the cottage's open house

Just wanted to remind all local readers that this weekend is the cottage's open house! It's sure to be a fabulous time. Ann and Linda are busy festooning the place for the big unveiling on Friday morning. And you should hear some of the fabulous finds they have waiting for you to discover! I mean, really!

Pictures, I promise.

happy halloween

Happy Halloween, my friends! I hope you have a day full of treats and just enough tricks to make it fun.

Rich is planning a little Halloween fun to go with doling out of tricks & treats tonight. It involves him making a dash this afternoon to pick up some dry ice. Curious?

I'd better get cracking...I have a list of things to do about a mile long. I think another cup of coffee is in order.

a sweet holiday...

Isn't this the sweetest gingerbread house ever? The best part is that it comes pre-assembled! I just added it (and a few other new things) to the holiday section...click here to see.

happy birthday!

Today is both of my parents' birthday! Will you help me wish them Happy Birthday?

It was on their first date, a double date, that they discovered they shared a birthday. As the story goes, they were parked in front of my mother's house at the end of the date. The other part of the double date was in the front seat. As my mother tells it, my father and she were in the backseat drawing pictures on the steamed up windows. There has never really been a satisfactory explanation, in my opinion, for how the steam appeared but my mother insists it was very innocent. So, as they were drawing such things as JK + MG on the steamy windows of the backseat of the car, my mother casually asks my father about his birthday. When he tells her, she doesn't believe him. She thinks he's found out from someone else when her birthday is and declares it his as well.

As it turns out, it is indeed his birthday. And hers. And, to top it all off, my father's mother's too!

The evening ended abruptly with my mother's parents tapping on the car window insisting that she come into the house at once. How very inappropriate...distasteful...unbecoming to be parked right in front of the house, making steamy windows in a car with a boy she just met!

Happy birthday, Momma and Daddy! Hope your day is full of surprises (and maybe some steamy windows too?!)

ta-dah...

The secret's out...introducing My Muu-Muu... a line of super comfy and fun pajamas/playclothes!

Do you remember coming home from school, throwing off your good clothes as fast as you could so you could get into your playclothes and really have some fun? My friend Cindy designed and created these especially for you. The muu-muu pants are handmade from 100% cotton fabric and are layered with over-the-top details like ruffles and buttons to make these too much fun to wear. The tee-shirt tops are accented with super cute appliqued and/or embroidered designs.

There are 5 designs: Tea for Two, Bumbershoots, Cupcake, I'm in the Garden, and Sunnyside Up. These are making their debut at Silver Bella. They will sell for $68 per pair and come in sizes Small through Large.

7 random things

I've been tagged! My friend Pam would like for me to share 7 random things about myself. Here goes nothin'...

1. I talk to my mother on the phone every single day. We talk about anything, everything, and nothing. Sometimes the call lasts for 5 minutes. Sometimes the call lasts an hour and 5 minutes. If I initiate the call, I must also be the one to say goodbye. I sometimes forget this rule (her rule) and we talk even longer because she'll never say "Well, I'll talk to you later" or "I have lots to do...I'd better get started" unless she called me.

2. I like to be surprised but I also really like to figure things out. If you really want to surprise me, then don't even let on that there is to be a surprise. I will find it and then I'll wish I hadn't.

3. I drive like a little old lady.

4. When I was little, I was known as the one who could find things. I had a keen memory for where I last saw the scissors or hammer or an odd sock. If something went missing, they'd ask me. I'd think for just a minute and then run to find it. The same thing might happen now but it's because I never put things back in their proper place...Rich always does...so if something's out of place, it is nearly always my fault. Sometimes it is the house fairies'.

5. I like to order a coca-cola with a cherry in it. Try it next time you're at a restaurant with a bar. I've never had anyone say they couldn't do it and nobody has ever charged me extra.

6. I took my friend Lorraine to Neiman Marcus cafe this week just so I could have some of that monkey bread and pink butter. If you haven't tried this treat, you really must. Next time you're near a NM with a cafe, just pop in for a pot of tea. They will give you the roll and pink butter regardless of what you order.

7. I ate one of those crab apples yesterday and it indeed took me back 30 years. I closed my eyes and pretended to be back there, my hair in twin braids, happy and free. A time machine disguised as an apple...imagine that.

button trees

I just finished making these for my little room at the cottage for next week's open house.

On to the next thing...

glitter glitter everywhere...

This morning I rambled off a list of things to Rich as he ate his corn flakes. It was a list of things I wanted to work on today for, you guessed it, Silver Bella. And also for my little room at the cottage for the holiday open house next week.

As he was leaving for work he called back over his shoulder "Don't try to make everything in the whole world, okay?"

pink tree love

I just had a fabulous lunch with my fabulous friend Lorraine. I love spending time with her! She makes me want to use words like fabulous.

I'm so loving the pink tree that's appearing on the cover of the holiday issue of Blueprint...oh, it's so, well, fabulous! And pretty.

apples

It's drizzling outside, which sounds like a sweet lullaby after months of drought.

Yesterday afternoon at the grocery store, I spied these little crab apples. They were really too expensive but somehow they hopped into my cart anyway.

They remind me of the apples that grew on the tree at the bottom of the hill of my childhood world. We climbed that tree and swung from ropes. We ate the sour apples all day long, throwing the half eaten cores to the ground below.

If I stretch my mind even further back to my earlier childhood, I'll remember there was another apple tree in our backyard. It grew "wine apples". We were sure that meant they had wine in them, and we treated them like the forbidden fruit (meaning we gobbled them up sneakily). My grandfather used to lean against the back gate with his pocket knife and one of those apples, sweet and mealy, and slice off bits. If you were lucky, there'd be a slice for you.

I thought of all these apple memories as I considered these little bitties. I guess I decided that it was a small price to pay for a trip back to that apple tree. I wonder if they'll taste the same. And, if they do, what long forgotten things will dance back into my curly head.

another s.p.

{s.p.=sneak peek}

Remember that sneak peek of the fabric I showed you a few weeks ago? Well, my friend Cindy is on the home stretch. When they arrive, I'll spill all the beans. But for now, here's your little sneak peek.

I bet you can guess...

new jewelry...

I just added a whole new wonderful line of jewelry to the site...find it here.

heads up!

This delicious jewelry (don't you love it???) is being added to the site this very moment...It's so good that I just couldn't save it for Silver Bella...these jewels are for you, my dearies. If you don't buy it up, I have half a mind to keep it all for myself.

Check this page for the update...

yes indeed!

We had a great time shopping and hanging out yesterday. I bought two pairs of Lucky Jeans. One pair is just like the ones I wear everyday (but with a leopard print inner waistband). I also bought these. Don't you love that floral print in the waistband? And the little label on the back is embossed velvet. Oh, I love such things!


I also bought these shoes! They are a very lovely shade of red that I can definitely pull off as a neutral. And they will look just as great with jeans as they will a cute skirt. I think these will be my go-to pair for the fall! They are by Clarks so they are super comfortable. I demonstrated this to Rich last night by running a lap around the kitchen. :)





We spotted this fabulous scarf with cupcake and candy buttons...you know I loved it. But it was $95. Yikes. Santa Baby?

lucky

Okay, so here's the thing. Last winter my friend needed a pair of sexy jeans. We waltzed into the store together and I declared to the pretty young boy working there "My friend needs a pair of sexy jeans".

He got busy sizing her up (quite literally) and presented her with a few options. Meanwhile, just for the heck of it, I tried on a couple of pairs. My friend did not buy any. But I did.

Fast forward to present day, to me wearing this same pair of jeans nearly every blasted day because I love them so much. And to my friend saying "Amy, we need to get you a new pair...you're wearing these out!"

So today I am meeting my friend for some shopping, including jean replacement therapy. And I will be on the lookout for something cute to wear to Silver Bella. You know, every other word that comes out of my mouth these days is Silver Bella. Can you tell I'm excited??!

rose petal cottage

Hello? Have you seen the commercial for the Rose Petal Cottage by Playskool? Where was this 30 years ago?

So here's the thing...as I watched the video for it, especially the step by step video of how to put it together, on the site (oh yeah, I don't have about a billion better things to do) I realized that something like this could be made at home. You could build a framework using pvc 1/2 pipes and fittings (I'm not sure there's a fitting that would allow for the pitched roof though) Maybe I'm totally nuts but I think make the fabric walls, complete with details like pictures hanging, windows with curtains, and window boxes. Maybe I inhaled too much glitter dust because typing this out I can see that this would be anything but easy. But it does seem like fun. You can gimme that, can't ya?

***
edited later to add: I had no idea that this twee little cottage was smack dab in the middle of an embroiled discussion. I admit the commercial says crazy things implying that a little girls dreams can come true when she's washing the laundry. Uh, that has not been my experience. Making cupcakes, maybe. Making stuff, definitely. But never, not once, while setting the dial to heavy load. And, incidently, not while sweeping or hoovering either. As much as I love the pink cottage for all the reasons you'd expect me to, I do wish they'd included a bookshelf, a computer, and a lawnmower.

sugared sign

What was I thinking, not glittering my sign? Thanks to Deb for bringing me to my senses. Much better, indeed.

Today I'm working on how I'll set everything up...I'm very pleased with how it's all looking and I'm feeling fairly confident that I'll be able to set it up rather quickly.

chapel of love

Here's another sneak peek at the houses I'm making for Silver Bella. I really love this pink and green little chapel and I love the dear groom waiting for his bride. I used silver glitter for the lawn...it'll look especially lovely when it starts to tarnish a bit.

Tonight is the night when Rich has control of the remote and he watches a series of shows that I have zero interest in. Well, it's more than that...watching these shows makes me incredibly tense and stressed. So I think after dinner, when primetime starts, I'll retreat to my studio and continue with my glittering fun.

Or maybe I'll just get lost in a stack of magazines or a good book.

Hope you had a pleasant Monday. I loved my blog journey today, finding so many bloggers with ideas for taking care of our environment.

pumpkin patch

We went today with our niece and nephew, Kylie and Keyton, to the pumpkin patch. You wouldn't believe how fabulous this place is! 5 giant slides! A hayride that goes on forever! Lots of animals, including a freaky goat with 4 horns!



Kylie had the best time of all of us. She loves the slides most of all.



Here's Rich with easygoing Baby Keaton.
Here's Kylie on her pony ride.





Even though she's nearly out of the picture, I still like this photograph.

Look at this bit of surreality. It's about 20 feet in the air and it looks just as surreal in person.

Oh, and here's that aforementioned 4-horned goat!

If you live in the DC metro area, you've got to take every little one you know here too!

a sneaky peeky

Lately when a friend calls and says "Hey, Amy, whatchadoin?" my answer has been a steady "making houses". I really should say "I'm playing" because that's what it feels like. I love making these houses so much.

My father used to set up a village scene every year under the Christmas tree. We'd go to bed as he was hammering at the plyboard platform he remade every year, with the smell of spray paint and reindeer moss in the air.

And we'd awake the next day to a magical little town, complete with a working railroad and a train that whirled around "chuga chuga chuga choo choo!" disappearing in a tunnel only to reappear on the other side. Did a burst of steam really puff out of it? Did I imagine that?

He set up roads with cars and ponds with skaters. And dotted along the imaginary neighborhoods were people going about their imaginary business, frozen in place. Or was it? The real magic of it was that the whole town came to life. The newspaper boy threw the paper into the bushes. The children laughed and played stick ball. The cows gently mooed and the horses galloped in circles.

I would sit and watch this sweet little town with its sparkly stars courtesy of the Christmas tree above. I longed to play with it. "Look with your eyes, not your hands" was the strict rule. Punctuate that rule with the fact that the railroad sometimes let out an electrical shock and, well, I don't think I ever did touch it.

This is one reason why I do love making these houses so very much. The 8 year old Amy comes alive in me and plays with a magical neighborhood. When the tiny little man tips his hat hello, she smiles and curtseys back. She tells him how lovely his gumdrop tree is looking. And when she sees the newlyweds sitting on their front steps ankledeep in fresh fallen snow, she smiles too at the sweetness of it all.



These houses and dozens more are for SilverBella.

a sign

I made this sign yesterday afternoon to hang from the top of my display at Silver Bella. A week earlier I was explaining this technique to my friend Becky and I thought I'd share it here as well.

I used a very large plaque from Michael's...from the unfinished wood section. It was $14 but I used my 40% off coupon. I painted it with gesso tinted with a small bit of dark pink acrylic. I designed the sign with the fonts I liked and printed it out (since the sign was so large, I printed the design to two sheets which I lined up and taped together.)

I made a sort of graphite sheet by covering the back of the design's paper with a crosshatching of pencil marks. Graphite paper works great but I just didn't have any handy.

Next I taped the design sheet with pencil on back to the board and traced the design, making sure to get every bit. I use a colored pen to do this so I can better see where I've been and where I haven't.

When I lifted up the paper, the design was left in pencil on the board. I filled in the letters with paint and accented with white paint. I sealed it with a gloss coat.

Voila!

five and dime wanderlust

I found these old photos of store displays on the Internet last night. Tell me, don't you crave to see them in color? And wouldn't you love to walk into Woolworth's of yesterday and shop at those prices, all of those wonderful buttons and notions and other delights? I do think if I had a time machine, that's what I'd do. I would transport myself to a Woolworth of yesterday.



I found these images here.

put it on my tab

If you are going to Silver Bella and would like to set aside some cash to spend at my space for Vendor Night, I've set up a page on the site for you. Just click here and choose between denominations of $25, $50, and $100. This way, you won't have to burn all your cash and, best of all, you can use your Paypal funny money or credit card!

Funds are only good toward purchases made at the Inspire Co. booth. While this money is not refundable, it can be used at www.inspireco.com after the event. Likewise, if you reserve more than you actually spend, the remainder can be used at www.inspireco.com after the event.

You will be given a code when you place this order online. Be sure to print this code out and present it at Silver Bella as proof of the reserved funds.

the stage is set...

Well, what do you think? I worked today on the stage display that I'll use for Silver Bella to showcase my glittery houses.

I am going to figure out how to make the bottom part...maybe I'll just use boxes and drape fabric over them. I want to make sure I have lots of different heights.

I was thinking as I put it together and made the backdrop and curtain that this would make a fabulous puppet show stage! It didn't take very long to make and was pretty cheap too. The pipes and fittings were about $10 and the fabric was $20.

the candy charm

Pretty soon, we'll all be under the candy charm. There's just something about a big back full of candy collected from door to door. Oh, and there's also something about a big bowlful of candy waiting to be doled out.

If the excitement of the day is mounting for you, do I have just the thing to help you celebrate...

Halloween charm bracelets!










Click here to shop for them in the store.

a plan

Okay, I still haven't showered. Instead I've been working on an idea for the Silver Bella display.

One of the limits that I need to consider when I'm thinking of ideas is size. Since I'll either be carrying it with me on the plane or shipping it, size does matter.

So, I had an idea to use pvc piping to create a framework for a kind of stage.
Then I'll add a backdrop of clouds, a grassy bottom made hilly and maybe even glittery, and a curtain to, as they say, set the stage. Just imagine how sweet the village will look in here, set among a forest of lollipops and candy canes and cupcakes! Oh, I'm getting so excited!

At first I'd thought about making the whole thing only a few feet wide but now I'm thinking of making it the entire length of the table. And I'll definitely need to set it all up, with village inside it, here at home. I'll snap a photo so I'll have it all ready to set up just before vendor night. I won't have but a couple of hours to set up (not too long when your fingers all turn the thumbs and the room spins and your magic wand isn't working right)

Rich has agreed to help me make this. I don't think it will take very long, but then again, I never do. Maybe we can work on this project on Columbus Day. Maybe if I say "pretty please".

♥

Boy oh boy, do I ever love this new show. Did you catch it? I loved the supersaturated colors and the silliness of it. It was, as Rich said, a bit on the corny side. But I ate it all up and asked for seconds. Yummideyumyum. More please.

I have just about a million things to do today. I need to work on my sugary village (which is coming along quite nicely...some of the best houses I've ever made, I must say!) And I have an idea that I need to flesh out for how to display them at Silver Bella. Plus, I need to pay bills and go to the bank (in reverse order actually)

Also I need to make a trip to the Cottage. Did you know they are having a whopper of a sale this weekend? Yessiree bob. I need to tidy up my room and post a little sign saying everything in my room is 20% off.

I'd better get cracking. Shower first. Then I need to make a quick trip to Michael's and it's to work on the houses. Truth be told, there's nothing I love better than making these houses.

Oh, and guess what, my little pretties?! Halloween Charm Bracelets by Melissa are probably coming in TODAY. How fun is that?! I know a bunch of you have emailed me asking when more will come in. If they come today, I'm hoping I'll get a chance to put them up by tonight. Otherwise, look for them tomorrow.

top secret

Somewhere near Dollywood, USA Cindy is operating a one-woman sweatshop in top secret mode, working so hard on a special project for Silver Bella. It's all she can think about, that is when she's not thinking about her two new grandbebes.

It is oh so exciting and I can't wait for you to see.

Don't you just love this fabric? Does it make you curious?

I'm hoping to give you another sneak peek before Silver Bella.

Oh, and by the way, Omahans, did you know that you can come to Silver Bella Vendor night, even if you weren't lucky enough to register for the weekend? That's right! click here for details.

for halloween

Halloween is not my favorite holiday. This takes lots of people by surprise, seeing how much I love candy and childish fun. It's all the scary stuff that makes it not as much fun for me. Treats, yes, I'll take. It's the tricks that get me.

I am working on a plan for a costume...just something fun to wear to hand out the candy.

Here's what I have so far...



I got it here.

And I think I'll need these from here...



And maybe a cute vintage dress like this:



And I think I shall have to have a little bumblebee pin to go in the beehive...

the rosary

October is the month of the rosary. We're encouraged to say the rosary daily for world peace.

Click here to learn more about how to say the rosary.

Did I ever tell you that my father makes rosaries? He made these two for Rich and me. It's a way to keep his hands busy (along with whittlin'!) Send me an email (amy at inspireco dot com) if you're interested in getting one for yourself. He gives all the money directly to his church. I don't think he even takes out anything for the beads and supplies.

Anyone can say the rosary. You don't have to be Catholic. It's a very lovely meditative prayer that does bring you closer to God.

Starting tonight, probably after dinner, Rich and I will say the rosary together. We're still very new at saying the rosary so we have to have a cheat sheet nearby with the mysteries and other prayers we don't yet know by heart.

Happy October 1, everybody! I don't know where in the world September went. It was so sneaky and fast and quiet. Oh, and hot. That's what really tricked me!