Getting back to my little sweetie!

Yes, it's been awhile!

But I get sidetracked easily and plus I was a bit intimidated

about painting her face ~

But I did it!!!

This weekend I just decided to go for it and if I messed up,

I would just paint over it and start again.

Here's my first try and I'm so pleased...

yes, she's still naked and bald but I'm working on her hair right now.

I'm using suri alpaca wool for her hair.

Each piece has to thoroughly combed and cleaned then

I make tufts to glue around her head starting at the nape of her neck.

I'm going to cut it into a sweet bob I think, we'll see!

You can see in the photo below, on the right is how the hair starts off

and on the left after combing and cleaning....

you have to comb it with a large needle too!

I hope her hair turns out OK...but I guess you never learn until you try!!

And my last set of three pumpkins is finished!!

I just love this wonderful crinkly fabric...

perfect to take you through fall and even into Thanksgiving.

They would be beautiful piled into a wire basket!!!

Now listed in my Etsy shop too :)

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

Happy Monday precious friends!!!

hugs and love,

Dawn

The beginnings of something new ~

I've been itching to create something nature inspired....

I collect all sorts of boxes, drawers, etc. to hold assemblages

and this one was meant to be a cabinet of curiosities.

I'm showing you the beginning stages as I hope to fill each cubby

with wonderful nature specimens!

I have tiny bottles that can hold treasures....several teeny nests from

which I will choose, maybe some gorgeous river birch bark

and patches of moss tucked in....

I will continue to age the cabinet too

as it is way too newish looking for me :)

We'll see where it takes me!

One other thing.

There's no glass in the door ~ it was missing when I found it.

I've been thinking of adding my own wired grid to it.

We'll see....

What are you up to today?

I hope you're able to squeeze a little creativity into your day ~

Thank you so much for stopping by here to see what I'm doing...
you know I love it when you do!

Wishing you a wonderful Friday dear friends ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

The current state of affairs.....

Can you say, "big ol' mess"??

Yes, that's what the studio looks like right about now.
No wonder WWC never showed up here.....

I need to put away, clean and organize ~

But here I am, still blobbing around, visiting blogs and avoiding it :)

I've got all of the photos and patterns ready
for the teeny tiny shoe tutorial too....

I just need to compile them all ~

Remember this from my recent junk haul?

It was hard to see in the photos I posted but it's simply tissue paper ~

I don't know why I bought it, as is many things I buy,
but the aged look, the torn edges

just cried out to me.
I think I only paid 2 bucks for the entire thing....

I have the BEST of intentions though ~

look, I bought waxed paper and tissues to try the tutorial I posted recently.

I took these butterflies out of their mod silver frame ~

I plan on painting the frame black and putting it all back together.

OH, and speaking of books (previous post),
here's another of my recent finds ~

I've wanted it for quite awhile and found it
on Amazon for a reasonable price!

I love all of the Victoria books and this one is another beauty
to add to my collection.

A few ideas are brewing ~ here are the components....

I'm such a goob for all things old and torn,
Michael's had these boxes that

look like tattered old books ~
well with a 40% off coupon it was a steal!

What will I do with it?

Who cares! It's wonderful.....

So here it is.

My current state of affairs which I guess we could label

"in limbo"

But it sure does look wonderful :)

Have a great Thursday dear friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

A little glue does a body good ~

I finally wandered back into my studio yesterday....
It felt good to play again.
I was slapping glue on everything ~
covering things with wonderful old sheet music
aged by time....

Here's one of those Mud Pie boxes I snagged at a yard sale ~
they're like small hat boxes....
I applied gesso first because I wasn't sure how light or
dark my covering would be.

Now covered and drying. I haven't a clue what I plan on doing with it
but I'm sure I'll come up with something ~

I won't say what the little thing below is :) ~ but I covered it a little
differently than the others I've made.

And the small canvas I found at Hobby Lobby?
It's on it's way to becoming something totally different...
the first layer?
Good ol' kraft wrap.

And do you know what's more wonderful than
an amazing old typewriter??

An amazing old typewriter that actually types!!!!

I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday precious friends,
hugs and love,
Dawn

Artwork beginnings ~

I ran across more of these beautiful photo album pages
in my studio and had to scan them in for you ~
feel free to click to enlarge,
then right click to "save image as".

This week is Spring break and Noah and I
are just chillin' around the house ~

Artwork beginnings:
I love these mats that are in old photo albums...
I look for those that are falling apart for a reason!

The front is just waiting to become something......
I cut a piece of cardboard a little smaller that the dimensions of
the ledger cover back.
Next, I totally covered it with old sheet music
using matte gel medium underneath and over top,
leaving a little overhang so I could wrap it around the sides
of the cardboard to the back.
The cardboard keeps the ledger cover from folding!

The back...yes it's the cover of an old ledger!
It's quite large so I've got to come up with something
wonderful for the central focus of this piece....

So....we'll see ~

Poetic Home has some WONDERFUL ideas on how to use these

gorgeous library card pieces....

Just click HERE to see more!

I hope your week is going so good ~ Spring is definitely here....
can you see the thick coat of pollen on our porch??

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday precious friends!!
hugs and love,
Dawn

Just about anything can be turned into art ~

Or at least that's what I'm telling myself!!
I hope you don't think I'm going off the deep end
but my son was throwing away a pair of khaki shorts the other day
and I loved the look of them!!
Tattered, torn...(I think he bought them that way :)
so I've started working on a little something on canvas ~
I love pockets and pouches,
they are just waiting to hold wonderful things, don't you think?

A recent find I had to share with you ~
a wonderful small pitcher with gorgeous crazing and staining...

If you would have asked me years ago
if I would buy this in an antique store
I would have said, "no way!"
but now that I'm older, I see the beauty of stains and crazing :)

I've put together single sample packs of The Feathered Nest egg soap!!
Only 3.00 and that includes shipping in the US ~
I've included a sweet tiny nest to hold the egg too!

They're in the shoppe if you're interested in trying a sample ~

Today is sweet Emily's birthday and we gave her a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble. She loves books as much as I do, so we're heading off to the book store today ~ Clara enjoys it too!!




Be sure to stop by and see Chris at Maple Ridge Vintage ~
she has some precious children's images to give you!!!




Wishing you a great Tuesday dear friends,
hugs and love,
Dawn

Kindness from a friend & a little mojo ~

Today in the mail there was an envelope from Canada!
I'm trying to think....who is sending me something?
Well, it was sweet Merne who had contacted me earlier wanting my address ~
she saw something that she knew I'd love and wanted to send it to me!!!

It is two of the most beautiful cards......they are just GORGEOUS!!
The photography is amazing and she said that
they reminded her of me and my blog.
They were created by an artist, Tara Wilkinson.
Not just the photography but the actual nests!!!!
Here is her website if you'd love to look at her work...

Thank you so very much Merne ~
I will keep them in my studio to inspire me sweet friend!!!

I've printed out some of Mary's images that I purchased in her store ~
Green Paper Packages.
I'm finally starting the bee assemblage!!!
I think the colors in these images will be perfect
for what I'm going to put together ~

I found a beautiful old hand mirror the other day, without the mirror!!!
What do you think it could become?
I have an idea....and I've just started getting it together!!

Oh and remember this neat find while I was out junkin'??

Finally. It has become this ~

I love repurposing things ~ it gives them a new life and gives me such joy ~

I hope you have an amazing Thursday dear friends!!
hugs and love,
Dawn