The Aftermath and a re-do project!

Well, did you survive Christmas? We did, and it was a great couple of "Christmas days". When you have a couple days of family get togethers, it really extends the celebration, and then BOOM, the cleanup (or the aftermath) hits! We really had a wonderful Christmas season and the kids are really enjoying themselves with all their new treasures, as I am right now too!
I wanted to share this re-do project with you before Christmas, but didn't get time to post about it, so I am doing it now. Since it is winter I will leave this little red sled out yet for the upcoming month or two.
Let me tell you a quick story about this little red sled first....a few of my girlfriends get together every year and have a Christmas party at one of our houses, and we eat a great meal, have a glass of wine/spirits or two, and then we have a gift exchange. Well, this year we decided not to do the exchange for whatever reason and my friend Amy said to have a swap of things that we wanted to re-gift or get rid of. So, we all brought one or a few items that we didn't really care for or didn't have the decor for in our homes, and then we rummaged through everyone elses things to see if we wanted anybody elses items. Well, I picked out this sled, which another friend liked just the way it was, but I had plans for this sled.....don't get me wrong, this sled was cute, but I like more primitive pieces and I wanted to give it a good face lift, or a major distressment I guess would be a better word! ;)


I pulled off the wooden pieces and the fake straw/grass, sanded that baby down real good and painted it a few times.....and here she is....all nice and prim!


Here is another picture of it at its resting spot!

I love it this way! So girls....as promised I posted the finished product for ya....thanks Amy! ;)

A Very Merry Christmas

I just wanted to wish you all out there a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy the Christmas holiday with those that you love, and I hope that you and your family has the gift of peace, joy, love, and happiness. I am so thankful for each and every one of you that I have gotten to know through this blog...what a wonderful blog world to be involved in....you guys are great! I can't wait to catch up with all of you after the holiday.
Tarrah

Need a "Rust" Recipe and Gingerbread Man Recipe and a Message from SANTA!

Happy 1st day of winter! It sure does feel like winter here in Pa with the nice blanket of snow covering everything. I'm hoping it will be a white Christmas this year!
I am in need of a few things from all you great bloggers out there. First off, I need a good gingerbread man bowl filler recipe. Not the edible kind, the kind that are nice and brown and remain fluffy...the ones that I see in all your great Christmas pictures that are displayed in a bowl with greens and cinnamon sticks filled with. Does anyone have a good recipe that they are willing to share?
I would love to make these yet with the kids this week. I was also looking for a rusting recipe that would help prim up two large tin pieces that I have. I need to make 'em look a little worn and weathered. I know there are some rusting methods out there, and I did a little searching, but was wondering if anyone had a good and easy mix that you use and it works pretty quickly and does a good job. If you do, could you please pass it on to me....it would be greatly appreciated. I will share the finished pieces with you when I get them finished.
Now...since I have asked you all for some help, I have a GREAT link for you that allows you to personalize a message to whomever you wish, from the big man himself: Santa Claus! Let me tell you that it is pretty awesome and amazing. I set them up for my kids already and they are going to be getting their message from St. Nick via email tonight. They will love it! It is for any age and you can add a picture of the person so that when Santa opens his "naughty or nice" book, the picture is in the book with their name and what they are asking for this Christmas....too cute. Check it out: http://portablenorthpole.tv/home/
Thanks Abby for the great tip! ;)
Ok, well on to all the things that need crossed off my list yet.....Tarrah

Gumdrop Trees

A Christmas tradition for our kids is making gumdrop trees. The kids love it and it isn't quite as messy as gingerbread houses, plus they each love making their own tree. It is a fun and easy kids craft that will entertain them while you are busy getting other things done!
Here are all the supplies you need to make your own gumdrop trees;(plus toothpicks cut in half...they didn't make it in the picture!)

Here is Indiana and Madissen hard at work....I forgot to get a shot of Gracie working hard b/c the phone rang! ;)



And here are the finished products:

Christmas at the Cabin part 2

Christmas Greetings! I finally have a little free time to do some blogging and to finish out some more Christmas decorating pictures. Hope everyone is getting their shopping, baking, and wrapping done. Me, I am a little behind but since we will be snowed in today since most of the east coast is getting some major snow, I hope to get a lot done. What better way to start than by blogging with a nice fresh cup of hot coffee!
I have a kids craft project and another small project re-do to show you here in the next couple of days....so stay tuned!
In the meantime,stay warm, and if your on my side of the coast from Virginia to New York....ENJOY THAT SNOW! :)


We did a lot of homemade things for our large Christmas tree. We strung lots and lots and lots of popcorn for this 11 foot tree (this is small compared to what I got other years!)


We also made some very yummy smelling applesauce cinnamon ornaments. They got so great!


You can see that snow falling!












My Mom made me this great pillow!





Afraid this is all the Christmas pictures I have....I wanted to get more but since this season has been crazy, I didn't even get all the decorating done that I wanted to.
Enjoy the weekend...its the last one before Christmas...doesn't that seem almost crazy?!

Our First Snow & Our Open House

I just couldn't resist taking pictures of our first good snow here at the cabin that arrived the day before our open house....thank goodness it didn't show up on Sunday or it could have really interefered with our turnout! But anyway, I just had to take some wintry white snapshots....




Whew....I think I have finally rested up from our pottery open house that was held here on Sunday. Sorry I didn't get to post about it sooner, I was just swamped this week!
Now then, about the open house...I would call it a great success! Bob and I had so much fun talking with everyone, even though we didn't get to spend a lot of time with each person, we tried to! We got swarmed with people in the first hour and a half and then it really died out. Luckily I had my fantastic friend Amy and my Mom there to help do all the wrapping and handling the money! I just sort of mingled around to everyone making sure they were welcomed and that they filled their bellies! ;) Thanks again Amy and Mom for all that you did!
Bob and I are really so appreciative of the support that our customers continue to give us and we are very thankful for the this small business that has really bloomed. We are excited for what the future has in store for Indian Trail Pottery and we look forward to very many happy customers!
So without further introduction....here are only a few pictures of some of our friends, new and old, that visited with us! It was so crazy busy in the beginning that I forgot to take more pictures.


Lots and lots of pottery!

Miss Laura...hopefully having a good time?!

My 2 faithful employees! LOL.....

So, now that the open house is over we can take a breather from the pottery for a little bit, but since I didn't really get any pieces for myself, I had to put my pottery order in for Christmas! ha ha!
Ok, I still have lots to do yet tonight, so I will end for now...will post more Christmas pictures soon! Have a great weekend!
Tarrah

Christmas at the Cabin....part 1

I finally have Christmas at the cabin pictures for you, so grab yourself a cup of warm tea or coffee, listen to the music, and enjoy your visit here.
My 3 beautiful children standing with our 2009 Miller family Christmas tree at our favorite tree farm:

Christmas is arriving here at the cabin....lights, greens, and snowflakes have arrived in the past week and a half, and I am so excited! I absolutely love this time of year, and to make it even more special...it started snowing here this late morning and it is still going at it! Here is a picture of when it just started to lay.

I have been doing lots of baking and cleaning to get ready for our open house tomorrow....I sure hope we have a great turnout and show. Here is a picture of a new cookie recipe I tried for pecan sandies....let me tell ya...these are great! ;)


Now...I finally have some Christmas eye candy pictures for you....it is only about half of them though since I still have some final touches to do and my house was still kind of mesy from me moving everything around for the show....I hope you enjoy them!

















Thanks for visiting. Please feel free to leave a comment, I love to hear from each and every one of you!
Tarrah

Christmas coming fast.....

Christmas is coming at full speed and there is still so much to do,to make, to buy, to wrap, and I would like to enjoy the season if at all possible! Ha ha!....
There is so much I need to get ready and made and CLEANED just for this open house on Sunday....don't know if it will be well attended or not, but here's hoping and what gets done, gets done, and the rest will just have to wait, right?! :)
I just wanted to pop on here and say a quick hello.....I will post pictures very soon of all the new Holiday decor......

More New Pottery

Well, we are gearing up for the Holidays and stocking our supply of pottery back up for Patti's shop and for our big Indian Trail Pottery Christmas Open House. I am realizing how quickly time is passing and how much I have to do just to get the house in order for the open house, plus then there are the refreshments to think about and the decorating, and everything else seems to just pile on in with all of that...so needless to say, I am getting a little anxious! :)
Wanted to share a few pictures of some of the new pottery.....got some awesome pieces and I could just keep them all! Some of my family members have already put their order in, so of course we have to keep up with those too ;), but I just couldn't resist showing you some of our new crocks.....again, these pictures do not do them justice....

I LOVE THESE!!!! These are great for your kitchen utensils, or to chill a bottle of wine, or whatever...they look fab just by themselves!
Here is a pitcher with a crock behind it......

Also, check out this set of nesting bowls that Bob made for a friend's wedding present! I told him that we better do quite a few more sets of these....they turned out gorgeous!


So, there you have it....a sneak peak at what will be available at our open house....again if any of you are in my area, please stop in...I would love to meet you. Time and date: Sunday, December 6th from 1-5 pm.