Is it really July 4th weekend???

I still love these pillows!!

A few years back when Cindy and I still owned the antique store,

we had a neat old swing hanging on the front porch of the store ~

Well, it was the Fourth of July and we wanted to make the porch look wonderful!

My partner Cindy did her artistry by filling the porch with the perfect goodies and

I put together a couple of pillows to sit on the old porch swing!

For the one in front, I simply purchased a w-mart flag, ripped it off the stick and

stuffed into a bowl of hot coffee. Threw it in the dryer, pressed it out and sewed it

to the rectangle of muslin....added a few buttons, another rectangle of muslin,

a feather insert that I'd found at Ross

(inside of an ugly pillow in the clearance section)

and voila! Finished!

The other pillow was even easier!

I had a stack of wonderful old muslin feedsacks and

thought I'd grab one to use as a pillow cover.

It was washed and pressed....aged to perfection and I inserted

another feather pillow form (again from a Ross clearance shelf for about 7 bucks)

shook it down to the bottom then hug the excess over the front.

I cinched it up with some good ol' red check gingham and that was it!

They both sold like hotcakes and

the porch looked wonderful for our July 4th Saturday.....

I love this gorgeous old postcard.....

I pledge allegiance to the flag

of the United States of America,

and to the republic for which it stands,

one nation under God,

indivisible,

with liberty,

and justice for all.

And these pics are almost four years old now as our little Ellie was born in July!

I love how tiny she was...and how much Noah loves her in this photo ~
Ellie is such a mixed pup...part Chihuahua, part Jack Russell and part Rat Terrier.
She's about doubled in size ~ still a small little girl and OH so smart!!!!

I took her to the store with me everyday and potty trained her there!!

Wishing you a most wonderful fourth of July...

I'm giving thanks for our precious freedom and

for all those who have served and continue to serve

to keep our country FREE!

hugs and love sweet friends,

Dawn

An old, rustic drawer + a big, beautiful bird's nest = ART!

Why am I so in love with bird's nests?

Birds?

Speckled eggs?

I don't know why but I am ~

I guess because birds are so beautiful and simple yet look

at the complex structures they work so very hard on

to raise their babies in!

This is a real abandoned nest that one of the boys gave me

and it just had to be showcased ~

I've had this old drawer for years now and it

turned out to be the perfect size to hold the nest!!

The drawer measures a big 15" x 15"....and the nest?

Approximately 9" in diameter ~

I had to share my new artwork with you.....

now in my Etsy shop too!

Can you tell I'm obsessed with wiring stuff in now???

I love the cabinet of curiosities look of it I guess :)

I added the knob and decorative piece ~ tied with trim and twine...

My gift for you today?

A sweet dandelion that I encased inside of waxed paper....
I bought this little mini iron at Michael's with a coupon and
just ironed away on the waxed paper ~ it wipes right off too ~

I tried to make it look like the seeds were blowing away!

Now....to make something smaller and who knows? I may have to wire it in too!!

Have a wonderful Wednesday precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Be prepared....it's big ol' humongo post!

A beautiful illustration of Peter Pan and Wendy.... for you ~

Love this sweet little piece of music ~ for you....

I have a soft spot in my heart for Winnie the Pooh ~

I decorated Noah's nursery with all things Classic Pooh.....

I've given you this sweet angel before ~

everyone loves that this little baby's shoes are different....

and look at the bracelets!!! PRECIOUS!

You may have noticed that I've added a new Etsy store to my sidebar ~

My family's soap biz has branched out to Etsy now!

Take a look if you have a minute :)

Shop Fun Soap on Etsy

And I have to share with you a few more precious gifts I've received in the mail.

I wanted to teach at Paper Cowgirls so badly this year but it just didn't work out for me......

well, Lisa always being such a precious, thoughtful friend to me,

had to gather a few goodies to send to me from the event ~

kinda like a "wish you were here" thing.

But you just have to see these sweet treasures!!!!!

Trims, leather scraps (which I adore!) and look at the zinc letter "E" ~

Lisa found these amazing scrapbooking papers and tissues by Seven gypsies ~

they are SO on the pulse of what we all love!

Can you believe this gorgeous old box Lisa found at a yard sale???

What can I do with this....the wheels are turning!

And this gorgeous fringe that looks a little like the soft edges of bird feathers to me

is a wonderful gift from my sweet friend Beth of Gathering Dust!!!

I'm in LOVE with it and so want to hoard it Beth!!!!

Thank you very much sweet friend ~

Look at this beautiful old baby tin type from Jamie of Art-e-ology that Lisa found for me!

And I think Lisa found these slide looking treasures from Debbie of Talkin' Trash! So cool!!!!!

And I love the wooden pocket Lisa....you SO know me girl ~

We had a gorgeous sunset here the other evening

and I was able to get a quick photo to share with you...

Thank you so much for stopping by to see what I'm up to ~

Wishing you a wonderful Tuesday precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Yes, it's true.....I am in love with seam binding!!!

I received another wonderful shipment the other day from

Zipperstop and had to share with you my lovely

seam binding collection.

My photos are kinda cheezy and not the most accurate with the color but

maybe you can tell a little about the shades if you'd like

to order a roll or two yourself!!!

Here's what I've compiled so far:

If you decide to order any.....please tell Jeff "The Feathered Nest" sent you ~

he knows how much I love it all!!!

Happy Friday precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

For the love of friends...

This week has just been one of those weeks.

The kind of week you're ready for it to be over....

But when I receive so much goodness from my dear friends,

how can I complain at all???

I am blessed. We all are so truly blessed....

I just have to share a few gifts
     I received this week from a couple of sweet friends:

Jan of Little Pink Houses had a few goodies that she knew I'd love to create with!!

Just look at these beautiful treasures ~

Thank you so very much sweet Jan, I love it all SO MUCH!!!!

And this is not just a baby book but a LIFE book!!

It's from the 40's and I absolutely love the font, graphics, everything....

Then....

Another dear friend Barbara mailed me a package packed full of treasures too!!!!

So many wonderful things from baby dresses to shoes to paper to old cards:

Fragments of forgotten jewelry....

Plus these wonderful clock hands!

Thank you so much dear Barbara ~ I absolutely love every single thing!!!!!

And lastly, I found a few more blown quail eggs on ebay and they arrived too!

Don't you love an amazing mail day?

Now....to get my rear end back to making stuff!

Wishing you a great Thursday sweet friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn