Showing posts with label holiday season. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday season. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Merry Christmas!

It's me, Jeannine from By Way of Salem (and Salem's Charms). I want to say thank you to all my customers, new and returning, who ordered this season. It's been a very busy time for me with all the orders I filled and shipped, and I'm grateful and happy! Thank you thank you!


I've got many new designs coming out this year, so I hope you'll stop back over and visit my shop and check them out. I can't wait to start working on them and showing them to you.


Wishing you all a beautiful and glorious Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years!





Tuesday, November 3, 2015

In November

While trying to find some lovely and inspiring quotes and sayings about November, I came across a book. I think it's a children's book, but I've always been partial to those more than some serious adult books. This book is about November.

Some people I think dread November because it's the start of cold, gray, and often dreary weather. I love November. Not quite as much as October with all the falling leaves and crispness in the air. November starts the holidays. Thanksgiving. Christmas shopping. It's kind of a warm fuzzy month. The time when you start lighting fires in your fireplace, drinking hot cocoa, and for me dreaming of the ski season to come and the first snowfalls. I want to share a few excerpts from this very special little book with you. 

"In November, the smell of food is different. It is an orange smell. A squash and pumpkin smell. It tastes like cinnamon and can fill up a house in the morning, can pull everyone from bed in a fog. Food is better in November than any other time of the year."

"In November, the trees are standing all sticks and bones. Without their leaves, how lovely they are, spreading their arms like dancers. They know it is time to be still."

"In November, some birds move away and some birds stay. The air is full of good-byes and well-wishes. The birds who are leaving look very serious. No silly spring chirping now. They have long journeys and must watch where they are going. The staying birds are serious, too, for cold times lie ahead. Hard times. All berries will be treasures.”

"In November, people are good to each other. They carry pies to each other's homes and talk by crackling woodstoves, sipping mellow cider. They travel very far on a special November day just to share a meal with one another and to give thanks for their many blessings - for the food on their tables and the babies in their arms.”

Friday, November 1, 2013

Warm Up Your Home with Fall Decor!

Bring the beauty of colorful fall foliage indoors this Fall with some simple crafts that use leaves and other elements to create seasonal home accents for any room in your house. 
 
Craft a stunning wreath that incorporates all the colors of Fall. Layer brown leaves and pinecones with vibrant mums and yarrow in shades of red and yellow. Be on the lookout for other colorful leaves, add small dried gourds, acorns, or tie in some sisal, jute or festive ribbon to pull it all together.

 

Garnish plain pillar candles with leaves for an elegant yet understated display. Place the leaves where you like, then decoupage them into place. If needed, use tacky white craft glue to hold the stems down. Cover the candles and leaves with another coat of decoupage medium.
 

This is so easy and one of my favorites! Simply place a votive candle in a clear glass container and surround it with unshelled nuts or acorns you find on a walk. Display it anywhere; a table, buffet, or mantel. Once Fall is over, add in scented pinecones, jingle bells, or small glass ornaments to ring in the Christmas season!