it wasn't much snow, but enough to warrant an all day fire in the fireplace.
lots of just hanging out and playing,
the beginnings of a quilt for C who keeps asking "when will my cowboy quilt be done? it is freeezing". i hope to have it done and wrapped under the tree christmas eve. we'll see.
it was also a perfect day for homemade broccoli cheese and chicken soup topped off with some market bread.
hope you are staying warm and enjoying the season.
i found this big brown bell at a garage sale a few weeks ago.....perfect!
paper cone packages for teachers at C's preschool.
dining room table centerpiece. start with a tray and start loading it up. you can never have too many candles and don't forget to add somethings shiny.
front entry table. love how this display turned out. i think it's all the layering that makes it. the cake plate, the silver plate, the snowballs, the greenery, the packages....
an easy and festive idea is to wrap small boxes with paper that matches your color scheme.
again, don't forget to add something shiny....one ornament will do the trick.
for this sofa table display i just added some extra beads and baubles to the boys photos.
the back mantel...everything was there, i just added the greenery, the sleigh with snowballs and the 'better not pout' garland.
some extra ornaments just added next to some candles in this small glass box.
aaahhh...my favorite decoration this year. this was the paper garland chain that we had around our tree last year. this year we cut it into pieces and hung it in the front window. i used a huge stick that fell from one of our trees to slide the paper garland onto. M made the paper snowflakes, we had a great time putting this together. again, use what you have... but in another way or form. it makes it so much easier....not to mention cheaper!
we went with burlap garland on the tree this year.
a large galvanized bucket holds the unsightly tree stand.
and how many of you have those old wood measuring tapes laying around? shape it like a star and ta-da a Christmas decoration!
this stone wallpaper really adds a warm cozy feel to the entry. my husband said "i feel like i am walking into a castle". i will take a comment like that any day from my husband....because if this is your castle, well then that must make me the queen! ;)
it looks really pretty with the wood floors...oooh i just love it. don't be afraid to commit to wallpaper. it really isn't that difficult to hang and it can make quite a statement.
the diamonds on the dining room wall are gone. and i really like the warm stone paint color. it is a pretty gray during the day, and at night it seems to change to a muddy browny, gray and it is beautiful.
the white legs on the dining table really seem to fit in better with the solid wall color. my collection of drawers have made their way to the wall to create little cubbies to hold small mementos.
i love the different finishes, colors and handles on them. i am on the hunt for one more, because i like things in odd number groupings. easy 'art' especially when you pick them up at garage sales or flea markets.
the shutters on the wall were a folding screen. i took off all the hinges and then just hung each piece on the wall. the clock hangs on a shutter for that layered look. if you are having trouble with decorating, try layering, i think it really adds something to the look. love the white shutters on the new paint color.
and ahhhhh. finally a new chandelier for the living room. my husband kept hitting his head on the old one, so i was on the hunt for a smaller one. i won this cute vintage french chandelier on ebay last week. it is so pretty in person, i absolutely love it. 
a busy decorating weekend. but would i want it any other way?! of course not! we will crank the christmas music and put up the tree on friday.
so this is the table with it's little 40 minute makeover. obviously i waited until the next day for the paint to be good and dry before i distressed it. i love the look! i am in love, again, with my dining room table.
i just had way too much brown on this side of the room. now it seems more balanced and i love how the table pops off the floor. before it just blended in. i purposely do not have a rug under the dining room table because with two little ones it is much easier to keep clean with out one.
so in true fashion around here, the decorating flood gates are open again. because as much as i love the table now... i am sick of the black diamonds on the wall! i have big plans for the color on the wall and for my entry way. stay tuned! 
so i had my cup of tea and relaxed. the laundry was done, the kitchen cleaned, C was napping and M was at school. it was silent and it was beautiful. i even enjoyed the misty gloomy day, it seemed so peaceful. i used to meditate on a daily basis. it has been awhile since i have done that but i tried again today. the hardest thing about meditating is clearing your mind, it usually takes me a good week to get into the groove of it. my mind usually goes to 'what's for dinner?' but since i have been meal planning and creating a menu each week....
the thought came to my mind and then cruised out because i have dinner covered for tonight. then i thought 'what am i missing on hgtv?' a favorite show? i also even thought of the quilt i should get started for C. i am making him a quilt by recycling some of the cowboy material that was used for his crib. my hope is to have it wrapped and under the tree by christmas eve. then the thought of christmas popped into my head....so much for meditating today. but you can be sure i will try again tomorrow. i think it is important to take a few minutes out of our busy days and ... just be. try it, and then let me know how it goes.
the amount of furniture we took just for infrastructure seemed like a lot. but we needed it to show off all the fun things we had for sale. this old shoe rack held my trays.
shoppers were able to walk around the shutters and see this beautiful display.
trays, tuffets, lamps, flea market finds etc. all flew out so quickly that were constantly rearranging to keep the booth fresh. so thankful that we had cashiers to help us out. Thanks Jennifer and Olivia!
the petite gift bar was a big hit. lots of small gifts, all under $15 . perfect for teacher, hostess, girlfriend gifts.
everyday napkins for sale. great for being kind to the earth. so much better than paper towels or paper napkins and prettier to look at too!
more stuff.....
we also had a drawing for 2 hours of free staging services. we're so excited to draw the winner and start on that project. we'll contact the winner this week, but will wait until after the holidays to rearrange, using what they have, a room in the winners home.
thank you to all that came and shopped, commented how great our space looked, and to those dozen of you that asked "where is your store?!" we are certainly going to be on a high for a few days from this event.
lately i have been de-cluttering, and minimizing and these trays resemble exactly what i have been trying to do with my life and that is to keep. things. simple. i love how they turned out, they are so me. look how cool these two are.....
thanks to my ever so creative mom for helping me hammer out some of the details so that i can offer these unbelievably beautiful trays at the up coming Cure of Ars Gift Gallery. they will be available saturday in the Burlap JunKtion booth! yikes!! only 4 days until set up....i better get back to my studio. hope you can make it to the sale saturday!
you will need an assortment of pretty papers. you can pick these up at your local scrapbook store.
you will also need toilet paper tubes (or paper towel tubes cut down. i save these all year just for this project), tissue paper, scissors, tape, twine or ribbon, and the candy treats that you want to go inside.
start by cutting your pretty paper into strips. they should be a smidge smaller than the width of your toilet paper tube. for the length, wrap it around your tube and leave a little bit of overlap. cut each one to length.
you will want to cut your tissue paper a bit wider, on both sides, than your tube.
fill your tube with your chosen treats,
and then roll up the tube in the tissue paper.
next, wrap the pretty paper around the tube and seal with a piece of clear tape.
that is it....so easy! i think the most difficult part of this project is selecting the pretty paper. there are so many fun choices. good luck! 
