My Christmas Trees

I made two trees this year and
am finally uploading the pictures :)
One is small and made of feathers
and I covered it with Butterflies
- that is my Jonesie Cake Tree.

The other is more traditional with a spin.
I covered it with feathers...of course, my cat -
Lucky - started ripping most of them off the bottom.

Eco-Friendly Furniture in Financially Challenged Times!

click images to see the detail!

I was cleaning out the bookshelves today and putting a few online to be sold. I really needed a side table for my big leather chair, but money is tight right now. I had seen this done in a store once and thought I would try it. I stacked all of my favorite BIG art books and then tied them down with two old belts. I love the look of it and it's eco-friendly too!

Ink Dish

click the image to see the detail!

I didn't get myself the bike yet. I decided to be practical and wait at least until the weather was a little warmer. But I did treat myself to some Ink Dish! Yay! These are the prettiest dishes ever designed by Paul Timman.
I wanted the whole set, but could only afford the cups and side plates for now. Lovely!

Ink Dish

Violise Lunn

Wow! I have been exploring making my own millinery flowers for a new line of couture clips and headgear. these pieces will be more delicate and expensive, but it's a passion of mine. Violise Lunn has the most beautiful work on her site.

Violise Lunn was born in Copenhagen in1969, and graduated as a fashion designer in 1995 from Denmark's Design School . She has run her own studio in Copenhagen since 1997, where she specialises in the design and making of one of a kind pieces of clothing for women.

I Heart Heavely Hostess

I had an idea way back when to do this, but got distracted by my many other projects. I still have a fabulous collection of vintage apron sewing patterns I got on eBay from an estate sale. maybe one day. Anyways, Heavenly Hostess truly has the most heavenly aprons around!
I am definitely going to try and see them in person at the LA Mart in January.

Heavenly Hostess

Original Christmas Trees

Christmas Tree by Soo Kee Jewelery

Paragon Christmas Tree with life-size Angels - Singapore

Dove Tree from Country Living

I just really liked this old fashioned white tree...

Poppy Lane Christmas Tree

Rockerfeller Christmas Tree - 1954

Karla's Cottage Christmas Tree

Anna Spiro Christmas Tree

All I Want For Chistmas...

Ohhh Santa...do you hear me?

Electra - Gypsy

...like magic on wheels...

Mailbox Snow Art

It doesn't snow in LA...
this made me giggle like a little girl.

DIY Christmas Garland

For complete instructions on these pretty
flower garlands, check out
Creature Comforts post right here!
I will be making my own this weekend.
It looks so pretty, I think it could hang year round.

This is Glamorous

{1- Lily Cole by Carter Smith; 2 - Natalia Vodianova from an earlier post; 3 + 7 - editorial: The New New Look, Vogue UK June 2007; Daria Werbowy by Paolo Roversi; 4 - editorial: The House on the Hill, Vogue UK November 2004; Lily Cole by Arthur Elgor; 5 - editorial: bollywood dreams, Vogue India October 2007, Gemma Ward by Patrick Demarchelier; 6 -Natalia Vodianova by Paolo Roversi}

I fell in love with this collection of images at {this is glamorous]

Bettie Page Dies at 85

Bettie Page, the brunet pinup queen with a shoulder-length pageboy hairdo and kitschy bangs whose saucy photos helped usher in the sexual revolution of the 1960s, has died. She was 85.

More here...


Statement from bettiepage.com

With deep personal sadness I must announce that my dear friend and client Bettie Page passed away at 6:41pm PST this evening in a Los Angeles hospital. She died peacefully but had never regained consciousness after suffering a heart attack nine days ago.

She captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality. She is the embodiment of beauty.

Statement by Mark Roesler, business agent for Bettie Page

In her honor, I provide the hair and make-up tutorials below to work the same look Bettie did for 85 years.

Victory Rolls and Rockabilly Hair Do Video Tutorials

Pinup Make Up Video Tutorial

Crank Bunny - Handmade

“Handmade”
Personal Project : Etsy
Type : Cut-out & stop motion, 60sec
Premise : Everytime you buy or sell something handmade, a robot gets its wings.
Rating -- caramel clarinets of joy

Love it!

Norma V Toraya

Natasha Fadeeva

The other animals border on a little terrifying,
but her mice and bunnies are so cute!

Natasha Fadeeva

No-Bake Cheesecake!

I found the best NO-BAKE cheesecake recipe
online at Cottage Magpie!
Check it out!

Ingredients
8 oz cream cheese (one package)
8 oz whipping cream (1 cup)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Unless you are using the cheesecake as a topping, you will also need a pre-prepared crust, either a pre-baked pie crust or a graham cracker crust.

Method

1. Whip the cream until stiff. For instructions, see How To Make Whipped Cream. Set aside.

2. Whip the cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice until fluffy. Scrape the bowl often and really whip it up. Don't skip the lemon juice, even if you're pairing the cheesecake with another flavor. It's an essential ingredient. It doesn't make the cheesecake taste lemony, just gives it a depth of flavor that you need since there's no eggs or baking involved.

3. Add the whipped cream back in and whip until the whole thing is smooth, smooth, smooth. It might take a few minutes to get all the lumps out.

4. Spoon the cheesecake mixture into a pre-made crust (I recommend graham cracker) or onto another pie (like pumpkin), or just into bowls to eat like pudding.

5. Chill until firm.

The cheesecake will firm up and be slice able in a couple of hours, and you'll need to store the cheescake in the fridge until it's all gone.