Blessed ~

Do you ever have days when a thankful feeling washes over you
and then you stop,
and realize....
how truly blessed you really are?

Your eyes fill with tears and you know
that even though you've had hard times
or difficulties in your life,
you KNOW you are blessed.

One thing that I always want to remember
is how blessed my life is and also to always
be thankful for those blessings.

We can get so bogged down by petty little things in our lives
but when we stop and think about it...
in the scheme of things,
a thankful heart and thinking of all the good in our lives,
our family, friends, loved ones...
our relationships with one another while we are here on this earth,
that is what is important and brings us true happiness....

Can you believe this angel will be 7 months old Oct. 23rd??
You know, we blinked...and look how much time has passed!
We watched Clara Saturday while Brent and Emily had a fun day together fishing on the lake. Clara was an angel, played, smiled, rested, ate....
she is so loved and knows it ~

And look!! Up on her hands and knees!!! Uh oh...we're in trouble now! :)

The other day the door bell rang early in the morning and it startled me....
we don't get many visitors out here in the country!!
Well, it was UPS delivering a package.
I knew I hadn't ordered anything....
but when I looked at who it was from, I smiled.

My sweet friend Marcy, Queen Marcy, sent me a gift package ~
just a random act of kindness
just because she KNOWS me so well.
Marcy has purchased several pieces of my artwork
and know what types of things I love to use in my work ~
she recently purchased a LARGE lot of antique lace
and sent me HALF OF IT!!!

And even better, she sent me some of her artwork as well!!!!
It is a beautiful Lace Keeper she made from a design
of another friend Marcie of The Rustic Victorian
whose work was featured in Somerset Studio Gallery!!!
Oh Marcy ~ THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!
I love your artwork and will keep her in my studio to inspire me
and the lace??? It's all so beautiful, thank you very much dear friend!!!!
Now....what can I make with this gorgeousness????

A sweet new blogger for you to visit:

Maggie of The Mag Rag!!
She's just started blogging...
Welcome sweet Maggie, we're so glad you're here!

I hope you have a wonderful and always blessed Monday ~
hugs and love,
Dawn

True random acts of kindness ~

I wanted to share with you a couple of sweet gifts that I received in the mail. Both of these parcels really are random acts of kindness!

The first package was from a former customer, Sandra Blanks who reads my blog and wanted to send a few handmade gifts for the baby!! Can you believe how precious these hangers and hat are?? Clara will be so adorable in this beautiful hat Sandra, I just love it (Emily loves it too!!!) and the hangers are so sweet I may have to keep them in my artroom!!! I want to make Clara a few tiny dresses for this coming Spring and after she outgrows them I want to display them!! Thank you so very much for your thoughtfulness, Sandra ~

Another random act of kindness came from a sweet friend, Sharon Kyser....just look at these gorgeous handmade cards and some were created from photos on my blog!!! I just love them!! All of the cards are just beautiful ~ Sharon, what a sweet thing for you to do!! Thank you so very much!!



The next few things are things that I've had awhile and just wanted to show you. For no particular reason other than their simplicity makes them beautiful.


I bought this from a sweet friend, Sharon, at The Plum Tree several years ago. I love the tone on tone look, it's candlewicking I think. Such simple stitching but it has a beautiful look to it, don't you think? It would be so easy to make your own pattern and make something similar to this. Or even to just freestyle stitch and then frame it ~ I love the handiwork.

This little thing has nothing to do with anything else in this post except that it's a treasure. I think of the tiny foot that wore it. Who did they grow up to be? This little lone shoe will never be turned into a pincushion while I own it. To me, it's already a small piece of artwork ~

Seeing the beauty in friends, my family, our surroundings and the little treasures that make our house a home

makes me smile ~

Wishing you a wonderful Tuesday sweet friends,

xxoo, Dawn