my glowy and snowy flocked tree...

happy December everyone! this is my favorite time of year! i just love everything Christmas! i am so happy to have finished decorating the "big house" (my client's 10,000 sq. ft. home)...this is the 9th year for me to do this project and although i love doing it, it is LOTS of physical work that wears me out...and creative work too...phew.....but it is done, and this year when i attend the Christmas party at the "big house", my parents will be going too...... that will be a lot of fun, to show them where i work....and they will be able to meet the "bun lady" for the first time.....the "bun lady" is who i work for.....you can read about her here..... i have never spoken of her here on my blog.... but i will soon.

so now....it is smooth sailing for me until Christmas....
one of the prettiest and glowiest Christmas trees i have ever seen, belonged to my girlfriend Shacina.... it was about 7 or 8 years ago (i think)....anyhoo, she had flocked her tree using Ivory Snow flakes!! so that year, i was so inspired by her tree, i went to all of the neighborhood stores, hunting down boxes of this elusive Ivory Snow....i could only find three boxes in all of Nashville....but i chickened out on trying the snow effect that year and those 3 boxes, of Ivory Snow, have sat in my cupboard for all this time.

until this year, when i had a real hankering (that's a fun word, especially if you use a southern accent whilst saying it) for a live flocked tree....i love flocked trees...i love SNOW...i live in the south and snow is more of a novelty around here.... and i LOVE it.

i had to research (don't you love using that term "research" like you are some kinda researcher or something...but really you just "google" it) i had to RESEARCH the recipe for the snow flocking...and i quickly found out that my 3 boxes of Ivory Snow that have been sitting in the cupboard for all these years well, they discontinued making that stuff in 1978!? so, NO WONDER it was so hard to find!

I mixed 2 cups of Ivory Snow with 1/4 cup of hot water and beat with a blender on high....until the soap became thick, like frosting.....and then i just spread it on the branches... in places where you think snow would actually fall onto a branch....out in nature.

i spread it thickly... even right over the twinkle lights...it hardens almost immediately and looks just like

SNOW.

right, miss daisy?

and boy does it smell good!

that is, if you like the smell of soap.

a simple white ribbon....no ornaments needed on this tree.

my kitchen all

SNOWY and GLOWY.

sorry to say, this stuff is a thing of the past....but the good news is (found after some "researching") is that you can substitute the flakes with Ivory Soap bars that you grate up....if you are so inclined....sounds like a lot of work....the grating, that is...

the Christmas season is here and i will be tweaking and decorating my own home right up until the big day...because i dearly love doing so. my parents will be here from Arizona, this week for, long over due family fun.

creating a cozy, glowy, snowy and festive home for my family is important to me....it is part of the tradition of Christmas and the honor we place on the celebration for the real

reason for the season.

i am joining these fun parties...won't you too?

debra at common ground for vintage inspiration friday

laurieannas farmhouse friday

aqua touches...part II

welcome to part II! i am sharing more pictures of my little living room, where i have added touches of aqua for a girlie retro Christmas look.

i change what is hanging on my walls quite often...i try to reuse the existing nails, but i often have to bang more holes in the wall.....if you don't have spackle for patching, white toothpaste works just fine.
i tacked this Christmas ornament, right on top of this thick frame, using a push pin.

i recently found this retro platter that has the perfect aqua blue.....

and this vintage Christmas decoration, also just tacked up.

a close up of my beach painting, that has just the right colors.

the old chandy hanging smack dab in the middle of the room was given to me by my bestie Anna. we had fun yanking the wire guts out of it, to make it into a candelabra.......i added some dismantled beachy wind chimes, white ribbon and aqua icicles.

the old globe and the pyrex bowl are the perfect color.

more aqua touches in this corner...

even Gene, the stuffed snow goose, got a new blue collar.

i love these snow ball candles, sitting with some cute polka dot boxes, in front of one of my paintings.

a galvanized bucket of shells gets a festive ribbon.

more vintage ornaments, accented by an old aqua hankie, sitting in a piece of poor man's silver.

i added a blue ribbon to this cute wreath.... made by my daughter, when she was little.....a wire coat hanger, formed into a circle and tied with strips of white garbage bags.

i am not a huge fan of stuffed animals.....but these cuties are wearing doll clothes that my grandmother, Bernice made....and so they are special to me.

i pulled this blue butterfly in from the garden.

so that's it.....my little white living room with touches of aqua bouncing around.

tomorrow, i start decorating my clients home....a huge project, which will consume most of my time and energy for the next week.......i am trying to put together my next few posts today, while i have the time.....i'll be sharing my winter white dining room, milk glass/bottle brush tree mantle and other fun Christmas decorations.

thanks for stopping by!

erin

aqua touches...part I

i hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a splendid sufficiency of turkey and all the sides!! today is "Black Friday", which means i will stay as far away from the stores as possible! we had a warm and sunny day and so while Mr. Dan was golfing, i spent my time tweaking my Christmas decorations and taking pictures for you.

i was so inspired by a Country Living photo that i had saved on my Pinterest board....of vintage ornaments sitting on top of old bottles.....that i decorated this whole room around that idea.....i just love the touches of pretty light blue bouncing around the room.....
i set mine under cloches.... to keep Big Kit-Ten and Little Miss Daisy at bay....you can see how thrilled they are.

in front of the sunny window, i used a white tree in an old milk crate, holding blue ball jars.

i went about my house pulling all the aqua blue items that i could find, to use as accents...... the aqua polka dot ribbon adds some whimsy and i love how the light shines through the sheerness...

i used fake snow or shells in the jars.....and topped them with more vintage ornaments.

i was thrilled to find this old string of lights at a tag sale this summer....little white birds sitting in sparkly nests...each one has a light inside and the strand still works!

so the christmas season has officially begun at my house...i just love this time of year and all of the decorating and creative rearranging..... i took so many pictures, just in this room, that i thought i'd better break it up into two posts....so stay tuned for "aqua touches part II"......

coming soon.

i want to thank you all so very, very much for your lovely comments on my last post...you really know how to make a girl feel good!! if it wasn't for your on going support, i probably would not have been able to "expose" myself as i have....it is pretty incredible, to think that, my little ol bloggy, has actually been good for me in the most unexpected ways......and the bonus for me, is getting to know you all just a little bit better....and in turn, getting to know MYSELF better too.

and i thank you for that.

erin

xxoo

p.s. if you are interested in creating those cute little bokeh hearts that you see in some of my photos, there is a good tutorial found at http://www.scottlawphotography.com/2011/01/shaped-bokeh-tutorial.html.

fully exposed...

hello my friends! it has been so long since i last posted and so much has happened. ......i survived my art show and sold some paintings.......and faced some fears ......and learned a lot about myself .......and opened new doors.....and felt so much love and support..... my family and friends rallied around me and made me feel so warm inside.....i made new friends too....artsy types....we will start painting together after the holidays....that excites me to no end! it is all about the relationships afterall.
the morning before my show......some of my paintings..... all in a collection.......ready to be let go...
quite a wrenching and emotional act for me.... to expose some of my art and hope people "get it".
and some DID.
my biggest compliment was that my art made a few patrons FEEL something. wow.

here i am......exposed.
me and my art.
i have never been comfortable sharing photos of myself, so this is hard....it is a growing experience.....it is me, being more comfy with...well.......
ME.

me and my dear friend of 32 years....my anna...my nanner.
isn't she beautiful and so smart too! i could not have done any of this without her....she held my hand and guided me in the right direction......she knew just what to do and i am forever grateful.
she is one of my angels.

another one of my beautiful angels that came to support me....jenny (my big sistah)....and me holding a glass of wine.

two more angels...shacina and my dear hubby, dan.

there is my art, for all to see! it was a pleasure to hear how people responded to certain paintings and how it made them "feel".

it is the FEELING or the MOOD i want to convey....i heard people say the nicest things! why was i so afraid?

me with a happy face seeing that someone had bid on my donated painting (the horse)....i am still holding that glass of wine.

my hubby wanted to bid on this piece of jewelry for me....he is a dear...the LOVE of my life....i love him to death.

this is the first time in forever, that i have seen what i look like from behind...hey, "fully exposed" right? the lovely gal in the blue pants is my son's girlfriend...just come off of a long shift of nursing....she hates having her picture taken more than i do! my beautiful daughter and son-in-law drove from memphis to be here too...sadly no picture of that adorable couple....lots of my friends came by...i felt the LOVE.

not sure what is going on here...except that my wine glass needed a refill!

i must say, that in the past 2 weeks...through blood, sweat and tears...many surprising tears... i have mustered up enough courage to expose my art, my self , and my friends and i am ready to move forward to bigger and better things...i feel empowered now....some new opportunites have shown up for me that i am considering...it is all exciting and new.

my nanner flew back to chicago on tuesday and we are missing each other .....we share so much...we say things together at the same time....finish each others sentences....yunno, that kind of friend...that once in a life time friend....right now, we are even sharing a nasty cold/flu bug....that has hit me hard. i have been slowly decorating my house for christmas....the flu doesn't keep me down. after thanksgiving i will be decorating my clients 10,000 sq. ft. home for the holidays and so for now, i need to get mine done...i'll be sharing my decorations soon! the holidays are approaching too fast....

thank you so much for your continued love and support here on my blog! you all, are a part of my saving angels.

ee