By being aware of what French women don't wear, you can nail Parisian chic style in no time.

My favorite homemade enchilada sauce recipe is easy to make with pantry ingredients, it only requires about 5 minutes of prep time, and it tastes so flavorful and delicious.

By Alan George Imagine stepping into a rustic hallway that feels like a warm, welcoming embrace, inviting you to kick off your shoes and...

La plateforme Houzz, spécialisée dans l’aménagement et la décoration d’intérieur, a dévoilé les lauréats de son « Best of Houzz ». En récoltant les photos des projets les plus populaires, le site a reconstitué la maison idéale des Français.

It hardly seems another year has come and gone. Its been a very dry and chilly winter solstice, but for a mouse, the dry leaves remain a joy to scurry through. With so much behind us, and so very much ahead, I remain inspired and never tire from one project to the next. Certainly November was a month of very hard work, and sometimes into the night, but Miss E. Mouse is pleased with what came out of it. The December 1911 issue of The Ladie's Home Journal is truly the most outstanding and lovely of the five Daisy issues offered. There were so many pages of gorgeous illustrations of items a girl could make for Christmas, and pages of cut-out paper toys for dolls. One of them was A Christmas Tree For the Dolls, and of this, I made a peg wooden affair in the exact size from the issue. There were two pages that enchanted me as well, and these were Christmas gifts made in Cretonne, a cabbage rose design. I chose to make the Sewing Chair, The Colonial Work Bag, and the doilly boxes from these pages. But, one of the most enchanting, was the Snow Baby Cake from the "dainties" page. Before I'd even begun making this cake, I had to find tiny snow babies and was very lucky to find a miniature doll shoppe that carried them, made by a lady in England. The Snow Baby Cake was quite an undertaking as it was made of air drying clay and took a week and a half to completely "bake". The frosting was made from modeling gel, and I made the tiny mistletoe, myself, from scrapbooking leaves and milk glass beads from Prague. The Colonial Work Bag was yet another intricate challenge. Nada Christensen made the tiny porcelain head on a shoulder plate and even attached it with elastic stringing so the head would turn. The tiny arms are about 1/2" long or smaller! And, just what is a Colonial Work Bag? Nowhere could I find a true definition, so Miss E. Mouse claims it to be a Dolly Work Bag. Much study of the illustration brought me to design the bag "dress" as a drawstring bag opening up under the apron. If you asked me how I did all this, I could barely tell you today as I just fiddled with it all until it came together. Her hair is tiny bits of curled mohair under a silk bonnet. One photo I never took a good one of, details that there is a covered "button" at the bottom of the bag. Girls could use the bag to decorate their dressers or door knobs, too. The Sewing Chair is a novelty that I think has transcended time. If you look in fabric stores, I believe Mary Englebreit made similar notions. This little chair's base is wood, of course, and I covered in it Cretonne. It even has "stuffing" to feel like a real chair and could be used as Dolly's pin cushion. The chair seat lifts on Shaker style pegging. I included two tiny threaded spools, a needle, and a tiny pair of working scissors. Two Dolly Varden costumes were made for Daisy. I kept one for my own doll. The one you see in the photo was the first one The Ruffle Queen made. So very many more ruffles than the Pumpkin Costume. This was an original Daisy pattern from the Christmas page of patterns for her. And, who is Dolly Varden? I never found out. So much for Google. I'd like to think she was a lady from the stories and illustrations of Kate Greenaway. The dress pattern and hat is certainly reminiscent of that era. This dress was made from a beautiful new Japanese cloth call Yuwa. Its a delicate cotton with a lovely drape printed from vintage inspired patterns. Pink velveteen bands the hat and makes up the cumberbund and drawstring bag. I even added a little silk embroidery to the hat band. I really love the way the Dolly Varden outfit came out. It was for "a Christmas party" for Daisy. Finally, I just finished this little apron from Daisy's School Page of patterns. Its the perfect little touch to keep her Christmas finery neat and tidy while she bakes cookies. This pattern was particularly difficult for me since the apron is completely lined. Even the pockets are lined, and 1/2" covered buttons are used on the side tabs, and to close the back. As I teach myself how to sew and put these patterns together, I'm gaining as much useful knowledge as any of the accessories and toys have given me in the past. I've added a new dimension to my work! One of the nicest gifts I got this year was from a dear friend who sent me a set of tiny Hallmark ornaments of mini sewing mice! The acknowledgment was loving and encouraging. I promise this will not be my last blog of the year. I have so much to share about where my work is headed in 2012. Daisy's 100th birthday year has been fabulous. She has really stolen my heart, and yet the horizon is bright for someone new and equally wonderful. Wishing you all a holiday filled with warmth, joy, and definitely a little cheese! Love, Miss E. Mouse

While “tidying” up my workroom I came across a DIY Christmas article of mine in a “vintage” Nutshell News. I remembered the fun I had creating the items therein and decided to put aside my “cleaning and tossing” for a few days and use the time to recreate some of the pieces for your DIY fun. Of course the original miniatures are long gone so I made them again, updating the instructions, photos and material’s lists as needed. Enjoy, Joann ====================== A SWEDISH CHRISTMAS (Edited from original 1982 article) Although I am not of Swedish heritage I was born and raised in a Scandinavian/American community (fondly referred to by all as “Snoose Junction”). I have fond memories of a month of Christmas that officially started on December 13th with the crowning of the Lucia Bride and ended with the final lighting of the Christmas tree on January 13th. In between, the days were filled with merriment. Preparation for Christmas started early in December. Straw goats and ornaments were unpacked and refurbished. Stores were brimming with traditional Christmas items like carved wooden figures of Jultomten (gnomes), carved and brightly colored Dalecarlian horses, and barrels of lutefisk on the walks outside. Bakeries and kitchens, mothers and grandmothers all seemed to exude the delicious aromas of cardamom, ginger and the other ingredients that went into the many cakes, rolls, breads, and cookies of Christmas. Weekend evenings would often offer street dances for all, with schottisches being the favorite. I eventually married into a Swedish family and many of the traditions I fondly remember from my childhood have been incorporated into my family’s Christmas celebrations. Here for your DIY perusal are some of my take on traditional Swedish Christmas pieces, in miniature. Add them to your Christmas collection or create a holiday scene around them. ==================== JULTOMTENS At Christmas time I can remember many sizes of hand-carved Jultomtens filling the shelves & windows of gift shops and being displayed on mantels & table tops in homes. These little fellows are carved wooden figures representing mythical gnomes, who are the guardians of Swedish households and farms. Over the years they have come closer to looking like our Santa Claus and they bring the Christmas gifts. Make your Jultomten in any size, !” and under, depending on where you will use them. Smaller ones may be hung on a tree; larger ones become table or mantle pieces. All should have the traditional red suit, red stocking-type hat, and white beard. The body should give the impression of being made of carved wood. These little fellows are fun and fairly easy to create. They make a perfect group/club project with everyone bringing a supply of wooden beads & findings to share. No two will ever be alike; each will have his own personality. You will need: Assorted wooden beads for bodies, bells, cones, etc. If they are red, so much the better + Assorted sizes round, unpainted wooden beads for head + red bead-head straight pins for noses (found in needlework supplies) + Optional: small pieces of doweling or toothpicks for arms & legs, etc. + small flat wooden or punched cardstock rounds for bases if needed + acrylic paint in black, white and red + red permanent marker pen (to color unpainted beads) + white beard/hair material such as chenille yarn (Hint: chenille can be found in sporting stores in the fishing section. In the past few years chenille throws have been very popular but they usually do not wash well, which means you are likely to find a nice variety for sale at 2nd hand stores. These are fairly easy to unweave giving you a “lifetime” supply of chenille yarn). Cotton, batting or faux fur may also be used + scraps of velveteen, knit ribbing (think baby socks), red quilling paper, or cone/bell shaped beads for hats + 3mm white pom-poms + Crafter’s Pick Incredibly Tacky Glue Black & white photo from December 1982 Nutshell News magazine.  Instructions: -If your body pieces are not red, color them so. -Insert head bead on a toothpick to act as a handle while you paint the eyes. -Apply the eyes by first painting black rounds. When paint is dry, center a white round on it, leaving just a bit of black showing. When the white is dry add a smaller black circle off to one side. To make this process even simpler, use a toothpick to apply the paint in a slight swirl motion. -For the nose, use wire cutters to nip off the round from the head of a red head pin. Take caution when doing this for two reasons: the pin and the head can both fly, which means the pin can cause injuries and the trying to find a tiny, lost pin head is maddening. Glue the nose between and slightly down from the eyes. -Glue head to a body bead of your choice. If the piece will not stand glue a round base to the bottom. -Glue a beard on face. Glue hair to back of head, meeting up with beard. Trim beard and hair as needed or desired. -Add a hat: Use either a red wooden bell or cone shaped bead or sew a tiny tube from ribbing cut from a sock, turn right side out, sew a running stitch and gather to form a sort of tassel on top and turn up a brim; or glue a triangle of red velveteen together to form a cone; or tightly roll a length of red quilling paper into a coil until it is wide enough to fit the top of your head . Glue the end to hold. Use a pencil or similar took to gently push out the coil to form a cone. Paint inside or outside with watered down glue to hold shape. Glue hats to head, at jaunty angles if desired and top with a 3mm white pom-pom or the snipped head of a white round head pin. -Add buttons down the front of the body with paint or tiny punched rounds of paper. Black belts may be added. -If desired, more detail can be added, such as arms, legs, feet with bits and pieces of this and that, but keep in mind that simplicity is part of the charm of these “rustic” little men. Jultomtem photo from December 1982 Nutshell News magazine. ==================================== COOKIE TREE A classic Swedish decoration, with many variations to be found, but most will have the traditional sheath of wheat and simply decorated ginger cookies. You will need: 3” of 1/8” square basswood stripwood for the tree trunk + round toothpicks for the branches + 3/32” thick basswood for the base + ¼” square or bell shaped wooden bead, red or painted red for the tree holder + 1/8 “wide red silk ribbon + wheat looking dried grass (snippets cut from small versions of brooms often found in craft stores or check you whisk broom. Tips of some dried grasses/foliage will also work.) + 8 red apples (these can be Fimo or formed of Styrofoam balls (see instructions) + assorted ginger cookies (see instructions) + brown sewing thread + Crafter’s Pick Incredibly Tacky glue Instructions . -Mark the 3” piece of 1/8”square stick wood (the tree trunk) on two opposite sides, per diagram. -Carve or sand the top of the trunk to a point. Copy & paste image to your computer. Set to print at actual/exact size or 2.53"W x 4.15"H -------------------------------- -Starting at a pointed end of toothpicks cut two pieces (branches) each, 1-1/8”, 1”, ¾”. -Glue matching toothpick branch sections to the 1/8” square upright trunk on marked lines on each side of the trunk, centered side to side; shortest pairs on top and tapering on down. Let glue dry thoroughly. . -.Glue red, silk ribbon in half lengthwise, for a 1/16 “width. Starting & stopping at center back, wrap prepared ribbon around the tree trunk just above where the 2nd, 3rd & 4th branches touch the upright. Do not do this above the top branches. -Gather a bundle of “wheat” approx.1-1/16” high & 3/16” thick. Wrap a piece of prepared ribbon around the bundle approx. ¼” up from the bottom of the bundle. Wrap it tightly and glue ends to hold. Insert prepared wheat bundle on pointed end of tree trunk, pushing it down so the ribbon area sits just above the top branches. -From 3/32” thick basswood cut a base 1” x ¾”. Slightly round off the corners with fine sandpaper. Cover the edges of the base with the prepared ribbon, starting and stopping at center back. -Enlarge the hole in your tree-holder bead so it will take the end of the tree truck. Glue the bead, centered on the base and when the glue has set, glue the tree firmly into the holder. -Prepare 8 apples with stems. The apples may be made of Fimo but for this project I used red Styrofoam balls of the type found in craft stores in the faux flower section. The balls come glued together on stems in various forms and colors. At Christmas time you should be able to find nice red ones for your apples. Cut or pull the balls apart until you get 8 matching ones for this project. Gently squeeze the balls to the shape of an apple./ Use a medium ball stylus to indent the top & bottom of the apple. Using a needle tool, poke a fine hole in the apple’s top and insert, with glue, a snippet of fine twig for the stem. Apples may have color added for more detail or for touch-up as needed…acrylics, water color & pastels all will work. Poke a hole in the center bottom of the apple and push onto the tree branch ends. If your apples are Fimo you will have to ream out bottom hole so them will fit on branch ends. Do not apples glue on at this point, but mark where the apples end on the branch to help with cookie placement. Set apples aside. -Prepare gingerbread cookies. The number of cookies on each stem can vary, depending on the size and shaped used. Your cookies may be made of a gingerbread brown Fimo rolled thin and cut with mini cookie cutters of by hand. You may use appropriate paper punches to punch out cookie shapes from brown paper. Or you may do what I did this time and used paper printies of cookies. To do this glue the uncut printie sheet onto gingerbread colored paper using glue stick. When glue has set cut out individual cookies. If you are using paper for your cookies, turn the face down on a giving surface and roll around them with a large ball stylus to add some dimension. To frost cookies you may choose to use any one or a combination of white acrylic paint, dimensional paint, such a Scribbles, caulking, or go over frosted areas of pre-frosted printies with Judi Kins Diamond Dimensional Glaze to add dimension. Using a needle or fine needle tool, poke a hole in the top of the cookies. Add thread loops that are of a size that allow the cookies to hang between the branches. Note: If you want to “cheat” a bit or if your patience is like mine and wearing thin with age, you may simply glue the top tips of the cookies to the branches…Incredibly Tacky glue will hold almost instantly. You may also choose to add a tiny matching thread bows to the branch just above the cookies. Once your cookies are positioned, glue the apples to the ends of the branches. Click on image to enlarge. Copy & paste to your computer. Set to print at actual/exact size or 4.16"W x 4.20"H Print onto Matte Presentation paper ----------- ========================= 

Fortunately my husband and the sun assisted and I can show you the making of the bow. Put the ribbon on the corc. Place tiny dots of glu...

Hello all, and welcome to the Creating Christmas Party! Jann’s Daughter, Kylee, here. I hacked into my moms blog to launch this exciting blog party. Some of you may know, my husband and I just got back from a year long trip traveling the world. We spent time vagabonding about in Europe and Africa and made some incredible memories. We have been home for only a month, but made it back just in time for the holidays! My mom was kind enough to let me decorate the basement where we have been living. Of course I wanted to stick to the travel theme so I grabbed all my vintage globes, some vintage suitcases and gave them a Christmas glow. A snowy garland, adorned with vintage glitter snowflakes and peace signs spreading peace to the friends and family that visit us. Vintage books are the home to little glitter houses, Christmas postcards from travels, and of course another globe. I hope you all enjoyed my travel inspired Christmas décor. But more importantly I hope you all can strive to create more peace on this beautiful earth. Love, Kylee Hop over to Carlene’s at Organized Clutter and share your Vintage Christmas Peace, Kylee sharing with: One More Time Events for Share it One More Time From My Front Porch to Yours for 3rd Annual Christmas Mantel Party

Have yourself a very Merry Little Christmas. In 1:12 scale dollhouse miniature, of course! Here’s how you can decorate your 1:12 scale dollhouse for Christmas, or make a Christmas roombox, be…

IGMA Fellow Sylvia Mobley created a very naturalistic Santa in a woodland setting. He is accompanied by a very realistic reindeer and other North American wildlife. Stop by Sylvia's table to see her fine line of porcelain dolls ranging from ballet dancers to fantasy figures. Not to be missed are her figures of cats and dogs, rabbits and hares, raccoons and ferrets, wild cats and dogs, and baby animalss. [email protected], www.sylviamobley.com Santa and friends. Santa in 1:12 scale Tiny Christmas Village with buildings 1/2” to 1-1/8” high. Sold separately or as display.

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…Everywhere you go…” ~ Lyrics by Meredith Willson, 1951 This enchanting Christmas scene diorama is filled with numerous one of kind handmade creations that would be needed to decorate a Christmas tree and wrap presents, in addition to decorating parts of the house. I make my dioramas one at a time… from start to finish. There is no assembly line in my workshop. No elves either. For this reason, this is truly one-of a-kind. I keep no written “recipes” for the color or instructions for the items I create to put into/on my dioramas. Items on this piece were created at the time I was working on it from materials at hand at that time. 1:12 Scale

Add glamour and green vibe to the section of your rooms by taking ideas from these Stunning Indoor Plant Corners for having fabulous indoor decor!

Olá, amiga (o)! Essa é uma das MINI GUIRLANDAS DE CROCHÊ que aplicarei em alguns CARTÕES DE NATAL neste ano. PASSO-A-PASSO MINI GUIRLANDA DE CROCHÊ ALÇAS DE CORRENTINHAS E LAÇO DE CROCHÊ: MATERIAL NECESSÁRIO: Linha Bela da Pingouin; Agulha para Crochê indicada pelo fabricante; Fio dourado; Cola quente para pregar o laço na guirlanda. Essa Mini Guirlanda teceremos em duas etapas: 1ª ETAPA: MINI GUIRLANDA: Passe a linha duas vezes em torno de dois dos seus dedos seus. Esse é o tamanho do aro. Teça 21 Correntinhas (corr) e prenda no aro com um Ponto Baixo (pb). Esta pronta a 1ª alça da sua guirlanda. Continue fazendo alças em torno do aro até que fique bem repolhudo. Ajuste o fio, corte e arremate a linha. Está pronta a sua Mini Guirlanda. Agora vamos tecer o Laço de Crochê. 2ª ETAPA: LAÇO DE CROCHÊ EM CORRENTINHAS: Este laço faremos em duas partes: 1ª PARTE Teça 20 Correntinhas (corr)e Volte e prenda, com 1 Ponto Baixíssimo (pbx), na 8ª Correntinha (corr), a contar da agulha. Esta pronta a 1ª Parte do seu Laço composta de uma parte do laço e uma ponta. 2ª PARTE Teça 13 Correntinhas (corr) e Volte prendendo no Ponto Baixíssimo (pbx), que formou a 1ª parte do seu Laço. Agora faça 7 Correntinhas (corr), que será a 2ª Ponta do Laço. Esta pronto o seu lindo e delicado Laço. Para dar a ele a cara do natal, incremente amarrando um fio dourado no cento dele. Agora é só aplicá-lo, com cola quente, no centro da MINI GUIRLANDA DE CROCHÊ. Abaixo foto da mini guirlanda de natal, ao lado da caixa de alfinetes, para que você tenha a noção do seu tamanho real. FELIZ NATAL e PRÓSPERO ANO NOVO! Abraços com carinho, Sônia Maria Falando de Crochet

This Christmas Toy Shop is one of the pieces I recently designed for Alpha Stamps . In the picture above you see the outside of the shop. ...

The Art Institute of Chicago's exquisite Thorne Rooms -- decorated for the season -- are a wonder to behold

Christmas comes but once a year – and a good job to, if you ask me. I remember watching a television programme about a prestigious shop in the West End of London, where planning for the comin…

If you've been following mom and me for any amount of time, you know we love sharing home tours! With all the hype around artificial intelligence, I had the

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Explore a range of decorative ceiling ideas to elevate your home's design. From textures to patterns, find inspiration for every room style.

This is my 1:12 scale dollhouse miniature Christmas room box. I've changed it a few times; it used to be a living room but since I like to make mini food, I made it into a dining room for a Christmas eve dinner. It is hard to see but there is an out door night scene outside that is lit with a snowman, bird house, tree, icicles and snow! The Christmas tree and fireplace light up too. See more Victorian and other dollhouse miniatures: Pt. 1: Greenleaf Beacon Hill Dollhouse Pt. 2: Dollhouse Living Room Pt. 3: Victorian Dollhouse Kitchen and Dining Room Pt. 4: Dollhouse Master Bedroom and Bath Pt. 5: Dollhouse Study and Hallway Dollhouse Miniature Conservatory and Garden Dollhouse Miniature Jewelry and Clock Shop

These soft, overnight sourdough cinnamon rolls are the perfect weekend or holiday treat! Made with a luscious sweet dough and a not-too-sweet cinnamon filing, they are guaranteed to be a huge hit.

Miniatures, scrapbooking, broderie, couture, cartonnage

How to decorate a room in 5 simple steps - a Beginner's Guide. Learn how to decorate with these tips from a Designer & True Color Expert!

Yardzen is the leading landscape design company serving Atlanta, GA. Browse our past designs and learn more about our process today!

Last post before Christmas! That is pretty exciting. I joined an amazing group of bloggers for a Christmas Night tour. I think this is easily going to be my favorite tour yet. Have you ever been to a progressive dinner? Where you start appetizers at a neighbors house, drinks at the next and keep moving around to see all your neighbors homes and eat dinner in small bites along the way. End at dessert! Although there is no food on the tour...there are over 25 homes you can easily peep into. Easier than a Progressive Dinner. I hope you make it over to the blog today to see our home at night. And I just and I just want to say Merry Christmas to you! I honestly wish I could have you all over to our home to do this tour in person. Thank you for supporting my blog, what a gift you have given to me. xxxxx

Maxi skirts have become a wardrobe staple. So how do you wear and style the look? Here are 11 ways to wear a maxi skirt in 2024.