What I planned to do and what actually happened

  

See this beauty? It is one of dozens 

of incredibly gorgeous art jewelry made by

 Tanya of Bead and Needle

Yesterday I asked Tanya to bring them 

over to my house so that I 

could photograph them, as they are

 so incredibly beautiful I wanted you all to see them.

Tanya will be taking these to the local Boulder City

Doodlebug show this weekend 

and if you don't get one now 

you may have to wait  until she makes more, 

and with the holidays coming 

who knows when that will be?

Tanya makes these beauties out of antique

 tin plates and then painstakingly beads

 them for many long hours

 into these pendants that are traffic stopping, 

and yes those are beaded ruffles you see.

They are impeccably finished 

and all are done with her one little needle,

amazing patience and incredible talent.

Do you want a breathtaking vintage piece

 that everyone will covet?

Have a little black dress that 

will grace a party this holiday, then 

top it with one of these for the WOW factor.

Want to own a one of a kind piece of

 art jewelry or give one to your BFF?

They are enhanced with vintage buttons,

crystals and hand dyed beads from 

Vintage Meadow Artworks.

So the plan was, I was going to take 

some great shots and

share these pieces with you.

What  happened was I photographed 

them on vintage tin, on greenery, on glass, 

on mirror, on snow, on burlap.

I photographed from 8 -10:30

I did not even make coffee, so I feel a mite

BI-Zitchy

Do you see any of the photos?

Nope

Why?

Because all the shots sucked.

There - I admit it.

All 147 of them

They were down to the bottom 

of the muck and the mire, bloody awful!

So here is the new plan.

Take my word for it, I have not lied to you yet,

Well, I did take the first 2 shots here, 

so yeah I lied a little,

BUT TRUST ME

these are scrumptious, and 

if you go to Tanya's blog

BEAD AND NEEDLE

you can see them in progress

the colors are very muted not 

as bright as they look there, 

and Tanya just got a new camera,

so pick a tintype and maybe she can send 

you a decent shot of your necklace of choice,

or go on blind faith,

 ( I would, there is not a loser in the bunch)

and have her hand select one for you.

Quite a few already found homes when

 she brought them to our recent craft day, 

and we can be a persnickety bunch. 

So, coffee is needed,

camera instruction is needed,

and since I have had 4 hours of sleep, 

a nap is needed.

It's what I plan to do...

but if I were you, I would not lay odds.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Time Proven Holiday Tricks #1

I have been decorating for the holidays 

with joy and abundance for many, 

( oh dear, many many ) years.

I have also worked as many years with clients

 to make their homes festive, whatever their style is.

One of my standby tricks when I am decorating tables

 is to always do displays in a container,

 a box, a basket, a trough,

anything that fits the table size

 and mood of the room.

At a moments notice, you can remove the display and

 make room to set the table for an impromptu

 dinner or extra guests etc. 

If you also set the table with a cloth

 and then a guest, or klutzy me, spills food or drink 

on the cloth, the cloth can be easily removed,

 laundered and put back.

If you do standard tabletop displays

 and you need more room or  

there is an accident, you need to remove each thing,

set it aside  and so on.

My way?

Whisk the container off and store

 temporarily in the garage or on a coffee table, 

or even on top of the washer.

This exact thing occurred yesterday when 

an impromptu gathering of crafting friends

 started to gather at my home, 

and as the dining table grew more crowded,

 we simply removed the display in the second photo, 

threw a drop cloth over the table

 and they painted, stitched,

  beaded and glued away.

You also can easily remove to

 set the table for a formal dinner, and then post dinner,

return the table to your regular holiday display

We had a blast yesterday.

The first pal came at 9:00 am Sat

and I said goodnight to the last gal 

( who happened to be the same pal lol)

at 12:45 am Sunday.

My heart is full of glad tidings

 and friendship for these women.

What a great bunch of great friends.

Tanya from Bead and Needle (link)

referred to my home as a Christmas Palooza to our 

mutual friend Carole at Maynard Greenhouse.(link)

Like Scarlett had Tara, I now have

 my oldgreymare estate. 

Christmas Palooza 

It fits me.

Check Tanya's site for 

the tin type pendants

Tanya was/is making.

We all went bonkers for them.

You local gals, Tanya will be at Doodlebug in

Boulder City on the 3rd.

Carole is going to tease us daily

 with wonderful photos from 

her Holiday shop in CT, 

so check them out each day and if you are

 within driving distance,

 please go visit her fabulous shop.

 I will be so jealous.

Z