Happy New Year!.................

I've decided to wait until after the New Year to announce the giveaway....

Please be patient! Thanks.

Happy New Year!

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

................................Happy New Year!

.....I am wishing a happy, healthy

New Year to all.....
Post # 200.....

I am planning a Giveaway for this post!
I will announce the details tomorrow!
'Til next time Love ya, Jean

..............................Christmas Eve............

Have a Joyful Christmas.......
'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

............................2 more days........

Jesus is the reason for the season.....

These are my figures that I bought at Woolworth's about 40 years ago. I remember buying them over several years because I didn't have the money to buy all at once. I made the stable from scraps of wood that were laying around at the time. I found a few more figures at the thrift store a few years ago. I will continue to buy more if I find them. I just love them and to me they are perfect.

This is a Roy Des Mouse Bank.....1970.....He is a bank and was given out as gifts or incentives to open an account at the banks at that time. This one actually belonged to my little brother, he had two different ones. My Mom gave them to me because he didn't want them. I have them here in my workroom on the shelf. I think they are so cute!

2 more days.....I can't believe it!

I want to say "thank you and welcome" to all my new followers:

V-King-of-Cod-V,

Kim G., at Camp Whimsy, whom I've actually known for a long time,

Mary, at Visits with Mary,

pepi_mali at miniaturas Cisnero

Rachel at Miniature Maid,

Debi Magiera, Susi At Mini Eden,

Cathy at Treasured Heirlooms & Elegance and Whimsy,

Natalia at Scarlet Sails Miniatures and 365 Cross Stitch Patterns 2011.

I hope you enjoy my blog and I am happy to get to know each of you. Come back often!

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

............................Here we are.....

Not a great picture, but you get the idea! Now, we're just waiting for the big day!
'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

I have more Christmas decorations to show you.....

I found this Santa, blowing across the parking lot where I worked about 15 years ago. Of course, I had to go rescue him! The weird part of this is that it had my DBF's name printed on his mitten. Now is that weird or what! I guess he was meant to be mine!

I have added a lot more to this table since I took this picture.....

My coffee table centerpiece.....

My tree.....

And now it is full of presents, lots more ornaments, and of course, my new mushrooms. I'm going to take a new picture of it. Hold on.....'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

.............................Ta-Daaaa...............

The mushrooms are finished!

I LOVE how they came out!
I used some Martha Stewart Glitter and some Twinklets Diamond Dust. I love how they sparkle and shine!

I put some moss, a little pinecone and a few rocks around the bottom of the stem of the mushroom. I think it helps "ground" it to the base.

I love all the different shapes and colors.....

I also love how they sit on top of the branches, instead of hanging down. This helps to fill in any holes! I made 11 altogether, some are duplicates. I am READY for Christmas! I'm going to watch the movie, "A Christmas Story", now. This is one of my favorite movies and I enjoy it every time I see it! I hope you have a wonderful afternoon!
'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

............................A wonderful gift.......

I received a package in the mail the other day and inside were the most beautiful gifts from my BFF, Lady Jane! She has a blog, Our Cozy Abode and another, For the Love of Minis. Go over and check them out, her blogs are very interesting and I'm sure she would like to meet you.

She had sent me one of her Christmas stars, shown below. She did a post on her blog and gave a link on how to make them. This picture does not do it justice at all. The lighting on the tree makes it difficult to take a really good picture of the ornament. It is very sparkly and so pretty. And she also made this tapestry stand and little stool. These are miniatures for my dollhouse. I love them both and will cherish them forever.

A closeup pic of the tapestry......

So beautiful.....

She also sent some of her delicious Christmas cookies. They didn't make it to Christmas, they are all gone now. They were so good! I have her recipes to make more!

Thank you, Lady Jane, your gifts are most appreciated, and hold a special place in my heart. Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

.............................More decor...................

I added some battery lights to the mantle and I really like the way they look............

I love my vintage pieces that are up there. I just got the noel angels. My neighbor of 40 years passed away about 3 weeks ago and there was a sale to dispose of her belongings. I was fortunate to purchase the little angels. Now I have a memento of her and will always be reminded of this sweet lady who shared our neighborhood and our lives. I miss her, but know that she is in a better place with the real angels in Heaven. May she rest in peace.

My fireplace and mantle. So cute..... No, the mushrooms are not done yet. But I have all my wrapping done, cookie dough in the fridge, and all the decorating is done. I feel that I have accomplished so much! A few more small gifts to get and now I'm just waiting for the big day! Relaxing and watching Hallmark Christmas movies. And crafting mushrooms! So much fun!

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

..............................Still working on the Mushrooms........

So, here are some of the mushrooms.....they are taking longer than I thought they would.....

Martha used antique clips to put hers on. I'm using clothes pins.....

I glued this wooden disk onto the clothes pins.....

Glue is drying.....

Then I had to paint the backs of the disks and the rest of the clothes pins.....

Most of the time is spent waiting for glue and paint to dry, but I'm getting there.

Please be patient! I hope the next pictures are of the finished product. So much fun!

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

...........................Corner Cabinet.........

in my dining room.....

I'm still working on the mushrooms, but getting close to showing the finished product.

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

................................Jolly Old St. Nick.........

I bought this door panel for my kids some 40 years ago......I hang it every year and I think I like him as much as they did (and still do)!
'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

.............................Mushroom Craft...........

I am crafting some mushrooms......

These will be Christmas tree ornaments, if they come out right..... I saw this craft on the Martha Stewart Show and I really liked them! I really wanted to try to make them.

So far, so good!

I'll show you more as they progress.

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

.............................Snow people............

I call these my "Snow people". I painted many, many of these about 15 years ago and sold some of them in a consignment store at the local mall. I had some left over, so I use them to decorate with. I just love their cheerful little faces..........
'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

............................Sweet Memories..........

My corner table in the living room...... Clockwise starting at the bottom left corner.....

A little elf candle climber, one of my girls gave this to me for Christmas one year....
A Christmas star box given to me by my daughter about 20 years ago.....
On top of the box, a picture of Dusty, held by a vintage flower frog.....
A porcelain doll dressed for winter with her little wool coat and holding a little tree and wreath....
A very old photo (1947) of my sister and older brother and me.....
A white ceramic candle holder with candle and ribbon bow.....
A vintage centerpiece given to me by my MIL about 40 years ago.
Some filler pines and poinsettias in the background.....

This is a collection of some of my favorite things that I have had for many years. They bring back warm and wonderful memories of Christmas's past. I'm sure many of you have your favorite decorations that you love and I look forward to seeing some of yours.

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

.................................Decorating..................

I have started decorating for Christmas......

This is my dining room window. I decided to do a red & white & peppermint candy theme this year.....

YUMMY! My favorite ribbon candy, peppermint nougats, and Hershey's peppermint kisses.....

And it wouldn't be Christmas without CANDY CANES.....I'm decorating a little at a time, shopping a little at a time, and wrapping the gifts a little at a time this year. I don't know why, it's just working out this way. Lol Come back to see some more tomorrrow.

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

...........................A gift for me..............

This is the gift that I received from the swap at my dollhouse club meeting last night. It is fabulous and I love it!

Just look at these desserts!

And more on the bottom shelf!

And even a sparkly little Christmas towel! So perfect!

This will look so wonderful in my dollhouse!

I am so happy with my gift and I will cherish it for a long time to come.

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

............................A mini gift............

I recently joined a dollhouse club.....

We are having a holiday party and gift grab this week.....

This is what I made for the gift.....
I made the table and most of the things on it.....
I bought the wine bottle, glass, the bread, and I had the little wooden button
that the fruit is laying on.....

This is so much fun! I can't wait to see who gets it!

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

............................A Contrast..............

Before.....

After.....Our Thanksgiving was wonderful!

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

............................Welcome...........

A warm welcome to some new followers..... Daisy of Daisy's Miniaturas 1/12
Penny Sue of Penny For Your Thoughts
and linwots of Man and Health

I hope you enjoy my blog and it will be my pleasure to get to know each of you. Thank you for following my blog.
'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

.............................Giveaway...............

Rebecca is having a wonderful Giveaway.......... This beautiful handmade lavender sachet......

To enter, go over to her blog. http://rebecca-gatheryeroses.blogspot.com/2010/11/vintage-christmas-girl-sachetanother.html

The drawing will be on November 30. And you can have multiple chances to win......

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean

...............................More Quilts........

These are the latest baby quilts that I sewed......
I folded up the corners to show the backing of the quilts..... These little quilts go to Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

The materials are provided by Wayside Sewing, Marlboro, MA. They make up the kits for the quilts and many of the women who go to that store, sew them together.

We are at 350 quilts so far, and our goal is to make and donate 500 by the end of the year.

They are 24-32" square......

I have used many of my own materials from my stash to make about half of the ones that I have sewed. My personal count is 54, since June.

I love to sew and I feel this is a very good cause, and I'm happy to be able to do my part.

I love all the bright colors and the designs.

I hope these little quilts will brighten the lives of the parents of these tiny, little babies.

'Til next time, Love ya, Jean