Lost n' found ~

Another sunset to share with you....

we've been having so many gorgeous evenings lately!!!

So what was lost then found???

My pressed flowers!!!

We've lived here almost a year now (the end of Sept.)

and I stashed it away and haven't been able to find it this whole time ~

Finally, today I ran across it!!

Look at how teeny this fern is...I placed a pin beside it to give you an idea of it's size.

These are African violet blooms....I know I've shown you these before ~

 Here's a variety of flowers, nothing fancy ~

I love the texture of these....

I picked a hydrangea bloom and wanted to see if I could press pieces of it...

The color is fading on these but I love them so ~

Do you know what this is? I found it growing in our flower bed!

It's a little meaty to press but I have to try ~

My wonderful and fabulous flower press...a big ol' yellow pages book!

Have you heard of this store?

Our son Brad just loves it and he found me a few treasures here this past weekend ~

I guess their Spring items are on clearance and he bought me this set of three nests!!!

They are pine needles held together with something...I just love them ~

And what am I doing in the studio right now?

I've had a few commission jobs to work on

and one is a sweet little charm

for a friend ~

I love using these microscope slides but they are very tricky to cut smaller...

The charm holds an old photograph of Pam's father ~

she lost him several years ago but wanted to have charm

to wear in memory of him...

I'm a little rusty with the soldering but it came out pretty good!

It's only 1" x 1", teeny, right? :)

I need to get these projects completed (finishing my flea bag is next!)

so I can get the studio cleaned up for

Where Blogger's Create this Friday!!!!

I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday precious friends ~

hugs and love,

Dawn

You know I love to share stuff with you . . .

I wanted to give you a little glimpse of my seam binding collection.

I am so in love with Zipperstop.com
and I think they know me by my first name!!!

What I wanted to share with you is
a little bit about their beautiful color selection.

I can only hope that it helps you when you order yours :)

First a few photos.....

(Remember to click any photo below TWICE
to enlarge as big as possible)

Pretty, huh???

Well, I've tried to describe the colors just a little bit below.

First you will see the name of the color from Zipperstop....

Then you will see my take on the color ~
remember, this is just my opinion, OK :)

I hope this helps if you've been wondering about the different shades.....

OH, and are you needing the perfect fall rust/orange for your

fall and halloween projects?

LONDON TAN is perfect!
 

If you should order a roll (or two)....

Please tell them, The Feathered Nest sent you!!!!!!

I have found the most beautiful tutorial for you!!!!

Lynn of Her Creative Spirit has shared on her blog

how to create these gorgeous bookmarks.....

Think outside the box on these too sweet friends ~

you know I adore all things nature inspired....

but what else could we sandwich between these layers????

Wishing you a most wonderful Monday precious friends,

hugs and love,

Dawn

The beauty of botanicals ~

Why do I love these so?
They're simply old, dried up flowers and leaves.
But to me they have a timeless beauty....
Wouldn't they be gorgeous framed in simple
black frames grouped together on a wall?
Or maybe used in your collage artwork
or even as a transparent texture in your digital art?

I've scanned each and every page
of this gorgeous herbarium ~
and they are all for purchase
for one price
HERE in my shoppe!



I'm still cleaning the studio....it's REALLY a mess!!!
Wishing you an amazing Tuesday dear friends ~
hugs and love,
Dawn

Do you see the simple, classic beauty?

It seems I always return to nature for inspiration.
The beauty of nature is classic and timeless.
When I create a piece of artwork that is nature inspired,
I love thinking that in maybe ten years or so,
it would still be enjoyed for it's classic style.

Below, a cutting I pressed, backed by burlap and then scanned for you...
Feel free to use this if you'd like!!

A few quotes I've gathered too,
feel free to take these as well sweet friends....
Just click image, then click it again to fully enlarge
then right click and select "save image as" ~

Wishing you a beautiful Wednesday dear friends!!
hugs and love,
Dawn

Preserving the beauty of nature ~

After I freshened our antique space last Thursday,
I took a walk around the antique mall to see what treasures I can find
for my own stash!!
I did find a wonderful jar of buttons, and I fell in love with the jar just
as much as the buttons ~
I found another great old photograph that I plan on scanning for you....
But the most amazing find of all was something that I've always wanted ~
and antique herbarium!!!!

What is a herbarium?

Main Entry: her·bar·i·um
Pronunciation: \ˌ(h)ər-ˈber-ē-əm\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural -ia\-ē-ə\

Date: 1776

1 : a collection of dried plant specimens usually mounted and systematically arranged for reference.

Also see THIS LINK to read a little more about herbariums.

Some may have a hard time seeing the beauty
of old dried up plants sewn to paper and then pressed
but I think that they are just wonderful!!
The date on these sheets is 1898!!!
So these specimens are one hundred and twelve years old!!!

The collection was a little pricey so at first
I only purchased five sheets
(the pages were sold separately, as they were not bound)
but after realizing that this amazing collection
should not be split up,
I called the antique mall and asked them to hold the rest for me
and my sweet husband picked the remainder up for me Friday!!

I don't plan on using the originals in my artwork
but would love to scan each page so I could use copies.
Now to find an suitable acid-free album to house them.
The pages are quite small, just 7 " tall by 5 3/4" wide, sweet huh???

I have a hard time passing up a jar of buttons ~

Here's the photograph of the woman I found,
look at the flower on her waist!!!

See how neat the jar is that held the buttons??

One tiny spool of thread was included in the jar of buttons.
I love it so ~
Wouldn't it be beautiful worn as a necklace??
Such simple things make me smile ~

We had a sweet house guest Saturday night,
our little Clara spent the night with us for the first time!!
She woke up a few times in the night but was
really such an angel....she's growing so fast!

I hope you have a great Monday precious friends ~
Thank you always for stopping by and
for your sweet comments!!!!
hugs and love,
Dawn

Pressed beauty ~

Why do I love these wonderful pressed flowers and ferns so?
They make me smile, their colors, their amazing intricate details ~
I wanted to share their beauty with you....

Don't you love my fancy flower press? It works great too!!

Nature is the art of God.

Thomas Browne
Religio Medici, 1635

A sensitive plant in a garden grew,
And the young winds fed it with silver dew,
And it opened its fan-like leaves to the light,
and closed them beneath the kisses of night.

Percy Bysshe Shelley
"The Sensitive Plant," 1820

I don't know how I'll use these beauties yet....
but I just love looking at them!!

I found this amazing book cover and back at Hobby Lobby, can you believe how antique it looks?? Such a great look for the price ~ they sell online too! I found it for you HERE...

I've been studying my little boot pattern for Clara. I'm such a goob sometimes, I have to think about something for awhile and really sort it out in my head before I get started. It's like I'm scared I'll mess up so I keep going through the steps in my head...crazy, huh?!

OH, and I''m having a giveaway...in just a few days!! I want celebrate...now, don't scream.....but 1200 posts!!!!! Also, I'm approaching 400 followers so that's even MORE reason to celebrate!!!!

Have a wonderful Friday sweet friends ~
hugs and love,
Dawn