Vintage Book Wreath

Hi! How are you doing? I've been doing a bit of blog hopping and it seems you all had a wonderful Christmas! I'm seeing some Valentine projects show up on your blogs and I look forward to working on a couple myself in the next few days!

If you didn't see my post from yesterday, I've been spending a little time this week re-arranging the shelves in our family room. I thought it would be fun to do a cream, white, glass and metal display. Scroll down to yesterday's post if you would like to see the arrangement I created. I had so much fun with the project I continued on with the fireplace mantel and made a wreath from a vintage history book.

Isn't it fun and funky? Do you like it?

I created this wreath with a wire coat hanger. I bent the coat hanger into a circle and then untwisted the top part, leaving the hanger part alone so I could use it to hang the wreath when it was finished. Then I used an outdated vintage history book, from the 50's. I carefully pulled each page out, crumpled it and then used the end of the coat hanger to jab it onto the hanger. I used the entire book which was about 400+ pages!

Along with the wreath I added a couple sterling silver pieces to the mantel. I pulled these out of a cabinet where they had been sitting for years. You should have seen the tarnish! Black and blue and purple! Ugh!

This next photo shows an addition to the shelves I decorated yesterday. I carefully rolled up some antique 1927 sheet music with some seam binding for an fun display. Later, I'll still be able to use the sheet music for another project.

Yesterday I mentioned that I'd like to replace the colorful poppy wall art for a winter Currier & Ives print my friend gave me for Christmas. Below is the photo of that. Isn't it pretty? Click on the picture if you would like to enlarge it. I think it fits the color scheme perfectly!

Today I'm planning on continuing on to the other side of the fireplace where I have another set of built in shelves. Hopefully, I'll find enough stuff around the house to keep the color theme the same. I'll be back tomorrow to show you what I've come up with.

Thank you so much for your comments and support. I really enjoy hearing from you and it's nice to know if you enjoy my posts. With your feedback, I can continue blogging about the things you want to see! Have a super day! :)

I Miss You!

Oh boy has Thanksgiving weekend been fun and a whirlwind of activity! And as much fun as it's been, I'm looking forward to getting back to more routine days. I miss blogging and your comments, paper crafting and I even miss my regular diet! The pie and hot cocoa with homemade whipped cream has been heavenly, but if I were to keep this up, I would gain some serious weight! ;)

So how has your holiday weekend been? Did you begin decorating for Christmas? Did you do a little shopping? Have you been out of town? Are you looking forward to returning to home sweet home?

On Black Friday I had a friend over who helped decorate our Christmas tree. It was lovely to share our ornaments and stories behind them while sipping hot chocolate and eating leftovers. On Saturday we reversed the roles and I helped get her tree.

Here's one of our nutcrackers. Isn't he quite the handsome guy? I love his glasses and list of childrens' names. And what a lovely red outfit he's wearing! ;)

Today I will be finishing up the decorating and enjoying it all. Tomorrow I plan to be back with some crafty shares and I'll do some blog hopping to visit you and hear of your holiday. If you happen to stop by, leave me a comment, I would love to hear from you! I really do miss you all! :) Kathy 

It's Begining to Look Like Christmas

What a whirlwind of a Thanksgiving weekend! Lots of fun, food, visiting and decorating! Our turkey day was fabulous! I always enjoy cooking a nice meal for the family. I was pleased to have everything turn out wonderfully! Last year the green beans in my casserole were a little too crisp, but this year I cooked them a little first and that made all the difference.

On Friday I went with my pal Audrey and her two kiddos to a local tree farm and helped them pick out a tree. That was super fun since we've had an artificial tree for so many years now. Oh, the smell of pine! We spent a number of hours decking Audrey's halls and making a big mess in the process!

On Saturday I had a couple holiday helpers at my house, Audrey and Nik! After decorating for a few hours, Audrey and I took off and drove to Durham to meet with Laura Davis of 2 Sketches 4 You. I now design for Laura and Audrey has known Laura from the scrapbook community for a number of years. Luara was in town with her delightful daughter who was playing in a golf turnament. Here we are from left to right; Audrey, Laura and myself.

Speaking of 2 Sketches 4 You...it's another week and another fabulous sketch to play along with. That also means a great prize! This week our sponsor is DoodleFactory who makes adorable rubber stamps. A set of Sakura pens are also part of the prize package. Here is Laura's sketch and my card.

I know it's a busy time of year, but I  hope you can take some time out for yourself and play along with us! Hop on over to http://www.2sketches4you.blogspot.com/ to get all the details and check out all the other design team cards along with the entries for the week. Have fun and good luck!