Dreamy Whites

Jeanne Oliver Designs....

New Items in the Shop, Savannah Bee Honey, Jeanne Oliver's Creatively Made E-Course

2012-01-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

Hello!

We made it back from our quick road trip to Montana....

I haven't had much of a chance to be on the computer lately,

I wanted to do a quick post today....

I loaded a few new items to my shop this weekend, and will be adding more this evening....

I added some vintage french bread baskets, that come with vintage french linen towels...

I also added this 19th century ironstone transferware compote dish....

I will be adding more transferware this evening....

I also bought some of this Savannah Bee honeycomb at Andrae's Bakery over the weekend....

It is truly the best honey I have ever tasted......

I also bought a bottle of the tupelo honey, it is the best!....

If you are ever in Amador County be sure and check Andrae's Bakery...

You can read more about Savannah Bee Honey by visiting their website...

On another note.....

I wanted to let you know about Jeanne Oliver's Creatively Made E-Course

she is now offering, it starts on Monday.....

If you would like to sign up for Jeanne's E-Course, there is still time....

You can do so by visiting Jeanne's website...

If you would like to read more about it, you can do so by visiting Jeanne's blog....

or you can watch Jeanne's vimeo, where she tells you more about the e-course....

I will be back with my Christmas post...

I am a little embarrassed that I still haven't gotten a chance to post about

what little bit of Christmas decorating I did....

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Take Care,

Maria

Martha Stewart's Sugar Cookie Recipe

Last Minute Gift Ideas and a Favorite Hot Apple Cider Recipe

2011-12-24T03:57:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I am sorry I wasn't able to post yesterday....

I am a little short on time, so I will have to post about the one room in the house I decorated after Christmas.....

I thought I would do a quick post, and share some last minute gift ideas with you....

These were our favorite gifts to make and give out this year....

1. An antique european grain sack wine and or beverage bag along with a bottle of wine and or sparkling cider.....

2, Homemade marshmallows and hot cocoa mix....

(an image of cookies the kids and I made last year)

3. Sugar Cookies...

We used our favorite recipe,

a Martha Stewart Sugar Cookie Recipe and

for the frosting we used a Penzey Spice Recipe....

Penzey Spices Vanilla Frosting Recipe...

I also wanted to share a family favorite hot apple cider recipe with you....

We make this every year during the holidays....

Not only does it taste good, it will also make your entire house smell good : )

Hot Apple Cider

6 cups apple cider

(our favorite is the 365 Organic Apple Juice)

6 cups of pear juice

a pinch of ginger

3 whole cinnamon sticks

1/4 tsp. of nutmeg

10 cloves

1 TBLSP of fennel seeds

Bring all the above ingredients to a boil and let simmer for 25 minutes....

Then enjoy!

Before I go I want to remind you that Jeanne Oliver's camera bag giveaway is still open on my blog....

If you would like to enter you can do so by clicking here.....

The giveaway ends December 28th.

Thank you Jeanne!

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop in and read my blog.

Merry Christmas to you and your families!

Take Care,

Maria

photography and styling by Lara Sheleheda

Special Guest Blogger, Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey, Home Tour

2011-12-21T09:43:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays Everyone!
I hope you're enjoying this wonderful season!
I would like to thank Maria for having me as a guest on her inspirational blog today!

My name is Cheryl and my blog is called Sweet Young Journey.
I live in Santa Barbara with the love of my life and our two precious daughters.
I have a passion for interior design and photography!
My goal is to create beautiful and comfortable spaces in my home for my family and friends to enjoy.
Blogging has been a fabulous discovery for me, because I love sharing my design project from my life and home with others.
I would like to share with you a tour of our home during the holiday season.
I hope you find it bright and merry!

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

This recycled tin barn star was found at a local antique store. I used mason jars as candle holders to complement this look.

To add a little greenery, I tied snippets from the Christmas tree to the jars with Dutch butchers twine from Maria's store.

You'll see Maria's lovely red twine in several different looks in my home.

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

A simple branch was used to hang the burlap stockings above the fireplace.

A branch is an easy way to bring the outdoors inside.

Beneathe the stockings, I placed an old country stool casually covered with a small wool rug. I added some white lanterns, candles and some gathered pinecones to finish the look.

Every year, I buy fresh garland from my local home improvement center to make my own wreaths similar to the one hanging from the mantel.

These wreaths are an inexpensive way to fill your home with holiday fragrance, plus, I love the simplicity!

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

A shaggy wool rug, a pair of found tree stumps used as a coffee table and a reindeer made from canvas with real twigs for antlers give our living room a cozy winter feel.

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

I used inexpensive burlap to make a tree skirt and added some pretty white ruffles to coordinate with the stockings.I've also made a pennant banner out of grain sack material and butchers twine to use as garland for the Christmas tree.
It's really easy to do and requires no sewing, just a little bit of time.

I made a no-sew Christmas tree garland tutorial for you...

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

1. Trace a triangle with a stencil on desired fabric and cut out triangle shape. I used a cookie cutter for my stencil.

2. Using a hot glue gun add glue to the top of one side of the triangle

3. Use a tool (I used my scissors) to measure spaces in between triangles.

4. Add twine across the glued area

5. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

In my girls room I've added Maria's adorable little grain sack stockings, a Charlie Brown Christmas tree standing proudly in a galvanized bucket and paper stars made from old sheet music. A pair of angel's wings found at a local antique store lend to the room a heavenly touch.

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

A fluffly Santa teddy bear rests on an antique white chair. Adding a touch of whimsy is a little sign reminding the girls "better not pout."

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

On my dining table I used grain sack material as a runner and 3 lovely potted plants on top of white ironstone plates (or any casual white plate will do). For a bit of extra holiday cheer, I added these fun red patterned drinking glasses as well as Maria's little stockings to use as a pocket to hold a fork and knife.

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

Guests enjoy having their own baguettes which I use as a name place holder by stamping their names on a card. A coordinated idea for napking rings is to cut out a 1 inch star from the grain sack fabric and glue it to an 8 inch piece of twin and wrap the twine around the rolled napkin and tie a basic bow or knot.

A rustic heart shape wreath simply hanging on my decorative door represents my feelings regarding the holiday season.

Styling and Photography by Cheryl of Sweet Young Journey

I hope you enjoyed the tour!
I'll soon be sharing a tutorial on my blog how to make the burlap tree skirt, wreaths out of garland and some handmade ornaments out of grain sacks.

Best wishes for a Happy Holiday and New Year!
Thank you once again Maria!

xo
Cheryl

Thank you Cheryl! I love the way you decorated your home for Christmas!
I love this post Cheryl did about turning apples into paint cups!
I hope you get a chance to visit Cheryl's blog.
Sweet Young Journey

I will be back on Friday with some Christmas decorating.
Take Care,
Maria

Special Guest, Lara Sheleheda of Air Kiss, Devil's Food Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-12-20T06:51:00.000-08:00

Hello,

Recently I asked two talented women to share a holiday decorating idea and or a favorite holiday recipe

on my blog, to share with you during the holiday season....

Today I would like to introduce you to one of those bloggers, Lara Sheleheda, of the blog, Air Kiss.

I love Lara's photography and food styling, and I know you will too.

I hope you get a chance to visit Lara's Blog.

Air Kiss

Hi everyone! I'm Lara from Air Kiss and Maria invited me to guest post at her gorgeous blog. First of all, let me say it is such an honor to be here at one of my very favorite go to blogs for stunning photography. You are truly gifted in that art Maria! Maria has never ceased continually amazing me with her beautiful and unique style from day one.

I am completely addicted to cooking and baking food, styling it, and photographing it. You can see more of my photos over at my blog, Air Kiss. Right now it has been all about the making and; baking of holiday sweets. I am making my first pâte de fruit tomorrow - the last sweet on my agenda. But, I can't wait to dive into some healthy winter vegetable salads which I'll be sharing soon.

In the meantime, my kitchen has been filled with the smells of chocolate and cool peppermint lately. Who doesn't love peppermint in December? Even better when it is with some chocolate!

These cupcakes are adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book. Such a great book to have if you love baking up really great cupcakes. These are the Devil's Food Chocolate cupcakes paired with her 7-minute meringue frosting. I didn't have Dutch-process cocoa powder, so I used Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder. I put some candy canes in a Ziplock bag and bashed them up with a the back of a wooden spoon. Then I rolled over the crushed pieces with a rolling pin to get them finely crushed.

Between the batter and the meringue, there are ten eggs used in this recipe. Good practice for separating egg whites!

I love using Ateco pastry piping tips. I used the Ateco #809 for the chocolate chip shape piping. You pipe straight down and then pull the piping bag right up to make the little peak. A Wilton #1A will also work for this.

These cupcakes are super delicious after they have fully cooled and the flavours have had time to meld. Do the freezer for portion control method like I do to avoid temptation. ;-)

I hope everyone has a holiday full of peace and cheer!

Thanks for having me as your guest, Maria!

You can find more recipes and beautiful photography on

Ghiradelli Chocolate Cupcakes

adapted from Martha Stewarts Cupcakes book

makes 32 cupcakes

3/4 cup Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup hot water

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt

3 sticks unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three- quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

Let cool completely before frosting.

7-Minute Frosting
from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book
makes about 8 cups

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
6 large egg whites, room temperature

Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar with the water and corn syrup in a small saucepan; clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling, without stirring, until syrup reaches 230 degrees.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, beating to combine.

As soon as sugar syrup reaches 230 degrees, remove from heat. With mixer on medium-low speed, pour syrup down side of bowl in a slow, steady stream. Raise speed to medium-high; whisk until mixture is completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl) and stiff (but not dry) peaks form, about 7 minutes. Use immediately.

Thank you Lara!!!

Lara's blog, Air Kiss.

You can also find Lara on....

Flickr

Twitter

I will be back with my second surprise guest tomorrow evening.

Take Care,

Maria

Decorating for Christmas.... and a Jeanne Oliver Camera Bag Giveaway

2011-12-19T02:21:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend.

I finally got one area of the house partially decorated for Christmas over the weekend and have a couple pictures to share with you today....

We finally got our tree up as well...

It just isn't decorated yet...

I have a lot more pictures to share with you....

I will be back soon with a few more images and details about the room and our Christmas tree : )

On another note...

I wanted to share with you Jeanne Oliver's beautiful new clothing line, The Coming Home Collection, Jeanne recently released.

I hope you enjoy a preview of Jeanne's new line, I love it.

Jeanne is also giving away the Natalie Camera Bag to one lucky reader today.....

So be sure and read the giveaway information at the bottom of the post.

THANK YOU JEANNE!

Natalie Camera Bag

Gracie Little Messenger Bag

Anne Ruffle Messenger Bag

Open publication - Free publishing - More camera bag

Jeanne also published the above lookbook. Be sure and check it out.

Don't you just love Jeanne's work.

Jeanne is truly an inspiration to me....

Last spring I interviewed Jeanne, if you missed the interview, I hope you get a chance to read it.

You can read it by clicking here.....

I also posted about Jeanne's Ruffle Messenger bag she so kindly sent my daughter Bethany here....

Bethany LOVES her bag and uses it everyday to pack her art supplies around....

THANKS JEANNE!

Now onto the giveaway information!

One lucky person will receive one Natalie Camera Bag!

The giveaway ends December 28th at midnight.

1. All you have to do to enter the giveaway is leave me a comment on this post.

If you would like additional entries you can do the following.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry.....

2. Post about the giveaway on any of your social networking sites, such as twitter, facebook, blogger, and or pinterest.

I hope you get a chance to visit Jeanne's shop and blog.

Jeanne Oliver Designs

Jeanne Oliver's Blog

THANK YOU JEANNE!!!!

I will be back with more holiday decorating.
Take Care,
Maria

Dreamy Whites Shop
Facebook

Homemade Marshmallows, Gift Ideas, and Serving Hot Cocoa during the Holidays

2011-12-14T09:51:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I first want to thank all of you who left such kind comments about my daughter's

peppermint wreath....

Nicole appreciates every comment.

Today I wanted to share a fun recipe and a quick gift giving idea.....

I come from a large family and all of us girls learned how to bake....

A lot of times for Christmas my favorite gift to give is baked goods or homemade candies.

The fun part is finding something fun to put the baked goods in....

I thought I would share a gift idea I have done in the past....

Homemade Marshmallows and Hot Cocoa Mix

They are both so simple to make.

Nicole made the marshmallows and Bethany made the hot chocolate....

I made the grain sack stocking ornament : )

Just a warning on the the marshmallows...

They have to set up for a couple of hours, however it is hard to not eat all the marshmallow cream while it is in the process of setting.

The nice part about making these marshmallows, there is hardly any stirring involved.

Throw in a few peppermint sticks to make your gift more festive....

These are the best peppermint sticks, you can find them at Sur la Table

I thought it would be fun to put a bag of hot chocolate and a bag of marshmallows in an antique french

cafe au lait bowl....

You can also find new cafe au lait bowls at Anthropologie....

And or a french enamelware canister....

For the hot chocolate my favorite type of chocolate to use is Penzey's Dutch Cocoa.

I found these cute red and white checked food bags at Sur La Table......

That way your food is safe if you are using vintage canisters to put your baked goods in....

(I will be listing these french canisters in my shop today....)

I also wanted to share a fun way to serve hot cocoa during the holidays using a french cheese board.....

I have a bit of an obsession with these antique French cheese boards....

I think they would work great for entertaining purposes.

I put the cookies on a french ironstone platter....

I love to use my antique ironstone on a daily basis, if you would like to read more about caring for your ironstone dishes you can do so by clicking here.....

(cookies came from Andrae's Bakery)

I used a red striped grain sack runner on the table....

I tried to make the table seem more festive by adding the peppermint sticks and the red and white ribbon......

I hope you get a chance to try the homemade marshmallows.....

You can find the recipe for the marshmallows here....

You can find the recipe for the homemade cocoa here....

If you don't want to use vintage tins for your homemade gifts,

my other favorite option is to use Martha Stewart's boxes from Michaels...

They also have a great selection of ribbon to choose from.

What is your favorite thing to put your baked goods in when giving them as gifts?

Take Care,

Maria

A Finished Peppermint Wreath

2011-12-13T06:47:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I wanted to share a few images of Nicole's peppermint wreath she finished.

The above image is a picture of the wreath from yesterday.

Nicole just glued another layer of peppermint candies to cover the styrofoam wreath form.

Nicole chose to use a grain sack tie for the ribbon.

Nicole decided she didn't want to use an actual ribbon.

I posted how to make these wreaths here....

Enjoy the rest of your week.

I will be back tomorrow.

Take Care,

Maria
P.S. If you subscribe to my blog by email and wonder why you aren't receiving my posts anymore....
that is because for some reason my posts aren't being sent out anymore via email.....
I am trying to get that fixed, so hopefully you will start receiving my posts again soon.

An Unfinished Peppermint Candy Wreath and the Felted Mistletoe Wreath

2011-12-12T08:50:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I just wanted to post a quick one today....

I wanted to share a picture of our unfinished peppermint candy wreath my daughter, Nicole

made over the weekend.

It has been about ten years since I have made one of these.

I love these wreaths because they will add a touch of whimsy to your home.

They are super easy to make and are a fun project to do with the kids.....

All you need is....

a styrafoam wreath form

two large bags of peppermint candies

a glue gun

a bag of glue sticks

My daughter started glueing the candies from the inside of the wreath out. It works best if

you glue the candies on in rows.

This one isn't finished because you can still see the styrafoam peaking through the candies.

My daughter added another row of candies to cover those areas....

I will show you an image of the finished product in another post....

I also wanted to let you know where this sweet felted mistletoe wreath came from.

I showed a picture of it in my post on Saturday,

I received a lot of inquiries about it, so I thought I better let you know where they came from....

They came from Maison Reve....

Yasmine has the sweetest Christmas ornaments this year....

I will be photographing a few of the ornaments I got from their shop later this week.

They do not have the ornaments or wreath on their website, I bought them while shopping in their shop in Mill Valley with my mom.

I hope you get a chance to stop by Yasmine's shop.

MAISON REVE

I will be back hopefully this evening.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Take Care,

Maria

p.s. I was able to take a bunch of product pictures yesterday, I will finally have new products in my shop tomorrow.

My parents recently had a new litter of dantiff puppies....

A Work Studio and Last Year's Christmas Tree

2011-12-10T07:14:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.

I first need to warn you this is a very random post today....

I wanted to share a few sneak pictures of my cabinet I currently use for storing shop items.

Last year I had planned to turn my guest room into a work studio.....

Well that never ended up happening....

This summer I ended up turning one of our living rooms into a work studio.

We live in a manufactured home made by The Karstan Co, it has a

very open floor plan, and has two large living rooms.

This room used to be the t.v. room, until I decided to use it as a work studio...

The guest room is now the t.v. room and the living room is now a work studio.

This large cabinet works great for housing a lot of my ironstone, transferware, and other items I sell in my shop.

I am hoping to get this room photographed next week after I finish decorating for Christmas.....

On another note....

I had to share a recent picture of our Rambo, he is a dantiff puppy we got from our parents.

He is well loved by the kids....

We are hoping to make another road trip to Montana to see both of our families after Christmas...

The kids can hardly wait to make another trip home to see their grandparents and cousins.

My sister, who has nine kids and lives in Louisiana, will be there.

On a final note....

I wanted to share a few pictures of my Christmas tree from last year...

This was about all I got done last year for decorating.

I am still trying to decide what I am going to use as a container for my tree this year.

Last year I put my tree in this antique wine jug basket and lined it with a linen sheet so you can't see the bucket the tree is sitting in....

I used vintage french canning jars for a pop of color....

I also have a number of these vintage french canning jars in a green color as well.

I will be sure and share some pictures of this year's tree as soon as we get one.....

We are headed to the Sacramento airport today.

My mom flies back home today : (

The kids and I are planning to make a trip to Michaels on the way home so we

can get some materials to make some crafts for Christmas....

Do you have a favorite craft you like to do with your kids during the holidays?

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!

Before I go, I want to introduce you to two bloggers....

Cheryl of Fresh Vanilla for C

Maria of Rusty Hinge

I hope you get a chance to stop by both of of their blogs and say hello.

Take Care,

Maria

DREAMY WHITES SHOP

I went with my daughters and two sisters to New York City last December, we were so glad that we got to experience

Paperwhites and a Winner

2011-12-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I thought I would share a few pictures of my paperwhites since they are starting to bloom.

Bethany tied ribbons around all of them to prevent the blooms from falling over.

The kids have enjoyed watching them grow....

You can read more about my post I did on paperwhites here....

I really haven't been able to do much decorating for Christmas yet....
I am hoping I can get some holiday decorating done this weekend.
I talked my mom into staying until Saturday so she could help me with the sewing.

On another note, I wanted to announce the giveaway winner....

The winner of the Dreamy Whites Stockings and Wintersteen Farms Wreath

Giveaway is

Melinda of Alabaster Rose Designs.

Congratulations Melinda!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway!

Thank you WINTERSTEEN FARMS!

I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season with your family.

Take Care,

Maria

Dreamy Whites Shop

Facebook

Christmas in New York City and Anthropologie

2011-12-04T04:00:00.000-08:00

Hello!
I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.
I was going through pictures on my laptop tonight in our hotel and realized I hadn't posted pictures I took last year
of the Anthropologie in New York City......
Anthropologie had the best Christmas decorations....
I am sorry it took me a year to post the Anthropologie pictures.....

New York City during the Christmas season.

It was a rare occasion for all of us to take a trip like this,

it was a trip we will never forget.

The Anthropologie we went to is in the building in the above image.

It was right next to the Rockefeller Center.

The girls really wanted to go ice skating......

However the line was soooooo long.

The Christmas tree next to the Rockefeller was beautiful......

This was my favorite window at Anthropologie....

I wished I had all day to photograph Anthropologie's Christmas decorations....
Here is a mini tour of what their store looked like last year.
Be sure and notice all the details that were added to each window display......

This was one of my favorite displays.

The kids and I have made snow globes using canning jars a number of years ago....

I am hoping we will get that project done again this year....

My sweet little Bethany....

I hope you enjoyed the tour.....

Here are a few images I shot of the city while we were there...

I shared these last year on my blog....

We loved the Apple store.....

Thank you for taking the time to stop by!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

We are still in Oklahoma City for the horse show.

We are flying back home today.

Take Care,

Maria

DREAMY WHITES ONLINE SHOP

You can do so by clicking here......

P.S. There is still time to enter the fresh wreath and stocking giveaway!

Stockings Made From French Linens, Mangle Cloth, and Antique European Grain Sacks and a Giveaway

2011-12-01T01:07:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I am teaming up with Wintersteen Farms today for another Christmas Giveaway.....

You will have the opportunity to win a Wintersteen Farms Wreath, two large Christmas stockings, and

a set of 12 Petite Stockings.

Giveaway information will be at the bottom of the post.

First I wanted to share a few pictures of some Christmas stockings I recently made and added to my shop.....

I made the stockings from a variety of antique linens.

This particular pair of stockings are made from an antique french linen sheet and the cuff is made from vintage mangle cloth.

I love the red stripe on this mangle cloth.

I also really like the contrast between the mangle cloth and the french linen.

We used Vintage Dutch butcher twine for the loops on the stockings.

My mom is here at the moment and hemmed all of my stockings for me.

Thanks Mom.

I made stockings from a variety of red striped Antique European Grain Sacks.

I like how these four mismatched stockings look together.

I made more petite stockings.....

I recently found some duvets made from antique french textiles.

I was so excited to find this red plaid material....

I added more petite stockings made from antique red striped European grain sacks to my shop as well.

I will only be able to provide these little stockings for a limited time.

They are easy to make however they do require a lot of time to make.

I will show you a few other ways to use these in the near future....

I recently posted about these stockings here.....

Thank you to Jeff and Kelly Kansala of Wintersteen Farms you will get a chance to win a Wintersteen Farms wreath today along with two large stockings and a set of 12 petite stockings from my shop.

Wintersteen Farms offers Fresh Traditional Christmas Wreaths that will fill your home with the scents of the mountain air....

Their 24" wreaths are abundant with noble, cedar incense, blue berried juniper and ponderosa pine cones.....

Wintersteen Farms is a 36 acre noble and douglas fir tree farm.

The wreaths are hand crafted from start to finish.

Each Wreath is placed in their signature brown box after being packaged in a crystal clear bag, wrapped with tissue paper and tied off with a raffia ribbon.

The material used to hand-craft their wreaths are cut daily to ensure freshness that will last throughout the season!

You can order your wreaths now by visiting Wintersteen Farms.

Giveaway Information~

One reader will receive

1. One Wintersteen Farms hand crafted Wreath

2. Two Large Stockings of your choice from my online shop.

{the winner will get to choose from Christmas stockings that are available at the time of winning the giveaway)

3. 12 Petite red striped grain sack stockings also from my shop.

Giveaway Ends December 7th at midnight.

Winner will be chosen by random.org

To enter the Giveaway Please just leave me a comment on this post...... : )

Optional

If you would like an extra chance(s) to win

You can post the giveaway to any of your social networking sites...

facebook, blogger, pinterest, and or twitter etc....

Please leave a separate comment for each social networking site you posted the giveaway to...

You must leave a separate comment for each entry~

If you leave an anonymous comment, please make sure you also leave an email address.

Thank you Wintersteen Farms!

I hope you all get a chance to view Wintersteen Farms website.

Their wreaths really make great Christmas Gifts too.

You can pre-order your wreath and they will ship your wreath out November 28th.

Take Care,

Maria

DREAMY WHITES ONLINE SHOP

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Just in case you haven't already read my posts about Wintersteen Farms,

you can read more about them by clicking here and here

P.S. My husband and I currently are in Oklahoma City for a horse show.

I will be shipping orders out when I get back on Sunday...

I also have lots of new items I will be listing in my shop next week.

Antique European Grain Sack Christmas Stockings.... Advent Calendar and or 12 Days of Christmas

2011-11-18T04:59:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I just want to first thank everyone who participated in the giveaway.

The winner of my giveaway is Shel, who has a blog called Auntie Thesis.

Congratulations Shel....

Thank you Jeff and Kelly of Wintersteen Farms

There will still be opportunities to win a Wintersteen Farms Wreath this season....

I will be hosting a few more giveaways with Wintersteen Farms before the season is over....

On another note....

I wanted to share some images of these petite stockings I made from antique European Grain Sacks the other day....

I have wanted to come up with an idea using grain sacks for an advent calendar and or an idea representing the 12 days of Christmas for my shop.........

I decided to make miniature stockings out of grain sacks and hang them from a birch branch....
These are really easy to make...
My girls helped make these.
It is a fun project to do with your kids....

One of the things I love the most about antique grain sacks and antique linens is that all the seams were hand stitched together....

I can't imagine the amount of time spent sewing up these sacks.....

I wanted to make sure some of the stockings would have the original seams showing....

Here I strung 12 stockings from a birch branch that is tied to a pair of antique french shutters....

I thought they would also be cute hung on my mantle...

If you wanted to use these for an advent calendar they could be strung from two branches or just use a slightly longer branch to hang them from.

You could also string them from twine instead of a branch....

I left enough room at the top of the stocking to place a piece of candy inside the stocking....

I hand sewed the string (from the original grain sacks)

into the tops of the grain sack stockings.

Each stocking in shaped slightly different and the stripes are placed in different areas on the stockings...

These also make great tree ornaments and or can be used to decorate the tops of your Christmas gifts.....

I will share a few more images of other ways I used these next week.

I will be listing these in my shop today....

along with regular sized grain sack stockings....

I hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Take Care,

Maria

You can enter the giveaway by clicking here....

2011-11-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I just wanted to let you know there is still time to enter my giveaway.....

A chance to win a Wintersteen Farms Wreath and a $200.00 Gift Card giveaway to my shop.

The giveaway ends tonight at midnight.

On another note....

I will be adding some grain sack stockings to my shop this week...

My husband recently purchased a serger for me, so I can help my sister out with the

sewing....

I never thought I would be so excited to get a sewing machine....

I have a number of things I have been working on and can't wait to share them with you.

I just wish there was 12 more hours to a day....

Take Care,

Maria

Dreamy Whites Online

a $200.00 Gift Card to Dreamy Whites Online.

Dreamy Whites Online Shop 200.00 Gift Card Giveaway and Wintersteen Farms Wreath Giveaway

2011-11-09T03:33:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a great weekend.

Today I am teaming up with Wintersteen Farms for a fun giveaway....

Some of you might recognize these pictures from last year.

Since the wreaths won't ship out until the Monday after Thanksgiving, I won't be able to shoot new images of their wreaths until after Thanksgiving.

I will also be sharing some Thanksgiving entertaining ideas in this post as well.

Here is what we will be giving away....

One Wintersteen Farms Wreath

Giveaway information at the bottom of the post.....

Jeff and Kelly Kansla are the owners of Wintersteen Farms.

Jeff is also my cousin.

I wanted to tell you a few things about Wintersteen Farms Wreaths....

Wintersteen Farms offers Fresh Traditional Christmas Wreaths that will fill your home with the scents of the mountain air....

Their 24" wreaths are abundant with noble, cedar incense, blue berried juniper and ponderosa pine cones.....

Wintersteen Farms is a 36 acre noble and douglas fir tree farm.

The wreaths are hand crafted from start to finish.

Each Wreath is placed in their signature brown box after being packaged in a crystal clear bag, wrapped with tissue paper and tied off with a raffia ribbon.

Also included in your gift to someone or a gift to yourself, is two yards of 6" satin cream ribbon....

You may also use the ribbon to hang your wreath or to tie a bow for your wreath, the choice is yours.

The material used to hand-craft their wreaths are cut daily to ensure freshness that will last throughout the season!

You can pre-order your wreaths now by visiting Wintersteen Farms.

Here are a few items you will find in my shop this season....

Grain sack stockings

(images from last year)

We also have stockings available that are made from antique french linens

I also wanted to share a few entertaining ideas with you for Thanksgiving today as well as share a preview of what you will find in my shop.....

I recently shot some product images and decided to recreate my outdoor Autumn Inspired Table inside....

My in-laws were here and we actually ate at this table....

I recently found these french baker's cups.....

I think they are the cutest little cups....

I decorated the table around these little cups.

I added some flax seed to the cup and then added a candle....

We used mostly french ironstone dishes....

Except for the drinking glasses.

I actually remembered to set silverware on the table....

I think the candles help balance the height of the pumpkin....

I basically repeated using the french heirloom pumpkin on the compote dish......

I finally have antique grain sack runners back in stock.....

I used french ironstone platters to hold the food on each side of the pumpkin.

I tied twine around the cup.....

I then added one dried hydrangea bloom and a piece of wheat grass....

Now back to the giveaway information!

Giveaway Information~

One reader will receive

1. One Wintersteen Farms hand crafted Wreath

Your wreath will be sent out approximately around November 28th.

2. A 200.00 Gift Certificate to my shop, Dreamy Whites Online.

Giveaway Ends November 16th at midnight.

Winner will be chosen by random.org

To enter the Giveaway Please leave me a comment stating where you would hang your Wintersteen Farms Wreath at in your home if you won the giveaway...... : )

Optional

If you would like an extra chance(s) to win

You can post the giveaway to any of your social networking sites...

facebook, blogger, pinterest, and or twitter etc....

Please leave a separate comment for each social networking site you posted the giveaway to...

You must leave a separate comment for each entry~

If you leave an anonymous comment, please make sure you also leave an email address.

Thank you Wintersteen Farms!

I hope you all get a chance to view Wintersteen Farms website.

Their wreaths really make great Christmas Gifts too.

You can pre-order your wreath and they will ship your wreath out November 28th.

Take Care,

Maria

DREAMY WHITES ONLINE SHOP

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Just in case you haven't already read my posts about Wintersteen Farms,

you can read more about them by clicking here and here

A French Flea Market at Maison Reve Tomorrow.....How to make your own french farmhouse table

2011-11-05T01:01:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend.

I just wanted to let you know that in case you are in Mill Valley, CA tomorrow, be sure and stop in at Maison Reve....

Yasmine McGrane is holding a french flea market today, Saturday, November 5th, from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

I had planned on sharing images of some of my favorite items I have found at Maison Reve over the years, and unfortunately blogger isn't cooperating with me tonight.....

I will post those images in the near future...

This french farmhouse door I used in my autumn inspired french farmhouse table post is one of my favorite Maison Reve finds....

I converted the door into a table top by placing it on some vintage french saw horses I found at a flea market.

This is one of the easiest ways to make a unique one of a kind table....

And you won't even need to get out a drill....

I also use this table in my house in an area of my living room that I converted into my work studio.

I have found so many great french architectural items at Maison Reve...

If you don't live in northern CA then you can still shop Maison Reve via the internet....

Maison Reve

I hope you enjoy your weekend....

Take Care,

Maria

Dreamy Whites Online~Shop

Peony & Sage Fabrics by Kimberley Bell

2011-11-03T07:53:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I recently photographed some lifestyle images for Kimberley Bell's new line of fabric.

Kimberley is located in the United Kingdom and has a website called

Peony & Sage.

You can purchase all these fabrics by the meter on her website.

I thought I would share a few images I shot of Kimberley's fabric designs this past week.

Kimberley's fabrics are beautiful and are printed on 100% linen.

I hope you get a chance to visit Kimberley's website,

PEONY & SAGE

All the fabrics you see in the above images were designed by Kimberley Bell.

All fabrics can be purchased at Peony & Sage.

Congratulations Kimberley Bell!

Take Care,

Maria

DREAMY WHITES SHOP

A green antique french tart rack.....

TWITTER

Paperwhites, Ironstone, Cafe Au Lait Bowls, and Pebbles....

2011-10-31T01:12:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Paperwhites are one of the easiest bulbs to grow in the home....

If I can do it anyone can....

If you want to be able to enjoy these during the Christmas season, now is

the time to start planting these...

The kids and I planted some this weekend.

So I thought I would share a few pictures with you....

What you will need....

A few dishes....

I chose a variety of ironstone dishes from my collection.....

The last time I planted these (which was a few years ago)

I got a little crazy and filled every dish imaginable...

I tried to keep myself under control this time....

You will need to fill your dish half way full of pebbles.

I bought a bag of really cheap river pebbles at Lowe's.

Paperwhite bulbs contain all they need to grow, so you don't actually need soil....

However you can still plant them in soil if you wish....

I like to use pebbles.

Set your bulbs on top of the bed of pebbles with the roots facing down....

You can cram the bulbs together....

No need for spacing...

Add water...

Fill your dish with water just to the base of the bulb....

You don't want the bulb to be fully immersed into the water....

They will rot...

Set in a warm room....

In about five to six weeks you should see blooms...

If you want you can plant one bowl a week for the next couple of weeks so that you

have a continuous supply of blooms during the holidays....

Be sure and check your water levels....

I am sorry I only have pictures of the bulbs....

Hopefully I can get some actual pictures of blooms during the holidays...

You can read more about paperwhites here....

On another note....

I wanted to share a couple of blogs with you that I think you will enjoy....

Lara Sheleheda

{Lara's photography and styling is beautiful}

Sweet Young Journey

{Cheryl is a California girl that is blessed with so many talents)

I hope you get a chance to visit these two girls...

Enjoy your Monday!

Take Care,

Maria

Dreamy Whites Shop

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Vintage French Cheese Boards, Bistro Chairs, and more....

2011-10-25T02:19:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I wanted to share a few pictures I took for the shop this past week....

I finally was able to work on taking some product pictures....

I finally have bistro chairs back in stock....

I especially love green bistro chairs...

An Antique French Mustard Jar

I love antique french cheese boards.

I thought it would be fun to use these for entertaining during the holidays....

Antique French Silverware....

A lot of the french silverware has beautiful designs on the backside of the spoons and or forks..

I was told the French set the table with backside of the fork facing up...

I also found some vintage red and white dutch twine....

I thought this twine would be perfect to use during the holidays.

Vintage French Tins...

These are great to give as a gift filled with baked goods...

I am hoping to find more of these vintage french tins for the holidays....

I found a variety of vintage french cheese boards.....

We are a little obsessed with these apple pies around here...

They came from my favorite bakery in Amador County....

If you are from this area...

Can you guess what bakery they are from??

I hope you are all enjoying your week!

Take Care,

Maria

Dreamy Whites Online

Decorating For Fall with Apples and a 19th Century French Tian Bowl

2011-10-19T01:45:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I just wanted to share a few pictures of a fun way to use apples during the autumn season.

I filled my 19th century french tian bowl {that I posted about yesterday}

with water....

My daughter cut out portions of the tops of the apples and then fit a tea light candle into the apple.

Apples will only last for one day....

Add your apples to the water....

They should float : )

Light your candles....

My son Austin loves how the tea light candles glisten in the water....

It is a simple and fun project to do with your kids during the autumn season.

I would love to hear how you decorate for fall.....

On another note...

I wanted to thank everyone who participated in the

Cupcakes for the Primrose Bakery Cookbook giveaway.....

The winner of the cookbook is

Karen, who has a blog called

Simply Inspired.

I hope you all have a great week!
Take Care,
Maria

DREAMY WHITES ONLINE

Red Striped wine and or Beverage Bags

TWITTER

French Farmhouse Items in the Shop

2011-10-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone...

If you follow me on facebook then you have already seen these pictures...

Sorry....

I just wanted to share some images of items I recently loaded to my online shop...

I will be loading items to my shop throughout the rest of this week....

I loaded a few items from my french farmhouse autumn inspired table post...

Red Striped Table Runner

{I love these, my sister designed these for my shop}

A French Cutting Board...

I found these at Remnants of the Past....

{I will be posting about my shopping experience at Remnants of the Past in the near future, it was well worth the 10 hour round trip drive my daughters and I made that day}

A French Cheese Board

Vintage French Kindergarten Chairs

I really have had a hard time wanting to list these on my shop....

They are just too cute.

On another note....

I wanted to share a picture of this 19th century French Tian Bowl I recently purchased

from one of my favorite french importers....

I currently have it displayed in my living room, where I also have a crystal chandelier hanging.

I think the tian bowl and confit pot help add some rustic french southern charm to the room.

I will be showing a fun way to use these bowls during the autumn season tomorrow.

You really can use any type of bowl for the project....

I hope you enjoy the rest of your Monday.

Take Care,

Maria

P.S. If you would like to enter my giveaway, you still have until midnight tonight to enter....

Cupcakes for the Primrose Bakery Cookbook.......Italian Cream Soda

2011-10-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I hope you are all enjoying your week.

I wanted to finally share the cookbook I got the raspberry cupcake recipe from,

Cupcakes for the Primrose Bakery, I love this cookbook, it has a lot of helpful baking tips and is filled with beautiful images.

The authors of the book,
Martha Swift and Lisa Thomas, were two mothers who started out baking cupcakes for their children's parties....and soon discovered that adults love cupcakes too.
They now run a successful bakery and cafe in London, where they bake beautiful all natural
cupcakes along with other baked goods.
{I am also giving one reader a chance to win this cookbook today.
All you have to do is leave a comment at the end of this post to enter the giveaway.}

I made these raspberry cupcakes, a recipe from the Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery Cookbook, when I put the Cabbages and Roses inspired party together.

The raspberry cupcakes were a big hit with the kids....

The recipe called for warm raspberry jam....

It was kind of funny because when we made these cupcakes, the kids didn't think they were

going to like the cupcakes because they had jam in them.

They ended up loving them.

I wanted to also share the Italian Cream Soda recipe with you....

This is a very easy drink to make...

Italian Cream Soda

1 cup of Club Soda

2 TBSP of Milk (or half and half)

2 Tablespoons of vanilla syrup

We chose vanilla flavored syrup, however there are lots of flavors to choose from.

You can also add berries to your drink and whip cream : )

To make an Italian soda, just omit the milk...

The girls love to make these daily : )

On another note...

I thought it would be fun to giveaway the Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery cookbook today...

I will be giving away one cookbook to one reader.

All you have to do is leave a comment at the end of this post.

The winner will be chosen by random number.

Giveaway ends October 17th.
If you are an anonymous commenter please be sure and leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.
Giveaway is open to international readers.....

You can read more about Martha Swift and Lisa Thomas

by visiting their website,

Primrose Bakery

Primrose Bakery on Facebook

Hope you enjoy the rest of your week!

Take Care,

Maria

DREAMY WHITES ONLINE