Significance of the Name


My Blog’s name is a tribute to my Dad & my Husband. My Dad because he used to sing the song to me, "How 'd You Like to Swing on a Star?" It's about reaching for your dreams, you can stay where you are & be safe OR YOU CAN SWING ON STAR. Stars also refer to a difficult night just after my husband died. I was talking to him (I often do.) & said how I missed his "I Love You's". That night he gave me a dream... a gorgeous, bright blue night sky filled with thousands of stars, in the middle the stars formed an "I LOVE YOU"....such a gift on so many levels.

So "follow your own path, & don't worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest”

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Inspiration Day....SCAVENGING & GREENERY!

Since my blog is about our/my creative journey, I thought I would have an Inspiration Post from time to time.  I am going to post pictures to give us all inspiration, to "BrainStorm" ideas for us to "jump start" our creative journey. I will give my thoughts on how we can adapt some of them to make our own creative versions. Pictures will be shown to fuel our own creativity, our own inspirations.


There are so many wonderful sources for us out there:  I love Pinterest (Here is a link to my pins, you can explore others), other bloggers, magazines and web sites for us to explore.


One of the wonderful thing about blogging is that it is a 2 way communication and that it really isn't anything without all of you.  Since I love hearing from all of you, I am hoping I can also motivate you to post and share your takes on the inspiration pictures or perhaps you have already done a version of the inspirations I present and you can add your advise to help all of us. My goal is not to copy, but to use these as inspiration for our own creative versions and inspire our creative journey. 


So here goes.....


I love this and for once Martha doesn't make it look so complicated with specialized materials  that you don't want to even try it. Sit this as a centerpiece, on a coffee table, or even on the floor somewhere. 


Probably a lot of you have a creative "pantry" where you keep things for serving, decorating and centerpieces and if you don't I bet you have more than you think. I love, love, love to scavenge in my own house for inspiration. I always keep a supply of baskets. They are so great for such presentations as centerpieces, serving, decorating and a pretty way to transport my food contribution to a home dinner invite. 


I would use florist foam, secured in the bottom with wire or better yet placed in a small container to add water. I also keep in my creative pantry tons of pinecones I have had for probably 10-15 years I use over and over again. I'm sure you've seen them in my other posts. Add silver or gold spray paint OR glitter to the pine cones or just leave them natural. Wait how about just a line of glitter on some of the tips. Okay, I'll stop...I can get carried away, sorry. Anyway use wired florist sticks to attach the cones...cheap at Michaels...I think I paid $4 or $5 for 30 or just use the ole glue gun. Add various pines...and a lovely bow...I do love the satin bow. 


Words of Inspirations: Berries, Spray snow, Ribbon, Bulbs, Hydrangea maybe add a treasured piece of Christmas decor nestled in the center...

  Pinterest: Blog: Stylezimo

Okay as Ina Garten says..."How easy is this?" Once again grab some pine. Decide on your approach....nautural, glitzy, shabby chic.  Add those pinecones....natural, sprayed or glittered and votives nestled here and there. Wait shabby chic could be some white pine cone, ok sorry sometimes I just can't stop.. I would cut a strip of burlap down the center...it's so inexpensive and I love the natural look of it. If your approach is glitzy, think..a glitzy, metallic fabric, silk, a pretty fabric remnent, shabby could be old lace or new and so on. There are so many other things you could add to enhance your own approach.
Scavenge your back yard for the twigs, wire pine and holly sprigs at the center, add a ribbon and "a little somethin, something" and your set. Even just at the beginning of your stairs or on a door or lay it down on a table for a center piece nestled with votives....scavenge peeps, you never know what you'll find!
 PS...did you note the picnic basket filled with pine!

Pinterest again via  The Book of Secrets 
You wouldn't have to do this in mercury glass....could be silver or glass or even wood. Go on a scavenge hunt in you house. Remember to turn wine glasses upside down, use candle holders to feature a treasured item, not just candles use vases, turn them upside down and add a votive. 
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX or candlestick of vase or......whatever! 
This is what I did with a candlestick at Thanksgiving to give some height to these pumpkins:



These are some of my supplies and the things I just scavenged from around my house!
Thought I might turn the glass vase at the left into a cloche by turning it upside down.

Are your creative juices flowing yet?
Wreaths on the stairs....love it.....burlap bows.... I saw burlap ribbon at Michaels.
Easy-Peasy

I do this a lot....add a bouquet of pine to any container and maybe a ribbon, Wow!



The Grand Ta Daa!

Ok when I saw this I thought love it, quite impressive BUT maybe A Lot of work. While I love real pine to spare the forever sprinkling of needles I might try some fake (sorry, we could class that up and say faux, Ha!) pine garland, wire it and because sometimes I just can't stop I probably would add some sprigs of real pine for the smell and to camoufloug the "Faux"! I have some small gold stars stashed away I might add.

So that was my inspiration post. Please let me know if this is something that inspires you and your ideas. I would love to hear from you. If you have trouble posting, email me at the link in the left column.

Here's to our creative inspirations and happy scavenging!

Please enjoy these links:

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Thanksgiving Decor

Is it my imagination?.....Does it feels like Thanksgiving is coming up on us sooner than usual, I can't believe it's just about a week away!
Last week I did manage to do some decorating.

I love that I can take the feather garland I use for my fall mantle and change it up for Halloween and then Thanksgiving by just adding different items.


I also love that I can keep using my same pumpkins in different ways.  The center pumpkin is the Halloween silver and black masked pumpkin I posted earlier.
I spray painted them gold and added glitter to the top to look like frost.
Spray painted pinecones gold.

Next came the dining room table.....
I'm afraid I do some rendition of this fruit/vegetable table top a lot. I keep adding more so it looks kind of decadent.
 I carried the gold theme through with gold pumpkins I found at our new Hobby Lobby.

I've told you I find uses for my cloche every season. For Thanksgiving I turned it upside down, filled it with pinecones and white mini pumpkins, covered it with a cake compote and turned it right side up!

 Added a satin ribbon and there you have it!


I am grateful for many, many things, but at this moment, I am grateful that I have begun this wonderful blogging journey and all the wonderful people I am meeting from here and all over the world. 
I think that is just so incredible. 

"There is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed.  If it is unexpressed, it is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude."  ~Robert Brault

Thank-YOU so much for visiting.

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Please enjoy these links:

Sunday, November 13, 2011

A gift from the heart........

FIRST AN APOLOGY......I haven't posted in a while, but there has been a lot of drama in my household over the past weeks and I just couldn't make time or concentrate on a post. I said to a couple of friends of mine what Tillie said in the movie, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner ......"All Hell has done broke loose here!" 
Life just sometimes gets in the way as you all know.


Now, AT LAST, to my post.....
Last summer I once again was in a quandry about a birthday gift. This time it was for a neighbor across the street. Why was it such a quandry? Because this couple (along with my other wonderful friends) had been so supportive during my husband's illness, death and my life afterwards. They have included my daughter and I in holidays and family activities. My daughter has always been close to their children growing up. 
We are loved by both of them. 
Believe me, when I am scared and worried about how I am going to deal with the many things a widow has to face it is so good to know I can look across the street and see their lights on and know there is a safe haven of love and support there. 
So when I can I like to give them a gift from the heart....


These are my dear friends, Mel and Gretch. 
Aren't they cute?

Mel loves pictures of little houses among other things. After much thought I decided to do a painting of their charming home in minature. I snuck over one sunny day when they were not home and snapped dozens of pictures. I decided to turn the color photo into black and white and hand paint it, allowing me to be much more precisely accurate.


This is their charming home...so warm and friendly to many.
Sorry it's on a slant, but it was the only way I could include those 2 beautiful trees.
 I downloaded it into Photoshop Elements and cleaned it up and turned into black and white. Printed it onto good paper and hand painted it in acrylics. 

 As I began painting, it was very nerve racking because as one area turned out the way I wanted it I was stressed that I would make a mistake in another area and have to start all over again and then would it turn out like I wanted it!
But I really loved doing this!

Then off to Michaels for framing....don't you just love those 60% off coupons!!!
It was fun choosing the frame and matting... although I think I drove the framer there crazy experimenting, Ha!

This is what I ended up with.....
The actual size of the frame is 15"x18"
The actual acrylic painting is 5 1/2" x 3 1/2".......remember she likes them in minature.
 I did several mats so that the framed picture had some presence.

My close-up Mr. DeMille......

I was so excited to give this to Mel I could hardly stand myself. I don't have a picture, but I wrapped it in a large sheet of wall paper I made into a large envelope to slip it into and placed a vintage chandelier crystal to dangle from the point.
When she opened it we both cried....

"The heart of the giver makes the gift dear and precious." 
Martin Luther

Hope you enjoyed my gifting experience. 
Have you had a difficult gifting experience? Did you make a gift from the heart?
I'd love it to have you share your experience in a comment.

Have a gifted day, Shari!

If you are interested in having one of these done, please contact me in a comment or by clicking on my Etsy Link, My Transformations at the top of the left column of my blog.
Or just click here: My Transformations



I'm happy to share these links with you: