blue

It's raining.

I love the rain.

It's supposed to snow tonight.

I love snow even more.

But for some reason I feel blue... a bit melancholy. The Christmas tree is up and a few more decorations are scattered about our home, but if it wasn't for my daughter putting up the tree and decorations, they wouldn't be up. In a way, holidays are now just another day to me.

As I've gotten older, and both my parents are gone, I understand why some people are sad this time of year. Sometimes I have to work at it to feel excited.

Don't misunderstand though, CHRISTmas is more than just a holiday day to me, it's something I have in my heart and soul forever, even on sad days. That's what gets me through sad days, having Christ in my heart.

As for the blues, this too shall pass ~ that I know ~ and tomorrow I will probably snap out of it and I'll be working non-stop on orders and housework and last minute shopping again.

French author, Charles Baudelaire, once said:

"I can barely conceive of a type of beauty in which there is no Melancholy."

And so, I thought I'd scatter this blog post with blue items in my home... a mixture of melancholy and beauty.

I think I'll go get a cup of hot tea and pop in a Jane Austen movie...

Thanks for visiting...

Take Care & God Bless,

Lana

~*~

End of Year SALE @ Honeysuckle Lane & Updated Online Markets

Once in a while I have a sale to change out seasonal items, clear out old inventory, and make room for new designs. For this sale, I've gathered together more than 20 items and listed them at 50% off. This benefits both you in getting a big discount and it benefits me in allowing me to start the new year with fresh ideas and creations.

If you'd like to visit and see what's on sale, come by any time after 8pm central tonight: http://www.honeysucklelane.com/endofyearsale.htm.

The sale goes through December 27th.

~*~

Simply Primitives and TDIPT Mercantile markets have updated for the 15th.

Be sure to visit all the other artists' pages while there.

Simply Primitives:

TDIPT Mercantile:

~*~

I'm finishing up several wreath orders this week, and then making a few sets of paper wings, and then I hope to have a few days to breathe before Christmas comes and goes.

Hopefully I'll have a few days to blog and chat before I start on love tokens and new paper wreath designs or January.

Take Care & God Bless,

Lana

~*~

Tattered Angel Wings

~ Update: these have already sold (thank you!) and I will do my best to get a few more made within the next week or so. ~

I have been working on orders during the Thanksiving holiday and even though I really enjoy making paper wreaths, I just had to take a break and make something different.

Still thinking paper, but something old, something tattered, something a bit more whimsical... I thought of angel's wings. My daughter is putting together our church Christmas play this year and her comment about having to order more angel's wings popped into my head.

Angel's wings... hmmm... the project was quite time consuming, but I tore out pages from vintage books, rolled and glued, and rolled and glued more pages, and rolled and glued even more pages, listening to Christmas music as I worked. I didn't think it through ahead of time, but just worked as I sang with the music, and it finally came together late this afternoon.

I like how this design turned out and it was worth all the time it took.

You can see more photos and read the details here:

Simple Joys Paperie.

I'll be trying to think of more designs over the next few weeks to debut in January of 2010... which isn't that far away!

Thanks for stopping by,

God Bless,

Lana

~*~

Country Parlor Holiday Home Show

( photo courtesy of Country Parlor blog)

If you are anywhere near this show, be sure to attend as I am positive you will be in for a treat!
Here is the link for their new blog: http://countryparlor.blogspot.com/.

And here are the details:

Country Parlor Holiday Home Show
Thanksgiving Weekend 2009
Friday, November 27 9 am to 3 pm
Saturday, November 28 9 am to 3 pm
Sunday, November 29 10 am to 2 pm

How to get there:
Route 58 Riverhead, New York to Northville Turnpike (3.5 miles east of Tanger Outlets)
Turn left onto Northville Turnpike to end at Sound Avenue
Turn right onto Sound Avenue and head east
Hallockville's Naugles Barn wil be approximately 2 miles east on the left

Simply the best Holiday Show on Long Island!

Forever Thankful...

I am so thankful for my family and friends, both near and far away ~

my country and the freedom that I have ~

and most of all

I am thankful for the love of God.

What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lana

~*~

Bonjour!

I'd like to share with you my newest paper wreath design:

I have been making book page wreaths for about a year and a half now. I'd heard about a book wreath in a catalog, couldn't find the catalog, and so with no photo or no more detail than "rolled book page wreath" I decided to design my own. I really enjoy making these and I like the fact that I'm keeping loads of antique and vintage books from being thrown away and forgotten ~ well, maybe not loads of books, but it looks like it if you see the stacks I have in my workroom! Most of the books I use are books that are in such a state that no one else would buy them. Pages are torn, missing, or scribbled on; covers are gone... but I can't bear to pass them up, and as with nearly everything I collect, the older and more tattered, the better. Come by my etsy shop if you'd like to see what's left. Most have sold, but as soon as I get caught up with orders and deadlines, I will list more wreaths.

~ Simple Joys Paperie ~

Thanks for dropping by!

Lana

~*~

Is It the 15th Already?

Well, maybe not the 15th, but the eve of the 15th ~ that's when the online markets, Simply Primitives and TDIPT Mercantile, update.

I do believe this little deer sees something...

yes.... more deer!

But I don't think they know that he's behind the snowman watching them...

Maybe if he's very still and quiet, this timid little thing won't be found...

shhh....

I found them though, at a thrift store quite some time ago. I also found a glass cloche and knew it would be perfect for a display dome.

And so this week I made this piece:

Vintage Winter Wonderland.

The entire piece stands just over a foot tall...

It is available at Simply Primitives and you may visit my website to read more about it.

Don't forget to look at all the other artists' items while you are there!

Now I am off to go find more glass domes and cloches.......

Web Show Finale & Holiday Scavenger Hunt!

Come visit The Eclectic Artisans as they open the doors for their 2009 webshow finale!

Enter the Holiday Scavenger Hunt while you are there!

Click HERE to begin your visit!

A Sneak Peek @ Snow Folk...

My petite snow angels will be available Saturday night (November 7th), along with sparkly, glass glitter, whimsy cones. Mark your calendars and visit us at The Eclectic Artisans. We will be having a Holiday Scavenger Hunt with several prizes to be given away!

The Fog

I stepped out onto the back porch to feed the cats this morning,

and found I'd stepped into a magical world of fog and cobwebs.

I wanted to share the simple yet breath-taking beauty of our Creator's handiwork with you today:

Fog

Whiteness glimmers in
Dawn bends through the pane
Fog, soft as cobwebs
Clinging...

excerpt from Fog

by Louise Reel

...as if in a fog of feather-light
goosedown-silvery seed-thoughts
a rusty mind in its autumn
reviewed, renewed
its winged power.

excerpt from Seedtime

by Denise Levertov (1923-1997)

The last cobwebs
of fog in the
black firtrees are flakes
of white ash in the world's hearth.

excerpt from The Depths

by Denise Levertov (1923-1997)

I'm glad you stopped by to share Honesyuckle Lane's Simple Joys today.

God Bless,

Lana

~*~

The Four Ts...

textile...
texture.....
tattered.......

that's three, and we'll get to the fourth a little later...

Those are three things that seem to be in my life every day.

My love of textiles ~ antique, vintage, new ~ has been an ongoing thing for years. I really don't remember when it began.

When I was a little girl, just a few years old and not in school yet, Mama kept me busy with a needle and thread and fabric scraps. When Mama passed away, we found boxes and bags of fabric in her attic. I must have inherited her love of fabric.



After I was married and began having children, I learned the benefits of shopping at thrift stores instead of the "new" stores. I started going to save money on a limited budget.

Then came the other joys of weekly trips to the thrift and junk stores ~ finding long lost treasures hidden at the bottom of a box, imagining the life of the previous owners, touching the pieces, feeling the textures, and knowing there is a story with each item.

Always, Mama would find something and call me over to touch it, hold it, and talk about how wonderful it felt in our hands. Maybe it was an old bonnet, faded and worn with the ties barely attached, or maybe it was a scrap from a quilt which was past its usefulness but the owner couldn't bear to toss it out. I know just how they felt. We were always drawn to the tattered treasures, no matter how worn. Mama and I both were known to pick up the pieces and ask to purchase the forlorn little things. No one else wanted them and we had to save them from being forgotten forever.

The most precious benefit of all was spending time with Mama. I'd call her the night before or early that morning and ask if she wanted to go the Goodwill or Salvation Army, or any of the several shops that we visited. She usually answered yes before I could get the entire question asked! It was more than thrifting and junking. It was the time we spent driving to and from those places. It was the time we spent talking and being together as mother and daughter... and as best friends.

That is the fourth T ~ time.

Time is precious. It's fleeting. It's invaluable. It's irretrievable.

Spend your time wisely, with loved ones, even if it's just being together, doing silly, little things.

Sometimes it's the simple little things that I remember about Mama and Daddy.

It's not the grand things ~ it's a simple word, a touch, a moment in time that I remember most.

“Time is too slow for those who wait,

too swift for those who fear,

too long for those who grieve,

too short for those who rejoice,

but for those who love,

time is eternity."

Henry Van Dyke, 1852-1933

~*~

Contests and Giveaways ~ and that's no trick!!!

Not a lot to talk about today. I have one dozen hands sewn and stuffed and waiting to be needle sculpted. Then I will make one dozen petite pumpkins to fill them. These will be ready for my etsy shop and the online markets, Simply Primitives and TDIPT Mercantile by October 15th.

In the meantime, Prim and Whimsy is having a giveaway! Pop in and leave a comment to enter for one of the fantastic prizes: http://primandwhimsy.com/.

And if you'd like to vote in a contest, head over to Etsy. They have my AUTUMN HARVEST PUMPKINS in their current contest. You will need to be signed in to see the "VOTE" button.

http://www.etsy.com/voter_list.php?ref=voter&room_id=73

That's it for now... I have to get busy on those pumpkins and hands that are calling my name...

~*~

Catching Up a Little at a Time

I am soooo far behind! I have a couple orders to finish ~ I hope the customers don't think I've abandoned them! My 19 year old son is home from the hospital and is recuperating from a bad case of cellulitis and we are all thankful that the ultra-sounds showed no blood clot as was first suspected. So.... I am now trying to catch up on everything.

Tonight I listed a few sets of glass glitter pumpkins and plain 'n prim pumpkins and a couple folk art cats on my WHIMSIES page.

I'll have a larger cat ready tomorrow night, and maybe an extra large white glass glitter pumpkin.

We have had rain for days and days and days...... and days...... but I think by Monday the sun is supposed to shine again, maybe every day next week! Weather permitting, I will get out and about, take photos, and share more things on my blog besides things that I have made. I'm getting restless and want to get out and do something outdoors. Unfortunately, we have several bears in the area, so I don't wander in the woods like I used to do. :(

Thanks for stopping by ~ I'll try to update again very soon.

New Wreaths @ Simple Joys Paperie

I was so excited when I found a Norse-English dictionary a while back!

I knew exactly what I'd do with it ~ make a wreath!

This one is inspired by the Jeanne D'Arc Living magazines and all of the beautiful blogs that show light and airy Scandinavian decor. It's my first square wreath:

~*~

This one is made from an antique book called The Masquerader.

I thought it would be perfect for Halloween:

I have a few more wreaths to finish up and get listed on etsy. I also have a couple more that need their center medallions ~ these were special orders ~ and I got a bit behind while feeling under the weather and helping my youngest get his second year of college sorted out ~ among a few other things going on.

You may read more about the wreaths and see more photos at

Simple Joys Paperie.

I also have a few sets of pumpkins and two cats that need to be finished...

where, oh where, do the hours go?

~*~