My Sincere Thanks to Marilyn --- Our Victorian Cottage Give Away, May 2009

I felt like a child at Christmas when I found the package on my front porch from Marilyn at Our Victorian Cottage. You see, I had won her May Give Away and, never having won ANYTHING (hardly a game of tic tac toe even), I was beside myself! Well, I must say, Marilyn's give away absolutely went beyond anything I expected! Here are pictures I want to share with you of the treasure trove that box contained....


There is a wonderful book that I can't wait to study and glean some ideas from. Buttons, laces (oh the most BEAUTIFUL laces), ribbons, flowers of all sorts, and wonderful Victorian style stickers. There is a box of children's hankies --- they brought a tear to my eye because I used to carry that exact kind when I was a child (who used Kleenex then???).

I saved the best for last: I received the most beautiful hand embroidered pillowcases, edged with lace also handmade by Marilyn. The color scheme is so lovely. There is also the most stunning crocheted lace fan. I am going to frame it to hang with my collection of antique plates. Won't that be a lovely addition?






Finally, the card that was enclosed is a work of art! It was handmade by Marilyn's daughter and it is breathtaking!



I can't begin to thank Marilyn enough for all of these delightful gifts. She has been a blogging friend from the start of my adventure in "blogland". What a kindred spirit she is to me. My deepest appreciation goes out to this special, special lady whose talent amazes me!

More Building Block Houses....

Oh, I just love making these little guys! I decided to go ahead and make a set for Christmas, Halloween and an Americana set for all the patriotic holidays! I continued using all sorts of ephemera to cover the sides and bottoms of the houses. A large variety of three dimension items such as rusty stars, an old brass key, buttons and typewriter keys were used for embellishment. I am going to make a set with a chicken/rooster/egg theme for my kitchen I do believe. My dearest put his foot down sometime back about halting the addition of any more feather fowl there but these will be small so maybe I can sneak them in!!!! :o)

Little Building Block Houses

I found a bag of the most precious old building blocks at "the yellow house" antique shop last week and I am just now getting to play with them. Isn't it fun to take something and turn it this way and that until that little light bulb in your head goes off and you have idea??!!!??? That is exactly what happened with these little houses. Actually, my work space was a huge mess with buttons and snippets of papers scattered here and there. Out of that mess came my idea for the blocks and since my band saw is only a paintbrush throw away from where I work, I was sawing then sanding to add even more "age" to the blocks. Here is what I came up with. A little prim village of cottages covered with ephemera, antique buttons and stamps. I think I am going to make a set for each season.... Christmas, Halloween, Easter, 4th of July!!!!! FUN! FUN! FUN! The workspace will stay in disarray for a while longer ---- I am having a swell time!

Memorial Day 2009

God Bless Our Native Land

by

Frances E. W. Harper

God bless our native land,

Land of the newly free,

Oh may she ever stand

For truth and liberty.

God bless our native land,

Where sleep our kindred dead,

Let peace at thy command

Above their graves be shed.

God help our native land,

Bring surcease to her strife,

And shower from thy hand

A more abundant life.

God bless our native land,

Her homes and children bless,

Oh may she ever stand

For truth and righteousness.

Prim Chicken Gourd - Miss Pitty Pat

I love painting on gourds!!! They are all unique in their own way and when cleaned, the surface is like silk! My stash is running low, but the Farmer's Market is up an running, so my gourd man will be back and I will be a happy, happy girl.

Turning an otherwise hum-drum gourd into a chicken is so much fun (and I give them all names). I decided to take my new favorite Terrye French design and see if I could paint it on a gourd. I am happy with the way this little lady turned out. Her beak, comb and tail are cut from wood (this takes some time, but well worth the effort). Her shawl is a piece of tatted lace and it is tied with a homespun "ribbon". She sits on a nest that rests on an old bed spring.

Stay tuned..... I am going to paint another chicken tomorrow. I think I feel a new trend taking shape in the studio!

Bliss at the shore....

We are home from our lovely beach trip. The planets were in alignment and the weather was just fabulous! Although there were forecasts of rain and thunderstorms, we had glorious days of sunshine and nights with twinkling stars. The food was wonderful --- we ate some of the best seafood ever!!! I am going to share a recipe for the lobster ravioli with you. Oh my, what a treat for the tastebuds.

I went to all my favorite shops, including Pickets. This sweet garden shop located in Seagrove is filled with the most unique things to delight lovers of rabbits and bunnies. The gardens surrounding the shop are filled with bunny fountains, sculptures and flowers growing in wild abandon.

Our "family photo" for this trip is a bit unusual.... I decided to take a picture of our feet in the swirling water and sugar sand. You can probably guess that I am the one with the toe ring and coral nail polish!!! Who says you can't throw caution to the wind at the beach??? The photo at the top is our beautiful Megan.

Are we there yet???

The bags are packed and snacks are in the picnic basket. We are ready to leave early in the morning for our much anticipated first trip of the year to the Gulf Coast. The weather report says we might have rain, but we don't care a bit --- Rain or shine we love the seaside. Have a wonderful remainder of this week everyone. I will breeze back late on Sunday so hold down the fort in blog land while I am gone. Hugs and kisses to all of you!!!