Sit Long- Talk Much - Laugh A Lot

Relaxing over New Years

I will be taking a blog break over New Years and would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe, relaxing and joyous New Year.

Bentley is also taking a break!



Blessings and Happy New Year, Erin

Gifts from the Garden

A recent trip to my friend Kathy's garden at The Vintage Lady (see previous blog for address )inspired me to put together some last minute gifts from my own garden.

A small flowering plant placed inside a bird cage makes an adorable and simple gift from her garden.



Kathy designs these adorable signs and commissions an artist to paint them.

A little spruce tree tied with a big red bow makes a lovely gift from the garden.

Last Minute Gifts from my garden.

If you are not a gardener, or if your garden is snowed in for the winter, you can still give a last minute garden gift. Beautiful and inexpensive plants can be purchased from your local nursery or grocery store. Pots of ivy or topary, rosemary trees, paper whites , pots of herbs or other green plants make great gifts that will be enjoyed throughout the year.

The addition of a red check bow and little red berries add a festive touch to the ivory topiary.

A little red chair with a tin container for planting makes the perfect container for an ivy topiary decorated with bow and little red bird.

A little rosemary plant trimmed in the shape of a Christmas tree makes a great little gift for a friend who likes to cook.

A little hand painted sign and red berries placed in a pot of ivy dress the pot up for Christmas.

.

Bentley waiting to go inside after helping with last minute gifts from our garden.

Thank you to my new blog friends for your comments and words of encouragement to me in starting my blog. Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful Christmas filled with blessings and may all the joys of Season be yours.

Looking for Vintage Pink Christmas Inspiration

Vintage Lady

Let's take a little tour of Old Town Tustin looking for pink vintage Christmas inspiration for a pink "Snow lady Greeter" . This will be a special tour for Sandra who is going through the final phase of treatment for breast cancer. Sandra loves pink roses and romantic and shabby chic style. My sister, Leslie, and I met her almost a year ago as a result of a comment she made on a blog , that touched our hearts, about her love for roses and all things beautiful and romantic. I am a seven year breast cancer survivor and we knew that we wanted to get in touch with her by e-mail to be there for her throughout her entire journey. During the past year we have gotten to know and love Sandra as our own sister.

Old Tustin, California is a very charming and historical town located about ten miles from the Southern California coast where I live. One of my favorite vintage shops is located there - The Vintage Lady where one shops in a real home and garden setting in a historical building located in the heart of the town.

Kathy, owner of The Vintage Lady is a talented Gardner and teaches "Make It and Take" it classes in her charming garden located behind her store. Even though her garden is not in full bloom this time of year, there were lots of delightful pink garden inspirations to be found, including some climbing pink roses.

Finding Inspiration

Here . . . . . . . .

There . . . . . .

Everywhere . . . . .




434 El Camino Real, Old Town Tustin, CA

714 731-0422

Kathy's shop is located inside a charming little cottage and is equally as delightful as her garden. We will tour her shop on a later post.

Now let's stop by Debra's Cottage to look for more pink and inspirational snow ladies.


With all of our inspiration it's time to paint a shabby pink snow lady greeter for Sandra and one for you.


The snow lady door greeters are so easy to make and will take you about one hour to complete. I like to use a square canvas - 5X5 is the best size for a door greeter, however, you can use any size you want, and can also make them out of wood. Michael's Craft store is a great place to buy art supplies. They also have wood boards in all sizes.

Pick a color for your background. I paint with acrylic paints as they are non toxic and easy to clean up. I used two coats of Folk Art #438 Ballet Pink. After your canvas is dry, draw a circle for the head and add a top hat - or any kind of hat you want. Then draw a carrot for the nose and a mouth and eyes.








Now you can start painting - you will need several coats for the white snow face and body- note I used a little lavender on the side of the face for some shading since snow is not pure white, however, yours will look just as cute with pure white. Paint the top hat crimson - you can use red for the first coat and then mix in some white for the second coat in order to get a nice pink hat. Paint your scarf any color you like - I think it looks nice to paint the hat and scarf the same color.



Now for the fun part - putting on the finishing touches of your snow lady. Highlight the top of her hat by mixing white with your red or crimson. Paint the two black circles for her eyes (I put eyelashes on my lady) and a dot of white in the center of her eye. Paint a happy mouth and mix a little red and white to paint circles for her cheeks.

The final step is to paint some shabby roses on her hat and scarf. After your paint is dry -add snow flakes. This is the tricky part - thoroughly wet your brush and dip it into your white paint - make sure your brush is really wet with water- then splatter the paint onto your canvas by hitting the handle of the brush (my sister suggested using a tooth brush for this) - this will fling the paint all over the canvas to create the look of snow. CAUTION - this is very messy - I put the painting in the bottom of my kitchen sink to do this -better yet - take it outside. The last step is to add screw eyes on the back of the canvas and tie with a bow.


Finished Snow Lady greeter




Here is another idea for a Snow Lady Greeter wearing a different hat.
If you have any questions about painting your Snow Lady Greeter, please leave me a comment and I will be happy to answer your questions. Have a lovely week

Please keep Sandra in your thoughts and prayers during this joyous holiday season. We are looking forward to Sandra starting her own blog next year.