Traditions With A Twist

Hello Friends,

Christmas is rapidly approaching....Countdown has begun.  There's still cookie baking to be done here and presents to wrap.  How's your preparations coming along?  I'm putting finishing touches on the Mermaid Tail Blankets I've been knitting for Sunshine & Lollipop and I'll be sharing those with you after Christmas.

I promised to share more decorating with you......most of you know that I have no fireplace mantel to decorate (I live in Florida where it is currently 82 degrees in Mid-December) but I do have a baker's rack that gets the full treatment each season.

In addition to the Santa collection

I've added a new chalkboard greeting

A few of my favorite things

including a vintage angel and her reindeer buddy.

More Santas and a new addition of glass pedestals to hold  my jeweled fruit. 

Oh another crafty project I've been working on is the Coffee Filter and Cupcake liner Christmas tree.  This was inspired by Pinterest: see it HERE.  

 Of course I did my own spin on the original, adding pom-poms and painting my own design. 

I originally planned to use the tree on the baker's rack but it just didn't look right.  Less is more, right?  And looking at the BR it didn't need More! So, this year my cheery little tree will join the moss-filled hurricane lanterns on the dining table.  I think it fits in perfectly here, don't you?

Until next time,
Bee Creative!
Suzy

Keeping It Simply Natural

Hello Friends!

It's that time of year again when we are all super busy with preparations leading up to Christmas when time seems to fly rapidly, while we try to keep up with an endless TO DO list.  If you are that busy then it is time to slow down and enjoy the season!  Take time out of your busy schedule to enjoy a cuppa something warm, take a breath and enjoy the moment.  I don't know about you but I have to remind myself to sloooooow down!

As December approaches I get super busy with craft projects, decorating and gift making.  I like traditional decorating but try to switch up the traditional each year with a few newer ideas.  This year I'm keeping it simple with natural elements.


Cinnamon scented pine cones in a wooden bowl on a quilt brightens up the coffee table. 

 Last year I made a few cone trees decorated with pages from a dictionary and added paper snowflakes punched from recycled Christmas cards. This year they join the angel next to a vintage basket stuffed with pine boughs.

And a few more cone trees decorate an entry table....they are favorites of Sunshine & Lollipop. They love the bright green and silver tinsel trees decorated with red buttons and wooden stars.

JOY!  My newest chalkboard design holds court over a painted Santa sign and mini Christmas tree decorated with nuts and berries.  The silver and gold basket holds a silver pear. 

A new hand-made faux boxwood wreath hangs over the wooden nativity near my chair. 

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Another natural element: silver and bronze tin pail holds more greenery and a little red star.

Our beautiful porcelain nativity with vintage trumpet candle holders announce the birth of Jesus.  That's a wooden chopping board painted with chalkboard paint to herald the blessed event.

What creative ideas have you come up with to decorate your home?  I don't know about you but I have a zillion ideas but only a few make it to the final cut each year.  That's the great thing about decorating, there's always lots of ideas and they can wait until next year.

  I do have a few more decorating projects to show you, so please come back soon!  

BEE CREATIVE!  

Suzy

Tinsel, Glitter & Glue

Greetings Friends!

December is here and its officially time to start hanging the greens and getting our home decorated in the traditions of the season.  Our Christmas tree is up but not decorated and a few crafty projects are in the works.

For several years now I've been doctoring up the old Christmas wreath that hangs on the front door, thinking I would eventually get a new one to replace it.  This was the year for making a new Christmas wreath and I found all the supplies at the Dollar store.

 It all started when the shiny silver tinsel caught my eye....originally my plan was to make an ornament wreath but that shiny tinsel had me and pretty soon there were berries and before I knew what was happening I had a basket full of silver glitter pine cones and red berries and shiny red and silver ornaments, OH MY!

It has been YEARS since I've used a hot glue gun but this project called for the heavy duty glue and you know what that means....lots of painful glue burns. Not a fan of the low temp glue but I might need to rethink that position.  

And yes I've been busy crafting other Christmas things but just a glimpse for now.....

Something Red & White.....

Something Green & Red........

Have you been crafting and decorating?  Stop back by again....I'll be sharing these with you soon!

Bee Creative
Suzy

Happy Day After Thanksgiving

Hello Friends,
Happy Thanksgiving!
How was your Thanksgiving?  Hubs and I celebrated at home this year with our own turkey and our favorite trimmings.  We love turkey leftovers as much as the Thanksgiving feast the day before. Turkey sandwiches on white bread with mayo are leftover faves. A nice hearty turkey noodle soup and Turkey Sheppard's pie will go into the freezer for a chilly day. What wonderful dishes do you make from your leftover turkey?

On the day after Thanksgiving Hubs is raring to go to get the Christmas tree which we do and put it into a bucket of water until the following weekend when the tree officially goes up.

 I'm telling you right here, right now, I'm NOT ready for this to be happening!  It seems that I've only just gotten my Fall decorations up and it is NOT possibly time to take them down and start on the Christmas decor. If Hubs had his way, the tree would go up today, the day after Thanksgiving.  I am not ready for that. I'd like the remainder of November to enjoy my Fall decor.

November is a crafty month for me working on decor and Christmas projects like knitting mermaid tail blankets for little Sunshine & Lollipop and red & white stripe hats for the hospital babies born in December and making a new Christmas wreath for the front door.  It's a fun creative time for crafting, knitting and decorating.  Beginning next week I'll be sharing some of these crafty projects with you ....after the Christmas tree goes up.

Until then, enjoy the last few days of November and the remaining turkey leftovers.  

Thank you for stopping by and come back soon!
Bee Creative!
Suzy

Quilted Fall Pumkin Table Runner

Hello Friends,

Welcome back. Glad to see you! Today I'm sharing a Quilted Fall Pumpkin Table Runner that was inspired by one I saw on Pinterest.  Quilting has been a hobby of mine for about 30 years now and a pumpkin table runner has been on my quilting To Do List for a few years.

One Saturday morning in late September my best friend Bonnie and I were having our weekly text chat over coffee when the subject of table runners came up once again. Every year we lament over the fact that we have not gotten our table runners done in time for Fall. But THIS year I had already decided it was a priority project to scratch off my TO DO list.  I had a plan in mind and was determined to make it happen.  Bonnie listened as I told her the plan, Step One: go to your fabric stash and pull out orange fabrics.

Text a photo when done.

 Fabrics pulled for project.  Step Two:  Do the math (yikes, I'm mathematically challenged) to determine block size according to table dimensions.

Step Three:  Cut squares according to the runner size determined by table size.
Send Photo.

Step Four: Sew pieces together.  Send Photo.

Step Five: Cut and arrange pieces for second pumpkin.  Sew and send Photo.

  And this is where I lost her.  Being determined  I pushed on over the next few days, adding hand drawn leaves and stem that were appliqued after the pumpkins were sewn into the background and a few thread squiggles for vines. Machine quilting and adding a orange stripe binding to finish off the project and FINALLY call it DONE!  

 Here you can see it on my dining room table.  I bought the wooden crate at Joann Fabrics and painted it with a metallic copper craft paint and added the faux red and green apples and a few faux fall leaves.

I'm so excited to finally cross off this long standing project on my To Do List!  Now, it's time to tackle a Christmas table runner....uh, maybe next year!

Happy Fall!
Bee Creative!
Suzy

Terrarium and Cloches

Hello Friends!


It has become very clear to me that glass apothecary jars, terrariums and cloches have had a resurgence in the decorating market recently.  Have you noticed?  These were very popular in the 60's and early 70's (We actually received a terrarium as a wedding present 40 years ago but over the years it went by the way, wish I'd hung on to it now).

A few weeks ago I was at Old Time Pottery and found a beautiful copper terrarium shaped like a house. Pitter Patter went my heart. Oh be still! There were several Large and one or two small sizes on the shelf but after seeing the price well I had to pass it by.  After two weeks that terrarium was STILL on my mind so I went back to the store. It was not on the shelf where I saw it before, I was mentally giving myself a good talking to about passing up a special piece like that, when a sales associate asks if she can help me.  I told her about the smaller terrarium and asked if there were any smaller terrariums in the back by chance, she said "no, but there's one over here that might be what you are looking for".  YES!  It was the one I wanted all along!!! Just waiting for me to take it home!

AND there just so happened to be a 20% discount for VIP customers that day.  How about that??

Oh I have lots of ideas for filling this terrarium and if I didn't have my own ideas brimming over I found a billion more on....you guessed it, Pinterest. Check out my BOARD .



Each week I visit Good Will store in my area to look for treasures which is hit or miss most weeks. Do you remember the ever popular cheese board with the domed lid?  I found one at GW and turned it into a little cloche for Fall.  Sporting a little plaid pumpkin and glitter acorns on a bed of raffia and wire leaf.

So Cool, right?  Yeah, these little finds are what keeps me going back.

So what are you creating? Let me know!

Bee Creative!

Suzy

                       

Apothecary Jars & Hurricane Lantern Fillers

Hello there!

I never get tired of seeing what people are doing when it comes to decorating their homes and hope that you agree because I'm sharing a few more Fall ideas with you today.

Have you seen the wonderful candles,candle holders and apothecary jar and vase fillers at Pottery Barn? Wow! They take my breathe away.  Don't you love the way they take an ordinary glass apothecary jar and turn it into something special with moss and a few decorative items?  Well, I love the look of PB but not being able to afford it, I have to find other ways to satisfy my PB decorating on a budget.

A few years back I purchased two very large glass hurricane lantern/vases and a large apothecary jar at Marshall's (for a fraction of the cost) to use in decorating.  These glass hurricanes and apothecary jar have held everything from shells to Christmas ornaments, faux branches to candles. I love their versatility throughout the seasons.

This year inspired by Pottery Barn vase fillers I found these extra large faux acorns (Kirklands) in bronze, gold and silver finishes and tiny pine cone ornaments and wire leaves (Dollar Store) complete this apothecary jar.

For the Magpie that I am.....A bag of glitter acorns that practically leaped off the shelf into my basket! 

 Of course they needed companion faux pumpkins and berries.

Because after all THEY were on SALE!

My rationale for these purchases:  Acorns and pumpkins transition from Fall into Thanksgiving, right?

Using Apothecary Jars and Hurricane lanterns in decorating is fun, considering they can hold any thing you might imagine.  They aren't just for candles anymore.

GO ahead turn your ideas into something wonderful!

Bee Creative,
Suzy

Happy Fall

Hello Friends,

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year and mostly a state of mind where I live. The weather is taking a turn to less humidity, cooler sea breezes and crystal clear blue sky indicating it is Fall in So. Florida.  Location doesn't keep me from fully enjoying seasonal decorating but I will admit a bit of longing for fall leaves and access to nature's bountiful foliage and natural objects to use in decorating.  Jeez, I have to go out and actually purchase these FAUX items some of y'all get for free <pouty face> and another thing, fireplace mantles, is it me or does it seem like everybody has a mantle to decorate?   I know there are people just like me that don't have a mantle and that just makes us get a bit creative with our decorating.  If you don't have a mantle, what/where do you decorate for the seasons?

My mantle is a Baker's rack in the kitchen.  I use it to corral uh, display my seasonal decorations.

Last year's pumpkin collection has been completed and this year I've added a chalkboard, compote, carrot pitcher, two ceramic pears and cutting board.  All are finds from the thrift store with the exception of the chalkboard.  My very FIRST chalkboard was inspired by this chalkboard found on Pinterest.  I'm totally hooked on the chalkboard pens.

This BOO sign was found at Target in Michigan and after trick or treat I can add the pumpkin to the patch.

 This compote is missing the lid but isn't perfect for holding flowers or fruit?

Here it is close up.  Lovely isn't it?

 The carrot pitcher will do double duty in Spring but because it is orange it works with the fall theme.

Look at these pears! Just ripe for the picking don't you think?

Here's another thrift find, the chopping board tied with baker twine, faux pears in a bowl that belonged to my Dad's aunt works well with the other natural elements.

By now you might have guessed I'm a huge Pinterest fan, it is my GO TO for decorating ideas for Fall and Christmas, and this time of the year is a bonanza of ideas.  I love the home tours and all the ideas that come from peeking inside other peoples homes to see how they decorate seasonally.  My inspiration comes from many places including Pinterest, the craft stores, store window dressings and magazines and HGTV shows to name a few. Where do your decorating ideas come from?

I'll have more fall decor to share with you this week so be sure to come back again soon!

Happy Fall Y'all,
Be Creative
Suzy

CANDY CORN DAY

Last year I "officially" dubbed October 1st as "Candy Corn Day". The little grands Sunshine and Lollipop were happy to play along with Mimi and celebrate the day with a handful of candy corn and a kiddie craft. We had a delightful afternoon painting triangular shaped "candy corn" in white, orange and yellow, then stringing them together with yarn to make a fun candy corn banner.  

This year I was in Michigan with Calvin Houdini (aka Jackson) and Little Miss (aka Isla) for Candy Corn Day.  Before I left home I traced large triangles on a office folder and stuck it in my baggage (don't you just wonder what security thinks about these kinda items in our baggage?) ready to pull out and have "craft" day entertainment.  I'd purchased paints and brushes so we were all set to go.....preparation is KEY with a 2.5 yr. old.  Jackson was excited to "paint" with Mimi, listening as the concept of candy corn painting was explained, he followed directions well!  In fact Jackson was a very neat/tidy painter and as he waited patiently while the paint dried between layers..... we had lunch and nap time. 

We also painted a little pumpkin and hung them in the window.  

Jackson and I had a great time painting and maybe in another year or two, Isla will be able to join us for Candy Corn Day!  

Although I missed the 2nd annual Candy Corn Day with Sunshine and Lollipops I did find Candy Corn socks for them.....and they were very happy! 

Hope you are enjoying the season of Candy Corn and finding creative crafts to do!  Please stop by again soon to see Fall craft projects I've been working on...

Bee Creative!
Suzy