All you need is a few twigs and some craft paint to make these rustic style peppermint sticks. I used the watershoots that grew on our apple tree this past summer. The straighter and smoother the better. I have decided that these may be a bit long so they are getting a trim soon.   The label is from my new set of printable peppermint stick labels. There are four labels ranging in style from primitive to Victorian. Just click the link to my Etsy shop to find them.  ...

  I believe we are all in need of some festive holiday cheer this winter more than ever and this one should work in everyone's decor.  My Christmas labels are available in my Etsy store . You will find a few wonderful examples of them at the end of the post. Labels are also an inexpensive way to spruce up the gift of a plant, candle or mason jar full of baking.  FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY © Click on the label to enlarge it to maximum size and save to your computer.  A few of my Christmas labels with many thanks to the very talented Melynda. Available in my Etsy store .  Thank you for stopping by. Have a warm and healthy holiday season. Tracy...

You know it's Christmastime when you bring out the ole 'Squatch in a Jar'. Ah, the traditional childhood holiday memories our daughter will treasure. I'm sure this is just what Ball had in mind when they made their giant mason jars. Happy Holiday preparations! ...

No fall decor to be found here... WINTER it is. ...

Source It's January and that certainly means ice skating in Canada. I remember going down to the rink at our elementary school (or the toboggan hill behind our house) every night after supper. It didn't quite look like skating on Lake Louise , Alberta, above, but it was still magical. Wilhelmina isn't one to miss out on the fun... ...

Behind this seemingly pastoral winter scene in funky turquoise, red, and white is yet another of my kitchen disasters. We didn't need to call the fire department and thankfully everything has turned out just fine. Better than expected actually. It all started with my bright idea to make a new bunting for the old window that hangs in our breakfast nook... It only took a short time to make and I loved it. Till I hung it up. The colours were terrible. Although it somehow looks turquoise here, it is really a deep greenish turquoise and the red is... not funky at all. More like a blood red. Eeew. Max even turned his nose up at it. So, I hauled out a rather sparse bunting I'd made a couple of years ago, got out a box of clearance pine cones that I picked up two Christmases ago (which had the exact number of pine cones required for the bunting rescue), the proper colour red yarn... five minutes and... voila. I like it even better than the first one. Go figu......

I hope the fairies are all tucked in tight for the winter... because apparently it has arrived. I'd like to imagine they're dressed up warm and churning out snowflakes... We couldn't believe how light and fluffy the snow was last night. Plenty of snow diamonds for everyone. This morning the fairies can only peek out the top floor windows. If I were a fairy I'd be tucked in with hot chocolate, a warm quilt, my furry pets, some good history documentaries, and lots of crochet. What am I thinking hot chocolate ? Diet Coke is perfect for all kinds of fairy weather!  Stay warm and cozy wherever you are this weekend. **If you'd like to see what our Fairy Garden looks like in the summer, click  here. November 11, 2012 Remembrance Day Thanks for stopping by. Linking up to:           ...

I found these ceramic busts a couple of years ago in a thrift store for $2.00 each and I finally got around to crocheting them some winter gear. It has made for good cheap entertainment when Macy is practicing piano plus I used up some of that awful Red Heart Super Saver Super Scratchy Yarn that one wouldn't wish on anyone. The boys don't seem to mind it....

Just hours after I hung this 1860's Natural History print yesterday it started to snow... and it hasn't stopped. Like everything from Karen, The Graphics Fairy , it was free! Someday I want to paint on the reverse of this antique tray, but right now I'm loving the way these reindeer warm up the nook in our kitchen. This print is beautiful... there are soft aqua tones in the snow that you just can't appreciate on your monitor. Find the image  here . Before... And after. It is good incentive to finish the three pane window. This project was totally free. I printed the image at home on 13x19 matte photo paper and professionally slapped it onto the back of the tray with four teeny pieces of Scotch tape. Everything used I had on hand: photo paper, the reproduction antique ornaments, mason jar, dead ribbon grass from my garden, jute, and ribbon.  My EAT sign  was free too. Thanking Mother Nature for the snow and The Graph......