The past few weeks have been filled with renovations as I embark on a new venture. I love my design work but also love to decorate interiors and entertain, to provide an experience, to make my guests feel welcomed and special. My design skills enable me to create original design elements for my interiors.

After I return from the CHA winter show in Anaheim in January I will be opening a bed and breakfast here in picturesque Frederciton, NB, Canada. We will have three guest rooms at Quartermain House.

Sunday evening Quartermain House was on the annual IODE Evergreen Tour where four homes are decorated for the holidays and 300 tickets are sold for guests to tour the home.

The renovations experienced some delay so were not finished before tour, the great crew working here finished up on Wednesday at 5pm. This is how the place looked then.

I had four days to decorate the house from top to bottom. Several friends who came by did not think I could do it. I had doubts myself for a brief time but being a creative eternal optimist :) I had to make it happen! Mostly working around the clock by noon on the 25th the foyer now looks like this!

Last year I was part of a challenge to create a sock monkey, I made a couple modifications to the popular iconic toy and McSockers was created. His antics caught the eye of a toy company and soon I was making a "barrel of monkeys" to ship across Canada.

I love Christmas movies and watch one at least every day in December, this December I am so excited to have my McSockers in a new Hallmark Christmas movie, Christmas with Holly premiering December 9th. http://www.lisakleypas.com/movie-ChristmasEveatFH.asp

McSockers is ready for the premier, popcorn, bananas and cool shades are already for the big night! You never know where your creative journey make take you!

In two weeks 300 guests will tour four beautiful homes decorated for the holidays. This has been a tradition in Frdericton for almost thirty years. This is the IODE's main fundraiser of the year and the funds are used to support school programs, charities and scholarships throughout the year.

I love the holidays and decorating. I had always wished one day I could have a house on the tour and this year it has come true! Although the house has been under renovation for the past month I am excited to deck the halls for the big event!

I have decorated one of the mantels for the morning for an article to appear in the local paper Wednesday. As I put out the lights and glittery accents the warmth and excitement of this special time of year, the magic just happens! This year this beautiful home will be filled with lights, with holiday magic and most importantly with family, friends and love!  

The first Monday of every month the Designer Crafts Connection hops with thirty of the Craft industry's top designers. We are all professional designers, members of the CHA designer section. (Craft & Hobby Association)

This month's theme is thank you gifts. November marks the beginning of the holiday season, invitations to holiday parties, gatherings, gift exchanges. My favorite thank you gifts to give are handmade ornaments. I design and create new ones each year. One of my favorite designs is this whimsical elf  popping out of a stocking. I create them in different color combinations to match the gift recepient's holiday decor.

The elf's head is a needle felted 1 1/2" Styrofoam brand foam ball and the stocking is made National Nonwoven's wool felt. The scroll design on the stocking die cut with the Sizzix Big Shot. It cuts felt beautifully. Bead and button embellishments complete the ornament.

Be inspired with the projects offered by the other members of this talented designer group, just hop along with the DCC button in the side bar!

I enjoy my students, they are so creative and with a little direction they run with their own ideas. Once they get the technique I provide them with lots of color and material choices. One of my students wanted to needle felt owl ornaments for her new young stepsisters.

Since the girls both love pink and purple she decided to reverse the colors with one being more pink and the other more purple. They turned out so cute and will be sweet cherished gift, their first Christmas together as a blended family.

Creativity is a gift in itself, taking the time to craft a gift is special. Making something special for someone you love, in the act of creating love is woven in and so there is no greater gift than that.

It is the season to create with love! Always!

The final week of the Neenah EPC Film  Blog Hop, I am following up the quick, fun and fabulous projects by  Ann Butler, Melony Bradley, Eileen Hull and Jonathan Fong. Since sewing is a big part of my design projects and I am putting together a new studio I decided to use the Neenah EPC film sheets to create a couple button and sewing containers.

I had a glass jar and box I wanted to embellish for my new studio. See how cute they are and in only a few minutes they were finished!

Here's how to! A sheet of black Neenah EPC Film.

The Sizzix Big Shot, Tim Holtz Die, National Nonwovens Wool Felt, Containers.

Cut wool felt piece to size to wrap around container. The Neenah EPC Film through the Big Shot cut three layers easily!

Next iron the film pieces paper side up on the box lid and sides, the wool felt and even the metal jar lid!

Once the paper image is cool peel away the paper.

Embellish & enjoy! I am planning on making several of these containers for my studio sewing supplies using the Neenah EPC Film! Just think of all the possibilities! Happy crafting!

I love hydrangea, they have such dainty blooms and last throughout the season with their hues subtly changing. Come fall they dry beautifully to be enjoyed inside. Now living in a older home with six mantles to decorate I wanted to do something different for each one and also something quick and easy.

For the formal parlor hydrangea and dried roses were ideal. I placed three teacups filled with water and fresh hydrangea filled in with dried blooms and silk leaves. It turned out very pretty and suits the parlor, delicate and feminine.

Using items you have on hand like the tea cups and combining natural elements from the garden makes a display or arrangement both easy and meaningful. Being surrounded by beauty feeds the soul and our homes should be a space we love to be in. Love where you live!

Our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend was a full one here at Quartermain House! We had over 40 family and friends for lunch on Saturday and family for all three days of good food, lively games and much laughter & love!

Now back to crafty business and Thursday is the 4th week of the Neenah EPC Film Blog Hop with the fabulous Jonathan Fong! Definitely Style with a Smile! He is the niceset, sweetest guy and so talented!

 See what he does with the Neenah EPC film!!!

Here is to the Joy of Creativity!

Create your own Prim Pumpkin Patch, easy peasy fall decor
using Rit Dyes and STYROFOAM Brand foam balls.
Using two colors of Rit Dye, Tangerine and Dark Brown
I dyed sections of unbleached cotton,
Blumenthal Lansing nylon buttons and twine.

Follow the stove top dye technique
http://www.ritdye.com/dyeing-techniques/stovetop 
and dye a 12" x 36" strip of unbleached cotton
with 1 cup Tangerine, 8 cups of hot water. Remove strip from dye,
add 2 T of Dark Brown to pot with Tangerine, stir well.
Dye two more strips of unbleached cotton along with buttons and twine. 
Remove one strip along with twine and buttons.
Add anotherTbs of Dark Brown and stir with third strip in dye.
A mottled effect and darker shade will result. Wash and dry fabrics.

Use any size ball you wish to, I used several sizes from 3" to 5".
With a stick carve out a small middle hole for stem.
Glue stem in  place. Rip fabric strips into 2" widths.
Begin gluing end of strip by hole. Wrap NSEW going around stick.
Trim off excess and contiinue with next piece.

Add third color of strip filling in all gaps.

Embellish with bows and buttons.

Sew crow and don't turn right side out. Stuff and sew or glue opening

Paint crow with black craft paint. Let dry. Insert and glue into Pumpkin.

Glue some felt leaves in among burlap bow. 
Glue and insert bird! To follow along on the hop 
just click on the Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop Button!

12 of our DCC designers will be taking part in another blog hop
 beginning Saturday October 13th featuring Makin's Clay. 

They will be giving out for the blog hop....
a prize package worth just over $100 retail cost.
In order to enter go to the Makin's Clay Blog
and leave a comment. Here is the link!
http://makinsclayblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/makins-clay-blog-hop-contest.html
Get inspired with some great clay ideas and enter for the pirze!
Happy creating!