Tiny fragments of nature under glass ~

I've been gathering tiny bits of nature for as long as I can remember.

It may be a small dried flower, acorn caps, twigs or moss,

it doesn't matter to me.

I think that they all are so beautiful!

I just finished a few specimen tubes filled with some

of these little natural elements.

The swirl of text embedded inside is simply a torn strip

from a very old botany book!

These tubes can be displayed hanging on a cabinet knob,

hook or even the switch of a lamp.

And of course, everything is more beautiful under glass!!!

All have been listed in my Etsy store now too!

And this little piece is finished too!

The glass jar measures a mere 4" high buy about 4" wide.

Gathered inside is a precious tiny nest with speckled eggs,

bark, moss and a sprinkling of other small nature elements.

I just love small things and this little nest assemblage turned out wonderful!

Also listed in my Etsy store ~

And one last little bitty thing.

This is a sweet hummingbird's nest that

was given to me by a friend and I simply adore it!

Wishing you a wonderful rest of the week dear friends and

thank you always for stopping by to see me!

Hugs and love,

Dawn

Make something beautiful...it's soothing to the soul!

Creating beautiful things can be such wonderful therapy!

I've made a few pretty things lately and creating always soothes my soul.

A bird's nest assemblage on a tray and I'm making sweet

dried roses test tube ornaments!

All are listed in my Etsy store ~

Here are a few photos:

And this is the condition of my work table today!

So many different elements but I'm filling glass test tubes with

gorgeous dried roses.

This one is listed in the store...but I'm working on more.

Why does everything look so much more beautiful under glass???

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

hugs and love,

Dawn

A tiny treasure ~

I've always loved small things,

I can't help it!

I found several tiny drawers a while back and

had to buy them.

I think they must be from an old jewelry chest

or something because

they aren't too tiny but are very small.

ANYWAY...

I created a teeny nest assemblage inside one of the drawers.

It stands a mere 4 3/4" tall ~

First it was painted then antiqued and lined...

and then I added
a store-bought nest inside.

I embellished it with the smallest speckled eggs and

fluffy feathers as well.

A dear friend of mine purchased this and I so hope

that she loves it!!!!

I lined the interior of the drawer with beautiful birch bark wrapping paper

that I found at TJ Maxx....

the tiny pieces of the puzzle come together to create

a precious keepsake for my dear friend!!!

Wishing you a beautiful Tuesday,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Nature inspired ~

I always forget how much I love creating assemblage art!!

And if it involves birds and elements of nature...

I love it even more!

I just finished the pocket assemblage and am really pleased

with how it turned out ~

A layer of wonderful unique paper and

a print of the bird antique sheet music turned

out to be the perfect back drop for this nature gathering.

All the components are nestled inside THE BACK

of an 11" x 14" stretched canvas.

Even an old drawer pull embellishes the top!

Now I want to go make more luggage pockets and put them on everything!!

I just listed this nature assemblage in my Etsy store if you'd like to take a look ~

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

I cherish your comments and you just don't realize

how much you truly inspire me....

Have a beautiful Wednesday dear friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

I always seem to forget ~

And just what do I forget, you ask???

How wonderful I feel when I make something!!!

I have a new "creed", "mantra" or purpose this spring ~

make something beautiful....every. single. day!!!

So here is my current offering and new artwork.....

Remember my recent giveaway?

I just had to try to recreate it

as I loved making it and

how it turned out ~

And you can find it in my shoppe too!!!

Be sure to double click my photos to see more detail ~

Another piece I finished is a petite nature assemblage

housed inside of an old wooden box!

It's tiny but oh-so-detailed....

and it's in the shoppe too!

Yes, I do laundry (when folks are moaning :)

Yes, I try to cook my family a tasty dinner every evening.

And yes, I do try to keep this old place clean.

But girls,

making these treasures

TRULY makes me SMILE!!!!

Have a beautiful Wednesday my sweet friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

Let's have some fun girls!!

I am SO excited!!!
My sweet friend Tammy of The Other Side of Me has asked me
to teach classes in her wonderful studio!

I will be teaching how to create my Nest Assemblage at Tammy's
Blue Sky Studio Saturday, September 18th!!!!!!

All supplies will be provided for you,
a wonderful place to create in,
a delicious lunch and yummy snacks....
and the best thing of all????
A chance for us to all be together and enjoy creating!!!!

You can visit the Blue Sky Studio blog.....
and you can sign up for the class
HERE!!!
I can't wait to meet you ~







A little giveaway news.....

Marie of Lost Bird Studio is celebrating her
100th Post with a giveaway HERE!!!!!



Have a wonderful Monday dear friends,
hugs and love,
Dawn

New tutorials in the shop!!

Hi sweet friends!!!
I just wanted to let you know that I've added both of these tutorials
to the Lessons from The Nest shop for only FIVE dollars each ~

You will receive a PDF file attached to an email
that can be saved to your own computer.
You can also print out the file and
have it by your side while creating the project.

These tutorials are a great way to
"get your feet wet" and start creating!!!!

Nest Baby Assemblage Tutorial

Sweet Snowman Ornament Tutorial

Thank you so much for stopping by to see me!!
hugs and love,
Dawn

So much to share...

How are you doing this lovely fall Friday?
I hope that you are just wonderful ~

I wanted to share with you some precious old shoes
that I purchased from Barb at Treasures from The Heart.
I've always wanted a pair of these antique button up childrens shoes ~
These have plenty of wear and that makes me love them even more!!!
Barb is so creative, look at the precious tiny nest she made me, I love it ~
And the gorgeous tag ~ it's so beautiful,
I will treasure everything sweet friend....

Kathy from Creative Home Expressions just purchased
a couple of cartons of The Feathered Nest egg soaps
and you've got to see how she's displayed them....
JUST CLICK HERE TO SEE :)
Thank you so much Kathy, they look so lovely in your home ~

Tina at Cherry Hill Cottage has posted
the most AMAZING Chicken Salad recipe.....
I can't wait to try this because I love
grapes and nuts in chicken salad ~ yummmmmm
CLICK HERE TO SEE IT!

And lastly....my two Artist Class submissions:

The Little Snowman Ornament
Beginning Paper Clay

The Nest Baby
Assemblage Art

This Artist Class is an online project classroom with
a variety of projects by a variety of artists.

It will take place over a 4 week period , on a members only blog.
Daily posts will include instructions for one dozen individual projects
plus a variety of bonus downloads, tips, and techniques.

Students will receive quantity and quality:
Beautiful projects and great information
designed to get the creative juices going
as well as introduction to new skills.


Class categories include:

*Paper Arts

*Fabric & Fiber Arts

*Jewelry Making

*Digital Art

*10 Minute Projects

*Holiday Themes

*Gift Ideas

*Student Ideas

*Free Images

*Supplies

*Techniques

The Artist Class will take place on a members-only blog from
October 25 thru November 21st
The blog itself will have continued access thru January.

Registration begins on October 15th
The price of the Artist Class is $59.00
If you sign up for the class through me,
you will receive a $10.00 discount off of the class fee,
making the cost $49.00.

My discount code will be
thefeatherednest OR featherednest

SIGN UP HERE TO JOIN THE FUN!

I can't believe I'm making snowmen!!
Christmas will be here in the blink of an eye ~

Thank you always for stopping by to see me,
for reading what I have to say...
Wishing you a wonderful Friday dear friends,
hugs and love,
Dawn

Why does making stuff feel so good??

I don't know exactly why, but it does! Maybe it's that creative spirit we have within us and when we actually listen and act on it ~ it's truly satisfying!

I've said many times too that creativity doesn't have to be just cranking out artwork. It's making a tasty dinner for your family, creating a beautiful, inviting home or even being a wonderful gift-giver and know what someone loves. You can be creative in so many aspects of your life!

I started on my giveaway gift ~ My son, Brad, had given me several of these beautiful boxes that are shaped like books. Well, you know this was my very favorite with the egg print on the outside! I've made one of these before for a giveaway and thought it'd be fun to make another.

I'll turn the inside into an assemblage and it will be hiding inside of the book!

It had a velvety type liner inside and I just ripped that right out. I gave the inside a quick coat of white gesso to give it a bright backdrop for my sheet music lining.

I used old pages of sheet music and cut them to size to cover the entire inside ~ just measure, and use one of those sliding paper cutters ~ that way you get a nice straight cut. I dry fit it all to make sure that everything is the right size.

Next I've coated the inside with a coat of acrylic matte gel medium and adhered each piece one by one. Then I coated over top of the music as well! It dries to a nice matte finish that I love.

I'll share the next few steps in my next post as I do them!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I ran across this beautiful old photo album that I've had awhile ~ now I want to make it into something! It's such a wonderful size ~ I would love to turn it into an altered book/journal of sorts. Don't you love the font that is used on the work Photographs?









A precious cupid image for you :)





My goodness, the comments that you all have left me on the giveaway post are just AMAZING!!! Thank you so, so very much for each and every kind word ~ I know 800 posts is alot in just 2 years but it's because I've truly enjoyed the cycle of inspiration that is found here in blogland. It's also why I encourage so many others to blog as well. To show their talents and be lifted up, to comment on other bloggers creations and just to join this sweet community of friends.

I guess there's so much negativity and bad stuff in this world today that it's wonderful to find such goodness here in blogland ~

Wishing you a very happy Tuesday dear friends!

xxoo, Dawn