Winter comes...

Winter came to our home today. She rode in on a sparkling silver stag.

Photo courtesy of Steve Gourlay
Leaving in her path crystals and ice. She touched the last rose of summer, cloaking her in ice, setting her to sleep  until next years' awakening.

Today she dusted the mountains with snow. As if by magic they became host to the confectioner's sugar and crystaled rock candies.

Now I can begin... to listen to the sounds of the season in song. So I put on the music. Christmas music (just a tiny bit early....shhh). My old friends Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Buble and Burl Ives. Singing songs of my childhood,(My mother's favorite Christmas music) and inspiring an afternoon by the fire painting and crafting.

I love the tradition of a Christmas village. This year, I learned that the original "villages" were inspired by the placement of a nativity under the Christmas tree. A "putz" or Christmas village grew from that tradition.

Photo courtesy of pinterest.com

In the early 20th century many "putz" homes were made of cardboard and decorated with paint, glitter and miniature deer, trees and snowpeople. The first villages are accredited to the Morovian church. They mass produced and sold the tiny homes as a fundraiser.

 Later in the 20th century homes became ceramic and resin. Mass produced and sold in discount stores.

28 years ago I made my first village homes. A church, which of course every town needs. A few humble cottages and shops were then added. Through the years our family has added more buildings, people and accessories.(see our village in the next post).

This year, as a tribute to the original putz homes I decided to craft a tiny village in pastels for my guest room. My intention was to construct them from paper and cardboard. Today however, I made a hasty visit to the dollar store to see the new additions. Winter brought with her some additional treasures! I bought five tiny houses and a gazebo.

Joy filled my heart as I hurried home to light the afore mentioned fire, pull out the paints and begin crafting.

I first sprayed each house with a quick coat of white Rustoleum paint with primer. After allowing it to dry (mostly), I pulled out my crafts paints and set to work. 

Each tiny home, church and business was magically transformed into a tiny pastel dream! Acrylic craft paints were the first layer added to my white base. Then, light greens for the swags and wreaths. Acrylic white to highlight the snow. A layer of glitter paint for highlights.

The final step was to coat each little cottage in Modge Podge and press sparkling crystal glitter to every square inch.

I love my little houses. I will add some bottle brush trees and a few tiny reindeer to finish off my "putz" village. Look for a future post to see the assembled town!

All are safely Gathered in....

I love the Thanksgiving season.

When Halloween is over, I am ready to take down the spiders and skulls. Storing them away til next year brings a sense of calm and respite.Creepy crawlies are exchanged for harvest and plenty.


Welcoming in the harvest season begins at the front door. I even plant brightly colored mums near the steps, just so we can enjoy the color with our harvest décor. 

Pumpkins, gourds, leaves and berries are gathered from the garden and surrounding fields. Fruit baskets, an old wagon and farm bucket make for delightful displays when filled with the gifts of mother earth.
Once the exterior is done, my heart turns to the hearth. It IS after all the heart of our home. Transforming the fireplace hearth and mantel brings me particular pleasure. Each year I begin by stripping it down to the bare bones.

A trip along the river bank or into the fields near our home comes next. I gather branches, leaves, fruits etc to dress the surfaces of our home. Pumpkins and gourds are gleaned from the garden

When I have gathered all that catches my eye, I bring it in and lay it out on the floor. Then the fun begins. Layer by layer the mantle and hearth are filled with the emblems we are THANKFUL for.

 

When the fireplace is finished I move on to warming the room as a whole.  I add the half panel fabric pieces to my white linen drapes. This immediately changes the feel of the room.

Runners in a fall print are added to our wingback chairs in the reading corner. Throws are pulled out too into a harvest basket for snuggling up.

Pillows are transformed with easy textural covers. Velvets, rough linens in fall prints, even burlap to complete our harvest look.(These custom embroidered pillows are available here .)

Last, the mayflower and pilgrims take their place of honor...this year at the center of our harvest table.

Welcome Thanksgiving....welcome friends and family...all are safely gathered in.

Pass the Brains Please...

"Pass the brains please" has been heard
 in our dining room for 25 years now.
This year was the quarter century mark for our annual

 "SPOOOOOKY DINNNERRRRRR"!





I started this tradition when our children were very young. I myself have no problem eating "snot salad", "blood and bones" or "fingers and eyeballs". Last year we even added a "brain" to the menu...

Spooky dinner is not for wimps. It IS a ton of fun and frolic, but it is also a labor of love on my part. Some things are worth the effort!





So we usually hold the dinner on a Monday night. That way I have the day to make preparations. Most of the foods can be prepared a day in advance, but the decor...
      HAS to be a haunted happening that no one is witness to.



Through the years our children and guests have had to crawl through a spider's lair, creep under the mists of darkness and enter through unknown passages to actually arrive at the dining hall. Bwa ha ha!


YOU can haunt your hall anyway YOU choose. Mine has always included spider webs with thousands of arachnids , dark and dreary draping over windows, mirrors and openings and the fogs of fear and dread spilling over the table. I often include "floating candles" and "lab" containers with various "body parts" in colored and boiling liquids. (Dry ice is my good buddy for the dinner).
Lighting is always dim and is done mostly with the magic of the flame on a myriad of candles.


Our menu is as follows:
Entrails, with brittle bones served from a mini coffin (meal in a pumpkin with bread bones to form a
      corpse)
Snot Salad-  lime jello acne de pepe salad
Crisp fingers- baby carrots with sliced almond fingernails attached with cream cheese
Gooey Eyeballs- deviled eggs with sliced olive iris and red food coloring "bloodshot effect"
Blood and bones-Bread bones with spicy tomato dip
Brains- carved mini watermelon
Dracs Drugs- mini syringes with red jello in them
Grave diggers delight- Chocolate pudding with crushed oreos and gummy worms
Blood Punch- red Kool-aide with pineapple juice and sprite















Only three rules apply for our ghoulish guests:

1- You must arrive dressed only in black and white wearing an eye mask of your making.

2- You must refer to foods by their proper names when passing. For example; "Please pass the brains", or "entrails please". Crazy voices are encouraged (the Count is often present).

3- FUN is the ONLY ANSWER!

***Parental guidance in suggested. We have had some of the very young set (4 or 5 years of age) be a bit frightened until mommy whacked off a piece of "brain" and bit into it! Just warn your guests LOL!

The tradition has honestly been Spooctacular! We will carry on for another 25 years and perhaps even ...

.................................................Beyond the grave......................................................