Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Word-y Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!
 
I know, Wednesday is almost over...
 
I can't believe it's already been a week since Halloween and my last post...
 
I actually got my Halloween decorations put away in record time this year!
 
(Says She Who Has Left Her Christmas Tree Up Until February...)
 
It helped that we got some neat orange-and-black storage bins
 at our friendly neighborhood Dollar Store, 
and Jonathan arranged everything on the dining-room table (without me even asking),
all ready to be stored away...;^)
 
I really wasn't ready ~ It had only been up for a week!
 
But, I guess it was time...All Hallow's Eve was over...
 
Nothing is really as over as a holiday, the day after...do you agree?
 
Is it all the commercialism that has been drummed into us,
 
always forging ahead toward the next "big thing"?
 
I don't know.
 
An exception, to that, however...
 
A lot of times I actually enjoy Christmas more in the days after...
 
when all the rush and anticipation is past, and you can kind of just relax and enjoy the season...
 
(Here I am rushing the season by just talking about it!)
 
Here are a few pictures I took, trying to keep with the actual season for a while,
 
despite all the Christmas advertising...
 
(Isn't the Target Dog in that commercial cute, though, barging down that little street with his Christmas gifts?)
 
I wonder if they realize that that is exactly what they're doing with Christmas, though...
 
just barreling in... ("Out of the way, Thanksgiving!")
 
"Are you ready? Get set ~ Are you ready?"
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Mr. B got this cabinet painted for me right before Halloween (it was the base of a china cabinet that used to be in my dining room) ~ I now have it and another antique sideboard to make seasonal displays on ~ also distressed white, my favorite furniture finish...I think because it doesn't show dust ~ and white cat hair ~ and you don't have to worry about imperfections...it is perfectly imperfect, on purpose! ~
I'm loving them!

He's also painting a mirror for me to go above the sideboard, then I get to distress it (fun!)...photos to come!
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After I had sanded the edge of the cabinet above, Jonathan came through and said "Oh, Mom ~ look...you're going to have to touch this up..."
 :^)
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One of the set of Turkey salt and pepper shakers from the 1950s that belonged to my Mom...
The bell jar was a birthday gift from my daughter Katie,
and I thought Tom Turkey looked handsome inside it, elevated on the little stack of vintage books...

I left my 1944 Etude magazine (in the frame), out, though, even though it is October...
I love the mandolin-player and his little pixie helpers, in the fall setting...
it doesn't look too Halloween-y, I don't think.
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I didn't want to put my spider (from artist Dave Dardis in Makanda) away, so I gave him a

grape-vine basket lair behind some leftover Halloween Indian Corn,

and squash from the garden.

He's guarding the bounty...(he's a vegan spider).
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I brought in a pumpkin from outside, too.
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Remember the urn I was painting with the Annie Sloan paint?

Here it is, all distressed to my liking...

(It was originally gold, and underneath ~ fired terra cotta ~ I hadn't realized that.

So when sanding off the white, I had little bits of earthy terra-cotta orange coming through,

as well as glimmers of gold...making it go even better with the autumn setting...)

There is the turkey hen as well, also on another little antique volume of poetry,

with a mini pumpkin (I think they are so cute!)...
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Here is my messy work space, not in the basement or upstairs room once designated "studio",

but in the living room right in the middle of everything.

(And thus it shall ever be, most likely...)

The cats like it, though ~ they can keep an eye on me as well as everything else, here.

(There is Cyrus, doing just that!)

This was an order of O'Kringles that I'd waited until the last minute to finish...
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Mixing just the right reds and greens in polymer clay

...then parcelling out the right-sized amounts,

 or my Santas might end up who-knows-how-big!
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Here they are, waiting on baking...

I was in such a rush I didn't get a photo of the finished bunch...

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And Leo, who had been in need of a bath for a week...

I had bathed Cyrus and trimmed his tummy fur last week...

Leo thought he was in the clear...:^)

He was not happy with me, propping him up in a towel wrapped like a straight-jacket...

Not one bit.

(He then had to endure about an hour of blow-drying...)

Tallulah is still due her bath!

Thank you for stopping by ~ Happy Thursday!


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28 comments:

  1. Great post..I love the kitty pictures most of all :)

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  2. Hehehe... my kitties are due for baths as well. Your cutie looks a lot less homicidal than mine do when I'm done with them... ^__^

    I love your O'Kringles! They're just fabulous. ^-^

    I'm excited for the Winter holidays too, but I'm still trying to hang onto every shred of Fall I can... =D
    After Thanksgiving is over I'll be amenable to seeing Christmas stuff everywhere... but it was out all over the place here before Halloween was even over. Um, what? o_0

    Oh well... I suppose people get excited & what not... ^-^

    Talk to you soon!

    XOXO

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  3. Ohhhh, such wonderful photos. Great decorations. Love the colors

    My favorite finish is distressed too. Everything looks so neat.

    Hope everything is well with you all. :)

    Take care, Janet W

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  4. Hi Anne,
    yes, thats after my sense. To work right in the middle of the living area. I often make little craftings while I am looking TV. Wiski likes that also. Your Santas are beautiful. You are really a polymer artist. The colors for the faces are so naturally. And how I like your photos of the little wet cat. Oh so very cute! I would love to cuddle him. My cats could never stand a blow-drying. Thanks for shring this supercute photos. I wish you a great success with your Santas.
    Best greetings, Johanna
    Best greet

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  5. Hello Anne, how lovely to read your blog and see your photographs - especially the beautiful cat ones. You are amazing, creating such wonderful still lifes for your decorations! Jane xx

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  6. aww such a sweet post..kitty is so cuteeeeeeeeeeeee
    hugs xxx

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  7. Great post Anne! Your brave bathing your kitties, mine would have me in stitches, litterally! I sent you an email last week to Congradulate you on winning my treat cones from the Halloween Party, and thought I would let you know here. Please contact me with all your details, I'd love to send them to you! Xo

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  8. Well, that cat of yours doesn't need to utter a single sylabe to let you know how mad - and outraged - he is ahahahah

    I love the look on your Dining Room. I understand both who run from and those who stay in Holiday Decors. Some years I can't get over Christmas Decor - the decor, not the celebration or the meaning - fast enough and others I would keep it until warm weather came and the sun did what they do to me. We're people full of incongruences. That's the marvel of it, I think :).

    I love distress so much and you know it is a well done job when t really looks like in need of a touch up :gottolovethesweetguy:

    Well Done, Anne! Love,
    T

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  9. What loveliness in this post, Anne! This is my favorite season, and you have given some wonderful ideas here!

    Have a lovely Thursday!

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  10. You are one amazingly busy lady and I love your "eye" and your art! Leo looks much like my pups did last night when I dug out the nail clippers! Appparently a number of them missed (or hid) the last go round!

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  11. What fabulous santas! I love them! I ended up leaking into my living room too, I just pulled back recently, but I'm sure I'll start finding my way down again!

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  12. I have been known to leave my Christmas tree up until Valentine's Day. :-)
    You decorate so nicely, I don't put out much for the seasons.
    I tried giving our cat a bath, ONCE! Not a pretty sight.

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  13. My cat Jinx LOVES a bath! But he would never tolerate a blow dryer! LOL! Love the pics...Love the santas! Is there some way i can purchase one or do you only sell to stores etc...?? Hugs! deb

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  14. You give your cats baths??? Wow! Jingles would flip. There are so many things I wish I had done when she was little so that she would be a-o-k with it now. Your Santas are fantastic! Maybe I should paint everything here white to hide all the dust. I sure do hate cleaning. Best wishes, Tammy

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  15. Hello Anne!!!
    Glad to see what fun you have been up to! I planted some of your seeds here and there in my large pots and I hope to tell you that they will be sprouting soon!

    Wow, your urn turned out just BEAUTIFUL!!! Will you use it for Christmas a well? Your spider looks at home there too! Teehehe! Love, Love, Love that bell jar!!! You always have such a lovely display. My mom has those same turkey salt and pepper shakers, I got a bit teary eyed when I saw them!

    Leos eyes are gleaming brilliant green in these pictures!

    Well, your Jolly Santas await! Blessings!!!

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  16. Hi Anne..
    I loved this post. So many great pictures, and your stories that go with each picture.... wonderful.

    Distressed white is also my favorite furniture finish.
    No little dust specks annoying me :)

    Enjoy this day.

    K.

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  17. I am oohing and drooling over each photo. The bell jar with the turkey is so cool....I want one :) Poor Leo....my kitty's can relate...clean or dirty he is very photogenic.

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  18. I can't imagine Max sitting still for a dryer...much less a bath

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  19. Your decorations are warm and inviting for the late fall season! Love the picture of the kitty.

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  20. Gave Truffle a bath a couple of weeks ago and it was still warm enough to let her air dry. I need to give Brulee a bath, but I know she'll be almost impossible to get dry with the blow dryer so I'll wait for a warm day to do it.

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  21. Dearest Anne - Me thinks that I see a not too happy putty cat! Makes me chuckle to think of what they must look like when they are wet!! So glad you are holding onto autumn and not being pushed into rushing into Christmas. Your decorations are so gorgeous...love the turkey under the glass. Have a great week-end my friend. xo xo Pixie

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  22. Good Morning Anne Sweetie...
    What a fun share. I love seeing the critters. And to think Leo thought he was in the clear. How sweet is that? He sounds alot like my Boston Terrier Bruiser. When I say it is bath time, he runs to the bedroom and sits with his face in a corner. I guess he thinks if he can't see me, then I can't see him and he is safe. He always has such a funny look on his face when I just pick him right up. After 12 years, he is still the same.

    I love the work you did on those Santas. They are priceless. What are they made from? You do such beautiful work. I love the red.

    I so enjoyed seeing the turkey beneath your cloche. He is so pretty.Everything looks so festive over here. Thank you for sharing and making my day today.

    I have been away from blogging for awhile, but I am trying to get back into the swing of things. Happy to stop by and say hi. Country hugs and much love, Sherry

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  23. Lovely post and pictures...I love the wet Leo pics best...such big eyes:)

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  24. Beautiful Seasonal Decor! I for one always revel in the Holiday Decor far longer than most... no hurries to take it down and I always put it up early. My Harvest & Halloween Decor will stay up 'til the day after Thanksgiving... and then on to Christmas! However, my Retail Spaces have to transform much earlier and come down expediently so that those seeking their new Decor have plenty of time to be amply Inspired and make their purchases. I know I enjoy the Process... both of Decorating... and of seeking out something new for each Seasonal Decorating Project.

    Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian

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  25. How I love your Santas. You are so very creative and you have the purrrrrfect little helpers. I am a hopeless cat lover and nothing makes me smile more than a lap full of kitties!
    Blessings and Happy Thanksgiving,
    Carolynn >^^<

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  26. What a wonderful world of cats you live in, my friend. They are so sweet and full of unconditional love. I'm glad you have taken each one into your home and your heart.
    We have three housecats and at the moment we are babysitting for a month our son's Tabby. There's never a dull moment in the life of a cao lover!
    Blessings,
    Carolynn >^^<

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I love your thoughts and comments, and I read each and every one! Sometimes life gets in the way, though, and it takes me a while to respond...Thank you for understanding! ♥...Time is precious, and the time you have taken here is truly appreciated!