In search of a place for my family to retire to I saw this old cabin in an ad in the real estate magazine. At first sight I knew this is where we would live. It was actually built in 1980 but had been left alone for 8 years with no one to take care of it. We decided to sell our house in Lake Forest, California and take on the restoration project. With a 4,000 square feet cabin and on an acre of land and the work is never ending.

I have been truly blessed with a wonderful husband, Dan, who I meet in high school in my sophomore year. He loves restoring Hot Rods along with the work on the cabin it keeps him very busy. This summer Dan has been refinishing the logs on the out side, big undertaking.  My dad, LeRoi, who is 84 lives with us since my mom past away with cancer, spends most of his days creating oil paintings. We are running out of wall place to display them but he does enjoy it. He has started painting Victorian houses.

Now for a little about myself, I have been sewing since I was 9 and have used my designing skills in different businesses I have created. While my daughter Tiffani was growing up I designed and made the skating costumes for her and other artistic skaters in the organization. From there it evolved into a thriving custom wedding dress business. I was requested to design a dress for a fairy tale wedding taking place in the Austrian Castle where the Sound of Music was filmed in and the same dress was also featured in Southern California Wedding Magazine. I have won 1^st place awards for my designs, sewing skills and use of fabric. Now with my recent relocation to Twin Peaks and the love of Victorian Antiques and Lighting I have used my past experiences to creating beautiful vintage shades to complement the lamps I have collected.

I take pride in the lamps I create. My designs are handcrafted using embroidered silk, burnout velvet and other special fabrics. The fringe is hand dyed to complement the fabric of the shade. Many of the beads used are Czech beads imported from Prague and hand beaded in my studio. I use vintage material, trim and beading when ever possible.

Whether the style is Victorian, Vintage, Art Deco, Gothic or Shabby ‘n’ Chic these one of a kind shades and lamps will become heirloom lighting that will be passed on for generations.

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Updated as of March 27, 2008

Recently I rented a space in Cabin Chic Antique Mall.
We are located in Cedar Glen next to Lake Arrowhead in Sunny Southern California, must see if you are in the area.

Some of the items offer in my space

My husband Dan has a new Toy

1939 Ford Cabriolet
It is his pride and joy

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Dan's 1934 Ford Hot Rod now live in Morgan Hill with it's new owner

My Husband, Dan, just finished his 1934 Ford Hot Rod and has a new project to restore.  It is a 1946 Flxible bus/RV, yes it is spelled correctly, just like the Flxible in the Robin Williams movie "RV".  It was purchased in Arizona and driven back to our home in Twin Peaks.  He had a few problems along the way, mainly overheating, but nothing major.  It was 114 in Arizona and no air conditioning.  He tried to drive at night, but the alternator wasn't working.  I can't believe he was able to drive the whole way on just the battery to run the bus. He is now going through the mechanical system and repairing or replacing what is needed.  We hoped to be able to redo the inside this winter, but for now we will use it the way it is.

We have been watching for a Flxible for about 30 years for a the right one to come along and finally it has.

Here are a few pictures of our toy.

 For now these are the only pictures I have, sorry they are so small. I will adding bigger ones shortly.

 

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Last year we took on the major project of remodeling our kitchen, it took three month to get this far.  It was tuff not have a kitchen except for the stove.  I still have the fluff to add but the basics are there.  Here are few of pictures of before and after.

Before

The pictures actually make the old kitchen look better than it really was.

Old kitchen new stove

Connecting kitchen to eating area
Has a stair case that goes to the loft guest wing 
we did when we first moved in.

view from the eating area side

We took it down to the 2 x4's

Three months later

Kitchen Island and main kitchen area
for those of you who like ceiling fans 
this one has two fans at the ends and rotates

Hood I designed and my Husband made
we added a pot filler and it is really handy, love it!

Area connecting the main kitchen to the eating area

Kitchen eating area

we have a large kitchen 12 x 23