A Charlie Brown Christmas Decorations

 

 

A few weeks ago my husband told me this year his company was having a Christmas decorating contest. The contest is going select three winners. The prize is going to be three gift cards, with first prize being $300.

 

I suggested one theme, but he said why not a Charlie Brown theme instead, since we already had a Snoopy inflatable. I thought that was a good idea.

 

 

I volunteered to help since I love decorating, and hey why not try to win some money. Since my husband is a techy,  I thought he definitely needed my help. At first I thought of painting some sets myself, but with this crazy busy season, I decided to go an easier route. I started surfing online line for Peanuts decorations. Then it dawned on my why not look for a school store for bulletin board images. It turns out our local Schoolbox store had the theme I saw online. I already had cotton filling, and used it for the snow.  The pack of decorations also had beautiful shimmery snowflakes. My husband suspended them from the ceiling, unfortunately the picture doesn't really show this very well. I added more snowflakes, Snoopy and Woodstock on the windows.

What do you think?

Gaylord Palms Ice Spectacular!

 

 

For Thanksgiving my family and I traveled to my mom's for the holiday. We enjoyed the week of my moms delicious home cooking. What also was a treat was visiting with old and some new friends.

 

 

 

 

 

Before leaving for Orlando, my mom asked if my family would like to go to see an ice display at Gaylord Palms.  I had never heard of this before, so I looked it up on the web. I was amazed at the beautiful artistry. The day we went, we drove up to the hotel were the display is in a enclosed tent right next to the hotel.

 

The local t.v. station gave a preview on their morning show about the display the day before we went. The sculptures are designed by a group of artisans from China.

 

 

 

 

The sculptors start creating the gorgeous pieces in August, and the show opens up Thanksgiving weekend and goes throughout the holidays. All the ice combined, weighs two million pounds of hand carved ice. Yes, two million!

The theme for the show this year is the Nutcracker.

 

 

 

cute little panda

 

 

The temperature is only 9 degrees, so we had to come prepared with coats, gloves, hats, and scarves.  When we checked in we are given another parker to put over our coat. There are places during the tour where their are fans blowing. They told us those spots have temperatures of 7 degrees.

 

 

 

 

 Jordan is wearing the yellow hat.

 

Clara is given a Nutcracker from her godfather Drosselmeyer.

 

 

My fingers and toes were so cold after we passed a few rooms.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the beautiful Nativity scene display. I almost got goose bumps looking at the images in awe.

 

This is actually a real person showing us how they carve the ice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we left the Ice show, we walked into the main atrium of the hotel. There they had a Christmas show with an ensemble. They each took turns singing some good classic tunes. During some of the performance we were amazed by an acrobatic act on a ring suspended above us.

 

If you are ever in the Orlando area during Thanksgiving or Christmas; this is a definitely something I would recommend.

New Clock and Fall Decoration

 

 

When I decided to create a new clock I thought this would be perfect with a fall theme. However, the functional art  piece will be good for any season.

 

 

 

 

 

A few weeks ago I saw a decorator on my local t.v. station.

 

She had great decorating ideas with a fall theme. I decided I definitely wanted to give one a try.

 

I purchased a 1/2 a yard of fabric that was on sale at Hancock Fabrics. I cut the fabric to make it a square. Then I simply tucked in the extra fabric into the hole.

 

 

 

 

I used a cinnamon stick in the center for the stem, but you could also use a small stick.  A silk leaf placed on the top would also add a nice accent.

 

 

 

I placed my extra role in my guest bathroom. What a simple cute decoration for the season!



Welcome to our "Celebrate Fall" linky party!

The fall season is such a gorgeous time of the year. I love all the natural beauty that the season has to offer, along with the beautifully decorations that people create.

Several years ago, I started creating my own polymer clay ornaments to decorate my home. The following year I started giving them as gifts and offering the decor in my Etsy shop.

I hang my decorations on my fireplace mantel.

The rich colors bring such warmth and cheer.

This pumpkin would make a great hostess gift.

I wanted to show you a pumpkin I painted several years ago. This design was inspired by a drawing I have in my sketchbook.

I also wanted to share with you my porch decoration from last year. The pumpkins were painted to look like candy corn. I think this was my favorite creation so far!

Please come take a look at some of my other friends' blogs!

Angels N Everlasting

Sammy's Grammy

Lizzi's Blog

Celebrate Fall Linky Party

I have been floating this idea in my head of having a linky party for sometime. However, I wasn't quite sure how to get started, so I started searching the web for help.  After talking with my Etsy friends for any advice or suggestions, they said they would love to join me in this visual celebration.

Our first linky parties theme will be Celebrate Fall. I would like you to join us, and share some images on your blogs. When you think about the fall, what comes to mind? For me it means cool crisp mornings, bright beautiful leaves of orange, red, and yellow.  I also think about beautifully decorated porches with scarecrows, and festive dining room table décor. What also comes to mind are all the lovely baked goods, along with hearty soups and stews. I must admit I'm not into the ghost and ghouls.

I hope you share the season's natural beauty of colorful trees, as well as recipes, crafts, or Martha Stewart like decorations. A tutorial you have created would be fantastic to share.

Please contact me with what your post would be about, so we can link up. I am hoping to get up to ten blogs for the first event.

The party will start October 24th at 11 a.m.  I or one of my team members will send you a confirmation along with the other links to post on your blog. Scroll down my blog to the Creative Gathering badge. Post it on your blog. If you don't get invited to this party, don't worry, we will have another one very soon.

As I posted before; please no ghoulish images.

Fall Inspired Painting

It seems like these past few months. I haven't been feeling that creative lately. I have worked on a few projects, but I get caught up with something else around the house. It has been so frustrating to get back into the groove. So, recently I was able to sit down and paint a little.

 

 

 

It felt so good to be able to create again. This painting is inspired by the end of fall season, when the leaves begin to fall, and winter makes its grand introduction.

 

So far now enjoy all the breathtaking colors of red, orange, and yellow.

Dinner Time

 

 

For many years getting my kids to eat dinner has been a challenge. For years I tried to convince my two older children that French fries are in fact potatoes. They still didn't buy until two years ago. Now they love baked potatoes!

 

Well, a few weeks ago I came across a different way of baking potatoes. I thought this would be a great side for dinner.  Here is the recipe.

 

I also baked some salmon for the meal.

 

 

 

Here is picture of the complete meal. Everyone enjoyed it! Who knows what will work next time, but at least this one was a winner!

Suwanee Fest

This past weekend our little city put on Suwanee Fest. This year marked a first for having the festival  for two days. Each year the festival is kicked off with a big parade. There are bands dance troupes, string orchestra from our local junior high school. We also have Miss Suwanee, which include toddler, child, middle and high school and Senior Suwanee. Well, you get the picture. It is a lot.

 

 

 

My son Jordan, is riding with cub scout troop in this big truck . Of course I couldn't see him again this year as usual. My husband is the guy in the middle just behind the truck. He is also a troop leader.

 

 

Cute wagon.

 

 

 

 

 

Stormtrooper

 

 

 

 

 

I loved this fall themed float.

 

 

 

 

 

My son Michael.

 

There were a side variety of arts and crafts booths.

Color trends for 2015

 

I decided to surf the internet to look at what color trends will be for next year. Next year is continuing the trend with more muted, earthy colors for home décor and fashion.

 

This will defiantly give me some inspiration, when I think of making some new products for the coming year. I added some images of some of the colors, that I hope might give you some inspiration as well.

 

Here is a link with more colors for 2015.

 

 

 

 

Deep Mahogany

 

 

 

 

 

 

Champagne Beige

 

 

 

 

 

Crushed Grape

 

 

 

 

Steel Grey

September 11th Remembrance

It is so hard to believe that thirteen years have passed, when I brought my two small children down to eat breakfast; to then see such a tragedy unfold before my eyes.

Please never forget!

Fall is Coming!

 

 

 

Several weeks ago, as I was driving, I noticed the leaves starting to change on a few trees. I believe they are oak trees. The leaves where already changing to a dark burgundy. We have had several cold fronts in our area about a month ago. I think that may have caused the colors to start the change a little earlier than normal.

 

We started the summer pretty mild, but the temperature has been so hot these past few weeks. In fact the entire east coast seems to be terribly hot.

 

I don't know about you, but I am ready for the fall season to begin. I'm looking forward to seeing the beautiful pumpkins, gourds, and Indian corn decorations. I look forward to making soups, stews, and bread and yummy rolls.

 

So to kick off the season, I wanted to give one of my leaves as a coloring sheet for yourself, or for your child, or grandchild to enjoy. Just go to the coloring sheet to your right titled Maple Leaf, then print out the pdf file. Enjoy!

Creole Shrimp and Pasta

Last week I went to the grocery store to figure out our meals for the week. As usual the question is, what do I make for dinner? This is a constant question that I have to ask myself. I don't mind cooking, but when you have very picky eaters, let's just say it can be a challenge.

Well, I noticed that a family pack of shrimp was on sale this week at Kroger. I decided to make a Creole styled dish. The recipe was inspired by something I had when I went out to lunch with my husband at Pappadeaux's Restaurant.

I started making a roux with butter and flour. I made it so the buttery sauce made a substantial amount to blend with the pasta.

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds of shrimp
2 to 3 tablespoons of butter or margarine
1 tablespoon of flour
1 box of pasta
Tony's Chachere's Creole Seasoning
Salt to the taste
Pepper 1/4 teaspoon
Parsley (a dash)
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning.
Thyme 1/4 teaspoon
1/2 c. of pork sausage browned

I melted the butter first, then added my flour and stirred until I made a good sauce (about 5 min.)
Then I started adding all of my seasonings. Next I added the shrimp and stirred until they became pink. This takes roughly 5 minutes. I had already browned some pork sausage in another pot. I would also suggest substituting the sausage with bratwurst as an alternative. The last step was to add in my cooked pasta.

Well, let me tell you every plate was empty after this meal. My husband and very picky middle child who did not want it at first, also went back for seconds. Mama did good tonight!

For those who don't know much about Creole people. They are those who descended from settlers of African, French, and Spanish ancestry. Here is a little more information about the Creole culture here.

Basement Update

 

 

It has been a while since I posted our progress in our basement. To tell you the truth, with the kids home for the summer, progress slowed up a lot. My husband and I were busy going on vacation, going to the pool, movies, bowling and entertaining family and friends. However, I did start looking for frames to put family pictures down the stairs. I saw great idea on Pinterest.

I already had the black and gold and all gold frame. I will be adding more family pictures to the wall. I found this cute metal family sign at Hobby Lobby. As you can see my hubby still has to complete the trim to the stairs.

Our family finally decided to have a movie theme for our basement. My daughter suggested a Paris theme, but the boys would not go for that. 

I found this sign that will be on the wall as people walk down the steps. I purchased the sign at Hobby Lobby. This montage of pictures was a present my mom gave us for our 20th wedding anniversary in April.

 

 

Even though I still have several more boxes to open, you won't believe all the stuff we have donated or thrown away. I still have a lot more things to go through.

 

The left side of the room behind the bookshelf will be my studio space. The right side is the game area and workout space.

 

 

 

Here is a close up of my two sons sports teams photos. I put these Mickey Mouse ears just as a joke, but the family likes them since the color matches.

 

I purchased the sign and reel at Hobby Lobby as well. They had a great sale on the signs.

My junkie studio space that I am trying to organize.  I found a bookshelf with baskets at Target that I think will go great for my space.

 

How does it look so far?

Birthday celebrations

Every July my mom flies up from Florida so we can celebrate her birthday with the family. A few days before her special day, we had family and friends over for a cookout on the weekend.

 

 

I had not seen my cousins in a couple of years, but my mom hadn't seen a couple of them in over twenty years.

 

 

 

 

Cousins battling it out on a Wii game.

 

My moms birthday was actually on July 22nd. Our family took her out for dinner at Longhorn. This restaurant is one of our favorite places when dining out.