In my little corner of the world ~

I so hope you had a beautiful Mother's Day weekend!

I had a wonderful time celebrating at my sister-in-law's house

and we were even able to go swimming it was so warm.

All of our boys were there except our oldest Brent, Emily and

our grandbabies Clara and Murray.

They went to Emily's father's wedding in Florida and

Clara was the flower girl. She was so excited ~

Brent shared a few photos with me...

just look at our precious grandchildren!

Another wonderful thing going on around here is that this old farmhouse

got a fresh coat of paint and looks so beautiful!!

Even the metal roof is now sparkly silver!

Rockers on the ready for sweet tea in the evenings...

And guess what? I'm actually managing to keep my succulents alive!

I had to move them off the porch for a few days while it was being painted

and took this photo to share ~

And lastly, I finished two more treasure organizers for a couple of my friends.

By the time they are finished they ending up being really heavy!

I gathered a few goodies from around my studio

and stuffed them into the pockets

to show you how they look when full of keepsakes and treasures.

It's amazing what you can create using a simple drop cloth and old lace!

Wishing you a beautiful Monday dear friends ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

So where in the world have I been??

I promise I've not dropped off the face of the earth!

I've been working on a few more treasure organizers and

truthfully, I've been procrastinating about finishing them.

They are a TON of hard work and it's like a major accomplishment

when I finish one of these babies!

Here are a few photos of my "in progress" stages ~

I have to find the perfect lace for each and every pocket...

then I have to find the perfect button to adorn each one as well.

The buttons are of course all hand sewn on and then I add more vintage lace

to cover the bottoms of the pockets.

And the top of the organizer MUST have a beautiful lace as well.

I FINALLY finished one of the organizers I was working on...here is the photo of

the finished piece. I so hope my sweet customer loves it!

Also, I've got to share this....a must-have magazine I just bought!

You will love everything inside, I promise ~

And lastly, a few quilt scraps I found while antiquing a few days ago.

I'm ready to work on something small and these will be PERFECT

for some pretty needle books!!!

Please forgive my absence...I've been planting flowers, succulents and even rose bushes!!!

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Antique lace, vintage buttons & laundered dropcloth...it doesn't get much better than that!

And of course, some thread and a sewing machine are all it takes

to create a couple of wonderful treasure organizers!

WHEW!!! I procrastinated WAY too long on these two sweeties.

Every time I make one, I'm reminded how very difficult they are!

But I finally finished these for two sweet customers and so hope that

they are pleased with and love them.

The organizers are about 22" wide and about 46" long. Each pocket is lined

and pleated so each one can hold a multitude of treasures. You could display your

mother's strand of pearls draping out of one pocket with your favorite hankies

tucked inside as well. Use the top to display your beautiful pin collection.

Add treasured cards from loved ones to another pocket. Hang your grandmother's

wire rimmed glasses on one of the pockets and fill it with more goodies that remind

you of her. You get the idea, right? This organizer is to display your treasures

and hang where you can see it each and every day...and smile.

Pockets in progress...it takes me forever to choose just the perfect laces and buttons!

I also wanted to share a magazine that's coming out this month that

I know we will all love....Fifi's newest Prairie Style!!!!

Keep your eyes peeled, I know I am ~

I also wanted to show you what I found last week at my local Walmart!!

I've been wanting to try growing succulents and they had the

most wonderful variety pack for just 9.98!!!

I did buy some special potting soil that drains well too.

The other plants were lavender but I put those back...

I'll get them next trip!!!

PLUS...look what I found on an end cap in the craft department of Walmart...

Waverly Chalk Paint!!!

PLUS it's only 5.97 for an 8 oz. bottle. They also had some antiquing finishes

but I didn't buy any of those. I may go back for some though!!

The two colors I brought home were called "Plaster" and "Ballet Slipper"

How can you NOT buy a shade called "Ballet Slipper"???????

One last photo for you just because I love it so....

Don't you love this display? Hydrangeas are so gorgeous to me

and those doors are AMAZING!

I know I promised to share some photos of two magazines that I recently purchased

that I thought you would love but I just haven't taken the time to take the pics.

One is latest issue of Romantic Country Summer 2015....

And the other is Romantic Homes May issue ~

They are both just beautiful!!!

I'll try to take some photos to share because

I just know you will love them both.

Noah is out of school this week for Spring Break and it is ALWAYS

heavenly for me because I love staying up late and sleeping late as well.

My clock is weird but I just can't help it!

I hope you are having a wonderful week...

Spring has definitely arrived here!

We already need to cut our grass

for the second time.

Happy Wednesday precious friends and I thank you always for visiting me here!

hugs and love,

Dawn

Busy as a little bee!

After my precious mama and daddy's visit I knew I had to get busy

on a few special orders!!!

I have a couple of treasure organizers in the making.

I always have to adjust my pattern to the size of the wooden hanger ~

The pockets are created from a long strip of lined fabric and then

measured and ironed into the appropriate sizes.

Then I choose from my collected laces and doilies to see what would

be perfect to adorn each and every pocket!

I will soon decide on a few gorgeous vintage buttons to finish off

each pocket as well.

Here are a few photos to share my progress:

And take a peek at what I finally broke down and purchased...

An Ikea Raskog utility cart!!!

I've always wanted one for my studio and for some reason

they've reduced the price from 49.99 to 29.99!!!

It was such a great deal that I simply ordered it online

and the shipping was only 10.00.

Much better than fighting traffic to get to

the nearest Ikea in downtown Atlanta.

Now...what will I put in it???

Here's the link to it online:

Raskog Utility Cart

I just found some WONDERFUL magazines that I know you will LOVE too!

I promise to share them in my next post.

Happy Monday angels!

Thank you always for visiting me here ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

Because I know you love what I love...

I have to share this goodness with you!!!

A dear family member of ours has been doing a little purging

and gifted me some of the MOST. GORGEOUS. LACE. EVER!!!

She's given me some lace before as her brother and his wife

used to make heirloom Christening gowns.

She inherited the lace and has now passed it on to me!!!

I feel so honored and also am totally inspired

to create beautiful things with it!

Please just take a peek at this sweet basket full...

Also, I wanted to share with you

what I do to my baby shoes

when creating little baby shoe pincushions.

You can find my tutorial in my Etsy store but

when the shoes are really scuffed and quite worn,

I like to give them a coat of matte or flat paint

to give them a fresh look!!

Believe it or not, I had purchased a Benjamin Moore color sample

a few years ago, in Manchester Tan, and have been using it!!!

It's such a pale, neutral khaki and looks so beautiful on the shoes.

Who knew?

Using house paint to refresh tiny baby shoes!!

I finally feel like I'm getting back into my groove...

and I'm also kinda glad that I've been procrastinating on making a few

more memory organizers because NOW I have a great new

supply of lace to choose from!!!!

Happy Tuesday precious friends ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

A change of heart ~

I had originally thought that I would use my new seam binding fringe

on a stocking I started a few weeks ago BUT

it just wasn't working for me.

The more I stared at it, the longer I let it sit in my studio!

Plus, I didn't care for the slanted opening I had made

for my stocking pattern either. That didn't help a bit!

But after mulling it over for waaaay too long, I chopped the top off

the stocking and began playing with lace and trims.

And the strangest thing?

I pulled out a pretty little satin doll dress that the top was torn and

chopped the skirt off to use on the stocking too!

I finally finished it last night and am so pleased with the way

it finally turned out....

and what about the fringe I made?

It's going on a new project of course!

Here's my stocking ~ it's approx. 20" long.

Now listed in my Etsy store too!

Now that I've finished that project,
it's time to get crackin' on some new goodies!!

I hope you're having such a wonderful week precious friends ~

Happy Thursday!

hugs and love,

Dawn

Sharing a little gift goodness with you!

I just love sharing gifts with you!

Mostly because you "get" me and love what I love

and then you can celebrate with me!!!

About a week or so ago a sweet friend on Facebook contacted me.

She sees all that I create because, believe me, I love using FB

as a marketing tool to sell my wares.

She knew how much I love old lace and how much I use in my sewing projects.

WELL.

She kindly asked for my address and told me that she had some old lace

that she wasn't going to do a thing with and would I want it?

OH YES I WOULD!!!

I gladly gave her my address and you have just got to see what she sent me!!

I have thanked her profusely and just can't believe it was a GIFT!

I truly am so very thankful to this sweet friend.

I can't imagine what it all would cost me at an antique store,

much more than I could ever, ever afford for sure!

Here it is all piled on top of each other...

you simply cannot see it all!!!

I can tell so much of it was handmade because there are pieces that are unfinished.

Beautiful though...

And what about the beautiful "E" ribbon??!

This large white linen piece is actually a pillowcase

with a flap on the end with lace trim and ties!!!

I had it folded in half for the photo but you get the idea ~

I want to wear it on my head it's so beautiful!!!!

GORGEOUS RIGHT??? Thank you so much dear friend...I will treasure it all!!!!

I can't remember if I've shared this recipe before but...

we've made it for years and our boys always LOVED it

and are now making it themselves!!!

Look below for the recipe ~

Gatlin Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup cheddar cheese cracker crumbs (such as Cheez-its)
2 tbsp taco seasoning mix
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1-4 oz can chopped green chilies, drained

Directions:

Combine cracker crumbs and seasoning mix in a large bowl, stir well.
Toss chicken pieces in crumb/seasoning mixture then place into a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish or pan. Mix together whipping cream and remaining ingredients in the same large bowl, then pour over chicken.

Bake uncovered 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until slightly brown on top and bubbly.

I only used four chicken breasts for us...it's just Noah, hubby and myself.

But I'm afraid I didn't cut any of the other ingredients in half!!!

HAHAHA!

Yes, it's so fattening, just don't make it very often, OK?

Happy Tuesday sweet friends!!!!

hugs and love,

Dawn