Christmas Wrap up!

Took the tree down this past weekend and attended the last Christmas party of the season. Finally, the cookie crumbs have settled. Now that all the gifts have been opened, I can share pictures of several that I made.

Vintage clear glass buttons make this icicle sparkle!  The buttons are strung on light blue embroidery floss.

This hanging snowman’s hat is actually a rosy color. Made of cotton quilt batting, I sprayed stiffener on the back of it to give it a little more structure.

Here’s a close up:

The Victorian Santa was made for my son. He’s patiently waited years for me to make it for him. I presented him with the basic Santa on Christmas morning and let him go through my bins of trims to choose what Santa would hold. 

I love writing my stories, but creating these items reminded me how much I also enjoy the process and satisfaction of  creating with my hands. Looking forward to 2015, there will be time spent in my craft corner.

Available on Kindle, Nook and iBooks.

Have you signed up for my newsletter? Before writing INTO THE DEEP, I interviewed Jack ‘Preach’ Conroy. The January newsletter will have that interview. If you’d like to know a little more about the man, be sure and sign up here:

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Woodland Theme Fireplace Mantle – Christmas 2014

Imagine my surprise when I saw that I’d already posted a 2014 mantle–a YEAR ago–and no one called me on it. Does that mean I’m not the only one who’s confused about what year I’m in when one is drawing to a close and a new one is on the very near horizon?

Oh, good. I love being in the same boat with such nice people. For posterity – I corrected last year’s post.

This post is truly the mantle as it looks for Christmas 2014.

As usual, I shopped the house, the Christmas tubs and the craft bins to find what I needed. The ‘shopping trip’ included a foray through the gardening shelves in the basement to create this woodland scene. Squint, and the sparkly white garland kinda looks like snow!

The ‘fence’ is an old wood cow stanchion. It’s one of those pieces I love when I find a use for it, but want to get rid of the rest of the year. Thousands of these wood stanchions were burned when the government insisted commercial dairies use steel. I found this stanchion several years ago while yard sale hopping in the boonies of Rhode Island. There was no longer a family cow in the tiny barn so they were selling the stanchion. I snapped it up when ‘prim’ (primitive) was so popular.

 

As you can see, raccoon and bunny were allowed to come into the house proper. Regulars on the summer deck this will be their first Christmas celebration with the family. If they behave they may be invited back.

I couldn’t offend Mr. and Mrs. Mouse, so this year they left the Christmas bin and found a spot on the mantle. Don’t they look spiffy dressed in their Christmas outfits?  (My sister says I have a whole world in my head that no one knows about. Yes. Yes, I do!)

A tatty vintage cardinal looks on from the top fence rail…

… while a gorgeous male cardinal lands center stage in the wreath.

So there you have it. Christmas 2014 fireplace mantle.  I’m thinking it will be hard to say goodbye to.

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You won’t want to miss January’s edition. I’m sharing the interview I did with Jack ‘Preach’ Conroy before writing Book 2 of the SeaMount Series, INTO THE DEEP.  Here’s a sneak peek:
Q: What were you like in high school?
Jack: Justice was served with my fists. Everyone knew my father was the town drunk. I was the kid with the patched jeans.

Available on Kindle, Nook and iBooks.

Q: Who is your closest mundane friend?
Jack: I don’t have mundane friends.

Q: What’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?

Jack: A sunrise in a place I can’t reveal. I was glad to be alive to see the sun come up. It was beautiful and at the same time, a blessing from the Almighty.

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Fireplace Mantle – Christmas 2013

Sparkle and Light

This year I didn’t do my usual ‘over the top’ decorating throughout the house. We have our tree with Son’s collection of Old World ornaments and I gussied up the living room fireplace and the china cabinet in the dining room.

The mantle came out beautiful. Perhaps ‘less’ really is more!

The mirror is from ‘the girls bedroom’ at home. The vase is a piece from my milk glass collection. Silk poinsettias and red ball ornaments add color. White lights and gold beads add sparkle.

Have you finished your holiday decorating?

Out Of The Wilderness: Mothers, Daughters and Quilts

Bits and pieces of the author’s life are sprinkled in every book they write. Often the ‘story within the story’ continues even after the book is finished and in the hands of readers.

In Out Of The Wilderness (SeaMount Series, Book 1), the inspiration for Sophie’s Mariner’s Compass quilt is the Amish Mariner’s Compass quilt Old Roady bought for me in Lancaster, PA. In the novel, this quilt was a gift to Sophie from her mother.

Sophie’s home is also a piece of my life. It’s modeled after my sister’s house. I loved her home. Beautifully decorated and always so welcoming. When she and her husband sold it to follow God’s call into ministry, I was so sad. In my story, Sophie needed a house, I immediately though of my sister’s home.

I didn’t tell her what I had done. Her tearful surprise was just what I’d hoped for. (I love happy tears!)When she moved into this home, she was a widow (like Sophie). She raised two beautiful daughters here which made it easy for me to picture Sophie’s girls on the tire swing in the front yard and running through the house.

The threads of moms, daughters and quilts weave together continuing the story off the page. My sister’s eldest daughter just gave birth to a beautiful little girl, Fallyn Aurora. This is the adorable Owl Quilt (with a close up of the owl) my sister made for her first grandchild. The love that was fostered in that gray ranch house wraps around the next generation.

Perhaps sometime in the future, the story will come back to the page and Sophie will be a grandmother making a quilt for a tiny grand baby.

If you have read Out Of The Wilderness, which of Sophie’s three girls would make the best match for Davie?

Christmas Mantle with Old Window

Christmas 2012

Here it is! My Christmas mantle in gold and white. The white reindeer are from the 1950’s and made in Japan. One reindeer shed his antlers before we discovered him. Not sure of the age of the gold reindeer. The ‘angel hair’ fluffs and bends but is heavy enough not to float away.

Coastal Mantle

The chipped and peeling old window I brought home from my neighbor’s yard sale is on the mantle. My original plans included a garland but time just hasn’t been on my side. With the end of August looming the coastal theme will soon disappear so here are ‘the bones’.

I bought the little sandpiper bird years ago at a craft fair. It’s made of fake fur and has a leather bill. The clam shells are from local Rhode Island beaches. Can anyone go to the beach and not collect treasures?

The conch shell dates back to my senior year of high school and my trip to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. The trip was a graduation present from my employers, Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan. They paid for the air fare and I stayed in their winter home with them for an entire week. What an adventure. The conch shell is from a day of boating and snorkeling.

The shell pieces in the jar were collected on Sanibel Island, Florida during a family vacation. Even broken, the soft colors of the tumbled bits of shells are appealing.

As the season begins to change so does the late afternoon light. The shadows in my dining room are longer and muted.  Soon my baskets filled with seashells, beach stones and sea glass will be tucked away. Another summer is winding down and that gives me a twinge of sadness, but not for long. Pumpkins and the vibrant colors of fall are just around the corner.

“Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!”
― Humbert Wolfe

Old Window Charm

Pinterest introduced me to the many ways to use old windows.

To see the charm of old windows used in decorating take a peek here –
and here.

Finally! I have my very own. I found it next door at a yard sale. Squee!

Old Roady and Son gave me puzzled looks when I walked in with my treasure. The response to my explanation was a well executed eye roll (worthy of an Olympian) and a quiet “I wondered what you were going to do with that”.

I’ve brushed, washed and polished. Next week – the reveal!

Spring Mantle

Sorted through my collection of vintage doilies and ladies hankies to create this mantle for the warmer weather. I didn’t want to make the commitment to permanently whitewash the large barn board frame, so I took white chalk and rubbed the frame to lighten it. The fourth hankie from the right – purple floral – is round!  The handkerchief in the hob nail fan shaped vase is extra large.

Made these pom-pom flowers after seeing them time and again on Pinterest.

Vintage buttons in an old Ball Mason Jar. The tiny pink buttons are mother of pearl that has been dyed.

 The pellet stove heats the entire house.

I have to admit, the mantle has turned into a ‘touchy feely’ attraction. Every time I go by, I rearrange folds or fluff a pom pom. Who knew it would become interactive decor.

Decorating for Spring

Okay, honestly? I took my snowmen down last weekend! I love them, but they’d overstayed their welcome. Their extended stay was, of course, my fault. Redecorating my house isn’t high on my list of priorities. If I stick something up on the wall, it’s a good bet it will be there five years from now – maybe more. Seasonal switch ups are about all I do and they are not always well timed.

Spring finally came to my dining room. Here’s the top of the antique cabinet that holds my milk glass collection.

I found the worn Velveteen Rabbit years ago in a thrift store. The antique quilt piece is in a frame made by Daddy. He used authentic New England barn board. I raided my tote of vintage doilies to fill the vase on the right. I poofed and fluffed but did not iron them. If I’d had to stop to do that, the project would have come to a halt.

The small jar is filled with smooth stones from the beach. The chick to the right of the jar is antique and made of wool. I love the little guy. I made the chickie on the far right from a bit of antique quilt.

Using the best parts of a cutter quilt that is otherwise so worn it’s destined for the dump, is a way to honor and preserve the maker’s hard work. I often wonder about her (or him) as I use their original work in a new creation.

Soon I’ll have pictures of my mantle. Thank you for stopping by for a visit.