back to Santa Fe last Friday and life has been a whirlwind since.

My mom will be here for at least another week, which is nice in many ways, though there is some stress, since I have a pretty "packed" schedule these days......whew!

Hope everyone is well!

More about my trip soon......

xo

Inspired Ideas - Holiday Issue

well, folks, thanks to Taylor, I guess I need to let you know about the latest issue of Inspired Ideas (by Amy Powers) I was asked to contribute a couple of projects and the magazine is out. I am not quite sure how to do the link, but if you try to click on the link just to the right (above the etsy link) that says:

" issuu.com/inspired-ideas/docs/christmas" you should get to it.

I hope so - it is such an honor to be in such great company!

You have seen this image before, not long ago, but in the magazine, there are "how to" instructions to make them.
..hmmmmmm... patterns for each piece...and

...and the "step-by-step" directions.

I also did the little baskets, which are much easier to make than they might look.....

I think you'll enjoy all the projects in the magazine. Check it out!

I DID IT!

Here they are - the first two things available for sale on my etsy shop!

Charlotte, the little wren was designed for you...but I had to make a few little prints first!

I am carving another one, too, so I can send yours to you.

The "little green house" is pretty cool.....I really like it, though it is not one that everyone will like, I bet.

Hope to have more up tomorrow. It is going to be an incredibly BUSY week, so we'll see how it goes.

Welcome back to "regular" time zones - whew! Love the "Fall Back"....

some little things....

I started playing with stamps....again.....and thought this was pretty silly!

The feet are fun and I wanted to make a little drawing that would fit...

..hmmmmmm....... not so sure, but it makes me giggle, for sure!

I put together a little "fairy dust" and need to do a label.

This is the first attempt, but I need to wrap my brain around it and picture the "whole banana" ...so to speak.

I'll share the final result when it is done.

And, thanks to Danielle, I am almost ready to announce the opening of my etsy shop!

Tomorrow may be the day....I just need to get some photos together and write down the things I want to say....sigh....

......so many words.......

(don't hold your breath)

gRaSShoPPer

I walked out the front door yesterday and back in....and once again...and I realized that there was "someone" watching me. I looked down at the rosemary bush and there it was...

gRaSShoPPer!

He was HUGE!

At least three inches long.

And such a glorious green.

Guess I should've come right in and made a grasshopper stamp...

Didn't occur to me til this very moment.

Instead, I carved this little clown,

with PoLKa DoTs!

cReEpY cLoWn

This morning we got up and after a shower, Grayson put on his "clown white" and added the "wig" I made last night (from felt, what else?)

He thinks clowns are pretty creepy, so decided that is what he would do for Halloween.

Everyone is "dressing" for school today........

It is incredible what a little "paint" can do, don't you think?

...hmmmmmm....he almost looks "happy"......

(spooky)

WiLdCaTs!!

Desert Academy - Grayson's school - is the home of the wildcats!

The Parents' Association is having some "tattoos" made as a fund raiser and, instead of simply drawing the image, I, of course, made it far more complicated and carved a stamp (!)

pretty cool though, don't you think?

above, is the carved stamp and

below, is the image it stamps on paper

RrooOoaAARRR!

Gotta say that I am quite pleased with the way it turned out....

........... Go Wildcats!...........

Good News and Bad News

The bad news first - I did not get into the Renegade San Francisco Holiday Show

......bummer.......

The good news is that I finally finished most of the work I had to get done this week and got to play with Oolie tonight - her last night here!

We spent some time in the greenhouse this evening, talking about images to carve in stamps. She is such a great support and had fab ideas....including those below that have me so excited!!

This one I adore!

It is her little grand-niece in the pumpkin patch - so darn cute!

I call this "friends"

They are two separate stamps, but look great together...

This little guy is quite blurry - hmmmmm - but cute.

I will try him again, though, 'cause I like his style.

It is a disappointment to not be going to SF Renegade, but I'll get over it.

Thanks to all of you you encouraged me and had confidence.

Guess all the stuff I have been making for it will now go to my

"soon-to-open" etsy shop....

xo

RENEGADE CRAFT FAIR submissions

Well, I did it!

I applied to the San Francisco Renegade Holiday Craft Fair!!

(wish me luck!)

Here are my submissions:

Felt Goodies - lavender-filled, hand-dyed hearts and xmas ornaments

Bracelets from ribbons and buttons

Papier-Mache figures - birds, girls and houses

...and some Bug Charms

Handmade Rubber Stamps and hand-printed cards