Paula's 2012 Christmas House in Print!

 

Have you seen this special interest publication

 by Better Homes and Gardens?

Christmas Ideas

Well, my dear friend Paula's home, all decorated for Christmas,

 was photographed last year for this special issue.

The article is at the very back of the magazine...

because, of course, they save the best for last!

It's in the stores now!

I am looking forward to my next visit,once her decorations are up, because she always does something different...

...and she has already clued me in to a few amazing ideas

 she has cooking in her creative mind!

Just had to let you know!

:)

71 Keys and More...

While browsing through all the goodies to be found

 at Taken For Granite in Stony Creek, 

I kept picking up old skeleton keys...a few in a dish here...

...one placed just so in a basket there...

....until I spied The Mother Lode.

Paula....I whispered....LOOK!

Oh my...Oh me...Oh my.

71 old skeleton keys

How much are they? 

 How much for ALL of them?

We conferred....we negotiated....we conquered...

...then divided!

Here they are spread out on Paula's coffee table.

We were going to split them.

She gets half...I get half.

Now, how do we do this?

Paula poured two glasses of wine.

She sat down on one side of the table and picked her first key. 

I picked mine.

And so it went....

...until we each had 35 keys in our own little pile.

Paula's pile.

My pile.

And...one left over...

...a blank skeleton key.

Who gets that one?

wait and see...

This fabulous iron topiary was one of a pair that we found at Gather,

 Deanna's shop in Ivoryton.

(Pictures from this delightful shop to follow soon).

Paula purchased this one.

...and promptly proceeded to decorate it with her portion

 of the skeleton keys, some ivy and a burlap bird.

 (the little bird is from Ballards, a gift from Evi.)

That was fun.

We also came home from Taken For Granite

 with some of those vintage clock faces.

Here are the two that I chose.

What did we do with the 71st key?

Well, we were invited to dinner

 at Deanna's gorgeous Victorian home...

...and Paula tied it to the bottle of wine we brought!

Photos of Deanna's home and her wonderful shop Gather

 to follow soon. Additionally, more pics of Paula's creative vignettes and her home.

Tomorrow Dad and I start our road trip north

 so I probably won't get to post for a few days.

Stay tuned!

...and have a wonderful weekend!

:)

French Botanicals From 1929

You may have noticed this beautiful arrangement of framed French botanicals
 in a few photographs that have appeared here before.

 They belong to my girlfriend Paula

 and hang on her family room wall.

I remember when Paula first laid eyes on these beauties.

It was years ago and at the time we shared a small booth

 in an antique mall in Essex.

These gorgeous French botanicals dated 1929
 were in an elegant booth of another dealer in the mall.

Paula loves the sepia tones of these beautiful pieces of art.

 I adore the lovely old French script.

She tried to resist...

...but was no match for the charm and beauty

 of these fabulous works of art.

  

Paula fell deeply in love...

...and brought them home.

They truly bring the outside in...

...as they are displayed here on the wall of her cottage.

 Happy with her investment in these works of art....

...they have graced the walls here for the last six or eight years.

The time has come though...and
Paula has reluctantly decided that she must let them go.

This set of nine framed French botanicals is being offered for $1,800.

If you are interested in learning more about these pieces please
 contact Paula directly at brusopaula@gmail.com

SOLD !!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!


Helping my bff by getting the word out 
that she is parting with some of her treasures...
Hoping to put her in touch with a few of my blog friends
 who may be in a position to purchase these works of art
 and who may love them as much as we do!


What do you think?
Aren't they gorgeous?


Hope you have a great weekend.
Have you any interesting plans
 or is everybody still cleaning and organizing?
:)

Talented Friends Take on PB

I am sure you saw this adorable pillow at Pottery Barn

 or in their catalog this holiday season.

When I first saw it I thought...

Oh I have several children's antique stockings...

I could make my own version of this pillow!

Well of course, I never did.

Not so, with my talented friend Evi!

She too saw Pottery Barn's pillow and was inspired to create one

   using her own collection of vintage child stockings.

And our friend Paula also gained some PB inspiration...

 except she used some vintage mittens and some tiny mitten ornaments

 that she had knit and created several Christmas' past.

  Paula sewed hers to an old grain sack.

Aren't they both fabulous?

I hope that you have had a very Happy New Year celebration!

Thank you so much for all your well wishes!

We spent an afternoon at Evi's home and had an unbelievably delicious luncheon

 and the wonderful company of not only Evi and her husband Eb

but also friends Paula and Bill and

 Carol and George from Maynard Greenhouse.

I didn't get a close up photo, but Evi also made pillows

 with pom pom Christmas trees...adorable and so clever!

(See one on the loveseat?)

Evi's home was Christmas perfection!

And of course there were gifts exchanged...

ohs and ahs and and gasps of delight!

It is lovely to have such talented and creative girlfriends!

Just look at these angel wings that Evi created for her dress form!

And special thanks to fellow blogger Mary Pernula 

who sent a surprise package which included some

 sweet Christmas themed altered bottles for each of us!

Tomorrow I will share a few more photos

 of Evi's lovely home decorated for the holidays.

Happy New Year friends!

:)

Paula's Winter Wonderland

My 2 day visit with my dear friend Paula

 was everything I hoped it would be....

...full of fun, catching up and sharing, visiting girlfriends,

 shopping and Christmas cheer!

As usual,

 Paula decorated every inch of her 19th century farmhouse

 in her charming and unique style.

Come on in!

I took hundreds of pictures here and in the shops we visited...

Here are a few to start...

Paula has been collecting Evi's one of a kind dolls for years...

You will see many of her wonderful creations

 throughout Paula's home.

 Some are displayed all year long...

 and a few make an appearance each Christmas season.

I lost count on the number of decorated trees this year....11? 13?

This one sports an old clock face as a tree topper!

See the tiny doily on which Michelle Palmer

 has drawn a little winter bird?

It fit perfectly in this giant safety pin from Ballards.

The downstairs bedroom has several trees of its own...

This old English bath house locker was one that I found

 at the flea market and traded to Paula this past spring

 when we had our sale together.

It looks perfect in her bathroom

 and has its own Christmas greens and candle.

There's so much more!

So...stay tuned for more photos tomorrow

 and the next day and the next...

...and Carole's Christmas shop at Maynard Greenhouse...

...and Michele's fabulous shop...Taken For Granite...

...and Deanna's shop Gather...all decked out for the holidays...

...and Fran's wonderful shop...The Red Pepper in Chester.

Whew!

Can you stand it?

It was so fun!

:)