~A Tree for Mom & A Tree for the Kids~

For the last several years my daughter Lisa has had her own special tree that she gets to decorate all by herself.  She calls it the "Mom Tree".  It sits on the bar between the kitchen and family room.  This year she decided to use peacock colors and it is FABULOUS!  She has gotten mixed reviews, the men hate it, the women love it and the kids don't get it!!  These photos really don't do it justice.......you just gotta see it in person.

 

AND NOW A LOOKY AT THE KIDS TREE

 My daughter is a wonderful mom to her 5 year old son Dominick and also a wonderful mom to her husbands two children, Kelly 16 and Michael 14.  She loves and treats all the kids the same.  I'm very proud of her.  She has the best heart ever, just ask anyone that knows her!!  

Well.....back to the kids tree!!  Lisa sets up the tree, gets the ornament boxes out and she lets the kids go to town.  She never changes anything they put on the tree.  I stood in the kitchen as the kids decorated the tree.  I watched Dominick jumping for joy, so excited about every ornament he put on the tree.  Michael really got into putting the Santa hat on the tree top and putting the garland around the tree.  Then there was Kelly, after all she is 16 and could barely set her phone down.  But in the end she got into the spirit too.

Now that the trees are up, the rest of the house will turn into Christmas next weekend.  Lisa has her last final on Friday.  She will graduate from the nursing program at American River College on December 17, 2013.

Thanks for stopping by........

(PLEASE VISIT MY SHOP, JUST CLICK)

~The Aluminum Christmas Tree~

History of the Aluminum Christmas Tree

(just click on link)

I came across this article on etsy.com and it brought back so many memories of my childhood trees.  Mom and Dad even had the spinning color wheel!!

(just click to visit my etsy shop)

Thanks for stopping by, Karen Lee

~I'm THANKFUL for my FAMILY~

My treasury made the top 10!!

 The treasury challenge at On Fire for Handmade last week was to make a collection of what we are thankful for........easy one for me, MY FAMILY!  I found so many cute family items while shopping at etsy.com.  You can find links to some of my favorites from this list below..........

I'm THANKFUL for my FAMILY

STICKS N STONE

KYLEE INSPIRED CRAFTS

SWEETEST PIE

REFINED INSPIRATIONS

TIMO HANDMADE 

KATHLEEN BUCK ART

 

WATER COLOR QUEEN

DANNY PHILLIPS ART

I hope you have time to visit these shops to see their wonderful collections of art!!

(click  to visit my shop)

Thanks for stopping by, Karen Lee

~Pedricks Lavender Wands~

(click on photo to view shop)

Hello, its Saturday afternoon and I'm waiting for family to arrive so we can play our favorite game of Aggravation.  We play on a large handmade wooden board and we have many sets of 1 inch marbles to play with, along with every color of dice you can think of!!  Great family fun!!!

Today I want to feature Pedricks, a shop of beautiful lavender wands.

ABOUT Catherine Pedrick, owner of Pedricks.  (taken from her etsy.com account)

Pedricks began when I discovered I could weave my long stemmed English lavender into wands instead of just harvesting the flowers and drying them for sachets.

Lavender falls off of it's stems when they begin to get dry and the ladies of the Victorian age created this unique means of preserving the lavender from their gardens so it could be used for many years to scent their clothing or any room they were in.
I have seen a photo of a lavender wand that was 40 years old, with the caption that it still smelled wonderful.
Since only long stemmed English lavender can be used to make these wands, I cannot begin making them until each summers crop is mature enough, and then I have to stop once the stems are no longer supple enough to bend and the flowers begin to fall off of the stems when they are cut.

"I  have always loved working with my hands to create. From drawing and painting, to knitting and embroidery. When I first began to weave my lavender into wands in the Victorian way, it was as if my hands already knew how to do this. It is a joy!"

You can find more info about these wonderful wands made by Catherine at her shop PEDRICKS 

(just click to visit my shop)

Thanks for stopping by, Karen Lee

                                                                                                

~A Fox, A Raccoon and A Monkey~

I've had a busy week with Thanksgiving prep and didn't have any time to make it to my blog.  But.......turkey day is over and I'm back!!  We had a wonderful time with family and friends as always.

As I do my etsy.com browsing I always come across these adorable felt animals and they always make me smile!  When I logged onto etsy this morning the first thing I saw was the fox.  So I said to myself....... I must feature Squishy-Cute Designs today.  They offer these adorable patterns for us to put our sewing skills to work.  No sewing machine required!

About Kelli and Greta................................

My name is Kelli Rinta, and my mom is Greta, and we are the designers behind Squishy-Cute Designs. We both have such a passion for designing and creating, that starting our own creative business of some kind sounded like a really fun venture that we could do together. We weren't entirely sure what we wanted to do, but starting in 2009 we created our first plushie pattern, Frankie the Fish. And after making Frankie, we thought about creating even more plushie patterns, and eventually decided it was what we should focus our shop on and we started our own pattern company, Squishy-Cute Designs!

SquishyCuteDesigns

(just click to visit their shop)

(please visit my shop......just click)

Thanks for stopping by, Karen Lee

~all the STOCKINGS were hung~

MonogramYou

I'm featuring Christmas stockings today.  Not your everyday traditional stocking in reds and greens, but more trendy stockings that just make me smile!!  Just click on the shop name under each photo to get more information about each one.  I had fun shopping for these today.  Etsy.com is the place for your handmade shopping.  Support handmade when you can.

EverydayGraces

 cindidavis1

 spittintoad

 hatzNthangz

 echoshop

leahk1 

 UrbanCreative

Thanks for stopping by, Karen Lee 

Please visit my etsy shop

(just click on photo)

~What Does the Fox Say?~

 scootapie

I'm feeling a little foxy today.....LOL!!  So of course I head to my favorite place to shop.....etsy.com!!  I hope you enjoy these foxy creations as much as I do.  If you want to learn more about one of the pieces featured here......just click on the shop name under each photo.  These would all make sweet gifts.

PotteryLodge

Pigeons

echoshop

Naturetrail

MooseberryCases

Thanks for stopping by, Karen Lee  

Please visit my etsy shop

JUST CLICK on photo

 

~I've Been Naughty and Nice~

 tags made by JulieAnnArt

Our new challenge over at On Fire for Handmade was to make a WISH LIST.  I've loved turquoise ever since the 1970's.  It was very popular back then!!  I have given all my pieces through the years to my daughter.  When I started shopping around etsy.com for my wish list items I kept coming across such beautiful turquoise with red bracelets and necklaces.  So my list was born.  I want to share some of the pieces and links to the shops where they can be found.  Just click on the shop name.  HAPPY SHOPPING!

BellaDonnasShop 

BeadedTail

BlueIrisJewelry

BrankletsNBling

Thanks for stopping by, Karen Lee

Please visit my etsy shop
JUST CLICK ON PIC