Author Archives: barbara

About barbara

I'm sure you are wondering how the blog was named, "The Enchanted Manor". Well, this blog will be like home to me and I wanted a name that reflected my different interests. During a normal day you can find me in several rooms of the house. Maybe I'll be in the living room decorating, or in my craft room working on a project, or in the dining room planning a great dinner party or at the computer in my office planning a great vacation. When you come to visit my blog you might find me in any room! Please return often for ideas and inspiration because this blog will be about decor, craft, celebration and travel. So, welcome to the "Enchanted Manor". Come in, sit down and let's talk!

Decor – Framing Small Items

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Scattered around our home, there are many small and unusual framed items.  Some of these items are a collection of collectible items or cameos or historic royal medals.  These add personality and interest to our home decorations and are displayed throughout the house.

In my home office, I have recently added two wonderful collectible pieces by Margaret Furlong.  She is an artist located in Oregon that designs beautiful decorative pieces inspired by nature made in bisque porcelain.  The two pieces from her collection currently on the bookshelves in my home office are the “Heaven and Earth” and the “Hope for a New Millennium” which were purchased several years ago and originally were displayed in my daughter’s nursery in our California home.  To create these two framed collectible pieces, I purchased inexpensive gold frames that perfectly fit the Margaret Furlong pieces and two lovely pale green “velvet” scrapbook papers from the local craft store.  I removed the glass and backing from the frames then cut the “velvet” paper to fit the frame using the glass as a template.  I attached the collectible onto the paper with hot glue; carefully making sure that it would be perfectly centered within the frame, and then hot glued the paper with the collectible attached to the frame’s glass for additional support.  Finally, I placed everything back into the gold frame and it was ready to hang on the wall.  This easy craft project took 30 minutes to frame both pieces.  These two framed collectibles are a wonderful example of how to display small items in a beautiful way.

Framed collectible 2     Framed collectible 1

Displayed in my home office is a shadow box that displays commemorative medals of the British Kings and Queens.  As mentioned in this month’s Celebration post, Victoria’s Day, I am fascinated by the British Royal family.  My interest was sparked several years ago when I read a novel about Queen Victoria.  Since that time I have read numerous books about the royal family and while visiting England several years ago I had an opportunity to see the castles and country homes of the royal family which I had been reading about in their biographies.  This inspired a collection of commemorative medals of the British Kings and Queen.  The first one dates back to Queen Victoria and commemorates the Diamond Jubilee and her 60 year reign as Queen of England.  Additional commemorate medals include the coronations of the Kings and Queen that followed, King Edward VII, King George V, King Edward VIII, King George VI and finally the current Queen Elizabeth II.  One very unique pin marks the year 1937 when England had three kings.  During that one year England had three different kings, they were King George V who had recently died at the beginning of 1937, King Edward VII who abdicated before his coronation and then King George VI who was crowned at the end of 1937 and he is the father of the current Queen Elizabeth.  This particular pin is my favorite one in the collection.  All of these seven commemorative pins are in a walnut shadowbox and are wonderful way to display the collection in my home office.

Framed collectible 3   Framed collectible 4

Several years ago while shopping on ebay, I came across a great source for cameos.  I purchased several not knowing exactly what I was going to use them for, originally I was thinking of using them for a jewelry project.  Instead, I decided to frame a lovely blue cameo the same way I framed the Margaret Furlong pieces.  I purchased a small silver frame from the local craft store, dark grey “velvet” scrapbook paper and used the same process, it worked out beautifully.  The framed cameo now sits on the side table in our master bedroom and is a lovely decorative accent.

Down in our basement there is a bookshelf which is filled with family memorabilia (in the future I should write a post regarding the bookshelf and how everything is displayed!)  Anyway, there is a very special piece that commemorates our daughter’s baptism and the story behind this piece is very interesting.  First, I need to explain that both my mother’s parents emigrated from Poland through Ellis Island in the early 1900s.  Needless to say when Pope John Paul II became pope in 1978 my mother was very excited.  Several years ago when I was working on a special 80th birthday book for my mother, I wrote to the Pope hoping that he would respond and to my surprise he did write back with a lovely letter wishing her a happy birthday.  To conclude the story, when it came time for my daughter’s baptism, I again wrote to Pope John Paul II and received a letter blessing her on this special occasion and enclosed with the letter was a very special medal for her.  I copied the letter, reduced the size to fit the frame I had purchased, the original letter went into her baby book, and in the small shadowbox I included the medal the Pope sent along with a photo taken at her baptism.  This is an example of a very small item, the medal, being displayed in a wonderful way to commemorate a special and blessed event.

Framed collectible 1a

In the entertainment center down in the basement are several walnut cases specially made with a black liner and they are perfect for holding a collection of pins gathered during our road trips and overseas travels.  Almost every place visited on our travels I will purchase a pin as a souvenir and over the years I have collected hundreds.  Most of these pins are displayed in these special large walnut cases.  Check out this month’s Décor post, Travel Souvenirs, for more information regarding the other items we collect during our vacations and how they are displayed in our home.  Two small walnut cases are also displayed in the entertainment center.  One case holds a collection of Hard Rock Café guitar pins that were purchased while dining at the restaurants in several U.S. cities and other locations in Europe and Asia.  We like the food at the Hard Rock Café and if we are visiting a particular city on our travels I always check to see if there is one located there.  As mentioned in a previous post, Disney Memorabilia Collection, part of our Disneyland souvenirs is a collection of over two hundred Disney collectible pins.  Most of these pins were purchased during our visits to Disneyland or online from e-bay when I am looking for rare or discontinued pins.  A small part of the pin collection is displayed in one of the small walnut cases and the rest of the pins are stored away.  These walnut cases are an example of a terrific way to display a collection of small items and sometimes when we are down in the basement watching movies I will pull out one of the walnut cases and look at the pins and remember the places we have visited.

Pin collection 2    Pin collection 1
Pin collection 4    Pin collection 3

So, when you are purchasing small decorative items, think about displaying them in small frames that would look wonderful on bookshelves or tables in your home.  If you are a collector of small items like pins and medals, think about displaying the items together in shadowbox frames or special cases that are made specifically for this purpose.  My basic idea is that if you have purchased and collected these items take some time to display them in a decorative way to enjoy every day.  This idea is also a wonderful way to add interest and personality to a home.

Celebration – Mother’s Day

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mothers day lilacMother’s Day is coming up this month and (hopefully) sons and daughters around the country will be remembering their mothers.  Traditionally Mother’s Day is an annual holiday celebrated on the second Sunday in May.  This special day is meant to recognize mothers and acknowledge their contributions to our lives through their care and support of their families.

A Brief History of Mother’s Day

Back in 1868, there was committee establish by Ann Jarvis with the purpose to reunite families that had been divided by the Civil War.  Previously she had organized a “Mother’s Day Work Club” during the war to improve the sanitation and health conditions in both the Union and Confederate encampments at the time of a severe typhoid outbreak.  After the war, she continued her efforts to establish an annual memorial day to honor the service of these dedicated women who had work so hard for their sons during and after the Civil War.  There were only limited celebrations at a local level and unfortunately the idea never became popular at a national level during her lifetime and Jarvis died in 1905.

After her mother’s death, her daughter Anna Jarvis worked with a Philadelphia businessman named John Wanamaker to organize a small service at a local church in West Virginia where her mother taught Sunday school and this celebration honoring her mother took place in 1907.  In the following year, 1908, the first “official” Mother’s Day celebration was held again at the same local church in West Virginia while on the same day a much larger celebration was held at the Wanamaker store in Philadelphia.  Then, the next year there was an even larger celebration was held in New York City.

Jarvis worked to establish Mother’s Day as an official United States national holiday and in 1910 West Virginia was the first state to established it an official holiday.  In 1914, the U.S. Congress passed a law designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day and President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring the first national Mother’s Day as a day for American citizens to honor those mothers whose sons had died in the war.

Eventually the Mother’s Day holiday celebration became overly commercialized and the original meaning of the holiday was quickly lost.  In a strange twist, Anna Jarvis, the women who worked so hard to establish an annual Mother’s Day to honor her mother and the mothers of sons that died in the war, became a major opponent of the commercialization of the holiday.  She spoke out against the practice of purchasing greeting cards when people became “too lazy to write personal letters” to their mothers.  She was so strong in her opinion that she “wished she would have never started the day because it became so out of control” and she was even arrested in 1948 for disturbing the peace while protesting against the commercialization of Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day is now one of the most commercially successful American holidays.  It has become the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant and it generates a large portion of the U .S. jewelry industry’s annual revenue from custom gifts like the mother’s ring.  (I must admit that we bought my mother one of these rings with the birthstones of her for daughters)  Americans also spend approximately $68 million on greeting cards, $2.6 billion on flowers and over $1.53 billion on the recent idea giving gifts to pamper our mothers like spa treatments.

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas and Suggestions

Mother’s Day gifts are available in wide range of prices, from the very expensive and extravagant to the inexpensive, thoughtful and very personal hand crafted items.  Listed below are some great gift ideas for Mother’s Day:

  1. Breakfast in bed – this idea can be as extravagant as a catered meal to a special menu planned and cooked by the kids with the supervision of their father.  As an extra special touch consider serving the meal on custom hand-painted plate by the kids and purchased from the local pottery store.  (this idea needs to be planned in advance because there is usually a processing time to pick up a completed fire-kilned plate)
  2. Flowers – these can range from expensive florist shop flowers, to ones purchased at the local grocery store, to ones hand-picked from the garden, to tissue paper flowers made by the kids.
  3. Jewelry – the price range can be from an expensive necklace, bracelet or ring to inexpensive hand-beaded items made by the kids (macaroni necklaces can be charming idea but check out the jewelry aisle at the local craft store for something a mom could wear everyday)
  4. Gifts to pamper – ideas can range from a gift certificate to the local spa for a massage or facial to expensive perfumes, bath salts or lotions from the local upscale retail department store, to bath and beauty products from a store like Bath and Body Works.
  5. Family photographs – this can range from a formal/informal portrait by a local professional photograph either in a studio or at a special outdoor location or maybe some casual photos of the kids shot at home or in the backyard.  Remember to present the photographs in a beautiful frame either professional matted and framed at a studio or done with supplies from the local craft store.  Don’t forget that older photos also make great gifts, take a look at the family photo albums and I’m sure you would be able to find that perfect photo to copy and frame.  Look for old family photos of her parents and grandparents or maybe a photo taken of her with her baby on the day he/she was born.
  6. Clothing – When purchasing clothes it is a could idea to know sizes for purchasing a beautiful dress or lovely blouse, just try to decide on something a little more special than a pair of jeans or a t-shirt.  If you don’t know the size, consider a fabulous handbag.  If you can’t find anything she would like, think about a gift certificate to one of her favorite stores and with the card include a special note with an offer to babysit the kids while she is shopping!

Please check out this month’s Craft posts, Floral Purses and Childhood Handprints, for complete instructions and supply lists for two great craft project to create for Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day Trivia

  • The Grafton Church in West Virginia, where the first “official” Mother’s Day celebration was held in honor of Ann Jarvis is now a National Historic Landmark.
  • In 1934, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved a stamp commemorating the Mother’s Day annual holiday.
  • Carnations have long been associated with Mother’s Day when Anna Jarvis distributed 500 white carnations at the first “official” celebration in 1908.  The carnation was chosen because it was her mother’s favorite flower.  Since that time, many churches have adopted the custom of giving carnations at their Sunday services on Mother’s Day.
  • When there was a shortage of white carnations for Mother’s Day, the floral industry invented the idea of wearing a red carnation if your mother was living or a white one if she had passed away.  This idea was so heavily promoted by the florists that evenly became a very popular custom.

Craft – Childhood Handprints

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Child's handprintMother’s day is coming up this month and here is an easy and inexpensive craft project to do with the kids to create a very sentimental Mother’s Day gift.  This idea is also a great gift idea for Father’s Day, Grandparent’s Day or Christmas.

Children handprints, especially when they are very young, always make interesting art work for a home.  When children are at the preschool or kindergarten age their hands are very small and they make excellent tools for these simple art projects.

Follow these simple steps for a perfect handprint craft/art project.

  1. Before starting this craft project, be sure to assemble all the materials that you will need.  I used both acrylic black and brown paint for several sets of handprints. (I wasn’t sure which color I wanted to use so I took a couple of sets in each different color so that I would have more options to decide from when I did this project with my daughter)
  2. You will also need a paint brush to apply the paint onto the palm of the child’s hand.
  3. A very important tip when making handprints and using paint is to cover the work area completely with newspaper or a plastic tablecloth.  Another tip is to use an inexpensive apron to cover you and the child’s clothing while taking the handprints or another inexpensive solution is an oversized t-shirt, just be sure it is one that can be thrown out if it gets too much paint.  Position the work space within easy reach of a sink with running water and have paper towels on hand for spills and clean-up.  These simple steps will keep the project from getting too messy and therefore the clean-up time will be kept to a minimum.
  4. For this particular craft project pre-select a poem to use with the handprints.  The internet is a good source to find an appropriate poem, do a search for “handprint poem” and select one that you like.  Center the poem near the top of the page to allow enough room at the bottom for the handprints.  Be sure to include the name of the child and the year the handprint was taken.  Print several copies from a computer.  (I recommend at least four copies to start, this should be enough to allow for mistakes and to get at least one set of good handprints)
  5. Before starting the project take the time to explain to the child what will happen during the handprint process, children tend to cooperate more if they know what to expect.  A simple trick to taking good handprints is for the child to relax their hands and not roll their fingers into a ball.  This can be a very messy process if you have to move their fingers into a straight position.
  6. An important tip when taking handprints is to use a minimum amount of paint to create smudge-free prints.  Place the palm of the hand near the wrist down first and then place the fingers slowly down on the paper. Once the hand is completely placed, gently press down on all the areas of the hand with equal pressure for an even print.  Rest the hand for a moment and then lift straight up, this trick will help to eliminate smudges.  After you get a good handprint of the first hand move onto the second hand.
  7. After the both handprints are taken, allow it to dry for at least 24 hours.  Once the handprint is completely dry.

Please check out last month’s Craft post, Zoo Animal HandPrints, for another fun craft project using children’s handprints.

Craft – Floral Purse Arrangement

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Floral purse green 2

With Mother’s Day celebrated this month, why not consider creating one of these floral purses as a lovely gift.  This beautiful floral purse gift would also be a fun idea for a present for a daughter’s sweet sixteen or a best friend’s birthday.  This gift would also make a great bridal or wedding shower gift and for additional suggestions please check out the ideas at the end of this post.

To get stated creating one of these floral purses, just follow a few easy steps to create this amazing gift!

Floral purse green 1Floral Purse – instructions

  1. To assemble a floral purse gift, the first thing to do is to find a great purse to use as the base for the floral arrangement.  Look for a beautiful purse in a local retail store or consider a vintage purse from an antique store.
  2. Before adding anything else to the purse, fill the bottom with tissue paper or a layer of small glass marbles if you need to add weight to the purse to keep it from tipping over.
  3. Next, depending on the color and style of the purse, add some flowers and greenery to coordinate.  Any type of flowers can be used, such as: roses, sunflowers, tulips, etc.  Don’t forget to use some greenery or berry sprays to add some accent color to compliment the flowers and the purse.
  4. Add some small additional gifts.  Consider one or two jewelry items, such as: a beautiful broach attached to the purse or artistically drape a necklace or bracelet among the flowers.  Consider other small gift items, such as: a wonderful perfume, body sprays and lotions or a collection of beauty products.
  5. Finally, be sure to attach a gift tag to the handle of the purse or tuck a birthday card into the flowers.

Floral purse green 3Floral purse gift ideas and suggestions

  1. A fun gift idea for a young girl’s sweet sixteen birthday gift is to purchase a fabulous designer bag, add some flowers and greenery.  Next, add some gift cards to their favorite stores or spa and nail salon certificates, tuck them into the flowers for an extra special present.  (The same idea could be used for a friend’s birthday gift)
  2. This idea could also be used for a wedding shower gift idea, consider adding gift cards from the store where the bridal couple has their registry.  For a kitchen themed shower, add several kitchen utensils and maybe a couple of favorite or family recipes written out on some cute recipe cards.
  3. For a daughter’s bridal shower, consider giving a lovely bridal purse for her to carry on her wedding day.  Think about adding something old, something new and something blue!  A family locket necklace, grandma’s broach, a vintage handkerchief or maybe even their first communion rosary for something old.  Something new could be the wedding purse or maybe new earrings, a bracelet or a necklace to wear on the wedding day.  Something blue could be a lovely blue garter or perhaps a pair of sapphire earrings or a blue handkerchief.  Don’t forget to put a lucky penny into the bottom of the purse!
  4. For a bridesmaid luncheon, the bride could consider giving matching purses for the bridesmaids to use on the wedding day and maybe artistically hanging matching necklaces among the flowers.  Don’t forget to attach a thank you note from the bride letting each one know how much she values their friendship and how excited she is to have them share in her special day.
  5. For a baby shower, use a beautiful diaper bag.  Fill it with a floral arrangement and tuck in several small baby items, maybe even toys.
  6. This idea could also be used for creating a lovely floral arrangement for a bedroom dresser or nightstand for a home.  The floral purse pictured in this post sits on the shelf in my master bedroom closet and it is the perfect decoration for the room!!

Celebration – Baby Showers

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May is the month when Mother’s Day is celebrated and it seems like an appropriate time to talk about baby showers.  What a special time in a woman’s life when she is expecting a baby, especially if she is having her first child.  It is a perfect time for family and friends to gather to celebrate the upcoming birth and a wonderful way to gift the mom-to-be with a beautiful layette while enjoying some delicious food and good conversation.

The first thing to do when planning a baby shower is to decide on the date and location.  In regards to the date of the shower, be sure to pick a day close to the mother’s due date, but not too close.  Now, let me tell a funny story about my baby shower.  My friend was hosting my shower at her home and very early in morning on the day of the shower I went into labor, it was one month before my due date.  On the way to the hospital I called my friend to let her know what was happening and we talked about the possibility of cancelling the party but we decided it was too late; guests had come in from out of town, so she went ahead with the shower as originally planned.  Meanwhile, as the guests were arriving at my friend’s house, I’m in the hospital giving birth to my daughter.  To conclude the story, I wasn’t able to attend my own baby shower but I have some great photos of my friend opening up all the presents gather will my family and friends!

Once the date and location are decided, set a budget to keep the costs within reason.  Expenses can get quickly out of hand, so be sure to have a plan and stick to the budget.  The next step would be to pick a theme because that would suggest the type and style of the shower decorations.  Take a look online and search for baby shower themes, there are thousands to choose from.  Sometimes the parents-to-be will know the baby’s gender and this information can determine the colors to use for the party.    In regards to a specific theme, find out what the interests of the parents-to-be for inspiration. Maybe it is an interest in baseball, football or some other sports, maybe it is music or ballet, and maybe it is reading books or going to the movies.  As an example of a book theme, perhaps the parent-to-be loved a book when they were a child; that would be a great inspiration of a theme for a baby shower.  Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, Peter Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, Tom Sawyer – any of these books would make wonderful themes.  Here are a couple of other suggestions: ask the guests to bring their favorite book to help build a home library for the new baby or maybe the cake can be in the shape of a stack of books.  So, the idea is to select a specific theme and use it to inspire the invitations, decorations, party favors and maybe even the cake.

Once the theme is decided, then it is time to think about the party decorations.  Decorations can be expensive, so consider keeping the cost to a minimum by creating them from simple supplies purchased from the local craft store.  Take a trip to the craft store and be inspired by the paper in the scrapbook aisle.  Scrapbook paper can be used for invitations, name tags, place cards, banners and all kinds of decorations for the party.  Do a search online for handmade baby shower decorations for great ideas.

Baby shower decorations can be created using some unusual baby items; take a look at the baby section of your local retail store,  For fun party favors, use small baby bottles filled either with colorful candy or soothing bath salts and be sure to tie a small thank you note to the bottle.  For name tags at the party here is a cute idea, set out a supply of cute diaper pins so guests can attach the tags to their clothing.  Check out this month’s Craft post, Baby Sock Corsage/Bouquet, for a cute idea using socks and other items of baby clothing, there are a list of supplies and simple instructions to make a special mom-to-be corsage and a very unique gift presentation.   Also there are ideas for using items of baby clothing to create baby shower decorations and party favors and even a unique “wearable guest book” as a signed t-shirt or onesie.

Shower decorations can come from items already owned.  Ask the parents-to-be if they have any childhood toys, these would make truly personal and unique items to use as decorations at the party.  Smaller items can be used on the buffet table and larger items can be placed around the room.  A precious heirloom to display would be a christening gown, special dress or outfit worn in their childhood.  Ask the parents-to-be for their baby pictures or photos from their childhood, these can be inexpensively framed and displayed on the buffet table or placed around the room.  Another great source for unusual one-of-a-kind items are antique stores.  Look for vintage toys that can be used as decorations or consider purchasing inexpensive mis-matched china and silverware for the buffet table.   A collection of vintage baby spoon, cups or rattles would look amazing hung on a small feather tree and displayed on a side table.

Consider creating a special gift for the mom-to-be, maybe a gift certificate to a wonderful spa for a massage and facial or a favorite beauty salon for a manicure or pedicure as a special way of pampering the new mother after the baby is born.      Another thoughtful gift is to purchase a beautiful photo album for all their baby’s photographs.  For the first page of the album, print the following words on special scrapbook paper.  “This special album is given with love today; a precious newborn will soon be on the way.  Create lots of memories and put the photos here to make each moment last; and soon your child will have a place to go to learn about their past.”

Don’t forget a gift for the father-to-be; he would appreciate being remembered during this time when the attention is on the mother-to-be and the new baby on the way.  Have the father-to-be arrive before the shower is over and present him with “A Daddy Emergency Kit”.  Use a container that can be closed, like a decorative box.  Then purchase the following items to put into the container and be sure to print and attach a humorous list of the contents.  Include the following:  a couple of disposable diapers, a small travel package of diaper wipes, a diaper cream or other ointment, a pair of disposable gloves and goggles for protection from flying objects, a face mask and clothespin for nose protection from unpleasant odors, tongs for soiled diaper removal and disposal, a baby washcloth, a couple of jars of baby food, a baby feeding spoon, a pacifier and a few small toys, and a couple of items for a change of clothing (t-shirt, onesie, socks)  These items are just some suggestions but be creative with the packaging and container contents.

Just remember the main purpose of a baby shower is to celebrate the upcoming birth with family and friends.  The other purpose is to provide the mother-to-be with the clothing and other items necessary for the baby’s first year.

Tips and suggestions for creating a great baby shower

  1. Start the planning process early, this will allow time to brainstorm creative ideas for a very memorable baby shower.  Talk to the mom-to-be and find out the baby’s due date and if the baby’s gender is known, this information will set the party’s date and can inspire a general theme.
  2. In regards to the baby shower theme, select a concept that reflects the parents-to-be interests or the baby’s gender.  Try to create a party that has a special and unique style and personalize the party decorations to fit the theme.
  3. Create a beautiful space for the party, set a wonderful environment for the guests.  Consider renting table, chairs, linens, china and glassware, these items can be within budget and will add the perfect touch to a very special event.
  4. If the party budget is small, check for items that you already own that can be used in creative ways to keep the cost down.  If you do need to purchase items for the party, be sure that they can be recycled for other uses later.
  5. During the party, be sure to keep the guest-of-honor and the invited guests comfortable.  Provide delicious food and beverages with a place to sit and engage in conversation.  Room temperature, bathroom facilities and food allergies are important issues to take under consideration.  Create some activities that will give the opportunity for the guests to mingle and get to know each other.
  6. Ask for help when planning the shower, family and friends can be a great source for ideas.  Use the computer as a wonderful resource, there are literally thousands of ideas for everything from the shower theme to decorations.  Don’t be timid on asking for help the day of the party, this is another time when extra people would be required to put up decorations, set out food, etc.