Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of my friends in blog land a very "Merry Christmas" and a "Happy & prosperous New Year".
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and visit my blog. It has been a very busy year, with my new grandson arriving in September. He is such a joy!
Hope to do a lot more posts in the New Year.
Thanks again for following along with me.
See you in 2010.
Deb

Sock Monkey

In one of my earlier posts in September, I mentioned that we became first time grandparents. Our little grandson Jackson is such a sweetie.
His nursery is decorated with monkeys, so for Christmas, I wanted to make him, his very own sock monkey.
I went on the inter-net and found a site that teaches you how to make a sock monkey.
They are so easy and fun to make.
You just need a new pair of men's work socks and some batting.
There is some machine stitching, and the body parts are stitched by hand.
He just needs some eyes and a mouth. You can use buttons for eyes, for older children, but because he is still young, I think I will embroider them on along with a mouth.
The site also directs you to other sites for different embroidery how-to's, which I haven't done in years, but will give it my best shot.
Hope he likes it.

Pine Cone Topiary

Just finished my pine cone topiary trees .
I glued pine cones to a white styro foam ball, and added a stick, then I mixed a plaster compound and filled the metal pots with the plaster.
I then pushed the sticks into the compound and allowed it to dry for 6 hours.
You have to support them as they dry.
Then I filled in the spaces between the gaps , around the pine cones, with faux berries and ivy.
I sprayed it with clear coat gloss, to make it shine.

Toy Soldier

Found this old piece of plywood kicking around in the garage and thought it wood make a cool toy soldier to stand guard by the garden gate for Christmas.

Its that time of year again, to start decorating for the holidays. I always try to make one decoration each year for the holidays. Here is this years creation.

Busy Building Birdhouses

I'm back to building birdhouses again. Hopefully we will have enough ready for christmas time as gifts. Isn't this little retro travel trailer the cutest thing?

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

We are celebrating Thanksgiving this coming weekend. We are driving to the cottage tomorrow, and then to our daughters and son-in-laws house on Sunday for dinner. The thing that will be so special this year on Thanksgiving is that our new little grandson is here to share it with. He is such a delight.

My daughter made this delicious pumpkin cheesecake to have with dinner, she is such a good cook!

Sign, Sign, Everywhere A Sign, Or (Pardon My Language)

Here are a few signs I have hanging at the cottage. The little frying pan was given to me many years ago by my mother-in-law.

Canister and Tin Collectibles

I picked up this canister set yesterday for $5.00 at a garage sale. I can't wait to see how it will look in my kitchen at the cottage.
It is definitely a vintage set, with matching Salt & Pepper Shakers.
I love these tin pieces, some vintage and some new. The large pitcher I have had for about 33 years, and there is a funny story behind, to long to write about here, but it holds a lot of memories. The smaller pitcher, and double handled jug are said to have come from Nova Scotia, and are quite old.
Do you know what this was used for? Bet you do. I use it as a trash can.

Window Boxes Before and After

Here is a post I did earlier. Just wanted to show how a can of black spray paint can make planter boxes look new again. I added diamond shapes in cream and caramel colors to break up the solid black, and to add some color to the front of the boxes. Great for holding fall mums.

Thanks Susan from Between Naps On The Porch for hosting Met Monday.
Be sure and visit her blog. Just click the butterfly on the right.

Cloud 9

We have a new addition to our family. Isn't he beautiful? Our first grandchild was born September 5th and his name is Jackson John. I have been on cloud 9 all week and I won't been down anytime soon. Everyone is doing very well.

Country Home

I don't know what it is about this house, but I just love it.

We have been driving past this house for years on our way to the cottage, and I just had to stop this time and take pictures so I could show you how magnificent it is.

That wrap around porch just beckons you to come sit for a while. I love the gingerbread trim on its peak. Our cottage resembles this place a little, but of course its made of logs. Maybe unconsciously, I tried designing the cottage to resemble this place, do you think?

Before and After

Here is a before and after shot of my breakfast room.
I like the color orange, can you tell?

Oh Those Summer Days

It has been very hot this past week, with humidity reaching 41 C .
Here are pictures taken of the cottage and the landscape.
Don't you just love how the sun dances on the river?

Sunflowers Everywhere

Here are a few pictures that I took on our drive home from the cottage. Don't the sunflowers look lovely, all standing at attention and soaking up the sun? The sun ,( something we haven't seen much of this summer) is hot and glorious and I guess they are taking it all in.

Gazebo

Friends at the cottage built this beautiful gazebo and asked if I could do some maple leaves on the bottom half of it, using my scroll saw.
Here is the before and after picture.