All Things Pretty...

Refurbish,,, re-use,,,

Memorial Day weekend went by fast, didn't it?  I spent most of it in my garden (between the rain storms and thunder)... my new shade area is coming together nicely.

Our sons visited us on Monday and we went out for a quick lunch... nothing fancy; just spending time together and catching up.  Our 25-year-old commented that our neighbors sounded like they were having a "good time" and here WE were, working in the garden!  His young mind didn't quite grasp that "working in the garden" IS my idea of a "good time!"   (TO his credit, he did later amend his comment by saying "but I guess you really enjoy the gardening...")  I tallied a total of 20+ hours toiling in the dirt this weekend!  Ouch!  My back will never be the same!  (I will share some photos next week when it's done!)

During the rainy sessions, I spent time in The Sunshine Room and worked on some quicky refurbishing projects.

Project #1:  a used ($1.50 from Goodwill) but pretty floral waste basket

 

This is the "before" picture... in fairly good shape after a good cleaning with a soapy cloth.

But you know me, I can't leave it at that.  It needed a little dressing up.... so out came the laces and ribbons!

 
I made a rosette from some of Bebe's ribbon stash... after all, even a waste basket needs a rosette (doesn't it????)

 
And here is the "after" picture...  it now found it's new home in the upstairs guest bedroom.

 
Project #2:  Another Goodwill find ($1.99); this sweet "God Bless Our Home" picture.  It was in excellent condition and had been professional framed (the embroidery on the piece is amazing!)  The only problem was (for me, anyway) I didn't like the black finish on the frame (it doesn't go with anything in my home).

 

So the big "change" consisted of spray painting the frame in a vintage gold color.  It now shares space in my entryway wall (behind my door).
 
 
 

 

Project #3:  I don't have a "before" picture... but I have stacks and stacks of old books that I've been collecting for year.  I'm usually attracted to interesting covers, but lately I've been buying coverless, spineless ones.  Taking inspiration from several friends in Blogland who do amazing things with these books, I stacked a couple of them and added a few vintage and handmade embellishments....

 

I'm really happy with how it turned out... all rippy and tattered...

 

All in all - a very productive weekend! 

How was yours?

I'm linking up to the White Wednesday party... I can't wait to see all the white lovelies everyone has posted this week!

 

Happy Birthday!

Today is a very special day...  someone is celebrating a birthday...

 
 
It's Pink Saturday's 3rd Birthday over at How Sweet the Sound! 

 

  Dearest Beverly, we've all come to celebrate with you on this momentous occasion and to thank you for your friendship, support, and inspiration.

 

3 Years in Blogland is a long time.... so much has changed with the world of blogging...but never the excitement and joy we get each Saturday when we link up to your party.  There is always a unique, interesting post from our hostess and wonderful participants who share their love for all things pink.

 

Pink Saturday was the very first blog party I ever joined when I started blogging last summer, so it holds a very special place in my heart.  

 Thank you, Pink Saturday, for all you've given us! 

 

 ...and many more!

 

 

A bit of scrappin' going on...

HAPPY THURSDAY!

I quickly put together a "going away" scrapbook for a colleague earlier this week...  co-workers had written little notes/messages for her and sent them via email... I just put them together to "look pretty" and didn't really have time to fuss or make the project too fancy.  Yet... I think it turned out nice.  The recipient loved it; which is all that matters!

 
(a little secret:  the book itself was a Goodwill find, unused Winnie-the-Pooh, for $1.50... I love buying these when I see them and having them on hand for last minute projects)

Winnie got covered with flowers... (i'm sure he didn't mind)

I incorporated ribbons, laces, silk and fabric flowers...buttons... just a few little things to spruce up the pages quickly.

 

 
...I was able to use some of the charms I received in a recent swap...

 

 

 

At the back of the book I included an envelope with blank tags... to be used by those you didn't get a chance to email their messages to me on time... they could write a short, sweet message...

 

I was happy with the results of this last-minute project... 

 I had almost forgotten just how much fun scrapbooking can be!

  

The scent of white lilacs...

 

Have you smelled them yet?  The sweet, intoxicating scent?  I have!   I cut me my first armful yesterday!

Then last night, when I went into the dark kitchen around 3am for a glass of water, I smelled them...  their fragrance filling my sleepy senses.  I remember smiling in the dark... then creeping back to bed (why was I "creeping?")

There are two scents I associate with Spring here in our Zone 4 garden:  lilacs and peonies.  One down; one to go.

 

OK, so it's my second post this week about lilacs...  I'm a bit addicted.

Happy White Wednesday!  I'm linking up to Faded Charm Cottage today.

 

 

Nesting

I started out my day yesterday with the best intentions (see Sunday's post)... I even had a "to do" list.  But every time I stepped outside to work on the garden, it would start pouring. 

During those brief periods when the rain stopped, I would walk around my garden to inspect what's growing, what was damaged during the winter and needs to be pulled out (didn't lose any roses!  yay!)...  I discovered many things, including several birds' nests in my birdhouses...

 
... I sat still for a bit, trying to see if the mommy birds were visiting their nests.

 

....  my patience was rewarded!  There was a cardinal flying repeatedly into one of my evergreen shrubs (right by my front door!)...  No birdhouse there?!?  I carefully inspected the shrub during one of her absences...

 

At first, all I saw was the carefully contructed nest, well hidden at the center of the shrub.  But after a more thorough inspection, I saw the eggs...  three maybe?

 

 
No!  Four!  Four lovely, blue speckled eggs!  I quickly took my photos and recovered the nest before the mommy bird returned.

And then, when I walked around to the back of my garden and onto my deck (which is off my screened porch and attached to my dining room/kitchen via a sliding glass door), I noticed that one of my fall wreaths was still hanging by the back door.  Yikes!  It looked terrible, all dirty and faded; it was ready for the trash.  I quickly grabbed it, yanked it (literally) off the wall peg and PLOP! PLOP! PLOP! PLOP!  I heard these strange little noises.  

As I was turning around to take the wreath to the garbage, I looked down and saw four little ovalish "things" on the deck floor.  They were pinkish/yellowish and I couldn't quite distinguish what they were as they were very odd, but moving!  I bent down to take a closer look and... YIKES!  They were FOUR little newborn birdies!  Their beaks were opening and closing very rapidly, they were on their sides or their backs, with poop coming out of their tiny rears...  YEP!  There had been a bird's nest in the darn wreath and when I yanked it, the birdies went flying across the air (and not in a good way) and fell 5+ feet to the ground!  I felt terrible.  I wanted to cry.  

I quickly and gently picked up each one (still warm and wriggly) and placed in back in its nest (I had already put the wretched Fall wreath back on the wall).  I heard chirping behind me and saw another cardinal (who I could only guess was the mommy of the unfortunate birdies) "walking" along the deck railing.

I walked back into the house and kept a close watch out of my kitchen window to see if the mommy would visit her nest.  She did - but only once and briefly.  So now, dear friends, I am worried.  Worried that the mommy won't take care of her babies because they've been touched by me and have my scent...  that she won't feed them and they will die.  Can that happen?  Does anyone out there know?  I'd love to hear any advice you have.

I learned a lesson today...  slow down, Mercedes. 

Why are you always in such a rush?  I hope the birdies are okay.

I'm linking to Blue Monday at Smiling Sally's. 

 
 

Today's "to do" list...

Another rainy, swishy day here.... but that's OK.  It makes it that much easier to pull out weeds!  And the best thing about the rain?  It's NOT snow!!!

So I'm off to do some chores, and some fun things:

1.   weed those darn dandelions

2.  cut some lilacs

 
(the branches are drooping from the weight of the blooms and all the rain)

 
...the white and pale lavender are in full bloom

 

...however, the darker lavender ones are still in bud.  They always bloom a week later, but their scent is heavenly!

 

 

3.  work on transplanting hostas and other shade plants into my new, expanded  "shade" garden

 

...my new area needs alot of plants!  Thankfully, I won't need to buy much...

 

 

 

 4.  finish my Altered Paper Whimsy Pocket Swap item

5.  finish my "good-bye" embellished scrapbook for a coworker, Marcie

6.  start my Birthday Treasury Swap shadowbox project (need to scour the local Goodwill, Bethesday, etc., for more tiny vintage birthday items)

Whew!  I'm tired just writing my list!  I'm off to the garden....

 

HAPPY SUNDAY!

 

 

Brooches and tulle

 Happy Saturday! 

I thought I'd share with you the cards and brooch I gifted for my swap partner, Jill, during the recent swap hosted by A Swap for All Seasons.

The gift itself was the brooch and I was going for something flowery and Spring-like.  After much deliberation, I narrowed it down to these two:

 (this very sweet pansy...  the only problem?  it was a tad too small)

  
    (this rose brooch was also lovely... and it had just the right amount of "bling."  Jill had mentioned she likes bling.)

My next decision what how I was going to present the brooch.  We were challenged by our hostess to make it original and creative....   I opted to stamp a femme dress form image on watercolor paper (which I had tinted with a light wash of pink).  Then I set about "dressing" up the dress form.   

 

 

 

The "dressing" part turned out to be so much fun that I had to make another one...

 

And then... they were so pretty that I decided I would send both to Jill... one with the brooch "pinned" to its sash; and the other as a card.

 

 ... but there was still something missing.... I chose a vintage glass box from my collection to display it in.  Now it's ready to go.

 

And some final touches.....

 

 (Note:  to see my post and pics on the brooch I received from my swap partner, Jill, click here.)

I'm joining Beverly's Pink Saturday blog party.  Please stop by and visit some of these amazing, beautiful blogs.... you will be inspired.

 

Excuse me... there's a flower in my salad!

Today I'm sharing a couple of my favorite photos taken this week...

As I mentioned in my last post, things are finally happening in my garden!  Yippee!  I'm even "OK" with seeing a few yellow dandelions showing their faces in my lawn- 

This morning, as I stepped outside to get in my car for work (didn't even have to put it in the garage overnight!), I was welcomed by the scent of budding lilac trees and flowering fruit trees.  The sweetness is (almost) overpowering; and I ran back inside to grap something to cut a few branches with!

First came the cherry blossoms...  they adorned our table this evening... (my two sons -plus one fiancee- joined us for dinner)...

 

I threw together a quick meal, with a big salad using the tomatoes and baby lettuce I purchased at our local Farmer's Market this past weekend...  my sons are famous for wolfing down salads, so "a big salad" is never "big" enough.

 

 

I also cut some branches from another flowering tree... this one has pretty pink blooms.... which went on my mantle in a recently damaged glass container (thanks to my 6-month old puppy)... some candles.. and viola!  instant festivities!

 

 
 

 

H.A.P.P.Y.   F.R.I.D.A.Y.

I'm linking to these Friday parties...

Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

 Friday Pretties @ I Love Pretty Little Things

 

 

My garden is abloomin' (finally!)

 
Many of you have shared with us your beautiful Spring blooms.... tulips, daffodils, irises... I've even seen a few roses in blogland!

But alas, here in my own  backyard, no Spring blooms anywhere to be seen.  My lilacs, which are usually blooming by Mother's Day, are barely in bud.  The trees have finally started to sprout some leaves (as of this past weekend).  Really!!!

We've had some nice, warm sunshine for the past two days and all of a sudden, things have started happening!  Overnite (almost).  I quickly grabbed my camera as dusk was coming in and took some photos of my first few blooms of the season. ((smile))

 

(only a few tulips - out of 100+ bulbs - have survived the ravenous rabbits and squirrels)

They are precious.

 

(My very favorite picture of the day....  the lovely bleeding heart...  they always look so delicate and fragile, yet this shrub is almost impossible to kill given the right soil.)

This garden stake says it all...  this time of year, the weedin' is a full-time job! 

 

I'm joining the party White Wednesday party over at Faded Charm... stop by for their 100th post celebration and giveway!

P.S.    OK... so this last one is not white.... and it's not "growing" in my garden; more like "planted" in my garden straight from the nursery.... the every-lovely dahlia!     

 

In love with blue...

I've discovered that I have a new love in my life....  love for a  new color, that is.   Blues... soft, washed out, robin's egg, faded....  Without evening realizing it, I've gradually incorporated this tranquil color into my home decor.  

...little touches of blue against white look so delicate...

 
 
...this delicate French plate (tray?) sat in storage for ages... until I noticed all it's beauty and brought it out for display. 

And my glass box collection recently acquired a new member with a blue tint (my first in this color!)

 

Even my creative projects have been getting some blues...

 

 


 

 

HAPPY MONDAY!

I'm linking up to Smiling Sally's blog party for some more beautiful BLUE eye candy.

 

 

 

Pretty in Pink Spring basket...

My second partner for the Spring Basket Swap was Miss Rhea herself!  Yikes!  Here I was, the rookie with the whole yogurt cup thing, and in my very first swap I get to swap with the hostess herself!  Talk about pressure...

This is what I created for Miss Rhea...

 

...one of Miss Rhea's favorite colors is pink.... could you tell?

 

 

 

...my goal here was to make it look frothy and really frilly, like a Cuban birthday cake with lots of sweet frosting....  I used lots of laces, ribbon, tulle, feathers, beads, flowers...

 

...and a sweet tiny butterfly perched on the basket handle...

 

My five gifts for Miss Rhea were almost as fun to put together as the basket! 

 

Gift #1....  a wooden spool (embelllished) holds some yummy pink lace

 Gift #2....  a shabby chic vintage frame

 

Gift #3... a pretty little envelope full of butterflies

 

Gift #4...  a marbled paper box (made in Firenze, Italy)

 

GIft #5... a cute pink vintage figurine (she found a cozy spot inside the basket)

 

It's official... I'm hooked on making yogurt cup baskets!

HAPPY PINK SATURDAY!

I'm joining Miss Beverly for lots of Pink fun...

 

Pretty little Spring baskets...

 The ingenuity and creativity that you encounter in blogland never ceases to amaze me...  I was amused and awed when I found a blog swap whose main material was yogurt cups...   I couldn't believe the beautiful little baskets being created from these cups!!  I just had to try it!

So signed up to participate in Miss Rhea's Spring Basket Swap...  a was assigned two partners.   The challenge for me here was to figure out how to make a plain, boring yogurt cup evolve into something beautiful (or at the very least, pretty). 

The only info we shared with each other was our favorite colors....  we had to create a Spring basket and include five little gifts (which did not have to fit into the tiny basket--thank goodness!).

First, I need to show you the gorgeous Spring basket my partner, Debi, created for me...

 
...and the photo does it no justice...  this little basket is a work of art!  I knew from visiting Debi's blog that she created beautiful pieces, but I wasn't quite prepared for the real thing.

 
...this lavender and cream creation is ALL MINE... ((smile))

As if that weren't enough, I also received five wonderful gifts from her!

 
...  I'm still smiling!  Thank you, Debi, I love every single thing!

Creating Debi's basket was a tiny bit scary...  after all, you saw what magic this lady creates with her hands!  And I was a total rookie at this yogurt cup transformation...nonetheless, I went into the project with much joy and anticipation. 

This is what I ended up with...

 
(one of Debi's favorite colors is robin's egg blue)

 
... I added lots of laces, a vintage peachy velvet ribbon and vintage earring.... 

 
... millinery flowers in various tones of blue, peach and lavender...

 
,,, my gifts to Debi included: vintage music sheets (theme was flower songs), vintage white hanky, beautiful ribbons in shades of blue, a teacup on canvas painting, and glass birdies.

 

Can't wait 'til the next yogurt cup challenge!!

I'm linking up to these fun and fabulous parties:

Show and Tell Friday @ Romantic Home,  Friday Pretties @  I Love Pretty Little Things

 

              

 

Mother's Day Brooch

I've been busy the last few weeks working on projects for several blog swaps...  one of which was A Swap for All Season's Mother's Day Swap.  The goal was to find a special vintage brooch for our partner to wear on Mother's Day. 

Now I have to tell you that Linda, our hostess, was amazing!  She not only had specific guidelines for the swap (which are much needed), but lots of posts with ideas, pics, giveaways and fun along the way!

My partner was Jill, and look at what she sent me...

  

What girl can resist some SPARKLE?

 
... we were asked to be imaginative and creative in how we packaged and "presented" our brooch to our partner...  Jill embellished a pretty little candle with stamped burlap, some "aged" ribbon, and at the very center - the lovely brooch.

 

Even her enclosure note was creative and feminine...

 

Thank you so much, Jill!  I can't wait to wear my brooch!

I'm sharing my lovely brooch with the gals over at the White Wednesday party at Faded Charm...

and at A Swap for All Seasons.

 

 

God Bless, Nicholas

My godson, Nicholas, recently celebrated his First Communion....  it seems like just yesterday that he was born...  and here he is now; learning about God; giving his first confession (he said "his knees were shaking")... 

The last few months, as his special day approached and we would talk over the phone, I tried very hard not to laugh.  His stories about Bible class and nervousness about upcoming confession were precious.  Lovely memories for me to have and stories to share with him when he's an adult man.

 
(peacefully sleeping the morning of his 1st communion...  I love watching children sleep; their innocence just shines through... you want to keep them safe and sheltered from the reality of life.

 

(all dressed up....   you told his mother that he did like "these fluffy pants" when he first tried them on.  "Fluffy" meaning thick fabric with pleats!)

 

 

 

...the Reverend was very outspoken and entertaining; he kept the hour-and-a-half long ceremony hopping... a lot different than my early days in the Catholic church!

Once the service was over, everyone headed back to the house for refreshments.  My sister-in-law, Barbara, did a wonderful job decorating.

  

 

 

 

 

 





...the cake was not only beautiful, but delicious!



I'm sharing my First Communion blues with Smiling Sally on this May Monday.





 

M.O.T.H.E.R.

Happy Mother's Day!

 
I'm dedicating my post to two very special mothers who have loved me unconditionally and have been such wonderful role models.... 

(my mom, Nancy)

(my mother-in-law, Anita)

 

 

 Wishing you a beautiful day surrounded by those you love...

 

 
 

Playing with paper...

I love paper!  Ever since I was a little girl, I've been enthralled with paper... the feel of it, the smell, the way you can cut it, color it, scrunch it.... oh, the many things you can create with paper!

And if you are really, really lucky, you can find some very cool, very amazing, vintage papers...

 

...like this certificate... dating back to the 1920's...

..and packaging.... if I really like the artwork on a paper bag, I will save it for future use.  Like this one from Italy....

...and this paper bag from Paris...

 

... pleated paper has so many uses...

 

 

 

 

...this lovely pink, faded paper was used to package hair pins.... I love how (in the olde days) so much detail was put into the packaging artwork, even on inexpensive and mundane objects, such as hair pins.

 

...bits and pieces of discarded paper can be used to create beautiful cards and tags... mini pieces of art!

 

 
 
 

 ...and one of my favorite things to do with paper...

covering boxes to create unique gifts.

 

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO WITH PAPER?

 

Petite Boxes

I recently participated in my very first matchbox swap... this one was hosted by Heather at The Speckled Egg.  In preparation, I looked at the Flickr group pictures posted by previous swap participants...  I was amazed at the beauty, creativity and ingenuity of fitting so many objects into one tiny box!  These ladies knew what they were doing!

So with a mix of excitement and trepidation, I started working on my first petite box (I had two swap partners, each with very different color preferences).  I decided early on that I wanted to cover every surface of my boxes; a decision that later proved to be a

bit of a challenge.  How the heck do you get the box open and closed without wrecking your work?  Eventually, I figured it out and just enjoyed the creative process. 

 

 
 
Once my boxes were complete, it was time to fill them with goodies... it was incredible how much you could cram into these tiny boxes!

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, tons of fun!  The swap partner I made this for, AJ, sent me the sweetest box ever!  I will share that in a later post.  Today I'm sharing just one of my boxes... the BLUE one...and linking up to the Blue Monday party at Smiling Sally.

             

     HAPPY MONDAY!

 

May Day

Happy May Day!

 

I can't believe May 1st is finally here... and although our Spring blooms are weeks behind, I was thrilled to see that my forsythia and magnolias have arrived ... 

 

..yay... the cheery yellows always make me smile...

 

 The sky was a crisp blue...

 the magnolias seemed to be reaching out to embrace the sunshine.

 

 

 

 
...this little guy was relaxing.... taking a break from eating all my tulip bulbs!

Since I had gotten a bit impatient waiting for flowers in my garden, I was forced to do a bit of improvising with silks and others...

 

 
... nope, I'm not embarrassed to admit that I've had to use silk "fillers" ... and a few bunnies in between.

 
(this gal sits on a bench next to my front door... waiting to greet you!)

 

Wishing you lots of sunshine and flowers on this May 1st!