My sister, Carol,  loves to create and is quite talented at many things.  She cooks, sews, knits, crochets, quilts and on and on.  Recently we were together and she was sharing some of the things she was doing so at my request she has sent me pictures and I am going to share a few with you this week.

Aren’t they just the cutest things you have ever seen….Thanks for sharing Carol….and there is much more coming.

My 13 year old grandson, Kaleb,  lives in the city, loves button down shirts, hunting, fishing, all sports but especially basketball.  He has never had a male role model so I think it is in his genes to be so “all guy” and love guy things…For Christmas he told me he wanted cowboy boots and a cowboy hat…

Wearing a button down shirt the day he told me all of this, he crossed his arms and said, “Grandma, when I grow up I am going to be a Texas businessman.”  I had to smile and tell him, “you can do whatever you set your dreams on” and hope his dreams come true…

This picture was taken Christmas day when he opened his cowboy hat…at 13 he is 2″ taller than Grandma and wears a man’s size 9 shoe.  But isn’t he handsome and oh that smile.

I couldn’t find boots that fit I could afford so I went online and ordered boots and then they were back ordered until April!!!!!!!!!!!  I was somewhat put out because when I ordered online it said, “in stock, ships next day.”  So last weekend I finally canceled the order and hit the local stores and found a pair of boots that fit his wish list, (with some extra funds from Mom and his Christmas money he received).

Then I forgot to take pictures of him in the boots but trust me he loved them.  He made me go for a walk on the walking trail so he could get used to walking in them ..he climbed up four flights of stairs several times….he made those heels smack when he walked…he was all smiles, all day….  Way to go cowboy Kaleb, you are my partner for sure.

During the holiday and since there has been one item that continues to be a hot seller on Etsy.

Take a look at these adorable head and neck warmers, the weather around the nation, and it is easy to see why..

What a cutie and how sweet on my little great-granddaughter this would be!

You can see this hat and other items at  mypolkadotprincess just click on the link.

LewBugCreations has created not only warmth but a soft warm color around the face that would be among my favorites… Click the link to check out her shop.

While browsing through these categories I came across this and had to share.  I cannot even imagine the labor involved in making this incredible design created by ludascrafts.  Stunning to say the least.  I hope the individual who purchases this appreciates the incredible talents of the designer.

Well if none of this head and neck gear caught your fancy, how about this?  Cabo San Lucas….Deb and Robert will be shedding their warm weather gear for their beach attire soon…Now that is how I want to keep warm…I think she should take me along don’t you? 

Actually this photo was taken a few years ago when I did go to Cabo with my sisters….I hope Deb enjoys her well deserved winter vacation and comes home all nice and brown and “ready to sew.”

Stay warm you cold weather friends….and pray for patience in our wait for spring.  To  our warm weather friends…..really wouldn’t you like house guests?????

Yesterday we had our 100th sale when an apron in our Creative Chics store was sold to a gentleman in Spain!!!

We opened our store July 24th and in 84 days hit the 100th sale online mark!!  We think that is awesome.   We had set that goal to occur by year end so needless to say we are thrilled with the response we have had to our inventory of items.

This week I sold aprons to a lady in Canada, a lady in Finland and the gentleman in Spain.  Shows you what a small world we truly live in as probably 25% of our sales are international.  I know I speak for all of the Chic’s in saying how exciting this year has been for us, so “thank you”.

Thank you so much friends, family, and people around the world, we appreciate you!

To celebrate with you we are giving away three lavender sachets free with any order and applying a 5% discount on orders of $25.00 or more and a 10% discount on orders of $100.00 or more with any purchase today through Friday the 20th of November.  If you had your heart on an item you were planning on purchasing for Christmas giving now is the time to place the order and be a part of our three day celebration.  Please convo us before placing your order so we can apply your discount.

Note:  Discount will not apply to handbags/purses/totes due to clearance prices already marked on all of those items. These are priced to make excellent Christmas gifts for the ladies on your list.

There are lots of new items in the store to choose from; here are a select few.

Candy Cane  Napkins                                                     Cowgirl Gift Bag

Yule Critters Gift Bag                                             Joel Dewberry Napkins

More at http://creativechics.etsy.com

Most of us are pretty good at taking leftover food and making a sandwich, soup, or a warmed up meal.  When it comes to fabric sometimes you have small amounts of fabric, too large to throw away but what do you do with them?

Deb and I both have come up with a few ideas.  She has used hers to liven up a gift bag with colorful fabric, here’s an example.

I took some of the leftovers and decided to try a  few ideas putting them on hand towels for Christmas. I was working with a 4″ deep strip that is the width of the fabric.

Here are a couple of the results of my efforts.  I cut the reindeer out of the strip of fabric and using a satin applique stitch on my machine placed it in the center of a white towel.  Added a red ribbon that says, “Merry Christmas” and hopefully someone will enjoy placing it in their bathroom or kitchen.  The second towel is just a strip of fabric with a narrow satin ribbon sewn into place on each side to hold the fabric.  Then a Christmas ornament embroidered in red with a “Merry Christmas” greeting.

Give it a try for yourself, start by perusing the little leftover bundles at the fabric store if you don’t have any on hand.  Never know what you might make and if you do, please, please, share photos with us….

Deb and I finished off the final day of our mini vacation with an outing to the Overland Park Convention Center yesterday afternoon.  The Junior League of Kansas City was having their annual Holiday Mart show and we went in anticipation of getting some new ideas for 2010.

The crowd was large and the bags were full.  We estimated the crowd to be 99% women and their arms were full of purchases, mostly for Christmas.

I was blown away by how out of tune I am with the new old trends that are back on the marketing scene.  Oilcloth is being used for everything in baby stores as well as in the kitchen.  Beads and sequins are a must on purses unless your in to feathers and lots of ruffles.  Elaborate, bold colors for children and adults kept us enthralled.

Deb purchased a couple of scarves and I went for some candles. Cannot wait to put them to use as they smell so wonderful.

Lemonade, Thistle and Rose!

Perfect colors for my new bedroom decor that I will display later this week.

Hey everyone! Well it is finally here, our first art festival selling our own stuff. We are nervous, excited, and working down to the very last minute to get everything done for Saturday morning. Please cross your fingers and pray for sunshine for us. We don’t have a tent over our booth so rain would certainly ruin the day.

If you are in our area, we’d LOVE to see you! Stop by at Bearden’s located on 7600 Metcalf in Overland Park Kansas. We’ll be there from 10 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. so stop by and say hi!

Momma Chic loading up the blog at 11:20 and have to be up early in the morning   Here is what is left to load in my car.

Weather forecast is rain, but I think it will miss us

Watch our blog for pictures in the coming days of our art festival debut!  Have a great weekend everyone.

Yesterday I started this trip through my bedroom of special gifts that have become “Forever Keepsakes” to me.  I hope you read it, if not jump back a page and then come back to read today’s blog.

Hanging on the wall is a small picture frame but the words inside are the more valuable than costly jewels to me.  Another thoughtful gift from my daughter Debbie, an expression of her heart!  A forever keepsake!

On top of my chest sits a delft windmill, it was a gift   from Sandy, a co-worker in Denver who was a very, was very, very special to me and helped me work through my homesick first year of living there.  She was so special and her gift is a reminder of how important our friends are and being a friend to others.  A forever keepsake!

Sandy gave me the windmill and I fell in love with delft, and here are a few of the items my husband gave me over the years we were in Denver to add to my collection.  They are beautiful and have special meaning. They are forever keepsakes!

Just around the corner in the hall a picture hangs at the corner.    It was such a surprise at Christmas to open this image of myself that Debbie had drawn from a photo she had taken of me when I was playing with my granddaughter, wearing a hat.  Definitely a forever keepsake!

Further down the hall, another picture, very small in size but within its frame  the simple words, “you are loved.” It  was a gift from my oldest son after a very difficult year but rewarding year of great pain and great joy we shared together. A forever keepsake!

Do I dare go through this entire house, I will be crying forever!  Look around your home, look around your life and be thankful for the forever keepsakes in your life.  If you can’t find any, which I doubt, then get busy earning them by giving love to others.

Recently I wrote an article for the Creative Chics blog about my bed cover.  As I was in the process I looked around my room and realized how many “Forever Keepsakes” I have stored within my bedroom walls. I hope you will enjoy mine and do the same within your walls.

My room is filled with gifts, not just a gift you receive and go “oh, isn’t that nice,” wondering where you will put it but gifts that are forever keepsakes.  I will start with my bedside table.   The pitcher here is an old-fashioned water carafe that was given to me for Christmas a number of years ago by Debbie.  The purpose of the carafe is to have water by my bed at night.  The top is the drinking cup.  Isn’t it beautiful! A forever keepsake!

On a shelf of that same table is this little heart my youngest daughter Julie gave me one year for Mother’s Day. I love it because of what it says and knowing she was expressing her heart through the gift.  A forever keepsake!

On this round table at my window, this beautiful, charming teapot and teacup.  My sister Louise purchased it as a gift for me while she was on a mission’s trip to Romania. A forever keepsake! Next to this round table sits what is now a white rocking chair (I painted it several years ago, it was walnut originally). It was a gift from my husband.  We had moved to Denver and I was so homesick, never having been separated from my children or family.  Along with the rocking chair came a big stuffed cotton doll that has now been discarded from so many grandchild playing with it that the was stuffing falling out. My husband gave me the chair and the doll so I could sit and sing and rock the doll when I was lonely to help me work through my homesickness. The rocking chair is a forever keepsake!

Of course there is more, but I think for today this has become long enough.  If you want to know about the rest of these forever keepsakes, come back by tomorrow and I will try to finish it if I have enough space.