flake frames

I found some small wooden frames to make over for gifties for my friends for Happy New Year packages I put together. I am not ever organized enough to get things all done before Christmas so why not a Happy New Year gift??

First I started by painting them black.



Next I put some crackle medium on them and then painted them white.
I put some of my miniature (about 2") hand cut snowflakes in them, matted on scraps of black cardstock. It's always good to use up scrap sizes of your paper stash!

I thought I would like them on the metal easels that I had painted white (in the photo above), but I opted for just using the fold out easel stand that comes on the backs of the frames instead. The metal easels will be used for another project I'm sure!!

Then I decided the frames needed something else, so out came the sanding block and I gave them a more weathered and distressed look.

I put them inside some cello bags all wrapped up in some tissue paper and tied with raffia, along with some other hand cut snowflakes kept nicely flat for packaging in the cutest little zip lock bags I found at the dollar store- they had little blue snowflakes printed on them. I just love finding goodies like that when I am not even looking for them. Sometimes the dollar store can be quite a bit of crap, but then every now and again you hit the jackpot!

I am considering making up some of these frames with miniature hand cut flakes to offer in the shop. As soon as I find some time... 'cuz remember, my friends got Happy NEW YEAR gifts and NOT Christmas gifts. *Ugh*

By the way, this is the tag I put on the outside of the cello bag where it was tied with raffia.

Oh MY GOSH! PINK snow flakes...

Look at these! I had an email from a sweet lady in Canada who asked if I could cut some special HOT PINK and PALE PINK snowflakes for her.
Wow!
I had never had such a request.
So I took the challenge.


Wow!
I can not say enough how beautiful these are in person!!
My scanner does them no justice.
In person they are absolutely breathtaking!
I think she may have started something with her request. What a perfect thing for all the PINK decorating/crafting ladies out there in great abundance in blog-land and Etsy-land!!

These are pale pink and are very delicate looking in person. It was hard to get a real color quality on my scanner. Not to mention I had not pressed them yet and they look rather wrinkly!! I was in a HURRY 'cuz I was so excited!!

So what do you think? How about pale blue? Let me know what your opinion is or what your personal snowflake wish would be!

another year

(My collection of vintage record album covers with wonderful happy idyllic family scenes)

Another year of Christmas hullabaloo is done. Don't get me wrong, I am sure many new memories were made and all had fun. It's just that since I have been a grown up, and even more so since I've been a mom, it is all so different at Christmas time. Now I am the one in charge of the magic making. The one behind the curtain, like the great Oz. I admit sometimes it's tough. I want to be the kid again, observing the magic and believing.

I long for the feeling of being a child at Christmas time to rush over me again. That feeling is worth more than gold. When you're a kid you take it for granted or you do not even know you have it. But you do!


Yes, I enjoy the process of making memories for my own kids. I just miss the old days. That's allowed. That is why I surround myself with things and images that make me feel comfort, like these silly record album covers. They just speak to me.

(N.'s collection of nutcrackers, and E.'s hand made Mandela type snowflakes)

N. has always had a fascination with nutcrackers. He has received all these as gifts throughout the years. On Christmas day I took my Santas out of my red cupboard and put his collection and the little tree with his nutcracker ornaments on it up on top. He was so thrilled to see his collection displayed in a new place and the smile on his face as he stood there, and each time he walked by, said it all. I had just made a memory for him!! That's what it's all about.

(Japan elves, my hand quilled snowflakes, and a silk hankie with a perfect winter couple)

My Grandma had made in Japan elves like these. To look at them in my home makes me recall the cozy days at her house during the holidays. She did not decorate every inch of the house as many people seem to do in my generation. She decorated the living room. The room where it all happened. Everything. She had no family room or den. The living room was the place. It was decorated with an aluminum tree and color wheel, items along the fireplace mantle and on top of the big console TV cabinet. The cabinet was big, not the TV itself.

The decorations were perfect. Perfectly enough. I never thought to question, "Why isn't there more?"

(my kids decorate the doll house each year)

This December involves weeding out many of the decor items as we sort through it all --giving some away and donating some. I have decided to have the kids do more of the decorating next year, not just being in charge of the doll house. They will decide what is enough. The kids will make it their own and decide what to love.

( the kitchen window sill )

I also changed the window sill display on Christmas day. I do a lot of thinking at the sink in the kitchen in front of this window. I needed a change. I get bored with it quickly and easily. I was suddenly struck by the fact that I needed it to be Winter instead of Christmas in that spot. So some milk glass was moved here from another area. It feels better now. I can't explain why.

(vintage game boxes)

I am a big fan of games that families play together that require no batteries or electricity to enjoy, thus the fascination I have always held for vintage games. That and the fact that the color on the packaging and game boards is just different, bright and fun. The photo is a group that's sitting atop my corner cupboard. But I keep some of my kids' board games out of the game closet at all times, sitting ready for play, often rotating some out for new choices. A spontaneous game of Chutes and Ladders can bring a smile to me any time. I have found that if I open the box they will come!! They, meaning one of my kids or 2 or 3. More memory making and laughter.

( house ornaments)

My Mom was a collector of these house ornaments. Each one has the year marked somewhere on the house. On the back you can look inside to the 3 dimensional rooms. After she died I continued to buy one each year, often going without something in order to fit it's purchase into the budget. They are not horribly expensive but still a luxury, in my opinion. I did not buy one this year. Maybe someday I will be able to find one on line, since this is the first year I have missed one. N. looks forward to unpacking them and carefully taking the protective box inserts apart to reveal each one. He put them on the window sill in the living room this year. And yes, those are all my paper snowflakes I have cut by hand with no patterns. Some have been hung on the windows every year for 17 years!!

So another year of Christmas has come and gone. We have new memories and the comfort of decor from years before. We had a Christmas without spending money. B was off work for 8 weeks and we were without his regular pay. Every dollar I had squirreled away for emergency times like this had to be spent just before his surgery to put a new engine in my car. Talk about an unexpected expense! We make every penny count at our house and to be without regular pay you find ways to survive somehow. We were blessed to have many good friends and neighbors who helped to make the Christmas season one of fun for the kids. They brought gifts from Santa and seemingly unending deliveries of trays of home baked sweets and other food. We were even given a turkey for Christmas dinner.

Friends, family and memories. That's what it's all about.

Florida Flurries- 108 flakes

I searched "hand cut paper snowflakes" on Etsy, and I am the only person in the Etsy world who offers one of a kind hand cut paper snowflakes!! Wow! I was always curious but never searched to research it until today!

I did find some very beautiful Mandela type paper cutting items that are breath taking...

and plenty of people offering "hand punched" paper snowflakes which are all duplicates in mass quantity...

But no true unique and one of a kind snowflakes- which are always hexagonal, as in nature.

I have been cutting snowflakes for about 17 years and began 3 years ago to sell them, after being urged on by friends.

I recently listed a bunch of snowflakes in my Etsy shop and they have instantly found a new home (THANK YOU!!) where they will happily live....

FLORIDA!!!!

Even Florida needs some snow....paper snow, anyway!

Every shovel full I had listed, except one, sold in one day's time!

That was a total of 108 flakes!!

They are going to be the honorary decorations at a party and will hang on ribbons from a chandelier.

I sure hope it is a sparkly one...

and a sparkly party!!!

It is sure to be fun with people gathered together, good conversation, maybe some scrumptious food, and paper snowflakes above the whole thing!!

I had blogged about my flakes being listed and back in stock, so I needed to scramble quickly to grab my scissors again and make the paper scraps fly as I cut some more one of a kind flakes.

I wouldn't want anyone in any other states, looking for flurries, to see the shovels full of flakes were all gone from my store!!

So I have spent the morning cutting and listing, so that these flakes shown here on this post are now available for your holiday and winter enjoyment. There are different offerings to choose from for your needs or wants

- all small flakes

- all large flakes

- or a variety of sizes.

I will continue to cut and list, so stop in often for a peek into the drifts as they pile up.

Just don't wait too long to scoop up a shovel full for yourself, as they are all one of a kind and may be shipped (no dry ice shipping required) to someone else.

Hundreds and hundreds of my hand cut, one of a kind, snowflakes have been sent all over the world. They have been seen in museums, universities, store display props in New York City, and advertising photo shoots for a famous hospital! I am so proud of their flaky achievements!!

snow in nature and paper

I love snowman comics!!

We had our first fluffy snow flakes come down out of the gray Northernmost Ohio sky yesterday. The kind that seem to be in super slooooow motion. It makes me happy. Winter is my favorite season! I do love Autumn for the colors on the trees and spring for the burst of lush green. I am not much of a summer girl- the horrible humidity and mosquitoes we have. Our last summer wasn't too bad though. Most people around here who love the hot humid summers hated it, not me! I think we only had a few days over 95 degrees instead of weeks on end of over 98 degrees with suffocating humidity added in, like usual.



Now the northern Ohio temps are hovering around 20-30 degrees after staying in the 50's until only a couple of weeks ago. We still had vegetables (peppers and celery) stubbornly holding out in the garden, and the grass is still greener than I ever remember seeing it in December!!

These are pictures of my yard from last winter and soon it will look like this again as we are to have more snow today and tomorrow with some sleet thrown in the mix.


But, enough of the weather report.

The fire place is warm and toasty and I have been sitting nearby cutting my famous paper snowflakes like mad.



This is a batch- or shovel full, as I like to call them, from last year that sold through my Etsy shop. Hundreds of my hand cut one of a kind snowflakes have been sent all over the world. They have been seen in museums, universities, store display props in New York City, and advertising photo shoots for a famous hospital! I am so proud of their flaky achievements!!

Take a peek here for fresh paper flakes!
Look for new shovels full to be listed as the wintry days tick by.

milk glass

The green beads are a necklace that was my Mom's from the 1950's at one time there was a set of clip-on earrings to match which she often wore for card club night with her friends. Vintage red and white linen towels like my grandma had in her kitchen, folded among the milk glass. I love anything red and white.

Green apple candles (that look nicer in person than in this photo) and red berry springs add pops of color.

Vintage string of wooden beads in green, red, and golden shades.

Snowflake shaped candle that is actually a floating-type candle (which I have used in a shallow milk glass bowl filled with water and then floated cranberries in along with the candle), paper hand made quilled snowflakes made by me tucked into a pile, and Paper Posie flowers made by me scattered along a pedestal cake plate.

A vintage porcelain carnival prize doll with the "cold paint" all worn and chippy.

Many of the things in these photos will be let go in the circle of collections...some come in and many go out to new homes.

These are actually in another area other than my hutch. Stacked compotes in graduated sizes and some ratty old books: Peyton Place and Art Linkletter The Secret World Of Kids. The angle of the photo makes it look somewhat like a leaning tower. It is straight, I assure you.

All of my milk glass was either my Mom's or was thrifted. I have found a great fun place where they always have milk glass. I have never been there that they did not have at least 1 or 2 pieces. One day I was there they had the craziest price point too....55 cents.... too bad they only had 3 that day!!! Have you seen what this stuff sells for on the _bay site??

I grew up being surrounded by all my Mom's milk glass. She collected it over about 50 yr's time. It is adaptable to any decor or time of year or holiday! See what I did here with candles!!!

You can see all old milk glass posts here.

Flash Back- kindergarten delinquent

(me at age 5, 1968)

You've heard, "Everything I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten"?
When I was in kindergarten I was so excited about the prospect of learning how to cut with scissors with precision [ a skill that would lead me to cutting paper snowflakes to be used for a photo shoot at St. Jude's Hospital 40 years later].
I learned how to share toys willingly with everyone [ I was the baby by 8 years and only girl in my family so my toys were usually MY TOYS!].
And how to pay attention when someone was speaking [ I am my Uncle's helper and I now wait very patiently while he sometimes struggles to get a complete sentence out in a hurry].
There was one day in kindergarten that I learned a lesson that engraved a memory into my brain that remains as fresh today as it was in 1968!!
Near the end of a school day, we were all gathered sitting on the floor, my classmates and I, near the upright piano that was probably out of tune. Miss Payment was playing a song- I don't remember the song- and singing along. We were supposed to be singing along. No doubt it was an educational song. Duh! Of course it wouldn't be a Beatles' song for goodness sake!! Anyway, I was not singing along. Nope. Not I. I was socializing. Or as Miss Payment probably stated= not following directions or interfering with my classmates education or being a kindergarten delinquent!!! Surely if this was not nipped in the bud I would follow aimlessly down a path of destruction in my educational career!!
I was taken out of the mix of vocalizing song birds and marched over to the corner. The CORNER! The DREADED CORNER! Yep. I had seen others marched over to the CORNER. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be a child of 5 years so badly behaved that I would be marched over to the CORNER!!
There I was to remain in solitary confinement for the rest of the class time which was no doubt maybe 15 minutes tops. At least this form of cruel and unusual punishment was lessened with the facts that I was allowed a chair and had already eaten my snack at snack time. But oh the humiliation! The stigma of being labeled " a corner sitter"! The agony and stress of those minutes slowly ticking away as I imagined Miss Payment forgetting ME when it came time to line up all my classmates to walk from our detached kindergarten building to where the buses all sat waiting to take home the kindergarten students and all the big students in the main building. I was sure I would have to stay there on the chair in the CORNER all night alone. I would starve! I would not be able to go potty! I would not see my Mom! But Miss Payment would be sorry when she came in the next morning and found me there suffering!! Wouldn't she??
After much angst I was gratefully given a parole. I was allowed to line up with my classmates and go home on the bus. As I obediently stood in line, red faced and teary eyed I was handed my construction paper art project done that day. A giant toothbrush. The bristles were cut in fringy strips with rounded nose scissors. The conditions of my parole= I was not to socialize during song time again.
"Yes Miss Payment, I promise!!"
I know I never did socialize again during song time. Thank goodness the only teacher that ever had a piano in the classroom in any grade was Miss Payment. That would have proved a hard commitment had all my other teachers done educational sing-a-longs on out of tune pianos!!

But then again there was of course Mrs. Hoover the music teacher. She was about 99 years old and had flab under her arms that would swing to and fro when she would clap the rhythmic patterns to teach us music note timing. She always seemed to wear sleeveless dresses - the kind that have a skinny belt made of the same gaudy fabric as the dress. Maybe her girdle was so tight it forced the fat to squeeze up to her arms!...She had a piano...but that's a story for another time!

snowflake fame

I just sold 3 batches (that's 120 flakes)

-or shovels full, as I like to call them-

of my hand cut, one of a kind, paper snowflakes

to a photographer who will use them in a shoot for

St. Jude's Hospital.

I got so excited when I read that little message!!

These snowflakes pictured here are still for sale in the shop.

We are expecting another big snow tomorrow,

for real-not paper, here in OHIO!!

non melting snowmen, snowflakes and vintage Valentines

I usually have my snowmen packed away by February 1st. They always stay up after the truly Christmas items have been packed but I usually don't mix them with Valentine's decor.
This year I must admit I have had a harder time letting go of them. They are finally going to be retired tomorrow to return next year.

We have had one of the snowiest Winters in a long long time. I love the snow and I love Winter. I just don't love the bitter cold that seems to be still hanging on. I am tired of the single digit temperatures and below zero wind chills that are commonplace on the daily news report.

Tomorrow it is supposed to raise above the freezing mark on the thermometer. I almost forgot what that feels like, to be able to walk outside without your eyelashes feeling like they will freeze and snap off and not needing to have every bit of skin covered that you possibly can cover.

I must admit I am going to be slower about taking down my paper snowflakes from all the windows. They just look so pretty with the world outside every window all draped in white.

Even when I do start taking them down it will still take about 2 days to carefully remove the tiny pieces of tape rolls on the backs and store them safely away for the 17th year. And OF COURSE I have added more this year, as I always do.

So, snowflakes and Valentines are living side by side in my Ohio house this year!

Snowflakes go with Valentine's like Milk Glass goes with Valentines.

Two of my favorite things: snowflakes and vintage Valentines!!

fire and ice

Here are some pictures of the icy, snowy world at my red house.
You may remember this post? I live in those red and white images!

We have had lots of snow and lots of cold!! Somewhere under the drifts of knee deep snow is the ice rink with the torn plastic!!! *frown*

The kids have been working on their annual igloo.

This is actually a 4 rail high stacked pioneer fence. You can see in the photo above that in different places you can see 3 rails, 2 rails, or in some spots only the top rail, depending on how the winds made it all settle to then be frozen.

Step inside for a warm night by the hearth! Our fireplace has been burning 24/7 since late October. We do also use the furnace but the fireplace keeps the house pretty cozy. We spend all our time in this part of the house in the winter. When in bed, we are under plenty of warm quilts.

The quest all spring, summer and fall is to seek out, gather, split and stack firewood!! We burn a LOT of wood.

The fireplace is rather unusual because it is open on two sides like an L shape, front (living room) and side (dining room). The fireplace and brick wall is central in the house with an open planning type room arrangement. The main hearth is raised to just above knee height and the fireplace is even higher yet (about 28 inches from the floor). The kitchen is on the back side of the fireplace. The brick wall in the kitchen has nothing against it and it stays very hot and the bricks radiate the heat. My cat sleeps near the brick wall in the kitchen in a brass doll bed with comfy little mattress. She is so spoiled!

The fire plays neat tricks with reflections at night and fools you into thinking there are fires in a couple of different places to keep you warm. This is the reflection in the mirror on my wallpapered wall. I painted the mirror to mimic the wallpaper.

This is how the fire looks as reflected in the big windowed wall across from the fireplace.
The kids often will sit with a cuddly quilt and just watch the flames reflect in the glass at night. It is a mesmerizing setting. The crackling noises of the burning logs are very soothing, too.
I love Winter!
Some memorable ice day time and fire night time photos.