A few new goodies in progress and a wonderful link!

Well, I've finally gotten off my behind and

started on a few more journal slipcovers!!!

I've had a request from a dear friend for one so...

of course I thought, why not grab a few more pretty fabrics and make some extras???

Hopefully they will be in my Etsy in a day or so ~

Do you like the fabrics?

On the far left is a gorgeous pink vintage roses fabric cut from a curtain!

Next a wonderful tan and cream ticking....

Next, one of my fav fabrics EVER! I use it all the time,

Waverly Country Life cream and tan toile.

and lastly, at the request of my sweet friend Dottie,

another one like my last one,

Waverly Norfolk Rose fabric ~

And I just HAVE to share this wonderful idea with you.

This is such a precious idea to me...

You could use a box you adorned, a jar, whatever!!!!

She provides printables as well that you can write on ~

Just go look. It made me cry!!!

Here's the LINK from A Holy Experience.

(photo from aholyexperience.com)

I hope you are doing so good...

Happy Thursday angels ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

It's time for a few new projects!

I've decided we need drapes in our living room.

They will help keep this old farmhouse warm this winter and

we've had some chilly nights as of late!

I've had this wonderful fabric for years now...

gorgeous decorator fabric and a huge 12 yard cut!

So...rather than going out and buying new fabric

I thought, why not use what I have?

I know that the popular choice is neutrals, creams and such

but I still love this beautiful botanical fabric.

I'm going to create a couple of panels

for each window...so wish me luck!!!

I forgot to share this wonderful tote bag

I found on clearance the other day at Hobby Lobby!!!

It's was marked down to about six bucks....

I love how aged it looks!

You can barely see the printed "France" and logo on the front ~

The blue striped lining made it even more irresistible!!!

While at Hobby Lobby the other day, I found the neatest lined laundry basket...

yes, it was in the clearance section but I kept telling myself,

you have five of those willow baskets at home!!!

So I hope to sew a simple linen liner in one and then fill it with

some of my antique lace. Just so I can dig and dig fast!!!

Making my supplies visible helps me so much in the creative process.

I found this treasure while Christmas shopping a few weeks ago.

It is a beautiful table runner!!!

But me, being the crazy girl I am...

I want to make some wonderful things from one simple runner.

Maybe lavender sachets for my Etsy?

We'll see!!!

Seems like the new year has me reeling with ideas!!!!

And you know I'll share what I actually get accomplished with you too!

Wishing you a beautiful Wednesday precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Working on a few new things ~

I love the process of gathering elements that I think

will work together in an art piece ~

I found this luggage pocket the other day,

I had used color remover on it (you know, from Rit Dye)

and it turned the most beautiful blond color.

(I can't remember the former color either!)

Well, I've been meaning to make another piece

with this wonderful woman's image that I love

so the process has begun.

I took a few photos just to give you an idea of what

I'm thinking of. Maybe fill the pocket with beautiful

items she may love????

Then I became obsessed with these sweet little peat pots

that I have ~ they are only about 2 1/2" tall but I want transform

them into precious little tree ornament baskets to hold candies ~

We'll have to see how they turn out,

you just never know when an idea will bottom out on you!!!

I hope all is going so good in your world ~

Wishing you a beautiful Wednesday dear friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

A tiny idea ~

All of the stores have so many gorgeous Christmas decorations, right?

Well, when you go shopping the day after Christmas
(or even earlier than that)

and all of those beautiful goodies are half off or even more ~

think a little outside the box!!

Look at things differently to see

if they would work for you in the studio ~

Look at these decorations as art supplies!

I found this gorgeous pearl garland at

Hobby Lobby half off this week!!!

I'm going to stash it away in the studio ~

don't you think it would be beautiful on a collage???

I love you all so much ~

I can't believe tomorrow is already Christmas eve!!!

Happy Thursday precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Can old, speckled linens be art?

I bought these hankies quite a while ago.
They have age spots, speckles and have turned a pretty ecru color. They've never been removed from the packaging either! The folds are still tacked down to the backing and are just as crisp as ever ~ I'm not sure if I'm going to use them in this particular piece but I am sure that they are art.....
and deserve to be displayed....
....simply for the love of old ~

A new addition to the studio ~ wonderful paper lanterns!!! I found them a Walmart in the garden section. I'm not too crazy about the dark green cord but I'm thinking I may make some of those scrunchie covers ~ how about from aged gauze?

My wall of babies ~ and I have room for more!

I'm still gathering some goodies to take with me Friday to the art class......millinery flowers,

odds and ends,

images, sheet music, pretty papers, ribbons, buttons, twine

and of course my tid-bit box.....
you can read about that HERE ~

Well, it's been a week since Noah's accident and thank goodness we've got that week under our belt!! He has improved greatly and the pain is finally starting to subside. He only had to have pain medication Tuesday morning when he woke up and late Tuesday evening when he went to bed! His school is being so amazing about it all. They were having CRCT testing this week and they've had someone come to the house to personally give it to him.

Thank you all so much for your sweet prayers and well wishes for him ~ we are so very blessed.

May is tiptoeing around the corner....this year is flying by!
Treasure your moments, these are the good ol' days ~

Wishing you a great Wednesday dear friends ~
xxoo, Dawn

My wanna-be lightbox plusa couple of garden inspired ideas ~

I thought I'd give you an idea of what I'm working on. Well, for one several orders that I have for artwork, but also I'm trying hard to create a well-lit environment to take photographs. I've used foam core boards, cut openings in the boards and taped in vellum to soften the light. My problem is that I don't have the correct wattage for the bulbs (they need to be "outdoor cool" too) and really I don't have enough lights period. I'll get it right soon I hope!!

I've decided to document several of my art projects with step-by-step photographs, typed instructions and also the images to use in the project as well. I'll combine all of these into one tutorial file that will be soon available for purchase! I'd like to start another blog just to list these on . . . does this sound like a good idea to you? What's so wonderful about these instructions is that I can email them quickly so you can get started right away!!

Can you get what my first tutorial is going to be?

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A few more neat ideas from one of my notebooks ~

First, a spray paint technique to duplicate aged iron. What's good about this is you can't really mess it up! It's supposed to be irregular looking.

I love urns. They're always elegant and gorgeous to me. This is a great idea. I've seen them filled with ice and used as drink chillers too. How beautiful to use several large urns at a wedding filled with ice and small water bottles!

I love the garden bench brought inside the house. It's unexpected... Plus look at the shutters behind the desk to display things on. A calendar and inspiration board would be perfect on those.

How about this garden gate displayed on a mantle! This is beautiful to me. And the table created from glass and a birdbath. Once I made one of these to sell in the antique store but used a giant concrete urn, filled it with crumpled paper, topped it with sheet moss, a bird's nest and little eggs. The glass was placed over top! It really turned out pretty and just the right height for an end table.

Just a few photos to get you thinking!!

Have a great Thursday!!

xxoo, Dawn

Free images for you & a little inspiration ~

Sunday was a very productive day for me ~ housecleaning while DH took the boys to a movies is always a good thing! I love doing that while no one's home for some reason. I usually sprinkle a few tablespoons of lavender on the carpet right before I vacuum to help the house smell nice. It was cloudy and rainy so I lit a few candles to make it smell even better! Plus, I had tons of laundry to do, uggh. My least favorite thing but so very necessary.

It didn't leave me a lot of time for creating today but I've started on a few projects for JoAnnA at Moss Hill Studio and haven't quite completed them enough to show them yet.

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This first botanical is one that I bought awhile ago and just love. I took it out of the frame to clean it and thought I'd scan it for you too!

This next scan is from my collection from Corey at Tongue in Cheek ~ I love the stains . . . I should have given you this one before the Fourth!

A beautiful postcard back from Corey too ~ don't you love the handwriting?

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These next three photos are clips from my idea books ~ I love little ideas. Just small little touches can make things special. Look at these terra cotta pots grouped together and used as a centerpiece ~ the bottoms are casually dipped in paint to add a special touch!

This is another idea I LOVE! I've made these before and sold them ~ chicken wire placed inside of a beautiful old frame ~ just use a staple gun to pull it tight ~ and clip beautiful images, artwork, photos or even fabric swatches and use it as an inspiration board. It could even be a message center in your kitchen!

This particular photo just looks beautiful to me. Elegant but comfortable all at the same time. Have you ever washed damask upholstery fabric before? It puffs up and has the look that's on this chair. I love it!! It has that "lived in look" but still so very pretty.

Just a few little ideas and images for you. I hope that your Monday is a great one!!

xxoo, Dawn