~My French carnival stockings~

The above stocking are my version of French carnival stockings. Check out artist Melissa Neufeld site, she sells them and other delightful items as well. I love making these stockings! Give them a try, they are easy and great fun to do.
To make the above stockings I used buckrem for the body then decorated them with fabric, antique tinsel ribbon, glass glitter and sequins. I personalised them by adding my Grandchildrens names and cloth photos I printed from my computer. Antique paper lables also work very well.
Last year I gave many stocking like these as gifts and also sold them on eBay. They were a big hit! Have fun :-}


I've received many questions asking about the white fence under my large white tree. Yes, the fence in the first photo and the fence under my tree are the same one. It was made by my Grandfather Louie back in the 1940s. As children my sister Angela, brother Louie, and I loved sitting under my Grandmother Lena's tree looking at her wonderful little village. The village was filled with skaters, sledders, carolers, trees, houses and churches. To us it was truly a wonderland! The only things left from under her tree are that fence and one male lead ice skater and I am now the happy owner of them.

~a bit of Christmas at my coTTage~

~Fun at Donzell's flower & garden shop~

Isabella with her fun HUGE ring ornament..

Mama Janene and Sam...

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Isabella loved the frogs... daughter Michele in background.

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Cool palm tree....

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Sam with his new plant named Nick..

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Sam at Sam's gate..

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~Lovely teacup & roses wreath on eBay~

Today my granddaughter Isabella & I made this lovely teacup wreath..

What fun we had! She was such a big help. She told me what to add and what not to..

Gosh what a sweetheart she is!!!

I love how the wreath turned out.

I have it for sale at IsabellasCloset on eBay.

Stop by and check it out if you are interested.

Thanks so very much! ~Mary~ :-}

~Chenille Christmas stocking on eBay~

I'm getting in the Christmas mood.

So I made this long vintage chenille stocking...

It's for sale at IsabellasCloset on eBay

~Way to go Sam and Dad~

Today the above photo was in our local paper

~2007 Flag Football Champs~

Sam & Jeff on T.V.


Sams football games.. Dad Jeff coaching

Anyone who knows me can tell you my grand kids are my world!

I'm one very proud Grammy when it comes to them.

Sam is truly the kindest, sweetest, most gentle little boy.

Sometimes I feel he's just a bit to good :-}

He's in the 2nd grade and gets straight A's.

I attribute this to great parenting and a good (catholic) school.

This year his team is our flag football champions.

What a thrill it was watching him play.

Dad Jeff was one of the coach's, I think he had even more fun then Sam did..
Congratulations to Sam and Jeff!

~Giving on-line Thanks~

I've thought about all the things I'm thankful for family, being alive, my cottage, my ? health , you know all that stuff.. but then I also thought about what I'll call "my online" thankfulness. Sounds funny but it's a part of my life, you are a part of my life. You my friends are very important to me....I'm thankful to you for your kindness, for the lovely comments you leave me. I'm thankful for the banners and patterns you have purchased from me, you've no idea how this helps me get by. I'm also thankful for eBay & Etsy. Along with them and my part time job I almost get my bills paid. So today you my dear friends are what I am thankful for.. God bless you and Happy Thanksgiving! ~Mary~ :-}

~My handmade Angels~

I made Angel #1 using buckram, vintage wallpaper, old glass glitter,

antique ribbon

Angel #2 was made using 30s vintage sheet music, old glass glitter, card stock, wallpaper, curly silver garland

Angel #3 was made using vintage linens, vintage quilt fabric & vintage fabric for her face.

Angel patterns were designed by me. They are about 7" tall. They make wonderful ornaments or small gifts tucked in a card.

Hope you like them :-}

~My handmade Santas & houses~

Here are a few of My Santa's.. all of the wood Santa's I cut out from pine using a band saw. I then painted them & glittered them.. Most of the patterns I designed myself. The plaster Santa's (ones on the right) I made using rubber molds. I used rubber liquid rug backing to make my molds. I painted the liquid rubber coat after coat over antique Santa's. When the molds were thick enough I then poured plaster into the molds let them dry and painted & glittered them..One Santa is from a wood spool..One Santa is from a metal tin can.. Most of these I made last year :-}

My handmade houses..I used tag board & corrugated card board.. I painted them & glittered them.. Great fun to make :-}

~Good bye to one friend and welcome to another~

This has been such a very upsetting few weeks for me. Yesterday was my friend Ronnie's funeral, how hard it was to say good bye. My heart went out to Jason and Sherryl, Ronnie's son & wife... What a wonderful speech Jason gave about his Father, there was not a dry eye at the service. Stop by Jason's blog and read his posts..What a very special young man he is. Both his Mother and I are so very proud of him.

~~ On a lighter note~~

Welcome Anna of My Flower Bed to the world of blogging..

Please stop by her blog and say hello. She's such a sweetheart you will just love her!

Ronald W. "Duey" DudekRonald W. "Duey" Dudek, age 57, of Massillon passedaway on Sunday, November 11, 2007 following complications from surgery. He was born November 16, 1949 to the late Ruth and George Dudek. He was a 1968 graduate of Perry High School and was employed at one job for 38 years at Beaver Excavating Company in Canton. Ronnie loved his family and friends and lived life to the fullest. His son and best friend, Jason, and his beloved nephews, Joshua and Justin Selogy lived for football any time, any place, he was ready. Ronnie proudly served his country in the U.S. Army, serving one year in Vietnam from 1970-1971. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his grandparents, Ralph and Eleanora Kerzan and Olga and Ignat Dudek; father-in-law, Louis Selogy Sr.; brother-in- law, Louis Selogy Jr.; and son, Zachary Dudek. He leaves his loving wife of 38 years, Sherryl (Selogy) Dudek, whom he married July 19, 1969; son, Jason Dudek of Massillon; brother, Larry Dudek of North Carolina; sister, Sondra (Dennis) Deeser of Perry Twp.; mother-in-law, Gloria Selogy of Navarre; special brother- in-law and sister-in-law, Rod and Judy Selogy of Navarre; nieces, Jessica and Kourtney Selogy; nephews, Aaron Dudek of Cary, NC, and Ryan Dudek of Fuquay Virona, NC; aunts and uncles, Rex and Nancy Kerzan of Navarre, and Jerry and Nancy Kerzan of Louisville, OH; and a special family member, Amanda Warrick Smith. Funeral services will be Thursday at 11 a.m. in the Reed Funeral Home Canton Chapel, with the Rev. David Dodson officiating. Burial will follow in Rose Hill Memorial Garden. Calling hours will be Wednsday from 6-8 p.m. in the funeral home.

Ronnie has passed away

What a precious family photo of Ronnie, Sherryl, Jason

Ronnie has passed away.

He was such a wonderful friend, husband & father.

He will be missed very much.

I ask for prayers for Ronnie, Sherryl & Jason.

Ronnie now rests with God & his son Zack
Read the beautiful & touching post by Jason on his blog about this Father.

Ronnie's birthday is Friday Nov 16, he would have been 58.

~"You make me smile award"~

Thank you bj from SweetNothings for giving me the "you make me smile ward". What an honor this is for me. You are so kind to award it to me...bless you.
I am to pick 10 bloggers to pass the award on to. I will try and do this soon..
I'm glad I can make someone smile. I'm finding it very difficult to smile these days, so many upsetting things going on in my life right now.

~Ronnie is fighting for his life~

Dear blogging friends. I just got off the phone with my dear friend Sherryl, Ronnie's wife. Ronnie is not doing well. The doctors say he's fighting for his life. I'm again asking for your thoughts and prayers PLEASE for this kind man..... He 's still in the ICU with a breathing tube, his blood pressure has dropped and he has an infection. With our prayers I feel he will get throught this. Again I'm so very grateful for all of you for keeping Ronnie in your thoughts and prayers..

God bless you!

~My Victorian paper Ice Skates~

 I love these paper ice skates.. I used Anaglypta wallpaper to give these skates a delightful vintage Victorian look. For the blades I used my Grandmothers antique German glass glitter.. Fun decoration for Christmas tree, packages, cards, scrap booking, or Altered art.. The size of each skate is approximately 7 by 8-1/2".. Thanks so much! ~Mary~ :-}

~My Santa pattern on Etsy~

Are you getting in the mood for the holidays yet? Why not paint a vintage ironing board Santa? My Santa pattern is on sale at IsabellasCloset on Etsy if you happen to be interested in it.. What a fun Holiday decoration!

I love him in pink but he's also lovely in red or blue too :-}