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

Ahhh...finishing things is just wonderful!

I finally finished our living room curtains!!!

My goodness...it feels so good to have them hanging

and to have them finished.

I'm just so pleased with how they turned out...

just the right amount of toile border

on the drop cloth fabric panels.

We don't have a frou-frou living room ~

it's very "cabinet of curiosites" and I just wanted to keep

them very stream-lined but elegant as well.

Now. All I need is a gorgeous new leather sofa and I'll make

some soft feather pillows to go with!

I sewed this beautiful skirted table about 12 years ago from a wonderful old

matelasse (Bates) bedspread and the topper

is the exact same fabric (Waverly cream and tan toile)

as the borders on the panels!

I even re-purposed the trim from the old bedspread

and added it to the edge of the topper!

I had this skirted table in my very first antique store "Red Rooster Antiques"...

Noah was about three or four years old....

Sept. 11th happened and my first little store was history.

The table has endured though and followed us as I love it so much ~

More art...the one nearest the window I put together from wonderful found objects.

I don't know if you remember the two bubble glass ovals we found recently

while out junkin' but I want to add them to either side of the lamp

filled with amazing old things!!!

My motto is that a wall is meant to be filled with 

things that you LOVE.

The shot below is from the doorway of our foyer ~

Not all is perfect...

but just perfect for us.

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

and especially for your precious comments!

Wishing you a WONDERFUL Tuesday my sweet, sweet friends....

hugs and love,

Dawn

Enjoying the creative process...

I just love being able to whip something up fast!!!

Something pretty that I think you all will love too ~

But sometimes I think I need to rush through,

 just to get that sweet finished product, you know?

These living room curtains have plagued me for a while now it seems but

today I tried to get back to them!

I'm finally on the last set as we have three very tall

and narrow windows in there.

I keep telling myself as I'm working on them to slow down,

and try to enjoy the process of creating them.

Curtains are not fun to make to me.

They are necessary and ultimately pretty

but just not fun to create.

I truly do think it's important for us all to remember

to enjoy the creative process, each and every step though ~

Here's a pretty bad pic I took late last night of one window:

Anyway...enough about those things :)

I wanted to share a quick photo of a few magazines that

I've purchased lately.

I've gotten so picky but each one of these had

some wonderful features!!

So we have a sweet little girl's birthday party tomorrow at

a local state park...please pray for sunny, mild weather for us ~

It's turned off cold here in Georgia and we just thought for sure

it would be a gorgeous Spring day and perfect

to have her party outdoors!!!

I still can't believe our baby Clara is turning four years old...

Wishing you a beautiful Friday precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

The chaos of this little studio ~

I am always, ALWAYS trying to clean up this sweet little room!

Of course I had to choose the ONE room in this old 1925 farmhouse
that needed to have a little extra support from underneath...

so thank goodness our son Brent

knew how to do that, but truthfully,
I think he needs to come back and do it again!

I have piles of stuff everywhere!
Beautiful baby clothes that I need to find a home for...
lavender sachets piled up here and there ~

Beautiful fabric piled up and of course my fav...seam binding!

A baby bonnet hung on my tripod? Yeah, I'm nuts but I so love this little bonnet!

Ahhh...I'm loving my new iron and ironing board cover!!!

But look at the piles of lace and fabric stuck in the crack ~

Oh my goodness...

A simple makeshift photo booth ~ as this has to be the darkest room in the house.

Remember that I'm working on new living room curtains????

I've bought three giant canvas drop cloths, washed and dried them and now split

them each in half to create two panels for each of the three windows in our living room.

Well...now I've had the bright idea to add my favorite Waverly toile to each panel

as an inside border!!! I already have this toile fabric in our living room

as a table topper to a large skirted table

so it will be wonderful to have it on the windows as well ~

Oh look!

The sewing corner doesn't look too bad....

Here's the pretty toile...they will be 4" bands in the inside edges of each panel ~

I managed to finish one panel...only five more to go!!!!

Thank you always for stopping by to see me!!

If you see an extra ad at the top of my post

please know I'm just trying to earn extra money

for my family ~

Wishing you a beautiful Friday and weekend as well!!!

hugs and love precious friends,

Dawn

I so love drop cloths ~

First, I have to share this beautiful image with you ~

I knew you would love it the minute I saw it in my gift package from Linda!!!

Click it a few times to enlarge, then save :)

If you've read my blog any at all,

you would know my fondness for drop cloth canvas and

the wonderful fabric that it is!

Well, this weekend I did it again.

I purchased three drop cloths to make curtains for our living room.

I know I will love them though because I love drop cloths!

I've already washed each one with detergent and fabric softener...then dried each one.

They do shrink a little but it so, so softens the fabric!!!!

I don't have any photos to share with you yet but

I do have these pics from a few years back in our last home ~

These were casually hung on wire that was wrapped around nails...

I hung them in the bay window of our dining room.

I loved the way the wire swags across the windows!

Plus, I just have to share these beautiful photos that Emily took of her gorgeous babies,

our beautiful grandbabies,

this past weekend!!!!

I'm also working on a few orders for friends....

Wishing you all such a wonderful Monday ~

hugs and love sweet friends,

Dawn

For the love of drop cloths!

I do love them you know....

I wash them with fabric softener and then the fabric is this

amazing nubby, speckled goodness that's sturdy as all get out!

I just finished two more flea bags.

Created from, you guessed it...drop cloths!

With a little bit of antique lace, toile lining, watch faces and button ~

these sweeties are ready to FLEA!

And you know what would be wonderful??
Add a few more goodies to these bags!!!
Buy a vintage rhinestone pin...as a sweet reminder of a fun antiquing day!
Or maybe a cluster of old millinery?
These bags are blank canvases and would be great to adorn
with little treasures of your fun antique jaunts ~


See more here....

I guess I love creating with this fabric because it's so sturdy.

I have this wish that years and years after I'm gone from this earth,

that the things I've made will be those treasures that are lasting and that

others will find at flea markets and antique malls....

new treasures to them but that have stood the test of time!

Have a beautiful fall Friday dear friends!!!

I treasure each and every one of you ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

For the love of dropcloths ~

You know I love them. Canvas dropcloths are absolutely wonderful!!!

I saw on Kari and Kijsa's blog where they created curtains with them too!!
Just click HERE to visit their blog to see more pics.......

I posted about my new dropcloth curtains HERE back last October and I STILL love them so ~
I washed the largest painter's canvas drop
cloth I could find and used fabric softener too!

Not only did I have enough for these curtains.....I had tons to use for my artwork too!!!!

Sweet Candice from The Jeweled Postcard purchased my Christmas Treasures Tutorial from Lessons from The Nest
(be sure to check it out....I'M HAVING A SALE ON MY TUTORIALS!!)
and posted about it HERE......I can't wait to see her beautiful creations!!! She makes such gorgeous jewelry ~ You've got to check out her Etsy store too!!

We're all such kindred spirits here, aren't we? Loving so many of the same things ~

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday my sweet friends ~
xxoo, Dawn