Three French ROOSTERS

 .Earlier this week I had a rare few minutes alone so I made a quick stop at the local Salvation Army.  I was digging through boxes of antique ornaments when a rooster peeked out at me from under a box.

When I started sliding boxes out of the way, I realized there were lots of roosters!

$15.00!!  

It's old and chipped up and there are hand painted roosters and hens and chicks all the way around it.  Red isn't my color but I couldn't help but think how darling it would be at one of our Three French Hens markets. I called my  mom to come over and see my new find.  And she laid claim to it as soon as she spied it!  I'm not kidding, it was like a vulture swooped down!! 

 I never thought I'd actually give someone three french hens for a Christmas gift.

And look... we woke to fresh fallen snow this morning!!
I'm going to be singing the 12 Days of Christmas all day today.
(HERE are some fun shop-window pictures to go along with the 12 days. Click through the photostream to see all 12 days)

White Wednesday

Just a few "white" projects today.
I added the French Angel Candles and Tattered Yo-yo Banners to the shop but I kinda like having them hanging around.  Just a wee bit of White for White Wednesday.
We are praying to see some white outside soon too.  It's been raining for about 24 hours straight.   Just a few degrees cooler and it could turn to snow.  Crossing fingers... Clicking our heels... Praying snowy bedtime prayers.

Classroom Christmas Gifts

 Although we school our kids at home, our daughter attends a small homeschool co-op two days a week. This morning we've been making gifts for her classmates.  The bottles of coke are from Stuff-Mart Wal-Mart and the re-usable straws are from Dollar Tree.

She thought this was the MOST genius idea!  I wish I could claim it but I found it on Pinterest (of course! Do you waste spend as much time there as I do?) and since there's no oven involved, she can make dozens and dozens all on her own.  You can find the how-to Here.

Hope you are enjoying your Friday morning!

Homespun

A couple weeks ago I got this exceedingly ME style farm table.  It was one of the tables used in the cafe area at the Hens Holiday Market.  You can't tell it from this photo but the table is rounded on the ends.  So cool!  Anyhow, I've been searching for the perfect chair to sit at my project table (yes, I'm really trying to move all the clutter from the dinning room table to an actual project area).  Since we are putting our pennies toward Christmas gifts right now, I haven't been able to hit the resale shops but I remembered a chair that's been waiting for a make-over.

It's about as tattered as they come!

But I kinda love it for that very same reason.

It wasn't even until I took these pictures that I noticed it has little buttons sewed to the side.  I can't imagine why someone would put them there.  Maybe it was some sweet ol' lady's sewing spot.  Where all her homespun creations came to life.

My first project at the new project table is this throw.  Each crochet piece has to be hand stitched on.  

At least I won't feel bad sticking the sewing needle in the arm of the chair when I take a rest!

Prepared

She was a teenager during the depression when she left home and became a live-in housecleaner/cook.

She married young and had four children.

She owned an apple orchard.

She went south with us during the Winter months in our rainbow colored bus.

She took me in when my boy and I needed a refuge.

She stayed up all night with me, swapping stories.

She held my babies and gave me helpful tips.

She cupped their faces in her hands and told them each how she loved them.

And last week she told me goodbye.

We hugged and promised, "I'll see you later."
 Gram was prepared

Starting Small - Ornament Decor

 I thought I'd start small with my holiday decor so today I went treasure hunting through my friend, Kim's, handmade ornaments. 

Ok, she didn't make the Eiffel Tower but all the rest were handmade.  And I'm really trying to surround us with handmade holiday stuff this year.   It might be fun to give the kids their own tree and have them make all the ornaments for it.

I spent the majority of today's 3 minute Christmas makeover attempting to make it look like the evergreen naturally fell into a neat pile.  I was not successful.  But it smells really good.

Just a few small ornaments, some farmhouse tatter and a white wreath.  But when I pass by, this corner winks a bit of Christmas at me.   Maybe tomorrow I can attempt something larger.

3 Minute Christmas Corner

 With all the markets that we have set up at, we have been surrounded by gorgeous Christmas displays since September.  But our home doesn't have a single bit of holiday cheer yet.  And I've never been good at Christmas decor.  Every year I really want to have beautiful decorations but I never quite pull it together in time.  So today I decided to do a 3 minute Christmas makeover on an empty little spot at the top of the stairs.  We have a huge old house that usually has more toys and school work and half finished projects on display than pretty things ("Hoarders With Glitter", as Jen Rizzo says).  But I'm determined!  It's December 1st for goodness sake. I'm not going to let all the loveliness that Christmas can be slip by! So I grabbed some Christmas-y things from a box leftover from the Hens market.  I fumbled up the stairs with an awkward armload, kicked the hotwheels out of the way and decided to give it a go.   

My tattered french chair from Anne Marie has a new spot.  I'm not sure that I'm in love with the result of my on-the-fly Christmas corner but maybe that's because it's a lone beacon of holiday cheer. So I'm challenging myself to do a 3 minute Christmas makeover each day in the hopes that I'll actually have Christmas decorations in time for Christmas!