Pink Roses

la cage aux balls...

my favorite chippy birdcage + my favorite chippy chair + vintage pink shiny brite ornaments = a bit of Christmas fun!

the "decking the halls" continues...

sew Christmas...

a little spot in the studio...

a truckload of trees...

my love affair with bottle brush trees continues...

pipe cleaner Christmas trees...

 

4 years ago, WAY before PINTEREST was invented, I posted pictures on my blog of my home at Christmas.  The following year I posted more pictures.

 

I love Pinterest, really I do, but this is what has happened to me...  Someone pinned these pictures from my blog, these "pipe cleaner Christmas trees", and I have been overwhelmed.  The pictures were posted with "instructions" on how to make them, and the instructions are FALSE!  Ridiculous actually. I am sad knowing that people think that those instructions came from me, because they will be disappointed when they waste time and money! I am receiving LOTS of visits each day on my blog just from these photos, and emails asking for instructions.  I have gotten TWO offers from major magazines to write tutorials on how to make them.  The truth is...I DIDN'T MAKE THESE, and I never claimed to.  They were purchased 4 or 5 years ago at a discount store (Old Time Pottery) and have NO markings.  Because of all of the interest, I will show photos of their construction, and hopefully help those of you who wish to recreate these.  I had NO luck finding the supplies, and therefore declined the offers to publish instructions in both of the magazines.

First, The materials: I hope you can see from this photo, that these are not the standard pipe cleaners/chenille stems that you find in a craft store (the white pipe cleaner is an 8mm chenille stem/pipe cleaner for comparison) The "pipe cleaners" used for this tree are much thicker and are very stiff and course, like a bottle brush tree.  I tried searching the internet for some sort of "industrial" pipe cleaner, but had no luck.

the "pipe cleaner" spirals are quite large:

The "Pinterest instructions" say to "glue the pipe cleaners to a Styrofoam form, and then remove the form". Seriously? I don't think that would work.

The trees are constructed and glued onto an 8 sided welded metal cone shaped frame.  The wire is the thickness of a coat hanger, and very sturdy.

the largest frame is 7 1/2" wide:

and 18" tall:

I hope this helps to clarify the construction of these Christmas trees.  I do think they are lovely, which is why I purchased them, and shared them on my blog.  I am always happy to share instructions and information, but this was never intended to be a DIY project or tutorial.  It was simply a photo of a decoration in my home.  Best wishes to you all! xo Suzanne Duda

Merry Christmas...

with love from my family to yours....

decking the halls...

the stockings were hung...

This is why things take me forever.  I was hanging the Christmas stockings, when I realized I needed a stocking for my new son-in-law, Paul.  It needed to coordinate with the others, which I had made 2 decades ago out of velvet from a fabric shop in downtown Atlanta.  So {naturally} I drove downtown to the same shop and bought fabric, and came home and sewed.  Then I looked around my house for something "guy-ish" and manly to make the cuff on the top.  You may not be surprised when I say that I don't have a lot of manly stuff around here!  I decided I wanted to make the cuff out of an actual shirt cuff...actually perhaps a French cuff, and then use a wonderful old brass button as a cufflink.  So I'm off to the thrift store to find the right shirt to re-purpose.  After all, he is my one and only brand spanking new son-in-law.  And he totally won't care, but I do.  While I was at it, I sewed a stocking for Katie too.  Wishful thinking!  Then I'm baking cookies, because Christopher is coming home from college tomorrow...always my best gift :) 

xoxo...

happy valentine's day!

Merry Christmas...

From my home to yours...

wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

with love...suzanne

all year long...

We buy Christmas ornaments all year long, but there are rules: they have to be old...and CHEAP. Never more than $1.00.  It makes the hunt more interesting, and honestly we don't need any more, so it cuts down on buying.  We usually find a few at every flea market, so by the end of the year we have a little stash.  Here are some of my favorites from 2010.  How shocking that they're all pink!

Elizabeth found this MOTHER one for me...and these with glittered roses and polka dots...

If you know me at all, you know I loved the cotton string and rusted hook just as much as the ornament... 

oh, and this one too...

I wonder how many Christmas's these ornaments have seen?

And I found these for Elizabeth...she loves figurines...

The little angel with a bird is fitting because her nickname is "birdie"...

and the little angel with an "E" was part of a set that spelled NOEL, but a few letters were broken, so I was able just to buy the E, for Elizabeth.  Still decorating around here, I'll take pictures when I'm done, but it's pretty much the same as last year.  I started to say, how boring, but I'll just say, it's tradition.  Yeah, tradition.  I find comfort in that...