Notes from A Cottage Industry

It's New Years Eve at Camas Antiques.

Sorry this blog post is coming on so late in the day. I needed to take a picture or two of my booth space (I forgot my camera repeatedly when I was there working on and off all day yesterday) and I had to sit home and wait for the cable guy here this morning. (Oh, the joys of technology once again...I got a hi-def cable box and of course, had troubles with it.)

Anyway.

I have been painting and pricing and foofifying things for my booth at Camas Antiques and I wanted to share a lil' peek at my progress. For now, it's all about shades of muted creams, ecru, camels, and tobacco browns, but soon, it will be leaning towards a slightly more colorful look, with warm peaches and pinks, just in time for Valentine's Day.

Mmm hmm., it's all part of my newly created booth plan. I have made a calendar with themes for my booth for the upcoming year and I'll be changing things up often. (Well, okay, that's the plan, anyway.) It's just one of my New Year's resolutions, and I am pretty stoked about it.

New Year's party hat how-to's.

I was really surprised at how many of you emailed me with questions on how I made my party hat, so I decided to share the instructions right here. It's very nearly New Year's, so you'll have to get right on this if you want to use it this year. Otherwise, you've got plenty of time if you are thinking ahead for next year's New Year's eve.

Oh, one more thing. Keep in mind that the instructions will work for any kind of party hat, not simply New Year's, so think outside of the box here.

SUPPLIES NEED FOR HAT:

sheet music, book pages or scrapbook paper of your choice

Liquid Starch

Bowl to put liquid starch in

Cardboard or mylar party hat (doesn't matter what it looks like, 'coz you're gonna cover it up)

Adornments like the clock face (make one or google a picture up...whatever you like) buttons, glitter, etc. (I printed the words Happy New Year on my printer and cut out the strip like a mini banner, then glued it in place.)

garland edging if the hat doesn't already have some on it.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pour liquid starch in a large bowl and tear paper of your choice into strips of various sizes. Dip paper in liquid starch and scrape off excess starch with your fingers as you pull it out of the liquid. Drape sloppy wet paper onto hat at any angle you like until the hat is fully covered with the torn pages.

Let dry. (I placed my hat over a mid sized pyrex bowl to be sure it maintained it's nice round shape at the base of the hat.)

Add adornments with a hot glue gun.

You're finished!

I'd love to see pictures of your hat and so would everyone else, so please send me a picture when you get yours completed and I will add it to this post with a link to you!

Getting settled.

I worked a few hours at the bank yesterday, and I am there again all day today, but I wanted to share a lil' peek at my dining room in the new place. I have moved things around from my old cottage in Reno. The four bunny pictures and the hutch in the dining room are all relocated from my old living room, and the hutch is now filled with all of my white and silver things for a little different look (I will add the Robin's egg blue touches in the spring and summer I am thinking) I am going with a slightly more streamlined look in my new home because it just seems like that is what looks best here.

  I didn't do too much in here for the Christmas season, since I was still using the table for unpacking things.... but it is definitely beginning to feel like home to me.

Countdown to the new year.

Doesn't it seem like we were just all talking about Y2K a year or so ago? Where did the time go? Now, here we are, a few days away from the beginning of twenty-ten. Unbelievable.

Do you make new years resolutions? I do, most years. I like goal setting and list making. (Although I know I shared long ago in a post that I always manage to lose the lists I make. No matter. Lists and goals inspire me.) I see the new year as Oprah does; another chance to get it right. As cheesy as it sounds, I like the Anne of Green Gables attitude on life of seeing every day as a fresh clean slate, with no mistakes in it yet, and I feel even more hope-filled at New Year's for some reason. It's like the first day of school each year when I was a kid. 

About a third of my resolutions are life's trivial kinds of things, like finally learning how to work the comcast television remote control, ( Dear God, that thing confuses and intimidates me. Not only does it take me nearly a full minute to get the danged TV to turn on now, but I realize now that I have been paying for the "DVR" feature for nearly two months, and haven't been able to record a single show as yet.) baking that black forest cake recipe from the latest issue of Victoria magazine that I have been dying to try, and taking Moose to every single dog park in the Portland and Vancouver area this coming year.

Many of them are much grander resolutions that I pretty much keep close to my heart; resolutions and goals about my Cottage Industry business and for my personal life. (Seriously, you might think I'd lost my mind if I shared some of these with you.) On the eve of a new year, everything seems possible. Everything is possible.

We just have to believe.

Words to live by - week 148

Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.
~ Peg Bracken.

The last of the moving stuff.

Mmm hmm, I bet you thought I was done. I bet some of you even imagined I had unpacked most things. Ha!

Not even close. Today, while many of you are returning home, exhausted yet thrilled with your finds from a day-after-Christmas marathon of mall sales shopping at 4:00 a.m. I am tackling what will (hopefully) be my final day of moving the last of my stuff from the place down the hill. It's mostly odds and ends, Rubbermaid tubs of things for my antique booth, miscellaneous stuff for my garage. Oh, and a dismantled metal shelving thingamajig to hold my overflow of pots and pans in the garage. (I am more than a little concerned I will not get that baby re-assembled again with all the right pieces.)

My reward will be a huge load off of my shoulders knowing the move is complete at last, and a nice looooong hot bubble bath at the day's end.

Happy Christmas.

Hmmm, maybe that tree didn't topple over all by itself.

Merriest wishes from Moose and me on this Christmas day.

The Christmas tree, round two.

So, ya, the Christmas tree this year has been a challenge, to say the least. The thing you need to know about me is that a Christmas tree is a big part of Christmas itself. It brings back so many good memories for me of raising a family, with all the ornaments and lights.

The first year I was suddenly single I basically skipped Christmas entirely, so no tree for me. The second year, I sort of got my mojo back and began the new tradition of shopping at the local Boy Scouts of America tree lot with my good friend Anne, followed by top shelf margaritas to celebrate. (This tradition lasted the past two years, and then this year I moved.) Now, with my move, I was left to my own devices to find a tree, and I skipped the top shelf margaritas part of the deal 'coz it's just not the same when it's just me. I shared a few posts ago that I miscalculated the ceiling height of my living room, or the tallness of my tree, however you chose to look at it. I persevered however and got the tree up and looking beautiful, if I do say so myself.

That is, until last night.

Last night, I arrived home from working at the bank to find my ginormous tree sprawled out across the length of the living room, still lit mind you, with ornaments strewn here and there and more than a few broken items in it's path. (And I thought it was hard to get the tree upright in it's stand the first time.) I will tell you that Moose had a rather guilty look on his face. I can't be sure if he was involved in this mishap, or simply a witness and innocent bystander, watching from his favorite spot on the sofa that he is not allowed on anytime at all, but chooses to use when he has the house to himself.

Anyway.

After a very, very long battle, the tree (which I am convinced doubled in weight this week inside my living room) is once again upright, in it's stand, the ladder was dragged out, and the lights and ornaments have been fluffed to resemble some sort of balance but I must tell you...I am over it. Completely.

And I have had a revelation of sorts.

Next Christmas I will begin a new tradition. I will be buying myself a quick assemble, pre-lit faux Christmas tree and lighting a pine scented candle or two and calling it good.

Incredibly (vintage looking) last minute Christmas projects.

I just moved. I am still unpacking. I had out of town company this past weekend. It's Christmas. The dog ate my homework.

Okay, they're all feeble excuses for why I didn't get this latest kit out sooner. (Can we just go with "Good things come to those who wait" or "better late than never"? C'mon, let's do that.)With the out of town company gone and not feeling able to sleep at all until way into the wee hours,(mmm hmm, if you notice, I finished up this post at 1:18 a.m.) I decided to jump on things and get his project done, once and for all, already.

I had this charming idea, back...oh, about October, to make a Noel banner for my fireplace (since I already knew I was going to have a fireplace way back then) and a sweet little Peace on Earth template, and I am pretty happy with the way they have turned out, even if the photo of my vintage picture frame with the words "Peace on Earth" hanging from the picture wire came out kind of looking like my wall is slanted, and for some silly reason, you can't see the fabulous glitter I added to the pieces.(Trust me, it's there.)

The best part about these banners is that they print up in no time and can be assembled lickety split in time for Christmas eve or Christmas day.  I am especially fond of the Peace on Earth squares, since I found two different ways to use them. Both templates may be printed on any paper you choose, or on the vintage book page template provided in the kit, so different types of looks can be achieved, depending on your decor.

If you'd like one of these online kits sent to your email inbox, just click the button below.

Traditions and Christmas Tea at the Heathman Hotel.

One of my favorite things to do in Portland this time of year is go to the Heathman Hotel for Christmas Tea. Both of my daughters worked at the Heathman while attending college, so it's extra special to go back and enjoy the giant Christmas tree and all of the decorations, along with the fabulous food served at this event. (Sadly, I somehow forgot my camera, so the picture above was taken with my daughter's phone...but you get the idea of just how splendid the Heathman is....the photo was taken from the Mezzanine level above the enormous Christmas tree.)

 Attending the Christmas Tea reminded us all of a story from our past....

When my girls were very young, (my oldest daughter was in kindergarten) I came up with the idea to host our very own Christmas Tea at our home. I would let my girls invite two little friends and their mama's, and I would invited two friends and their daughters. Eventually we moved the party to celebrate Valentine's Day, as Christmas became far to busy as my three children got older.

Oh, such fond memories! This tradition lasted until my girls got to about middle school. One day near Thanksgiving, my middle daughter matter of factly informed me the girls didn't want to do the dress-up-all-foofy-in-our-Sunday-best-and-invite-our-friends thing any more, and therefore we would not be doing Christmas Tea any longer. I was informed that it just wasn't "cool". She also informed me that my older daughter was simply to chicken to tell me, for fear of hurting my feelings, and so she stepped up to the plate to handle the situation. (Aaah, those years with two pre-teen daughters....more fond memories.)

Needless to say, I took it personally and was momentarily crushed. (I can be quite dramatic myself on occasion) The Mother Daughter Tea tradition stopped. Yesterday, as we sat having our tea and finger sandwiches, we were going down memory lane, discussing this and we all had a really good laugh. To everything there is a season, I guess!

Anyway. Back to the story...

Years passed, and then, along came the Heathman Tea. The first year I attended this event with my girls was the Christmas after my oldest daughter graduated college, if I am not mistaken. This year the Sewing Queen and our sweet friend Ella (who is 96 years young) joined us for Christmas Tea at the Heathman and we all had a wonderful time. It appears that this may become an annual tradition (at least for now anyway) that I am living here.

Do you have any Christmas season traditions like this one? Any that have come and gone and come back again? I'd love to hear all about them!!

Birthday boy.

My Mom, my son, daughter-in-law, 11 month old grand daughter flew in for my grandson's first birthday celebration and an early Christmas together. Having babies in the family again makes Christmas feel that much more magical to me, and having all of my own kids together for a long weekend is truly my idea of heaven on earth. I love listening to them tease one another and squabble, and having those two sweet babies underfoot is almost more joy than my heart can hold. It's the best Christmas present in the whole wide world.

Our very own little Christmas eve baby is turning one and so we celebrated with a cake and all the hoopla that goes with it a week early so the day could be all about him. My daughter decided on a Polar Express theme and I got to make the cake!

I found the most perfect little train to go atop the cake and made a little label that read "The Polar Express" for the middle car. The trees were frosted ice cream cones, dusted with a powdered sugar snowfall. So cute. And yummy.

As you can see, the birthday boy thought it tasted yummy too!

Words to live by - week 147

Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts.  ~Janice Maeditere

Oh....Christmas tree.

One of the challenges of being a single woman living alone is the stuff you don't think about until you're doing it. Challenges like getting a ten foot tall Christmas tree off the roof of your car, and up the five steps to the small porch. Stuff like maneuvering the ten foot tall Christmas tree through the doorway, around the tight entry way, eventually dropping it in the hallway because it turns out it isn't really a ten foot tall Christmas tree, it's more like an eleven foot tall Christmas tree.

Faced with this challenge, you do what pretty much any single woman living alone would do, you decide to use one of your Cutco knives to trim off the top of the tree. You do this because- A. You couldn't find tree nippers (or whatever they are actually named.) since you just moved and your garage looks like a WalMart distribution center full of boxes, and because - B. You remember that you don't even own anything remotely looking like a tree nipper, anyway.

The final challenge that you don't think about until you're doing it would be getting the now ten foot tall Christmas tree into the stand....by yourself. Upright. And straight. With the good side facing the room, thankyouverymuch. (as opposed to the side with the watermelon sized bald spot you'd prefer faced the wall)

Anyway.

The good news is that I fought a good fight and in the end, I won. The tree is upright, in it's stand, looking oh-so-Christmas-y, and no furniture, or big yellow dogs were harmed in the process.

Hmmm. Now, if only I could find the box I packed with the tree lights.

Vintage Family Tree revisited...

..er..relocated, depending on how you want to say it. Remember when I shared the post about my vintage family photo wall in the dining room on Norman Drive? Well, I found a perfect spot in my new home to hang the grouping, and I am pretty pleased with the way the frames and soft tones compliment the stair rails and the wall colors. (and, if you were wondering, and if you look really hard, you find that I am the chubby little three year old in the bottom right photo with the teddy bear.) It was hard to get the shot without the overhead can light glare and the walls at the entrance to the kitchen, but you get the idea. What'cha think?

I expect to be all settled in by mid July.

Moving. It's right up there on the fun scale, tied with the years I had three kids in elementarily school that all had to conduct in depth science fair projects, complete with the tri-fold cardboard backdrop displays the week before spring break. Good times. (Seriously, next time I have to move, I think I will just sell all of my worldly belongings except my shoes and start over from scratch.)

Oh, and a bit of advice to any of you out there planning a move- keep a bag or box in a spot you can find (like the back seat or trunk of your car) with a pair of pliers, a wrench, and a screwdriver. Trust me, you'll need these items more than once as you dismantle and reassemble your washer and dryer, your bed, and that darling little corner desk that needs the legs removed to get it through the doorway to your office. If you forget this tip, you'll be frantically searching for a butter knife that is also in some unmarked box to get those legs off that desk. ( Please, don't ask me how I know this.)

Another challenge I had not anticipated- hooking up the cable box to my television and actually getting the desired result of good clear reception with accurate color quality. Sounds easy to you? Well, trust me. It's not. Mmm hmm, my television is working, but all of the people on all of the stations look the exact shade of blue as Papa Smurf. (What is up with that?!) Oh, I am sure I have some wrong plug in somewhere, or a do-hickey that needs to be adjusted, but it's just one more frustration I do not need right now.

As for the unpacking part of the move..well, I am over it, already, people. Forget unpacking. I want to decorate and accessorize...I want to nest. (I have my priorities in life straight, thankyouverymuch.) It's winter in the pacific northwest, for gosh sakes. It's cold, and it even rained here yesterday. That's nesting weather in my book. I want this ridiculous unpacking to be done yesterday. I am ready to feel the warm hug of welcome and security each and every time I open the door to my new home.

Seriously, I am pretty sure that my packed moving boxes are mating and multiplying every night while I am in bed asleep. I have roughly unpacked about 472 boxes, or at least that is what it feels like (and from the looks of my garage I am not off by more than two or three) and as of now, I still have not unearthed the beaters to my mixer, nor the pillow shams for my bed. 472 boxes down, 365 to go.

Happily, what I did stumble across, was my collection of Christmas stockings. I have more than one for myself and for Moose because..well, because, I think they are such a charming holiday adornment, and they bring back fond memories of childhood. I hang them on the mantel in the living room, of course, but also, sometimes I hang them on the backs of my dining room chairs, and I like to hang one at the foot of my bed.

I actually had quite a dilemma this year, because my new home has a second fireplace in the bedroom and I was torn as to whether to hang my stocking there, or on the bed. In the end though, I couldn't resist hanging it on the foot board of my bed, as always. It's makes me feel all warm and fuzzy every time I walk into my bedroom.

It's beginning to feel like I am really home.

Words to live by - week 146

It isn't what you have in your pocket that makes you thankful, but what you have in your heart.
                                              -- Author Unknown

On the move...again.

You most likely won't hear from me again until sometime late afternoon Monday.(I'll try to post sooner, but who knows when I'll have my computer all set up...) I spent all of today moving my fragile things like pictures and lamps, one car load at a time. (I am convinced the pictures and lamps and such all multiplied in the short few weeks I have been in the temporary place. How does that happen?!) Tomorrow at 7:00 sharp my sweet son-in-law and a friend will be arriving to move the furniture and heavy stuff, and by tomorrow afternoon (I hope) I will be unpacking my kitchen and making my bed at my new home.

Baby, it's cold outside.

It has been ridiculously cold here (13 degrees this morning) in the Portland Oregon area this week and, while I am buried in moving chores, I had to take 2 minutes to share a picture of my favorite little man, complete with rosy nose and cheeks.

My girls and I took him with us to the salvage yard on Monday. (...and if you haven't ever been, it's basically a giant garage full of incredibly cool junk and architectural pieces, but, since it is a giant garage of sorts, with the entire back side of the building open...and there is no heat at all.) He was such a good sport, and never complained, probably because his auntie was singing and dancing with him, carrying him around bundled inside the front of her big parka! (And, well...34 degrees is not what I call outdoor shopping weather.)

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Onward and upward.

I have been keeping busy the last few days trying to get my booth space at Camas Antiques revamped and restocked well as getting thing packed and organized around my current home, as I am moving to my new home officially this Friday.

I added a wooden shelf up high in the booth space to draw your eyes to the back wall and add a more intimate feeling to the booth by making it feel more like a completely enclosed room.(It is hard to tell in the photo, but I'd say the shelf is up at about eight or nine feet high) I also finally added my "A Cottage Industry" banner, which swags across the space overhead.

Hopefully by Saturday the booth will be updated, I will be sleeping in my bed at my new home, and I will then, at long last, be ready to begin decorating for Christmas.

Words to live by - week 145

People who live the most fulfilling lives are the ones who are always rejoicing at what they have.

                                                                      -- Richard Carlson

Amen to that. Let's all try and remember what it is that really matters in these very tough times.

Holiday event at Monti's....

Oh. My.

 I made it to the Monticello Holiday event opening day just a few minutes after 8:00 a.m when the event opened. The booth spaces were fabulous, with so many wonderful ideas to inspire! Today's post is mostly pictures, because there was so much to see, and the old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words really rings true here.
I wandered through the huge mall for nearly two hours before finally making my way to the checkout; my head spinning with inspired ideas for my own booth display at Camas Antiques....
Hands down, there were two items that literally every booth had tweaked to their own style...
First, Christmas stockings....in burlap, cotton, vintage fabrics- and each one more charming than the last.
The second hot ticket were all of the many bottle brush trees....
green, pale pinks, or bleached...
glittered, mounted on vintage candlesticks, and sugar bowls, displayed in a variety of clever ways, atop silver candlesticks or sugar bowls, and in every size imaginable.
The event goes through the holiday season, and the vendors will be replenishing often, so I am sure I will be heading back over to take another peek before Christmas arrives.

Portland thrifting tour and other big doing's.

When I first arrived in town here about two months ago (Can it really have already been two months?!) I received an email from a wonderfully thoughful blog reader (and former shop keeper) offering to take me around to all of her favorite thrifting spots.

We finally got things coordinated and spend this past Wednesday morning out and about, thrifting and chatting. (just wait until you see my latest treasures!!) My new friend even went to the trouble of creating maps for me (knowing I was directionally challenged!) so I could find these fabulous places again at some point! Thank you so very much, AJ. I had the best time!

Today I will be finding my way over to Monticello for the first day of thier holiday event, (if you see me there, come say hello!) and then tonight, I will head over to my beloved 4th Avenue in sweet lil' Camas, as it's the First Friday event, (All the shops, including Camas Antiques will be open late!)and the annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony. 

*sigh* Living in the pacific northwest. I love it.

2009 Holiday Home Tour, part two.

 
The tour continues! (As always, click on the words printed in blue to hop over to tour a blogger's home for this years tour....) We're going to continue with our holiday home tour today, starting with Sue's place, over at "A work in progress" blog. 

From there, let's pop on over to see what Cindy has to share over at her Romantic Home!!! (You know Cindy will have some incredible ideas!!!) 
Cheryl has some adorable ideas for decorating this holiday season, so we simply must pop by her home next!
Next up is Roxanne, with her wonderfully charming cottage full of Christmas cheer....

....Next stop on the tour will be Gayla's home, and her cookies look absolutely delicious, so I can't wait to see what else she has in store for us!

Then, Lori sent me a lot of pictures of her sweet Oklahoma home, but if she has a blog, I couldn't find it...but I did want to share a couple of pictures anyway...
Then, we'll scurry on over to see what Lisa at the tarnished and tattered cottage has to share with us today!(I really do love these silhouettes in the picture she sent me, but I don't see them on her blog anywhere, so you'll have to ask her about them!)

...And we'll end our tour for today. Thank you to everyone that participated with pictures and blog posts!!!! The pictures from my holiday home will not be up until next week sometime, as I am in the process of moving right now!

2009 Holiday home Tour, part one.

Happy December everyone!What better way to start of the month and the Christmas season than with a holiday home tour? We're going to start this years tour at Debbie's home (How cute is that decorated candy cane up above?!) .....

....and then, it's off to Janelle's sweet home to see her holiday decor and treasures...

...followed by Carla's home and her new blog to see what holiday cheer she has cooked up!

From there, we'll want to be sure and stop by Donna's charming cottage, have some tea and take a tour....

then, on to Jill's home for a nice lil' visit... tomorrow we will show the rest of the tour! Thanks for coming along with me...