Holiday Home Party!!!

Hi Everyone! Welcome to my Holiday Home! First off, allow me to thank the gracious hostess of this shindig, Karla's Cottage... What a lovely idea!

Anyway, welcome to Christmas in south Mississippi, and it's nighttime, which is my fave part because of all the twinkly romantic lights and candles. Therefore you shall be getting a candlelight tour of my 1920 farmhouse. Come on up the front porch... (please be sure and click on the pictures for the full sizes)


Through the dining room, and please have a look at our lovely chandelier that i've decked out with organza ribbons and an ornament:


And here are the French doors into the parlor, where we shall have some tea and enjoy the stove (it's actually like 75 degrees right now, so we'll just have it on for a sec, haha):


One of my favorite things about this room is the reflection of the tree lights on the hardwood floor!


Here's a few thingies under the tree that I love looking at... i've had that Santa box there since I was like 16! We won't say what year that was, but my hair was really big and I was into Def Leppard, big time.


This is my favorite spot in the room. The prayer books belonged to my Mother when she was a little girl in Catholic school, in New Orleans.


Tea Time! I love my china set, also a gift from my lovely Mother...


Come into my kitchen, I have some goodies for you! Have a cupcake, yall!


Here's a collaged garland I made, it's above my kitchen door. It says "Comfort".



Finally, my wonderful hubby Chris and my sweetie son Courtland have decorated this lovely gingerbread house for this occasion. I'm sure you'll agree that they have mad gingerbread skillz.


I want to thank you all for visiting, I have so enjoyed having you, and can't wait to visit your Holiday Homes as well!!!

Merry Christmas!

Alexia

Yes, I Am A Cheapskate...

... But I'm a crafty cheapskate. I hade been admiring these gorgeous wastebaskets from Layla Grace for quite some time; but I can't justify spending 100+ bucks on something to throw pieces of thread and paper in, so I improvised:



This was a $6 unfinished wooden wastebasket from Hobby Lobby, which I decoupaged with coordinating scrapbook papers that I cut to fit. The inside has a burgundy color with a golden glaze, and the corners and top edges are finished with gold Rub-n-Buff. I coffee-dyed a paper doily and added my initials over it with gold glitter letters. Having thus claimed this can in my name, anyone else in this house using it to drop empty soda cans and dirty socks into shall be beaten soundly. Here's a corner view:



And here is my latest photoshop insanity:

I Have A Halloween Angel!!!

It's my swap partner Terri at Primtiques blog!

This was for the Halloween Party Hat swap hosted by Speckled Egg. Don't ya just love the box she sent it in? And the tussie mussie with a feathery trim! Here's a close up of the adorably spooky hat. The little baubles around the fence are jingly bells, and inside the skull's eyes are sparkly jewels. There's a tassel on the tip:

Terri also sent the prettyful Halloween fabric, and check out the garland with skull, crepe paper, and lil' chennile cats and pumpkin folk!

Now you may be asking... what's in the frightfully cute cat's eye take-out box??? Let's open it up, shall we...

Screech!!! Can you believe this soldered glass pendant that Terri made? This pic does not do it justice. Inside are four different vintage Halloween images with confetti, and there are charms aplenty hanging from it:

Thank you from the bottom of my Halloween heart Terri, you're a wonderfully creative person and it has been great to get to know you!

"Maam, Please step away from the Photoshop."

Fiddle-fartin' around with Adobe photoshop while I wait for my hubby to wake up and take some pictures of the kick butt swappage I got in yesterday... no, I have no idea how to work his stupid camera, it has to many "doodads" on it.

Wonderful Swappage!

Would you please just look at the vintage goodness of this swap package I received from Vicki at Hollyhocks!This was for the "Vintage Storybook and Crafty Bookmark" swap hosted by the Polka Dot Pixie.
It arrived wrapped up in sewing patterns and tissue:

And it contained these adorable items- 2 storybooks from the 1940's and 4 bookmarks made of Japanese fabric!

Here's close up of the gorgeous bookmarks- they illustrate fairy tales. The bear on the "Three Bears" bookmark is made of ribbon- how cool is that?
Thanks so much Vicki! I love it.

"Broken Belle"

A mixed-media collage. I actually had just the lady cutout for quite some time, with the cloth heart on her dress, but I could never figure out what to do with her. I just kept it on my art table, looking at it sometimes. Until I found a whole spool of that striped, wired ribbon at Hudson's for 50 cents! Then it became clear. The jewel on the heart is from a vintage earring, which I also had laying around looking for a purpose. Anyway, I like it. My hubby says it's pretty, but that he "doesn't get it". Heehee. Men are so funny sometimes.

Scandalous!

Apparently, this great state of Mississippi has ranked the highest in obesity rates.
My word. I just can't fathom why...



Now folks, this here is how you make an authentic, New Orleans/Delta style Po' Boy. This is not a sub sandwich. Nor is this a gyro, or anything similar. It's a Po' Boy. You start by cooking a cheap roast till it's just falling apart, saving the drippings to make a gravy (or use a canned gravy if you're lazy like me), which is mixed with the beef and then you shred it up like all get out. Then it's simmered till it's even softer. Serve dressed on real French bread. If you don't have real Po' Boy bread like what is shown below, keep your french bread out for a couple of hours till it's just slightly stale. This is traditionally served with onyon rangs, I guarantee, cher.




Note: If you don't have gravy dripping down all the way to your elbow while eating this, you have not made a Po' Boy.

Because my Swiffer duster was cold. And ugly.

I had to make a cozy for my Swiffer duster. Swiffers work wonderfully, but they lack the old fashioned charm of feather dusters. The emboidery pattern was part of a pack I won on ebay- it dates from 1915. I stitched the embroidery (done on a piece of unbleached muslin) to a cloth gingham bag I made. Only then did I realize that the ginormous flower on the embroidery is just a tad creepy, and the bonnet girl appears to be fighting it off. So now my Swiffer duster is warm, but it probably has nightmares.

Anyway, I got this lovely pink 50's cannister this weekend, along with the pretty hanky it's sitting on. Prince Froggie, guardian of my craft table, is checking it out:



I needed a nifty storage for some glitter letters (which I am dying to make use of, but haven't yet) , so I dressed up this apothecary jar:

Fairy Jar and Thrift Store Score

I have been loving the various different "fairies in jars" i've seen lately, so I thought i'd try my hand at it. I have discovered that putting something in a jar and trying to make it look like it belongs there is not exactly easy.



Neither is photographing it, as my hubby found out. I wish you could see this in better detail, but you get the jist.

Here are my latest thrifting/antiquing finds, and I luv, luv them: A pretty tin, aqua colored with gold trim and roses. I've already put a bunch of paper scrap in there:




Also, a box full of adorable, differently illustrated Pennsylvania Dutch recipe cards from the 30's:



...Aaand the recipe on the back, "liver dumplings".

"A" is for "About Dang Time I Made Something".

Here's a wooden letter A that I embellished with Tuscan Rose stamps, scraps, paint, etc. I've gotten obsessed lately with those shades of robin's egg blue and aqua that everyone else has long since been admiring. As usual, i'm the last one to notice. Usually by the time I catch on to a trend of any type, it's already over. Woohoo! I made it just in time. But hey, we should make what we love, regardless of what's popular. I also love my "vintage" paint chip-y watering can there, that I keep my brushes in.

Well we've been in this house for a while now, and the only room i've really done anything with is this one- the office/craft room. I am slowly but surely transforming it into a cozy studio space.

Lately, i've felt somehow down that I hadn't been making anything. But then I began really following some other artsy type blogs and I realized that they don't always have to make something new in order to post on their blogs... they just post things they like, things they find, places they go, etc. I found that inspiring. I always enjoy looking at pictures of the things that people find on their thrifting expeditions.

Past weekend, I found these prettyful vintage curtains at an antique/thrift store here in town. I think they are barkcloth, but who knows. I just love them.

They have a sweet yarny tassely trim. There's flowers, chickens, etc... But my favorite embellishment is this little colonial horseman:

And here is a weenie dog:

His name is Oscar, he is a mini-daschund, and he's the cutest pain in the butt I ever saw.

New Old House.

Been out of commission for awhile, moving into this lovely old house. Built in 1920, it was originally the main farmhouse of a huge farm in the area that has been sold off piece by piece over the years.

\

We are still partially living out of boxes. We went from a tiny place to this one, which is pretty darn big in comparison.

I'm so thrilled to be in this house- but very overwhelmed. We're so blessed. Thanks to everyone who said us a prayer!

This is my favorite, but completely empty room, the dining room. I love the old chandelier. I do not love the weird 70's pumpkin color. Oh well, that's what paint is for. This house has some oddball colors.

We are only the 3rd owners of this house. The people we bought it from were only here for 7 years, and they had bought it from children of the original owners and builders, who, as I understand, both died in this very house. I'm not sure what the husband's name was, but the lady's name was Annie Mae Stockstill, and she died around 1999... which brings me to the next room I want to share....

This is the office/art studio, which I understand is where the lady passed away. It is extremely gloomy, shadowy, and is painted the same awful shade of peach that the outside of the house is. This side of the room with the fireplace and closets is mine. The other side of the room is my hubby's computer area, where I am sitting right now. The weird little closet to the left connects to the other bedroom, which is my son's room. We are going to make this room bright and cheery. All in good time!

On Pins and Needles

Right now i'm on pins and needles. We are about to make what will likely be the largest and most important part of our life- a house. I'm terrified that it will somehow fall through.

Barring any rich folks' houses and historical homes i've been in, this is literally the most wonderful house i've ever had the pleasure of walking through. It's not a large house. It's not particularly ritzy, nor is it full of modern amenities; It was built in 1920, and it has it's own unique beauty that only someone who is meant to make this house a home could appreciate. Even my husband, who favors newer brick-style homes, was delighted the moment he stepped inside.

What's more, it is obvious that, through the entire 85 years that this house has been in existence, it has been loved and cared for as if it were a palace. It has a personality, one that called out to me like i've never felt.

Now I know that I am unworthy of being blessed with such a wonderful place to live, especially with so many in our area who lost their homes to Katrina. The longing that I feel to live in this house, and the fear I feel that I will never be able to, has made me reflective about all the blessings that I have been given by God, even at times when I thought I had been deserted by Him.

I have been poor many times, yet I have never lacked food or shelter. When my husband was laid off from his good job at General Dynamics, and had to work at a farm store warehouse while I worked as a bartender, we were fortunate to find this house we are now living in... with a landlord who was not greedy about rent when most landlords in this area are price gouging shysters. Finally my husband was a able to get a good paying job, and I was able to return to school, where I recently received my Associate's degree and a good job almost immediately. .

While thinking about the possibility of owning this house we want so badly, I have to remember that God is taking care of us, and always has. If we are not able to purchase this home, He will provide what is best for us, even if it isn't necessarily what we wish for. It's a matter of faith to believe that God has our best interests at heart, even when it seems like what is happening is the end of the world. How many times has something horrible happened, that we thought would absolutely destroy our sanity, and after a long period of healing we recognize that the tragedy led us to a blessing?

So, just not getting something we want badly can make us act like spoiled children, railing at the parent who was only looking out for our best interests by denying us our desire of the moment- to protect us from a bad choice that we were too blind to recognize.

I am praying very hard for this new old house. The one we live in right now is cramped and very uncomfortable... but it's so much more than what many people have. So if God removes our desire from our reach, I will do my very best to be obedient and say, "Thy will be done".

One Of The Coolest Things I've Ever Seen

So we've just about all seen the adorable "fairy doors" for sale on the internet and elsewhere; but good Lord, will you take at gander at this:

It came from this awesomely enchanting website: http://www.fairywoodland.com/ . They're rather pricey, but it looks to me as if they are worth it!

Heard about the "urban fairy" doors popping up all over Ann Arbor, Michigan? Read about em' here:http://www.urban-fairies.com/locations.html .

Hehe. What would be hilarious is if someone made some fairy homes for down here in the Deep South. A little tiny mobile home (maybe made of a mushroom or a log or something) with lil' wooden wheels and tiny polyester curtains and a wee clothesline hung with patched britches. Hahaha! Or maybe a nicer fairy house with a blue-tarped roof. After all, wouldn't the Fae be affected by Katrina as well? Just a thought.

If I Could be a Photographer...

This is my favorite photograph, The Mirror of Long Ago, by my favorite (deceased) photographer, Clarence John Laughlin. As I kid I was fortunate enough to be given as a gift his best known book of photography, Ghosts Along the Mississippi. His subject matter often revolved around broken down old southern plantations, graveyards, moss-dripping columns, cracked plaster. Right up my alley, of course.

This is Victorian Phantasms (1946). Even when Laughlin did photograph something other than southern ruins, the photography still had an ominous overtone.

But my favorite photos of his are the ones he is best known for- as I mentioned before, southern ruins. Having grown up in southern Mississippi, one hour away from New Orleans, I can't help but love this subject matter. My parents used to take me to old abandoned houses, graveyards,etc. They are weirdos, so I guess I get it honestly.

Besieging Wilderness.

I also love me some Gel Medium and Glaze Medium.

These are 2 other things I bought that I actually had to get up the nerve to use. But I love em! I used gel medium to make the textured effects, and glazing medium to get the green nice and transparent. Then I used various inks and chalks to highlight the texture.

The wings are made with Cherry Pie stamps on green vellum, and the flourish on bottom is a stamp by Tuscan Rose.

I shall sing the praises of Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel.

I decided to splurge and get some Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel by Ranger. I have the awesome book "Artist Trading Card Workshop" by Bernie Berlin. A few of the techiniques described include using this stuff.

Well, i'm a pretty timid person, when it comes to trying new things- I just get crushed when I try something new and it turns out looking poopy. I'm the type of person who will buy a bunch of art supplies, only to have them sit there in the bag for 2 weeks while I walk by, wishing I had the nerve to dive right in. (A few things I bought last week never even made it out of the trunk of the car. Har Har!)

Many times I have to just barge ahead, ignoring the "committee" in my head that tries to stop me. (Uh, yes, i'm using art as therapy...)

But anyway, I love the way this came out. I hope the glassy effect is obvious. The bottom got smeared, but that ended up being one of those happy accidents. In fact, I got a paper towel and smeared even more away, creating a fade effect. So what I have here is a background that I like so much, I almost don't want to put anything on it. But I will of course.

Recovering What I Once Abandoned

Once upon a time, I was a child artist. My life revolved around making beautiful pictures, collages, and poetry. Then I allowed myself to be derailed by ugliness, and the ugliness of those around me. I suppose this happens to most people in some fashion.

After many years of dead creativity, I have found the spark of art that I have never allowed to be extinguished. Now I am caring for it, feeding it, and I feel that someday it will again be a blaze.

The freeing atmosphere of altered art, assemblage, and collage that is so abundant these days, seems the perfect thing for me, so natural.

There is much use of archetypal words and images in this sort of art, like signposts for our imagination. Words like "dream", "fly", "imagine", and "escape" are comforting and appropriate.

The above ATC was made with an image from Tallulah's, Cherry Pie art stamps, Tuscan Rose stamps, Colorbox petal point ink, and Perfect pearls by Ranger. It's finished off with an organza ribbon. There are quite a few mistakes on it- I didn't cut the stamp properly, and that made an overstamp- but hey, I like it. hehe. Not that i'm partial or anything. :)

Hello, Everyone!

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