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!