...counting my blessings

...WOW!!
is it time for a White Wednesday post
already???

well,

as you may or may not know,

we had planned on visiting the sea this past weekend...

but alas...

a nasty storm front blew in

and our trip was cancelled:(

yes, dear readers,

the disappointment was heavy ~

as we live in a mountainous range that requires chains to get over the pass

I really didn't wish to take a chance

and go spinning off over the mountain side like Thelma and Louise!!

soooooo

I consoled myself and bought an instant cd instead!

and just what cd may console my sea saddened heart,

you may ask??

my reply would simply be this:

~ from silence ~

~ and into the studio I went!

as I was enrobed within this melodiousness,

heavily immersed in creating,

a quiet calmness filled the room...

and as you know how much I delight in the details of things, 

I realized that 

so

does

 God!

and there are reasons for the way things work out

reasons we may never, ever know about!

so instead of continuing on in my pity party...

...okay...

after the third chocolate covered strawberry,

a few shavings of parmesan cheese,

a bit of warm, delicious italian bread

...okay, okay!!...

and after a glass of fizziness...

with

 a few pink dragees

and candy pearls floating around in the bottom.

( what??? )

(I was really sad and candy pearls make me happy!!)

I instead,

began counting my blessings...

I started with my son,

because he turned 18 on Monday...

His name is Nathan

and his name means: a gift from God

and he truly is one of my greatest joys!!

next, Julianna...

then Jim...

Mia...

and as I moved down my mental list of blessings

my sea saddened heart became filled

~ with joy! ~

 

so much so,

my blessed heart became soaked in tears...

as if a wave had washed away the cares of the day!

and

THAT

my dear readers,

is

how the beautiful sea

affects me

...humbled...

and

filled with joy...

and God knew that!!!

Oh, what an AWESOME Father!

 ~

sharing this post over at Faded Charm's White Wednesday

here's to counting our blessings!

for your very own pretties featured in this post, please visit:
* lovely pearl heart ex-voto ~ Petite Michelle Louise
* joy dollie ~ Moss Hill Studio
* pink dragees and candy pearls ~ Fancy Flours

...an anthropologie inspired necklace

...hello sweets!!

do ya feel lucky today??

huh??

wellll, do ya'??!!

(always wanted to say that once in my life!)

((note to self, cross off Clint's saying on bucket list))

well, in honor of St. Patrick's day,

and as that shamrock green is

sooooooooo

 not my color,

my gift to you is ~

 sharing my "anthropologie" inspired stone necklace

mini tutorial instead!!

so grab your pretties and lets begin!!

my inspiration is taken from all the pretties in the anthro jewelry section

a lot of smooth, polished stones are being used.

I really just wanted a pretty little something to wear this weekend to the sea:)

so the colors I chose for this, were muted and stormy sky colors.

 when I spied this at Target, I thought

yes!!

and then, when I turned it over to check out the price,

yes, yes!!!

was my reply, as it had been marked down.

  

loved the smoothness,

and the color was just what I was after.

I took a snippet of neutral lace

and stitched the top of it to gather it a bit,

and then put it through the jump ring and stitched it on,

like so

  

next came the flower.

now, there are many tutorials on the "burned edge" flowers

so if your not sure about these

just google it and you will find all the info you need!

I made a few in different sizes in the sea grey color I was after

 

and stacked them until I was happy with the shape,

then just stitched them together in the center.

  

add a vintage pearl drop earring...

  

and voila!

a pretty little flower for my necklace for the sea:)

"sea" how pretty it looks on?!

(my bad!)

I also made a lovely sea silk tie bracelet

I just couldn't help myself...

 

 one of my most favorite shades...

 

and the best part about this piece is,

  

I can also wear it as a choker necklace too:

I hope you were inspired to try your hand

at making something new and lovely to wear...

I will be sharing this over at Common Ground's

Vintage Inspiration Friday

come see what other "luck" you have in finding something inspiring!

here's to the lovely shade of sea grey!

...this little light of mine

...i'm gonna let it shine

oh,

i'm gonna let it shine.

...

I have been meditating on the continual tragedy in Japan.

I can NOT fathom the anguish and heartbreak,

this country is going through right now.

my heart is crying out to do something...

...something more than positive energy being sent out into the universe.

...something more than a whispered prayer.

...something more than a cash donation.

i have done all three...

no,

i feel lead to do more.

to put this helpless sorrow

into a positive action.

if i may,

quote the words to a Jewel song

that has filled my heart,

flooded my soul...

~

If I could tell the world just one thing

It would be that we're all OK
And not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful
And useless in times like these

I won't be made useless
I won't be idle with despair
I will gather myself around my faith
For light does the darkness most fear

My hands are small,
 I know.
But they're my own.


...with these small hands,
i have created a special collection of lace butterflies
to represent renewed hope for Japan.

each one made by hand.

each one uniquely it's own.

each one carries a different message.

 
they will be available in my etsy shop
 until each and everyone one of them has fluttered away.

100% of all proceeds made from these winged creatures
 will be donated to the red cross for Japan...
it may not be much
but it is what these hands can do.
 
that,
 
and
 
i will get down on my knees
and i will pray...
 


...in the end
only kindness matters...
 

 
 
linking my little light to faded charm's white wednesday
 

...hello! Won't you come in??!

...yes YOU, dear ones!

for this white wednesday post,

 I will be sharing my front hall entry table vignette

the first thing that greets you when you walk through the door...

well,

you will first see my smiling face,

 and then this vignette ~ lol!!

I have been collecting some pretties

from a few lovely shops at etsy,

just for this display :)

There are so many hand made, beautiful things available here...

The first pretty I have to show you ~

 is the paper butterfly garland

that you can find "here"

I liked this

because butterflies represent a continual reemergence of new hope

 and encourage us to spread our wings and fly beautifully

~ for we are only here a short time...

a creamy white rose wreath

it is the center of this swag,

I have added a vintage multi strand of decadent pearls

in the most loveliest champagne shade

and a small enamel cross.

perhaps you recognize it from last weeks "beautiful roots" post??

just in case you haven't noticed,

I seem to seek items with roses

ahhhhh ~ the beautiful rose

" a rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

a quote by William Shakespeare

 from his play Romeo and Juliet

~ Romance ~

and are these not romantic??

I found these beauties "here"

I needed two,

one on each end of my swag garland...

Easter will be here soon...

so I wanted my table to also reflect what that means to me.

I feel in love with these tags the moment I laid eyes on them!!

their soft, muted colors were just what I was after.

perhaps you would desire a set of your own "here"??

I think I should buy stock in sweet Michelle's shop,

lol!!

as I am always finding such pretty little things there to use

as a visual in and around my home:)

I added a most lovely paper ruff,

a stick on pearl and ribbon ties in the exact same shade as the romantic ruff

and Voila!

 

~ table top ~

love, Love, LOVE the delicateness of the  lily of the valley flowers...

their meaning is: purity of heart, sweetness, and tears of the Virgin Mary

I found this statue of Mary,

 many years ago at the G.W.

 and often think that she was there just for me that day!

as I have never found one quite so lovely since!!

more pearls around her neck

soooo lovely...

under my glass cloche is a nest

and in this nest are no ordinary eggs

noooo-sssirrrr-rreee!!

~ in the land of odds,

you will find eggs of spun silk!!

resting upon their natural golden silk cocoons

which you can find " here"

wow-we-wow-wow-wow

is all I can say!

I am in awe of the infinite detail of God's creative hand...

this is the bottom layer of my entry table...

see the piece of driftwood??

I sewed cotton lace around it and LOVE how it turned out!!

all put together ~

my front entry:)

thank you for stopping by today!

I hope you enjoyed your visit

and found some little pretties along the way that

make your heart sing

:)

sharing this over at Faded Charm's White Wednesday 

here's to artisan pretties on etsy!

...french flair ~ puttin' on the "spritz"!

...hello dear ones!

well, here it is!!

my vintage seltzer bottle that I shared with you last week:)

only now,

"vintage coutured"!!!

below, we have exhibit A:

the said seltzer bottle.

I loved the lines of this,

the shine from the silver,

the graceful pump,

the little windows...

I just wasn't feelin' the green glass below!

and as I am all about the complete visual,

I challenged myself to find a lovely resolve

so that wherever I place this bottle,

it could be appreciated.

I tried many materials before the "halo appeared"

lol!

I chose wispy gauze, because it is easily shaped.

That,

 and I still wanted to see

that there were windows beneath these new little "dresses" :)

So,

using the complicated technique I learned in kindergarten

(ha!!)

I simply wrapped the end of a pencil eraser with little ovals of gauze

and Elmer's glued them onto each little window

like you did with the little tissue paper squares as a child

for a mother's day flower project!

remember??

twisting and pulling the gauze randomly,

until I was happy with the visual result.

  

I let that dry overnight.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

(glued gauze drying & me sleeping)

I now could live with the gauze covered , green glass windows!!

BUT

 that wasn't enough,

it needed something...

something that evoked a little romance!!

and what better to evoke that, than a strand of vintage pearls??

I just love the patina on them that you simply can NOT get with new ones!!

and these were most especially appealing to my eye

because of the duo tones of matte and shine...

so with my skinny thin wire,

I started twisting them on,

in a chicken wire patterned fashion.

  

 a pretty little pearl for each window!

~ LOVE IT!! ~

next came the neck adornment

as any self respecting,

french dressed bottle would require!!

so naturally,

I tied white sea silk ribbons around it,

and fashioned a focal piece out of a vintage sterling silver filigree buckle,

a vintage french medal, a large silver rhinestone,

a white feather, and a petite vintage rosebud sprig

whew!!

put them all together and you get this:

so what do you think of this "vintage coutured" seltzer bottle now??

perhaps you'd care for a spritz????

oh yes, please!

I'll have what she's having....

and could you make that a double??!!

~

thanks for stopping by today:)

I am joining along with these lovely ladies blog parties!

Common Ground's Vintage Inspiration Friday

The French Cupboard's French Inspired Blog Party

French Country Nest's Feathered Nest Friday

My Romantic Home's Show and Tell Friday

here's to things I learned in kindergarten!!

...beautiful roots

...whhooo-hooooo!

Hello dear readers!

March 1st has finally arrived,

and it won't be long now

 until Spring is here!

  

I find myself looking forward to this particular renewing season ~

being reflective on what has been...

and

anticipating what will come to be.

  

I am calling forth a most beautiful year

filled with wonder and delight!

Realizing that in order for this to happen,

I too,

must do my part

and give it all that I am

all the way down to my core!

I have come to know that nothing is impossible ~

NOTHING!!

no one truly knows our individual journeys

and all that each road encapsulates.

...all the joys,

all the sorrows...

and everything in between

but

each and every moment

I try to retain a positive energy

and keep moving forward

using the gifts that have been given to me.

~ humbled ~

~ grateful ~

~ content ~

it IS well with my soul

and I wish the same for all of you!

~

Happy White Wednesday

Happy first day of the month of Spring!!

sharing this post over at Faded Charm's White Wednesday

here's to a renewing year!