hope...

I hope that we will get some snow like the banner shows,

when we go to get our tree this weekend!

(That is one of my favorite pictures from our Christmas tree excursion 2 years ago)

I hope that I get to talk with all of you soon, 

it has been far too long.

I wish that I could show you all that my house is decorated for Christmas,

but alas there are just a few touches here and there right now,

but I have peace in knowing that it soon will be.

I believe it will shine!

If not with lights, then with my smile, 

because I will have everyone under 

my roof in just a weeks time!

Newest ornaments in the shop right now

Tomorrow is my last show of the year!

I will be doing a home show with a couple of girls

that make the most wonderful bath and body products!

Clawfoot Bathworks

They are holding a Soap'n House at one of their homes

in Grand Rapids

(for all you local  girls...)

1320 Hall St.

from 5-9

I have heard there will be wine and treats and 

of course laughter!

I hope you can join us!

You can see the beautiful products that they make

on their FB page, just click on their name above.

Thanks so much for stopping by,

I hope that your Christmas preparations are filled fabulous memories!

love,

Theresa

xoxoxoxo

weekend update...

A sale...

my little way of thanking everyone for all of the support we have been

shown all summer and beyond!

I have been planning a little 'weekend update' for all of you

to give you a glimpse of some of the places that we 

pitched our tent and sold our wares.

at our very first show, there were ferry boat rides and the crowd

was led onto the island by a bag pipe band,

what a great way to start off our adventures!!

our booth set ups went from this...

to this...

Part of the fun of the shows for me was the redecorating for every show!

"What can I convince Duane to put on the back of the truck 

to make our booth prettier?"

just kidding...

He agreed with every choice and was more than

happy to add anything that would make it more appealing!

Part of my update was also to say

thank you for all of your support,

for the emails from some asking about Duane and his job hunt,

to the requests for updates about our adventures.

I am happy to let you all know that he is the areas newest

Farm Bureau Insurance Agent!

I miss having him along for the ride for the last of the seasons shows,

and I know that he misses it too,

he had a ball doing the shows and meeting all of the 

fun people that visited our booth,

but YAY for him!

He has a passion for telling people of the benefits

of having life insurance to protect their families.

We have unfortunately seen first hand the lives affected

by not having it in place for those left behind,

so he takes his job very seriously.

And now here we are, at the end of the craft show season,

right at the brink of what is referred to as Black Friday,

Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday and while I can

embrace a couple of those days, mine will combine

the feelings that Thanksgiving and Christmas conjure up for me.

A thankful heart for blessings.

We are seeing the results of the fruits of our labor

with emails and messages from some of the folks that purchased our

laundry and cleaning provisions this summer.

The kind of message that says that they will never use anything else and where will

we be next so that they can get some more...

The ones that say that since they have started spraying

their pillow with our linen spray, they have been sleeping so much better.

The new nickname given to me at the farmers market...

The Lavender Lady...

and

The 2 shops that approached me to have

our products in their stores!

how exciting is that?

pretty stinking exciting!!!

this is our biggest seller at the shows...

The Laundry Bundle

I am thrilled to now be offering it in the shop!

I have made some special ones for Christmas,

the sachets are made with vintage table cloths covered in poinsettias.

I also made some for the locals...

(one of the wonderful benefits of doing the shows and markets are the other

vendors that I met, this Michigan stamp was made by local artist

Rachel McKay of Grand Rapids)

Her etsy shop is

Fawn and Fable

I love Rachel's creations and know that you will too!

So between being thankful and counting my blessings,

I think the only reasonable thing to do

is to have a big holiday weekend sale!!

I have added a new line of Christmas items to the shop too!

love notes...

sweet messages of love, a sprinkling of silver mica,

soldered into a 6" vintage test tube and adorned with

a little bling,

beautiful for the Christmas tree!

Plus there's so much more!

I hope you will stop by 

The Old White House

and the facebook page for updates on where you can find me next,

along with the newest items being added to the shop!

Thanks again for all the love and support!

love,

Theresa

xoxoxooxoxo

p.s. we still have a couple more shows on the calender,

I'll keep you posted as to where we will be next!

one ornament at a time...

todays mantra...

I seriously need to get more decorating done around here!

It has been so crazy that although I do have a little more finished than

putting an ornament on Louise here, it's not much, and certainly not photo worthy.

Plus, I absolutely couldn't take a wide shot,

cuz then you would SEE the crazy that is happening in my house!!!

(and in my head)

I just had to stop by and say hello,

I've been missing all of you and our little chats!

fa la la,

Theresa xoxo

linking to

White Wednesday

around the house...

we say this.

and seeing that everything becomes a competition,

even telling one another how much we love each other,

you must win the competition with

I love you most.

This was a special order for the shop

I loved making it and added the design to the rest of the "keeping Christmas simple" heart ornies.

I couldn't believe I didn't think of it first...

anyway I'm so glad that one of my shops visitors did!

*********

The last couple of weeks have been frustrating to say the least.

Danielle's car broke down and so I lent her my truck to go to work.

(she works 2 hours from her house-I work 5 min. from mine)

We got her car running over the weekend

(or so we thought)

Today I make plans to go see my dad, and am so looking forward to a long overdue visit,

go to get into her car and now there is something dragging from underneath it.

ugh.

really?

really?

so you know what this means, besides not being able to see my dad and miss out on a fun outing with him?

yep, I haven't done any shopping either, except for the things that I have gotten online, 

mostly from etsy I might add!

Looking on the bright side, 

(cuz that's what I do)

good thing we kept her car here for a trial ride to make sure that it was going to run for her,

or else she would have been stranded with no way to get to work!

(and she leaves in the wee hours of the morning)

things work out for the best.

for some of us anyway.

fa la la ing 

my way through this.

fa la la,

Theresa xoxo

joy...

joyful heart.

This was the theme of my crafting today.

I really didn't give it any thought,

it just came naturally to me.

lucky me

I'm hoping your heart is also full of joy today!

love,

Theresa xoxo

linking to:

Primp Your Stuff  Wednesday

Creative Things Thursday

is it just me?

I have a soft spot for the old stern St. Nick photos of the past...

(imagine being a small child and wanting THIS guy to show up in the middle of the night!)

...and he is the kinder gentler version!

If you were on the naughty list, this might be who showed up...

I know, right?  

not scary at all!

guess what?

I have some exciting news for all of us burlap and typography lovers...

see that burlap behind the scary Santa?

I found it at Joann's the other day while I was gathering supplies for my upcoming show

and stopped. right. in. my. tracks.

whaaaaat?  printed burlap?

gaaaaaaaa!

(insert another version of the happy dance)

the one that come to think of it, probably looked like I needed to use the bathroom!

(man I hope their security camera is fake)

The clerk told me that they just got it in, so run... don't walk, to your nearest joanns for your share!

I just bought a small amount of it so as not to go crazy and wrap my whole house in it!

Some of the print is quite heavy but the possibilities are enormous!

no. really. enormous!

So back to the stern Santa...

Is it just me or do you have a love/fear relationship with him too?

As you can see, I have been rufflin and glueing and sewing over here.

I have more to show you but honestly, if my tired brain spells one more word

wrong I might do something to put myself on the naughty list.

and I don't think we want that to happen, do we?

Sweet Dreams,

love,

Theresa xoxo

linking to:

Vintage Inspiration Friday

Show and Tell Friday

WhisperWood Cottage Burlap Party