A finished Bella class project & a post-Bella giveaway

I promise, one of these days I'm finally going to SHUT UP ALREADY about Silver Bella...but it ain't gonna be today! :) Last night I finally finished my class projects from Rebecca Sower's "Christmas Vignettes" class. We made six 3" x 5" collages using all kinds of fun embellishments and vintage images. The class was so easy--Rebecca gave very thorough instructions and I glued and punched happily until I ended up with these:

Click to enlarge the photo so you can see all the pretty details up close. Each collage is made to hang so I'm going to have to come up with a way to display them all. They were such fun, so creatively satisfying and something that I think I can definitely replicate. I'm so glad I got to take the class! Rebecca is a lovely person and a pro at teaching. One down, four more unfinished Bella projects to go...

To spread the gospel of Bella, I have a little package to give away! It includes a class kit from the lovely Carolyn Peeler for her "Look at Frosty Go" class (these were selling for $40 but Carolyn graciously gave a few away as we were heading for the airport) that makes a cute little stuffed snowman, a pair of fancy Melissa Frances flip-flops (size 7/8, a gift in our Bella goodie bag), a December back issue of Country Living (since the CL editors were our guests for the weekend), a few of the tags I made for the Bella tag swap, and some chocolate, because all good mail includes chocolate. :) If you'd like to enter, just leave a comment on this post and I'll bring out the ol' Goblet of Fire for a drawing on Thursday!

In all things give thanks

George Washington's original "official proclamation," made at the request of Congress, establishing a day of Thanksgiving in the newly formed country:

"Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor...

"Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

"And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplication to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our national government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

"Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, AD 1789."

Little helper

I was upstairs putting the sheets on the guest bed in preparation for my parents' arrival this evening when Maren decided to 'help' me cook by pouring the entire dish of kosher salt (a small square Pyrex refrigerator dish) and a goodly part of the pepper all over the top of the chocolate cake I had cooling so I can make this dessert.

A second cake is in the oven. Her grandparents cannot possibly arrive soon enough.

Tagged

My sweet friend Elizabeth tagged me to share 6 things about myself. Since I do so enjoy talking about myself, this should be no problem. :)

1. My feet got 1/2 size bigger after I had my daughter. I was a not-so-dainty size 9 to begin with and we'd really like to have more than one child, so this is just another reason why I am not terribly thrilled at the idea of being pregnant again any time soon.

2. I love Alice in Wonderland and when I was in Oxford, England I made a special trip to The Old Sheep Shop to feed my obsession. I think Lewis Carroll was a total perv, though. Seriously. ick.

3. I am terrified of scorpions. Not a huge fan of spiders but I can deal, don't mind snakes at all, but scorpions scare me to death! I can't even watch them on TV or look at photos in books without getting completely skeeved. I think they are of the devil.

4. When I was younger my favorite dinner was Spaghetti Pie (a baked dish of spaghetti, meat sauce, cheese, and egg) and whenever I told anyone at school that, they thought I was crazy. I guess they were envisioning a pastry crust filled with noodles? I still love spaghetti pie but I haven't made it in a long time.

5. I am good at trivia games and crossword puzzles. My brain is a vast repository of mostly useless knowledge, but trust me--when we're playing Trivial Pursuit, you want to be on my team. :)

6. If I ever had a shop or a business selling the vintage crapola that I love, it would be called Magpie's Nest. Magpies are attracted to shiny things and so am I. :)

Thanks, Elizabeth! If you read this and need something to blog about (or just like to talk about yourself, like me :) consider yourself tagged!

Silver Bella day 3

It was hard to get up on Saturday morning, due to our late bedtime after the night's festivities. I had an 8:00 a.m. class with Jenny & Aaron, this time a darling project with a great big cake! (go to Jenny's blog to see what the final project looks like--mine's still unfinished!) Such a fun class, and such a treat to be able to have some of their fab artwork in my home, only with my own little twists on it! I think I'm going to make mine into a birthday banner for Miss Maren.

My class ended at 10:00 a.m. and as my next class wasn't until 7:45 p.m. I had the whole day free! I had anticipated this and actually brought a project for the Sweet Sister Swap with me to work on, but the lure of Second Chance was too great and I hopped on the shuttle with these cute girls and headed over for more shopping. Ever since our initial visit to Second Chance on Thursday night, I'd been itching to go back when it was less crowded and I was less overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of STUFF and could focus a little. I wandered in when they opened at 11:00 a.m. and I was there for about two and a half hours! I didn't intend it to be quite that long--I ended up waiting for my mom to meet me after her class ended at noon--but I spent a long, leisurely time sifting through the piles to find a few more treasures. That place is so packed that even though a horde of Bellas had descended and shopped like crazy over the previous two days, the amount of inventory was hardly diminished at all! Yikes.

We left for lunch and looked around the Old Market a little more until it was time to catch the shuttle back, as my mom had class at 4:00 p.m. I joined her on the ride back to the hotel, but once I got back I realized I still had hours until my next class, so I impulsively hopped the shuttle back to town. :) I looked around a little more but didn't buy anything else. What I did find was a whole bunch of ghost signs. I have no idea why, but I love ghost signs, though I'm rarely in a position where I can take photos of them. On this day, the afternoon sun was hitting the buildings just right so I wandered around taking pictures until it went down. I'm slightly embarrassed to say that I took more photos of ghost signs than I did of anything else at Silver Bella! Duh. Anyway, from there I walked the five blocks back to the hotel instead of bugging the shuttle driver again.

My last class of the evening was with the darling Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom designs. The class was called "Sweet Schultuten" and we learned to make those cute little cones that are so popular right now. Jennifer also gave us the kits for her other class, a cute Christmas Wish banner! She is just an absolute sweetie and it was so fun to be in her class; it was very relaxed and fun which was perfect because by that time I was hitting the crafting wall.

When classes ended that evening, people stuck around and took photos and hung out for a while. We dropped our bags back in our room and headed down to the bar to get something to eat. By this time it was 10:15 p.m. and though we were all tired, I don't think anyone was ready for the fun to end. We sat and visited with some more darling Bellas, I ate a ridiculously huge plate of the most divine mac & cheese, and we just missed seeing some celebrities who were also in the bar. And although we didn't want the magic to end, it was really late and we were exhausted!

Sunday morning we were able to sleep in before attempting the Tetris-like task of fitting everything into our suitcases for the trip home. We caught our flight at 1:30 p.m. and I was back home by 3:00 p.m. Even though it has been more than a week since I returned home, I still feel inspired and motivated by all of the creativity and sheer eye candy that I saw during Silver Bella. The whole weekend was SO wonderful and I am so thankful that I was able to participate this year! After I read about it last year on Teresa's blog I knew that it was something I dearly wanted to do, so when registration opened in June I was at my computer with nervous fingers, afraid that it would sell out in minutes and I'd miss my big chance! It did sell out, though not in minutes, although I'm a little nervous about next year! I definitely plan to go again. It was all such an incredible lift to my spirit that I don't think I could pass up the opportunity to do it again. I so appreciate all of the teachers and the vendors who put so much time and effort into making things special for us, most especially Teresa, who was like our Fairy Godmother for the weekend. It was amazing!

Silver Bella--what I bought

I'm not going to lie--the shopping part of Silver Bella was every bit as fun as the classes and meeting everyone! Heck, that's why Teresa arranged a special shopping night just for us Bellas at Second Chance, which I talked about a few posts ago. Second Chance was just amazing--a one of a kind type of place, and it was so fun to shop there and across the street at Fairmont Antiques. There was also some good vintage stuff to be had during our own Vendor Night! Here are photos of the goodies I brought home:

I didn't set out to buy so much pink stuff, it just happened that way. It's funny because the main areas of my home are done in reds and blues, so all the pink and aqua stuff that I am attracted to does not match at all and I have nowhere to put it. Does that stop me from buying it? Not apparently! The Moderntone sherbet cup and Ripple tea cup came from Fairmont and the Moderntone salt shaker and Ripple saucer came from Second Chance. I have one aqua Ripple saucer that I thrifted long ago and it is a dream of mine to someday have a whole set of that stuff, but I never see it. In Second Chance I found a whole stack of saucers ($1.50 each) and luncheon plates ($3 each I think) but I could only bring myself to buy one little saucer to match the pink cup I'd just bought. Someday I'm going to regret not buying the whole stack, but I just couldn't justify buying more at that point. The sparkly earrings were a splurge for me at $12, also from the magical basement at Second Chance. They are particularly enormous to be worn as earrings but the way they are made, they'll make great buckles when I get around to figuring out what to do with them! Here's a close-up:


All of these were from Second Chance. From the left, a vintage plastic tree-topper that was $2. I bought an identical blue one from a thrift right before I left. The bag of green mercury glass bead picks was $4, and I wish I could have found more. They're one of the things I'm always on the lookout for but this is the first time I've ever found any. The aqua and silver tree topper was in the box but I do not believe it is original to the box, although it is vintage and still has its West Germany label. The box is in perfect condition and may just be my favorite purchase of the weekend! It's Shiny Brite and I've never seen another like it, though I have many Shiny Brite ornament boxes. The box & tree topper were $6, which I think is a steal.

This box of Shiny Brites was $4 at Fairmont. I saw it early, before most of the Bellas had gotten there and I know it would have been snapped up by someone else if I hadn't gotten to it first! That's a great price for a whole box of glittered vintage ornaments--I'd be awful lucky to find them around here. The atomic design isn't my absolute favorite but there are a few with snowflakes and I couldn't pass them up at that price. They'll go on my tree this year. The Santa box was $3.50 and has great vintage graphics. Did anyone see the article in the newest Home Companion about collecting vintage wrapping paper and Christmas boxes? I read my mom's copy on the airplane ride to Omaha, so it was fresh in my head when I spotted this!

From left, a vintage cardboard and net stocking, $5 from Manto Fev on Vendor Night. The magazine is from Second Chance; it was also $5 and is the December 1950 issue. It has the greatest ads and graphics inside! My grand plan is to scan them so I can post them here on my blog for your enjoyment as well as using them in my artwork. The sheet of vintage metallic Christmas wrap was $2, as were the gold medallion thingies--both from Manto Fev.


From left: a November 1948 issue of Household magazine, $2 from Second Chance. I have the same plans for this as the other magazine. Let's hope I actually get that far! I do not have a great relationship with my scanner right now. The vintage flash cards were $1 each from Manto Fev. Not sure what I want to do with them but I had to have them! The old photos were from Second Chance and were less than $1 each--they show scenes of snowy houses that I think I can make into something interesting for Christmas. The little round dark thing ($5 at Second Chance) is a very old, very tarnished copper dish (ashtray?) with an image of this, which just happens to be where I got married. I'm hoping I can clean it up with a little lemon juice and kosher salt; it will go in my travel-themed guest room when I'm done. The vintage buttons are also from Second Chance and cost anywhere from 10¢ to $1 per card.

Vintage wallpaper samples from the 1950s, $1 each from Manto Fev. I may have mentioned before that I want to wallpaper the panel on the old-door-turned-headboard in my guest room. I bought these papers for that project, but this is just a start--I'm going to need much more!

Love the sparklies! The snowflake pin and the flower bouquet were both from Fairmont and I bought them specifically to hold on my sash at Bella Gypsy night--I had forgotten to pack any of my vintage brooches, so I had to go buy some, not that I minded! LOL They were inexpensive at $7 each, which is much less than my local thrifts would have charged, and I will definitely wear them again. The other pieces are old single earrings. Second Chance had boxes full of them for us to choose from--they had advanced notice that Bellas are much like magpies in their love of anything shiny. :) These were from the $1 box but they are great! Again, my local thrifts would have charged far more, even for earrings with no mates. If they see even one rhinestone in a piece of jewelry, they automatically mark it up to $9.95, with no regard to the quality--many times the pieces are missing stones or are just plain ugly. It was such a treat to be able to choose from so much, so reasonably priced at Second Chance--the jewelry selection was definitely one of the highlights of the store!

One other thing I bought but didn't photograph is a vintage feathered headband. It is various shades of bright pink & fuschia and it is slightly ridiculous, but I love it so much! I have NO idea what I'll do with it or where on earth I could possibly wear such an over-the-top thing, but I knew that if I didn't buy it, I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it and I would regret it terribly. I'll have to fix my hair in a 40's chignon and model it for you--it's a hoot! Looks like it was made from some poor, unfortunate flamingo. It's awesome.

Even with all that I bought, I've still had a few pangs of wishing that I had bought more--more jewelry and old photos at Second Chance, more stuff at Vendor Night. I'm not sure that even if I had bought more I'd be satisfied though--I always want more! So I'm just going to be happy with the treasures I did find; I think I got some pretty neat stuff!

L'Chaim!

This morning I was outside in the backyard pulling weeds and cleaning up dead plants to get ready for winter. Maren came out of the house holding a peeled banana, which she'd gotten herself for a snack. I made note of it, and then she disappeared back into the house, only to reappear holding another peeled banana--this one was for me, she said. I took off my gloves and began to eat it--didn't really fancy a banana at that time, but there wasn't much I could do with it otherwise. When I had eaten about half of it, she held up her remaining half and *clinked* mine with hers, saying "Cheers!"

I have no idea where she learned that--the only toasting that goes on at this house is the variety that I eat topped with peanut butter for my breakfast in the morning. I almost choked on my banana, I was laughing so hard.

Photos taken yesterday afternoon. The first one is what I got when I asked her to smile, the second is when I told her to "say cheese."

Silver Bella day 2

Yikes, I didn't think it would take me a full week to post my Silver Bella review, but here we are. Friday morning began bright and early. My alarm rang at 6:30 am but I was awake long before that, due to the alarm clock in the room going off at the unholy hour of 5:15 am. I never really got back to sleep, and combined with the late hour at which I finally drifted off the night before, waking up was pretty painful. However, my grogginess was mitigated by my excitement for my the day.

My first class was entitled "Christmas Vignettes," taught by the talented (and tall!) Rebecca Sower. We made a series of six "Christmas Vignettes" using vintage images, silver glass glitter, and various trims and mirrors and bells and other fun little things to embellish them. I didn't finish my vignettes (actually, I didn't finish a single project the whole weekend!) so I don't have a photo to show you right now, but hope to soon. Another highlight for that class for me was meeting the darling Amy Powers of Inspire Co. Amy's blog was one of the first I started reading and I've loved it ever since. Amy is charming and delightful, (which you know if you read her blog) and it was such a treat to meet her! Her happiness is infectious!

After Rebecca's whirlwind class, my next stop was Teresa McFayden's "Bella's Bracelet." In this class we learned how to make a bracelet out of beautiful vintage velvet ribbon, tulle, buttons, and beaded chain. Now, I don't really sew, nor do I embroider, so I don't have a lot of experience with a needle & thread beyond sewing lost buttons back onto my pants. However, I do have experience with beading and working with my hands in general, so I thought I'd be able to make my bracelet with no problem. Wrong! I don't know what happened, but I was all thumbs and while everyone else at my table was confidently sewing their pleated ribbons, I was fumbling along, just trying to get started. I think my awkwardness was partly that I had just broken several fingernails all the way down to the quick, and without my nails my fingers feel like stubs and they just don't function right. Silly, but it's true! Also, the room was cold and I was nervous so my hands were alternately cold and clammy, further rendering them useless appendages. Everyone at my table finished their bracelets, and I...well, I didn't even come close. I need remedial Bella Bracelet-making class or something! You can see a photo of what the finished product was supposed to look like here. I've since found an easier way to make the flower ruffle so I'm just going to unpick all of my stitches and start again from scratch. Maybe I'll wait for my fingernails to grow in again, just to be sure! Here's a photo of the ladies at my table and Miss Foof (Teresa) in the middle. Notice that everyone else is modeling their bracelets, and I'm holding mine together. Ha! I will finish it and it will be fabulous, you'll see.

After class we hightailed it to the ballroom for our Bella luncheon. We had a lovely lunch (I was starving!) and we were able to hear more from the two Country Living editors who had been hanging out in our classes that morning. They were really great and answered questions from all of us about the magazine, how they spot trends, where they go to do stories, etc. It was really interesting, and it seemed like they had a really good time all weekend! They told us that the Silver Bella story will be published sometime next fall, maybe October or November. I can't wait to see it! Another fun thing at the luncheon--I won a door prize! I never win anything, so I was thrilled, and when I saw my prize I was even more excited! I won this daddy-o, which I saw at Michael's the other day priced at $59.99! I have been wanting a large paper cutter for a while, so I am just tickled. Now I just have to find a place to put it where Maren can't use it to cut her fingers off.

After lunch I had one more class, this time with Jenny & Aaron of Everyday is a Holiday fame. I absolutely adore their work, so I was so excited to be in their classes! They designed the cutest project for us with hand-painted snowy cottages and trees, all in their signature pastel colors. I didn't finish mine but if you click on Jenny's blog and scroll down you can see what it will look like. I didn't finish mainly because I wanted to do a little more customization, but didn't have the tools I needed with me.

By the time class was over it was 4:00 pm and I'd been going non-stop since 8:00 am, so I was beat! I had just enough time for a quick rest and then my mom and I had to get dressed for the big Bella ball that evening. I've already shown you what we looked like, but here's a link to one more shot taken by cute Hope of Paper Relics. Vendor night was just amazing and it was such a treat to see everyone all dressed up. What fun!

After the vendors packed up we all met back in the ballroom to exchange our swap items. I participated in two swaps: Aquabella (Christmas ornaments made in a silver & aqua theme) and the Christmas tag swap. For the Aquabella swap our hostess, Tammy Gilley, provided the prettiest Tiffany-blue paper bags for us to divide out our swaps. Don't they look inviting, all stuffed with ribbon and cellophane? There are some amazing creations in that bag, let me tell you! The tag swap was a little chaotic, and I'm not 100% sure that I ended up with one from everybody, but the creations are really wonderful and now I have 20 little individual works of art from some of my fellow Bellas.

After the swap we went up and went to bed--it was at least 11:00 pm at that point and we'd had a busy but exhausting day. I slept like a baby!

Back later with day 3 and photos of all the goodies I bought!

Catching up: Tablecloth Thursday and Friday Fiver

We interrupt your Silver Bella recap to bring you:

Tablecloth Thursday! I took the photos yesterday but didn't get them posted, so I'm a day late.

This week it's my vintage Thanksgiving tablecloth, an excerpt of which you see here. I bought this last year sometime at a thrift store and I feel so lucky to have found it, as I know it probably wasn't a common design. It has a mustard-colored panel in the middle and a design of orange and mustard fall squash & veggies in the border, punctuated by cute little Pilgrim village scenes like this one. It has a few stains that I now suspect are rust, so if I can get hold of some Whink I'll see if I can get them out. Otherwise, I love it!

And today's Friday Fiver:

1. What's the last thing you threw away?
A sodden diaper and the eggshell from Maren's scrambled egg breakfast.
2. Have you ever been to Paris?
Yes, almost this exact time of year, but in 1998. We spent Thanksgiving there. Can't believe it was so long ago! Maybe I should get working on that scrapbook, eh?
3. What do you stare at?
My Bloglines, waiting for it to update. :) I'm addicted!
4. What do you hurry for?
I hurry get things done during Maren's naptime, my only chance for a little peace & quiet.
5. Friday fill-in:I could have been ___.
I could have been showered & dressed by now if I hadn't gotten sucked into looking at the extra clearance items on Talbots.com.

More Silver Bella to come!

Silver Bella day 1

My Bella adventure began Thursday morning, when my DH and Miss Maren dropped me off at the airport. We met my mother, who had just flown in for Salt Lake so she could get a quick Maren 'fix' to hold her over until Thanksgiving. Together, we flew the 59 minutes to Omaha--who knew it was that close? My US Geography gets kind of muddy there in the middle of the country. I knew there was at least one other Bella from my area and I kept my eyes peeled to see if she was on the same flight. Once we got to the airport and were waiting for our luggage, I looked out the window and saw two woman waiting outside with piles of suitcases. My Bella radar kicked in, and somehow I just knew those ladies were going to the same place we were! We collected our bags and walked down to where the hotel shuttle was to collect us, and lo and behold but who came walking up behind us? It was those ladies, plus a few more! We met Sharon, Janey, Natalea, Hope, and Sarah, and then Michelle hopped on at the last second. It was so funny--we started to giggle and laugh like old friends from the minute we realized we were all Bellas! I think the guys sharing the shuttle with us were a little scared. ;)

When we got to the hotel to check in we met even more Bellas! Our first official event was a 6:00 pm private shopping event at a local antique store in the Old Market part of town. Some of us decided to catch the shuttle over there early to beat the rush, and I got to meet a few more Bellas--Linda and Kimla. Our first stop was Fairmont Antiques, which turned out to be the most enormous antique mall I've ever seen! No kidding, it seemed that every time I turned the corner a huge new room opened up in front of me, and every booth was simply packed to the gills with great stuff. I knew I needed a brooch for my outfit on Friday night so that is what I set to finding. One of the neatest things I saw was a case full of these amazing, gorgeous vintage Czech Christmas tree pins. Wow! The sparkles and colors were eye-popping.

It didn't take me long to find some treasures! Prices were very reasonable compared to similar items here in Denver. After Fairmont, we walked across the street to Second Chance Antiques for our special Bella event. We arrived at 5:00 pm, an hour before the official event's start and already it was packed with Bellas scooping up bargains!

Let me stop and tell you about Second Chance. Second Chance--Ha! More like Second Home for most of us that weekend! I've never been a store like it and doubt that I ever will again, unless I get to go to Silver Bella 2008! The store is large, but to say that it was packed would be a gross understatement. It was unbelievable--antiques and vintage items piled all over each other, stuffed under furniture, stacked to the ceilings, in every nook and cranny you can imagine. It was actually a little difficult to navigate the narrow, labyrinthine aisles--I was terrified I was going to knock something precious and breakable to the floor with my purse. The basement is filled with vintage clothing, sewing notions, and cases of the most beautiful, sparkly rhinestone jewelry you could ever hope to find in one place. Honestly, I think I walked around with my jaw agape for the first 30 minutes I was in the store, as agog as I was at the sheer amount of STUFF there was. Now, it was dirty and jam-packed and dusty and I know I saw at least 4 cats wandering around, so it is not for the faint of heart or faint of dirt. But it's the kind of place where if you're willing to dig, you'll be rewarded.

It didn't take long for the ambient temperature to get way above the comfortable range, and the noise and crowding got to be a little too much so we paid for our purchases and left, though I was already planning when I'd be back. Before we left I did notice a couple of photographers, and knew that my suspicions about Teresa's hint about "company" coming to Silver Bella were true! A team of two editors and two photographers from Country Living were there taking pictures for a future story on Silver Bella!!

It felt delightfully cool and quiet once we escaped the chaos of Second Chance, and we met up with some of our new friends to go find something to eat. We ended up at Julio's, a teeny-tiny Mexican place, with Linda, Natalea, Sharon, Janey, Jessi and Tiffany, sharing chips and salsa and chatting away like old friends, until it was time to summon the cute shuttle driver to deliver us back to the hotel. We got back fairly early--I don't think it was even 9:00 pm yet, but my mom and I went back to our room to get unpacked and ready for our classes the next morning. I had a hard time getting to sleep that night--visions of rhinestones and vintage Christmas ornaments swam in my head for a long time until I finally drifted off, well past midnight. I knew that if that day had been any indication, it was going to be an awesome weekend!

I'm back, and I'm covered in glitter

I wish that I could say: "Silver Bella was horrible! Don't go! I couldn't wait for it to end so I could just come home and get away from all those crazy ladies. Don't sign up next year, you'll regret it for sure!" if only that would make it so that no one else would want to go next year so I can get in! But you know I'd be telling a fib. :) In reality, it was wonderful, fabulous, magical, and SO MUCH FUN that I can't imagine NOT wanting to go again after hearing all about it. I'm going to be prepared with my quickest fingers next year at registration time, because I have a feeling I'm going to have a lot more competition to get in, once word gets out!

I still haven't unpacked all my projects and treasures because I want to get photos of everything before I put it all safely away and out of reach of a certain 2-year-old, so I will share those later posts. I do have a photo of my mom and me dressed up for our big party on Friday night.


The dress-up theme for the evening was "Junk Gypsies" so all the Bellas wore our cowboy boots and hats along with gobs of jewelry and poofy skirts and crinolines. My mom and I decided we needed to go a little more toward the rodeo queen look and she made us some glittery sashes to wear--mine said "Mrs. Silver Bella Colorado" and hers said "Mrs. Silver Bella Utah" and we got laughs out of them all night long! If you look close you can see that I'm even wearing a corsage--the head Bella, Miss Teresa, picked me as one of the best-dressed and so I received a pretty corsage of pink roses and aqua ribbons, with added rhinestones, of course. :)

That night was Vendor Night, and we were able to shop at 40 tables of the most amazing, talented artists and vendors that etsy has ever seen! It was just eye-popping to see the displays and the wares that people had brought and I think I'm already kicking myself for not buying more. :) I know for sure there are definitely some some etsy shops I'll be visiting again and again! After the vendors had cleaned up, we all went back to exchange our swap items. I don't have photos of those yet either, but I will post them soon! It was like Christmas to get bags stuffed to bursting with beautiful, glittery creations from my fellow Bellas! That was just the capper to the most amazing day--I went to bed that night SO happy I just wanted to burst!

While you're waiting for me to get some more pictures up (hoping to get it done during Maren's naptime today), here are some other Bellas who already have photos posted:
Jennifer Stewart
ArtsyMama Kari Ranstrom
Jana Perenchio
Kim Haynes (official Bella photographer)

And I'm Off!

Off for three days of glittery, crafty fun--and best of all, I get to enjoy it all with my mom! I'll see you all on Monday, hopefully with lots of fun photos and stories to share!

Silver Bella crunch time

Greetings from Santa's Sweatshop!...er, Workshop, that is. I've spent all weekend with glitter, glue and feathers stuck to my fingers and clothes as I've been preparing goodies for Silver Bella, which I leave for on Thursday! I am participating in two swaps and although I swore when I signed up for them that I'd get my items finished well before the deadline, it somehow snuck up on me and here I am, scrambling at the last minute (as usual). DH joked about the "Silver Bella Sweatshop" labor I was putting in while we caught up on Season 2 of "Heroes" and the multiple trips to the local craft stores I've made over the past few days (three trips on Saturday alone).

I finally got it all done last night and now comes my traditional "swap angst" period in which I stress and worry that everything I made is crap and when I see the amazing, fabulous creations everyone else has made, I'll want to commit seppuku to spare myself the shame and embarrassment that comes from making inferior craft items. Hey--I didn't say it was a rational fear.

Since I've been crafting all weekend the house is a disaster, so today and tomorrow I need to pack, clean up this mess, do the laundry, and I really want to take down the Halloween decorations before I leave because as much as I love them, I am tired of seeing them. That means I need to get moving, but before I go I must show you the lovely Sister Swap package I received from Laurie last week (sorry I'm so late in posting it, Laurie!):

Laurie sent me lots of yummy chocolate (most of which has been devoured), some fun Halloween decorations like a scary skull (perfect for my creepy decor!) and the foil spiral things (which Maren loved). She included a cute little package for Miss Maren that included cool bugs and spiders and cute Snoopy fruit snacks. But my favorite things in the package are the little bat (in Maren's bag, but swiped by me) and the darling owl! Laurie is a very talented maker of wool softies and I am just tickled to receive some of her work. The owl came complete with costumes for the holidays--you can see them all here on Laurie's blog where she has a better photo. When I put the pig nose on the owl I laughed and laughed--yes, I am that easily amused. :)
And now, I must fly!

Halloween report

I'm a day late posting Halloween photos, but I have a good excuse--yesterday I had LASIK enhancement on my left eye. I had my original surgery back in March but my left eye was stuck at about 20/35 (right eye is 20/15) so they decided it was time to fix me. It was kind of spur of the moment--the girl at the office called on Tuesday to ask if I could come in Thursday. Luckily DH was able to get some time off work on short notice and I had it done, otherwise I would have had to wait until a few days before Christmas for their next opening. I will say that it was much, much easier the second time around. Still no treat, but much less traumatic and my recovery was even quicker than before. When I went in this morning for my follow-up, I could already see 20/20 in my left eye and it's likely that will even sharpen up to 20/15 as the swelling goes down. Hooray!

And now, on to the gratuitous cute Halloween kid photos. :) Maren made a darling little mermaid! She was so excited to put on her costume and asked all day if it was time to go Trick or Treating yet. We practiced all morning and she was a pro by the time it got dark. We had only intended to go to our neighbors' houses, but she took to it like a duck to water (or should it be a mermaid to water?) and soon we were running to catch up with her!
She had SO much fun, and we had even more fun watching her. Daddy took the video camera so we could catch all of the cuteness in action. She is just a doll anyway, but put her in a cute costume and teach her to say (in her cute little chirpy two-year-old voice), "Thank you! Happy Halloween" and I don't care who you are, if that doesn't make you melt then you have no heart. Then when we came home, she had as just much fun handing out candy to the kids who came to our door. Halloween--the best night of the year to be a kid. :)


And to end, an appropriate Friday Fiver:
1. Did you celebrate Halloween? Silly question! ;)

2. Do you like to dress in costume? Love it! I dressed up for our party but didn't dress up in costume to go ToT with Maren. I did wear a Halloween shirt that day, though.

3. Favorite chocolate? Neuhaus (fancy schmancy hard-to-find Belgian chocolate) but the past two days it's been anything I can swipe from Maren's ToT bag.

4. Best scary movie? "The Changeling"

5. Friday fill-in: ____ scares me. You want the truth? The thought of having another baby anytime soon scares me! I don't know how I'd deal with a newborn and Maren. yikes.

The Spookiest Day of the Year

Hooray for Halloween! I woke up this morning all giddy with excitement--you'd think I was 9 years old or something. :) I watched the costumes on The Today Show--those were great! Only saw the first two sets of costumes on Regis & Kelly, so I'm off to look up the rest. I completely forgot to watch Martha--I can't believe it! D'oh. I was totally looking forward to it so I hope I can watch the streaming video on her website later. Darn.

I'm wearing my cool orange shirt from Target with the big black crow on the front. Wish it was white instead of orange, but for $5 I was willing to wear orange for one day. Miss Maren is wearing her cute glittery pumpkin shirt and stripey pants and has already pulled the black & orange ribbon out of her hair--big surprise. We made pumpkin-shaped pancakes this morning and I tried to put chocolate chip faces on them but ended up with a mess. We compromised by just eating the chocolate on the side. :) You can eat chocolate for breakfast on a holiday, right?

This will be Maren's first year for Trick-or-Treating and she's been practicing all morning. It didn't take her long to get the hang of it--candy is a BIG motivator for her. :) We'll just take her to our friends' houses up the block, more so we can show her off than anything! She's got a cute mermaid costume to wear and hopefully it won't be so darn cold that she'll have to wear a parka and ruin the whole effect. I made her a pair of seashell hairclips and just whipped up a matching bag for her to tote her treats. When she wakes from her nap I'll get her all dressed up and attempt the usually-fruitless task of trying to get her to sit still so that I can get a decent photo or two to send to the grandmas. Wish me luck!

In the mean time, I'm working on projects for Silver Bella and listening to some of my version of Halloween music. Here's one of my faves:

The Monster Mash

This weekend we held our 2nd Annual Halloween Bash. The 1st Annual party was actually in 2005 (we skipped last year) but we really do hope to make it a yearly event. The first time we held the party, we invited whole families. All of our friends have at least 2 kids, so you can probably imagine the chaos! We did a pinata and donut-on-a-string to keep them busy while the parents visited and we all ate. It was fun, but it was a ton of work, the kids were kind of wild and the house was trashed when it was all over. We vowed then and there that the next party we did would be adults only!

And so it was--a grown-up party and I have to say that I think we all appreciated being able to visit and have fun without having to keep an eye on the kiddos or worry that they were spilling punch on the carpet. I very nearly canceled the whole thing when I found out that DH would possibly not be there, as he'd be working at the World Series game that night. I contemplated doing it by myself anyway, but in the end he was able to be there and it's a good thing--no way could I have done all that on my own!

We used a Mad Scientist theme for the party, both for the invitations and the decor. DH was able to borrow some lab items from work and set up a bubbling, steaming "experiment" in the living room--something we probably couldn't have done if there had been kiddos with curious fingers in attendance. On the table you can also see a collection of bottles I filled with various strange-looking spices (from the dollar store). I had hoped to make labels for all of the jars with spooky ingredient names but I just ran out of time. Maybe next year!

For food we had various appetizers, like spinach-artichoke dip and guacamole. I made the brain cupcakes from my previous post, and they were a hit! They were really quite easy and they looked great. I used both homemade buttercream and canned frosting and I found that the canned frosting gave me better results because of the consistency. I frosted the cupcakes first before piping on the squiggles so that the cake wouldn't show through--just in case any of you want to make them someday.

I also made a favorite recipe from our 2005 party: Sweet and Spicy Spider Eggs. These were also a hit--we didn't have any left over! The recipe calls for heating the sauce in a skillet, but I just mix it together and dump it all into a slow cooker with the frozen meatballs. The recipe says it makes 48 but I had plenty of sauce for the entire bag of 80 meatballs.

We asked our guests to come in costume and almost everyone obliged. There were some really funny, clever costumes! One lady was a tornado--she dressed in black pants and a black sweater. She used black thread to sew through the sweater and left 4-5 inch lengths hanging out the front, which she tied to toy farm animals, fence pieces and tractors. When she stood up, she spun around and all of the toys flew out on the ends of the threads--it was hilarious! :) We also had a guy come as this kid. Here is a photo of DH and I all dressed up; he was Dog the Bounty Hunter and I was June Cleaver. I had really hoped to find one of those cleaver things on a headband but I looked at several stores with no luck. I would like to have been a Mad Scientist to go with our theme but I just didn't have time to look for a lab coat. I also considered dressing as Beth Chapman (Dog's buxom blonde wife) but couldn't figure out how to suitably stuff my bra. :)

One last recipe: I wanted a green punch to serve in my big cauldron and found this "Green Grog" recipe. It was really yummy and it looked great with dry ice making it bubble and steam. If you omit the bottle of rum (like we did) you'll want to have another bottle of soda on hand or you'll run out of liquid too soon.

I think all of our guests had fun, it was a manageable amount of work for us, and we hope to do it again next year!

Brains....braaaaains!

Thank you all SO much for your advice on the blue jeans! I went through all of your helpful comments and wrote everything down, so now I have a great long list that I can refer to when I go shopping. Next time I can steal away sans toddler, look out--I'm a woman on a mission! Several of the stores on the list I never would have even thought of for jeans--Eddie Bauer, White House/Black Market, Coldwater Creek--so thanks for mentioning them. I'm on the hunt and I will leave no stone..er..pants..unturned! One other thing--Sam mentioned a website called Zafu.com where you can answer 8 questions and then it brings up a huge list of jeans that might fit you. It's really neat, and it also does Plus size jeans and Bras (they're currently doing research on pants). Head over there and see what they have to say!

Lots going on around here. We're hosting a Halloween party tomorrow night so I'm running around like crazy trying to round up food, decorations and costumes. We're doing a mad scientist theme and among other things, I'll be making these delightfully disgusting cupcakes. I hope they won't be so disturbingly realistic that people won't eat them! They kinda give me the heebie-jeebies, but I think they'll be perfect if I can get the frosting consistency just right! Can't decide if I'm going to give them a cream filling or leave them plain. Maybe a red jelly filling? Ack, now I've really grossed myself out.

I mentioned a few posts ago that I found a fabulous vintage dress at the thrift, but had to have it tailored. I was finally able to pick it up this week and I have to show it to you! (Click on it to enlarge) It is a gray wool sheath and the armholes and neck are completely lined with iridescent beads and rhinestones--the older kind that have to be sewn on individually by hand. It's quite ornate and nicely done, although I couldn't find a tag inside so I don't know if it's store-bought or homemade. When I bought it, the arms and bust and neck fit perfectly but it was too big around the middle, so I had the tailor take it in and put some darts in the front and back, and now it fits great! The dress itself was $5.99 and the alterations were $45, which is a little more than I had hoped it would be, but I still think it was worth it! In the photo I'm wearing a black long sleeved t-shirt but I think I'm going to take that back and try a mock turtleneck instead. I also have some fun black tights to wear but I couldn't be bothered to squeeze into those just for a quick blog photo. :) I love it, and I can't wait to wear it!

And last, a Friday Fiver:
1. What makes you feel exposed?
Looking at photos of myself, thus seeing myself as others see me. I swear I'm cuter in the mirror than in photographs.

2. What do you have to force yourself to do?
Clean the bathrooms, and get a babysitter for Maren. I have the hardest time getting her a sitter, I feel like I'm imposing on people.

3. Where do you like to spend your time outdoors?
The beach! On a boat in the middle of a lake with my family. Geocaching with DH.

4. What surprises you?
How quickly Maren picks up new words and concepts. We can say something once and she'll be repeating it in no time. Better watch what we say from now on, huh?

5. Friday fill-in: Late at night I'm ____.
First, let's define Late. Anymore, late for me is about 10:30 p.m.--not the same as when I was in college and late was into the a.m. hours! Late at night I'm usually getting my second wind. I'm not nearly the night owl I used to be but I still find myself getting really productive starting at around 9:00 p.m., just in time for DH to want to go to bed (he gets up at 5:30 a.m.)

Another reason why bloggers are the best + The Eternal Quest

In the same vein as yesterday's post, I give you yet another reason why bloggers are just some of the best people out there. Several posts back I mentioned that I was looking for one of those vintage sequined felt tree skirts to put under my aluminum Christmas tree this year. The Vintage Hunter herself commented that she had one that I was welcome to have! I received her package this week and not only was there one funky vintage tree skirt, but TWO! And she also included a vintage hankie and a whole pile of fab old scrap Santas and Christmas labels and cards. It is all tied up in twill tape and adorned with poinsettias, a darling stamped tag and a safety pin with a vintage glass bead. I haven't taken it apart yet because it's just so pretty. :) So there you have it, folks, reason #874 why Bloggers are the Best.

Last night I left the Li'l Monster at home with her Daddy and embarked on a Quest...a Quest of mythic proportions, a Quest which I have been on for a good three years now, a Quest which has led to frustration, heartache, and the swearing off of all foods other than celery and sugar-free Jello. The Quest of which I speak: Shopping for blue jeans.

Seriously, why is it so darn difficult for me to find a pair of jeans that don't 1) expose all my bidness when I bend over and 2) make my fanny look a mile wide. What is the deal? I must have tried on a dozen and a half pairs of jeans last night between Ann Taylor LOFT, Old Navy and Talbot's but not one single pair came even close to fitting correctly. I had this same problem last fall and that is why I'm still wearing the jeans I bought back in 2005, but they are now too short and generally looking shabby. I can't wear them for another year, so this year my Quest has taken on more urgency than before.

I appeal to you, dear blog friends--where can I go to find good jeans? In addition to the stores I went to last night, I know that I don't care for Gap jeans, but other than that I don't know where to look. I'm not looking for anything crazy--mid-rise, dark wash, flare or boot-cut (no skinny straight jeans for these thighs), under $100 a pair. Sounds easy, right? Help!

In praise of blogs and bloggers

Oh my poor, neglected little blog, how I've missed you! I know I said I would be posting on Thursday but obviously, it didn't happen, as my weekend got in the way. The weekend--well, it was physically and mentally exhausting and very stressful. It was a combination of things which taken alone wouldn't be such a big deal, but crammed all on top of each other into a 48-hour period resulted in a Perfect Storm-type situation that left me longing for Monday afternoon, when I knew I could take a long nap. And nap I did--one of those coma-type naps that take a while to shake off; I felt like I was moving in Jello for a good hour afterwards. I'm feeling much better now and I'm ready to get back to normal life and normal blogging again!

I'm long overdue in mentioning that sweet Shara thinks I rock! Shara and I first became acquainted on the Yardsalequeen.com message boards. Not long after that, Shara started her own blog and we became fast friends. She is one of the sweetest, most thoughtful and generous souls it has been my pleasure to come into contact with and I just adore her.

I started this blog almost 2 years ago and have been just blown away by the number of wonderful people I've 'met' in the blogosphere. Finding people who not only like the same things I do, but who have also become my friends has been a huge blessing for me and has really filled a need in my life. Man, I love you guys. :) Thank you for offering your suggestions when Maren wouldn't sleep, for listening to me crow about my latest yard sale finds, for answering my questions, and for providing a much more interesting alternative to housework with your own great blogs. :)

Here are some bloggers who also rock:
**Kimberly Ann at Nostalgic Homemaking. I really like her writing style and the interesting topics she posts about.
**Brenda at Brenda's Little Cottage. I just recently found her blog and we like a lot of the same things. Right now she's redoing a dark china cabinet by lining the back with pretty scrapbook paper--how clever!
**Candice Carpenter. If I could instantly adopt any style, it would be hers. Candice is a paper artist and I absolutely love what she does. She's going to Silver Bella and I can't wait to meet her! I feel like such a groupie.

Speaking of my friend Shara, I received the sweetest Halloween package from her last week. Shara puts together the most amazing packages of treats and her ability to pack a Flat Rate Priority box is unrivaled. :) Many of the contents of the package had a black cat theme--a sparkly mask, a vintage Gurley candle, a cute handmade cat trick or treat bag, and the most adorable glittery black cat treat cone that Shara made! There were other fun things--honeycomb pumpkin decorations, an old MSL, candy, a yummy pumpkin clove candle, and even treats for Miss Maren. I love that now my Halloween decor includes wonderful things sent by dear friends (Shara and Rebecca) so when I look at my decorations, I'm reminded of them and how lucky I am to have met such wonderful people through blogs! Blogs, how I love thee. :)

Hello again

My goodness, I didn't realize it had been almost a week since my last blog post! No wonder my mom was worried about me. :) Do you ever have things to post, but just feel lazy about it? That has been me for the past few days.

I received a fabulous, out-of-the-blue Halloween package from my friend, Miss Thrifty Goodness herself! Rebecca knows that I adore Halloween so she sent some wonderful goodies to help me celebrate! She included the cutest woolly bat, one of her darling handmade paper rosette pins, two of the cute 'crackers' that she blogged about today, sparkly little spider candle holders, a neat enamel sign, a Glitterville ornament, and the most adorable little cupcake picks and paper umbrellas! Her package was a surprise and it was such a treat! Rebecca was one of the very first bloggers that I ever connected with and is one of the most generous, creative people I know! Thanks again, Rebecca! :)

I did a bit of thrifting on Saturday morning and found some neat stuff! I decided to look through what the thrift store deemed "Halloween costumes" and actually found some really great clothing items. I don't normally look at clothing in the thrifts because I just don't have the time when I'm shopping with Maren, but this particular morning I was alone so I was able to take my time and try things on. I ended up with this Pendleton wool plaid cape for $5.99. I'm not sure it is particularly old--it has a "Dry Clean Only" tag attached--but I thought it was neat and you can't beat Pendleton for quality and classic styling. I was tickled to open up my November Country Home magazine the other day and find a feature on plaid! How au courant. :)

I also bought a great vintage dress that is currently at the tailor being fitted so I can wear it. I'll show a photo when I pick it up next week. It's a gray wool sheath and around the armholes and the neckline and down the front it is lined in sparkly rhinestones and iridescent beads. It's really very pretty and very unusual, and for $5.99 I couldn't pass it up! I hope the tailoring goes well because I think it has really great potential.

The last thing is a length of vintage fabric with a border of the sweetest little pink cherubs. I have no idea what to do with it, but it leapt in my cart and I brought it home. I am curious as to what it is intended to be made into--the fabric width is rather narrow, so it seems unlikely that it would have been for a baby blanket. It is thin, smooth cotton--reminds me of sheeting, actually. Any ideas?

Somebody thinks I rock! :) More about that tomorrow!