Christmas Open House

Christmas open house at the shop today was awesome!  We had people there starting right at 10 am and didn't really slow down till almost 3:30.  I love to do this every year. And I always thank my regular customers so much for choosing to support my little local business.  I have some customers that have been buying from me since way back when I used to do craft shows and have continued to buy my work through the years.  I even let people cruise the "Etsy" room and sold some stuff out of there.  And my smart phone was so handy to be able go into my shop and deactivate items.  I would love to get a Square reader to do credit cards but we are in a dead zone for signal and I don't think it would work.  As it was, I had to go down to my husband's shop where he has wi fi.  But I got some exercise!

This gets me in the mood for Christmas!  Listening to Christmas music all day, and you know I love Charlie Brown Christmas and Mannhiem Steamroller the best.

Tomorrow, I'll get started on some more decorating at the house, my blue and green tree that goes in the front room we call the parlor.  My sister is coming to spend the night and will help me.  She loves, loves, loves to do Christmas!  So we'll put some more music on and have a good time!

Come on in!

Look around!

There's stuff in every nook and cranny

This little table top tree is a button tree(and all kinds of other stuff).
I bought from an artist several years ago who had work at the gallery where I demonstrated.
Every year she would bring them in and get gone
before I could get on.  So 2 years ago I grabbed one first thing.

 

Pumpkin bread muffins, chocolate chip cookies and the Pillsbury cookies with
the Christmas trees in the middle, rice krispie treats and hot cider.  OMG, I'm full!

 I still have lots of stuff and some things will make their way to my Etsy shop or maybe given as gifts.  Or just stay on the shelves.  But for now, I'm tired but happy, a good tired when you know you've been busy.  

Are you in the holiday spirit yet?

Christmas in July!!

Gold star ceramic ornaments

If it's July, it must be Christmas in July on Etsy!  My sale is running July 2-29. I'm using Etsy on Sale this year to automatically give my sale section a 15% discount.
http://www.etsyonsale.com/shop/WillowTreePottery

I've got a variety of items in my CIJ section, some holiday themed but most are just good pots that want to go home with someone else.  I'm hoping to clear out some shelves for more stuff!  You know I make a lot of stuff!

And you know, Christmas will be here before we know it!

Christmas time is here

I'll have to admit, I've been too busy to post for awhile.  With the new baby in the house we aren't on any kind of schedule, yet.  But I did manage to get the Christmas decorations up.  I started in the front room we call the parlor with the artificial tree.  I can put it up at my leisure or maybe just not as frantically.  Then the house decorations go up, wreaths on all the doors, Christmasy nick knacks here and there and then finally the real tree in the living room.  That just happened last Saturday.  It's already starting to drop needles so I hope it will last until Christmas day.

I put on the Christmas music while I put everything out.  Charlie Brown Christmas and Mannhiem Steamroller are the favorites, any version of Carol of the Bells and I love Sleigh Ride by the Boston Pops Orchestra.  Silent Night always makes me cray.

Then baking starts.  Many batches of Pumpkin Bread for gifts and for eating by the family.  Christmas sugar cookies will be tomorrow.  Then we'll have a big Christmas Eve dinner.  I hope to get some rest Christmas day.  I'm really tired.

Front door.  I just started doing the trees by the door and the swag is now artificial garland with lights. I used to do it all with cedar branches that just ate my hands up but decided the artificial looked just fine.  

The main event.  The real tree.  Decorated with ornaments collected over years and years.  All the little things the kids made in school, hand made ornaments and some vintage glass ones.  One year the tree fell over and broke lots of the ornaments and the vintage point that we bought when we first got married,  I cried!

The parlor tree all in blue and green lights and blue, copper and silver ornaments.  I love this tree.

Dining room table will be loaded down with food in a couple of days.

Fresh from the oven pumpkin bread.

Here'e the recipe.  I got it over 25 years ago as a recipe card from the grocery store.

3 1/2 cups AP flour

3 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsps baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 cup salad oil

4 eggs

2 cups canned pumpkin

Sift together all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Bake in 2 well greased loaf pans 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!!!

What I've been doing and boy, I'm tired!

We gave my daughter-in-law, Keshia, a baby shower last Sunday.  I cooked and cleaned and bought presents.  My daughter, Amanda, came to help.  We decorated the house with all kinds of cute pink and purple decorations.  We're having a girl!  Her name will be Kendra.  It was a nice turn out with about 20 people.  I found the banners at http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCaterpillarsDream.  She was so helpful with the custom order for the name.  I had no idea the amount of shower decorations that can be found.  Diaper cake?  What the heck is that?  Well, now I know. Not a real cake but looks like one made from diapers with all kinds of handy little things mixed in like pacifiers, rattles, baby care stuff.

I made a special mosaic lamp with a custom lamp shade for the nursery.  That was fun.  Using all kinds of flattened marbles, jewels and beads with a custom lamp shade mod podged with tissue and mulberry papers with a fringe of purple.

Most everything has been stored  until they are ready to move in Oct.  It will be a mad rush to get where ever my son is stationed, moved in and ready for the baby at the end of November.  The 27th is the date but Amanda is hoping it will on her birthday which is the 29th.  Whenever it is, we'll be so happy to have this little girl with us!!

The cutest banner made by
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCaterpillarsDream
It says "Oh Baby" on top and
"Kendra" on the bottom

A diaper cake made by a friend.  I had no idea what a diaper cake was until I started searching on Etsy.

A pink tub with all kinds of baby lotion, shampoo, oil, stuff.

Pink and purple was a theme

We had so much fun decorating

I made this mosaic lamp with flattened marbles, jewels , pink grout and
all kinds of papers for the shade with some purple fringe.  I'll probably do another post about how I made it.  It was sooo much fun to do.

Isn't this cake adorable?  Keshia's cousin made it!
It was yummy!

White Christmas in Georgia

The impossible has happened.  An almost white Christmas in Georgia.  The snow started falling on Christmas day and continued through the night and is still falling as I write.  About 6" so far!  Looking at decorations with snow out the window is almost surreal.  Did we get transported to an alternate universe?

This year's Christmas was a challenge.  I came down with the flu a week before and just barely got the tree up and presents wrapped. Fortunately, I gave art as gifts so didn't have any shopping to do. I hate shopping.

Family was here and that makes the holidays special. Christmas Eve dinner is magical and even if I don't feel good makes me happy.  My daughter and I made cookies and listened to Charlie Brown Christmas(was there ever a more perfect Christmas album?) and Mannheim Steamroller.

So we'll watch the snow and mark this year as a Christmas to remember for many reasons.