If I could cover every empty space on our walls....I WOULD!

I've got to show you this gorgeous painting....

our son Brad had it in his home for a while

and now he's given it to me!!!!

The frame is a little modern but who cares ~
the print is absolutely gorgeous to me.

Now....to find the perfect spot in the farmhouse ~

More goodies for you ~ (you may have seen these before :)

Beautiful for Mother's Day.....

The crazy thing is....I love to hang ANYTHING on the wall.

Don't you think the walls in our homes are a blank canvas?

Wishing you an amazing Wednesday precious friends ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

What I love....

My goodness. There's so much that I love.

Of course the Lord above.

My precious family I've been blessed with.

And the fact that I live in America....

and there's so much more too!

But on a much smaller scale ~

my tastes and and what I love to look for while junkin'?

Well, you know I love old photographs.

I'm always searching for wonderful photos I can share with you!

Here's a precious little girl ~

I found this gorgeous card I had to share with you too ~

And you have got to look at this wonderful addition to our home ~
we rescued "Bucky" from Antique Griffin yesterday
(the antique mall we have space in!)
and immediately I had to hang him over the fireplace!!!!
No....I could never kill this beautiful animal but
I have to pay homage to it's life and
I love that we've rescued him
from the antique mall
so he can be in our home ~

Wishing you a most wonderful Monday dear friends,
hugs and love,
Dawn

Inspiration Friday:Stepping out of my comfort zone ~

I'm linking up with sweet Debra of Common Ground
for Inspiration Friday......

Yes....I'm a home-body. I'll admit it!

I don't get out much but now that I'm pushin' fifty
I've decided it's time.

One big step is visiting Lisa in Texas next week
and you know I''m gonna LOVE that!!

Well another step a little outside of my comfort zone is I've decided to

teach an art class at Karla's Cottage in the spring!!!

It will be the weekend of May 1st and there are 20 openings....

Lisa's teaching a class, Karla of course will teach a class,

Carol of Raised in Cotton, and then yours truly!!!
Each student will take every class!

Oh dear...now I'm REALLY nervous!!!

Can you be nervous for six whole months?

If it weren't for my sweet friends cheering me on,

I'd never do this ~

YOU my sweet friends, are my inspiration!!!!

I have to thank you all for giving me the courage to

step out of my comfort zone and follow my dream ~

YOU, dear friends, truly are my inspiration!!!!

Have the most wonderful Friday ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

Making time...

I've been squeezing in just a little bit of creating...

an altered thought journal for a sweet friend :)

This is the after:

The before, all spankin' clean and pristine!

A few tiny shoes,

and I'm working the tutorial for them

to add to Lessons from The Nest...

I forgot to show you these treasures from our Saturday junkin' trip ~

Don't you just love this wonderful little box?!

The old photo is so precious ~

I'll be sure to scan it and share it with you...

The inside was covered with the most "lovely" pepto pink colored paper ~

I had to rip it out and want to cover it with something old.

Plus I won the sweetest giveaway on Sally's blog
Art ~ A Passion to Create!!

A beautiful altered journal she made....

Wonderful antique treasures to create with....

I just love it all!!!!

And nestled inside the stack of antique book pages
was the most precious surprise ~
a single pressed flower stem!!!

Thank you so very much dear Sally,

you're such an angel ~ I love each and every gift!

Sweetness always turns an ordinary day into extraordinary!

Have a great Wednesday dear friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Preserving the beauty of nature ~

After I freshened our antique space last Thursday,
I took a walk around the antique mall to see what treasures I can find
for my own stash!!
I did find a wonderful jar of buttons, and I fell in love with the jar just
as much as the buttons ~
I found another great old photograph that I plan on scanning for you....
But the most amazing find of all was something that I've always wanted ~
and antique herbarium!!!!

What is a herbarium?

Main Entry: her·bar·i·um
Pronunciation: \ˌ(h)ər-ˈber-ē-əm\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural -ia\-ē-ə\

Date: 1776

1 : a collection of dried plant specimens usually mounted and systematically arranged for reference.

Also see THIS LINK to read a little more about herbariums.

Some may have a hard time seeing the beauty
of old dried up plants sewn to paper and then pressed
but I think that they are just wonderful!!
The date on these sheets is 1898!!!
So these specimens are one hundred and twelve years old!!!

The collection was a little pricey so at first
I only purchased five sheets
(the pages were sold separately, as they were not bound)
but after realizing that this amazing collection
should not be split up,
I called the antique mall and asked them to hold the rest for me
and my sweet husband picked the remainder up for me Friday!!

I don't plan on using the originals in my artwork
but would love to scan each page so I could use copies.
Now to find an suitable acid-free album to house them.
The pages are quite small, just 7 " tall by 5 3/4" wide, sweet huh???

I have a hard time passing up a jar of buttons ~

Here's the photograph of the woman I found,
look at the flower on her waist!!!

See how neat the jar is that held the buttons??

One tiny spool of thread was included in the jar of buttons.
I love it so ~
Wouldn't it be beautiful worn as a necklace??
Such simple things make me smile ~

We had a sweet house guest Saturday night,
our little Clara spent the night with us for the first time!!
She woke up a few times in the night but was
really such an angel....she's growing so fast!

I hope you have a great Monday precious friends ~
Thank you always for stopping by and
for your sweet comments!!!!
hugs and love,
Dawn

For the love of fall ~

My heart stirs for fall ~ I've always loved it.
It arrives late here in Georgia but it's wonderful.
My parents live in the north Georgia mountains
and we're looking forward to visiting them in October.
The leaves will be in their full glory ~

Listen ...
The wind is rising
and the air
is wild with leaves.
We have had our summer evenings
now for October eves.

HUMBERT WOLFE



Winter is an etching,
spring a watercolor,
summer an oil painting,
and autumn ...
a mosaic of them all.

STANLEY HOROWITZ




Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.

GEORGE ELIOT




Autumn's Glow

There is something about autumn
That brings out such earthiness
Gold leaves adorn bushes and trees
Like an artist with a brilliant brush

Once the leaves dry on the trees
Then the wind begins to blow
It’s a special time of year for me
Because I love autumn so

The cold dry air it seems
Prepare the leaves to fall
Mother Nature’s special time
Yes, it’s the best of all

What a dazzling way to end
The year as winter nears
The way leaves let loose
And dropp like nature’s tears

Oh yes, I love those golden days
Dreamy with autumn’s glow
It makes me smile because I do
Love the season of autumn so!

MARILYN LOTT

A couple of sweet photos that I placed
on vintage music paper and scanned together,
a great foundation for artwork ~ for you dear friends.
Click to enlarge, then right click
to save to your own computer ~

I hope your Wednesday is just wonderful!!
hugs and love,
Dawn

Humbled and thankful ~

A sweet little baby for your artwork :) I love his(?) little smile ~

Yesterday sweet gifts arrived on my door step. Kindness gifts. You know the kind....you open them and your eyes fill with tears because of the effort and giving that was involved ~

Lisa of Tarnished and Tattered sent me a box of wonderful things and I just have to share her goodness with you! Look at the banner she made me!! I've already hung it and it just warms my heart to see it as I walk into my studio....

And look at the other goodies she included!!

These images are printed on petticoat or crinoline fabric! How cool is THIS?!

Lisa included a beautiful old book with some of the most wonderful images....I have to share them with you. I'll try to scan them for you too ~

Bees for the bee assemblage??

Dear Lisa, thank you so, so much!!! How kind and thoughtful of you....
I absolutely love everything!
You are just amazing and I'm so glad that you're blogging now!

Please check out Lisa's blog HERE, she's the mother of triplets
and creates the most beautiful things ~

Another wonderful image I have to share with you....found at my favorite shop The Plum Tree!

I've met some of the most precious friends through this blog ~
I'm most humbled and thankful to be a part of this little blogging universe.

I hope your Thursday is filled with goodness!
hugs and love,
Dawn