It’s So FLUFFY!

It’s so fluffy I could die! If you haven’t seen Despicable me then disregard the nonsense haha.  I was going to make some of these feather tree’s this year.  I have always admired them and thought how hard could be to glue some feathers onto a tree. 

Well it got hard before the project even started.  Apparently nobody carries the cardboard cones for Christmas projects this year.  And for that matter any time I asked an associate where I could find them they looked at me like I had three heads.

So when I found these three beautifuls full of feathery awesomeness I snatched them up immediately before anyone else could get their sticky little paws on them. 

Love Stinks

Last year when I thought I was going to strike it rich making children's boutique clothing I came up with this darling little twirl dress for Valentines day.  Unfortunately that was before my blogging days and before I realized nobody wanted to spend the kind of money on children's clothes that I needed for it to be worth my time. 
So I am going to make some more this winter out of jersey knit and I will document the in’s and out’s so you can follow along!
I have a Singer sewing/embroidery machine and stitched up this cute little stinker for the front ;P

Then layers of ruffles in white and pink hear prints turned into this….

I have the best little model on the planet which definitely helps but the dress truly is one of a kind and both my girls still insist on wearing it when snowflakes are falling.

Christmas Wrap Up

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  Ours went pretty much according to plan. 
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me….One killer cold!  I woke up Christmas Eve in misery.  The last of the family members to get this horrid virus that put my youngest in the hospital with pneumonia last month. 
So I put on my big girl shoes (aka, over the counter drugs) and pressed on through the festivities.  There was lot’s of joy and squealing and whining and laughter.  I lost my voice.
One the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me…. Laryngitis!   I reunited with my estranged father after two years.  My grandmother lives with him and we had a falling out a couple years back.  I went to take her a gift since I ran out of time to mail it.  There were lots of tears, yelling, screaming, hugs and I left with a splitting headache and less of a voice than I had to start with. 
On the third day of Christmas I couldn’t take it anymore!  I had to beat this mess and chaos into submission, cold and misery or not!  I tore down all the Christmas glory and organized it into fewer boxes than what I started with.  Dang I’m good!
  
On the fourth day of Christmas I shared it all with my friends in blog land =)

The Boy

The Girl 

My baby 

The Aftermath 

Princess Fingernails 

A Little Too Much Body Glitter

The Handsome Mr. Garden and the boys invention kit

On a side note…. I asked for a projector this year…. Please take notice there is no picture of me with a projector =(  Mr. garden threw my empty stocking at me Christmas morning and reminded me that I had been “A Bad Girl This Year” and promised to properly punish me later!
Oh well… maybe when we have little extra money.  It is about the kids after all.
I’ll be posting some pics tomorrow showing you how I incorporated some of my Christmas decor into my winter everyday theme.

My Christmas Table

So I’m hosting this year for the second year in a row.  I guess that means nobody got sick last year and felt it was safe to come back!  Last year we had 18 people dining with us in an 1800 sf home.  Needless to say there was much improvising for space, tons of cooking and pretty much complete mayhem! 
This year my dad remarried and has his new family dining at his home.  My mother is seeing my sick grandmother in California.  So I have my step mom and all my siblings.  Yes I said step mom.  Another wife in the mix I call my family =) A whole other Oprah for another day lol.
A smaller more intimate group this year with only 6 adults and 3 children.  I don’t mind trust me!  And it has allowed us all to dine at one table so I decided, why not make it gorgeous?!

Okay so it’s missing a few things like silverware and napkin rings with fancy holders.  I blame the boy, he didn’t do the dishes like he was told and I’ve never in my life owned fabric napkins.  However I just cleaned out an entire drawer in my buffet so I’m thinking I just might be needing to invest in some!  I also plan to tie some red and plain raffia around the stems of the glasses.  I just love my festive table. I’ve never had one before! And the kicker is that everything you see is from the dollar store or only cost $1!
~Sommer

ETA: An updated photo with silver and handmade paper napkins and rings ;P

Festival Of Trees!!

On the twelfth day of Christmas there was a festival of trees…

Brought here from blog land for you and for me.

A post of little words and lots of inspiration. 

Click on photo’s for the final destination.

These twelve days of Christmas were a blast, I had a ball,

.  Thank you for joining me and Merry Christmas to you all!!!

Twelve Blogs Of Christmas Day 11

Well folks this is it!  It’s been so much fun and I thank every one of the great bloggers who participated this year.  Also want to thank all of you out there who stop by and read and give me reason to sit here behind this ol’ screen here =)
Welcome to my home.  Well no technically, we’re renting it but I consider myself what I like to call a practitioner.  I’m constantly in practice mode so when we buy a home I will know exactly what I want to do with it!  Here is the Christmas décor I’ve displayed this year, so much fun as most of it’s handmade and I have so much more display space than I’ve ever experienced before.
The kitchen.  I found this branch hanging by a thread out back so I clipped it, painted it white and hung some extra ornaments on it.  It sits in a old cream can behind my kitchen sink.

My Santa.  I wanted this guy so bad but I couldn’t justify the cost.  My lovely step mother bought him for me. He was finished in antique gold but I painted him white.  I love this Santa with his list.  My kids keep peeking to see if their names are on it =)

Here is my village.  I always wanted one and found this entire set minus the trees and snow filler for $80 on Craig's list.  The “Antique Shop” is my favorite of course =)


I often find polly pockets and strawberry shortcakes in here.  I guess they find it magical too.

Here is my mantel.  I have always had a hard time decorating this beast.  It’s a two story tall section than spans two walls. 


I hand painted the sign… with a little help from the silhouette for stenciling.

I handmade all our stockings out of left over drop cloth and other fabrics and buttons I had laying around. 

The pinecones are from my own back yard and I just flocked them white snow.  I had some vellum paper with gold music notes on it that I heat transferred onto some dollar store candles.

I made this little banner for my entry way mirror on the silhouette as well.  It says Merry Christmas.

I love snowmen but they have to be really different.  This little guy is one of my all time favorites.  He hangs on the curtain rod to my back door.

My chalkboard frame that hangs between the breakfast nook and the kitchen.  Other than Holidays it says “Bread and Pastries Baked Freshly on the Premises”.  I love the smell of fresh baked bread.  Almost as much as fresh baked pies.  No wonder I’m over weight!  Stay tuned next month for my killer weight loss program, you won’t want to miss it!

One more glimpse of the mantel.  The wall corners to the left where I have a large mirror, candle pillars, books and the stockings.  These red barn type doors were the perfect filler for the tall white walls.  I have a bunch of them that we’re selling at the market this spring but they look so good there I might have to keep a few back =)

Thank you so much again for allowing me to share my home with you.  I could likely go on and on with the perfectly pink Christmas tree in my girls room but you’ll have to wait for another day for that.  Stay tuned for the finale tomorrow…. The “Festival of Trees”. 
~Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night…