...scents of christmas...or...dear Martha...

...ah yes

the wondrous scents of Christmas time!!

fresh pine...

warm cookies...

or gingerbread to be more exact!

every year,

i am bound and determined to make a gingerbread house

and every year,

guess what

yep!

not a ginger house to be found in my home

well

not this year...

okay

granted,

i did not bake these from scratch...

 as all of you,

 i have many,

MANY things on my Christmas "to do" list

so,

i took a little help from "those" kits that are out there.

you know the ones!

these are the results...

i bought 2 kits from Target

* the gingerbread mini village

and

* the pre-built gingerbread house kit

i tossed ALL of the candies inside

(yuck!!)

and keep only the white icing and coconut shreds

i did pull out a few of my pretty baking supplies

(yes! i LOVE baking pretty too!!)

silver dragees

and

sparkling white sanding sugar where all that was required

then i assembled my town

very simply...

pure, clean and white!

it couldn't be any easier than coloring in the lines

everything is pre-stamped where to lay your icing.

i wanted a ginger church so bad

and look for one HIGH and lo

but ~

yah no!

so i consoled myself

with making a steeple out of one of the tiny village houses

lol!!

i sawed my ginger walls with a serrated edge knife

to be able to etch a V shape out to fit on my roof...

what's a little ginger dust??!

once complete, i piped out an icing cross.

sure, you can still see where a window was supposed to be

but

from across the room

none the wiser!

as i was making these

i got to thinking of writing a letter to Martha

it would sound something like this:

dear Martha,

please, Please, PLEASE

design a gingerbread house kit

as only YOU could!

Filled with elegant shaped lines and clear candy windows.

~ and if you please,

a few, little tiny cellophane bags filled with silver dragees,

wisps of cotton candy for smoke stacks,

and iridescent sugar for the rooftops.

I'd be ever so grateful

and HAPPILY pay the price of such a kit!

For there are no others

 who bring us lovely, quality creating items

to embellish our worlds with.

I thank you for that, 

and hope that next year, 

I am putting together a ginger house

designed by you!

sincerely,

Rosemary

what do you think??

would she read it?

i know,

i won't hold my breath...

but a girl can dream

and even ask Santa!

LOL!!!

they do smell wonderful,

would you like to smell them??

come close

closer...

closer my dear!

 yum

you want a cookie now, don't you??

or maybe you were thinking about Hansel and Gretal?!

hahahahhha!!

no worries my dears,

no wicked witch lives in my ginger houses!!

sharing this post with

Faded Charm's: White Wednesday

here's to the scents of Christmas and Martha!

...sparkling and shining ~ and the dreamy giveaway winner reveal!

...hello my lovelies!

i can't believe that Thanksgiving week is already upon us

whew!
there are only so many little moments in a day
i tell ya'

that's why today's post will be short and sweet
for there are pies to bake
and sparkling and shining to do!

but lookie, lookie what found it's way to me last week!!!!

~ an ethereal feathered crown ~

did you know that fairies have a weakness for crowns??

yep'

it's true!

so when i spied this beauty, with my little eye

i actually looked around to see if i was being "punked"

lol!!

i immediately envisioned a beautiful ballerina wearing it

and like to think that perhaps she wore it in a ballet production

hhhmmmmm....

maybe

"Swan Lake"

i am delighted to add it to my crown collection :)

now with the wave of my wand

i must be off

to sparkle and shine my home for my beloveds

i hope all of you dear readers,

have a Happiest Thanksgiving!

sharing this short post with:
Faded Charm's: White Wednesday


ha!
bet you thought i forgot, didn't you?!
nahhhh,
i wouldn't do that.

and now for the dreamy giveaway winner...

thank you to all who played along!
everyone of you is special
and i wish all of you could have a prize
but

 random number generator says that this time
it is # 14

congratulations dear ~ Sandi ~
you have won the dreamy giveaway:)
please contact me with your address
so that i may ship off your pretties!


~


wishing each and everyone of you a most grateful and delicious Thanksgiving!

...a coat to really fa-la-la-la-in love with!!

...i have a slight confession...

i have a thing for lovely overcoats...

and

perusing the Anthropologie catalogs.

although, that is not where i spend my shiny pennies

(they don't take shiny pennies, only crisp $100 dolla' billa's!)

((ha!))

but none the less

i adore Anthropologie's romantic spin on clothing

they inspire me

 one day thrifting,

i came across this wool coat.

not really a head turner i know,

but i loved the heathered oatmeal and cream color combination

and the simplicity of it...

yep

nothing fancy,

just a nice ~

i don't care,

kick around in it,

warm coat

it was also just my size

(that rarely happens! it's either too small or too big)

and truth be told ~ i don't like heavy coats

no sirree

(heavy makes me tired!)

 but i knew i needed something warm for the winter

 as this year is said to be bitterly cold

(just the thought of jack frost nippin' at my nose makes me shutter)

so the fact that this coat is 100% wool,

was perfect!

it is lightweight enough,

and the wool will serve me well

and wrap me in warmth...

after i had it dry cleaned

i brought it home and viewed it for awhile...

viewing ~ viewing ~ viewing

(say this while singing the tune "rawhide")

you know

"rolling, rolling, rolling,

keep those doggies rolling"

anywho...

after many pondering passes

 it hit me!

ROSES!!

it needed

LOTS and LOTS

of roses!!

but not just ANY kind of roses

i wanted cashmere ones!!

(hey, just 'cause there's shiny pennies in my pocket,

doesn't mean i don't appreciate a few finer things!!)

so thrifting i again went.

 i was on a mission...

now,

you would think that any oatmeal and cream sweater would do

but  ~ ya' no!!

there are 101 shades of them out there

so i had to be patient.

it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack

i tell ya'

but perseverance does pay off

i found 3 perfectly colored, 100% cashmere sweaters!

TA-DA!!

3 sweaters gave me 44 roses

...it took me three days of snipping and sewing

but aren't the divine??!

my coat rather seems to think so!

each rose was hand sewn in love

and attached down the front of my Anthro inspired coat.

no scraps were wasted,

i used them to make leaves...

there is not much that bespeaks romance

quite so much as roses...

i am most certain,

that this coat will keep me wrapped beautifully in warmth

for a few seasons to come

and it will still be my ~ kick around in ~ coat

i have no worries if i were to, let's say,

spill a drop or two

of my favorite holiday treat,

  a salted carmel latte, on it,

for they are the same color!!

 as i bounce around town this year,

gathering treasures for my dear loved ones and friends,

you just may hear me humming the tune...

'tis the season to be jolly

Fa la la la la, la la la la

(with foam on my lip!)

Don we now our gay apparel

FA - LA - LA 

LA - LA - LA

la - la...

LAAAAAA!!!

oh well, at least i am happy:)

sharing this post with:

Common Ground's: Vintage Inspiration Friday

French Country Cottage's: Feathered Nest Friday

Freckled Laundry's: Air Your Laundry Friday

Romantic Home's: Show and Tell Friday

2805's: Potpourri Friday

Vintage Farmhouse's: Creative Things Thursday

and don't forget to enter my dreamy giveaway
~ HERE ~

here's to being snuggley buggley ~ beautifully!!

...a pair of wings

...hello my dears!

i hope this post finds you all joyful

and dreaming of

the happiest holiday's ever!

i have been like a ping pong ball this week ~

all over the place

in my studio creating a few pretties...

packing up boxes for our impending move??

strategically planning the next few months

you know...just living life!

one of the things on my ~

"if i do nothing else, i just have to do this list"

 this year,

were ethereal angel wings...

i have literally been trying to get to these for years

ever since i first laid eyes on them in my first jeanne d'arc christmas book

i have desired a vintage pair

but they are few and far between

so to create a few pairs this year,

has been my top priority!

i set out to make 8 pairs...

out of which

2 have already been spoken for

this pair however,

 is the next pair that is will be available

 in my etsy shop

i will list each one as i finish them.

hopefully finishing all remaining pairs

no two will be alike but they will all be beautiful...

when i started,

i envisioned how the french nun's

would have perhaps designed them for the Christmas pageants every year

and wondered if they were giddy with excitement

to create such things as a pair of angel wings!

gathering precious bits of beautiful lace and gossamer gauze...

bending and twisting the wire into wing shapes

and then, very lovingly,

hand sewing all these beautiful materials into

 a pair of wings

i pondered if they quietly sang hymns of holiness,

infusing more into these wings than just what meets the eye... 

perhaps ~

a sprinkle of enlightenment and joy went into them too?!

i know that i have enjoyed making them,

taking my time as i too,

lovingly stitch on the most beautiful lace bits i could get my hands on,

smiling to myself, as i whispered the words of  "silent night, holy night"

but,

more than that,

 they have somehow inspired me to keep my heart real this season

and to float above all the entrapment's of the "holiday's"

and all the hustle and bustle...

don't get me wrong

i know i will still be hustlin' and bustlin'

but

my Christmas wish came early this year

for my heart is already filled with such joy and peace!

i guess you could say

that i have been touched by an angel!

now,

i wonder if one of these pairs of wings will fit me??!

ha!

i think our church's "Christmas pageants angel" position

has already been filled!!

no worries though,

if you hear any carolers outside your window this year

i'll be the one with a pair of wings on :)

~ 

sharing this angel wing post with:

My Shabby Streamside's: Vintage Holiday Decor

Faded Charm's: White Wednesday

here's to angel wings!

...cloud nine and a dreamy giveaway!

...hello again girlie's!

i'm so glad you came by for a visit today

b
e
c
a
u
s
e

today ~

is giveaway time!!

oh yeah!

happy dance!!

but first,

i would like to share this weeks creative project

"cloud nine"

(geesh! there's always a catch somewhere!)

weeks ago,

i came across a lovely blog called ~ Dear Lillie ~

and immediately fell in love with her ~ "silent night, holy night" ~ pillows

the problem was

the color of the pillows and their script

 wasn't what i had in mind for my "holiday theme" this year 

i was going for more of a snow covered cottage feel

but i adored the concept of the throw pillows and the frilly, scroll script

so ~ i set off to find an alternative...

and to what should my wandering eyes appear??!

why,

fabulous frilly text
 that i found right
~ HERE ~!

~ silent night text ~

~ holy night text ~

THRILLED with my success,

i then designed two pillows of my very own to put them on.

i used a cotton/linen sheet that had a fabulous crochet lace detail

that i incorporated into these covers

i made my throw pillows, envelope style, a very simple cover to make...

in WHITE!!!

love it!!

they are exactly what i had envisioned for our family room this holiday season

and yes, they're washable!!

(hey, just because i live with white covers

doesn't mean i deny myself hot mocha's!!) 

now ~

 my "silent night ~ holy night" theme

is echoed throughout the room

and i am on cloud nine...

~ sigh ~

~ so how 'bout it?

are you good and ready

 to hear about my "dreamy giveaway"??!!

well,

might any of you

be interested

in one of these

hhhmmmmm??!!

an ethereal dream catcher of your very own?!

or might i also interest you,

in one of my favorite "create it" books?!

if you adore Jeanne d'Arc style

you would LOVE this book!

the pages are the beautiful heavy, matte print

as it was printed in the UK

oh yah, baby!!

there are many, MANY swoon worthy projects

 contained in this most delightful book i tell ya'!!

for just about every where in your home...

using pretties all of us already collect

such as linen, doilies, crystals, silver...

you get the picture

oh-so-pretty!!

decoupaged crystals...

lace wrapped candle jars...

OH! the fabulousness that is contained within

trust me,

YOU. WANT. TO. POSSES. THIS. BOOK!!

so here's the scoop,

if you would like

to enter this dreamy giveaway ~
and win this beauteous dream catcher and lovely book

simply leave me a comment on this post

optional:

if you would like an extra chance(s) to win:

* let me know if you are a follower

(even if you are a new follower)
* let me know if you blogged about it
*let me know if you posted the giveaway link button on your sidebar

* let me know if you post this giveaway to any of your social networking sites

facebook, pinterest, and or twitter etc

PLEASE
leave a separate comment for each extra option

so random generator can count each chance

giveaway ends November 21st at midnight

winner will be chosen by random.org
and winner will be announced on tuesday, November 22nd
**GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED **

good luck:)

sharing this giveaway post with:
My Shabby Streamside's: Vintage Holiday Decor

Common Ground's: Vintage Inspiration Friday

French Country Cottage's: Feathered Nest Friday

Freckled Laundry's: Air Your Laundry Friday

Romantic Home's: Show and Tell Friday

2805's: Potpourri Friday

Vintage Farmhouse's: Creative Things Thursday

here's to a dreamy ending!