A precious gift ~

That's what it is you know.

A new year is such a wonderful gift!!!

And it's up to us to decide what we will do with this precious gift.

On this new year's eve I am so very thankful.

I'm thankful for the gift of each new day...week...month and year!

This new year is given to us to do with what we choose.

We can make this coming year wonderful, positive, healthy, productive,

loving, artistic, lucrative, caring and so much more...

IF we choose to, it's up to us.

What a precious gift this is!

So what shall we do with this brand new year???

Wishing you such an amazing year precious friends!!!

hugs and love,

Dawn

You know I love you, right?

I mean it.

Because of you...

because you appreciate my little creations...

buy my simple little tutorials...

I was able to purchase a NEW COMPUTER!!!

I'm so, so very grateful and thankful!

And oh.my.goodness, y'all...

IT IS FAST!!

I'd been using the same computer since 2008 and

just didn't realize how slow that baby had become.

I did have a back-up hard drive but hadn't backed it up in

years so I possibly have lost a ton of images and photos.

But I also purchased an encasement for that old hard drive

and my son is going to take it out,

put it in the new encasement and see if it will be accessible.

He's thinking it was the fan in the old one that blew.

Oh well, you don't care about all that!

But I still just wanted to thank all my friends and customers

for helping me get a new computer so I am back in business!

In other news...

We went to the North Georgia mountains last weekend

to visit my precious mama and daddy. Good grief I love it up there!

In the studio?

I'm working on a transformed treasure box!

I'm adding a beautiful antique image on the top and

embellishing with lace and trinkets.

I'll share soon!!

I hope you are doing so, so good!

Thank you always for stopping by to see me

sweet friends.

hugs and love,

Dawn

'Tis a sad day for this old blogger ~

It finally happened.

My good ol' faithful computer gave up the ghost last night.

I've been so, so sad all day.

For the past almost nine years I've been blogging and

used that wonderful old thing.

I had files on it from 2008!!!

I do have an external hard drive that I pray has been backed up

recently enough ~ so many photographs, images and files.

SO.

I need to be proactive and get busy generating some cash to buy a new tower.

I've decided to have a SALE in my Etsy store!

Everything is 25% OFF until further notice.

Simply type SAVE25 in the Coupon Code box when checking out

to receive 25% off your entire order.

Here is the link to my shop if you'd like to take a peek ~

MY ETSY SHOP

Now, to get busy making some new goodies to list!!!

And the precious elf/fairy shoes below were created using my tutorial

by a sweet blog friend and artist Jeanne Marie!

Photo courtesy of Jeanne Marie Ziegelman.

I guess I'd better stop pouting and get busy!!!

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

hugs and love,

Dawn

A few new precious offerings!

It's funny how easily we are sucked into everyday life stuff.

You know, laundry, cooking, cleaning, blah...blah...blah.

Yes, these things are very necessary but of course

and it takes us away from creating and doing what we really love!

But real life is real life and it takes front and center of course...

I finally made my way back into the studio and finished a few new projects!

Four treasure pockets that are ready to be filled with YOUR treasures.

I decided not to fill these because I want who purchases them to fill them

with THEIR keepsakes and things that they love.

These pieces were meant for you to pull out those wonderful treasured photos,

sweet old baby shoes, grandmother's favorite pin, a beautiful poem,

your mother's gloves when she was a little girl...you get the picture!

Fill these pockets with treasures so that you can see them each and every day!!!

It will give you joy and always bring back precious memories!

They are all listed here in my Etsy shop ~

I just received an order from my very favorite seam binding company!!!

Zipperstop!

I thought I'd share the colors I chose....

Should you place an order, please tell them that

The Feathered Nest sent you!!!

Sweet dreams angels ~

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday precious friends!

Hugs and love,

Dawn

Beautiful October ~

I love this month!!! It always brings back so many precious memories.

Do you have a time of year that does that for you?

Fall is that time for me.

I dated my precious husband and was engaged in the fall...

I was pregnant with most of my babies in the fall,

just waiting to see their sweet faces!

Plus I've always loved the changing leaves and in Georgia

we have a beautiful show from the trees.

Yes, I know this leads to much colder weather and winter,

but for just a very short, wonderful time we have the gift of fall!

I have to share something quite personal with you.

I've been on a mission to drop a few pounds.

I started June 28th eating low carb, low sugar and healthy!

Well.....

after just 14 weeks eating this way I have dropped 29 pounds!!!!

I feel so, so much better you just wouldn't believe!

But I still have a ways to go until I reach my goal but it's just such

a wonderful thing to be able to make better choices and control your health!!

Here is a little comparison...now don't laugh.

The "before" photo a friend had called my name and startled me

so I look like a deer caught in headlights!!!

The "after" photo is from last week...I'm so excited!

And so....I need to get my fanny back into the studio!

I want to create a few single treasure pockets to sell and 

a few other ideas ~

Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday precious friends!

hugs and love,

Dawn

Home is where you hang your ferns ~

Yes, I've used that title before here on the blog...

but I don't care, I love it!

It's been about three years now since I've enjoyed beautiful ferns

swinging on our front porch. It's so good to have them again.

To me they signify hospitality and southern charm and

I especially love my old wire planters that I plant them in.

I've also planted a few rose bushes!

It's rained about 400 days in a row now (exaggerating) and

the ground was wonderfully soft, so I bought three sticks

that claim they are roses and placed them in the ground.

We'll see if they grow! They are supposed to turn into

the gorgeous roses that are featured below.

Well...we'll see.

I've been playing around with a few fabrics to turn these

sweet pink mary jane's into pincushions.

I shoved this particular fabric into one to get an idea what it would look like.

You won't believe it but it's actually

a Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic fabric napkin from Target!

I love having little stashes of fabrics around my studio. I've had this one for years now

and you just never know when the perfect time to use it will be!

This is just a test, it is in no way finished.

I'm also working on my last two organizer orders!

I'll be sure to share photos of them before they mail out too.

I hope you are doing so very good and

that Spring has finally arrived to smile on your face.

Things are really good here and I'm so very thankful ~

Wishing you a beautiful day precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Happy Easter precious friends!

Wishing you a wonderful day of celebrating
with friends and family or
simply by remembering how much you are loved.

Our dear Lord loved us so very much
that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to this earth.....
to die for our sins....
then He arose from the dead three days later
to prove He truly is the Son of God!

Living He loved me,

dying He saved me,

buried He carried my sins far away.

Rising He justified,

freely forever,

someday He's coming...

O Glorious day!

~ J. Wilbur Chapman ~

Wishing you a blessed and very Happy Easter!

hugs and love,

Dawn

Simple joys ~

It doesn't take much to make me happy!

I love to find beauty in the small things.

The old, tattered and forgotten.

Today I received a simple, little doll dress in the mail from a friend.

It's old, stained, has a few holes but is absolutely PRECIOUS!

It got me to thinking about the simple things that bring us joy.

A tiny doll dress like the one below,

maybe a few blooms in water the first days of spring,

an old book with gorgeous illustrations,

a found bird's nest...

maybe a jar full of beautiful old buttons.

Finding the beauty in the simple things...

I just wanted to share a few of my joys with you ~

I hope you're having a beautiful weekend precious friends ~

hugs and love,

Dawn