My before and after frame....

Here is the before frame in all it's gold glory, pretty but I had something else in mind.....

I used some sewing motif scrapbook paper for the background (wierd, I know, it's not wallpaper!!) Then I wanted to showcase the few lovely button cards I have so I pinned them onto the frame and now they can be displayed....thanks Mel (bff) for the great frame! I do love it.

Gail

Lollishops up and running.....

Little girl sketch pad, found on www.lollishops.com/littlebeachdesigns,
Vintage girl collage...
Two sisters collage.....
Young girl collage...
My Valentine journal, featured in the ad.

I hope you all had a great, relaxing Christmas...we stayed home because of the weather and decided to do our family get together in January. Kind of nice to extend the season this way anyway!

The attached ad is for Lollishops, and appears in the latest Somerset Life magazine. The ad is right inside the front cover, so it's kind of hard to miss....yay!

My "littlebeachdesigns" Valentine journal is there, so I had to scramble to set up my shop quickly. I got my journal posted, along with some other items I've crafted. It's kind of amazing to see something you've made for sale online. 

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Jesus is the reason for the season....

Poor little angel is simply frozen!
These are the gates in front of our courtyard, so pretty in the snow......
I've had this hat for years, the label inside says "Nordstrom Best". Tucking in some velvet holly makes it perfect for Christmas, don't you think?
I have to admit after seeing everyone's lovely decor for the blog party Christmas, I was ashamed to realize that I hadn't shown a photo of our nativity. We bought this a few years ago and this year I found the perfect spot for it, in our family room.

We bring it out every year, and our 8yo dd loves it!

Our snow finally started to melt today and hopefully I can get out this weekend to get some last minute gifts. This has been a tough week with our weather being so very strange and unpredictable. I've been without a car, by choice, all week so dh could drive the safer car to work.

I'm looking forward to going out tomorrow, been inside a bit too much.

Wish me luck!

These boots are made for walkin' (well, almost).....

Here they are, my latest obsession (and I have a lot of 'em, let me tell ya!)
So I've "needed" new boots for awhile...actually I really have, my old ones are wearing down in the heel and are probably 3 yrs. old. So I see this ad in our paper for Frye boots, and dang they're cute, so I mosey on down to the shoe store to check them out.
They were about $187, give or take a $$ or two. That's a lot for me to spend on any shoe, but hey it's Christmas time, right?
So first I head over to the sale racks, just to check out what's on there. And lo and behold, my eye spies these cuties! And instead of their normal $150 price tag, they're marked down to $49.97!
Yikes, I don't know how many little old ladies I knocked over to get my mitts on these babies!
Hopefully they didn't get too hurt...just kidding!
Of course, they hurt like the dickens (pun intended) right now because they are a wee bit snug.
But hey, I saved my dh some big bucks because these were going to be my Christmas present. Of course I was gonna go for the full boot for more $$, but I just couldn't pass these up, and I actually prefer mules because they're so much easier to get on and off.
Now he's gonna have to get me that dang expensive digital camera I want. (hint, hint).
Aren't they purty?

Blog Party holiday decor....

This sign above is one of my very favorites, love the soft colors and glitter. This hangs off an old mirror in the dining room...
I made the collage above just yesterday, it's also hanging in the dining room.
This tabletop display is in the corner of the living room, it's surrounded by windows so gets lots of natural light for sparkle!!
I found the celluloid box at one of my favorite antique stores, very reasonable price too.

Love the look of leather books and books without their spines!
Frosty Santa found at Home Goods last year...
Our tree!
Family room frosty mantle, love all the light colors, and of course more sparkle...


This is the small table in our entryway...the journal in back is from Kris Hurst of Blissful Elements, she's one of my favorite artists.

Old fashioned repro card box, it holds our Christmas cards from friends...
We got snow last night! Very exciting, so I had to take some pics today. This Mary statue is in our courtyard....
Japanese maple in the side courtyard....
Bird feeder in the backyard covered with snow...
My purple tiny bench from Melanie, All My Favorite Things, in Portland. I hope you enjoyed your visit, come back soon, and have a peaceful Merry Christmas everyone!!
Thanks Heather from Pretty Petals for hosting this fun party.
Cheers,
Gail

Merry Christmas to all!!!!!

I discovered a new Martha product called tinsel-cut glitter, which can be purchased at Michael's right now at 30% off! Unfortunately you can't really see well from my photos, but this stuff sparkles like crazy, and it has such a cool shape to it...go get yourself some now!!!!
I copied these two images onto cardstock paper and then glittered them and made them into tags....I'm sure I'll be making more soon :).
I found this gorgeous old frame at one of my favorite thrift stores and it's in perfect shape. I think I'll paint it a more neutral color, I'm not loving this gold for some reason.
When my bff Melanie was here last week she brought me all kinds of goodies (as usual), miss generous, that's her. Check out this fab frame!!! Probably be painting it also.....
Here's a sneak peek at our family room mantle, it's all snow white except for a few touches of red. I love the silver glitter mixed with the white, best part is I can leave it up until Valentines Day if I want to!




I'll be opening my Lollishop soon, not quite ready yet but lots of people are already selling their beautiful art there! Good luck to us all with this fun new venue, thanks to Sadie Lou and all her hard work....

Busy week coming up....

This is my beginning stack of vintage jewelry boxes. I'd love to pack these with goodies and sell them on lollishops or even give them as gifts to friends. You may have seen this idea in one of the Somerset magazines, Melanie turned me on to it, so now the race is on to see who can collect the most of these fun boxes!
Check out this huge roll of burlap trim, found at St. Vinnies. This looks great wrapped around a glass candle holder.
This is a wallpaper ice skating ornament I made from a template I downloaded (sorry, can't remember where I found it.)
And lastly, this absolutely darling old cardboard trash can found for $5. Love it....
Well, this week will prove interesting, but fun! My bff, Melanie, is coming tomorrow and staying until Tuesday afternoon! We'll have a blast thrifting and creating. And I'm sure laughing until our stomachs hurt.
Wednesday is a half day for dd , Thursday the big turkey day, Friday a Christmas tree decorating party at dh's office. Saturday is the big Civil War football game in Corvallis, go Beavers!!!!!
Rose Bowl, here we come...
Friday is the huge opening of Lollishops, I woke up in a cold sweat at 5:30 this am feeling very unprepared for it, but it will all work out. I've been creating new things all day.
I hope you all have a wonderful and peaceful Thanksgiving, and are surrounded by people you love.
Hugs,
Gail

More generosity from someone sweet....

Well, I was surprised the other day....Lisa, from A Thing For Roses fame sent me this beautiful package of vintage wallpaper. She said she had hung on to it since the Coburg show...unfortunately I missed her. I did get to meet her bff, Isabel (Maison Deuce) but somehow missed meeting Lisa, she was away from the booth when Mel and I visited. Isabel was so nice, and I do love meeting people whose blogs I read, especially when they live so close.

Anyhoo, Lisa, can't thank you enough! These papers are absolutely gorgeous.....I'll do something fab with them, including something fun coming back your way.

Thanks for thinking of little ole me, I'm touched.....

Gail

Random thoughts, creations, thrift finds, & a pet peeve....

Well, sometimes I love ebay, and sometimes not so much. This time I love it! I found my little twin babies for .99. Can you believe no one else bid on them? I was floored, but oh so happy :).
This wallpapered carrier will go to Melanie's store, All My Favorite Things, in Portland......
Really bad photo of a new journal, sorry I uploaded the wrong one and am too lazy to change it.
I'll be making lots of these Christmasy journals, both for Melanie's store and my own on Lollishops....
Collage for lollishops....
Another collage for lollishops...don't you just love polka dots? There's just something so happy about them!
So here's my pet peeve (ok, it's only one of my many pet peeves).
Dh invites me to join him last week for a nice dinner (he's there on business but spouses were invited also). The location was a beautiful lodge up in Washington, and it was so peaceful and just gorgeous. The lobby was outstanding with a huge fireplace, lots of comfy chairs, free coffee, etc. (you get the idea). And the view out the windows, well, it was breathtaking.
So while dh is in his meeting Friday morning I take some mags to go sit in the lobby and just enjoy the ambiance, better than sitting in my room (or so I thought).
I find a comfy chair, pull out a magazine (where women create) and start to read, only the hear the idiot all the way across the lobby (and believe me, it's a big lobby) talking very loudly on his cell phone. Felt like I was sitting right next to him. Now I know it's a public space and all that, but come on people! Whatever happened to courtesy? Can someone please tell me where it's gone? What I did? Got up and walked outside (yes it was a bit chilly) because I was talking with my bff, Melanie, on my cell and didn't want the world to hear, or to disturb anyone.
What I wish I had done? Gotten up, walked over to said idiot, and just stood in front of him until he acknowledged me. Then I wish I would have said this: "I know this is a public space and you have as much right to be here as anyone else, but apparently I'm the only one here with enough guts to come up and ask you to please lower your voice so that everyone here isn't privvy to your conversation, which we really don't want to hear."
Man, I wish I would have done that.....next time I promise I will, and unfortunately I know there will be a next time.
What would you have done?