Sneak Peek!

I hope your Monday is off to a great start!
It is sunny and expected to be at least 70 degrees!
JOY!!!

This is a sneak peek at the little baby dresses...
I HOPE to list them tonight...
I need one very important thing...
My camera!
Our Sweet 16 went with her high school jazz band
to the Pageant of Bands Competition on Friday...
My camera is still tucked away in her trumpet case!

I will blog about them before they're listed.
I had fun tucking little touches here and there~

Hope you have a nice week, sweet friends!

Wrens on Vintage Sugar Sacks...

Would you believe me if I told you that I don't
draw on EVERYTHING?
(giggle... giggle...)

I earned my Bachelor's degree in graphic design...
I think old advertising is FABULOUS!
These old sugar sacks... treasures as they were...
Have been WREN-A-CIZED!

Our Wren's have not arrived yet...
Perhaps the snow on mother's day encouraged them
to head south for the summer?
I have my camera ready...
They're song is so cheery!

These are available from my Etsy Store!
Please click and see all seven~

More tomorrow, sweet friends!
Wishing you all that is wonderful~

Jelly Jars for Button Drawers...

I was working on a special project the other day...
Sweet 16 and Adorable 13 helped me clean up~
before the cats could get in and klutz around.
I can't seem to keep our furry friends out of my studio.
Sneaky kitties open the screen door...
Hide inside while I'm blocking the screen door...
I need one place in our home without paws & hair!

These tiny jam jars fit nicely in shallow drawers!
Wee little juice glasses work well, too.
The buttons stay dust (and cat hair) free...
Easy to see...
Easy to take out and put away.
They're old~ I find them in thrift shops, garage sales etc.

I have washed & pressed a new supply of linens...
The baby dresses are ON TOP!
That means they're next...
Building up confidence...
I know they'll be sweet...
My pen and ink will behave... no mistakes!
(giggle)

Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

Antique Linen Baby & New Art...

When something makes you tilt your head and smile...
Ideas flood into your mind...
You can't get back to your studio fast enough!

These three tiny linens baby dresses!
I've been sketching possible ideas...
Dressing teddy bears with them...
Hanging them on vintage, painted hangers...
I know what I'm going to do~
After working on a few deadlines I get to play!

These are pressed and ready for photographs.
I will list them as soon as my camera charges~

Tried something a little different on these floral fabrics.
The prints are very faint~ almost a watermark...

Seashore treasures...
A little mottled with coffee spots...

Hope your day is off to a wonderful start!

Along the Shore...

These are the teeniest, wee little acorns from my
sweet friend Abby... Bird on Wire Studio
She included them in a package...

From time to time I need to walk away from
the studio... deadlines... computers... and restore.

"Art enables us to find ourselves and
lose ourselves at the same time"
Thomas Merton

I love living in the country...
We are minutes away from several lakes~

Lake Ontario, chilly and windy, shared tiny treasures.
Found a few bits and pieces of acorns... stones... feathers...

Found rest, left some stress on the shore and
came home restored...
...with pockets FILLED with treasures!

Wishing you moments of joy~

Strawberry Treasure and Glitter...

As we sorted through mounds of linens one Saturday...
Our antiquing friend, Sweet 16 and I
came across this gorgeous treasure~
She gave it to me as a birthday gift!
All hand stitched... each berry different.
If you click on the photo for a better look
you can see the highlights, seeds...
The piece has been used, loved, worn~
So delicate...
So perfect...
So treasured!

My sweet friend, Diane Knott posted about how
she stores her glitter here... so pretty!
I shared how I like the salt/pepper with the slide tops.
I store fine glitter in that piece because I
am able to slide the holes closed for a smaller opening...

The top with the round nub closes itself...
That one is nice because it will pour out in a tiny
area... only one larger hole.

Plenty of days the kids go to school with glitter
on their cheek or hands because I chose
to make a fairy dust mess somewhere in the house!
Hubby... the engineer, a dept. of men... with glitter kisses!
Oh my!

Hope your Monday is off to a great start!

Giveaway Winner and New Originals!

Sweet friends!!! You're amazing!
So THRILLED you like this giveaway...
Thank you for commenting, posting and following!
There are OODLES of names in our bucket...

Here it goes...


Sweet 16 is reaching in...



The winner is...





TONYA! Back Porch Pickins!
Hooray!
Next giveaway (soon!) we'll have to have 3 winners!

These are some of the new treasures I put
in my Etsy store today...

I have been working on more of my little muslin
pieces... a little less stressful!
The linen pieces are so beautiful... I'm so worried
to make a mistake and ruin a pretty old treasure~

I'll be listing them in the next few days...

To think of the folks that sat and made so many
gorgeous edges, trims, flowers...
What would they think of someone drawing
birds, bears and butterflies all over them?

Hope you have a wonderful week~
Many thanks!

Giveaway & Sneak Peek!

A Giveaway to celebrate you!
Original pen & ink illustration on antique linen.
Thank you~
For so many wonderful comments...
For following along...
For sharing about my originals on your blogs...
For all of your purchases...
For being you!

This is a sneak peek, too!
Listing a new collection of birds tomorrow morning~
Like this giveaway piece, they are on vintage linens
of all shapes and sizes. Some of the linens are worn,
torn, stained... but they are old and beautiful!

This piece measures 9" in diameter.

I hope you'll leave a comment on this post to have
your name included in the bucket!
If you share this on your blog or become a new follower,
please let me know~ I'll add your name again & again!

Sweet 16 will select a name from the bucket on
Mother's Day!

Hope you have a wonderful evening!

Trash to Treasure...

Trash, meaning I saved these from the trash!
They are TREASURES!
The friend who shares mounds of antique ephemera,
buttons, books, prints etc. offered Sweet 16 and I
boxes and boxes of antique lace and linens.
I don't know anything about these pieces... except...
...they're old
...they're stained here and there
...they were used
...they're loved
...they're perfect for pen and ink!

So old and delicate~ I hand-washed several pieces.
Boxes and boxes for a song~
Because imperfect doesn't sell.
It was a nice break from a few deadlines and
our computer printer that is making me grumpy.

I'm going to list this collection in my
Etsy store...
(Please click above to visit)
I will have a collection of birds listed soon.
Several will be on muslin~ with a few on old linens.

Thank you for so many sweet comments!
I love to visit your pages after I read your notes~
You're all so fun, creative, unique... treasured!

OH! GUESS WHAT?
Tomorrow I will blog about an original giveaway!
I LOVE giveaways! We'll be celebrating 300+ sales!!!
Coming up with something extra special to share~

Hope you have a wonderful Thursday, sweet friends!

New Originals and Framed Prints...

I love being surrounded by art...
This small corner in my studio is the perfect
spot for these late 1800's German prints.
They were folded when I found them...
Once they're surround by matting and glass~
one can barely notice the creases.

When folks visit, they wonder where all of my
original watercolors are. Why I don't have some
of my samples placed here and there...

I am inspired by other artists.
It is so much fun to see different interpretations,
colors... styles... details I miss etc.

This collection of prints
(saved from a book headed for the trash)
covers a narrow wall... our small piano below.

I added a few new pieces to my Etsy store...
Sweet 16 has been humming patriotic songs
that they're rehearsing in band.
They are preparing for Memorial Day
parades their high school marches in...
Little Man 13 is going to be a Freshman in high
school this fall~ he is marching with them!

Doesn't this little critter look like someone
fluffed him with a hairdryer?

Johnny Jump Ups are busting out all over!

I have drawn paisley patterns for years...
Oodles n' oodles of fun doodles...

Hope your week is off a great start!
Thank you for so many wonderful comments...
I LOVE to hear from you!

Tools As Gifts... New Projects &Tags...

I LOVE TO PLAY!
One of my favorite units in high school art class
was stained glass. The electives in college were
always very expensive... and usually full.
Last year I purchased a supply of glass pieces
for a song... they have sat waiting!
Rose (a very sweet blogging friend)
and I shared a conversation about
different projects we would like to do...
Sweet little charms are on BOTH our to-do-lists!
I told my Sweet 16, who told her daddy...
and...
LOOK what I got for my birthday!

An extra hand!
This is the sweetest little helping tool~
They found it at Hobby Lobby craft store.
The solder is lead-free, too!

When I get A LOT more practice... I will share
some how-to-tips. For now I will call them
Teddy Bear Charms!
A wee-bit shabby for people wear! ha! ha!
Tiny little fabric originals tucked between glass~

Some fun I'm having with new fabric illustrations...
I took pictures of them along side one of my
sketch journals... you never know where a pattern
or simple sketch might lead you!

Fancy buttons as flower heads!
Loads of fabric illustrations to list in my Etsy Store...
Paisley, flowers, more feathered friends... snails...
Hope to have them on in a day or two~

Must tend to the THOUSANDS of baby maple trees
trying to grow in our flower gardens...

More new tags! These are the little extra's I like
to tuck in with my Etsy sales... a little thank you~

I search for stamps at antique shops...
I use old ones in some of my collage pieces.
Last summer we found a gallon-size Ziploc bag
stuffed with foreign, canceled stamps.
Time to share them!

One side of the tag is stamped with "Art"...
on the reverse, a floral stamp from
somewhere around the world!

Hope your Friday is off to a great start!

Giraffe Treasure and Clothespins...

This adorable needle felted treasure keeps
company with my Sweet 16's felted family...

Bird on Wire Studio has one for sale!!
Abby also has other adorable needle felts in her store.
Her work is gorgeous and makes us smile!

Found this WONDERFUL bag of old clothespins today!
I love to hang our laundry on the line...
95% air dry and then touch-up in the dryer.
These old pins will not hold our laundry...
They are so smooth...
They will be wrapped in my hand-drawn muslin ribbons!
I will share them in my Etsy shop VERY soon!

A very unique clothespin bag design...
Hubby and I laughed to think the hook is strong enough
to support a small lawn tractor!

No more clothespins all over the lawn!
Now let's hope a wild critter
doesn't find it a cozy hammock!

Sweet 16's growing collection of needle felts...
Hope you stop by Abigail's blog...
Bird on Wire Studio
Such a creative gal!

Hope your day is sunny and sweet!