The halls are decked. The presents are still getting purchased and wrapped – shh, don’t tell! Come on in and grab a cup of cocoa and sit a spell… today we’re decorating the living room at my house with a little new and old.

Maybe you’d like to sit by the fireplace in the living room? We normally put our tree in the front window in the music room, but I couldn’t live without the sparkle in the living room so I added another tree here. Nature rules in this room with its large windows so I interspersed mercury glass ornaments with wood, burlap, and tiny grapevine wreaths.

I love to customize the fireplace decor every year and I’m still loving my old window so why not hang a wreath, put out a little woodland menagerie, bottle brush miniatures and some candlelight.

Vintage treasures include an old pair of child’s wooden skis that I love!

And this old truck can easily carry a sisal tree home, complete with shiny bulbs!

I think I’ll just sip my cocoa in here a bit before moving on to the next room. Happy Holidays!

Christmas is almost here! And every day I’m getting the house a little more decked, a little more cozy. I think this year I might need to leave my decorations up even longer than normal, it’s taken me so long to put them up! This time of year is always busy for me as a musician. I sing with the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and Christmas is the season packed with the most concerts. And this year I’ve been doubly busy as you all know that my friend opened a store in Little Italy, Moonstruck CLE, and I’ve been helping her set up and contribute some products from psbonjour. Oh and I work a day job and host a few parties over the season. But I’m guessing all of you have as many or more things going on in your lives and can relate. So when we get our houses in order, the tree trimmed, the fireplace decorated … the feeling of comfort and peace can finally settle in. And we feel prepared to invite in friends and family to share the blessings of the season. I didn’t get as much done as I wanted but guess what – this year it’s just right!

So come on in, have a seat – can I make you a cup of hot cocoa or coffee?

I purchased this sweet minty bar cart from a fun vendor at the Cleveland Flea – somethingtobefound – check out her blog! I’m a sucker for hot cocoa drinks this time of year. Or maybe a little Irish coffee. Or maybe a nip of Frangelico or Bailey’s in the hot cocoa or coffee!


And of course the bar cart needs the right cups and accessories! A lovely copper mug for Moscow Mules in the summer can be just as lovely for a steaming cup of cocoa in the winter. A Ho Ho Ho or Jolly mug always replaces my pumpkin mugs this time of year.

But no drink sipping is complete without a little musical entertainment. So the ‘ol RCA Victor needs to be a part of the mix and spin some holiday 45’s, don’t you think?!

So let’s get a little Frank or Dean on the turntable, put some milk on the stove, and get this party started!

Pondering gratitude today and how the events of this past weekend produced so much of it. I am so grateful for all the people that came out to support the grand opening event at Moonstruck CLE and my part in the adventure. I was genuinely thrilled to have that experience and felt waves of gratitude rippling through my whole being as I watched people interact with one another, sang carols, and witnessed Elisa’s happiness unfold as well. I couldn’t help but think about the effect gratitude has on one’s happiness. The experience is akin to relief – a sense of calm, peace, and harmony sets in – could this be santosha? 🙂 I think so. When the stars align and the universe gives you what you need, gratitude can be and has to be the only response.

It is not joy that makes us GRATEFUL – it is gratitude that makes us JOYFUL.

It wasn’t just the opening of the store that reminded me to be grateful. On Sunday, I sang with my fellow choristers and the Cleveland Orchestra at a benefit concert we do every year. The day is long and can be quite tiring, but listening and participating in the music created a response in me that led to tears multiple times, and some asked if everything was okay. I couldn’t respond as I didn’t actually know why I was having such a response. And then I put my finger on it. My mother and my mother-in-law are currently both battling cancer and my father-in-law passed away last year related to cancer. Even if you’re not with them every day, you feel and participate in their struggle and experience your own range of emotions that arise – anger, fear, sadness, helplessness, all mixed with hope and joy. But my tears Sunday were not from those feelings, but they were from the fact that – even in the midst of all of those struggles – there are so many other things in life for which one can be GRATEFUL…

For the constant and supreme power of music – to bring awareness to self, to distract from self, to create joy, to calm, to motivate, to thrill, to heal…

For friends and family – to laugh with, to love, to lean on, to connect with, to relish each one’s uniqueness…

And mostly for life…even though it is short in the universe’s timeline, may we cherish our part in it and always treat it with grace and gratefulness.

And we are here – Day 12 of the 12 Days of Projects – Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I started this venture on November 16 wanting to really commit to getting some craft projects done for myself, gifts for others, or things for selling at my friend’s shop, Moonstruck CLE. Thank you so much for coming along and sharing this mini journey. I have had a great time and got in gear for the holidays. Today I get to relax and eat turkey and pumpkin pie. Tomorrow I can move on to decorating for Christmas!

Today I’m sharing a project I actually made last year but it takes us so perfectly into the Christmas season, a DIY Advent Calendar, I wanted to share. The origins of advent calendars have to do with anticipating Christmas, the largest Christian holiday of the year. The days are Dec 1 – 24 and are marked off one by one with maybe a small bible verse (if solely religious) or treat (to mix in a little secular) to build the anticipation for the ultimate day, December 25.

Materials:
Kraft small envelopes
Rhinestone stickers
Round cardstock paper pieces (I bought round tags at the craft store)
Mini clothespins
Glue
Twine
Mini cards
Screw eyes (these are screws with a round “eye” at the top – I needed these as I wanted to hang my advent calendar on a wall under trim).

Instructions:
This project is really simple, it’s just a little time-consuming…
1. Glue the round tags to the Kraft envelopes.
2. Stick the rhinestone stickers at the top of the round cardstock (over the holes in my case).
3. Cut two pieces of twine to accommodate your envelopes.
4. Screw the two screw eyes tightly into the angle of the trim and wall.
5. Thread the twine through each side and tie tightly.
6. Attach all the envelopes using the clothespins.

And now we get to fill the envelopes! Because it’s just my husband and me in our household, we decided to alternate days to give each other advent gifts. And our “gifts” were notes written on cards (with maybe a small piece of candy or trinket) with one of two themes: (1) a favorite memory from the current year; or (2) an idea for an outing or date in the new year. I really enjoyed this addition to our holiday season and how it encouraged us to reflect on the current year and make plans for the new year. Have fun with it and create your own traditions. 🙂




And thanks again for hanging out with me on my 12 Days of Projects! I hope you were inspired to do some creating yourself or at least enjoyed seeing some fun things. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and blessed holiday season. Talk to you again soon. 🙂

Wowsers, we are in the home stretch of 12 Days of Projects! Today is Day 11 and I’m making No Sew Stenciled Placemats. I could have just used a fabric transfer technique like I tried a few days ago, but I had this stencil of rustic numbers and thought it might be fun to try my hand at stenciling on fabric. I hoped the result would be soft and slightly imperfect. And why not try on a simple project like placemats?! Did you know the French word for stencil is pochoir? Tidbits to share with friends at cocktail parties (ones where you talk about DIY, of course!) I also wanted to avoid sewing so thought I could do some frayed edges that would give the placemats a finished look without the bother of pulling out the sewing machine. Let’s get started…

Materials:
Fabric – I used a cotton muslin pre-washed/shrunk. I think these would work much better with linen, I just didn’t want to spend the money!
Fabric paint
Stencil brush
Scissors – make sure you use a pair dedicated for use on fabrics. Did you know that using scissors on paper dulls them very quickly? I keep mine separate.
Pencil
Ruler/tape measure

Instructions:
Step 1. From what I’ve seen, placemat dimensions tend to be about 13 x 17 inches. Plan out your placemats on your fabric and use your pencil to sketch an outline (I did 14 x 18). Fabric bolts can come in different widths, but if you find one at least 45 inches wide, you can easily get 4 placemats out of one yard.

Step 2. Cut out your placemats with your fabric scissors.

Step 3. Lay out your stencil and tape it down securely. I wanted mine to appear in the bottom right corner of the placemat.

Step 4. Using a stencil brush (inexpensive foam round brush), dip the brush in the fabric paint, and “dab” on a surface to remove most of the paint (I use an old plastic lid). And then use the same dabbing technique to go over your stencil onto your fabric in an even manner. You really use very little paint, particularly in the case of these where we want it to appear a little faded.

Step 5. Remove your stencil and let the paint dry.


Step 6. To fray the edges, pull strands of the fabric threads one at a time until you reach a desirable effect. I had mixed success with this techniques, fyi. I think it was the fabric I used, but it wasn’t that square, so my frayed edges got a little lopsided (but hey they are “perfectly imperfect”). 🙂 I think next time I might just sew them. Or linen might work better for this part, too.

That’s it! That’s all! You could make 2 or 4 or as many as are in your family. These also make great handmade gifts. Have fun crafting!