Freshening up a bit!

I thought I would share a little peek of the house wren's nest

on our front porch!

It's looks complete to me but still no little ones yet...

I've seen the mama bird fly out of it though ~

This past winter I lost the ivy plants on our porch so I headed to Lowe's and bought

replacements. These planters flank our front door and I love the wire forms

that the ivy grows on. Hopefully they will grow fast and look wonderful soon!

I also found a pretty ivy plant to go in the terra cotta pot on our iron table too!

A beautiful treat arrived in Saturday's mail....

a gift I won from Martha of MJ Ornaments on Facebook!!!

I love bunnies and was so happy when I found out I won ~

now they hang in my studio! Thank you so much Martha!!!

And I just have to share these wonderful photos of Clara ~

She went fishing with her dad (our oldest son, Brent) Saturday and

just look at her!!!

She's old enough now to really enjoy it and is absolutely FEARLESS!

Wishing you a WONDERFUL Monday precious friends!!

hugs and love,

Dawn

Simple things ~

I snagged this wonderful old illustration

from sweet Donna of Brynwood Needleworks and

couldn't believe how much the puppy looks like our Ellie!!

She shared it on her FB page and I just had to show it to you ~

Here's our little Ellie...she'll be seven years old this July!

Ellie loves her family so very much.

Here are a few photos when she was just a wee one!

This was just a few years ago when we tried having chickens...(unsuccessfully)

She was so sweet to them and never bothered them at all!

And an update on the nest on our front porch...

It IS a sweet little house wren. I caught her leaving the nest and

sitting on the railing ~ it's looking quite ready, don't you think???

She never touched my threads so I scooped them all up.

I think they smelled too much like humans ~

Noah is on spring break from school this week and I have a few things to accomplish!

I want to clean out several closets and get RID of the excess stuff ~

so wish me luck!!

(coming from a hoarder who loves to keep stuff :)

Happy Monday angels,

hugs and love,

Dawn

To embellish ~

: to heighten the attractiveness of by adding decorative or fanciful details.

Well, after seeing my sweet lavender sachets
sit in my Etsy shop for a few weeks,
that is EXACTLY what I did!!!
I embellished them even more!

I had to add a vintage watch face with pearl
to the very center...I love them!
AND
I added the last of some gorgeous lace I had
to the edges.

Take a peek in my shop if you are interested!!

Plus, I have to share the neatest thing ~

I've been cleaning up a bit for spring and hosed down our front porch,

cleaned out the planters, bleached the railings and

swept all the winter debris away.

Monday evening it was pristine and ready for some goodness.

Well, after lunch I finally went outside and this is what I find

on one of the small shelves at the end of our porch!

(That was CLEAN the evening before)

A precious bird's nest!!!!

Well, tonight I'm leaving out a plate of cut threads and lace from

beside my sewing machine ~ do you think the bird will use them??

I'll be sure to let you know!

Spring has definitely arrived here in Georgia this week!!!
Temps have been in the high seventies and
everything is SO GREEN!!!

Wishing you a beautiful April Wednesday precious friends,
hugs and love,Dawn

Nature inspired ~

I always forget how much I love creating assemblage art!!

And if it involves birds and elements of nature...

I love it even more!

I just finished the pocket assemblage and am really pleased

with how it turned out ~

A layer of wonderful unique paper and

a print of the bird antique sheet music turned

out to be the perfect back drop for this nature gathering.

All the components are nestled inside THE BACK

of an 11" x 14" stretched canvas.

Even an old drawer pull embellishes the top!

Now I want to go make more luggage pockets and put them on everything!!

I just listed this nature assemblage in my Etsy store if you'd like to take a look ~

Thank you always, always for stopping by here to see what I'm up to!

I cherish your comments and you just don't realize

how much you truly inspire me....

Have a beautiful Wednesday dear friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

A few gifts...a tiny nest and our sweet baby ~

I ran across a few wonderful old things I scanned a few years ago and

just knew you'd love them again!

This old rose print is so tattered and torn but I didn't care,

just look at it!

Maybe you can print it out and use it...

it would be beautiful on tags ~

A couple of old seed packets, they would be so sweet framed and hung together!

I know you've seen this print everywhere ~

I was so lucky to find an original print to scan for you....

A few things more to share ~

we have a tiny wren's nest in our barn!

She has several eggs and they are just beginning to hatch.

This is not the best photo as it was with my phone.

I want to try one more time before they all leave the nest ~

Funny thing is, she made the nest in the top of an open plastic container!

And I wanted to share these recent photos of Clara...

I just can't believe how big she is!

Here she is playing on the trampoline ~

And here at the farmhouse...boy, the dandelions seem to be taking over!

Clara's talking so much now and absolutely loves being outside ~

I hope you have a great Tuesday sweet friends!!

hugs and love,

Dawn

Nests and Fairies....my favorites ~

I found another tutorial on making your own handmade nests!!! Click HERE to see the steps in making the one featured below ~

OK, I am just loving this bed ~ if only I could afford it! Click here to see the hefty price :)

I want to make one of these!!! Don't you love all of the little details? I found them HERE ~

A dollhouse turned fairy house! See how HERE ~

xxoo, Dawn

You found a wonderful bird's nest . . . now what do you do?

I've had several emails and comments about bringing a nest inside, and how do I prepare it? Well, you're right, they do have little critters in them and it's best not to bring those in the house right away! What I do is place the nest in a plastic grocery sack and spray liberally with bug spray. I don't really think it matters which particular kind though. Tie the bag in a knot and leave outside for a few days. After a couple of days, the smell is usually gone. Then bring it in to use in your display!

Stay warm sweet friends!! xxoo, Dawn