Vintage Vegetable Ivory Buttons...

The three little canvas totes that I listed last

night have vegetable ivory buttons on them.

Mass production of the little treasures began

around the 1870's.

Most jars of mixed buttons have simple honey,

caramel... chocolate... coffee... maple syrup---tone gems!

It's all about food with me...

I could have called them Burnt Sienna, Taupe, Ochre...

Just doesn't have the same ring to it!
Some are carved...

Some are stenciled...

Most are dyed by dipping~
Even the most simple buttons are beautiful...
The natural fading, splitting, chipping make them unique.
Some of the side views show the pretty etching...
Great fun to find one and tilt it to the side

to reveal the pretty patterns...

Can you picture the colors of our walls?

Wheat, muted gold... sandy brown...
(I'll restrain from "French Toast" "Caramel Apple" ha! ha!)

I put them on my Americana-themed needle felts.
The vegetable ivory always looks sweet with wool.

Hope you had fun searching through that jar with me!

I hear the cats batting one around that fell to the floor...

...whoops...
Down the register...
I love my dog!

Much Needed Smiles...

There are those days, weeks... months... when it is

just a bit difficult to smile. My hubby is my dearest

friend~ our children are the most understanding and

supportive teens... so thankful for their love.

Someone very dear to me is fighting stage 4 breast

cancer. I have been at her side to hear the ups, downs &

in-between... mammograms have never detected

the fierce spot that brought the disease to her lymph

nodes and practically every bone from her skull

to her knees. The medicines have kept her fighting

for nearly three years~ but things have started

to deteriorate... options are disappearing.

So many of you share your brave stories...

I pray for you when I pray for her.

Fragile times have brought us close.

Her courage and determination are inspiring.

I am thankful that God gives me strength to walk

through doors I once refused to open...

Even more thankful for the AMAZING

compassion and kindness every health care

provider shares...

That extra special touch.

The understanding glance.

Such special hearts...

Thank you.

I feel selfish when tears cloud over...

I'm not the most sturdy of shoulders...

I did manage to share MANY smiles with her over the

past couple days... My soggy smiles :)

She doesn't mind my tears...

As long as there are smiles and giggles tucked inside~

A new season... in many ways.

Wishing you hope... on your journey~

A different kind of harvest...

I keep a small portfolio of fabric pieces in my purse.

One never knows when the teens will be,

"Just 5 more minutes, mom!"

That's time enough to harvest a pumpkin!

Pumpkins are beginning to brightly dress up

the roadside stands...

Leaves are beginning to turn...

I love to walk through fragrant apple orchards.

Just listed these in my Etsy store~

Tomorrow will bring two more styles of pumpkins!

Fall favorites on this fantastic honey tone fabric...

Hope your weekend is perfect!

My Calendar Information...

So many FANTASTIC comments!
Thank you for sharing in my joy!!!

You've warmed my heart~

My models really do deserve a lot of credit...

Pretty feathers and chubby cheeks!

How to purchase a calendar...

Many home decor, gift shops carry Legacy products.

The link below is their web site... where you can

type your zip code in and it will give you a nearby

retailer that sells their products.

Often, smaller gift retailers cannot carry

every artist line... especially in our economy.

http://www.shoplegacy.com/stores/

Maybe someday I will have a small studio

with a gift shop where I can sell products like these!

Many of you have shared that you purchased

them from Ebay, on-line calendar shops etc.

Hope all of you have a wonderful day!

Thank you... for sharing in my journey~

My First Calendar! Artist Samples Arrived...

One of my biggest... BIGGEST dreams~

To have a greeting card line and calendar!

DREAMS COME TRUE!!

The long-awaited package arrived today...

My artist samples for my very first calendar!!

I designed and painted this calendar for 2011 in 2008!

Legacy Publishing did an amazing job!

My 2012 calendar is in production right now...

I'm working on 2013 in my studio!

Thank you for letting me share my joy!

Smiles and best wishes!

New Muslin Birds for Etsy...

I watched two movies last night...
Little muslin illustrations helped me stay awake!
Sweet feathered friends
for my Etsy Shop!

Some of the nests are empty...
Wee babies are bouncing around the lawn~
trying to fly...

We watched a momma bird play "injured"
(to distract attention away from babies)
as the middle school students were leaving for the day.
Sweet 16 and I wished she would just be calm,
quiet and try to blend in...
We were there long enough to see that the threat
cleared and she attended her little ones.

I could draw birds all day everyday...
Each with their own personality and beauty...
More coming soon!

Vintage Baby Dresses and Pen & Ink Notepads...

Vintage baby dresses with new art illustrations...

Hello, Sweet Friends!
I hope your day has been sunny and sweet~

We have not had much sunshine... seem to be in a
soggy weather pattern... rain, drizzle, pour, drizzle!
Today we had sunshine and I took photos
of my latest vintage baby dresses~
Well, all except one...
One little pink treasure is a surprise!
I'll share more about that soon~

I ran a thin string from twig to twig...
With these mini clothespins I hung them for a photo!

Each little dress has gorgeous details...
Please click on any photo to enlarge~

All eight...
Waiting to be pressed one more time...

The first~
Sweet little Maggie Mouse...
You can hear her skittle through the forest
because her momma put a bell around her neck~
She loves to munch on wild strawberries!

Next...
With his tummy full of honey~
Little Jem bear needs a nap!

This sweet bear would wilt if
she saw the weeds in my garden!
Trudy Garden is best at planting
Johnny Jump-Ups!

This large gown has the most gorgeous detail work...
Momma wren is tending to her three wee babies.
They perch so cozy in the stitched details!

I think these four furry bunnies are all
trying to figure out how to get that huge piece of clover!

LOVE this one!
A baby bird...
Waiting for some company...
A brother?
A sister?
One of each?

This is my favorite~
Sweet little songbird with a strawberry blossom gift...
Chubby lil' field mouse with a berry to share!

These seven vintage dresses will be listed in my Etsy
shop in a little while... Each dress has 4-5 photographs
of the gorgeous stitching and extra illustrations
that are tucked here and there!
To see more of the details...
Please click here and zoom in... ETSY STORE

I was digging deep in our bedroom closet...
How do you lose a shoe?
Nothing chews on them...
Nothing plays dress up with them...
It's like the socks that the washer eats!
While dragging everything out of the closet...
I found a box filled with some of my notepads from 2001.

After putting a small collection of them aside for
Christmas gifts (ha! I'll have to find them in December!)
I decided to wrap a few with muslin and list them
in my Etsy shop to share with you!

Our teens are almost done with school for summer...
Test week.
Recital week.
Stress and crazy schedules mixing
for a wild, busy time!
I will probably be up through the night finishing
two watercolor deadlines... and a few special orders!
It's quiet..
It's calm...
It's the only time I'm not in the car~ delivering teens!

Smiles and best wishes...

Handmade, Artist Signed Jounals...

(The large size journals...)

The only thing more fun than cracking open a new
journal and discovering empty palettes~
To write on...
Sketch on...
Capture memories & thoughts...
Creative ideas...
A place to tape in feathers & flowers...

IS MAKING THEM!!!

I LOVE to make journals!
Surrounded by vintage books that I snip images from~
Mounds and heaps of rubber stamps that I have
collected for over 20 years...
Postage stamps from around the world...
AND
Prints from my original watercolors and
pen and ink illustrations!

Each journal is different because the ephemera
is all original. The old dictionary snippets,
garden book illustrations... word sentences...
Rare postage stamps from around the world!

Each journal has similar stamped pages...

Each journal is bird themed!
My feathered friends and I spent this
entire week together!

Many of you have asked about copies of my
watercolors~ I am researching the best way
to have my originals reproduced. I want to provide
a quality print~ without a big price...
I hope to have color prints available this fall.

One of my favorite covers...

More peeks...

Example of the black and white prints...

Three of my favorite stamps put together!

Dictionary snip with a stamp...

(The medium size journals...)

Moleskine journals have smooth, off-white pages.
Acid free product with an inner back pocket.
I have added a favorite quote on the back pocket,
signed and dated each one...
I am going to list all eleven of these in my Etsy store!
More detailed photographs of the covers will
be on the individual listings... other details, too!

Hope your Friday is off to a great start!
Wishing you all the best~

Tippy and the Chipmunk...

(for some reason the video stays black until
you click on the arrow, bottom left...)

Silly chipmunks love to tease our furry tails!
They gather seeds and climb the house to perch and feast...
In front of the cats~
Right outside their favorite windows!

It's all in the tail...

Journals are finished!
Tomorrow morning I will post about them and
list them in my Etsy store~
Hope you have a wonderful evening!

Sneak Peek New Journals...

I hope your week is off to a great start!
I have been busy at the printers...
Having originals made into prints for a new project!

Moleskine jounals~
They're wonderful to write in...
Sketch in...
Journal or keepsake!

I'm making a baby book for a friend.
Another sweet baby girl!
I use vintage/old Little Golden books &
scrapbook stickers/papers to dress most pages.

While I'm making a big mess with stamps, scissors...
papers, ephemera... ribbons... stickers... glue etc.
I decided to make several bird-themed books!
5 large & 6 medium size Moleskines journals...
I will have them available in my Etsy Store soon!

These are some of the images I will tuck inside...
Hope your day is sunny & sweet~