what in the tar..nation {giveaway}

What do you get when you combine tartan with a carnation???? A tarnation accessory of course.

Well without my camera I have been at a stand still with opening up the shop. I finally borrowed one and promise to get the store up and running REALLY soon...like hopefully tomorrow soon.  

In the meantime, how do you feel about a GIVEAWAY?.....

To the winner:   You will receive the below festive handcrafted accessory made of a ruffly felt carnation, a jewel & sequins, all on a plaid band.  This piece will be equipped for usage as a belt or headband..your choice.  Also it can be in child or adult size.  

Tis the Season my friends!

P.S. - I wouldn't at all be offended if you want to spread the word about the giveaway and the new shop.  Thank you so much for all of your support.

xoxo

Being that is is Christmas time, I was very inspired by the below photos while making an accessory.  Tartan is very festive.

Anyway I hope all had a lovely weekend and Thanksgiving.  Boy do I have so much to be grateful for.

Reality: Ziggity Zag

Life is kind of like a zig zag. You go up and then you go down.  Sometimes you can make the decision to ride the top of the zig zag a little longer even when life throws you a downer.  One thing I have learned is that on many occasions happiness is a choice (sometimes a hard choice).  Now hopefully I will not forget that...especially when I feel like I have been enrolled into a torture camp and everybody will not stop screaming.  I apologize in advance to my poor nerves.  Patience is a virtue, right? 

When I found the the above fabric, I knew it was mine. I thought I would make pillows or something but then family pictures came around. You know the dreaded family pictures. I told myself that since I already lacked control over the situation at hand then I was just going to have to surrender (AGAIN) & we were going to have fun no.matter.what. Well I guess I did have control over one thing and that was what we were going to wear. I pictured a zig zag skirt made of tulle & netting, I mean why not, right?...after all the mission is to have fun. Then as my friend put it, "You are channeling Cindy Lauper". Well I love Cindy Lauper and Girls Just Want to Have Fun, so we went with it. The only problem was, pictures were a little out of control. "I just need one picture to send out for Christmas cards" , I thought. When one of the coolest photographers around posted a picture from an"out take" I thought, "This IS reality & captures our family quite accurately" and I love it. Pictures were fun. Mission accomplished.  I can't wait to see the other pictures.  

Now I need to take the skirt and turn it into pillows.

Time for a few pictures that I thought matched the photography event quite nicely.  You know a tad bit C R A Z Y!

I am ready to relax with a very calm neutral setting.  Which probably means no over the top, like in the above pictures.  Well except the bathroom designed by Mary McDonald,  it certainly created a calm space that incorporated the zig zag so I'll take that one. 

May your holiday season be at the top of a zigzag:-)

3 things...

{above images via Sweet Moments Design, J. Crew & Coach }

...and 3 - a shout of great glee for friends who are amazing photographers & amazing models.  

The above picture is just a sneak peek but more unveiling of the amazing pics that my friend shot of the hair accessories. All of the above is making me really excited.  So excited in fact, that I might even have to go to the movies tonight...something about vampires (or was that werewolves).  I'll admit it, I've read 1.5 books out of the series and fell asleep after husband & I rented the first movie (from Redbox..only $1.00). I seriously have friends that have rented out theaters. Any excuse for a GNO though.

Are you going to see the vampire/werewolf movie? What's the name of it anyway? haha

Anyway, hopefully the shop will be up and running in a few.

Oh and I had to throw in a picture of the below room because it matched the above pictures and is inspiring me today.  Plus my camera is still broken & I can't blog about my first and favorite items of business (the kids).

{via Habitually Chic}

Thanksgiving before Christmas

I know, I know we haven't even made it to Thanksgiving yet.  This season I am really attracted to gold. 

Speaking of sharing...I'm looking for a new yummy sweet potato recipe to try out on Thanksgiving Day...so don't hold out on me.  I could certainly google recipes but I want something tried and true.  You can even send the recipe via email and I will forever be grateful.

A lovely day to all!

{beautiful knots}

So my little girl loves to tie everything in knots.  Last night as I sat in my chair she came over & gave me some love as she caressed my face and told me I was the prettiest mom (they learn early).  When I got up I heard a big rrrriiipp as I couldn't move away from my chair very easily because a tie from my dress was connected to the chair.  "It's those darn knots she ties" I thought.  I really did not have any recollection of her tying me up to the chair.  I was a little perturbed but then the below image came into my mind.

It's all made from knots.  Now if only I could guide all of her knot tying energy to help her to make something beautiful.   Hmmm just maybe I will.  Isn't life just like a bunch of knots anyway and if we can learn to make something beautiful from all of them then we'll be just fine, right?  So today I am celebrating all of the knots life gives me.

If you know anybody who has a knot tying problem or just merely wants to learn how to make a beautiful flower...like, say to embellish things for Christmas stuff, then may I suggest going here. 

Dearest friends,

Have you ever heard of the Hostess With The Mostess blog?  If not, you may be missing out and if you go there today you just may see something a little familiar...wink...wink.  Kind of fun.

Also, sometimes I really do get overwhelmed by all of the very nice people out there.  Last week there were quite a few people that were very good to me so thank you.  A couple of them are even locals.  Whether or not AZ is where you may reside go check out their blogs here & here.  

Michelle - Thank you for your friendship & where'd you get those skills...

Kellie (with an i.e.) you are always way too good to me.  I really do wish you could be my neighbor so we could craft and throw parties.

Happy Monday!

Wow, it's Monday again.  Where does the time go?  Did you know there are only 4 more Mondays (not including today) until Christmas?  Besides the fact that I am cameraless & besides the fact that I lost my car in a mall parking lot for an hour while I had all the kids by myself on a Saturday, I'm good.  Life tends to get a little more busy this time of year & just as long as I remember this season's buzz words, we are good...right?  If I were to say it was a moody Monday though then I wouldn't mind spending the day in any one of the below rooms.  Just a hint of dark blue always seems to stir the moody pot a bit.

{via here}

{via here}

{via here}

Oh just had to throw the below Christmas photo in.  It is after all blue.

{via here}

How could anybody ever be moody after seeing the below photo?  Goodness that little sweet bundle of cuteness makes anything look good.  Are you even kidding me Lisa?

{beautiful baby Goldie}

The Etsy shop is almost up and running.  I can't wait to share some of the most fabulous pictures my friend took.  In fact she did such a great job that I almost can't wait for our upcoming family pictures;-)

{tutorial for paper sunburst mirror}

Hi there...I had a few requests to give a tutorial on the sunburst mirrors.  Well anybody who LOVES convex mirrors, sunbursts & paper crafts are in luck because this is so easy.  I originally thought about making sunburst mirrors out of recycled utensil ends to make Christmas ornaments. When I found out that we were going to use an antique green velvet sofa for the blogger's lounge @ Blissfest I thought about Anthropologie and paper crafts so that is when I came up with combining the convex mirror with paper instead.  Anyway I love the look of the paper with the mirror that I have actually halted my search @ the thrift stores for silverware and will now take the smallest convex mirrors & cut the paper in half to make ornaments for the tree.  Who knows maybe I will hang the leftover sunbursts from Blissfest around the house.

The supplies:  glue of your choice, convex mirror from automotive department (they have a few different sizes & I bought mine from Wal-Mart for about $1.60 a piece) & an old book (I bought an old dictionary from Goodwill).

Now just be sure to not let the old lady @ Blissfest see that you are ripping apart an old book because she might get all disgusted.  I had to assure her that I was actually doing the planet a favor by recycling an old book that was almost falling apart rather than buying new paper...actually I just smiled & didn't say a word:-)

Start rolling the page so that one end will be smaller and one larger.

Should look something like this.  Put a little glue on the end of paper  that you roll to fasten.

Peel the paper off the back of mirror to reveal the sticky adhesive.

Dab the glue on the black plastic where you want to place the rolls.  I found it is best to make a plus sign and then work all of the other paper rolls from there.  Also place roll down so that the back of the top point on paper roll is facing backwards.

Should look something like this.  I then traced a circle on felt  (but you could use any material) and glued it to the back.  If you want to use them as ornaments then make sure to have your ribbon or trim ready so that when you glue the circle onto the back you can place the ribbon down first then glue that circle.

Here's the end result.  I actually love the look of the sunbursts plain but feel free to add glitter & trim.

ENJOY!

May this holiday season be merry & bright, sprinkled with bursts of sunshine (and a little snow on Christmas Day).  Although husband has a very hard time with Christmas in the desert because he claims the holiday isn't quite right without snow.  When we were dating he tried to factor this into the equation with prospects of potentially spending a Christmas in the desert.....I tried not to take offense because that's all I had  known & I had survived just fine.  In fact, I told him that Christmas in the desert was truer because that was more like how it was when Jesus was born.  Hah, I got him:-)  No really pls. snow when we go up north for the holiday, please.