ANTHROPOLOGIE TREES

It's time for another craft night with the girls and I'm looking at these three trees from Anthropologie.  These are pretty small photos, but if you go to Anthropologie's site here, you can get a close-up view of them. 

 32" Shaggy Felt Tree - $148

(made of wool, wire, and wood)

30" Curled Paper Tree - $128 

(made of wool, wire, and wood)

But . . .

the tree below is the least expensive AND - it's my favorite.  It looks so soft, like it's right out of a fairy tale.  I still have not figured this one out, but I think you could make a slim cone out of cardboard, and then use merino wool roving to make the wispy "branches". 

11.5" Wispy Felt Tree - $24

(made of cotton, styrofoam, bark, and wire)

You could make a beautiful little Christmas scene with several of these trees and a little book page house - all tucked under a large cloche!  So, I was googling around for a book page house and one of my own photos from last Christmas came up!  Perfect!

Now, to schedule a night with the girls . . .

{ INSPIRATION FILE FRIDAY }

I'm forever looking at blogs, books, and magazines and seeing pictures of things I want to make or try.   I see so many ideas - I'll never live long enough to try everything I want to try.  I've looked into Pinterest, but I'm just not interested in putting my favorite ideas on another web page.  I like hard copies of those ideas that I can actually hold in my hands - there are pictures tucked away in other books, boxes, and drawers, all over the place!  So I've decided to gather all those ideas together in one place and design some sort of a book/file I can keep them in - a hands-on log of things that inspire me.  I will also blog about those ideas every Friday, so that maybe you'll be inspired too!   So, every Friday, instead of showing something I've already made, my post will be called . . .

INSPIRATION FILE FRIDAY!

And it's Friday - so it's time for a little inspiration!

Today's ideas were inspired by the advent of Christmas . . .  a few angel photos. 

I've been spending a lot of time drawing lately - and there's a reason for that.  The shop owner at The Painted Lady would like some angel drawings that could be framed and in the shop in time for Christmas shoppers.  I'm also planning on having original drawings and prints in my etsy shop, Gillyflower Cottage.  Here are some photos of beautiful angel statues that I'll be working on over the next few days.

 I think the first one is my favorite.  Which one is yours?

A BEAUTIFUL FALL DAY IN CHICAGO

What a great day!  Norma and I started out the day with a lesson, then Bob and I were on our way to Chicago by 11:00 AM.  We arrived at The Painted Lady on Damen about an hour and a half later.  If you click here, you can see a nice 360 degree view of the store.  We dropped off the four paintings from yesterday's post and got some ideas for some other art we'll take down in time for Christmas.  More on that another time.  We went from the shop to Macy's (wish it was still Marshall Fields) for a late lunch in . . .

Delicious!!!!  The Christmas season will be officially open tomorrow, so there was all kinds of activity getting the big tree ready for the crowds that will be lined up outside The Walnut Room!  We got right in today - but tomorrow - some people will wait hours for a table by the tree!

 The huge 45 foot tree is surrounded by many smaller trees and will be officially lit at noon tomorrow, complete with Katharine McPhee singing holiday songs.  The theme this year is 

"Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" and there are banners all over the store reading, "Believe".  

There is a special red mailbox for children to send their wish lists off to Santa -

complete with a "Believe Meter" nearby!

Just your typical holiday shoppers . . . roaming around Macys.  (They were actually representing MAC cosmetics and very ready to pose for us!)

Our visit wouldn't be complete without a visit to the children's book area!

Then on to Millennium Park.

This hardly looks real, but it was.

A very quiet Pritzker Pavilion.

 Cloud Gate

 It was such a beautiful day - warm, sunny, and no wind.  Everywhere you looked, people were taking pictures and we did the same!

"The Bean" brings out the kid in everyone!

And a wonderful twisted view of the Chicago Skyline!

Proof of how beautiful the weather was - yes, he's barefoot!

That's it - until we're back again in December.  We have to have lunch under that huge Christmas Tree when ALL the ornaments are in place and maybe some snow is in the air!

DARK AND CLOUDY DAYS

Dark and cloudy days are great days for nestling in and painting!

Just a short post today.  I've been busy . . . painting, cleaning, and sorting through fabrics and craft supplies.  The painting is in preparation for tomorrow.  My husband and I are driving to Chicago to drop off some paintings at The Painted Lady on Damen.  I've posted about this little shop before and I know some of you have been there.  She has beautiful home furnishings and I'm hoping it will be all decked out for Christmas - we'll see.

Anyway, here are the four paintings that are ready to be loaded up tomorrow.  We're looking forward to a fun day in Chicago.  It's such a great city to visit, especially around the holidays.  

Red Bearded Irises 

16" x 20"

Bordure Roses

16" x 20"

Suntory Roses

18" x 24

Field of Poppies

18" x 24"

If you get a chance, stop in to The Painted Lady the next time you're in Chicago - and let me know you were there!

HOMEMADE PIN CUSHION FAVORS

I have a group of friends I've been with for almost 30 years now.  There are six of us and we get together many times during the year, but formally, we meet six times because celebrating our birthdays is an important part of our friendship.  Once each year, each person gives a birthday luncheon for someone in the group.  Along with a nice luncheon, we always have a favor at each place.  It can be anything from a special candle to a small dish of candy.  Well, this month it was my turn - my favor for the girls was a little . . . different.  Not something you'd usually see at a place setting.  But that's okay - these women are good sports and you can pretty much do whatever you want to and they'll ohhh, and ahhhh, and love it anyway!  So here are some photos from that day . . .

 Burlap on the table, of course!  My centerpiece was made of three tin buckets with a branch from my crab apple tree in each one.

Each place had a kind of "pin cushion sundae" for a favor.  Then I made a "hat pin" to go in each one, just to dress it up a bit.  For the hat pin, all you have to do is take a piece of heavy gauge picture hanging wire (about 7 inches), twist a little loop on one end, and thread on some leftover beads.  Before you put on your last bead, put a little dab of hot glue on the wire and then quickly slip on the last bead.  That's it!  You can sharpen the end of the wire with a file if you like, but these easily went into the pin cushion just as they were.  The pin cushion itself went together as follows:

Cut a circle of any fabric - about twice the size of the opening of your dish.

Run some stitches around the perimeter of the circle and cinch, but not real tight yet.

 Stuff the pouch firmly with fiberfill and then cinch it tightly.

Run a line of hot glue on the inside of the dish, right up near the top.  Then quickly pop the stuffed round of fabric into the dish, cinched end down.  

 

They were probably the most unusual favors we've ever had at our lunch tables through the years - you don't normally think of putting pins near food!  But they looked pretty - kind of like dishes of ice cream!  And with colder weather just around the corner, I know I tend to do more sewing and needlework.  So, hopefully they'll come in handy.  Nevertheless, they were fun to make and give as a reminder of the day!

Linked to:
Between Naps On The Porch

A KITCHEN SIGN

 A few weeks ago I took some photos while visiting the shop, My Favorite Room, in Mckinney, Texas.  I was just looking through those photos again and this old box caught my eye - especially the label.  I decided to do a little research on what this box held - back in the day.  Kitchen tools?  Menu ideas?  Recipes?

After googling it, I found that this box was sold around 1940 . . . for $1!!!!!  How can that be?  One dollar???  I can't imagine a time when you could buy something like this for $1!  What was shipping and handling - 5 cents?

It was a recipe box, "professional-style", so it says!

     

It was meant to be filled with recipes that were published in this magazine . . .

 . . . back when you could get 3 magazine subscriptions for $2.00!!!

I decided I'd like to have a sign in my kitchen as a reminder of those days.  I don't know about you . . . but except for a few old favorites, I get most of my recipes off the internet these days.  This is a great reminder of the way things used to be.  So I worked out the label on my word processing program.

  I wanted to get it as close to the original label as possible.

Now to print it, transfer it, paint it, and post it!  Results coming soon . . .

(If you're interested in printing out and painting this label too, just send me an email and I'll forward the document to you.)