Thursday, January 31, 2013

MY VALENTINES DAY TREE

This is my new Valentines Day tree....so perfect for the little red and pink hearts...I think this is my take on Susan from Between naps on the Porch's valentine tree last year...I loved it so much and I was so inspired to make a heart tree..I found the hearts last year but could never find anything to hang the hearts on.....isn't it always the way...

I was so excited when I first saw this tree, I thought for sure it would be the one for my project...last year
I found the hearts at Big Lots and Joann's and I just mixed them up on this cute tree.   I found it at Tuesday Morning for half price after Christmas it came to about 30.00 and comes in three pieces....I like it because the branches are strong and are not bendy, additional branches form the base and  is as attractive as the tree...I may even use it for my Easter Eggs...yay


This view will give you a better idea of how it looks...another cool thing I tried with the tree is to take the top and the bottom and put them together and leave out the center part, makes a smaller tree and looks great as well...The trees came in an antique gold or silver...

Champagne yay, yummy...The old champagne bucket I got on ebay for 7.00 many years age..The larger candle holders were a gift from my friend Mary at "my dogs my garden and mary" stop by and give her a visit, she is a new blogger and is having a great time meeting all of you....


I know you have spotted the sweet coffee cup and little saucer server plate, they are some of my favorite little dishes and are the perfect little sets to serve a little treat....

In this close up you can see how the plate swirls up and then down, just love that...During the holidays I served Lobster bisque in  the little cups and a small slice of a crispy baguette...they loved it..such a cute appetizer.The little faux cupcake is from Hobby Lobby...they sure help to show off the plate...

I should have warned you this post is so full of pictures, it was difficult weeding through them, do you ever have that problem?  You take alot of pictures and then have to choose the ones to show...it was especially hard on this post as I have been playing with the lighting on my camera, I have a Nikon D5100 and I love it ...so much fun to play with and is so user friendly...

You may have noticed I changed up the plate center, these are so cute they are little strainers, they are from Cost Plus...a couple of years ago...The love birds are perfect and again a gift from my friend Mary..

Pretty cozy with the fireplace on...just fyi..it is a double sided fireplace and the otherside is the den..the fireplace is very deep...
That furry throw is one of my favorite things, it is thick and soft and warm and big, what more could you ask for ...

The Heart Napkins are new this year from Home Goods...the sheer overlay sheaths are from last year and a gift from a friend...

Not a lot of candlelight pictures, if you are a follower, you know I am not so good at that, my candlelight always looks like someone turned the lights off and they look kind of dark and odd...oh well

You may remember the silver plated flatware from the GW , such a favorite of min


Ahhhh love those fun camera settings, and the hearts are tooo sweet...

It's all about the hearts.....

Time for a snuggle in the throw and have a sip of that champagne.....come on over


Thank you so much for stopping by, hope you enjoyed yourself and found something that was fun to see and maybe inspired you to make your own Valentines Day table, the only thing missing is a big box of chocolates, oh well theres still time ..right...Leave a comment, I read them all and if you are not already a follower please join me ...
I am joining Susan @ between naps on the porch
and the Tablescaper

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

WONDERFUL HERBS

Parsley and dill..yummy...this is my herb garden  in one large pot outside the kitchen window...easy to see and reach and easy to take care of...the pictures were taken in the summer and hiding in my computer, just waiting to come out...I have to confess I do use the parsley the most, it is so great in so many dishes, even if they are not homemade...

You can see there are a couple of different kinds of mint, see the rosemary creeping out from behind...



Ah theres the spoon...I have always collected odd silver plated spoons and find there are so many uses for them...The ones that are worn the most I have flattened with  a sledge hammer and emboss with an alphabet kit from the internet (not quite as easy as they make it out to be) however still fun and creative...lots of tuts on google for hand stenciling spoons...


This was a large server spoon, loved the way the metal split from the hammering.   When the spoons start to look dingy just rub them with dry steel wool and they will look just like new...



Can you tell this was a sweet little soup spoon...I had several of these, they are wonderful for using in sugar bowl or even in a small individual dish of some type of sauce...



Can you read the little chives spoon peeping out...


If you look carefully you can see a green chair that sits in the planter it has cute garden tools carved on the back...so sweet.  I always try and use the herbs from this herb garden, however I have to admit sometimes, I just forget...lol   do you do that too?



You can see the tiny flower I tucked in the back in last summers herb garden, it just adds a little suprise...



I must have been on a roll with the plant markers I even did one with just my initials on it (no jokes about the initials) ....Love all the mint for the lemonade in the summer...so fresh and home grown...
Thanks so much for stopping by Around the House, please leave a comment and tell me about your herbs, I know it is snowing in so many places, but you know you have some of those old pictures of your herbs from the summer just waitin around to come out....

Saturday, January 12, 2013

PAPER DOLLS

I have always loved paper dolls, how about you?  I recently found some wonderful ones on the internet and thought I would just save them to my computer...these are so fun...I love this one with her little dolly and her doggy....so sweet...


 Don't these little beauties just bring back some memories of paper dolls...I always loved the expensive ones where the doll was a hard thick cardboard and had many accessories. It appears this one she is visiting France, check out the beret and the twirly dress...


 These peticular ones are a little before my time, I think Dolly Dingle must have been big in the day because there are so many of her in every kind of setting, love the little dog with red white and blue bow...so sweet where she is holding the flag....notice the umbrella with the cat handle.
 Her little cousin and his costume....cute
I thought it would be a fun project for moms of young girls to print these out and paste the person on cardboard and see if they would be as popular now as they were then....you never know...
 Check out Dolly's knees...and look at that incredible head dress that goes with the green dress, wonder what that looks like...she is such an adventure girl..
 This one is one of my absolute favorites, you get to decorate the tree with the little tabs, candy canes and snowmen and she has her jamies and her dolly and she is ready for a special evening...Thanks for stopping by, please leave a comment, I read them all and if you are not already a follower, I would love to have you...Thanks for coming around the house...
Linked to ClassyClutter     the Porch Between Naps on              wow us wed



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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

A LITTLE MORE RED AND WHITE


You just thought you had enough of the red and white, well here is a little more for you...I found these pictures in my computer and was going to do a post and I think the time just got away from me...you know how that is when there are too many things on your plate...



This tablescape is from last year that just never got it's place in the sun...so unfair


These dishes are from TJ Max, so bright and swirlie, they are my daughter Michelles favorite...


Love the little white floating candle bird centerpiece..I think I will use it for Valentines Day with some pink floating hearts and some pink dishes.....wow I have just inspired myself...

The napkin rings are from Pier 1 and the flatware is a wonderful find from the GW and is silverplated, I love it with the monogram of a B....not that my initial is a B...but monogramed silver is always so wonderful...


This will give you a better look at the pretty flatware, love the thickness of the knife handle..the dessert glasses are the perfect shape for a little fruit compote or a little sherbet....I am getting hungry now...


I think this could even be good for Valentines day with the red and white, just remove the centerpiece greenery...oh well we will see what comes to mine when it is time...


Thank you for stopping by and spending time around the house...please leave a comment as I read them all and love to know what you are thinking...If you are not already a follower you can click the follow me button on the sidebar...Phyllis     My friend mary just started her very first blog and her first posting...stop by and give some encouragement I know she would enjoy that...she has dogs, and roses and a beautiful yard, she can be found at mydogsmygardenandmary thank you so much, she would love some wonderful visitors like you and maybe you would like to follow....have fun......................I am attaching to Susan@betweennapsontheporch.netbetweennapsontheporch.net