Oh.my.land...where in the world have I been?

No where really...I haven't done anything exciting at all!

But I HAVE waited WAY too long to post!!!

Truthfully, nothing amazing is going on around here.

And I haven't been creative, even just a little bit!

I did get a few hours to get out and treasure hunt so

you just KNOW I've got to share my finds!!!

A magazine, a book...a precious toddler slip and baby shoes ~

It just doesn't get much better than that to me!

Are any of you familiar with this wonderful UK magazine

Daphne's Diary???

O.MY.LAND.

I just LOVE IT!!!!

It's about 14.00 at Barnes & Noble and has SO much goodness inside.

Here are a few photos to share:

It truly is WONDERFUL!!!

Next, I will share a few snippets from Fifi's wonderful Prairie Weddings book ~
It's not just for the wedding planner...I mean it.

Happy Tuesday angel friends!!!

hugs and love,

Dawn

Wow....2400 posts, are you kidding me?

I just noticed this!!!

I'm starting this post and look over at the number...

and it's my 2403rd post!!

WHAT?

My goodness....how amazing is THAT?

I really do still love it.

I know I don't post like I used to

but blogging has changed quite a bit in the past few years.

There are zillions of bloggers now and it's just not like it used to be.

Facebook is the hot thing because it's quick and to-the-point

but I still love my little blog.

And it seems that blogs now feel the need

to post a new DIY project

for each and every post....

and some of the ideas are just not that good!

I guess that I'm considered "old-school" now.

Simply sharing thoughts, photos and images and a few ideas.

But, I still love my little blog...

sharing my finds and what I'm doing ~

even if it's not very much!!

Here's the beautiful quilted fabric that I want to make

a few needle books from.

It's just one simple pillow sham I found a few years ago

at Marshall's I think.

But I can see them in my mind's eye...

Now, to actually MAKE them!

To those of you who have been with me from the beginning,

and for those of you who may have just found my blog...

I cherish you so much!

Thank you so much for visiting me here to see what I'm up to ~

I'm certainly hoping my creative muse will give me a swift kick soon

so I can get a few things finished and in my shop!

Happy weekend precious friends!

Remember to be kind to yourself...

Hugs and love,

Dawn

I choose joy ~

Hi sweet friends ~

I hope you are doing so good and staying cozy this winter.

It's been quite frigid here in Georgia lately and

you know good and well, we do NOT do cold around here!

I've stepped out of my comfort zone lately and began drawing a little.

I've always loved sketching and have been wanting to try out

a new set of watercolor pencils too.

I drew the little girl first then

used a fine black pen to outline my drawing.

Next, I scanned her into my computer because

I loved her so much, I thought I'd better save her at that stage.

I didn't want to take the chance of ruining my original when
I began painting.

After scanning the original, I printed out a copy.
Then I transferred the copy onto some wonderful,
heavy watercolor paper.

Next I outlined the drawing again with a thin, black art pen and
after that she was ready for painting!

I even had to add a bit of inspiration for the new year for us all...
Choose Joy!!!

Here she is in more subdued tones:

And here in a little stronger, brighter tones:

An in-progress photo as well...

So I've scanned and saved just the little girl and balloon drawing

into my computer as a blank slate.

I can re-create her again just by printing a copy out and

transferring my original drawing onto

a new sheet of watercolor paper.

Now to decide what to do with my finished painting.

I think this image would be adorable on some note cards!

And so, I'm on to something new.

As I was going through my fabric stash

I found the most beautiful quilted pillow sham

that I had purchased a few years ago.

It's white with little pink roses all over...I'm thinking I might

make a few pretty needle books from it, we'll see!

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

Wishing you a wonderful Monday my dear friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

The wonderful gift of a new year ~

Have you ever stopped to think about that?

Time is a gift.

A gift some are not blessed with.

My precious friends Tammy and James lost

their 18 year old son a few days after Christmas

and it has rocked my world.

Not to mention how it has devastated theirs....

I met Tammy and James when I started college in the fall of 1979.

We were all going to be art majors. I had a full load of classes and

then this amazing 2 hour art class that was THE BEST!

The teacher was the most wonderful man, Tommy Daughtry...we all loved him.

Tammy and James met in that class and fell in love.

The rest is history.

I have to tell you a precious story though.

All of the art students gathered together for a Halloween party at

someone's apartment, I don't even remember whose it was.

But we were all so excited to go!

Tammy was going as a baby....A BABY!

She wore baby doll pajamas...

had a bonnet, pacifier, bottle, THE WORKS!

Well, she'd been flirting with James (a guy in our art class) and well,

he decided to go to the party as Groucho Marx!

He had the suit, painted on mustache...

he looked just perfect for the part!

I went as a cowgirl...boring.

I wore jeans and a plaid shirt.

Big deal. I probably didn't want to mess up my hair...

Well, the night was going wonderfully, we were all having the best time!

Then James and Tammy emerged from somewhere and she had the

BIGGEST black smudge all over her sweet mouth from where 

Sweet Groucho had gotten a hold of her!!!!

And truly, the rest is history!!!

My husband and I were the Matron of Honor and Best Man in their wedding...

and she's one of those friends that if you don't talk to for six months,

it doesn't matter.

We pick up where we left off...just loving seeing one another.

She and James rented a room at The Plum Tree when we had

our antique store because

they love antiques just like we do.

Dennis and James worked together for a few years too...

Tammy has created beautiful floral bouquets

for my in-law's 50th wedding anniversary,

Clara's baby shower...

and even Emily's wedding bouquet

when she married our oldest son Brent.

I'll stop.

But I just wanted you to know how wonderful they are

and that they need your prayers.

They have two older daughters Becca and Alex

but the Saturday after Christmas

their youngest son Jonah was in a fatal car accident

and they lost him.

Please pray for this precious family and let's all count our blessings

and thank the good Lord above for the gift of this new year!!!!

hugs and love to you all,

Dawn