Come On Over~Lets Paint Together

I was going through my box of wooden shapes, when I came across some more of my snowmen.
I can't remember when I bought these, but they are so cute. I wanted to invite you in to paint with me.
You can purchase wooden shapes at any craft store, most of mine are from Hobby Lobby, but JoAnn's and Michael's carry them too.

Some shapes need a little sanding and cleaning up along the edges, so you have to watch for that. These are pretty clean and ready for a couple coats of cottage white paint. I also added some pink for the details of the shoes, scarfs, mittens and hats.
Once you have them painted the way you like, you can either paint some roses on the front, (that is if you have talent, I for one, was not born with that gene, so I use rose decals.)
I use Modge Podge to seal and add German Glass Glitter for a holiday sparkle.

Once the glass glitter has dried, you can begin to add any ribbons, lace, buttons or bobbles you like.
I have a love affair with handmade paper roses and so most of everything I create, has them added in one way or another. If you have wondered where you can find these little beauties, you can go HERE.
I use a hot glue gun to attach the ribbons and the roses, along with the faux pearls.

I added a large faux pearl to the tip of her hat, making her a cottage and shabby pom-pom.
I also enjoy using vintage and new seam binding ribbons. You can find those on ebay under the name of Zipper Stop. Love that company out of New York.

Two are alike, and the one above is a bit different. They are easy to make, would be beautiful on the tree, great as gifts, especially for teachers, and are perfect to decorate packages.
I hope you will give this a try, you will be hooked.
These and more can be found on my website, Someplace In Thyme.

What Would You Make?

A couple of months ago, I came across these sweet wooden shapes and just had to have them. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with them, so I set them aside for a rainy day.
I have been practicing painting roses and was hoping that my now I would be able to make my grand appearance and surprise everyone with how well I was doing......NOT going to happen this year anyway! :)
Maybe this time next year I will be able to show my work, but sadly, it's long from being good enough.
So.......

I used gorgeous roses decals and sugared the shapes with German glass glitter.

These sweet treasures hang from a pink ribbon and also have handmade paper roses and faux pearls at the top.

Even though they are not hand painted, I think they are just so pretty and perfect for holiday decor.

So you see, you don't have to be able to paint to make something special. I hope you will try this and share what you made. These would be perfect gift giving too.
This and more can be found on my website, SOMEPLACE IN THYME.

~~Where Have I Been The Past Month?~~

Sometimes life has a way of throwing you a curve ball and you never see it coming.
Every year, hubby and I load our two babies (in the photo above) into the car and take off for a week to Colorado Springs to visit my MIL and her second husband Bill.
This year was going to be difficult as Bill was moved into an Assisted Living facility back in Jan, leaving mom all alone in a large five bedroom home overlooking Pikes Peak. We knew changes were coming, we just didn't know what changes, or when.
Mom is 87 years old, Bill is 91. I knew that going into the home the first time and not being greeted by this very loving and warm man, would be hard, but I didn't know if would hurt so much.
About a month before we were getting to leave on our annual road trip, we were speaking with my brother and sister in law in Denver, when we realized mom was beginning to have some problems of her own. We had all agreed that she could not longer be alone, and she had spoke of moving into an apt or a small condo.
Learning that she was having memory problems, trouble knowing and remembering what day it was, reading a calendar, things like that, we knew that some serious decisions had to be made for her own good and safety.
I don't think I have ever spoken so much to my sister in law as we did in those few weeks. Mom's memory loss was coming on too fast. We wondered if there was something wrong that had not be diagnosed.
Dawn (SIL) told me of her mother that was hallucinating by seeing people in cars that were not there.
Did you know that women over the age of 70 can have hallucinations when they have a UTI? It's very common place, although I had never heard of it, but it was a starting point.
Off to the doctor in what we all hoped was going to be a very simple diagnosis. That was not meant to be.
No UTI.
O.k, maybe some silent strokes.....
We had her neurologist give her a head scan and we found lots of good information there, but not necessarily what you might want to hear.
There is a lot going on in mom's 87 year old brain. Like for instance, some evidence of silent strokes. Those are the strokes that kill the blood vessels and eventually kill the area of the brain that no longer received blood from those vital vessels. So, memory loss......
I think you could call it some "dementia."
I found out that day that dementia is not a disease of it's own, like I had always thought, but it's a symptom of anything disease, such as good old age. :) We'll all be there if we are lucky enough.
"she won't get any better", he said, "she is going to only get worse." Of course, no one can predict how long that could take, maybe years, maybe months. It's any ones guess.
So, the decisions are coming fast and have to be made. I told my hubby, I have loved your mom for 40 years, lets bring her here to live with us. She will be well cared for, be so close to her grand children and will be able to get to know her great grand children. It's perfect for all concerned.
We thought about it, talked it over with the rest of the family and it was final.
I didn't want mom in a locked down facility, she is not ready for that step yet. It's so hard when you are between being able to live alone and have to give up your independence.
We have no idea how long we will be together, but it's all good and we are up to the challenges this will bring our family. After all, what is family there for, is not to help each other in any way we can.
Needless to say, we didn't have a vacation after all, but instead spent four days packing boxes and cleaning up, changing addresses and getting all the medical things sorted out.
We cut our vacation short and along with the help of our nephew, we brought mom and her car back with us. One big happy family....well, not always, this is very hard on her. it's not easy to be told you can't live alone, your memory is suffering and decision making abilities are impaired, but we are getting there one day at a time, one step at a time.
Dawn did ask the neurosurgeon about mom being able to drive and this is the advice he uses when the decision comes down to take the keys away:
IF you have an accident
IF you get a ticket
IF you get lost, it's hand them over. Pretty good advice I think.
Since then, I have been busy creating and doing what I love to do. Here are some recently listed items on my website, Someplace in Thyme

More mom stories to follow.