LOVE those challenges ...

I have a double post for you today.

First is yesterday's Color Throwdown challenge using the following colors: Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Riding Hood Red, and Baja Breeze. Aren't these fun colors!! I chose to do a very simple layout to focus more on the colors. My image is by Stampendous ... sentiment by Close to my Heart and the two punches (doily lace border & butterfly) are by Martha Stewart. I did a little coloring in on the image using a Creative Memories copper metallic pen and an American Crafts glitter pen. I also used the glitter pen to outline the butterflies. The image was stamped in Versafine Black and the sentiment in SU Ruby Red.

Secondly is a card for yesterday Sketch Challenge over on SCS. I needed a wedding card so I decided to utilize this sketch for that purpose. I was just informed that a friend was "quietly" married on New Year's Eve ... how romantic! I would say that her new husband has absolutely NO excuse for forgetting their anniversary!!! LOL!!

I just love black, white & red together ... so rich I think!! Here I've used a basic white card and made my own background by using two of the sentiment stamps within this Inkadinkado Wedding set. The floral paper used on my panels is by American Crafts ... simply cut & matted. The only think I've added to the main image is to chalk a little blue on the bouquet and the flower in her hair. I've stamped all images with Versafine black. The corner images have been cut out and popped up for dimension then I decided to add red stickles to the hearts for a little added sparkle. Fairly simple card but I think the newlyweds will like it! Congratulations Cindy & Todd!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by and please come back!!

Hubby update ... Mark has been feeling fairly well this week other than the fact that he is now coming down with a cold (probably caught it from me ... oops). The doctor has put him on a prescription of Z-Pack before he starts the next round of chemo on Friday and throughout the weekend. He seems to be feeling much better even today! Thanks for all prayers and I ask that you keep them coming ... bless you all!!

More Crafty Secrets Fun

Hey Everyone ... have you checked out today's SCS Weekly Inling #141???

Here's a LINK and if you notice on the right hand side, there is a box identified as Clear Art Stamps ... click on it to see even more Crafty Secrets fun and FREE GIVEAWAY!!!

Go one step further within that posting and you'll find more information on my previous post in reference to the SCS Crafty Secrets forum weekly challenge **with $200 worth of prizes**. You can see it HERE.


Hurry now, GO CHECK IT OUT!!!

CSSC51 - Get Creative with Clear Art Stamps

Morning Everyone!!


Today I am your hostess for the weekly Crafty Secrets challenge over on Splitcoaststampers. My first idea for today's challenge was to use "something NEW" that you received over the holidays. Then after being contacted by the lady at the helm of Crafty Secrets, Sandy Redburn, our challenge today has been "kicked up a notch" and will also be recognized on the homepage of Splitcoaststampers. HOW COOL IS THAT!!!


She will be giving away 3 prize packs and all you have to do is use at least one of the Crafty Secrets - Clear Art Stamps. You can combine them with any other Crafty Secrets products if you like. Your card or keepsake needs to be new and not previously posted. These are the 3 Gift Certificates awarded:

Most Comments - $100 Gift Certificate
2nd Most Comments - $50.00 Gift Certificate
Random Winner - $50.00 Gift Certificate


Additional information will be forthcoming as to the start and end dates. So PLEASE ... blow the dust off those Clear Art Stamps and join in ... what great fun this will be!!!


I chose to make both a card and a keepsake. My card was created using my NEW Crafty Secrets - Clear Arts Stamp set (Wine Lovers) which I received over the holidays from my very own Santa. Also NEW on this card is the background paper which was given to me by my dear friend, Linda Davis. This designer paper is by BoBunny and it is 2-sided ... both sides are beautiful!! I used Nestabilities to make my circles & ovals. The fireworks image is by Great Impressions and I've "sparkled" them up using both Black Opal & Gold Sparkle embossing powder. All images other than the fireworks are from the Wine Lovers set. I don't know if you can see it in the photo (you can click on image for larger view), but I have used the "liquid applique & chalk" technique (explained in the previous post) on the grapes hanging from the grapevine in the left corner. Looks really cool in real life!! I have cut out the wine bottle & glasses and popped them up using dimensional tape. What a fun set to play with! Being a wine lover myself, this set will come in handy I'm sure!!



Now, on to my keepsake project.


I've been wanting to make a set of coasters using marble tiles for quite some time and this gave me a good excuse to PLAY with that idea. These are 4x4 Tumbled Marble tiles that I purchased at Lowe's (in the flooring section). I chose to used the Crafty Secrets - Clear Arts Stamps (Sweet Kids) images. Aren't they adorable!!! I first stamped the images on each tile with Stazon, heat set and even let them sit for awhile (during dinner) for a little extra drying time. Using Ranger cut-n-dry pen nibs, I colored in my images with CHALK. You can also use permanent markers for brighter colored images. After coloring my images, I used a cotton ball and coordinating chalk to go around the outside parameter of the tile. When your coloring is completed, to make these coasters water resistent, you'll need to give them a few coats of your favorite Clear Acrylic Sealer. I prefer a "gloss" finish and I get mine at WalMart. Hint: be sure your first coat is VERY light and not sprayed on too closely. Make sure to let it dry thoroughly between coats.


Remember, these are rough marble tiles and you'll have to put some type of backing on them to protect your furniture from damage. I chose to use heavy duty self sticking felt pads (also purchased at Lowe's). There are other products available for this job ... just check out you local home improvement or crafting store.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Don't forget, check out this fun challenge over on SCS to win some awesome prizes!!

New Technique

My good friend, Sandy, taught me a new trick using Liquid Applique and Chalk.

It's a very simple technique and looks fantastic when completed. I decided to use two different Thomas Kinkade images which have a variety of flowers for my base. I've tried to give you a better view by photographing my cards at an angle ... hoping you can see the dimension this technique gives the flowers on these images. You can also click on any of the photos for a larger view!

The images were stamped using India Ink Black onto Glossy White paper. Then were colored with various SU inks & inking nibs. I didn't color the entire image ... I left the flowers plain because I would get my color from the liquid applique/chalk technique. However, I think next time I will try coloring in the flowers also ... I don't think you'll get that white hallow around the applique if there is color in the background.

After coloring your image, apply liquid applique over the floral part of the image ... either using little dots or following the line of the flower ... use your heat gun to "puff" up the liquid applique. Give it a couple minutes to dry then color in by using a makeup applicator (or chalk applicator of your choice) and just brushing lightly over the puff with chalk. That's all there is to it!!


Coloring in the Thomas Kinkade images takes a little more time than some other images but it's always worth that additional time ... using this method of dimension adds that little extra element of style to a card that we are all looking for. I'm anxious to try this method on other images.


Thanks so much for stopping by today! (Hubby Update: he's feeling fairly well this weekend and intends to go to work this week ... that is of course until Friday when the next round of I.C.E. chemo begins. Thanks for all your prayers ... they are obviously working!!)

Featured Stamper #101- JaydeKay

Today's Featured Stamper Challenge over on SCS is honoring JaydeKay (Judy). What a great gallery of artwork to choose from ... but tough to decide which one to case. I finally decided to case THIS card of Judy's because I like the simple yet attractive layout.

I used Judy's basic layout but changed it to a Valentine's theme. I really like this heart image from The Rubber Cafe and I just purchased the Basic Grey (sugared) paper pack from my good friend Tammy Hershberger at Toyrifix. These papers worked perfectly for my Valentine theme. I selected several different Prima flowers and used some gem brads I've had in my stash for ever! To give a little more dimension to the heart & flowers, I raised them up with dimensional tape.

Thanks for stopping by!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!

Here in NE Ohio, we have a "winter storm" in affect and they are predicting up to 12" of snow today. At the moment, we probably have 3 or 4 inches (guessing ... haven't gone out yet). Even though I'm not looking forward to going out and cleaning the driveway, it is really pretty to sit in the livingroom and look out across the back yard and watch it come down! In fact, it's SO pretty, I just had to get a couple photos.

The closeup photo is one of my holly bushes in the front of the house ... already getting bogged down with the weight of the current snow. The other photo I took by opening the sliding glass door (slightly) out onto the deck on the back of the house and just point and click. If you click on the photo (for a larger view), you can see we have a "picnic area" up in the woods complete with a large picnic table my husband and granddaughter made a couple years ago. We love this area in the summer ... I plant flowers along with the perannials around the trees and we even have a burn pit where we have small campfires and roast weiners & marshmellows. Don't think we'll be doing much of that today!!!

Looks like a good day to stay indoors and stamp!!!!! That is once I get my messy craftroom cleaned up so I can find everything. Mark is having a good day today and is just enjoying watching the snow (oh sure ... he doesn't have to go clean the driveway, LOL). Hope you are warm & snuggly where ever you are today ... stay safe & happy!! Thanks for stopping by!!

----------------------------------------------

Edit after snow quite (more yet to come) ...

I took this picture through the sliding door in the kitchen and zoomed in on the picnic table to give you an idea of how much snow we were blessed with this morning. I'd say we have a good 8" so far ... I can judge a little better now since I just came back in from cleaning the driveway. I not really complaining about doing the driveway because I love doing this sort of thing (cutting the grass, snowblowing the driveway, you know outside stuff) and DH has bought me a VERY nice, large snowblower that really makes my job MUCH easier!! In fact, I went over and did a couple of the neighbors driveways that don't have

snowblowers. This kind of snow is really hard to shovel and besides ... I was having fun playing in the snow!!

Stamp Simply #69 - It's Still Winter!

Today's challenge over on Sharon Johnson's blog (notimetostamp) is to make a WINTER card. Not too difficult to work on when you look out the window here in NE Ohio ... The snow is falling ever so softly ... it's a trick, we're in for a big winter storm with LOTS of snow!!

Here is exactly how Sharon worded her challenge: IT’S STILL WINTER — Yes, it is still the heart of winter, so let’s pull out those snowflake and snowman stamps now that they’ve had a little rest since Christmas. Make any type of card that says WINTER — and if you can do that without using a snowman or snowflake, all the better!!! Anything WINTER is what we’re after!!! Can’t wait to see what you all do — again, keeping it simple, if possible!!! Have fun!!!


I decided to do 2 styles of a WINTER card. The first card is your typical winter card using snowflakes & a snowman. I had several scraps laying on my worktable so I decided to try and incorporate as many of those "scrap" elements as possible on this one card.



The image is from the Crafty Secrets (Seasonal) booklet and the Thanks so much sentiment is from the Crafty Secrets (Glamour Girls) set. The piece of red cs was bordered using the Martha Stewart (doily lace) border punch. The background paper is from the DCWV (winter) pack and the base card is whisper white which I sponged using some Ranger (antique linen) distress ink. I also did a little sponging on the designer paper. The "dots" border were made freehand using a ZIG crimson marker. The felt snowflakes are by Creative Impression and are popped up with pop-dots for a little extra dimension.


The 2nd card was a very simply made card. The background was made by using a cotton ball and running blue chalk over a piece of white cardstock then double stamping the trees using the "Lovely As A Tree" set by Stampin' Up. The image is a Cotton Scrap (Winter) by Crafty Secrets which I faux stitched using the zig-zag stamp in the Crafty Secrets - Sew Special set. The matting is hunter green cardstock and the base card is a pre-made white A-6 card from Michael's (valu-pack ... 50 cards/envelopes for 5.99). The only accessory I used was an "end of the roll" piece of brown gingham ribbon from Michael's.


Thanks so much for stopping by!

Shouting out special "THANKS"

I am SO sorry for the lateness of this post, but there are three wonderful ladies who send me awards last month and I never got around to acknowledging them or saying how grateful I am for their support.

First was Vicki Chrisman who honored me with this Inspiration Award way back at the beginning of December. How thrilled I was (and still am) to be included as one of those stampers who is considered "inspirational". Thanks so much Vicki ... and I'm sure you realize that YOU are an inspiration to me with all the GREAT creations you make with the Crafty Secrets (my favorite) products! Keep up the good work ... it gives me hope!!

Secondly was Kay Squire who invited me to join in on a fun game of Blog Tag - A Game for a Virtual Meet & Greet! I've played this game before and it's wonderful to learn new things about your blogging friends and to share a little more of yourself with them! I haven't gotten around to play again at Kay's request, but it is on the top of my To-Do-List. Thanks so much Kay for thinking of me and sharing the fun facts about yourself. I think when I do get around to doing this, you'll be surprised at a few facts about myself. Just a little teaser ... I drove Semi Tractor Trailer for a short period of time. Stay tuned ... more to come!!!

And, last but not least, my dear Design Team partner over at Stampin' D'Amour and friend ... Kris Dickinson. Known to those of you on SCS as "Parkerquilter". Kris has a wonderful, unique way of making vintage come alive. I was so thrilled when she honored me with this Proximity Award.

"These blogs invest and believe in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!" What a wonderful honor ... thanks again Kris!!

I have linked these ladies blogs to their names ... PLEASE take the time to visit their space and be inspired by their unique talents!

Stamp Simply #68 - Thankful

Hello my friends!

Here is a card that should have been done a week ago (but who's counting, right!). I made this for the challenge over on Sharon Johnson's No Time to Stamp blog. The theme for this Stamp Simply challenge was to make a Thank-You Card. And of course to try and "keep it simple".

Here I've used a basic white card and a piece of designer paper from the DCWV winter pack. I cut a 1" piece of navy cardstock, then using the SU slit punch, made the reverse scalloped edge. To add an edge on the opposite side, I used a ZIG navy marker and just edged the designer paper.

The image is by Stampendous and was stamped in SU Not Quite Navy ink ... then overstamped for the shadow affect. My sentiment is from the Inkadinkado (garden flower) clear stamp set and I used Kaleidocolor (blue breeze) ink. I matted the main image using the same navy cardstock as the edging, tied a small piece of sheer navy ribbon at the bottom of the image and quick & easy ... card complete.

Thanks for stopping by! For those of you who having been following my DH's cancer journey, here is an update.

We were at the Oncologist today and his blood numbers are good! He is experiencing more exhaustion & nausea ... but not nearly as bad as we had anticipated. He is scheduled for the 2nd round of this I.C.E. chemo the weekend of Jan. 16th. From there we have an appt. with the surgeon at Cleveland Clinic to determine if he will need a 3rd round of I.C.E. or if they will advance into the stem cell harvesting process. Thanks for all your prayers ... please keep them coming!! Bless You All!!

A Sketch & A Color Challenge

I'm still having a little trouble getting my creative juices flowing, so today I thought I'd give it a jump start by combining the sketch challenge over at SCS with the color challenge over on the Color Throwdown Blog.

The stamp set I chose to use today is from one of my FAVORITE companies ... Crafty Secrets.

This set is called "sew special" and has several fun pieces to be creative with. If you are not familiar with Crafty Secrets, PLEASE go check them out ... they have some really fun sets as well as some awesome paper packs and booklets. And if you are a vintage lover ... all the better!!!

The colors for the Throwdown today were Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze and Mellow Moss. I also threw in a piece of Basic Grey (periphery) designer paper for Panel #2 of the sketch.

I have found I have difficulty with too much "white space" so instead of using faux stitching around the very vanilla panel, I decided to use this cute "safety pin" stamp (also a part of this sew special set) then colored it in with a gold metallic pen by Creative Memories to make it look like the real thing.

Thanks for stopping by! I know a lot of you have been kind enough to mention my DH in your comments and I really appreciate all you kind words & prayers. So I've decided to leave a little update at the end of my daily post to let you know how we're handling this new chemo regiment. Today is a better day than yesterday, although he is still experiencing a lot of exhaustion so has been spending most of the day in bed. At least the nausea has eased up and that is a blessing within itself!!! While he's resting, I think I'll go back to my craftroom where I can be "quiet" and hopefully creative!

2009 - Let the Challenges Begin!!

Hello all! First let me thank all of you who have sent well wishes/cards to my DH over the holidays! It's difficult to express how much it means to us ... all I can say is Thanks & Bless You!!



The first round of I.C.E. chemo is completed and he's done quite well ... until today ... the side affects are starting to take hold and he's experiencing a lot of nausea. His answer to this problem is just to remain in bed and that's what he's doing. We're just taking it one day at a time and dealing with things as they come up. With all the prayers and wonderful thoughts we've been receiving, I have no doubt we'll get over this hurdle too!!



Now onto some stamping fun!!!



Today Lori Lynn hosted our 1st Crafty Secrets challenge of the New Year and has asked us to do some Paper Piecing.


What fun!! Paper piecing adds such wonderful dimension to your card and I really need to take the time to use this technique more! Today I've chosen the Crafty Secrets "glamour girls" stamp set and pieced this lovely ladies dress using designer paper by Basic Grey (euphoria). My background paper is by Anna Griffin, flowers are Prima and the sprigs are from the Martha Stewart (branch) punch. I used a makeup applicator and blue chalk to outline the clouds and the faux stitching was done with a Creative Memories teal blue fine tip marker & metal ruler.


Thanks to all of you who have faithfully stopped by only to find nothing new!! Hopefully I'll get my stamping groove back and have a few new things to share with you this week! Here's hoping 2009 will be "the best year ever!!"

Bless You All!!

Hello my friends and Happy Holidays!
I'll probably be MIA throughout this week. We are trying to visit family before DH has his biopsy surgery on Tuesday morning and begins high dose chemo on Friday. He will be in the hospital over next weekend and of course I'll be right there with him!! Thanks for all your support and understanding ... we truly appreciate your kindness & friendship!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

SCS Sketch Challenge

I had these Thomas Kinkade images already cut ... with the blank ivory card ... all I needed was inspiration and it came today in the form of the Splitcoaststamper's Sketch Challenge!! Worked great with the size of the imges and just by either using dp or making my own dp, these cards came together very quickly! Don't they look great!!

I was actually able to use up some scraps of paper I had on my worktable and I had noticed that a had a few spools of ribbon that were nearly empty so I was able to use those scraps too!

What a fun sketch and you can use it on any size card! My cards here are a Valupack I bought at Michael's through the summer and I believe they are A-8 size. (Perfect for these larger TK images.) They were on sale ... 50 cards & envelopes for $5.99. So, I bought a pack of the ivory and a pack of the white ... couldn't pass up the price.

I'd best get going ... we are headed down to our granddaughter Morgan's concert at the high school and we're going a little early so we can share "chili" with them before hand. Yum!! Thanks for stopping by!!!

Winter Post

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make enough cards this year for everyone (with Mark's health and all) but I'm ALMOST there! I sent out 60 on Monday and I'm trying to get the remainder needed made & mailed by this weekend.

I made these 4 cards last evening while waiting for our Tuesday night show (NCIS) to come on. First I stamped the skater's image from the SU Winter's Post set onto a scrap of whisper white paper then just started using up some of the scraps laying on my worktable to create a few quick cards. I'm really happy with each one! I have a difficult time making THE SAME CARD for everyone ... that's just like too much white space in my book!!!! Can't do it!! ...weird I know, but that's just me!!

Thanks for taking time to take a peek! Hope you're having a wonderful day!

CSSC47 - 3B's

I know .... I DON'T post for 3 days and now I post 4 times in one day!!! SORRY ... playing catch up!! You know how it is!!








Here is my card for this week's Crafty Secrets Challenge hosted by PammyJo. She has challenged us to use 3 products on our cards/projects that start with the letter "B". I've used BIRDS ... BULBS ... & BOWS!


The background paper is from the Crafty Secrets (Earthy) pack ... isn't it awesome!! And I've made my images from the Crafty Secrets - Christmas Joy stamp set. The pine bough, lights & bow are 3 different stamps and there are - 2 different ornaments which you can place a variety of images in the center of. (You can click for a closer view) I have used Brillance gold ink to stamp the ornaments then embossed with gold sparkle embossing powder. The pine bough was stamped with SU garden green ink and the lights with Versafine black. I have used a ZIG 2-way glue pen and PKGlitz glitter to add sparkle to the lights.


Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you are all having a wonderful & safe day!!! I guess there is a Winter Storm Warning in our area for night & tomorrow ... OH DEAR ... I might be snowed in and have to spend the day stamping .... Whoa Is Me ... what shall I do????

WHY PLAY OF COURSE!!!

CCEE Challenge

This is a card I made for Monday's "sketch" challenge over on the CCEE Stampers blog. As you saw in my last post, I'm still working on this years holiday cards so guess what my theme is ... yep, you guessed it, CHRISTMAS!!! And, another Thomas Kinkade image!

I really liked this sketch and having the dp & image from the Thomas Kinkade Christmas Series pack (purchased at Cornish Heritage Farms) really made for a quick card! I did have to "shave" a little off the sides of my image in order to be more precise on the sketch ... but that's okay, that didn't distort the image at all!! I took a few extra liberties and added the bow and Martha Stewart branches. (A little too much white space for me, lol.)

Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by!!

ARE YOU READY FOR CHRISTMAS????

I'm So Far Behind ...

Would you believe "I still don't have enough Christmas cards made"!!!!!

For every challenge I've done in the last month, I've used Christmas as my theme figuring I'd be ahead of the game that way ... NOT!! So, I'm having to do what some people call "cheater cards" ... (those without stamping). Actually there is a little stamping here ... I've stamped the base card with my AMuse snowflake stamp in Brillance Ice Blue (can't handle all that white space!). And, I have added a sentiment! But the beauty is in the images which are from the Thomas Kinkade Christmas Series Paper Pack. (click on the link to take you right to this paper pack -- check out all the gorgeous images)

These four cards were made from ONE 8x8 sheet ... isnt' that awesome!! I purchased this set awhile back from Cornish Heritage Farms and forgot I had them ... ooopps!! The images and coordinating papers in this pack are AMAZING!!!

The 1-1/2" strip of paper is one of the "accent" papers included in the pack! If you click for a closer view, you will see I've added a little highlighting with an American Crafts glitter pen.

The base card for this "quickies" is a ValuPack of A-8 Ivory cards/envelopes I purchased at Michael's through the summer months (50 - $5.00). I bought a pack of Ivory and a pack of White ... couldn't pass up the price!! Envelopes included ... CAN'T BEAT THAT!!!

Hope you like them ... gotta go ... more to do!! Thanks for stopping!!!

OCCC -Gift Card/Money Holders

Here are a few money holders and gift card holders I've made for our gift giving this year! (You can click on the image for a larger view).

This week's challenge over on the Our Creative Corner blog is to make a gift card holder so this fits right in. On their challenge blog they also offer up a really cute gift card holder template from their guest designer, Tori Wild.

The gift card holders I have made start out with a 4 1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock ... scored in thirds. I've used the SU word window punch and circular Nestabilities to make the pull slot. If you'd like specific instructions, please let me know and I can get them to you. These are fun because you can decorate just the front ... or the inside left ... or the inside right ... or ALL sides! Which ever you choose. The holder in the back was made for a guy and I've used the SU "Nature Silouettes" as the main image. The inside has additional "animal" images and I bet you can guess where the gift card is for!!!

We have several "tweeners" in our family right now so gift giving is more difficult than when they were "little ones"!

The easy way out for us this year is to give them money ... of course, I'm sure they will ALL love having the money to put towards whatever electronic device they feel they HAVE TO HAVE this year, LOL!! The paper dimension is 6 1/2" x 8 1/4" ... scored in thirds. I've rounded the corners of the outer flap and the inside has an oval cut in the lower panel which when folded up to hold the money, you can see "which President" is looking back at you! The image on the front is by Impression Obsession and I've used Prisma pencils for the coloring. What a quick & easy way to dress up any President!

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! Hope you are all having a wonderful day!

A Christmas Tour - Day 2

WELCOME TO THE PAVLICK'S

As promised, I'm back to show you around our diningroom & "poofy room" via the front door entryway!

We have a 2-story entryway and as you can see, the builder's have placed a coat closet to the left which created an odd sort of "landing" which I try to decorate for the different seasons. (Wasn't very successful this year though, LOL).

I usually have a Christmas tree up on that landing as well as a few other packages, etc. This year I was happy to get this lovely couple up there to say hello & goodbye as you come to visit!! The stacked boxes were a real "steal" from a Hallmark store in Toledo, OH. My friend & I were at the mall shopping and when I saw this (what I thought was ONE box) with the Night Before Christmas scenes on it, I just had to have it ... (of course, not realizing at the time that there were actually 6 boxes all fit one inside the other). Upon returning home we were going through our purchases and that's when I realized that they were stack boxes! The price on the largest box was $8.95. Evidentally the cashier didn't realize there were more boxes inside either because $8.95 is what I paid ... and each box was priced individually ... there are SIX boxes all together and the lowest priced one was $2.95. I called the store and told them what had happened and they just said "Well, shame on us for not catching it ... Merry Christmas!"

THIS ... is MY "poofy room". Mark calls it that because this is the victorian furniture I purchase for our formal living room in our last house which was of Victorian style. I love anything vintage and although you can't really see it well here, I have crammed a lot of my favorite vintage pieces into this one little room. My husband bought me the curio cabinet so I could have a place to showcase some of my more treasured pieces and the mantel clock is an authenic German made wind-up clock that keeps perfect time and the Westminster chimes are beautiful. The pictures on the wall in the top right photo are those of our families. My grandmother with her 12 children (left) and Mark's parent's wedding photos on the right. Over the door going into the familyroom is a 1950's photo of Mark's brother's visiting Santa ... isn't it PRECIOUS!! (you can click on any photo for a larger view)

HERE is our formal diningroom that you see to your left as you come in the front door. We don't use this room very often, mainly holiday's but it's nice to have when we are fortunate enough to have a family or neighborhood gathering! Our family are all at least 1-2 hours away so they rarely come HERE, we ususally go there!!

How do you like my baker's rack ... isn't it awesome!! My DH bought this for me while we were still living in Toledo and he actually brought it home himself in his Ford Explorer. That was so funny because, my husband is NOT A SMALL man and he had to have his driver's seat all the way up in order for there to be room for this to fit ... and I mean it barely fit!! He drove about 15 miles in that position in order to surprise me with this!! WHAT A GREAT GUY!!


I have a Santa collection (and a teapot collection) and I look forward to bringing the Santa's out each year and remembering who & when I received each and every one of them. I wished you could see them in person ... they are all so beautiful. I have many more than what you see here ... they are scattered throughout the other rooms of the house. I have a number of teapot Santas & Snowmen that are displayed through out the kitchen. (Please click on the photo for a larger view).

Well, that does it for my little tour! I hope you enjoyed it and if you'd like to see the rest of the house, you'll have to COME AND VISIT!! Thanks for stopping by. I hope to have some new cards/projects to share with you the first part of the week. Have a great day!!!

A Christmas Walk through Our Home Sweet Home!

WELCOME TO THE PAVLICK HOUSE!!

My online friend Amy Johnson has a home that is over 100 years old and she decorates EVERY room in it for the holidays. This year she is sweet enough to take us all on a tour ... a room a day and it was been wonderful!!! You really must check it out ... the header on her blog alone will give you a taste of what's to come!!!



SO, I thought I'd like to try and give you all just a "peek" at a few rooms of our home decorated for the holiday. I will only be sharing the "living area" of our home. I, (unlike Amy), don't have the energy to decorate EVERY room ... (she's a tad younger than I am, LOL!! )




Today is the familyroom & eat-in kitchen (the back portion of the house). The family room steps down from the eat-in kitchen (Photo #1 is taken from the kitchen looking at the left side of the room). It's a nice big room and I consider this my husbands room (I let him have a few rooms - he doesn't like "stuff on the walls" - hence NO WINDOW TREATMENTS).

The second photo is obviously looking to the right side of the room which steps up into the formal livingroom (DH calls it DAR'S "poofy room" ... you'll see why when I post those photos later).




The third photo is that of our eat-in kitchen. We are very blessed to have such a large kitchen and it's the perfect place for family & party gatherings. You can really put out a spread on the built in island! Down the hall is our laundry room, powderroom, coat closet & and HUGE walk-in pantry (LOVE THAT!!). Sometimes when I can't find DH ... he's in the pantry sneaking goodies!!!


This photo is what you'd see if you were standing in the familyroom looking into the kitchen, down the hall and out the door to the garage.

This photo I took while standing on the steps which go downstairs to my basement craftroom.



Well, that's all for today, next time I'll bring you in the FRONT door and show you our formal diningroom to your left and MY "poofy room" to your right. Till then ... hope you enjoyed my little tour.