Southern snow day

I am linking up with Kathy at Creative Home Expressions for the weekend snow pictures. We woke Saturday morning here in Virginia to 10 inches of snow.  You must keep in mind I lived in Florida until 13 months ago. This whole snow business is very foreign to me. I never would have thought the whole city would shut down for two days and someone please tell me how you are suppose to drive in this. Because of you snow we had to cancel our holiday party.  I have to admit it is pretty to look at and the grandchildren had a ball sledding in the snow.  A couple of days of snow is fine but now I am over it and need to get my Christmas shopping done.

The last of the decorations

I thought I would post a few more decorations since it is only four more days to Christmas. Enjoy!

The best gifts are free

The best gifts sometimes are the ones that cost nothing.  The joy in a child's face, a thank you when least expected,  really being a friend & loving unconditionally are just a few things that cost nothing but can truly impact someones life. This season take the time to speak to people you do not know, appreciate the small things people do for you, don't judge and practice tolerance.

Here are a couple of gifts that cost nothing but I wouldn't trade them for all the jewels in the world.






Snowman given to me by my six year old granddaughter.











Watching my granddaughters Christmas play. Isn't she the cutest sugar cookie ever?







Watching children playing in the snow.



One of the best Gifts you can give anyone is your TIME.  Take the time this season to enjoy the small things life offers.  I wish you the happiest of Holidays!

Table set for a party!

There are so many great holiday parties going on in blogland.  I am joining Hooked on houses, The Nester , Thrifty decor chick , Funky junk interiors and The inspired room  for their parties. You will also find me linked to Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursdays.








The dining room is set for dinner for four.







First I started with silver charges from Target. I then added my white dishes from Chris

Maddens collection found at JC Penneys. I was lucky to find 8 place settings of the vintage

transferware at an antique shop.  The silver trees, mirrors, candles and balls are all from Dollar Tree

and I found the candle holders at a local junk shop.







We are expecting approximately 30 guests for a Holiday Open House this Sunday. 

I have the table set in the Morning room for the party. Now I just need to

add food and beverages.























When I began preparing for the party I realized I did not have enough serving

trays. I first went to a couple of the discount stores looking for trays that would

fit the silver theme and not break the bank. I came up with nothing but plastic

trays that just would not do for this party. I decided to stop by a couple of thrift

stores and what did I find but several heavy silverplated trays. Perfect!  The three

plastic trays would have cost me $10.00 and thrift store finds cost me less than

$6.00 and they look great on the table.

Open for Christmas

Tonight I am joining The Nesting Place and Hooked On Houses for the Christmas Tour . Enjoy and please take a look at all the great Christmas decor at these blogs.



The mantle decorated with dried hydrangeas, faux garland, berries,christmas balls and ribbon.



 







Our tree with ornaments collected for many years.






































Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have enjoyed  the tour. Check back soon for more decorations.

Winter wonderland cloche

Today I am joining Marty's Cloche Party at  A Sroll Thru Life .   Please check out all the great cloche ideas on her blog.



















The cloche was originally part of a candle stand and  the glass sat inside an iron stand.  I turned it upside down, glued the little bird to the top and added the baby rose swag that was left from a previous project.  The chandelier is a Chistmas ornament and glued into the top.  I know it is hard to tell in these pictures that the piece in the bottom is a birdcage ornament. I was going for the look that the little bird had escaped from the snow and his birdcage. Thanks for looking and I would love for you to leave comments.

Thx, Sherry

Ballard Knock-off

I am joining Happy to design  for Sunday Favorites which is a chance to re-run your favorite post. I chose the Ballard Knock-off post because it seemed to be my readers favorite. This post received twice the comments of any others.

The first two photos below are of a print in Ballard's catalog which sells for $349.00 plus $100.00 in shipping cost.  I knew I could replicate the look for a lot less.











First I searched the free sites for a antique style document I could download. I could not find exactly what I was looking for.  I then found this copy of a french birth certificate dated 1816 at http://www.digitalcollagesheets.com/ and purchased the digital image for my project.

My local copy shop was able to enlarge the print to poster size, approximately 24 x 36. Make sure the printer quotes you a price for a poster rather than an enlargement. The enlargement is normally significantly more expensive. I selected a matt finish since I wanted the print to look antique. Lowes had the perfect board in their scrape pile and they cut it to size for free.  I had the board cut 1.5 inches longer and wider than the actual poster.

I then stained just the edges of the board and burned the edges of the poster with a match. Yes, I am doing this on my kitchen counter. It was a really cold and rainy day and I wanted this project done now.  We just won't tell Hubby I started a fire in our new kitchen 



I applied Mod Podge to the board and the back of the print and then used a credit card to smooth out the wrinkles. Once dry I applied a coat of Mod Podge to the front of the print and added two hangers. Here is the finished product and a cost breakdown.





















My cost break down for Ballard style print:

Digital download   $ 3.75
Enlargement          $12.00
Board                   $12.00
                             ______
Total cost             $27.75

I had the stain and Mod Podge left from another project .          

I love the results and it was a really easy project!  Thanks for looking and I hope this has inspired you to try
your own knock off.

Sherry