Gingerbread Houses

We went to the Mountains of NC to visit the Grove Park Inn. They had a display of Gingerbread houses we wanted to see. The Inn is over 100 yrs. old and is quite massive in size. They had a new blanket of snow that fell and everything was white......and freezing!!!Many famous people have stayed here. In fact, the Obama's have been there in the last year when they visited Asheville and the Biltmore House..

They have two massive fireplaces in the lobby. This one is set up for photo shoots in the sleigh.

Decorated trees are everywhere.

A local school choir was singing in the lobby. The schools were closed for the day but the choir came anyways.

There were so many Gingerbread houses located in several areas of the hotel I could not post them all. Here are several that were my favorites.

The Grand Prize is at the end. The house and artist will be featured December 24th on Good Morning America. They fly the Gingerbread House there and make any repairs that are necessary. The one criteria for the cakes is that every piece is edible not necessarily made of Gingerbread.

I was surprised at which one was the winner.

Ok, here we go!

They even had a dog body inside this dog house. So cute!

Anyone seen the Disney movie Ups? This was an amazing replica. The balloons are a bit small though. They used jelly beans. Enlarge the pic and see the boy scout and old man. They are so much like the real characters.

This is a small display in a section of the Inn. They had sooooooo many to judge!

This is the Grand Prize! Surprised? I was! Very different from the others.

The creator, herself, that you will see on Good Morning America next week. She is from GA.

This is a view of outside taken from a hallway in the Inn.

This is pic was taken from the same hallway looking out the window at another wing on the Inn. It's like a big horseshoe shape.

Thanks for stopping by and for all your comments.

Have a great day!

Till next time!

Santa Appears

Today Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch is hosting Metamorphosis Monday. Be sure to pop over to her beautiful blog and see other transformations.

I started my project with a block of wood cut out in the shape of a Santa with a bag on his shoulder. ( my hubby took this pic with it flipped over)


Turned over I painted a European Santa with a green coat, fur and beard made with Dap Caulking in a can. I used the blunt end of an exacto knife to create the fur and the sharp blade to create the beard. I added little toys in his pocket and sack. Some of the toys were plain wood and I painted them. Some of toys were bought. I used oils and acrylics.
The finished product is below.

Each year I painted a different Santa for my collection. One year I did a Swedish Santa in the blue and one year a traditional Santa in the red.

They are sitting on a small cabinet in the dining room this year.

The red Santa is about 18 " tall and the green one is 16" tall.

Thanks for taking time to see part of my Santa collection. I'll be showing more this coming week.

I hope you're having a great start to your week!

Till next time!

Christmas tablescape

Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch is hosting Tablescape Thursday. Be sure to pop over to her beautiful blog and see many creative ideas.

Simple Christmas setting with plaid plates from Target. I added a white salad plate from Jacyln Smith line at K-mart.

A plaid plate with a red charger beneath it.

Red heart coasters that my sweet friend Ceekay found at her grocery store and mailed to me.

The buffet with carolers, Christmas tree and lighted garland on it.

Christmas tree name card holders from Pier One.

Christmas runner from Home Goods.

Staircase with embellished, lighted garland.

Thanks so much for taking time to visit today. I appreciate each one of you.

Deck the Halls

Welcome! Come on in out of the cold. It's a bit chilly out there!

The "Hall" is all "Decked" and Santa is at the top of the stairs to greet you.!

Take off your coat and warm yourself by the fire.

"O' Christmas Tree" is in the family room to cheer you. Twelve feet of gold ribbons, red and gold bulbs and glitter.

Lots of lights and garland on the mantle and entertainment center.

The cat walk has garland, bulbs, lights and ribbon.

The back staircase is lit, as well.

Let's go into the kitchen for some hot cider, tea, or cocoa.

We can get to know each other a little better over some refreshments.

I have a few vignettes sitting around on the kitchen counters.

I love all the Christmas greens and reds, don't you?

Snowmen are a favorite of mine.

I hope you enjoyed your visit. Come back again soon. I'll be posting some other Christmas decor in other rooms.
Please join Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for many beautiful homes decked out in their Christmas finery.

Month of Birthdays

I've been busy celebrating! My Mom just turned 85 and we traveled to FL to celebrate with her, along with 14 other family members who came from MI and SC. It was such a sweet time with her and family. She is doing so well. Still in her own home and active. Sometimes I think she can outdo me when it comes to energy. She still rakes her leaves, trims her bushes and at times cuts her grass. I just went to a business luncheon yesterday and sat next to the sweetest lady. She was talkative, friendly and mentioned she was 96 yrs. young. I nearly fell off my seat. I couldn't believe it..but I digress. Point is--I hope I'm able to be upright--let alone out for lunch at that age. lol I sent out simple invitations for my Mom's lunch. Picked up her cake the morning of her Birthday luncheon.

I used the numbers 8 and 5 so she wouldn't have so many candles to blow out. lol

She's been a great influence and source of strength in mine and my siblings lives. Thanks Mom!

She's been a widow for 28 yrs. now. God has blessed her with good health and sound mind.

She almost had me on her birthday. I came 4 days after hers. My brother's is one day after hers. We've been doing a lot of celebrating! lol

In fact, I got a new car for my B-day! Ours was 8 yrs. old and we had been thinking about a newer one next year but the deals on the 2010's were too good to pass up.

I went to pick it up and the guys at the dealership had put balloons on it for me.

The salesman and the Mgr. of the dealership gave me the keys and sang Happy Birthday to me! I was a little embarrassed but thought it was sweet.

My daughter Sarah lives here and gave me pretty jewelry. Andrea is far away in CA. I got a beautiful ring and turtleneck from her.

Last, but not least, is sweet Ivy who was born the day before my B-day and just turned two.

She loves food period-- that girl can out eat me any day. She loved her yummy cupcake. ( We pushed her hair back so she could dig in). lol

Well, no more birthdays till next Tuesday. Then sweet Emma will turn 11. She's the Pearl Harbor Day baby in the family. Ivy is the Veteran's Day Baby and Jonas was almost the 4th of July baby but popped out on the 3rd. instead. lol They made it easy for this Grammy to remember their birthdays. lol

After the celebrating, we've been doing a lot of decorating. I'll post those pics next week.

Have a great and safe weekend!