Remodeling House

Christmas is just around the corner so I thought I would do up a gardening wish list.  The nice thing about gardening is everyone knows you garden so it is  easier to buy gifts for those special occasions.  Here's a few things that are on my gardening wish list:
seeds - I'm especially fond of receiving seeds and it doesn't matter what.  I look forward in anticipation to see if I can get the seeds

Hey everyone! I am really excited about Christmas, and everytime I see holiday decorations elegant and unique for my readers I bookmark them. Holiday decoration is so much fun, specially when you have so many ways to decorate. I have been looking for ideas that would work great in apartments as well as bigger spaces specially on a budget.

Check out my post on Unique Christmas trees , and Pine cone decoration projects which are absolutely in style and elegant.

I have already put up a few posts and will be doing a few more. Get the most while decorating this Christmas, get creative and crafty and there will be more ideas to inspire you right here.

 This stunning piece is part of the GIVING......but first, my thanks to all of you.

When each of us that blogs wrote our first post, we had no idea where this would lead.
If you were like me I thought "how on earth do i compete with so so many well established blogs out there?"
 Would there ever be room at the "table" for me?
The answer;  yes a resounding yes, I was not entering a competition (that's the old sports player in me) but a warm and welcoming family. Blogging and it's interactions, are now a large component in my life and I am thankful for each of you.
Not one to start out too slowly, I went to the top........Eddie Ross and Jaithan Kochar. I nervously reached out with an invitation to host a party in their honor when they were coming to the Kane County Flea market in Illinois. Imagine the screaming when I opened Jaithan's response....."Yes, we would love to..........."
Two years on these dear men are wonderful friends with a special place in my heart. We have shared much. Deep in my soul I know  they are the lifelong brothers I always wanted and I treasure them immensely. Could this have happened without blogging?
Deep bonds have formed with many others that I hope to meet someday

And now for the giving............
As most of you are aware another "one of ours" remains in need. Valorie and Alberto of Visual Vamp

In brief Valorie and Alberto flew to Toronto for a Tango event. Upon exiting the plane, Alberto suffered a life threatening heart attack. The Canadian Health Care system is not particularly "foreigner friendly". Conferring with their Doctor in New Orleans he concurred that their method of treatment would be detrimental and Albreto needed to get home immediately for surgery.
Not so easy..............

• Alberto was not allowed to take a commercial flight, he needed a Medi-Vac
• The Medi-Vac must be paid in full, up front
• The hospital had to be paid in full in order to secure a release

 We are talking huge sums and Valorie reached out for her beloved Alberto. Friends, family and her blogger community reacted. Funds were borrowed and donated. The borrowers lent their credit card and the payments are due. Having met and bonded with this darling couple, I would be honored to help. So I will stop rambling and get to it!


                                Art for a Heart

Another on-line auction. With the opportunity to both give and to receive. Seeking those of you that have something artful to donate. With the help of Laura Ingalls Gunn of Decor to Adore, she is guiding me on how to host this endeavor.
 Laura's generous auction can be seen here with all of her participants.

The lovely sister duo of Providence Design opened their new on-line shop with a big gala. Did you see? We were all invited! And.........10% of the sales are being donated to Val and Alberto
 A long winded back to this gorgeous piece of jewelry. Our first donation by a reader of the Visual Vamp's, wrote me about being honored to donate her art; this stunning piece was made by the generous Carla Fox.
I have a feeling Carla will be in demand, don't you love this?!!
 Second up, a painting by the generous Karena of Art by Karena........can't wait to see what she chooses!

Third: I will be donating a beloved antiquity, a French playing card from the late 1700's lovingly framed and matted, can't wait to show you!

 Who can participate? Everyone, you can be an artist and showcase your work, I will credit you and provide a link for your new fans. And any art form; painting, sculpting, jewelry, knitting, glass, mosaic..........  from your heart. 
 Want to help but are not an artist? Consider donating an item of art, however humble, in your possession or an object in honor  of your favorite artist,something that speaks to your heart. Just send me an email
Together we are strong. And......I detect a pattern here, do you? Bloggers and readers of blogs all belong to this amazing community and we will know where to turn should the need arise.


 Thankfully, to all those that visit, comment and extend your hand in friendship, loving you all

Debra




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We are still experiencing unseasonably mild temperatures here, not that I'm complaining.  The lawns look almost the best they have all year with the extra bit of rain we've been having.  There have been a couple of squirrels skirting about the yards but still no sign of the wild rabbits.  I've been told that the rabbit population is cyclic but to not see any is rather discerning.  I suspect with

I did a recent post on interesting Christmas tree for this holiday. Check this post for some really awesome ways to create your own unique Christmas tree. I have always enjoyed making decorations and take a lot of pride in being crafty. In this post I bring to you different ways to use pine cones for decoration this holiday season.

The decoration ideas I have selected are not just eco-friendly and beautiful, its free and lets you use your creativity to make this season really special.

I am still looking up more interesting ways to decorate this holiday season. Do check back for some more creative and unique ideas for decorating. Happy crafting all of you!!

There is very little going on outdoors this time of the year.  We still have another day's worth of leaf gathering to do and put the plastic up on the screen-in sunporch but there isn't any actual garden work to do.  I still have to wash the solar lights I want to keep if the house sells but other than that pretty much all of the garden work is complete.  It's now time to start dreaming of next

Once the final lawn cut for the season has been done it is time to winterize the lawnmower.  This is not a difficult task but neglecting to do so may cause starting problems in the spring and premature rusting of the lawnmower bed.    Here's what we do:
remove any grass build-up under the bed
hose down the bed and under the bed well
allow to fully dry in a sunny location
rub a bit of oil onto the

Cleaned Out Garden BedsNovember 13, 2010
We cleaned out the two smaller and one larger garden bed on Saturday.  While a good portion of the leaves were mowed over with the mulching lawnmower to provide mulch for the lawn another good portion were vacuumed up.  Rather than waste the leaves collected by the leaf blower/vacuum my husband dumped them onto the two smaller beds and the garden paths

Mulching LeavesNovember 13, 2010

Our lawn mower has mulching capabilities so it makes sense to take advantage of that to get rid of a few leaves.  We have way more than we can compost in the gardens and I don't like putting leaves out for municipal collection unless necessary.  One solution we came up with was running over the leaves during the last couple of lawn cuttings with the lawn mower

 We all have dreams, plans and goals.................what are yours? Is it something that still eludes you?

 Being an endless planner and one with long and short term goals may make me seem serious, but I am also a dreamer. Truly believing that pursuing my dream will indeed transform my life.

 I long to go from this

                To this!
My dream has always been to draw. 
I want to make paper or canvas come alive. Wouldn't you agree that the ability to draw is another form of communication? Ever try to explain a killer chandelier with words only? How about an amazing interior, or a stunning garden? It is for me, a handicap..........but no more


                                             Here
Since dreams are for chasing, I will be off  for two weeks in January studying under the masterful Mike Lin's intensive graphic workshop to learn the skills of hand rendering. 
How is this for a before and after! And as mentioned in TWO WEEKS
Mike's definitive workshop is the fourteen day straight session for 12-16 hours per day!


But see what you can accomplish


Here is Mike observing his students
Here is Mike drawing blind-folded.
But why are the workshops called 'Be Loose?' Well, these workshops not only teach you how to draw but are transformative.  In order to free your mind to draw, one must become "loose", adjust your attitude, while increasing one's confidence and grabbing life by the horns, in other words.........this is life changing.
Our proud master at the end of the session displaying and critiquing the after drawings.


But...........this is not for the faint of heart. I feel as though I am entering the film 'Karate Kid'
Here is Mike.........as a child.
How do I know all of this?  
I took this workshop once before. There, I said it (my head is hanging low). Everyone excelled but me. Teasingly I asked Mike (whom I now consider a friend) if there were discounts for returning students?
"No, you fool around too much!"
And that was the truth. For some unknown reason I did fool around, with all my new-found friends....But 
    N O T  T H I S  T I M E!


Take a look at Mike in action. Being a master, he makes this look effortless but it is part of a technique taught.



                      geneva shop before
One of the reasons to acquire drawing skills is to do our exterior stylizing and landscape designs
                      Rendering of Geneva shop after

An associate in my firm, Stephanie Fania is our in-house artist. She draws and is wonderful conveying my thoughts. Telling her where to put what, what to change, eliminate............and she understands horticulture and architecture. Mind you Stephanie will NOT be replaced. I may fool around but I am not a fool, this takes practice.

                                     Friends warehouse before in North Carolina
In this instance Thomas sent photo's, filled out our survey and without ever being on site we proposed the following with minor changes such as paint and landscaping with minimum architectural details.

But with life's twists and turns or small interior design appointments by myself I long to draw.


Care to join me? Drop me a line. But I have promised myself this time, no partying!

Fondly,
Debra