“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost
Showing posts with label decorating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label decorating. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Gingerbread Dreams

After all these years, I still love visiting Pinterest to see what kind of outlandishly beautiful things people are posting.  I was pulled in again this past week by some images of incredible Gingerbread House designs.





I think this was all brought on because I have been watching some of the Baking Challenges on TV over the past few weeks.  Anyway, as I started looking at a few of these, I was captured by the pure fantasy and artistry of it all.  I think I would love to just step into one of these magical worlds for a little while.  Hope you enjoy them too!



 pretty little gingerbread cabin, complete with darling red brick chimney and matching red door:


Click on the photos to find the pins or visit my Christmas Pinterest board here.




Snowy Gingerbread House.:






NEW - A Delicious & Sturdy Gluten Free Gingerbread House Recipe - http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/gluten-free-gingerbread-house-recipe/ #glutenfree #glutenfreerecipes:







Amazing Traditional Christmas Gingerbread Houses




Tiny Gingerbread House. You could make it with graham crackers



This may be the most adorable gingerbread house I've ever seen!



gingerbread:





Yay, whimsy! And the snow drift by the door is so clever.:






Tikkido - Snowy Gingerbread Cottage:






 A Very Fairy Gingerbread House | Will Cook For Friends




How to Make Royal Icing for Gingerbread Houses {Video}






Swedish Gingerbread House Tutorial {click link for FULL tutorial}  includes templates & recipe! http://thecakebar.tumblr.com/post/69436372954/swedish-gingerbread-house-tutorial-click-link-for #martha #stewart:


If any of you want to give it a try, I've included this pin that includes a tutorial.






For gingerbread house.:



...... And what's a Gingerbread House without some fun little friends!




Very cute idea to do with the kids! (Nice change from decorating a gingerbread house or nice addition to one!) 828885_bear-closeup.jpg (400×450):  



I've made decorated cookies (it's been awhile), but I've never actually made a gingerbread house from scratch.  How about any of you? Every tried your hand at one of these?

~~~~~~~~~~~ Diane ~~~~~~~~~~~




Thursday, October 17, 2013

Decorate Your Home, You'll Feel Better

Decorating can be therapeutic, especially when the world around us seems to be going crazy. Putting away the summer themed items and pulling out some fall decor has me in a better mood, oh and there was also that averting financial meltdown and finally ending the government shutdown thing.







Anyway.... I would love to say that my Autumn/Halloween items are all vintage, but alas no. The only vintage piece is the Fenton carnival glass bowl which I inherited from my mother.  The other pieces are all relatively new.

Vintage Halloween is really getting expensive and even harder to find.  I've been seeing more and more "Vintage Style" items on the market and if you are just going for the look and not terribly interested in the collector value, then they are perfect for you.




These pieces are either very lightweight and inexpensive or very heavy and impossible to knock over.  Only important if you have one bad kitty by the name of Guy Noir! Said cat has been known to walk across the top of the piano now and then.  I have to say though, that he has only broken one bowl.  That incident happened last year when Guy was still a baby and it was my hubbies falt for putting the bowl in a really bad location.





We waited out the past couple of rainy days in the house decorating, cleaning, and decluttering. Guy especially likes to help with all of these activities!  Today is clearing off and I see some sun, so I think it is time to take Guy out for a walk in the fresh air.  He is very patiently waiting on the table for me to put on his harness.  He does have his good moments too!



Guy Noir... waiting to go outside.

Does anyone out there collect Vintage Halloween?

I'll be around to your blogs soon! 
Have a great weekend everyone! ~~ Diane



Linked with Common Ground: Be Inspired

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Shawnee Pottery Collecting

Here are a few of my favorite Shawnee Pottery Company pieces. These items have been collected over the past twenty years. One piece I inherited and didn't even know it was Shawnee. These items did not actually start my collection though, it was a single teapot found in California. Then it was another, and another and well you know how it goes!

In April and October I do a complete cleaning of the top of the cabinets in my kitchen where my collections reside. In between I do a little bit of dusting, but twice a year I haul out the ladder and climb up there to remove everything from the top of my cabinets. I run them through the glass cycle on my dishwasher and they come out beautifully clean. My pottery has all the paint under the glaze so I don't worry about hurting it. I also do not use the heat cycle on the dishwasher. Since they were all so clean and shiny, I thought it was the perfect time for them to get their pictures taken.





These are the Puss-N-Boots cats. The two little ones are creamers and the large one is a cookie jar. They are probably the most valuable  pieces I own.  My husband and I found them over 15 years ago in Missouri. I took the color from the pottery for my kitchen cabinets and I hand mixed the blue paint for the trim to match the blue in the teapots and kitties. I just love the colors of the pottery and their cute little kitty faces!



The Little Chef cookie jar belonged to my mom. She had it on her kitchen counter for forty some years and it was always filled with homemade cookies!  Only after she passed away and I inherited it did I look at the bottom and realize that it was a Shawnee piece.


Teapots started the collection over 20 years ago in California.












This teapot has gold trim and gold decals.


Shawnee Pottery was started in Zanesville, Ohio in 1937.  The company closed in 1961.  Most pieces had paper labels to denote their origin, however most of those have long since disappeared. Many pieces have USA incised into the bottom of the pottery.  Shawnee Pottery was sold at the local Five and Dime store very inexpensively.  Pieces are becoming more collectible over time, especially the cookie jars and gold trimmed items.




The kitty on the right is wearing a pink straw hat, just because!

I have three teapots that have a blue and pink flower on them.

I have four teapots with blue flowers.


Notice the different handles on the teapots. Also the styles of the base are different, some have a scalloped border and others are plain or have a horizontal border.


The top of the wall between the kitchen and living room is open. It's the perfect place for my teapots! I have a total of twelve teapots, plus one without a lid that I use as a pen/pencil holder. I also have several Shawnee salt and pepper shaker sets, but I will save them for another time!





I am happy with the size of my collection and don't plan on adding anymore teapots or Puss-N-Boots. Sometimes it's just good to enjoy what you have and be satisfied.

Hope  you enjoyed my collection. Until next time!
Diane

Thursday, December 1, 2011

A New Twist on Old Vintage...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. We have a little snow, the temperatures 
are dropping. The shopping has started. The house is getting decorated and everything
is getting a new shiny bright look.

But what if you are this poor little guy?





He looks kind of sad without his tail. Unless you are a Manx cat (those tail-less cats), you are probably pretty proud of your tail. So I felt bad for this little guy, everything else this time of year is getting decorated and then I thought about how I could fix him up for the season and help him fit in for the holiday.

Let me give you a little information on this guy. Here is a very cute red cactus cat planter that was made circa the 1940's, possibly Morton Pottery or Hull. The cat planter was made to hold a cactus plant that forms the tail of the cat when the cactus plant is grown.The cat measures 2 1/4" tall and is 4 1/2" long.The cat is in very good condition and still retains a bit of paint on his eyes and mouth.


I gave him a tail!

Not just any tail, a Christmas tree tail. 
A tail with bright shiny decorations! A tail he can be proud of!




 I took a bit of floral foam and cut it to fit the opening. Then decorated a sisal bottle brush tree with beads. I glued the tree into the foam and let it dry. Then inserted the tree into the cactus (tail) opening and there you have it. A cute little vintage cat with a bright shiny new tail. The tree is removable so when the holidays are over something else can be put in it's place. 






He looks very pleased with himself now, don't you think?




Linked with: 2805 Potpourri Friday

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Night Before Christmas - Playbook

Another great find of mine for all of you interested in these cute paper doll/ house sets. This one is especially cute and it is designed around that most wonderful time of year, Christmas! This is another paper doll set that would be really cute put together and displayed on a shelf with some faux snow and mini lights. Very nostalgic! If you missed out on this as a kid, now is your chance to recreate those memories. Have a look at the pictures below.

Here are a few details.

The Night Before Christmas Playbook - To push out and put together, 1960, Whitman Publishing Co.
















This is an original book and has never been put together, it is in remarkable condition. The book is approximately 13 3/4" x 10".  It consists of the house, Mama & Papa, the kids, the family pets, a Christmas tree, toys, dolls, furniture, and of course Santa and his sleigh and reindeer! There are more pieces to make the house complete such as a fire for the fireplace and the proverbial Christmas mouse. Everything is here to complete the famous poem!

Update: This item has been sold to a lovely customer. Thank you for visiting today!






Tuesday, November 8, 2011

A Few Thanksgiving Favorites...

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. There is so much to love about Thanksgiving, the family time, the friendship, the food, the fun, the football. Did you notice those things all start with the letter"F", hmmmm. Actually I am not even that big a football fan, but I can still join in the spirit of it all. The rest of those things, well they are all wonderful. Even better no rushing around to get presents ready.

Over the years the food has become even more important to me, it is a link to the past. It is a way to reconnect to those memories of days gone bye. Today I am sharing a recipe of my Mom's, when I make it, all those years of baking with her in the farm kitchen come back to me. 

 Oh, I did forget to mention one huge thing though. 
It's what the season is all about, Thankfulness.



Mom's Pumpkin Pie

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. You will need two 8 inch unbaked pie crusts.

                                      4 whole eggs
                                      2 cups cooked pumpkin, (1 can Libby's Pumpkin)
                                      1 cup granulated sugar
                                      3/4 cup brown sugar
                                      4 TBS. flour
                                      2tsps. cinnamon
                                      1tsp. nutmeg
                                      1/2 tsp. ginger
                                      1 tsp. salt
                                      2 cups whole milk


In a large bowl with a wire whisk beat the eggs. Add pumpkin, sugar and dry ingredients. Beat until smooth, add milk and beat again.  Pour into the unbaked pie crust shells.

Bake in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees and bake another 45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center of pie comes out clean.  Makes two 8 inch pies.
Let cool to room temperature before putting into the refrigerator. Top with whipped cream just before serving.








One thing I am thankful for is my Mom's Pumpkin Pie recipe.

What are you Thankful for this year?

linked to Tina's PicStory