Henri Gets To Eat Cake

We have a tradition in our family that on your birthday you get to have your favorite cake. Henri's is a Boston Creme Pie, which takes me a little longer to prepare.

So finally, at 9:45 this evening he got to enjoy his very first bite of birthday cake.

But on the flip side, he has been enjoying one of his birthday presents for a few weeks now. I ordered it custom for him, from NicholasLandonJewelry as a surprise, but was so excited for him to wear it, I gave it to him the very day it came in the mail. It's a black pearl on a strand of leather with a sterling silver disc stamped with the name of our lobster boat.




He has worn it everyday since.




Happy Birthday to my dear husband, who for as long as I have known him, has been an incredibly patient man.

Periwinkle Topiary

My craft table is getting a good workout lately. It's a mess with pine needles, shells, glitter and glue, among other things. I'm glad to have this space to spread out and use things I already have on hand. Tonight I found a cone shaped form to use to make a topiary. The periwinkles are the tiny snail like shells that are plentiful all along the coast.

I started at the base of the form with the larger periwinkles, attaching them with my hot glue gun.

Continuing in upward circles, I saved the smaller ones for the top.

To complete, I added a shell topper and assembled the shell covered form into a small urn shaped vase with a piece of driftwood and some moss.

I added some glitter too.

Here are some closeups

And since it resembles a tiny tree, it will blend in well with all the other holiday decor.

We Interrupt This Post

My post tonight was going to be centered around cranberries and the reason why I like to have them on hand this time of year.

Like this cranberry topped gift box I made tonight to pair with the monogrammed gift I was getting ready to box up.

It was inevitable, the wind had been howling all day. And now right in the middle of my cranberry themed night of wrapping and decorating, our power went out. Thank goodness for rechargeable lanterns.

and candlelit candelabras and wall sconces

And most of all, for battery powered laptops.

Sealskin Friday

A couple years ago I painted the room we sleep in, an unusual shade that might be mistaken for black. However, it is a Sherwin-Williams paint called Sealskin.

This is also the room where I hung our favorite painting.

And allowed myself to indulge in my weakness for gold leaf.

Dare I say, sealskin looks a lot like black.

Reminders

For a Thanksgiving in Maine, it sure was unseasonably warm here today.





After dinner, we all took a much needed walk down by the harbor.





It was that kind of day where everything seems almost devoid of color.




Until this.



A shocking, but gentle nudge to get my butt in gear!

A Thanksgiving Table Aglow With Angels

Tonight as I sat out my place settings, I took a moment to light all my candles and enjoy the warm glow they cast around the room.

My Thanksgiving table is far from traditional this year.

And I will be serving fish instead of the traditional fare.

I am using my rustic craft table, some mismatched plates and lots of gold.

The feel of the table is warm, glowing and pays homage to our guardian angels.

In the middle of the table, with wings of gold are angels that will hold ivory tapers.

My lovely pair of male angels.

Each, with tiny cherubims gathered down at their feet.

We have been blessed with a gift.

A gift of the angels that were sent to watch over us for all the days of our lives.

Wishing all of you a very blessed Thanksgiving spent in the presence of your angels.

Birdhouse Covered In Seashells

Underneath all these seashells, is a plain wooden birdhouse I picked up for a mere 4 dollars. But of course, that's just between you and me and the lamppost, as my mother would say.

And you know, sometimes I forget to take a 'before' picture, but in this case, I did this long before I started my blog. But here is all I did. First, I applied a wash of pale green tinted paint over the entire surface.

Even then, I had a little pot of liquid gold leaf, that I seemed to have far better restraint with than I do today. How is it I forgot the 'less is more' adage?

I still remember thinking it was almost magical the way the shells seemed to nestle together as I began to apply them with my hot glue gun one after the other.

It's the type of little accessory that will go with most any decor.

Even still, every time I look at it, I swear I notice something new.

Pretty shells from the shore are sometimes so under appreciated, but this helped me realize they are truly remarkable treasures.

Baptism By Fire

Did she fully understand what she was getting into?

This can be addictive.

Art night is all about the wine. This is some leftover so how good could it be?

Spice it up, over a low flame and you have wine worthy of art.

This really isn't the dungeon, but it doesn't really matter, there is wine.

And where there is wine, there is great art (so we've heard).

See?

Art happens.

Signed by an amazing artist, who tonight is taking on a new craft.

Her very first pieces will soon be ready for the all important baptism. That's when her addiction will take hold. More to come.

The Same, Yet Different

Before firing, my little raku moosehead pendants look like this.

I made a few of them.

And I glazed them all with the same color glaze.

After the glaze firing they look like this.

Even though they started out looking the same, they all turned out completely different.

Here's one I added to my handknit felted purse.

Raku . . . the joy of expecting the unexpected!