Holiday Home 2013

Welcome!  Just opening this post that this will be my last Christmas in this house.  Little one and I are scheduled to move at the end of January so we move forward with positivity and lots of hope (and a lot more decorating and home projects).  So that brings me to that we decorated very very simply this year.  Lots of greenery, neutrals and a vintage Christmas with reds vibe.  There are more vignettes or spots in the downstairs as the upstairs looks like a disaster zone with boxes, purging, and deciding what to actual take as little one and I take this new step in life. 
Please visit Jennifer Rizzo for lots of beautiful tours.

PS: contract has been made on a small house and its closer to work!  Will share soon. SOooo excited.  I finally getting my white kitchen (of course, there is projects though :)
 

Come on in and have some coffee or cocoa.  I went through my Dad's woods and filled in a standard 18 inch wreath (its so fluffy and huge-LOVE!).  A local store, Roots of Greenville, has wonderful ribbons and decorating 'doodads' as I call them.  I went non traditional this year and LOVE this. 

Sad to say goodbye to this porch and window boxes decorated with simply greenery and mucho bunches of holly berries from my Mom's holly bush.  Please excuse the browning boxwood bushes. 

If you stopped by Holiday Home 2012, you saw my handmade farmhouse frame just inside the door.  This year its dressed up more vintage winter to get us through the move.

Entryway:  I handmade the pallet sign in a local class.  Lots of fun and will replicate that technique for other projects in the early spring.  Love the non traditional blue color and that is my little one's pine cone tree with pom pom ornaments :)

Dining room is very simple with greenery and baskets on hand.  This is also where our main tree is (in the front windows).  We use all handmade ornaments and my Grandma's vintage one's.

This is an open floor plan in the back of the house with the living room and kitchen and eat in flowing together.
We did a tiny hot chocolate area and took the easy route, dark hot chocolate pods for the Keurig.

 My vintage style Santa with greens in the eat in area.

This is my most favorite find for this year! Love this board.  So easy to change the colors to use for year round.

 

 Corner of the eat in kitchen area --love these birds.  I found them when I was digging through all my Christmas items to get ready to be packed or purged for the move!

I decided I wanted a real wreath inside this year and this one leads to the back screened in porch.  I found this Dear Santa ribbon at a local shop and added some of my favorite 'doodads' and those are glass owls-tiny ones hanging from the ribbon.

 My Silent Night Holy Night sign I made last year.  Lots of fresh greenery and a bit of sparkle from the tree and reindeer I have had forever.  Okay, now I realize I have a thing for big bows.  Well, we all have something, right?

Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas.  May you be blessed in the New Year.  For the first time in a long time, a tiny bit of hope has sprung and in time, we will be okay.  Time heals as all my family and friends have told me for the past 10 months.  We are enjoying a simple but fun filled season.  And these 2 gals are hoping for a bit of snow here in South Carolina!

Warm wishes,
Kris

Sharing with :
Jennifer Rizzo
Common Ground
By Stephanie Lynn Under the Table and Dreaming
Shabby Art Boutique
Inspiration Exchange- City Farmhouse

Lots of Christmas and Holiday in the Etsy Shop.

Oh its beginning to look a lot like the Holidays...

So excited to share these goodies I just made and can be found in the Holiday Shop.  Lots of items added, a lot of mixed media collage work too.  From this Post, you found out a lot has been going on in the background.  I found myself with a bit of time thanks to the neighbor kids, and spent the afternoon creating while I listened to the soft breezes intermingled with kids laughing.  Isn't that the best sound, innocent laughing, true, authentic.  It looks like that was our last breath of a warm South Carolina fall day.

I couldn't resist this beautiful chiffon material and after a bit, I hand sewed each into to these lovely flowers, which I think are my version of poinsettias.  The color is beautiful- grey beige.  Aren't they pretty in my sleigh that I upcycled to a winter white with some clear glitter?  They are here in the SHOP.

Then tags or hangings in similar tones.  SHOP and SHOP

 

 

OH, and these 2 sweet collages I had shown on my Instagram page.  Love how these came out so traditional but still within my aspect of collage/mixed media.  They are HERE and HERE.

Thanks for looking! 
Happy Holidays!
Kris

Linking to:
Shabby Art Boutique
Charm of Home
Jennifer Rizzo
Common Ground
French Country Cottage

My Big Fat Pillow

Yes, I love my big fat pillow.  We are on a strict budget for the holidays but oh so wanted to add some new fluff to my living room.  I dug in my fabric stash.  All these fabrics are remnants and typically in the clearance bin at the local fabric store. 

So why is it that the fabric you want is ALWAYS on the bottom of that very heavy and deep remnant pile?  I loved this tiny chevron coupled with a soft chenille feel.

This was my first time making felt flowers and my fingers have the war wounds to show!  2 sheets of felt at 25 cents.  After about the 10th flower, I got the hang of it.  I'm currently working on a shop update and an ornament is coming soon with bitty flowers similar to these.

I am crushing on the new 'yellow' more modern than the old 70's version.  It just makes me happy.
Add a few antique doilies sewn in, a bit of handmade fabric ribbon, and there is my big fat pillow.  I recycled an old pillow for the fluff.  Little one and I had a pull apart and run around fluffing it back up party :)  In the end, pillow was less than $1 to make since I had it all but the felt.

Happy Day!

No LuLu you can NOT have Mom's new fat pillow~!  She says 'What?! Come on MOM!  love my sweet Lab mix.

Take Care, Kris

Hello...

Etsy

I keep typing and not knowing what to say.... days, turned into weeks, and now months.  8 months to be exact.  People kept saying 'it will get better' and ' time heals all'.  At this point, the forever house is on the market, and little one and I plus my sweet pups will be moving - on and forward.  When those footsteps walked out that door not caring, abandoning everything including little one, it shut hard on our side. 

Breathing has been my main focus. Then one day not to long ago, instead of staring at my art craft room.  I stepped in.  Opened boxes and drawers.  Cleaned my workspace.  Lighted a candle.  Tiny swirls of creative mess happening. 

Just like that I started to heal.  I am not the same person I was 8 months ago.  Sadness still prevails-will that every go away?  Realizing that in the worst, I found out how strong I could be.  That reaching out and relying on friends and family is okay.

Here is Lucky doing her best to photo bomb

my picture of that Christmas sign

I made from recycled pallet wood. 

 



I have been working to fill my Etsy for the Holiday season.  But not to rush the season, I decided to decorate a bit for Fall.  I admit I was surprised to keep going to the sunflower yellow/mustard color but with the sparing few cents I had, I updated my farmhouse frame from last year with this new color combo, vintage music paper and bit of burlap/straw.

 

Added a new plant and some white pumpkins to my entryway, reviving my already owned items.

Then with our new 'tude', I splurged and bought this 'Jump in the Lake' original frame with a B&W photo from little one's first day of First Grade in August. 

 Its nowhere near over but as each day unfolds for our new life, routines, schedules, and moments develop for a new family album now in the process of being filled.

 

Closing with my first jump back in the creative bits, a tiny journal that I bought from my friend Cerri, that I painted and embellished with a handmade flower.  Beautiful.  That we are all beautiful.  A reminder that he can not take away my faith and hope, that beauty- caring, and kindness will endure and be stronger than that evil that he has within.   

 

Till next time, Kris



Sometimes the mail has fun

goodies.  Look what came in the mail!

Do you see who's name is on the front cover? :) What a sweet surprise when I opened up the package! 

I feel very blessed that the wonderful and sweet editor Christine Stephens did a feature on my handmade totes that present my art cuffs.  Artfully presented packaging on a tiny budget is attainable.

A peek at my art cuffs also being shown in the magazine.

Below is a couple of the tiny totes and one of my cuffs shown.

 

The magazine will be available July 1 at major booksellers and you can also purchase directly from Stampington: Link

Take care, Kris