Antique Angels and a Santa Tree

Good morning to all of you !  Thanks for visiting.

Back in the 70's  I lived in an apartment and made friends with a special lady in her 80's who lived upstairs. Always a fun adventure with Helen. Spry, happy and full of vim and vigor.  She was to the point of cleaning out boxes and downsizing. And offered me a little box of Christmas goodies.  Her daughter didn't want them and she knew how I "LOVED" to decorate for Christmas.  So I accepted. I miss you dear Helen but

Every year since her passing I treasure these special little ANGELS more and more, they date back to Chicago (where she raised her daughter alone) in the 1940's.  And I have recently thought  I will try to find her grand daughter and label the box for her and when I decide to start giving away she can have the enjoyment of these little treasures.

                                            Made from Balsam wood

                                            A heavy plastic

A collection of wooden Angels all with musical instruments

                                         Another Balsam wood  and a newer Angel from beads

                                          The Topper

                             The Hanging Tree itself, I did find some beaded garland  I will add today.

 The Santa Tree, mostly Paper Santas  and I love the Rice lighting on this, click the photos to enlarge

And a Santa quilt that adorns our bed, I don't have a wall big enough to display this or I would hang it.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed the "Little Treasures".  Have a lovely and supposedly BUSY weekend.  

A LITTLE BIT OF DECORATING

This time of year, I am always in wonderment.  I use to love to decorate the whole house, and then I had big homes.  Now I have a small home and can hardly keep up. I've downsized when moving here, BUT still have too much. And this house doesn't have the nook and crannies or wall space I once had. So I always seem to be at a dead end. Nothing looks just right.

I have a few small trees that I leave decorated and just store that way in the storage area, so I don't have to redecorate them, just bring them up to a cleared space. I've decided not to put up my BIG tree. I've 3 rubbermaids of collectible ornaments and I doubt that anyone will be here and it's just a lot of work for me to be the only one to enjoy it.

This is a spare bedroom and I leave this up all year. It is decorated in pinks, pearls, hearts and clear glass ornaments. I truly think it is my favorite.

This is a hanging tree. I bought it when my hubby and I were dating. If you can imagine, he never decorated and I couldn't believe anyone would have at least ONE tree in their home for the holidays. So I put it up while he was away and decorated it with JOHN DEERE ornaments and Tractor lights.  He liked it so now each year it's by our dining table.  Makes a good night light when the grandkids come too.

This is a grapevine tree a friend of mine made years ago, It's in our TV room and I redo it with the seasons changes. This year I used part of the decorations from a Big tree I did years ago. It's so sparkly pretty in the evening.

This is another year round tree in our family room. I have yet to add the Santa's to it for this year.

This little Snowman tree has a timer on it and sets in our bedroom, we awake to twinkly little lights.

This is another year round tree, totally Red/White/Blue decor. It sets in my Raggedy Ann laundry room. It is sort or a Charlie Brown tree, odd shaped, and sits in an old wire egg basket with 3 big rocks to hold it in place.

The top of a bookcase going from the family room up into the laundry room I love the little primitive Angel and Santa. My old wooden blocks give the names of my 5 grand children. This also stays up all year.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed some of my decor for the holiday season.  I will share a hanging tree decorated with very old angels and a few more tidbits by Friday.  Enjoy a festive day.

WOYWW #236

It's hard to believe I have not done a post since last week. But have had lots going on with preparing for the Holidays.If you want to know more about WOYWW go to the STAMPING GROUND, Julia has all the fun there waiting for more new people to show their workspace on Wednesdays.

Here's where I've been working since Monday pm:

Learning the new system for photos, so I can add them to my Christmas letter. Once I got it all sized and ready to print, I had no ink in my printer.......our little town has nothing so I had to order it online, now I wait to finish this project.  I printed out labels and organized my address book. I had a LOT of NEW addresses to update.

I didn't even have a path in my creative space, the floor, 2 tables were overloaded with holiday supplies, waiting to be used. Saturday and Sunday, while it snowed and blowed  I made 20 some cards, 30 some tags, and took them to our little Vintage Shop to try to sell.  Monday AM...I spent 3 hrs clearing, and organizing all of it again to no doubt be put away til next fall.   The plan is to start earlier!!!!  So today my workarea is TOTALLY BORING...nothing around my area to show you.

I also finished up wrapping gifts and sent them off to Germany today. I so miss having all the family together on Christmas, it was such a tradition for me.  But things change and I try to adjust.   I also brought up a few of the small trees and only have a couple of Nativity's to set up.  I've decided not to put up the BIG tree this year.  I'll have pictures on another post by Thursday I hope.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy WOYWW.  I hope you have great weather and a creative week ahead.

WOYWW #235

It's  What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday on Julia's blog  the  STAMPING GROUND, lots of fun desks posted, and a lot of info on lots of things,from lots of crafty people, from lots of places!  just hop on over as she has all the details.

My desk:

a few cards in the making, the lower  aqua and white will be my sons birthday card,  I made the paper,  sprayed with aqua glitter, added the fuzzy white layer, and a die cut snowflake. AND I forgot to take a picture of it finished..had to get it in the mail.  The little stuffed ornament was made from a swether and purchased at a little Xmas fair.

I am wondering if any of you have ever seen a plastic tree form like this,  I have google searched, shopped and to no avail. It was a Pinterest post and was stated the it came from Wal-Mart...but not finding it.

I also have been doing some crochet work, I posted some pretty yarns I purchased a while back and I have completed a few projects:

Red/Gold, Iowa State University Cyclones,  Black/Gold, University of Iowa Hawkeyes, and some pretty off white with sparkles.

Thanks for all the visits last week, I hope to do better at visiting this week. We had company for our Thanksgiving Holiday til  Sunday. So enjoyed some quality time with grand children, my son and his wife.
Took in the movie "Epic" with them, had lots of good stories to catch up on and caught up on many DVD's

Have a lovely week.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Just a little post, to wish you all a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING.  I hope you are enjoying quiet times, or entertaining with family  and or friends.   But most of all  THANKFUL for all that we have.

#234 at WOYWW

My week started off at thinking Sunday was Monday, I had  many things planned, but it all waited another day.
But today is already Wednesday and that means it's time to share our workspace with many others who follow Julia's blog the  STAMPING GROUND.  She has all the info on her sidebar.

This is my floor, in the post previous I said the Lost was Found,  I had forgot where I had stored all of my Christmas papers/stamps etc. Well at 3am I thought I remembered and sure enough, back behind the little drawer storage files is a big space under this cutting table.  When I pulled one file out...there were 4 or so little totes with all my winter supplies.  I did a "Happy Dance".   And got busy. Sometime I need to clean up the floor area.

   I put the corks away, just didn't have enough ideas and space to let them sit there.  I made a few tags also in a previous post, which I may take to a little Antique shop to sell. Just have the hard job of pricing left to do

The desk space has a few cards yet to finish as well as the little tart tins. but had to call it quits.

AS Thursday is "THANKSGIVING DAY" here in the USA. and I had some preparations to do for it. I am almost ready for a long  4 day weekend with family coming to have some time off from city life and enjoy the farm and some family times.  So I've been cleaning, getting beds ready, games out, and planning food. Hoping to take the 3 grand kids to see Santa and a free movie. Our town is having a day for crafters and vendors and a niece will be here celebrating an over 30 birthday!!! And the weather is to be nice, hopefully no travel worries.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your WOYWW visits

The LOST is FOUND

I cancelled a shopping trip today because, somehow in the wee hours I remembered a place I did not check to find my missing Holiday card making/mixed media supplies.  Upon checking...I found the missing containers and got things organized to get some items made.

 Click on photo if you want to enlarge it.

Not the best photo's quite dark and gloomy here today. Now back to finish up a few other things I started.
And check out what else is New and Exciting in those containers.


Have a great day.   Thanks for stopping by. Hopefully I'll be back for WOYWW  (Wednesday)

Wine Corks, Life as a Dreamer, Vintage Mixer, Shopping Lists

Just a referral back to my WOYWW weeks post...all the corks I have come from my sister!! And she's like the weekly old style milk man, quite a few each week!  I usually don't drink wine. I like Scotch and Water  or with my Pizza a few COLD beers...But to answer Julia's question we do still have corks in a lot of our wines..I think maybe  all our little homestyle Winery's do it.

Isn't it funny how things disappear (corks, glass, metal) .  Everything is turning to plastic or paper, nothing is repairable, just disposable.  I recently asked a few friends to keep unusual  glass jars/bottles for me. As I think they are disappearing. I've visions of  Altering Bottles!!!!   But really I'm a dreamer more than a Doer so who knows what will happen with the unusual collections I have.  My son says he's reserved big dumpsters and knows a good auctioneer.  

At one time I had a collection of midnight blue glass bottles. I purchased Ice Tea in them and being a lover of the color I would put them in my garden to mark plants  etc.  Well one fall before the snow fell I forgot to put them in the garden shed and a snowmobiler came thru my property and broke almost all of them.
Needless to say I was upset.  Not only did I lose my bottles, but I had a mess of glass to clean up. They no longer make the blue bottles for the tea. It is now in cans.

And I had another thing happen last week. My mother gave me a Hamilton Beach electric mixer 40 years ago as a wedding shower gift.  It is still like new, but about 10 yrs ago I had to replace the beaters. I found a place in the city I use to live and they mailed a set to me.  This business was closed in 2008 from the terrible flood destruction in Cedar Rapids.  Well a week ago my beaters became bent again...searching the internet for them, the item comes up at "VINTAGE MIXER"... parts not available.   Chatted with my sisters about it as they too received the same item for their wedding showers.  No ideas either, So was watching for sales on a new mixer.
An all stainless steel mixer well over $300.  Plan B:  watch more sales. as I don't use it as much as I use too, so maybe it doesn't have to be stainless.  And a dough hook would be nice.
But I was on a shopping venture Wednesday and stopped at a few resale shops. not even thinking about this, because  I left my shopping  list home so I  was winging it....here in a box of kitchen gadgets was a set of double beaters, 50cents.   Chanced that they would fit  I brought them home.  WHALLLA...works perfect.

Without my shopping list I just decided to have fun at a few Antique shops and Resale shops. Good Plan I'd say.

 Our weather will be turning on us.  WINDS, COLD and no doubt SNOW.  So maybe I'll have some creative time. But maybe I should locate my ice scraper for the cars, my snow boots and some warm head gear.

 Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the week.

It is #233 at WOYWW

Time flies by, here it is #233 for Julia's WOYWW, bop over to her blog STAMPING GROUND  for details and photos of all who share their workspace on Wednesdays.

I started the cork projects, then got interrupted, started the angel tins, got interrupted, needed a card so I got out my dies and some papers.  Made the card, sent it off and took no pictures.  Old age isn't made to hurry, left all the things here thinking I'd get back to my creations.  There I go thinking again.

The rest of the week has afternoon and evening events scheduled and the mornings will be making decisions on what to wear, what to take, and catching up on internet details.  Wind is howling, temps falling a bit colder and it's time for bed in this area of the country.

Enjoy your week, thanks for stopping by.

FRIDAY SMILES

I'm SMILING, I remembered Friday's Smiles, at A STITCH IN TIME, Annie, has anyone who wants to smile drop by and  either add a smile or visit a smile.

I think she is the cutest....and I like the direction.   Enjoy a fun Friday, and have a great weekend.

Prayers and WOYWW 232

It's Julia's 232nd  WOYWW...info is on her blog about posting etc.  STAMPING GROUND  and being involved. It's fun, it's addictive, and I find some peace of mind knowing their are so many with the same addictions.

My desk:

More birthday cards, for 2 niece sisters later this month and the last of my homemade tomato juice.

But my main concern this week has been PRAYER, my daughter in law is from the Philippines, I've met a LOT of her friends and I am overwhelmed by the devastation that happened there.  I saw this photo on Facebook and again I shed more tears. How awful  for these people.

 
They are such kind, loving family people, and religious people, and I prayer to God that he helps them overcome this horrific devastation. It hurts my heart to know how much Americans take for granted each and every day. We waste more than they'll ever have, and we need to reach out, be generous,

Sending love and prayers their way, with hopes that all can find food, shelter and peace within. They are loving people and believe in God so strongly, I hope they can remain strong thru His love and help.

PAY TRIBUTE

  It is  "VETERAN'S DAY" here in America.  

     
        "THANK YOU for YOUR SERVICE" 

                                         AND TO MY SON 
 I COULDN'T BE MORE PROUD TO BE YOUR MOTHER.   

" THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART."

IT'S WOYWW #231

Good Morning  to all of you interested in WOYWW.  At Julia's blog Stamping Ground you can get all the details of what happens on Wednesdays.  I missed last weeks post, as I had so many things that I was trying to catch up on. Spent some great time with my mother on one of our nicest fall days.

My work space has some completed cards today.  I've 2 friends having surgery this week so these will be in the "Get Well" mail today.  Also must do a few birthday cards before months end.

We are having a dreary, rainy day so after lunch might be a good time to have some creative time. I am hoping the snow forecast stays west of us. I really am not ready for snow this early in the season.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your WOYWW visits.  I'm off to make a Tater Tot Casserole for lunch.