Mosaic Monday

Christmas Day and the 26th my mom and I took advantage of the phenomenal weather with a walk along the beach and a local hike on trails through Torrey Pines State Park leading down to the beach. Here's a glimpse of what we saw, from left to right....

1. A view of the Pacific Ocean through the Torrey Pine trees.
2. Pretty seaweed at low tide.
3. Wispy clouds and backlit trees.
4. Recent rains have prompted a few wildflowers to bloom.
5. A building swell.
6. Two campers get into Christmas Day.
7. Hikers enjoying the perfect weather.
8. The lifeguards keep an eye on things from their beach-mobile.
9. Looking north.

Be sure to stop by Little Red House to enjoy all the wonderful mosaics!

Shadow Shot Sunday

This is actually a shadow shot of Golden West taking her shadow shot!

Valentine Crafting Supplies

Valentine's Day is just around the corner! For supplies to create a beautiful handmade Valentine, look no further than the Etsy Supply Street Team.

A Last Glimpse

Shadow Shot Sunday

Thomas likes to hide amongst the shadows and blend in with the porch railing for optimal hunting at the bird bath in the flower bed. We're pretty sure most of the birds know he's there and torment him on purpose, as his attempt-to-catch ratio isn't too high. He's not deterred though, and spends quite some time hunkered down in the sun half snoozing, half watching.

Poinsettia Polar Bears

These polar bears were made with 10,000 Ecke poinsettias and are two stories high. They're on display at The Palazzo in Las Vegas.

Shadow Shot Sunday

On the move! This beach squirrel lives in the rip rap lining the bluff and makes an appearance each time we're there. He's quite fearless and doesn't usually back down unless he gets a small treat. So far blueberries have been a big hit!

Tara's Kitchen Shelf

Tara's treasures pre-paper.

It's not often that we get to see how our customers use the supplies they find in our shop, so we were just delighted when Tara shared her shelf lining project with us!


Using several sheets of Italian paper, and a very keen eye for pattern matching, she lined the back of her kitchen shelf in about two hours.

All finished!

We love it! Along with a few other treasures, like those salt and peppers and vintage scales.

UPDATE: Here's one more shot with everything put back in place:

Mosaic Monday: Deck the Halls

Please click to enlarge.

Being in the swing of decorating means inspiration is everywhere -- literally! We often put up over twenty trees of different sizes all over the house plus displays on shelves, table tops and, of course, the mantel. With collections spanning two generations, and constantly growing, bringing out our decorations is a tradition unto itself and something we start talking about around the end of summer. While we're by no means finished, we've got several areas well underway and, well, mostly under control.

Starting at the top from left to right:
•A small feather tree with icicle ornaments in the living room.
•A light yellow putz house.
•A golden tinsel tree with handmade ornaments.
•A vintage reindeer guards a bowl of blown glass nuts.
•My first Christmas card of the season, from my dear friend Tracy.
•A Dala horse stands in the dining room window while another small feather tree acts as table centerpiece.
•A vintage Santa -- he's the one thing that stays out all year.
•The living room by night.
•A treasured and whimsical blown glass bear.

Be sure to stop by Little Red House to enjoy all the wonderful mosaics!

Shadow Shot Sunday

Winter is definitely right around the corner, even here in Southern California. On the particularly chilly days I dream of our Santa Ana days where temperatures will climb into the 80s and lure us outside for a stand up paddle.

Vintage Christmas Photos Part VIII: Ansel Adams' 1940 Christmas Show

When one thinks of Ansel Adams, it's usually in the context of his extraordinary pictures of Yosemite Valley and other landscapes in the natural world. In 1940, he turned his lens to 5843 Wilshire Blvd. in downtown Los Angeles to capture this image of the exterior of the Christmas Show. The event ran from Nov. 20th to Dec. 25th, 1940, an effort by the British War Relief Association of Southern California. The Christmas Show included such attractions as a fully decorated and furnished Snowman's Cave, fairyland, gingerbread house, Santa's Castle, magic castle and amusement rides.

New Italian Paper Preview

Here's a preview of four new patterns of Italian paper we're pleased to be adding to our selection of fancy papers. We plan on having these in hand at the beginning of next week.

All Florentine papers have metallic gold accents, are acid free and printer friendly.

Vintage Christmas Photos Part VII: The Many Faces of Santa Claus

Santa Claus wasn't always portrayed as the jolly chap we see so often these days. Coca-Cola had a lot to do with his attitude adjustment back in the 1920s, as they modified his image in a print advertising campaign to promote their soda.

Often, prior to that, Santa was a lot scruffier and not nearly so cheerful, almost scaring children into being good - or else!

In the top photograph, circa 1903, Santa pauses on his way down a chimney and in the second, busy fellow that he is, he's traveling aboard the ship "New York", circa 1910.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Vintage Christmas Photos Part VI: Books on Wheels

In 1949, the city of Los Angeles outfitted 4 large vans with 4,000 books each and sent them into housing developments, shopping centers, parks and schools in low income areas. Each van made twenty-eight 1-3 hour stops a week and between the 4 vans, 250,000 books were checked out per year.

These photographs were taken in 1955 by Joe Friezer, showing the vans fully decorated for Christmas.