Counting down the days

It's almost the middle of December and before we know it, Christmas will have come and gone.  I love all the festivities that go along with this time of year.  Tomorrow, I am going to supper with a few friends, Elaine, Susan and Anna-Mae and then we are off to see a local production of "Singing in the Rain".  I'm sure it will be wonderful as all the other ones have been.

Today, Carol and I went shopping.  Carol is one of my partners at our Boutique and she has recently moved into a cute little (old) house and is in the throes of furnishing it, after we spent quite a few days recently painting and bringing it up to 2012.  It really is looking quite adorable and she and her cute little doggies are settling in, just in time for her daughter to come home from University and for them to celebrate Christmas together.  I'll show you a peek at her daughter's bedroom (which she hasn't seen yet) but I won't intrude on her life and show anything more......

She still has a few more last minute details to take care of in that room and I'm sure she will have all that done by this weekend.

Well, what have I been up to?  Apart from spending time at the Boutique I have been working on items to try and sell there.

Made a couple of signs like this.....

This is a painting I did for Carol for her new home.  She has it in her dressing room and it looks great with her artsy stuff.  I call her the "Lamp Lady", hence the picture.....

I gave in and bought myself a little hat for the cold winter days.  I'm not one for wearing hats because I have very fine hair and use lots of hairspray, so when I plop one of these on my head, my hair becomes as flat as a pancake and I look dreadful.  I guess now that I am retired I am not as finicky as I was about my looks, so here I am with my new chapeau, feeling rather snug and protected from the elements..........

I tried my hand at making some little bookends for kiddies out of the hard plastic animals you find at most toy stores.  I painted them and added a little board book and hope to sell them in my Boutique.  I think they would look so sweet on a shelf in a nursery......

Here are a few sets of cushion covers which are for sale in my Boutique.. 3 covers for $15........

And a few coat racks, or as we call them, Hooker Boards, that I made

Of course I have to finish off the post with a couple of photos of my adorable grandchildren.  I wish I could spend Christmas with them.  Christmas as seen through the eyes of children is so magical.

Well, that's it folks, until my next blog.  Hopefully it will be before Christmas, but life just might take over and perhaps I will have to attend to other things.  If I don't chat with you before then, please do have a most wonderful and blessed Christmas with family and friends.  I know that this time of the year can be very lonely for some, so if you know of anyone who is lonely or alone maybe you can extend an invitation for a coffee or something, just saying.

A special visitor

The Governor General of Canada, David Johnston, was here last week to help celebrate The Sault's 100 years.  Also visiting was Dr. Roberta Bondar the first Canadian female astronaut in space.  I was very honoured to be able to shake her hand and briefly chat with her.  What a delightful lady.  (She is the one with the medals.)

You know I am always talking about "The Queen's Cupboard", well, through our acquaintance with Pat and our constant visits and volunteering at her store, we Carol, Gary and myself (her faithful volunteers) have decided to rent a space in the same building as Pat and take our "stuff" out of her store and put it into our own space.  We are quite excited but also apprehensive as to what the future may hold and will be quite happy if we are able to make enough from our work to at least pay for the rent.  More than that will be a big bonus and exceedingly welcome.  This is what it looks like now and of course I will update as we get it ready for moving in..........

We will share the space and the responsibilites as equally as possible and as you can see from the above photos, our work is cut out for us.  It is afterall, a warehouse and as such, there are things that we will not be able to change and we are hoping that with a good coat of paint, it will come alive and be a splendid place for us to display our "creations".  We are thinking of calling it "Church Street Boutique" featuring, etc. etc. but that could change of course.  As they say, "Nothing is written in stone".  I, for one, will be so happy to find a new home for all the crafts I have been making over the years, including my jewelry and artwork.  Please wish us success and perhaps those who live here in the city can come and visit when we open.

Anyway, enough about that.  Here are some of my latest projects.....

I tried my hand at painting a crow on a jute shopping bag.  So far I have only done two as I want to see if anyone will buy them before I make more.  They did take a long time to carefully, but lovingly paint.

Here are some more primitive items I found at the local thrift stores, lucky me.......

I also put together some jars of cotton balls and added a water-slide decal which I bought from "The Polka Dot Closet", you can check this fabulous blog out here.....    http://thepolkadotcloset.blogspot.ca/    and hope to sell these in the Boutique once we get it going....

Here are a few more sets of cushion covers I have made - I must stop now until I sell some more - have only sold a few sets but am hoping that once we are in the boutique and we can display things properly, they will sell better.

Carol does a wonderful job on refinishing old chairs and giving them a bright new look - they are perfect livening up a corner or in a sunroom.  She is having so much fun with this and has also tackled revamping and revitalizing old lamps and making them superb.  You will just have to come and see for yourself.....

Here's a sneak preview.....

Gary has been at this for a lot longer than we have and is experienced in antiques as well as refinishing tables and bookcases.  He really is very good at what he does.  He will have a variety of things old and new for you to browse around and hopefully, when everything is in place, you will happily leave us clutching some delightful new acquisition.  We can only hope!!  'Til next time.