I have finally been able to find the time to make a few things for etsy just in time for Mothers Day. If you are looking for something sweet, and handmade etsy is the place to find it! I found some beautiful embroidered vintage linen for Mothers Day and added Lily of the Valley, which is May's flower. I will be making a few more of these but since it is vintage fabric there will be a limited supply.
I had a great time garage saleing and antiqueing this Saturday, and I'll share some of my finds later this week.

I'll see you all later:>)

A couple very sweet bloggers have passed some awards to me that I am very late in acknowledging. The first is the Art Y Pico award. It was given to me by the wonderful Karen Harvey Cox of, A scrapbook of Inspiration. She makes the most beautiful things and has a real heart for God. I love her to pieces. Thank you Karen!
There are a few rules that go with it:

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself.

4. The award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y Pico’ blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5. To show these rules.

I love so many and truley, I get inspiration and great ideas from nearly every blog I visit! BUt here are some of my favorites!

1. Ask Kari and Kijsa, now I know you have probably already been to their blog, but I must say they are a couple of super creative sisters with such a loving and fun outlook that you cant help but smile each time you visit them:>)

2.Lavender Hill Studio, Who hasn't met Penny? What beautiful things she makes and what a wonderful person!

3.Notes from a Cottage Industry, Tracey is the next Martha, I kid you not! Everything she touches turnes to beautiful and she has more creativity in her little finger than I have in my whole body. I shamelessly steal ideas from her every chance I get!

4. The Cutest Cottage Lamps, Marilyn is a fairly new blogger and she makes, you guessed it, the cutest cottage lamps! Stop by and see what she does with a lampshade. To die for:>)

5.Inspired Tokens, Alice makes really gorgeoous knitwear and sells it in her etsy shop. She also sews bags and other goodies and always has something fun to say.

Stop by these great blogs if you arent familiar with them, and say hello. You won't be sorry.

I was also honored by BJ with a circle of friends award. BJ is a sweet and loving person who I have grown very fond of. I hesitated to pass this award on because I know that some people will feel that it is kind of cliqueish. I dont want to be that way but I do admit that there have been some special people who have been hanging around this blog for a long time and who have been helpful and kind when I needed it most. Some gave much needed advice, some a word of encouragement and some just support me with personal emails and share common likes and dislikes so here goes.:>)

I count the following bloggers in my special circle of friends.

Penny and Phyllis, for advice when I have needed it. Thank you so much!

BJ, I give this back to you because you always have such sweet words of encouragement and support. Dolly and Amy, for your sweet outlook on life and for being my Michigan sisters!

Mary, you are the first post every morning and I always look forward to rolling out of bed, grabbing my first cup of coffee and seeing what you are sharing:>)

These are just a few of the bloggers I have come to look forward to sharing with. With these awards I just want to say, that although I have passed them on, I want to absolve any of you from passing them on yourselves. Please do if you want to, but know that they were given freely and without strings or expectations. Thank you again to Karen and BJ for thinking of me. I am always so pleased and surprised when I get one of these things!

Now I just want to add one thing. In the blogosphere we pass along kudos, generous gifts and many words of encouragement. Sometimes it is easier to do this for our "imaginary " friends than it is for those we actually know. My challenge to each of you is to do a kindness or compliment someone you live, work or worship with! We send gifts to our blog pals for no reason at all, what about our families? A sister? mother-in-law? Aunt? Let me know, do you do these things for people you have real physical contact with!? Wouldn't that make our world a little better too?

By the way, BJ is having a giveaway.:>) Click here to go see what you can win!

This 'n That

Well here it is Thursday, practically the weekend, yay! I have some great plans for Saturday, which include going to a stained glass exhibit, buying some art supplies, hitting a favorite antique mall and working on etsy goodies! I had to post a picture of the pansies and violas I found at Home Depot. I just love those velvety little flowers! I remember when I was little, grandma had white, yellow and purple violets growing in huge bunches in her back yard. Ever since then, one of my favorite flowers has been violets and anything resembling them. My mother gave me the little cherub vase and I keep it on my kitchen window sill and always have little flowers of some kind tucked inside, even if they have to be silk in the winter. My thoughts are rambling today, I cant keep my mind on one subject long enough to complete a thought. So much to do and so much fun to look forward to, I can't wait to share it all with you! I hope everyone has a beautiful weekend! I'll see you back here soon:>)

WIP

I am so thrilled, last night hubby brought the case of the bookshelves he is making for our bedroom and sat it in place. It still needs, a drawer, crown molding and shelves, but I am able to see how it is going to look. I love it! I started painting the bedroom in January and ran out of steam. It was brown (you can still see above the window where I haven't painted!) a color my dear husband chose. When it was first painted I liked it, but I have very seldom met a fresh paint job that I didn't like. But, as you may have noticed, I am not an earth tone kind of girl. I could just never bring myself to invest in anything to go with that brown. As a result, our bedroom has never really been decorated in a way that makes either of us happy. There are actually two big windows like the one you see, and they face south, facing the garden, and back lawn. A beautiful view, and this is where the computer and desk are. My sweetheart is making matching bookshelves for either side of the window and then a simple desk to go between them. It will all be white so I can add whatever color my little heart fancies. Now if I can just decide on an accent color or two! I will be finishing the painting some time this month (I have to get it done before my daughters graduation open house!, not that I'm giving bedroom tours, but you know, you want the house to be great) So I will be sharing my progress over the next few months. It will be a long process no doubt, but I know I will be happy to work on it now. Yay!

Today Little Pink Studio is challenging us to show our vintage "bling". Well everyone knows I love that! It is a little odd because I am really not a big jewelry wearer! Aside from my wedding rings and occasionally earrings and a bracelet (mostly for going out) I just don't wear it! However, every serious glitter freak knows that vintage rhinestones give you the glitter fix just as effectively as the little jars of glitter! Most of the jewels above came from my grandmother. She loved the crown pin and the big swirly rhinestone star (upper left) for her Sunday best. I always think of grandma when I see these pins. You can get a better look if you click on the pictures to make them bigger.

I also have amassed quite a collection from garage sales. One sale I went to, I was actually looking for a dresser for my youngest daughters room. There was a pretty nice one at the sale but with a price tag of $40 it was a little more than I wanted to spend. As I was waiting for my sister-in-law to finish getting her stuff I casually started opening drawers in the dresser. In the bottom drawer was an old jewelry box! I quickly rummaged through my purse, offered them the $34 I had on me and loaded it in the van! I had a pang of wondering if I did the right thing until I got home and opened my Bible to the verse "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." Matt 13:44 I kid you not, true story. The box was full of cool silver and abalone and lots of faux amethyst stuff. A real treasure trove. I later sold a couple pieces of the jewelry for almost the price I paid for the dresser. I still have most of it.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree in our house. Youngest daughter loves rhinestones and old jewelry too and has had these tiaras for some time. So there you have it! I am always on the prowl to add more to the treasure chest, and those of you who have visited my etsy shop know how I love to add these little gems to my creations! Come on, show us your bling!

It's official! Garage sale season in Michigan has finally opened and I made my first score this morning:>) Nothing really big, just a fun little cigar box to alter, some cottagey iron hanging basket holders for the porch and 7 big teardrop shaped chandelier crystals for 5 cents each! I tied 5 of them on the dining room Chandy and the morning sunshine makes rainbows on the wall. Thirty five cents worth of spring happiness, not bad.
On another subject I learned something about myself while working at my third job. I wasn't cut out for office work. It's fine as long as I have something to do, but it didn't take me long to get the filing done and make coffee and take care of all the little office tasks they gave me, about 30 minutes most days. Then I just sat there waiting for the phone to ring. It drove me mad. There were times I walked to the door and opened it just to get a breath of fresh air. I felt like I couldn't breathe. Seriously. All I could think of was all the things I could be doing at home. I will tell you a little secret, I love being a stay at home wife and mom. The only career I can really enjoy is one I do all on my own and have complete control of. Maybe I'm a control freak, ok, I am for sure a control freak! I can only say how thankful I am to have a husband who has been the breadwinner all these years, and who appreciates my efforts at home. I know Earl and the girls are much happier when I am home. I have always considered it my career and I am so happy to see the pendulum swinging the other way in society and so many other women embracing this life. In a world where people are defined by what they do for a living and how much money they make, I can finally say, I don't care what the Joneses are doing, I am content in my little cottage, with my used cars and my thrifted furnishings. I am happy with 35 cents worth of rainbows dancing on my dining room walls. Our family is happy and blessed. I know that I want to see where my etsy shop takes me. I am thrilled with the response I have gotten and filled with ideas to try. i have the summer off and plan to see where this home business takes me. All I know is, I don't want to be cooped up in another office. I can do it if I have to, but, Lord, I sure don't want to. How about you, what do you really want to be doing?

Free. at. last. Today I intend to come home from job #1 (which suddenly doesnt seem so bad) and relax in the 70 degree spring sunshine that is forecast for the day (scootch over Tara, I'm joining you in the hammock!). I hope you are all enjoying the spring weather. I finally have two whole daffodils blooming and more ready to bloom, and the grass is green again. Oh happy day!

One. More. Day......

Whew! Finally, today is my last day at the tax prep place (get those taxes postmarked by midnight ladies!) I worked 10-1:30 at job #1 yesterday and 2:30-9 p.m. at job #2. No breaks at either job. I think tomorrow I will come home from my school job and take a wonderful nap in what is supposed tobe 70 degree sunshine. YES!
Mary is showing some of her favorite linens this morning and I thought Iwould share a few of mine. I so admire the women who took the time to make such beautiful things for their homes. My mother sent me some of these. The Basket above was found at a yard sale by my sweet husband and he knew I would like it so he bought it for me:>)

These adorable kittens came from Phyllis's Flea market friday, pretty handmade lace on the bottom too!

This is one of a box of vintage linens my mom sent me recently. A beautiful spring scene surrounded by pink crochet (?) lace. So pretty. You can click on any of these for a closer look. Some have a few stains that I need to work on but sweet Adrienne gave me the advice to soak vintage linens in Biz and warm water to remove stains and it has worked really well for me in the past. Have a great day, I'm off to work:>)

A Very Special Delivery:>)

Yesterday at work (three days left!) I got a call from my youngest daughter telling me a package had arrived in the mail for me. I was so excited because I knew that I had been the lucky winner of a darling piece of art from Karen Harvey Cox at A Scrapbook of Inspiration!
When I got home, this beautiful little collage of a birdhouse and bluebird was waiting for me! What a sweet treat for the end of a long week. But not only did Karen send me the collage, she sent me a lovely pack of notecards made from her own paintings. Gorgeous!

Karen is a watercolor artist and so much more. Her work is beautiful and I can't believe I was fortunate enough to win some of it. Thank you Karen! I love it! If you want to see a beautiful blog and some lovely art, you need to visit Karen. Her decorating and paintings are truly a treat:>)

Four more days....

Until I am free of this third job! I called it my second job for the longest time, but anyone who has an etsy shop or other online enterprise knows that is a job too. Just because we are more in control of that schedule doesnt make it less so. So four more days and I can get back to what I love. My home & family and you! I just wanted to drop in and say hello and share this picture I snapped last night on the way out of the post office parking lot.You just have to admire their enthusiasm for spring, but I think I see autumn still lurking in the back seat ;>) Have a great day and an even better weekend. I will see you all soon my friends!

A few more birds and hearts for etsy. I have only two more weeks on my second job (yay!) and although I am working on more goodies for my shop (including some new designs) I probably wont have time to finish or post them until this job is finished. I am so glad to be finishing this moonlighting madness! It has been very wearing and taken a lot of time away from the things I love to do. So for the next two weeks, please bear with me as I may not have time to keep up with email and blogs like I want to. I have a lot of ideas for some fun projects to share for spring. I hope to see you all very soon:>)

Roosters

Yesterday, BJ asked us for pictures of any roosters we might have. I have a few and thought I would share them! It is a grey, rainy day here so I had to use my flash and the pics aren't as nice as they should be but, oh well, it happens:>) Most of my roosters are on a little wall shelf in the kitchen by the door. On the top is one of my first little poultry figurines and a great sign I picked up at a church sale. I love the sign with the chickens!

Next is another little rooster that I love. I like how the black and white pattern of his feathers looks with the checks on the letter and the toile curtains in the kitchen.

I got this little hen and rooster salt and pepper when I went to Ann Arbor at the consignment shop. Very inexpensive and they are a bit chippy but I think it adds to the charm.

Of course my favorite rooster doesn't get to stay in the house! He is my little Bantam rooster out in the hen house. He does a great job of protecting the hens and he isn't mean like some (now deceased) roosters I have had. He's a sweetie. This was the clearest picture I could get of him because the little dickens never holds still!

I've had a long time love for chickens ever since helping grandma and grandpa on the farm. As a child I used to watch the baby chicks in the chicken coop for hours and gathered the eggs for grandma every night. I've shared a bit of my rooster collection (yes there are more), why don't you share too? Join the fun and visit BJ and send her your rooster pics too.

I was given this sweet award last week by Carol and Charli at Charli and me, And by Marilyn at The Cutest Cottage Lamps. I am so honored! Thank you ladies, you are such sweethearts to think of me. I am supposed to pass this on to 10 more excellent bloggers. So here we go!


1. Mia, a fabulous blogger in Norway. Her home is so beautiful!


2. Nancy at Pieces of the puzzle, way up in Alaska


3. Mrs. G, you'll laugh til you cry:>)


4. KJ at Idyllic, full of fun and interesting posts


5. Alice, a wonderful knitter and crafter with a beautiful etsy shop


6. Barbara at Southern Ladies Vintage, paints gorgeous roses


7. Donna, at Donna's Art, a wonderful artist


8. Karen Harvey Cox, at "A scrapbook of inspiration, another wonderful artist with some gorgeous creations!


9. Rosie at Rosies Whimsey. makes beautiful bags, pouches and so much more
10. and Abbie at Damsel designs who just added another blog to her repertoire!


And just a little plug for Abbie's new blog! It's called Button Floozies and is full of fun posts about the humble button. A launching spot for great ideas on how to use and craft with buttons. Check it out:>)