Our New Year's Wishes for You and Don't Forget!

May your days be filled with soooooooo much laughter... that you Snort and Tinkle!
(speaking from experience of course). :) hee,hee,hee!

Don't forget to join me tomorrow as we start the New Block of the Month FREE Stitchery and Quilt project! It's called "A Sentimental Journey Through the Months." Details here tomorrow!!!

Zen in 2010. Pass it on!!
binkies,
shell

Wild Hare Wednesday - French Macaroons

This time my Wild Hare involved plane travel, security and a friends daughter that lives in Manhattan. Yep... this was one heck of a Wild Hare!

Ok... so this is a long post cause I got a lot to say. Go pee, get a drink and put your sweat pants on. hee,hee,hee.

It all started when my friend Dawn at Hydrangea Home posted about these French Macaroons that her daughter had for her 13th birthday. Her daughter loves Paris (me too) and her daughter hopes to go there on her 16th birthday (me too..errr..umm.. I mean maybe 50) Dawn posted this back in March!! Dawn was kind enough to give a link to purchase these little tasty tidbits. So I clicked and placed an order! Waiting, waiting, waiting. Two weeks goes by and I finally email the folks to find out where my tasty tidbits are. What do you mean you don't deliver to middle of nowhere, small town, bo-hick, all we have is Walmart NC???? Well pooooooooooo!!!!

I spent the weeks imagining myself enjoying these scrumptious little tidbits with my friend Lyd. We would have tea and good conversation all the while pretending we were posh and lived in a city. hee,hee,hee.

Then what happens??? Everyone I know is blogging about French Macaroons!!! In fact all these photos I borrowed from my friend Charmaine at Beautiful Things To Share (note..after reading this you should visit with Charmaine. I heart her blog big time!)

Ok.. so she starts blogging about these tasty tidbits and puts all these fabulous photos together. Oh the torture!! The pain!!! The...let's get in the car and drive to Manhattan!!! No... wait.. get on a plane and go to Paris!! Yeah! Paris!

Then what happens???

My friend Pei Li is a miniature artist in Singapore. She makes a tower of these macaroons! Of course, they are only for dollhouse display, are less than an inch tall and are not for eating. At this point I think I could eat them anyway.

So finally, my friend says that her daughter is coming home for Christmas. Her daughter lives in Manhattan. Manhattan has French Macaroons! Oh Claire! I love you! So this sweet girl goes to a bakery (like right near her apartment, lucky!) and gets me a dozen macaroons. She puts them in a tote bag so they don't get smushed, arranges them with the utmost care as they go through the airport security scanner and then holds them on her lap like precious cargo for the whole trip!

I'm so excited when Claire calls me to tell me they have arrived. Now... I only wish I had pictures to show you, but my Wild Hare got the best of me and instead of sharing them with Lyd and pretending we were posh city people, I ate them (all of them) in the car like a country bumpkin on my way to buy litter for the bunnies litter boxes. Yep... pathetic....absolutely pathetic. A Wild Hare indeed.

binkies,

shell

Traveling Art

Ok... so this was just total fun! I got to participate in a traveling art journal! Each participant makes a page, adds some business info. and passes it on. I got my page all finished up and sent the journal on it's way to the next person. When it's all done it will be packed full of all kinds of beautiful art.

Of course mine represents my love of "understated elegance" and muted colors. I used vellum, pearls, Martha Stewart's lacy punch, and embossed a damask design onto the paper. Then I used some felted stickers, some ribbon and a few pearly buttons. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. It truly reflects my style.

This page was done by Claudi Twardus of Antica Treasures

She and my friend Carrie of Noelle Garrett Designs are hosting this journal.

Claudia then passed it on to Lisa McDonald of Pale Pink and Roses

Lisa passed it on to Susie Durrschmidt of The Polka Dot Rose

Susie passed it on to Carol Kujala of Business in the Bag

and Carol passed it onto Tedi Mercer of Petite Bookstore

and then Tedi passed it to me. I have now sent it on to Janet at Janet's Creative Pillows

I think it is so cool and I loved having the opportunity to work on it with my friends.

binkies,

shell

Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas! May your blessings be many and your hearts be filled with love!

Shell, David, Razzy and Sugie

Wild Hare Wednesday!

Helllooooooooooo and welcome to another Wild Hare Wednesday!

This week I thought I would chat a bit about my Card Making Wild Hares! Many years ago I got totally caught up in making handmade cards! I love them and then I got a Wild Hare that now I can never allow myself to buy a card. Well that's all fine and dandy except when it comes to Christmas! This year I made 62 handmade cards! Yes... 62! Every year I say I'm going to start in July and every year I've just polished off the Thanksgiving food and find myself in full panic to get all the cards done! It takes a long time and there are so many steps, but I truly love every minute of it.

Since many of you in blogland have become my dear friends, I've decided to share a "virtual card" with you. Here is the card I made this year.

This is what the inside reads.

Sorry about the photo. It's really white, but blogger was having a bad Hare Day, hee,hee,hee, and wouldn't upload my original "pretty white" photo. Uggg...

Anyway, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and many good Wild Hares in the New Year!

bunny hugs,

shell

The Spirit of Friends and a new Schedule

So I've changed things around a bit here in Bunnyville. I'll be posting Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's. I'm getting myself all geared up for the New Year and will be following a new schedule. So, if you are a follower already, you know when I post. If you are not a follower, why not join? I've got all kinds of giveaways and new FREE things coming in the New Year! Sometimes it's good to be a follower!

Ok... onto the gifts. I just had to share these fantastic gifts I received from two of my blogland friends. I find it so cool that even though I've never met them in person, they still sent me a gift.

First is this gorgeous handmade cuff from Rebecca at Rebecca for Vintage Living. I found Rebecca's blog this year and have been pure tee smitten with it ever since. Her work is just down right fabulous!!! I've drooled, ooohed and ahhed over her work this entire year. Then...I get this fabulous cuff from her in the art exchange!! How cool is that! Thanks so much Rebecca!!! Oh and by the way, she is having a giveaway right now too! You could win this fabulous star!!

Hop over to her blog and leave a comment to enter.

Next is a gift from my bunny friend Emily at The Bunny Lounge! I was just telling David the other day that I needed a pair of pants for lounging around in. Something warm and comfy. Well, get out! This cool pair of lounge "bunny" pants comes in the mail from The Bunny Lounge!! Talk about ask and you shall receive! I love them Emily! She also sent Razzy and Sugar some carrot treats and they have been enjoying those very much too! Hop over and visit with Emily, her bunny Hef, and her dog, Shadow. They are so precious! I'm so glad to have them as friends!

Close up of the bunny on the pants.

Well, have a great Monday and I'll see you Wednesday for Wild Hare Wednesday. This week I'll be talking about Christmas Cards. Remember... let me know if you want to join in and chat about your Wild Hares!

bunny hugs,

shell

This week IGF friends that I've never met face to face but I feel like I've known forever!

Abracadabra!

Razzy and Sugie practice their magic routine "saw the bunnies in half ." They're hoping to get a gig in Vegas.

Happy Friday!

Shell

Wild Hare Wednesday! Light Fixtures

Well Hellooooooo there and welcome to another Wild Hare Wednesday!

Remember, if you want to join in let me know and I'll add you to the list. There are no rules, you can write about ANY kind of Wild Hare you have!

You don't have to follow my theme as my Hare's get really Wild sometimes! hee,hee,hee.

Ok... so this week I'm going to confess about my light fixture Wild Hare..er..umm, well let's just rephrase that to say Hare(s). hee,hee,hee.

I have lived in my house for 8 years and I've changed most of my light fixtures 3 times!!! Yes, 3 times!!

Let's take a stroll down memory lane shall we..

I started out with all the deep dark tiffany stained glass and iron fixtures. Very Victorian.

This was my dining room light.

This one hung over my kitchen island. (I sold both of these)

Hall sconce lit up.

Hall sconce daytime.

This one David actually made. Yes made. It's a sconce for our hallway. I'm selling this one (he said to, so don't freak out). Send me an email if you're interested $150.00 plus shipping.

While they are very pretty, they're dark. Ummm, I don't like dark. Oh yeah that's right.

Next!

So then I moved on to the whole crystal and bling and Shabby Chic thing. Oooo so pretty and shiney! But.. Hello!!! Shiney get's dirty and dusty and grungy! It's only pretty when it's shiney! What a pain in the buttox to clean!! What was I thinking? I'm a clean freak and all those crystals!

This one hung above my kitchen island (I sold it)

This one hung in my dining room. (Gave to a friend in trade for something... forget now)

This one hung in my master bath. (It's for sale $35.00 plus shipping if you're interested send me an email).

So now here we are in the Calm, Clean and Serene decorating phase and what is the final stage (or so David hopes anyway) of my Wild Hare(s) over light fixtures.

These are simple, classic and can be cleaned with my favorite cleaning tool, the Swiffer Duster! Yeah baby!

This one is in my dining room.

This one is above my kitchen island.

This one is in my master bath.

and this one... hello fabulous... (I actually said that when I saw it at Ballard Designs) hangs on the wall in the hallway.

So... are you ready to call the people at the looney bin to come and get me? hee,hee,hee.

There really is no cure for Wild Hares. They just happen. Some are just stranger than others and some are lucky they have understanding husbands. :)

Hugs,

shell

Jingle Bell Bunny and the Winner of the Sitchery Kit!

Hello there. How are ya'll doing? Well.. I can hardly believe it is almost Christmas. Time is just flying by faster than my short little legs can keep up with it! I really want to sit my butt on the couch and look at a new decorating/design book I just got as my Christmas present to myself, but alas, I still have too much to get done first.

I participated in an ornament swap over at Quilt and Stitch Marketplace. I showed you the image I wanted to use in an earlier post. This is what my finished ornament looks like. I made 4 for the swap and I made (I mean I'm making) several for some dear friends. I named my ornament "Jingle Bell Bunny." Why I feel the need to name things is beyond me, but I do. hee,hee,hee. I had a few issues with glitter dysfunction (operator of glitter) but finally I got it to work out like I wanted. Of course it's white... What did you think it would be?? hee,hee,hee.
What do you think of it? I think it's really cute.

The following are the ornaments I have received in the swap. I'm still missing one and I'll post a picture when it gets here.

This pinky rosey ornament came from my good friend Gail Caldwell at The Sassy Beach

This one came from my friend Regina DeMatteo at Doodle Buddies

and this one came from my friend Ava Langner at Sew Into It
Thanks so much girlfriends! I had the best time creating an ornament for you and swapping!

Now... onto the winner of the 12 Day's of Christmas Stitchery Kit. So again I went to http://www.random.org/ and again I entered in the numbers. This time 1 through 25 and I couldn't believe it when it again picked the number 6! Ok... so 6 is my lucky number... could that be why? Who knows? So anyway, I counted down from the top this time since last time I counted up from the bottom. The winner is.... Karin from Australia! How cool is that! My little stitchery kit will make the journey to Australia! Boy do I sure wish I could make the journey to Australia! I've always wanted to go there. There are tons of fabulous stitchery friends there that I would love to hang out with.

Congratulations Karin! I'll send you an email too so you can send me your "addy."

bunny hugs,
shell

12 Day's of Christmas Stitchery and another Giveaway!

Well, we made it. The 12 Day's of Christmas little mystery stitchery on my website started the day after Thanksgiving and ended Tuesday. Each day the participants collected another little piece of the project. Then.... due to me running behind and fessing up that I was only one day ahead of the participants, (naughty) and it was raining, and it was dark and I had to work my construction job for two days so I couldn't take a decent picture because it was dark, I couldn't unveil the finished project until today when I could take a picture and finish sewing on the pom pom fringe. So here it is. The 12 Day's of Christmas Stitchery made into a pillow with pom pom fringe and pearl beads. I'm so delighted with it and I hope everyone that participated had a good time.

I used this beautiful Valdani 3 strand floss. The color is called Heavenly Hue. I chose this color because my Cutie Grammy left for Heaven on August 26 this year. She had the most beautiful ice blue eyes and her favorite color was blue.
This picture below is in 2007 (90 years old) when she came to visit with me, David and the bunnies.

I made this mystery stitchery in her honor and in her memory.
(I love you cutie.. I'll have a blue Christmas without you)

So, in her honor and in her memory and for all my loyal blogging friends and my wonderful customers, I'm going to have a giveaway. Stitching relieves so much stress and helps me get through things because I can focus on creating. I've decided I am going to give away an entire kit to create this project. One lucky winner will get the linen, the floss, a hoop, the fleece, the fringe, the needles, the pearls, the pen and all the patterns. Everything except the stuffing for the pillow.

All you have to do is leave a comment. If you participated and collected all the patterns, please let me know. I'm so darn curious to see how many people got them. I'll draw the winner's name on Sunday so I can mail out the kit on Monday.
Good luck and happy stitching!

Shell

Winner of the Sew Somerset Magazine!

Hellooo there and thanks so much for all your comments and congratulations! I really am so excited.

I went to random.org and used that nifty little, thingy, counter, oh whatever it is... I put in 1 to 30 and it picked number 6. Then I decided that I would count up backwards from the bottom to get to comment number 6, just because I'm weird like that and don't like to do things the same all the time.

Sooooooooo, Congratulations to Sherry at My Home Sanctuary. You are the winner of the Sew Somerset issue. Send me your address and I'll get it right out to ya!

bunny hugs,

shell

Wild Hare Wednesday!!!

Wooo hoooo! Are you ready??? Remember you can join anytime you like! Just let me know and I'll add you to the list! Let's share some laughs with some crazy Wild Hares!

Ok... first of all I must say that maybe that old saying "3rd times the charm" really is true!!

We built our home in 2001. At that time my kitchen knobs were these really cool brass egg shaped knobs that I just had to have. David called them "eggberts." I have no idea why except that we are weirdo's and name things dorky names. hee,hee,hee.

So anyway, my friend Lyd makes me this really cool gift that has a rose knob on it! I went gaga! Soooooooooooo, seeing as my house "was" all pink, green and yellow, with a Victorian fooo fooo thing going on, I changed out all the "expensive" "eggbert" knobs for the "foo foo fabulous" "more expensive!" rose knobs! This is what they look like. oooo... they are pretty in pink!

(Sold)
Then, I couldn't stop there seeing as my whole entire house is going through a transformation. Oh no... we must change out the bathroom knobs while we are at it! Time number 3?? yep!

(Sold)
My vanity had pink knobs.
David's had green.
Isn't that sweet???
Well heck, we both have vanities on opposite sides of our bathroom and it was keeping with the whole theme! Plus.. in case we ever had a stupid moment, we could tell by the knobs which vanity was which! hee,hee,hee.

(Sold)

So now after all that, after two kinds of knobs, these are what I have changed to and I really, really love them (David chimes in.... yeah heard that before!) Anyway, my house is getting back to the "French Cottage" look that I love so much and really reflects me and believe it or not David too. All knobs on all the cabinets in kitchen, the bathrooms and the living room are now clear and simple and give just enough bling.

Soooooooooooo do you need any fabulous rose knobs, pink knobs, green knobs or eggberts... oh uh...err.. I mean brass egg shaped knobs?? I have lots for sale and I will sell them for super cheap! Totally not kidding (will sell for cheap).

I still have all the eggberts, but they are in the attic and I was too busy to climb my butt up there to get them.

If you want any knobs, send me an email and I'll give you the details.

Happy Wild Hare Day!!! I do hope to visit with all of you and see your Wild Hares!!!

bunny hugs and sillyness,
shell

PS... check back with me tonight 7:00 est for the winner of the Sew Somerset issue. See the post below.. there is still time to enter!

B is for Bunny,Sew Somerset, and a Giveaway

A year ago I created this textile book featuring bunnies (of course). I played around with the images on my computer and made them more sepia toned. Then I transferred them to silk. Then I collaged pages to make an entire textile book called "B" is for Bunnies. I used some vintage crochet lace and the clasp of the book is made from my Great Grandma's costume earring.



I'm honored that 3 of the eight pages were selected to appear in the December/January issue of Sew Somerset Magazine!!! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!!!
I'm also honored to share the page with my good friend Janet of Janet's Creative Pillows!
How cool is that!

I used a vintage damask table cloth and vintage trims along with some glass pearls and old buttons.



I'm so happy and I would like to share this happy occasion with you, my good friends in blogland. I'm having a giveaway for a FREE issue of this Sew Somerset Magazine. I'm addicted to all the Somerset Magazines. If you haven't read them, you should check them out at Stampington.

In order to be entered into the drawing, all you have to do is leave a comment. I'll pick a winner from all the entries on Wednesday. Good luck!

bunny hugs,
shell

This week IGF friends that love me even when I have an occasional melt down and being happy that others enjoy my art.