Happy Thanksgiving

celebrations, cottage, holiday decor
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It is a quiet day for me  on this holiday. Rich has to be out of town, and Sugarwings is with family in Missouri.  Spending two days on one meal isn’t really something I look forward to anyway, so I will not be missing that part of the holiday.

But I will be thinking of all my grand fairies, and the whole big group of people I love and wishing them a lovely day.

Since I was ill for more than two weeks, I’ve gotten extremely far behind on my prep for our next First Friday weekend at Good Juju   So I will take advantage of this solitary day to make things sparkly and bright for the Christmas sale there.

And when the day is done, I’ll enjoy my fall table display one more night before it gets a Christmas glow up to match the rest of the house.

All the while, feeling grateful for having a family to love whether we share a turkey together or not.  I hope your days are filled with caring too.  Have a great Thanksgiving!

Vintage crazy quilt critters

Painting with thread
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For the last two weeks, I’ve been ill.  And am sick and tired of being sick and tired.

For the first week, I did nothing at all, just rested and figured I’d feel better soon.

By the time the second week of feeling crappy rolled around, I was antsy and wanting to make something.

Luckily, Beth had given me a bagful of gorgeous, very old, crazy quilt pieces.

There wasn’t an abundance of energy to spare, but these little, velvety tidbits were just the ticket to quenching my need to create while still resting in front of the tv.

The fabric was so precious, I didn’t want to waste a scrap.

So first, I cut out some larger cats, then smaller ones, and bunnies.

The smaller bits were used for hearts and birds. Then the teeny snippets became the birds’ wings.

Each one of them was an adventure in making the most of the material.  I’d flip it over and draw the shapes on the back, to puzzle out as many pieces I could on each square.

They are hand drawn, no patterns were used, so there are a verity of personalities that came out when I added vintage buttons for eyes.  Thank you to Beth for the fabulous gift, and thank you to the original artist who created such a beautiful quilt for me to work with.

Upcycled doll heads into angel ornaments

how to's
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Sorry, I only have “after” shots.

Whelp, maybe I shoulda done some before photos?  Or can you picture a vintage doll whose head has been pulled off?  Because that’s where these begin.  She was a stuffed dollie, in Dutch clothing and wooden shoes. No one bought her as is, despite this lovely face.  So, off with her head, and hair.  The hair had been a glued on, braided wig that came off easily and was replaced with angora goat curly locks.  (If hair doesn’t come off by peeling it back, I used pliers for a better grip and give a good tug)                                                                                                      Next, a bundle of trailing lace and ribbons were glued into her neck cavity where the body was once attached. Feathers got curled and glued to the back of her, and a cluster of old millinery blooms were clustered and adhered around her neck.  (This project works well with stuffed body dolls whose heads have been glued or sewn on.  When you remove the head, there is typically a neck or neck and shoulders that are hollow.)

 Actually, I might have gotten a little bit out of order, because the hair comes after the ribbons, flowers, and feathers. If you add the hair first, it’s in the way.  You need the other pieces in place so the hair can cascade over them.

On a few of the heads, I subbed a blossom in place of the trailing ribbons.   The main consideration is to fill in the hole where the torso was once connected, and camouflage it with something pretty- lace, flowers, jewels, etc.

After each is complete, I glue a ribbon loop to the top of her scalp as a hanger.  Some dolls have a rubbery head, and you can also secure the hanger with a pin.  I try to either hide the spot with another curl over it, or a bit of bling.

Remember, anytime you glue something, the glue is only as strong as what you’re attaching it to.  That is why, with these, I get the ribbon down through the curls, onto the scalp itself.  If it were glued only to the hair, when hung on a tree, the hair could pull away from the head.  Gluing the hanger directly to the head, not the hair, is much more secure.

Aren’t they sweet?

Remaking Santas, one used to be a wizard

holiday decor
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This guy didn’t start out with a wish to deliver toys all night long in a sleigh one night a year.

His previous job was casting spells.  I tore him apart, ripped off his clothes (not in a fun way), and started gluing red velvet and mink onto him to facilitate his career change.  His old, fake fur beard was pulled off with pliers and a fresh, angora one was glued in its place.

Here is another, midway through his reconstruct.  He began as a Santa, just an ugly one.

Here is how he started.  So hairy, he can’t even find his sleigh to climb in, let alone read his naughty list.

Once he was made over, you could once again see his face through his new, angora goat hair beard. And hopefully, I made the nice list by helping him out.

I don’t blink I got a before pic for this guy.

Randy gifted me this one to redo.

No fabric for him, I was able to do the transformation with paint and glitter.

Lots of glitter!  And some white mink.

I kinda like the funky stripes on this Claus, so I just updated him with teensy mother of pearl buttons, lace, mink,  and a vintage buckle on a strip of leather as a belt.

I just love redoing these gentlemen,  and hope the changes are upgrades.

Holiday paintings on vintage paper

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These mischievous knee hugger elves were a fave of my childhood.

So when I thought about painting some holiday pages, they were my first thought as a subject.

I had a couple old sheet music pages of Jingle Bells and one of God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman and thought both titles were just right for these sprites.

Of course, I needed a doodle of this jolly old elf too.

The my caroling book, where I was finding all the perfect sheet music, had a quaint little village on the cover and it inspired this painting.

Home, Sweet Home, found in another old book, was just what I needed for a ginger bread house.

And how could this title not get a snowy owl?

All of the pictures were created on vacation.  Either while watching the ocean from our balcony, or while on the airplane. When I travel by plane or as a passenger when we go on long drives, I like to flip through vintage books and draw on pages that catch my attention.  Then after arriving, I’ll get the paints out to finish.

Hmm, maybe I need another trip, so I have an excuse to make more.  I tend to only do these while traveling, and absolutely love working on them. It seems like I only have time when I’m on vacation.

More hand made holiday goods for the November sale at Good Juju

Good JuJu, holiday decor
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Remember the two kitties I made from vintage quilt scraps last month?  I had small bits of the fabric left and turned it into stockings.

I made lacy stockings too. These are ornament size, not hanging up to stuff with presents  sized.  Well, unless you are a very stingy gift giver, they won’t hold much at all.   Oh, that’s wrong!  Stick a generous amount on a gift card and slide that in!

I also have angels under domes.

Angels with trees on teapots.

An Angel driving a floral jalopy.

Angel statues you can dress up in crowns.

A sweet lil vintage Angel gazing out of a gingerbread house window.

There are lots of gingerbread houses.

And plenty of angels.  Not to mention the deer, trees, and Santas.

Oh, and paintings too.

I’ll show more in the next post.

November’s Juju sale will be festive

antiques/junking, Good JuJu
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Christmas came early for me this year.

Extremely so.

I spent millions, well maybe just a few, but it felt like millions, of 6-9 hour days packing away Halloween and decking the halls with  Christmas cheer before I flew off to Florida.

And I tell ya, when I got on that plane, I was ready to start my vacation.

People say to me, how nice it must be to only work two days a month.  Hmm, not quite the way it goes.  Our sale is two days a month, but there is a month full of behind the scenes, hunting, gathering, crafting, tagging, cleaning, and displaying that goes into the two days the shopping occurs.

And if I have plans during the month, my work schedule gets tightly condensed into a few days.

Because it’s important to me to have things ready to roll before I leave, that way I can relax and enjoy my trip.

And yup, I sure did enjoy it!  I could kick back, look at the frolicking dolphins from my balcony, and know that when I got home, all I had to do was unpack my suitcase, not my booth.

That made my extra long vacation easy to just be in, live in the moment, not fret about work.

I’ll have more pics to come of the rest of my booth later.  The sale will be Nov 7-8 from 9-6 each day in the Old West Bottoms of KC at Good Juju.

Fun in Florida

family, Travel
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This pretty much sums up our trip.  Lots and lots of balcony time.

Sometimes while painting.

Sometimes with wine.

Sometimes together, other moments relaxed there with a book, napping, or just telling stories and giggling with nieces.

We had a nice kitchen, so were able to eat in when we wanted, but went to all of our favorite restaurants too.

The food was great!

The company even better!

We did get out a bit to shop, and enjoyed a day in the old school side of Tarpon Springs.

We had lots of beach time too.  Once a dolphin swam up within a few feet of Shelli.

We were also treated to a night of self care with facials and foot-cials, plus under eye patches.  Most nights we watched movies, one night we told fortunes.

It was super laid back.  I kept saying that our “job was Beach” and that was Kenough.

A Woodland Wedding

celebrations, family
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My week in Florida ended, but my vacation did not.

Sissy and I attended Bobbie’s granddaughter’s wedding in Indiana the next day.

It was a joyful event, so much happiness and love.

The day couldn’t be more perfect, nor the location.


I’d grown up near it, but had never even known that park existed.  So the day after the celebration, some nieces and I explored the trails.

We might have also goofed around with some of the remaining decor before helping pack it all up for the bride and groom.

Not living in the same state as my family means that I’ve missed out on too many special occasions, haven’t been able to watch the babies grow up, or be a part of get togethers.

Which meant that being there for this was an emotional night.  I was already verklempt from happy tears, then I was wiped out when I saw bouquets with sterling charms featuring Bobbie’s fingerprints.

Ack, there I go, I’m teary again just looking at this picture!

Sights like Hannah dreamingly watching her brand new husband as he had his mother/son dance, made me cry too.  It didn’t help that my seat was facing a sweet memorial table with a framed photo of Bobbie looking directly at me.  I’d glance at the picture, thinking about how proud my sister would be of her kids and I’d lose it.

Tears are even more contagious than yawns, so I infected the table with them and we were a soggy mess.  I kept telling myself not to do it, but I was a time bomb, ready to explode with tears at each and every endearing moment, then causing a chain reaction among my tablemates.

My time in Pendleton was much too short, but was jam packed.  I got to visit with the family who didn’t go to Florida, see my beautiful grand dog, Ryder, go with Sissy to eat our favorite lunch (at the hospital we spent so much time in while Bobbie Sue was ill), walk in the woods, visit friends from school, then plan another big get together with the nieces next year at the beach, and mostly just be happy to be there with them all.

At the Elms

friends
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A special friend having a birthday.

So we made slightly impulsive, sorta expensive, but worth every penny, reservation at the Elms Spa in Excelsior Springs.

We treated ourselves to an afternoon in the Grotto, then relaxed with tea in the spa lounge, where they had a heart shaped piece of wood on the wall.  My kind of place.

It’s an historical hotel, with gorgeous details throughout. And ghosts!  We took a ghost tour and learned about the spirits haunting different rooms.  My buddy even heard a ghostly party in the rooms above her overnight.

 I was jealous.

After our refreshenings at the spa, we got dressed up and went out to dinner.  Since I’d just had a facial, I wasn’t going to mess it up with makeup.  But I did put on nice clothes, which is a big deal for me that late at night.  8pm is way past jammy time for this old gal.

I even wore fancy shoes.  It is very unlike me to be out and on the town at night, and even more bizarre to not be in my spongy, sift, Oofo sandals.  These babies even had a bit of a heel.

Yep, it was a fancy excursion and a wonderful getaway.

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