Sometimes I lose my way ~

It's true.

I lose my way, my juju, my muse and simply want to kick myself.

Do you ever feel that way?

I've been trying to look through books, magazines and Pinterest

to gain a little inspiration for creativity though.

Hopefully it will help!!

I do want to share something I made recently

and am still in love with it!!!

It has sold to a dear friend but I still wanted to

share it here.

It's quite simple really.

And old divided drawer or box...

I added gorgeous antique ledger paper pieces to the back...

Then added beautiful dried blooms and botanicals inside

each section, each one secured carefully.

The back has a hanger that applied to it and

a few silk strands have been added to the top.

Sometimes simplicity is beautiful.

I hope you're having a wonderful summer sweet friends, stay cool!!!

Hugs and love,

Dawn

Creating a little magic in the studio!

I've always loved fairies.

I love the idea of them existing,

watching over nature and living

in their magical woodland homes!

So for my latest project I decided to alter a wooden

house purchased at the craft store into a whimsical fairy house ~

Here's what I purchased at Hobby Lobby!

Not too special but a perfect piece for me to embellish.

I began by base painting it with normal acrylic paints in the little bottles.

After painting I wanted to age it a bit

and created a mossy wash and also a brown wash

to give it an older look, especially around the windows

and in the crevices.

I found a great cigar box to use as a platform and painted it as well.

Next I began adding all different kinds of natural elements.

I've been gathering these goodies for years!!

Some items are store bought like some of the moss and little wood cuts

but a lot is gathered from our yard right here at home.

Three different roof styles made it so much more charming and interesting!

A thatched roof was created from unwound jute, glued in overlapping layers.

One roof is created from pieces of pine cones and mosses.

And lastly, the other roof was made from river birch bark and

other bark pieces with lichen.

The more that was added, the more I loved it!!!

It's funny when you begin working on something like this.

You sometimes have to reel yourself in and decide

when it's time to stop.

So here is my finished piece!!!

I'm so pleased with how this fairy house turned out!!!

This sweetie has been now added to my Etsy store ~

Wouldn't it be a perfect gift for a nature lover?

~ PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VISIT ~

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

hugs and love,

Dawn

Sweet spring ~

I don't know exactly when it happens.

One day you are shivering and looking for cozy throws

then slowly but surely

the temperature climbs to a wonderful level

and then you REALIZE something!

It feels like spring!!!

We've been having beautiful, mild weather

for the past few days here in Georgia.

It's such a nice change and always welcome.

Believe me, we cherish our delightful 70 degree weather.
Here in Georgia we relish each and every minute of it
because we will blink and

it will be boiling and 90 degrees before we know it!!!

Well, I think these beautiful days have inspired me.

I actually created a new piece of artwork!!!

It's been quite a while since I made an assemblage.

I had this precious little birds nest that

I'd purchased in a ziploc baggy

at an antique store.

I kept staring at it knowing it should be the feature

of a new nature assemblage.

Here's what I came up with!

Isn't it funny how something as simple as the weather

can inspire us to create?

You can find my new piece in

my etsy store if you'd like to take a peek!!!

I hope life is treating you good ~

As always, thank you so much for stopping by

to see what I'm up to around here!!

hugs and love,

Dawn

Creating is always, always good!

I managed to park myself in my studio and make a little something new!!!

I've had this beautiful box for years and finally creating something inside ~

my newest nature assemblage!

I just love using nests in my artwork...speckled eggs...

and gathering as many other natural elements to

add to the assemblages.

Here it is!! Fresh from the studio:

I found the most amazing birch bark printed paper and used it

to line the interior of the box...

I choose each and every element carefully and play with the placement until I'm happy.

Each feather is placed strategically in the nest

to enhance the clutch of speckled eggs ~

You can find this piece in my Etsy shop if you'd like to take a peek!!

Thank you so much for stopping by to see me and

always for your sweet comments!!!

hugs and love,

Dawn

Isn't it so funny...

just how our minds work?!

After completing that last assemblage

I couldn't wait to make another one!!

My supplies were all still laying around so....

I've had this wonderful, old wooden box for years.

I've displayed treasures inside and placed in on our mantle,

moved it around here and there just knowing that one day

it should become an assemblage.

Well, today was the day!

It has been raining non-stop here in GA

so all of our Fourth of July plans were cancelled.

So since we were at home, my husband wanted to cook us

a wonderful meal to celebrate and I ended up

heading to the studio to play ~

Here are the results:

I just love the small size of the precious old wooden box!

Can you believe it's only about 5 3/4" tall by 4" wide??

I love the joinery of the ends to the sides...

And I guess the man that previously owned this neat old box

added the screws to frame up a small cardboard box

to help organize things ~ I left all that as-is.

Because really, that's what made me love it so!!!

I lined the inside with the pages of a great old bird book I have and

added several beautiful elements of nature.

Now, this lowly old wooden box has been transformed

into an assemblage....

"A Nature Study"

I just added it to my Etsy shop if you'd like to take a look!

I so hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July!

We'll be celebrating the Fourth Saturday if it will stop raining long enough.

These weather extremes from one side

of the country to the other are crazy!!!

Wishing you a beautiful weekend dear friends ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

Something new from the studio ~

Do you ever make something that you LOVE?

When I make these nature assemblages...

it's truly HARD to part with them

because they strike a chord with me.

This is one of those shadow boxes you find at the thrift.

It has three sections and they usually have these fake little

potted flowers in each section ~ I know you've seen them.

Well, I've had this one for YEARS.

And I'd even ripped the stuff out a long time ago too!

But I finally made my way to it and decided it was time to

transform it into what it was meant to be.

A simple assemblage.

Filled with beautiful fragments of nature...
gathered specimens...
and wonderful elements from the wood.

You can see the shadow box part in the photo below...

I've just listed this piece in my Etsy store!

Well dear friends, we have another week ahead of us....
what shall we do next???
I hope you can carve out a little creative time just for YOU



Wishing you a great Monday precious friends,
hugs and love,
Dawn

Inspired by Nature ~

It seems I can't help myself....

I always return to beautiful elements of nature

when it comes to creating artwork!

I finally finished this new piece too ~

Here are a few pics...it was quite hard to photograph

because of the reflection on the glass covering the assemblage...

Whew!!! This one wore me out!!!

But it is so good to see an idea

come to fruition....

I just added it to my Etsy store if you like to take a look there!

I hope you are doing so good...and thank you very much for

taking to time to stop by here, I always appreciate your visit

and cherish your comments!!!

Have a wonderful day precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn