A Visit to Laurie's House Gig Harbor, WA

On September 29th Cindy & I headed out to start our visit with our friend Laurie.  It just happened to be Cindy's birthday & Laurie had this yummy cake for dinner after we arrived from the Seattle Airport.  Her home was decorated for Halloween & I don't think I've ever seen so many adorable/interesting pieces of ART!  Upon looking around I decided I couldn't choose a favorite...

 These stunning blown glass pumpkins were from a company called Cohn Stone Studio & if you click on the link it will take you to their site... One more beautiful than the next!!!  The colors & textures so lush!  Next fall the Art Sisters are going to plan a Field Trip & I can assure you I will be bringing a few of these beauties home to Texas!

 While at Rogers Garden (see my last post) I saw pumpkins designed by this same designer as those below but, I think Laurie's choice of display/colors were better than Rogers Gardens.  The eyes on these pumpkins are so real!

 This fellow was so cute in her living room.  And he's HUGE!!!

 The devil sits behind Laurie's hubbies desk.  Hmm I wonder if there's a message there?  LOL!  He is made from fabric & all of his face is painted.  So clever!

 The views out Laurie's windows were divine!!!! The house looks out over Puget Sound. 

 The play of the water, the sky & the trees made for such MAGIC every time I looked out! 

Below is one of the guest rooms with that stunning view in the background...

The beautiful bed & chandi that she/hubby chose/hung right out of a storybook castle!  The paint on the wall behind the bed was stunning!  This photo doesn't do it justice!!! It was a Martha Stewart paint that looked like silk fabric.  The sheen was beautiful.  Laurie said the process was tedious but, worth it indeed.  First you pint the paint on the wall  & then you have to use steel wool & DRAG it down the wet paint to achieve that texture!  A PAIN I'm sure but, so worth it as it was AMAZING!! 

Even in this beautiful room Laurie added her Halloween Art pieces!  Below is another pumpkin guy with those realistic eyes & TEAL colored Cohn Stone pumpkins!  Everything just seemed made for each room.

Below was the witch she had for the guest room.  The velvet fabric for her dress was beautiful.  And again, she was BIG & really made a statement!

In the kitchen she had some FUN felted fellows!  I want to learn to felt.  I need to find some good online classes I think.  But, again the artists out did themselves & Laurie has such a knack for decorating & pulling it all together.

LOVED this white pumpkin below!

And I fell in love with her buffet by Hooker Furniture!  I came home & told hubby I NEED THIS!!!!!

Laurie used more Cohn Stone pumpkins, leaves & gourds to do a vignette across the top of the buffet that was stunning!   Don't you LOVE the colors?  I DO!

One afternoon Laurie suggested we all go into the old Port Area of Gig Harbor & eat at a darling little Pub on the water.  By this time some of the other Art Sisters had joined us in Gig Harbor (Sandy Navarro, Joy Campbell & Vicki Orlando)& we so enjoyed the charm of the harbor, the boats & seeing some of the other houses along the water.  Sooooooo different than Texas I can assure you!  LOVE THIS AREA!

THANK YOU Laurie for a very special time in your very SPECIAL home.  I love all the beautiful touches you have added.  It is like a Show Home & we were all so lucky to see your MAGIC!  I hope you enjoyed the beginning of the tale of this visit to the northwest.  I have soooooooo much more to share.  Next post will be about the visit to the Dale Chahuly Art Glass Museum & downtown Seattle.   

Happy   Halloween!

After my trip to Morrow Bay, California (this summer) I had Halloween on the brain.  I bought a cute witch (sorry I'll share her later) a few cute canvas's & a darling little pumpkin girl named EEK!  Hubby & I love this garden shop named Garden Gallery  right down on the waterfront.

The photo above is of a witch named Minerva.  She was a cutie.  Short, fat, wearing red & purple but, she didn't come home... My witch is named Clarice.

This cutie above is my little pumpkin (EEK) girls brother.  Looking in a mirror... I thought that was a darling decorating idea!  Shows front & back for sure.

The cute little buckets were so tempting... one came home & couple of those pumpkin bowls.

When we went back south to visit our friends (Vickie & Ray Orlando) we went to Rogers Garden which is an amazing treat.  It is GARDEN STORE on steroids!!!!  The doll above was found there.  She is a cage doll & if you look closely her skirt is a cage holding a Halloween creature.

The designers used old computer parts, black lights, lab equipment & skeletons to create this display.

And you want to talk spooky??? The dolls below in the jars....

My friend Laurie Garcia has some of the pumpkins (like below) & I thought this was a clever way to display them.  The eyes on these pumpkins look soooooooooooo real.  They made shelves for their heads to sit on & then they used vintage clothes/shoes to make them look like a pumpkin family standing there.

Some of the designers found these huge ceramic/chalk busts & painted them like Day of The Dead.  Every single one of them were sold.

It was a lot of fun & just fueled the Halloween fire.  Sorry I'm so late in posting but, it's been crazy busy.  We were in California most of the summer & then we came home for 3 weeks.  Of course we just moved into our house May 24 so there are boxes galore & I can't find a thing.  But, I knew the good fairies weren't going to be unpacking the house so... off we went to escape the heat.  Once I came home for the 3 weeks there was so much stuff to catch up on with our business no unpacking took place either.  At the end of September I took off to visit with my Art Sisters up in the Washington/Oregon (Terry Brush Art Camp for a long weekend).  WHAT FUN WAS THAT!!!! So, I'll try to get my act together & start posting again on a regular basis.  We'll catch you up on the summer adventures & Art Camp.  But, for now I need to go get the candy ready for all the little spooks!  Have a fun & safe Halloween!

Happy New Year & Round Top Spring 2014!

Here’s wishing you & yours a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!
This past year I have been so blessed to have traveled to AMAZING ART EVENTS!  I have seen friends that I have met through these venues.  They are precious sisters of creativity.  Each one a joy & blessing.  I have found souls that truly SISTERS OF MY SOUL!  I hate that I am so far away from so many of them.  But, I am  blessed that I can travel back & forth to spend time with them & they are always welcome here!  This year there are plans to have 6 of us together at Round Top Antique Fair!  I am so excited to share the fun with my California Sisters (& Cindy, from here in Ft Worth).  There are 6 of us that have had this planned for almost a year now.  Can you imagine you have to have reservations that far in advance?
Have you ever wanted to go to Round Top Antique Festival?  I have been planning & putting together ideas to do a bus tour in Spring 2014.  If you are interested please email me at giftcottagehe@aol.com & title your subject line Round Top 2014.  I will see the response & then have a better idea the size of the group.  It will be amazing fun.   
My blogging friends are also a blessing beyond belief.  I have connected with beautiful friends all over the world.  Their blogs, stories, creativity, & friendship has blessed me in so many ways!  I look forward to what 2013 has in store for all of us in Blogland & the Art World.  Thank you for reaching out to make the connection wherever our paths have crossed.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!    Hugs!  Charlene

I hope all of you are having a wonderful week & are looking forward to a fabulous Easter. I haven't posted much this week because I have been busy trying to complete my 26 swap gifts for Petticoats & Parasols Art Event. They have to be shipped by April 7th & I will tell you I am in a complete PANIC over them. I had a hard time choosing what to do. And then I decided I would do candles with the image from Petticoats & Parasols. I bought the candles & brought them home so happy to have DECIDED! And then I realized the weight & thought of the cost of mailing them. AND WHAT IF THEY BROKE!!!!!!!!!!!! OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You're seeing the whole delima right? So then I returned all the candles & came up with another idea. And it is MUCH MORE LABOR INTENSIVE & I am under the gun. As always, they aren't coming out the way I wanted.... Dither Dither Dither. But, I so wanted to share the adorable image above. It is from a card I bought. I LOVE THIS IMAGE! Enjoy it & I hope you have a glorious Easter. You my friends are indeed a blessing I am thankful for EVERY DAY! I'll see you next week when the project is DONE! HUGS & HAPPY EASTER!

Happy New Year Dear Friends!

Another year is gone & can you believe that a new one is upon us? This sweet image was shared with us by Dawn (thanks sweetie) I hope you enjoy it. Last night we went to a wedding of a friends granddaughter & it was sweet to watch young love & think of all the new things ahead of them & in that reflection we all have a new year ahead of us. What will it bring? What new adventures will we have? What do you want to learn? Me, I am looking forward to new friends, travels, learning new skills in jewelry classes I have already signed up for (& am thinking of signing up for) & I want to learn to use Photoshop! I have wanted to learn to do that for a long time but, it eludes me. Also, I will be learning Quickbooks because I will begin doing the books for my husbands company. So, looks like 2010 has a lot of learning & challenges as well as fun ahead. What do you want to do in 2010? Tell us in a comment & on your blog. I can't wait to visit & find out what 2010 has in store for you! Happy New Year dear friends! Be safe!

A Wonderful Movie to see before Thanksgiving

I just finished watching the movie An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving & it was WONDERFUL!!!!!

If you have not had a chance to see this made for television version of the short story written by Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888)check out this post & then hurry to find it. As you will remember, this well renowned author of Little Women has had much said for her popular book but, I had never heard of An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving which is a heart warming story of family, survival, & LOVE. The story is rich, the cast did a wonderful job, & the costuming was very rich & romantic. For a bit of a trailer to the movie go HERE & then go get a copy (I rented mine from Block Buster) & enjoy this before Thursday. Have a wonderful weekend. Hugs~Charlene

LOVE That Red White & Blue!

Happy Labor Day to all who live in America. For those foreign friends... Happy Monday! I just love to see our flag fly. To see those stars & stripes wave in the breeze. Today is a perfect day to share this with you. The sky is a beautiful BLUE, it is warm clear day, with WHITE fluffy clouds. The grass is a beautiful GREEN & you can see that the limbs on my pecan tree are loaded. Although it is still warm here... there is a hint of change. Seems like Mother Nature knows that Labor Day signals the end of the summer season.

Here you can see the red blooms on my hibiscus flowers, all the different greens in the front flowerbed & "Old Glory" waving in the breeze.

A view from a distance.

All down the street you can see the flags lined up in front of the homes of our street.

I JUST LOVE THAT RED WHITE & BLUE! Don't you?

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all my friends. I know this is supposed to be a day celebrated for lovers. But, love takes all forms. I just wanted to say how blessed I feel for having the love of a precious husband of 38 years. Also, blessing my life is the love & support of so many friends. Some old friends of many years & others new. I am so thankful to have all of you in my life & I want to say how much I love each of you. This little beauty of a card was sent to me by my friend JoAnn. She she is such a clever gal & she made this for me. The back part of the card & the envelope was of the most beautiful gold shimmer paper (the envelope had a sweet red heart sealing the point) Then the vintage images were the next layer. On a shopping trip she found a product that is clear & gives depth to the area you cover. JoAnn used this to highlight the headband, rose & writing on the card.

Here is my lunch setting for today with JoAnn's card on the table.
JoAnn sent me this photo of the candy she made for her honey & her friends. She was so funny when she called & told me about it. She said "I made the cutest candy for you but, I don't know when I will see you (after I told her my horrible work schedule for this past week & the next 2 weeks) geeeeeeeez I'll probably end up eating it all" She & I both just howled with laughter over this thought. Here is how to make the candy so if you need a quick desert & want to look very clever give it a try. It is only melted white chocolate poured in a valentine cookie cutter. Sprinkle with red hots and then drizzle with melted semi-sweet chocolate! Or... knowing you crafty girls take this & put your own spin on it! Happy Valentine's Day

Veterans Day

Today I want to remember all the HEROS (dead & alive) that have served this country! I want to THANK EACH ONE OF THEM from the bottom of my heart for putting their country first & serving her with their life. I would hope that each of us feel this same way no matter what our view is of this war or any other. These brave young men & women have stepped up for us. We must thank them & their families for the bravery they face each day. When I work out at the airport I never let a soldier pass that I say "Thank you for what you do for us each day". That comment is met with many different reactions. Some, with pride & a smile say "thank you MS", others are shy & embarresed but still pleased, others shocked. I want to let each of them know how special they are. Thank a soldier when you see him. Thank his family if you know one.

There's nothing more handsome than a man in his uniform. I would have liked to share a photo of my sweet husband in his uniform but, the time looking for that would be untold. And of my son in his... the same problem plagues me where did I put those photos oh so safely hidden????? I did find a photo of my sweet Daddy (OH HOW I MISS YOU EVERY DAY!) in his uniform to share with you. He wore it so proudly. And on the day we laid him to rest, the shots of the military gun salute shattered the silence on that snowy quiet hillside. Just as the loss of him shattered my heart. But, he was so proud of his service to his country & of his country even fifty years after the war. Remember our Veterans new & old. I am SORRY that I don't know how to re-size this photo that I scanned into my computer. This just shows me how much I need my new Photo Shop Elements Program installed. But, I love the photo & my Daddy more than I HATE the big white blob next to it.