Holiday Boutique Dates for 2014

It is that time again!  How could the year go by so fast? It is time to do my crafts boutique again.  I hope to see many friends and to share both my old standby products and some delightful new things.

Here is the basic information with the dates and times below the product description.

Cards for Christmas and All Occasions by Marguerite Manor and Fe Langdon fill the hall rack.

My Potpourri and Sachets—Christmas Blessings, Christmas Rose, Peace Potpourri and a variety of anti-moth and anti-ant mixtures will be available in sachets, hoops and acrylic ornaments.  Great small gifts and some would be nice hostess and thank-you gifts throughout the year.  The anti-moth and anti-ant mixes really do deter these pests, although they do not kill them. 

Below is my mixing bowl with one of the mixtures in progress.

Here is one of the Christmas potpourri balls (just needs its ribbon and tags to be complete).

And here is one of the hoops (new this year) with the ball.  (Balls are 3" and hoops are 4".  I also have 3" hoops available.

Vintage Christmas ornaments, European mouth blown glass , folk fabric ornaments made by me in the 80's will be available as well, along with my Mary Kay holiday catalog.

Here are the Dates and Times

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY

Saturday, November 29, 1:00-4:00 pm

Wednesday, December 3, 11:00-2:00 pm

Saturday and Sunday, December 6 and 7, 1:00-5:00 pm

 I AM AVAILABLE BY APPOINTMENT IF THE ABOVE TIMES ARE NOT CONVENIENT. 

 Please contact me at mamm@pobox.com for the address or to make an appointment.

  

Not everything is up on my Etsy shop yet.  Hoping most of it will be by this weekend.  (I need elves!) Still I hope you will take a look, contact me and come by. 

Visit me on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/margueritemanor

Visit Fe on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/FeLangdonDesigns

Thank you so much for your consideration.  A Blessed and Joyous Thanksgiving to each of you.

Fall Activities

Today was crisp and clear after a day of rain yesterday. The sky was blue as blue and the leaves, sparser on the trees now after the storm, ran the gamut of yellows, oranges, and reds that make Fall such an outstanding season of light and color.

It is cold enough to think of a cozy fire, of baking and cooking slow steaming things like pot roasts and soups. My activities were more prosaic, setting up shop for my small business. Here are pictures.



The picture above shows my I Keep Advent banner. (Other banner designs are on the rack behind it.) My cards, the peace design that I have written about, designs for Christmas, and all occasion blank notes with many, many flower images comprise the offerings here along with a basket of lovely cards from my friend and colleague, Fe Langdon.



Above one of my hand knitted shoulder shawls, that can also be worn as a head scarf is draped on a wig stand. Two more are in plastic bags next to it. The yarns are soft, hand painted natural fibers.



More banners in the photo above, this time with the peace design on top of the stack and two baskets, one holding peace buttons and gift tag sized cards, the other holding sachets sit on another small table. It is fitting to display the peace design, which I made in honor of Papa with the sachets for herbal crafts were part of the business that he helped me with when he was alive.



Next, in the photo above are a selection of the hand made boxes that I began making last summer. They are fun to make. Some are printed with the same designs that I am using on other items; some are fabric over paper. I love making them almost as much as I love to knit, although arthritis and post-polio syndrome are slowing down my hands. (Some days I feel as though I live on Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen--well and of course, chocolate.)

Finally on the kitchen counter, I have arranged a display of my Mary Kay products. I was disappointed with the picture though, because I had the brilliant idea to use my Pampered Chef cooling rack to display some of the items and it works really well.



I am grateful for how pretty my things look all nicely displayed, for the customers who do find me from time to time and for my dear friend who came and swept all the leaves away and neatened and tidied the front walk way and the patio so that all would be ready for people to come.

St. Valentine's Day

Red hearts, pink hearts and flowers. I love red and pink and flowers so that may be part of the reason that this holiday seems so much like fun for me. Of course, the association of chocolate with the day is good too, although since it is Lent I resisted the temptation to make chocolate cookies and told myself I should keep on writing! Last year I made a Squidoo lens with information and links about St. Valentine, so here is the link

http://www.squidoo.com/saintvalentine

A favorite cookie recipe is linked there.

Of course, See's chocolates are always good. (The best actually.)

E-valentine's are also great fun now. They are more ephemeral than cards, but that is good. Throwing out pretty cards is so hard that I tend to accumulate them in shoeboxes and after twenty or thirty years of doing that the shelves that aren't full of books are full of boxes.

Twenty years ago I made a beautiful Valentine that was part calligraphy and water color and part sachet. The paper was sewn to another sheet of paper to make a pocket, filled with lavender and then sewn across the top. I still have a few of these and they are still pretty and still smell faintly of lavender. It is good to see that something that I made endures.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone, especially my sister, my niece, my friend in Indiana and everyone who may find this post.