Creative New Year

On this last day of 2014, I wish you all blessings and creative magic for 2015!

This past year has been wonderful and I look forward to sharing new adventures with you in the year to come.  Thank you for your visits, inspiration and always for your kind words.

One place to find inspirational creative resolutions for next year is on the Stampington website and blog.  I've been privileged to join some amazing artists there to share our 'artful' resolutions for 2015. Come visit at:
http://stampington.com/blog/2014/12/23/artful-resolutions-creative-souls/

You can see all the artists' responses in their entirety here as well:
http://stampington.com/new-year-resolutions

I'm looking forward to starting some creative projects soon, and these finds from Stampington's shop will get me going:

Last year I embellished these spools from Stampington with gathered ticking fabric I had on hand, and some inspirational words:

I'm dreaming of creating with  more rustic appeal....inspired by this old shed door and the coffee filter wreath I made.

What are you excited about for next year?
Happy New Year friends!

A Winter's Tale - Living Room

Friends, it's been such fun to visit your blogs and see how everyone is adding that Christmas touch to their homes.  I love Advent as it's all about waiting and anticipating Christ's birth.  As I slowly decked out our halls, I reflected on the peace this time brings.
Our living room is finally set.  This year I was influenced heavily by the style of Vintage by Nina and her latest amazing book 'A Winter's Tale' ...

A peek at her book inside this fabulous milk crate I found at the flea market this fall:

Welcome....

Here are some lovely pillow covers I got from H&M recently.  They look great on our stark white couch!

Over the couch is a white Christmas themed shelf:

Crocheted stocking in a frame:

and sprayed pine cones from outdoors:

Not far from the tree is a corner with our white buffet.  This year I decided to put a bookcase on top (sorry for the shadows - it's been cloudy here all week!):

A collection of Christmas goodies is presented here...

This cute pouch came from Rhonda - I just love it with a little green sprig inside!

Recently Michelle and I joined a wonderful new friend Carol on a trip to visit Nesting in Concord, MA.  The store was in full Christmas wonderland display, enchanting as always.  One of the owners, Beth, made this amazing little wreath ornament.  I've attached it to my glitter trophy and just love it!

Here's a shot of us at Nesting.  I had a great time with you ladies!

Michelle, me, Carol

Next a look at the fireplace wall.  I decided to put my white arched window here, along with a Scandinavian cross fabric banner I made.  It hides that awful red brick!  I made the pillow covers on the white chairs from coffee sacks.

Here's a closer look at the mantel:

I'm crushing on this rustic white house I found at Nesting, as well as the glitter star garland:

Nearby is a simple seating area:

On the other side of the fireplace is a simple collection as well:

Just some burlap ribbon wrapped around the tree in an ironstone bowl.  Easy:

The front of the room holds my prairie style cupboard.  Just love this in winter, too:

I've dubbed this my 'star' corner, because I've used paper glitter stars with gusto here!

Ms. Santos dons them...

...and my white horse is surrounded by sparkly stars...even the candle holders got them:

It's a perfect place to feature our Nativity scene.  This year I nestled the scene in an old tool caddy that was made by my great-grandfather.  I love that it has an 'M' carved out on the left side (for 'Manger' seems appropriate):

Hope you enjoyed this living room tour.  Sending some warmth your way..

Sharing with:
Feathered Nest Friday
Shabbilicious Friday

French Farmhouse Christmas - Dining Room

Tis the season to be jolly!  Blogland is awash with beautifully decorated Christmas homes and it's been so fun to see.  After hosting Thanksgiving, I decided to keep my Christmas decorating simpler this year (famous last words).  However I'm always tweaking....
So far I'm staying true to my plan and leaving a lot of the stash in the attic.  It's good to rotate out some decorations, right?  Although they all bring back fun memories of Christmases past.

So far I've been able to transform the dining room and it's different this year - more of a French farmhouse feel...

....and I added the color RED!  Normally I'm not a huge fan of red, but it is growing on me...especially soft touches of red at Christmas.

For instance, I added two long runners to the dining table.  They are from H&M home and were a bargain! I embroidered our children's initials on each one:

This corner got a subtle touch of red, too.  I'm loving grain sacks this year:

The other noticeable change I made to the room is to paint the inside of the white cupboard grey.
I had a pretty light blue damask wallpaper there for years, and just wanted a change:

Some greenery, ironstone and vintage white linens were all that was needed.  A rustic wooden caddy holds shiny brites for a pop of color:

At another corner you can see our built-in cupboard...peek through the chandelier adorned with ornaments...

I couldn't resist adding this fabulous piece of driftwood I found at a local beach this past fall.  It's a nice way to hang lovely things:

Not long after I took photos of this room I purchased a wreath from our school for a fundraiser.  As I set the wreath down on the chair, I couldn't help taking a new photo here!

Another corner of the room holds a desk that came from the living room (to make room for the tree).
I decided to keep this corner really simple - architectural pieces, wood caddy with ironstone and some bleached bottle brush trees lined up in jars.

A simple garland adds a sweet touch...

The dining room buffet got greenery, ironstone and our Advent candle wreath.  I added a vintage paper garland in a Scandinavian cross design above....

The Advent candles are lit for each week of Advent.  I placed a faux green wreath around them, sprinkled with pine cones I picked up at a local playground.  They were sprayed with faux snow.
The wreath rests on a favorite vintage platter:

Hope you're having a wonderful Christmas season...I'll be back to share our living room and kitchen soon!

Sharing with:
Feathered Nest Friday
Shabbilicious Friday
Christmas tour of homes at The Nester