Easter Greetings

Martha Stewart

In celebration of Easter I thought I would share with you some of my favorite egg photos I have collected over the past year...

I spent the day working in my shoppe organizing, cleaning, sorting, displaying, and then rethinking the design and moving things around and around the store.  It's a complete redesign which means I am touching everything...

After a full day the space began to "feel" like Spring and it is beginning to look incredible...

anitasljarvarum 

I have had a busy week, finishing an order for nine bracelets (THANK YOU!), shipping online orders,  picking my son up from Union Station in Chicago, and working in the shoppe.  I love it!

Laurie, my sister in law will be returning to the shoppe for an upcoming show in May with her lovely potted containers filled with herbs, perennials, and flowering annuals in pretty vintage colanders, sifters, zinc, and galvanized containers. 

lantliv i norregard 

Karen will also be joining us this year contributing antiques, primitives and children's nostalgia items.

lovisalapandet

Our palette for the show is classic shades of white, green and silver.  I'll share some photos with you in the upcoming weeks as we get ready for the show.

lovisalapandet

Wishing you a wonderful weekend filled with family and friends.

Blessings - Julie

Winter Decorating Ideas - Laurie Kessler Style

Simple, clean, elegant, unpretentious - words to define Winter decorating in the eyes of Laurie Kessler, my sweet sister in law. Laurie's style is strongly influenced by visits to her grandparent's farm as a girl with bits of vintage farm bits here and there, like the galvanized chick feeder filled with silver mercury glass and green glass balls on the top of the custom china cabinet built for her by her husband, Bobby.

Laurie credits her mother in law, Karen Kessler who influenced her to leave some of the Holiday decorations up through the Winter months for interest and to extend the Season into the Spring. Bits of evergreen, decorative pine trees, mercury glass and lots of pine cones and holly look lovely and keep the house smelling of pine and cedar.
Frosted pine cones fill a vintage handcrafted grain scoop in the screened porch is so charming on a primitive table next to a living evergreen potted in a galvanized metal bucket.
In the bath hanging above the porcelain tub is a primitive scale from a former grocery store for weighing fruits and vegetables. The scale has a new purpose holding mercury glass and clear glass balls. The scale is paired with a salvaged wooden screen hung on the wall for added texture and interest.
At the end of a hallway family photos in simple floating frames arranged above a vintage wooden stool with a plant potted in a vintage tin kitchen pot adds a focal point at the end of the hall. The photos are arranged outside Laurie's office so that she is greeted and encouraged by her great grandparents and other family members as she enters the office to begin her workday.
Another primitive stool serves as another plant stand for a pine tree with tiny decorations adorning the branches in the bedroom which casts a mirror image in shadow on the wall from the afternoon sun streaming through the windows.
This galvanized metal wreath looks great throughout the year hanging in the guest bath. Tinsel and glass ornament containing a tiny woven bird in copper sitting on a twig branch inside a clear glass ball by Julie Pishny looks so sweet hanging from the wreath.
Vintage McCoy pottery deer surrounded by tinsel pairs so well with vintage crochet doily, vintage colander filled with mercury glass balls on a round table in the living room.
Sunlight streaming through South windows makes the nook off the kitchen so inviting at any time of day. The perfect place to sip a cup of tea and watch the birds visiting the garden just outside the windows.
Angel cookie cutters paired with Laurie's collection of ironstone glassware tucked into a china cabinet. Another creative way to enjoy personal collections throughout the year. Laurie has been collecting angels for years receiving them from family, friends, co-workers, and picking up one of a kind, handcrafted angels at fairs and in her travels.
An array of vintage glass jars filled with local grains from the region and flower seeds from her garden in an assortment of sizes and shapes fill another shelf just above the angels and ironstone on the shelf below.
Vintage ironstone vessels hold a tiny frazier fir tree, mercury glass ornaments, and a few pine branches float on shelves of white.
Tinsel trees and one tiny reindeer on the kitchen counter reflect the icy days of Winter. Vintage coffee jars hold coffee and sugar in the background.
Vintage white lard can holds amaryllis, pine cones and tiny bird's nests on the island counter top. A tiny potted rosemary plant in terra cotta complete the arrangement.

I hope this blog inspires you to bring seasonal Winter elements into your home to enjoy until Spring arrives. There's something about the color of green and the sparkle of silver, paired with white that satisfies the soul during the short days of Winter. Blessings.....

Paperwhites In Winter

It's Paperwhite Season - there's something so special about the fragile, delicate blossoms of the Paperwhite to lift the spirits and whet our appetites for Spring bulbs like daffodils, tulips, crocus, ooohhh don't you love them all!

White perfection - my favorite combination white and green.  The fragrance is a love it or hate it type of scent.  I love it and my husband hates it.  I keep them out of the rooms that he frequents as a compromise.
Look how lovely they are in vintage ironstone.  I pack them in as tightly as possible for maximum bloom production in my container.  They are so carefree and easy - you have to try them in your home.  

Push the bulbs into pea gravel just covering the bottom part of the bulb and water.  Make sure the water touches the bottom of the bulb and place in a sunny window.  In just a few days you will have lovely green stalks and a couple of days later blossoms. 

Move the blooming paperwhites away from direct sunlight once they are in full bloom to prevent the blossoms from drying out too soon.  

I plant them throughout the Winter months in 3 week intervals - this gets me through the Winter while I dream of Spring bulbs and gardening.

Red Cedar Christmas Tree At the Farm

Here I am with Angus and Molly with the Red Cedar tree we found and cut from the pasture for our Holiday tree at the farm.  When we were little my Dad would always hike with us into the lower portion of our farm to select a Red Cedar tree to decorate for the Holidays each year.  We would bundle up in our warmest coats, hats, gloves and boots and set out together to find the perfect tree.  

The selection process could be lengthy getting three siblings to agree on just one tree.  My brother wanted the biggest, my sister wanted the best shape and I wanted the saddest looking tree.  My Dad would help us in the compromise process, cut the tree and then start dragging it back to the house where my Mom would have hot cocoa waiting for us.    We scampered behind my Dad trying to keep up with his long strides.  It also helped us keep warm on the trip back to the house.

The scent of the Red Cedar is amazing - a crisp, sharp, pine scent.  I had almost forgotten how wonderful they smell.  The entire house smelled of cedar - it was time for Christmas in the country.  

I found vintage bulbs this Summer that I saved for our tree at the farm.  The bulbs were in lovely pastel colors reminescent of the 1950's.  The color of this bulb is the exact blue of a 1957 Chevy.
The balls were painted inside and out with glitter added for sparkle.  The old fashioned Christmas ornaments were perfect for our native Red Cedar tree.
I also used multi color lights for the tree like we did for our tree as children.  I skipped the construction paper garland, strung popcorn, and handmade ornaments from elementary school.  My Mom would let us decorate the tree however we liked with loads of tinsel.  It was our favorite part of decorating the tree.  I would have used some for this one if I had remembered to purchase a box.   Do they still sell silver tinsel?
Everyone was so surprised to see a fresh cut Red Cedar tree decorated for our Holiday celebration at the farm.  A nice surprise for the 15 people we served dinner to at the farm this year.

At our family dinners each family brings their favorites to share for the family dinner.  My Dad always provides the ham and the rest of the family prepares the side dishes and desserts.

Our menu was as varied as those in attendance.  Ham, chicken and homemade noodles, green bean casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni salad, spinach salad, strawberry salad, cranberry salad, teriyaki roll ups, corn and sweet rolls.

For dessert - pumpkin pie, cheesecake, brownies, peanut butter brownies, oreo fluff, poppyseed bread, peach cobbler and apple streudel cheesecake.

So much food, but everyone travels home with enough leftovers for the evening meal once they return home for the night.

Christmas and Holiday Vintage Images for the Season

I put together images that remind me of the Holiday Season for you to enjoy. Inspiration comes from many places and I hope that one of these images will jolt a new project out of you.

I carry a small book with me at all times, with wonderful blank pages waiting to be filled with things that inspire me as I go through my day. I never know what I will see that sparks "the best idea EVER!" I do get these brilliant ideas from time to time when driving down the street and I see something that I want to remember or maybe it is just an element to be combined with something else later. You have to be ready for these little outbursts from your brain and capture them by a quick sketch or jotting down the idea.

Sometimes ideas are like a dream you wake from in the night - it's awesome - your heart beats a little bit faster in your excitement over your brilliance.... and then you go back to sleep.

In the morning when you wake up fully and have that first cup of coffee you realize that the dream and all it's brilliance was really a fragment that didn't really go anywhere. It's disappointing really. Once in awhile, that fragment is combined with another fragment idea and it becomes your favorite creation.

I jot down my ideas in little books, do quick sketches, list websites to check out, resources, places I want to visit, etc.

It seems that when I hit a creative lull or if I am overwhelmed with ideas and can't decide where to start.... I browse my little books and it helps me select a place to start. A visual jump start for the creative process.

I've learned over the years to be as detailed as possible or to leave myself clues as to what the sketches really mean as I have gone back to the early books from several years prior and wonder - what the hell? - what was that supposed to be and I am convinced that it was one of those - best ideas ever - and now it is lost. Can you say Drama Queen?

The books are invaluable when I travel. There's something about going to a new city that gets the blood pumping to the brain and the ideas come in fast - so you have to be ready with pen and book to capture them all.

On my last trip to Chicago, after a few days wandering about the city I hit the overload point and just couldn't bear going to another destination. So, I found a lovely park - it was a sunny day - a bench beside a little pond with geese about and did a download into my little book. I filled page after page and enjoyed the sunshine, the Fall breeze, the antics of the geese, passerbys, and the colors of the leaves in the trees. Quiet time. I felt so much better afterward.

I have also upgraded the quality of my books through the years. The books have become the visual journal of my life that I am convinced my grandchildren will enjoy owning someday. I have often wondered about my great grandmother and wish that I had known her heart better. I have loads of photos, but it's hard to determine personality from those photos with the characteristic solemn faces of the era.

Diary's rarely reflect the true individual due to our fear of judgement - it's just alot of static and venting. Sketches, ideas on paper, reflect who we really are - things we love and find interesting. The things we are passionate about.

My favorite size is 5x5 or thereabouts. It allows me enough space to complete a thought on the two open pages. Hardbound or leather is useful as your little book takes quite a beating in your purse, backpack, etc. I like the aged look it gets - the scuffs, scratches, etc. If the book opens flat - all the better for sketching.

I have about seven of them that I cherish and thumb through periodically- it's one of my life's simple pleasures.

Laurie's House at Thanksgiving

Beautiful pumpkins - can you ever get enough of that fabulous color???  LOVE THEM!  

My wonderful sister-in-law, Laurie hosted Thanksgiving this year at her lovely home.  I love going to Laurie's house because her decorating style is a treat for the eyes.  Simple, clean, designs are a treat with a surprise waiting around each corner of the house and her immaculate garden.

These pumpkins were lined up on a primitive green wooden bench with vintage galvanized watering cans with bittersweet and milo tucked into the openings at the top.

A potted pine in a vintage galvanized bucket that was used for nipple feeding calves.  The nipple was attached where the black lid is located on the bottom front of the bucket.  We used these as kids on the farm to feed small calves.  They usually rooted the bucket out of our hands or would slosh the contents all over us.  It was a sticky mess.  We started feeding them through a wire fence to keep them from bumping into us.
Laurie found this fantastic bird house at the Lenexa Handcrafters Show made by a carpenter that lives near Kansas City.  I especially love the galvanized metal chick feeder tray that is suspended below for seed.
Vintage slate chalkboard proclaims - THE EARTH IS THE LORD'S AND EVERYTHING IN IT.  A vintage bird cage stand holds a wire egg basket with a candle inside.
A small green shelf holds Laurie's collection of vintage gardening tools and children's blocks spell out Laurie's favorite pastime.
What a perfect bar set up on the screened porch.  A zinc top table with bottles of wine.  The enamelware containers hold Laurie's birdseed for her many feeders.
Bittersweet against a vintage persimmon colored shutter on the front porch welcomes guests.
Grapevine star is perfect above the shutter.  Laurie has one on each side of the window on the entry porch to her home.
A lovely statuary cat for the garden that is usually surrounded by flowers during the growing season is flanked by pumpkins making the statuary piece seem like a black cat.
Vintage wire basket holds a small birdhouse, Indian corn, pumpkins, catalpa tree seed pods and a bit of straw.  Laurie changes out the contents seasonally.

I wish I could share the inside of Laurie's home that is filled with wonderful antiques, vintage pieces, prints, vintage garden items and so much more.  It's against a pallet of white with punctuations of green - fresh, peaceful and calming.

Personal Touch to Gifting Workshop

The personal touch to gifting workshop - $20.00

This holiday year let's make it special come and join in the homespun fun. Learn how to craft adorable gift tags and cards adding that personal touch to each holiday gift wrapped package.

Create a beautiful bottle ornament that expresses your personal sentiment for the season. Encapsulate with LOVE!

Lovely handcrafted gift tags using vintage imagery are so wonderful attached to your Holiday packages!

Handcrafted vial tree ornament contains tiny fragments of the Holiday season with written sentiment.

During this fun workshop with Marcy you will put together 5-6 gift tags, a vial ornament and a holiday card.

Included in this workshop is materials to make additional tags, vials and cards once you get back home - how fun!!!

Erin's Magic Bars

In celebration of my birthday, Erin made Magic Bars and they were so good that it would be magic if you don't eat the entire pan of bars in 24 hours.  Chocolate, coconut, and almonds in a graham cracker crust.   You have to try a batch of these bars.

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter melted

1 can (14 oz.) condensed milk

2 cups (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

1 cup toasted slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  (325 degrees for glass dish). 

In small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter.  Press crumb mixture firmly on bottom of 13x9 inch baking dish.

Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumbs.  Layer evenly with remaining ingredients press down firmly with fork.

Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool.  Chill if desired.  Cut into bars.  Store covered at room temperature.

Making Wool Acorns

With all of the acorns falling from the trees it is the perfect time of year to sew up some wool acorns.  I loved making mine while watching television.  I am a passive television viewer -  always have been.  I just can't sit through most television doing nothing but staring at the screen.  Boring.  

I save most of my handwork for evenings spent with my hubby while he watches television.  We get to be in the same room, and with TEVO if I miss something, he just rewinds and we watch it together again.  Married bliss - one of the way couples spend time together.

I would much rather listen to NPR or something similiar while doing my handwork, but hey, compromises must be made.

I gathered acorn caps and cut out the acorn shape from a vintage wool coat that was no longer useful, stuffed them with polyfill and glued them to the cap.  I made them in various shapes and sizes.  Cast offs become useful again.  Don't you just love that!?  
I used acorn caps from a Burr Oak tree I found in my local park while hiking.  I always take along a plastic shopping bag stuffed in my pocket just in case I find something interesting and want to bring it home - like these fabulous acorn caps!  
My husband, Dan graciously agreed to drill the caps with a drill press and I inserted tiny brass screws for vintage string to be tied for hanging.  They make great tree ornaments, look great attached to wreaths, hung from bare branches, or placed on your Holiday tree.

My acorns are available for purchase in my Online Shoppe.