It's time my friends...time to LET GO OF THE WONDERFUL!!!

So...here's the deal.

I'm going through my amazing hoard...and listing TONS of stuff!!!

It's really time.

I've not been very creative lately but have SO many wonderful things!

Why not pass my found treasures on to another artist???

This is just a FRACTION of my hoard so stay tuned my precious friends!!!

Keep tuning into my little Etsy store HERE.

What else have I been up to?

Hmmmm, let's see.

My precious mother-in-law had a birthday SO

I wanted to make a wonderful gift basket for her!!!

Bedroom shoes to keep her feet cozy,

a fuzzy throw to keep her warm this winter,

hand wash and hand lotion,

yummy smelling soap,

the most wonderful smelling candle,

a coffee mug and since she loves wearing silver,

a container of silver jewelry cleaner!

SHE LOVED IT ALL!!! SCORE!

ALSO...I've been working on some wonderful lavender sachets!

They are for a precious friend of mine that will be a vendor

in the Country Living Fair here in Atlanta!!!

EEEEK!

My little handmades will be sold there!!!

Finishing them up this week for her.

And so it goes, this simple life of mine.

Thank you always for taking a peek inside!!!

Wishing you so much goodness and love,

xxoo,

Dawn

A clean, fresh face!!!

That's what this feels like!!!

Like I've washed off tons of make-up and

my face is now fresh and sparkly clean!

I've been wanting to clean this ol' blog up

for SO LONG and I finally did it!

I hope that it loads faster for you all now too.

Please let me know if it does, OK??

I may clean it up even more, we'll see.

But for now I just love it!!!

And in other news....

You have GOT to see what I found at the thrift last week!!!

A 100.00 Rowenta ironing board for only...

wait for it...

12.00!!!

Can you believe that?

Then I found the perfect cover on Amazon for just 14.00.

It is rock solid and has a HUGE ironing surface.

It's the simple things that make me happy!!!

And lastly, I have a new hair cut and just thought I'd share it with you!!!

Hahaha!

And yes...I'm in my moo moo here...but who cares ~

Having your hair done always makes you feel amazing!

Wishing you a beautiful weekend precious friends!!

hugs and love,

Dawn

Snippets of loveliness ~

The other day I pulled out a blank canvas wanting to make something new.

It was a simple 11 x 14 canvas that I simply layered with

snippets of loveliness!

I started by gluing on a piece of vintage linen to the base.

Raw edges were exposed, it didn't matter either.

I wanted it to have more of a loose feel.

Then I began layering things.

I ripped pieces of a gorgeous Ralph Lauren sheet that I love.

(That is the vintage roses fabric you see peeking through the lace!)

I cut the bottom off of a precious old baby dress.

The scallops and embroidery were perfect!

Plus the pale pink shade was beautiful with the colors

in the ripped sheet pieces.

At first I don't glue a thing.

Well, except for the base fabric covering the canvas.

But after that I begin playing.

Put this on, look at it...remove it and try something else.

I keep doing this until I love what I see.

Of course it helps to have a gorgeous image

as the focal point in the center!!!

Below is a photo of my work in progress ~

And finally, when I KNOW it's right, I glue everything into place!

Below is my finished piece.

I happened to show a work-in-progress photo on my Facebook page

and it sold right away before it was finished.

After the photo below was taken,

I added about five mother of pearl buttons to the pretty piece

of pink ribbon and lace across the bottom.

Sometimes it just needs one more beautiful element!

I have to share some recent thrift store finds with you!!

Both of the chairs that I've placed in front of our fireplace

were found for only 15.00 each!!!

Now that Spring has arrived, the fireplace is out of commission

so why not pile in a few more chairs for extra seating?

This past month on March 21st, my sweet husband and I celebrated

our 35th wedding anniversary!

I created a sweet collage of us and our precious sons...

We celebrated the day with our son Brad and

had lunch at a classic Atlanta restaurant,
Mary Mac's Tea Room
(ohmygoodness, SO DELICIOUS!)
#marymacstearoom #marymacs

and then we had an afternoon of touring

a beautiful Atlanta cemetery

and enjoyed a little bit of antiquing and junkin!!!

It really was such a fun day!!!

I've got to share this photo of the wisteria that 

grows wild near our old farmhouse ~

Spring has definitely arrived here in Georgia!!!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend

precious friends!!!

hugs and love,

Dawn

Altered inspiration!

I ran across this photo today on Facebook ~

You know how it will share your old posts and memories with you?

This was from a year ago today and I love it!

The morning light was streaming in across a door in my studio

where I've hung pretty little treasures that inspire me ~

I love seeing and displaying wonderful things that make me smile!

Surround yourself with what you love

and you truly WILL be inspired!

I finally finished my altered treasure box!

Yes, I used a favorite graphic of mine and I know you've seen it before

but I can't help myself...

I love it!

The box was primed, painted and lightly antiqued.

Then I added the graphic to the top and began embellishing.

Trying to decide what lace or trim to use is always the fun part.

It has to work perfectly with the color, size and scale of my project.

Finally I had to finish up with a pretty seam binding bundle and rhinestone bauble.

It sold quickly right from my Facebook page as I tend to share

my artwork in progress there.

I lined the inside the most beautiful antiqued gold paper

and then added a lace band in the lid

so old photographs or other ephemera could be tucked in and held safely.

By the way, here is a little "before" shot.

It was pretty to begin with but I knew I could elevate it just a bit!

I actually got out the other day and went antiquing too!!!

It was 65 degrees and sunny here in Georgia so it was perfect.

As I pulled into the parking lot of a local antique mall,

look at what I saw!!!!

Isn't it wonderful???

It even has fun little curtains hanging inside.

It's a 1977 Volkswagen Van in gorgeous condition!

This one's a little blurry but I loved this gorgeous piece.

I'm not sure what it is but it was beautiful.

Yes, one of those tails came home with me. I love the weirdest things!

My little pile of treasures! Not much but carefully chosen.

Now to start a new project ~

What to do, what to do...

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

hugs and love,

Dawn

Sweet, small and pretty ~ perfect for this old farmhouse!

I finally finished painting our new dining room table!

Apparently I had forgotten how much I despise painting furniture.

I guess because I have painted way too many pieces in the past,

especially when I had my antique store.

This just reminded me what a drag it is!

But I really am pleased with the result.

And since the table itself was less that forty dollars

I guess I shouldn't complain!

I was going to paint the chairs as well but

I kind of like the look of them the way they are.

They look good with the wall color and

since my goose is cooked with painting furniture,

I think I'll just enjoy the contrast!

I've also found a few more junkin' treasures lately

so I thought it would be fun to share a few with you ~

First, this wasn't found at the thrift store but Hobby Lobby

has their glass items 50% off this week and

I had this wonderful Southern Living at Home cake stand...

(yes, I used to sell the stuff)

So I thought a beautiful glass cloche would be perfect resting on top!
I measured the diameter of the cake plate top before I left home
and it just so happened that they had the perfect sized glass dome!

Now to decide what to display inside.

That's the fun part!!!

UPDATE!
I'm sure I'll be changing this display frequently but
here is my first attempt.
I still need to add a little bit more greenery!

PLUS...here are a few treasures from the thrift store that I've found
in the last month or so:

A beautiful throw that matches our leather living room furniture...

less than three dollars!

It's been laundered and ready for getting cozy.

One gorgeous damask curtain (still less that three dollars) that is just waiting

to be transformed into something new!!

I love washing my finds as soon as I get home...

A pretty tuxedo style blouse that is wonderfully long...5 bucks and some change!

A neat little knitted pouch/purse for 4 bucks and change...

great for a flea market when you don't want to carry your big purse!

It even still had the original tag on it!!!

Two brand new, in package, full muslin cotton sheets that I washed and bleached.

Each one was just over a dollar a piece.

What will I do with them?

I don't know yet but when I think of it, I'll have them!!!

This was such a sweet find ~

A vintage child's butterfly collecting kit!!!

I just love it all...

But really.

Do they have to write the price in grease pencil right on the wood???

I need to figure out how to remove it.

But you can see what a deal it was!!!

And I recently found THIS at the thrift...
the best thing BY FAR that I've ever, ever discovered.

For a mere 5 bucks and change
an original MAGNOLIA PEARL blouse!!!
I absolutely LOVE IT!

Neat, huh???

Me at my happy place!!!

So, that's a few of my found goodies...

the hunt is always so much fun!

Now that I'm finished with the dining room

it's time to get back into my studio

and make a few pretties.

Hmmmm, what shall I make???

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

Hugs and love,

Dawn