Black Eye

{ it looks worse in real life, so embarassing }
I have to show you my black eye , second one in my whole life, how does this happen ?? well this was a cleaning accident....I swear, I was bent over in my crawl space trying to clean my basement and I tripped over my pajama's I think and went down face first right onto a big metal part of an exercise machine , I thought I had broken open the skin , it sure felt like it, I thought I was going to need stitches, thankfully it was just a bad bruise that just kept getting worse, my knees were bashed and I had really bruised my arm oh and I was all alone , I was in so much pain....how do boxers do it , this bruise just keeps getting bigger and uglier by the day , thankfully my glasses and hair camouflage it so I don't get too many concerned looks.

I had a busy weekend I made a batch of three dozen cupcakes for two little girls I used to babysit when I did home daycare and after that I got started on a bathroom reno for a client in my neighbourhood and even had a nice visit with my family and my MIL and SIL , it was nice to have them come down our way .... busy busy

So frothy and good.

YUMMY , we enjoyed the extras

Sarah is back again

*****edited Sorry this is not THE Sarah this is Sarah from Orillia , who doesn't have a tv show or a sidekick named Tommy ,but who is just a great girl who is a wonderful designer in her own right...
Before Sarah's house has always been one of my favorites , when I got an email which must be about a year ago telling me the house had been damaged in a fire but the family was all OK I felt so sad , first for the fear and awful experience that must have been and I felt relieved that the kids all got out and everyone was fine and then I felt heart sick for all the hard work Sarah and her husband had put into this lovely home , what would happen? , well they checked into a hotel and made the best of it , it must have been hard , and then they re-built ....they got a re-do , wouldn't that be fun .... well look how well they did with the task at hand ....
You may remember Sarah from this post here

After Sarah's home was so charming and wonderful and now it is even better , so simple and stylish , so perfect, Sarah got to keep the elements that worked and she added details that really complete the space like the board and batten walls and rustic beams , I love this living room with the 4 comfy arm chairs , how inviting , and that lantern who wouldn't love that?

They added this rustic fireplace , which I think is just perfect for this charming home I think you would find me in this room most days.


Before

I am sorry but this dining room is just too much too much perfect, I love it love it love it ....that table from Restoration Hardware , I love a round dining room , they didn't do built in bookcases , I think that was just the right idea , it leaves the room clean and simply beautiful and allows space for the round table.

I also love this painting , I love birch trees , I want to plant one in my front yard but the doctor told my husband he is allergic to them although he has never had a problem while their pollen is high , hmmm


Before

Cute collected and colorful , I am sure these photos bring on emotions and remind them of items that are missed ...but they are just things as long as you have each other , this start over ALMOST makes me want to start a new ...

I love this new office , how brilliant , a round table with a hole in the center for wiring , look at all those laptops , how smart , I love those cheery green chairs as well , this is a great addition and a shared space I love that .

Well Sarah and hubby you have done it yet again , created a warm beautiful and creative home , well done ...you will want to check out Sarah's kitchen here, it is gorgeous too

Homemade Christmas

I was thrilled to find my Holiday with Matthew Mead magazine in my mail box the other day , now this will get you in the mood for Christmas , such a magazine to treasure .

I wanted to share with you some easy DIY ornaments you can make at home , I have a friend who's house was badly damaged by a fire not too long ago , they are back home now and have everything fixed even better than ever filled with the most gorgeous details and furnishings , I am in love but they have no ornaments they lost it all and are starting over , but where to start and how do you do that and not spend a fortune ?? well I shared a few ideas with her and I thought I should pass these ideas on to you as well.

Although the ornament in the above photo was a bought piece it shows a great idea , simply adding glue and then dipping in glitter or even beads as was done here , you could use a nice tacky glue for the beads and a thinner brushed on glue for the glitter designs , easy to pick up plain old glass balls and embellish to make you own one of a kind pieces.

This is not a new idea at all , this ornament was my Oma's from Germany actually , it is one of my treasured ornaments I have always loved , see this colour has a long history for me , how easy to paint on this simple design and glitter away .

Last year I had the girls make these fluffy balls made out of pom poms , pretty shades I found at Michael's Craft store , simply pinned into dollar store foam balls and hung with ribbon.

This large heart ornament I made many years ago , it is just simple felt sewn into a shape stuffed and embellished , this is really so easy to do ,this one is Sophie's , I also stitched on the year she was born and glued on angel wings , I can't remember where I got those. I threaded through floral wire to create a hanger .

Along the same lines I cut out a simple dress shape and added sequins after it was stuffed and bent the floral wire into a hanger shape ...

Another idea , really skies the limit here, and colour any shape I love these glass beads , they have a vintage look from Michael's as well .

This simple snowman is one of my favorites too .

We got a good covering of snow yesterday and Sophie and I made a snowman after school , the Mohawk was my idea.

Hope you enjoyed my little homemade Christmas ornament ideas , what are your's?