Twas the night before Christmas..............

Twas the night before Christmas and all thru the house,

Not a creature was stirring, including Verna's drunk spouse.

So they girls got together and made up a plan,

How to take him off the "Naughty List" with a fryin' pan.

They elected Granny cause' she's got the swing,

She was 3rd place winner in the pie pan fling!

So she snuck down the stairs in her gown and cap,

Hoping he was sleeping with a long nice nap.

He never knew what hit him, but he won't be missed,

She knew Santa would love to take him off his Naughty list!!

Merry Christmas!

My Cat friendly Bridal Tree.

This is my Colleen Moody doll that I made at Terri Brush's Art Camp. Of course I couldn't wait to use her on my Christmas tree this year. I used this same theme a couple of years ago when I had kittens and it turned out ok. Well, we have two 8 month old kittens again so I had to put up a tree that they can't break everything.........I hope!

She looks so pretty with lights under her skirt.

 

Just some old wedding photos to complete the look.

It's amazing how cute you can make a really cheap tree!

 

I didn't want to spend too much on this small tree in case they destroyed it.

 Ta-Da!

Another angle.

I hope you all enjoy the season and enjoy your time with loved ones. Hubby and I will be here in Fort Worth, staying close to home and having a very laid back easy holiday.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

My bags are packed for 2014!

I have decided that the year 2014 will be my year to roam. It's no secret that 2013 has not been a good year, so, I am looking forward to 2014 with open possibilities and hopefully invitations to visit my beautiful creative friends that live far away. 

Through the magic of Facebook I have been able to keep in touch!

Gone are the days when we would talk for hours, multi-tasking while we talk, trying not to tangle yourself in the phone cord while solving all the world's problems in one phone call!

SO, I am calling my friends, looking up events and marking my calendar to make sure I see everyone I can possibly see!

Now my freshman roommate in college may disagree, 

but I'm a clean house guest! 

I hang up my towels and I'll even do dishes! 

I promise not to bring too much luggage, is 4 too many?

And, if I start to drive you crazy just give me the boot!

This is my 2014 motto. 

What I hold deepest in my heart are my friendships.

I want to enjoy every step of my journey laughing and holding hands with those I love.

And, when it's time to pack up and go, it will be with a heart and mind filled with fun and long lasting memories!

So, keep me in mind when you have an event in your area or if you just want a visit let me know!

Sometimes you just have to invite yourself or,

 you'll never get there!

Happy Holidays to you all.

Ann Perry's Winter Wonderland

I KNOW! Isn't it wonderful! 

I walked in the front door of Ann Perry's shop, saw this and clod-hopped over everyone in my way to get to this piece. I know those women were thinking, what tornado just blew through here!

Just me being a brat and doing what it took to get this piece!!

This is one of the pieces that my friend Charlene Gray found, 

isn't it adorable? She also found a very old wicker baby carriage that no one else could see because it was up real high on a chest. 

Well Miss Long-Legged saw that and snatched it up, SCORE!

"fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...."

"Oh the weather outside was frightful, 

but inside was pure delightful.." 

These were not for sale........yet!

Yes please!

And, this was the end of our shopping trip! Many thanks to Charlene for driving the four hours down and back, and, many thanks to Ann Perry for her great hospitality!!

Art Camp with Terri Brush

I know you've been wondering, where the heck is that woman? I wish I could say that I have had a summer long adventure but sadly, it's just the opposite! I've been sweltering in this Texas heat and I have had a pretty boring summer. 

HOWEVER, the summer is over and it was time to party with the girls. Going to Terri Brush's Art Camp was just the ticket! There were 40 wonderful, creative women who attended and 
we all had so much fun!

This was the first project, a tree topper doll with Coleen Moody. I LOVED her class! We all did! The loud chatter was soon replaced with the excitement......and loud clatter! 

This was Coleen's example, and this was what I decided to make..... a bride. I know, I just couldn't help it. But, I think she turned out pretty cute!

This was the second class with Natalie. We got our "spooky on" making a witch's hat that lights up. It was hilarious watching and listening to all of us covered in Modge podge, gossiping, snacking and maybe having a little wine. We were slopping glue, glitter and paint all over the place. Lord what a mess we made! I'm sure Terri and the crew were cursing us as they tried to clean it all up.

This was my version of the Witch's hat.

I think it turned out cute!

Gracie came in for a closer look!

Thanks for stopping by, I promise to post more, 

I have just been a lazy bones and using Facebook, bad blogger!

Big Texas hugs coming your way!

It's been 20 years!

It’s been 20 years I can hardly believe it,

Time goes by quickly, a year seems like minutes!

I loved you then, adored you more.

The day we wed on that beautiful shore.

Our lives have changed in good ways and bad,

You’re still the best friend that I’ve ever had.

I hope your heart will stay with me,

You’re in it for life,you’ll never be free!

Thank you for your love, your kindness and your strength,

I know to help me you’ve gone to great lengths.

Know in my heart you wear a crown,

For you my love knows no bounds.

This is part of the mushy letter I gave hubby today, wow 20 years! How we've changed and endured!! Happy Anniversary to all you love birds out there, Thanks for letting me share!

What a wonderful world: Where Bloggers Create Party!

It all started with a 1950's kitchen table that I bought to be my sewing table, and the rest as they say, is history. I added the two pie safes that are now filled to the brim with paper goods, antique ledgers and jewelry and what ever else I can get in there!

Then I had this humungeous book shelf built. It was so big they had to take the ceiling fan off to fit it into the room and it's so heavy it took 5 grown men to fit it into this tiny 12x12 room. It too is filled with all kinds of collections and treasures that I have collected at estate sales, garage sales, and last but not least, Canton and Round Top. I'll be showing you a lot of my collections because there isn't a lot of room for any other kind of storage. I'm already bumping into furniture now!

I had the closet converted into big shelves that hold so much lace, fabric, trim, sewing supplies and odds and ends that I'm surprised the shelves aren't giving way with all that weight!

I decorated each bin for this event and my plan is to keep it all organized, at least for a week anyway! The bins are really filled to the top with lace, fabrics, binding tape and crochet items. I just love it all.

My favorite bin. I keep telling myself to use this special trim and I can't bring myself to use it. It's silly because I have 3 wedding dresses waiting in the wings waiting to be tea stained!

This is one of the pie safes that I repainted and piled treasures on top. The square dancing dress was my aunt's. Dorthy was the belle of the square dancing ball! She was also one of the creative influence's in my life. She would just whip up a dress for a date in a day!

These are silverware boxes that I converted and they are now filled with laminated 1950's funny ads and  pages out of old magazines. The articles on marriage and "keeping a happy home," are such a hoot I had to laminate them! I use a lot of the ads for bookmarks!

 I decorated the tops of the boxes to show what is inside.This one holds old bridal ads in 1950s and 1960s old magazines!

This is the other pie safe, filled to the brim as well! I have such space envy of the other studios I have seen. I wonder if Nate Barkus would come fix my "small space", since he loves to create in small spaces! Plus he's a cutie-patootie!

 

When the inside is full I just start putting things all over the top! I think I am officially out of room.

I know you're thinking OMG! I couldn't pass this up. Growing up Methodist we went to church at least 3 times a week so this church board was a must have. I even have the box of numbers that went with it!

Bingo numbers, plastic phone key chains from the 60's and more ballet dancers that were made for music jewelry boxes are just a few of the items in this chest. Belt buckles, mother of pearl buttons, and what ever else I can fit in here. It's like my own little silly five and dime store!

This is actually the piece the TV goes on but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to display some pretties. 

The black and white photo in the jeweled frame is my grandmother, Lilly with her best friends. After finding old photos of her and her friends I found out that my grandmother was very playful and dramatic in her early years. It's funny how we forget to think about them ever being young and what they were like before we knew them. 

One of my best friends Mary Kathryn gave me one of my first toy singer sewing machines that actually still works! The other ones that I have found just look cute but don't actually work.

Mother of Pearl buttons are everywhere!!! I should use this space for storage but sometimes a girl just wants something to just look pretty. I won't tell you how many pounds I have hoarded of MOP buttons but I think if you put a toddler on one side of the scale and my buttons on the other.....that poor kiddo would go flying!

My husband will never know how much I paid for all this bling. It's going to my grave with me! NO, not the bling, ..... the price of the bling! 

But how could you pass this up! It has taken quite a few years to collect all of this, it's kind of like a monthly payment plan....I buy a little every month!

And pearls, don't ya just love pearls!

I know there is a project out there just screaming for this, I just haven't found it yet!

Pretty cute, huh!

Mirror. mirror on the wall, who has more junk than them all?

Ahhhh, you knew I'd get the vintage wedding photos in here somewhere didn't ya! Just another collection that I love to hunt for at Round Top and, sometimes late at night when I can't sleep, can you say....Ebay!

 Cake toppers, check!

Now who doesn't have a collection of gum ball machine wedding rings. You don't? 

Well I think they are just to die for. I don't know why but, it just makes me so sentimental thinking about how wonderful it must have been for this as your prize you got when you put your dime in the machine. I would thought I had died and thought I had gone to heaven it would have been so special. 

Why is it that only the men can't seem to stand up straight. It actually looks like they're about to jump over the side. These are bits and pieces of vintage cake decorations that I collect too! Boy that collection list is really getting long. How many "collections" can you have before it turns into hoarding?????

One of my many finds when I went to the "wedding estate sale" of my dreams. This was the sale where I met Cathy from "Girls Gone Junkin'." We were both crazy women stuffing bridal lace, bridal veils and everything else we could get our hands on into sacks and between the two of us almost wore this one poor estate worker into a "spell." Plus Cathy got the pink ruler. I told her to put me in the will for that darn ruler, she's a fast lil' bugger when she sees a prize!

OK, so I'm bidding on Ebay on TWO sets of these ballet dancers. Well I thought it was only two sets. I just kept thinking when I got outbid that I had just re-bid on that item. The long blond story of it was that I ended up with EIGHT sets of them! I put myself in time out for while on that one! Believe it or not, this is not all of them. Yikes! Are they for sale you ask..nope!

There's just something about having whole roles of lace that give you the freedom and option of saying, what the heck, let's do three layers of lace!

 Doll heads, pink phone, pearls and a wedding cake topper, why on earth I picked this combination, I have no idea!

 OK I'm one of those weird doll head people but you have to admit, they are funny. I think the one looks like it's praying, one looks drunk, one looks so sweet and the last looks almost normal, what's that one doing there!

 Frozen charlotte dolls and more wedding flowers.

My latest find with my gal pal Charlene! We were at Canton, it's nine thousand degrees and she spies this musical wedding  cake topper thingy! I still need to fix it up a bit but it's adorable, thanks Charlene!

Old camera collection, check!

What is it about horse ribbons that we all love?

I know, I know, how many tickets does one person need? Well apparently more than this because there's more behind these. I found the majority of these at Marburger Farm, and boy are they heavy!!

More doll heads and more buttons!

This is my grandmother Lilly again surrounded by lace, of course.

These were from my belt buckle making phase. I sold them at the Cowgirl Hall of Fame for awhile but they bought me out!

Then there was the phase of decorating frames. These are photos of my mom, wasn't she a "dish!"

I found this ghostly bride at Round Top for $30, one of my favorite purchases from there! Everyone I showed this to just had this odd look on their face like, "oh yea that's so pretty, I mean creepy," which makes me love it even more.

I found this little girl at the Goodwill!! I just couldn't believe some family would give this up. She reminds me of Glenda the Good Witch in her pink gown. This is also the end of my tour, so it's time for you to click your heels and think,"there's no place like home." 
Thank you for stopping by! 
Y'all come back now, ya hear!
P.S. A big thank you to Karen Valentine at 
My Desert Cottage for working so hard on this party. 
I appreciate everything you've done!!!! 
Just click on her blog and it will take you back to her site!