Welcome to Bedford Falls!

The first Christmas I spent with my hubby (before we were married) -he gave me an engagement ring and I gave him the beginning of our first Christmas village. The "It's a Wonderful Life" village was retired that year. I have found a few more pieces on ebay over the years. They have gotten harder to come by and more expensive! This year the village had to move to the main hall since the dining room is still a construction site. I have had to edit my Chistmas decorations dramatically since the dining room has always been the center of the celebration!

Each year we love to watch the movie. This is the church.

The old Granville house and Mary's house....

Martini's Bar
Anderson's Building and Loan
The Bijou Theater and Gower Drugs
We have not had movie night with the movie yet, but that is one of our must-do traditions! This is now officially Wedding Week! 6 more days!

Victorian Front Porch Tour

Many years ago my new husband and I stood on a corner in front of a shabby Victorian house. We had a blended family with 4 children and a baby on the way. We dreamed of living in one of these big old homes where we could have more room for our growing family. It was December and the city was walking through the neighborhood enjoying the Victorian Front Porch Tour. The historic homes were decorated with Santas, elves, angels, and Victorian people. It was magic!!!

By the time that "baby" started Kindergarten we lived in that house and were in the process of restoring it! We are still in the process....the "baby" is now 13. We will never be done, but it is a work of love!

The Porch Tour is 17 years old. It started when my former neighbor, artist Jan Jones, had some life sized paper mache Santas that were not being used that Christmas. She and some of the other neighbors decided to sit up some displays on a few porches for the city to enjoy. It grew every year!

The porches are lit up each night for a driving tour starting Wednesday, December 9th. On Saturday the streets are closed at 5:30 to traffic so that people can stroll on the streets, enjoy entertainment on many of the porches and get a closer look at the displays. Many of the neighbors dress up in Victorian costumes to greet the guests. And it is free! It is Opelika's gift to the community. Here are a few pictures from last year!

The Tree

The tree is different this year! It has to be relocated to the parlor, near the stairs. I took the bottom 4 feet off, so this is the top 8 feet of the tree. Since it is much shorter I thought that it would stand up without support...I was SO wrong! The morning after I put it up - Lulu took it down! Now it is tied to the stairs.

I combined ornaments from our "Wonderful Life" tree with a few of the smaller ornaments from the big tree.

Tomorrow we set up for the Victorian Porch Tour. The figures have been delivered to the porches. We will go around to each porch and arrange the pieces, add snow and dust with glitter! I sure hope it does not rain!!!!

Pigeon Forge

We drove north to Pigeon Forge on Wednesday. Traffic was bad and it took a looooonnnggg time!

We stayed in a cute cabin on the top of a mountain. It had all the comforts of home plus a few extras! A big chair next to the fireplace for Eli....

And a soft couch for Bitsey.....
A loft for the Boy...

With a pool table!

The Pugs thought we had lost our minds, but they adjusted to the change! They really didn't like to go outside. They were happy to sit by the fire and they got the rare treat of sleeping with us at night!

The cabin was hanging of the side of the mountain -near the top! This is the driveway and road.....

Much too narrow for me!!!
But, I did like the hot tub on the deck- as long as I kept my eyes closed so I could not tell how far down the drop off was!We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Dixie Stampede, which was great. You have to eat with your hands! A whole chicken, pork roast, baked potato, corn on the cob, vegetable soup, garlic/cheese rolls, and apple turnovers!
On Friday we went to some outlets- it was very crowded!
I loved the blue trees at The Christmas Place!

The boy got a BB gun at Knifeworks.

And yes....we bought one pair and got two free!

My cowboys!

Smokey Mountain Thanksgiving

We had a fun trip to Pigeon Forge for Thanksgiving and we took the Pugs! I'll put up some pictures when I get my house back in order!!

A Closer Look at Okra

I had many comments about Okra Claus! So let's take a closer look.....

Begin with over grown okra. I strung it on fishing line and let it dry. After they were totally dry (about a month) I sprayed them with Kilz primer. I sprayed some red, some gold and some silver. I painted a small oval face of flesh. Then used this....

to give the beard texture. Finish with dot eyes.

The next step is to spray with Polycrylic to seal them. I mix up an antiquing glaze of burnt umber paint and satin acrylic varnish. I dab it on and wipe it off with a wet paper towel.

The little pom-pom on his stem/hat was white but, I didn't like it so I soaked them in tea to antique them.

Here is the gold version. I sprinkled a little glitter in his beard and fur.

I also saw some okra angels at a craft show recently so I am going to try making some. I haven't gotten far. The craft show version had a wooden bead for a head. I used some air drying clay to mould a face. I will use some sheer silver ribbon for wings.

Maybe I'll finish her before Christmas- but she may have to wait for next year to get her wings and halo!!!

A Little Crafty

Last weekend I went to a craft fair with some friends! It was a beautiful fall day and I was searching for some inspiration. Now I just need the time! One of the things that I saw was a t-shirt with a tree applique. It was very simple. I didn't copy it exactly, but it got my wheels turning. I headed to Hobby Lobby in search of some fabric and then to find some plain shirts. It turned out the shirts were the hardest to find! While at Hobby Lobby I ran into a sewing buddy who gave me another idea!

This tree is cut out of some Amy Butler fabric from my stash. I cut a smaller tree of fusing material and ironed it on. I stitched 1/4 inch in from the edge. Then I washed the shirt to fray the edge of the tree and added the vintage button at the top. The fusing material, "Heat-n-bond", will keep the tree from fraying too much when it is washed.
The next shirt is like the craft fair shirts. The tree is the same shape. This time I cut the "Heat-n-bond" the same size as the tree and ironed it on. I went around the tree with a blanket stitch by hand and added the button.
I hope this one does not fray as much when I wash it! I should have tried on the shirt before I sewed the tree on. It was a little snug- so I'm sending it on to my thinner daughter and I will have to make another one for me with a larger shirt!!

My next project will be to put up my nemesis.....the tree......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!