Such sweet friends are made here ~

This blogging world connects hearts. We end up enjoying blogs that we can relate to. Either in our family life or maybe in our tastes. You could enjoy the artsy blogs or maybe the decorating blogs or even the thought provoking blogs ~ each inspire you in their own way.

Today I was fortunate to get to see a wonderful fellow blogger friend again, as she came by the antique store. She doesn't live too far from McDonough and I feel a bond toward her because she is such a sweet fellow blogger. Karin stopped in to pick up her vintage paper packet she won from my blog and I so enjoyed her visit. She had a long time friend with her and also her mother.

She did find a few goodies at the store, as did her friend. But I have to tell you, she brought me the most wonderful little cake all wrapped up and tied. A lemon-lavender pound cake and I must tell you, by the looks of the second picture, I couldn't wait 'til I got home to try it and it was DELICIOUS!!

Karin, thank you so very much sweetie and I'm so glad you liked your papers and it was so good to see you again...and I so loved my little cake!

You gotta love this little blogging world...xxoo, Dawn

Where did the summer go?

Free image for you! Right click and "Save picture as"...

Tonight we went back-to-school shopping. I just can't believe it! Our youngest, Noah, is entering the fourth grade and next-to-the-youngest, Chase, is entering the eleventh grade. Time is flying by us at lightening speed! We went to Target and found some wonderful things for the little one but now the sixteen year old has to have the fancy stuff from "those" stores . . .

I'm working at the antique store this week and I'm looking forward to it! I have a neat little pile of goodies to bring in and hopefully we'll be pretty busy, too!

Thank you all so much for always leaving me the sweetest comments!! You make my day.....xxoo, Dawn

Grand Opening ~ Relics!Look at these gorgeous treasures . . .

A wonderful friend of both Cindy and I, Deborah, has moved into a new store, Relics. And from the looks of these photos, I want to go!!

They have a blog that they will be updating regularly so drop by and visit, comment and show them the blogger love, please . . . and if you're in the area of Cleveland, Tennessee ~ you can see them in person! If you visit, please let me know, too.

This is just a taste, take a look . . .

I love to go junkin'

Here are some photos of one of the coolest place to go junkin'. My husband found it a few years ago and I can tell you that it is FULL of stuff in this old peeley house. There are piles outside, inside and everywhere you look. A lot of it is junk but I dig and discover treasures.

We went to several other great places today to find some wonderful things for the store and had the most fun together! I'm going to post a ton of pictures, click to enlarge and enjoy....the last ones are what I ended up with...some things to keep to make more art, drawers, books, vintage millinery flowers etc. But most all other items will be in the store.

What I ended up with:

Don't you just love nests?

Just listed in my Etsy store!

Corners of my home ~

This is a hutch that I painted several years back and it holds my set of antique Limoges china that my husband gave me for Christmas one year. This china is so very thin that you can see through it so easily! The hutch is two separate pieces I found in a used furniture store, the top is a new piece found in the back of the store and it had a hole punched in the back and the bottom is an old piece found in the front, but by painting them the same, they marry!!

I have a collection of white/ivory pottery on top with accents of birds nests and dried hydrangea blooms ~ don't you just love the colors in the dried blooms?

Martha has asked me how I go about getting this finish. It's really quite simple, just a little time consuming.

• First: Make sure your surface is not shiny or glossy at all. It must be sanded and primed if it is. If it has a dull finish I would still prime it as it won't take as many coats of your base color to cover up dark wood.

• Second: Coat entire piece with good ol' flat latex paint. Believe it or not, Wal-mart's Colorplace is excellent paint. I used a cream color. Just make sure it's coated well.

• Third: I bought a small bottle of acrylic paint in the shade of soft green I loved and bought a small bottle of glaze also. I mixed them together to the transparency that I liked and painted lightly on the raised areas of my piece. Sometimes I even used my finger! I didn't want it to look too perfect.

• Fourth: I sanded here and there where it would be worn naturally over time. I use an electric hand sander like the mouse, also small pieces of sandpaper too. Sometimes I will get something from my "junk" drawer that is metal and drop it on it to make small areas of distress. The key is restraint. A little of this goes a long way and of course over time, your piece will naturally get nicked and it will just look like part of the plan!

• Fifth: I mix up a solution of water and antiquing paint (little bottle of dk brown at Michaels) I make it pretty thin and have a damp rag nearby. I just brush on a small area and dab and wipe it away so the brown is in the cracks and shows the detail. You have to be brave to do this but believe me if you mess up, you can paint the base right back over and try again . . .

• Sixth: After this dries, I roll on with a small sponge roller (which is what I use for this whole process except for the details and antiquing) a top coat of matte or satin water-based clear sealer. You can usually find it at Lowes in their specialty effects paint section. It's non-yellowing unlike polyurethane and other poly products.

Honestly though, you could use a satin base paint and use a wood stain over top to antique the whole piece and save several steps. I would test on a small piece of would to see if it's the look you want.

Well, that's my painted furniture tutorial, I hope you haven't fallen asleep! xxoo, Dawn

A wonderful recipe for you . . .

A sweet friend of mine, Jeni (our stitchery artist at The Plum Tree), dropped by the store last week and brought me a gift. Don't you love gifts? Any size, any kind ~ I love them.

Anyway, she brought me a can of mexicorn and a recipe card. As soon as I looked at the ingredients, I knew my husband would LOVE it!

He made the recipe the next evening and well, much to my surprise, as I have never been fond of avocado, I could not get enough of it!! I wanted to share it with you. You may already make this but if not, here it is for you to enjoy.

Thank you sweet Jeni!

Mexicorn Salad

• 2 ripe avacados, peeled & diced
• fresh chopped cilantro (we didn't add this, and it was still delicious)
• diced tomato or halved grape tomatoes
• Jack & Cheddar cheese, grated (we want to try Pepper Jack next time!)
• 1 can of drained black beans
• 1 can of drained mexicorn

Dressing:

• The juice of 2 limes
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 teaspoons minced garlic
• salt to taste

Add all indredients to a bowl and toss with dressing ~ enjoy!

New art!

Well, I finished a couple of things today and have a few more in the works and I just had to share these with you. The two similar pieces are collaged art onto 11 x 14 canvases.

I've used the pages from an old dictionary, pages from a very old photo album that was falling apart and some copies I've made from one of my vintage botanical books ~ and I copied the artwork onto color copies of the most wonderful very old paper from my collection. Accents are vintage watch faces, old clock hands and a small branch.

The other item is a hand-stitched covered journal (5 1/2" x 8 3/4") with a small little label and a vintage button and rope closure. I'll be putting them all in my etsy store tonight!!

Time for a little bliss ~

Study of a Woman's Head ~ Leonardo da Vinci

Well, I'm home this week, as it is Cindy's week to work at the shop, my children are on their second vacation with their big brothers in Savannah, the laundry's not too bad, so you know what that means?? This week I will try to follow my bliss and make some art, girls! I'm excited about a few projects I have lined up to make and I'm hoping that I can get plenty accomplished.


I have a few projects for the store that I want to make too. I was glancing through an issue of Country Home and came across a blackboard project they featured. They turned many different objects into blackboards so, I have a wonderful cabinet door that I think would look perfect as one. I already have the paint so we'll see. I'll be sure to take photos if I make one.


Cindy and I both are already thinking about Fall and different looks we want in the store ~ the change of the seasons is always so much fun. I usually pull out old fall issues of magazines to get inspiration and also just to get in the mood. It seems nuts to be thinking of it in July but it will be here in the blink of an eye.


Thank you all so very much for each and every comment you leave me. I love to visit your blogs, too. You encourage me to do better, do more and to be proud of what I do. I thank you for that!

I'm going through withdrawals . . .

I didn't post yesterday and I'm determined to post something tonight, even if it is after midnight here in Georgia! I have updated our store's blog if you'd like to browse around.

I thought I'd share a piece of furniture that I painted a while back to sell in the store. I love to paint furniture but work space is always an issue with me. I usually end up painting the piece in my dining room. It's a lot of work but the end result is always rewarding.

Have you ever visited the Habersham Designs website? I've always been such an admirer of their painted furniture ~ truly works of art! I'll include a few photos of their furniture, too ~ xxoo, Dawn

Beautiful Habersham Designs handpainted furniture!

Just a couple of Etsy items ~

I've added a couple of goodies to my Etsy store and hope you'll take a look ~ I love birds and nests and have so many things I've collected to make collages about nature and birds. One assemblage is created in a very old drawer and the other collage is created on one half of one of those very old single photo albums . . .

Thank you all so very much for all your sweet comments about my home. It is a very personal preference in how you choose to decorate your home, after all, it's yours and it should reflect you and the things you hold near and dear.

I feel if you surround yourself with things you love, your collections and items that bring you pleasure, your home will be your haven from the outside world. Because face it, women are the ones who make the house a home. Most men would have a recliner, TV, remote (or two), possible a side table to handle refreshment ~ all very functional items, but leave much to be desired in the coziness department. But thank you all again, you make me smile!