I wish….

I wish that I weren’t so WISHY-WASHY!!!

I’ve decided to stay with my Typepad blog after all….find the rest of this post over there

Sorry!!!!

Treasures found…

Rarely does a day pass when I don’t venture into the out of doors. Soaking up some warm sunshine, and in season, gathering a few flowers and offerings of nature to bring indoors. We are blessed in Northern Georgia with a bountiful supply of trees with an equally impressive variety of  types of trees.

My one clump of River Birch trees is definitely a much loved tree in my book.

 

 

 

 

 

Loved for its beautiful peeling and curling bark, I am always gathering up the naturally shedded pieces. Eventually they find their way into an artsy/crafty project. 

 

 

 

 

 

But early this winter, I spotted something unusual hanging from the tree’s bare branches. Even with a goober-sized zoom lens it was hard to get a good shot of it as it was perched way up high. But that didn’t stop me from trying.

For months I checked on it…after every bout of high winds, snowstorms, heavy rain, I’d check to make sure it was still there. And it held fast…but then in the Spring the tree leafed out and I could no longer find it amongs the heavy growth of leaves.

But yesterday, while walking among my flower beds, I spotted something laying on the ground underneath the River Birch. My heart skipped a beat…it was the cocoon! I was surprised at how sturdy the little thing was made…like a very stiff, rugged cardboard covered in delicate silk threads.

And when I turned it over in my hand….

Look at what I saw! Is that awesome or what? So intrigued…it sent me running off to google to see what I could learn about this cocoon. I discovered that it was not a butterfly cocoon, but a silk moth’s cocoon {I think!!}. Which led me to this intriguing website called Aurora Silk.

 

 

In addition to selling silk cocoons {30 for $12} she has directions for soaking the cocoons in order to harvest the silk. My favorite part was her suggestion to save the water for a superior shampoo/conditioner!

 

As an artist and into all things natural, she has a line of dyes, silks, homeopathic creams, etc. There is even a kit to buy that would be perfect for a classroom teacher {or a science fair project} depicting the life cycle of a caterpillar. If you enjoy these kinds of things, you might enjoy browsing through her site.

I did place a little order as I could never soak the little treasure I found in order to harvest the silk…way too personally attached. smile.

Here’s to finding {seeing} the treasures in our days.

Xo, Sue

From a little cottage…

…nestled in the mountains of Colorado, to the piedmont region of the Appalachians, came this sweet little petit point cross-stitched topiary!

ZuZu, one of the sweet friends I’ve made through blogging, mailed this to me. It was a thank you gesture for having sent her some chalk paint samples.

In order to fully appreciate how tiny each of these stitches are, I’ve placed the framed beauty next to the tape dispenser.

Tucked inside the envelope was the cutest little card made of a pressed flower. A pressed flower with a glittered center. Just darling!

Love how she finished off the backing of the frame…

I just happend to love topiaries and have them scattered throughout my home and in my flower beds.

In fact, if you were to venture up my driveway you’d find six topiary-type trees, three flanking each side of the driveway. In the back I have a few topiary projects I’ve been working on as well. Too early to show those…they are works in progress…just like a 100 other projects I have going on!  

But THANK YOU, ZuZu! I just love what you made me! These are the types of treasures that I like to tuck throughout my house as they never cease to warm my heart and bring a smile to my face! Such thoughtfulness….

And if you’d like to do a whole lot more ooohing and aaahing, check out ZuZu’s Pinterest Boards. Oh my…you’re in for a treat!

Long Live Kindness!

xo, Sue

Why God Made Mothers

 

…how time flies…blink, and we’re now well into May.

My days have been jam packed with fun, and the not-so-fun…in other words, life. One of the funs is my continued love of taking photos.  Today, to wish my sweet bloggie friends a Happy Mother’s Day, I’ll share a few of those photos taken of my flowers.

But with a little humorous twist…

You’ve all probably seen this somewhere along life’s path, but it’s just too stinkin’ cute not to share again. It’s entitled: Why God Made Mothers. The answers were given by second graders. Enjoy…

 WHY DID GOD MAKE MOTHERS?

1. She’s the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

HOW DID GOD MAKE MOTHERS?

 1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
 2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
 3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger 
parts.

 WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE MOTHERS MADE OF?

1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in
the world and one dab of mean. ha ha ha
2. They had to get their start from men’s bones. Then they mostly use 
string, I think.

 WHY DID GOD GIVE YOU YOUR MOTHER AND NOT SOME OTHER MOTHER?

 1. We’re related.
 2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people’s mom like me.

 WHAT KIND OF LITTLE GIRL WAS YOUR MOM?

 1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
 2. I don’t know because I wasn’t there, but my guess would be pretty 
bossy.
 3. They say she used to be nice.

WHAT DID MOM NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DAD BEFORE SHE MARRIED HIM?

 1. His last name.
 2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk 
on beer?
 3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to 
chores?
{{having been a former elementary school teacher in one of my lives, i can attest to the fact that these answers are mild compared to what many teachers hear!}}

 WHY DID YOUR MOM MARRY YOUR DAD?

 1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot
 2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
 3. My grandma says that mom didn’t have her thinking cap on.

 WHO’S THE BOSS AT YOUR HOUSE?

 1. Mom doesn’t want to be boss, but she has to because dad’s such a goof 
ball.
 2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the 
bed.
 3. I guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

 WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MOMS AND DADS?

1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work. 

2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power ’cause 
that’s who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine..

WHAT DOES YOUR MOM DO IN HER SPARE TIME?

 1. Mothers don’t do spare time.
 2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO MAKE YOUR MOM PERFECT?

 1. On the inside she’s already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of 
plastic surgery.
 2. Diet. You know, her hair. I’d diet, maybe blue.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR MOM, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

 1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I’d get rid 
of that.
 2. I’d make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did 
it not me.
 3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of 
her head.

 
Here’s sending out loads of gratitude to all the mothers of the world, and those who practice the gentle art of mothering {a trait found in many women who never had their own biological children}, the world is a sweeter place because of you.

And special hugs and whispered prayers for the precious hearts that for a number of reasons, find this day extra hard. May grace give you the strength you need…

Xo, Sue

p.s. Joining Miss Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday today!

A whole lot of painting going on…

 

Way back yonder I dragged this steal of a deal home from an antique store. It was painted a lemony yellow…not a color that will blend with my new decorating direction.

First coat of the Annie Sloan chalk paint in Old White applied…several more steps to go before she's finished. Didn't even use a drop cloth!!! Please don't tell my hubby…he's away on a business trip which is why I can get away with such antics.

He's a rule follower….big time. I know I give him headaches. A lot.

 

When he starts a project, he sticks with it until its completed.

Me? Well…here's a good example. Paint swatches randomly slapped on our walls have graced our abode for longer than I want to admit. {but on a redeeming note, i've made my decision and the paint is in the garage waiting for the painters to come. the painters i haven't hired yet, that is…}

I needed time to think about it. Plus, the wheels in my brain spin constantly. And before the ideas disappear I sort of need to mark my spot. That way I'll have a visual reminder of what I was thinking about earlier.  

Let me illustrate…midstream while painting the hutch, I wondered in my spinning brain if I should paint out the two curio cabinets in the dining room as well.

So I just slapped a little of the Old White Annie Sloan paint on one of 'em just to take my idea for a test run, so to speak.

 
Thankfully I like the way it will look with the dining room chairs I'm painting out. So what was my plan B if plan A didn't work? I don't know. My brain spinners never got that far……….LOL!

What I won't show you, is that in this same room, there is a wall filled with paint swatches in various shades of muted/frenchy/robin eggs blue…the new color direction for this room.

Some {all?} of you are horrified right now, aren't you? Don't be. It always works out. Usually. Just ask my dolly friend who lives in the curio cabinet I randomly slapped some paint on as stood idly by watching… 

And often times during this latest painting spree, I'll head up to my art room and go to class.

 
My recently cleaned up table is now back to its messy usual self. But that's okay because I am thoroughly ENJOYING Christy Tomlinson's She Art online class. Fun. Fun. Fun.

 
I adore her style…and her videos are so well done…for my first attempt, I'm using an 11×14 canvas board I just happened to have in my stash.

 
There are still lots more layers and techniques that will be applied before I'm finished with this board. I just happen to have a frame that will work perfectly for this canvas…

…and you guessed it….it needs to be painted first.

But I always put down protective covering when I'm painting frames. I mean, duh. Did you think I didn't know any better?!!

Are you a rule follower, bender, ignorer, or a hybrid mix? Pray for me, okay?!

Xo, Sue

 

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

 
I first read about this paint on Miss Mustard Seed's blog. Oh my….

No sanding, no primer, no nothing needed before you paint a piece of furniture. Seriously? Even over varnish? Even over varnish.

After watching this video on her blog about waxing versus using a poly sealer I placed my orders for a few cans of the paint, two kinds of wax and the special waxing brush you see in my photo above…on this link she talks a little more about the paint and places to order it.

 But even if you're not in the market to paint some furniture, her blog is very inspiring! You might even discover after visiting that you now NEED to paint some furniture.

 
As soon as I opened the box of paint, I could hardly wait to try it out. Right in the middle of my floor. [not recommended by anyone who knows better] Sanding the piece for distressing purposes in the middle of your house is an even worse idea. Naturally….I did this too. Just once….never again!!!!! 

 
One dining room chair down…

 
…seven more to go…not to mention several other pieces I plan to tackle. The bids to have everything refinished by a pro was going to be a lot…

 
But it was obvious something needed to be done… Let's just call this style of distressing "puppy love"…. Most of our chairs look as if we raise beavers inside our house!!! Grrrrr…. But our little puppy has grown up now and no longer chews furniture….thank goodness.

 
The cream colored paint from the Annie Sloan line after adding some wax matched my corner cabinet in the kitchen just beautifully. I painted part of one chair to test it out. That's the beauty of this paint…even after waxing it {or applying poly} if you don't like it, just paint over it.

Sadly enough, puppy did a number on all of those chairs too. One puppy with sharp teeth left unattended for even three minutes can inflict unbelievable damage.

But somewhere over the course of last week in all of my decorating scheming, I decided to go another direction with the chairs.

 
I ordered these……..! One meal of spaghetti with a pack of teenage boys will let me know rather quickly whether I made a huge mistake. The old chairs will find a new home and purpose in our basement.

Incidentally, you can use this paint to make chalkboards too….check out the Annie Sloan website to see all the colors available. Or mix a couple of colors for your own custom color.

Wishing you all a wonderful week of living creatively!

Texture Tuesday at Kim Klassen Cafe

 
Oh YIPPEEE SKIPPEEEE!

Been so busy catching up on real life [meaning less computer time] that I almost missed the news about Kim's newest inspiring adventure, TEXTURE TUESDAY!

I'm also known to spend way too much time out of doors once Spring hits my hometown. Like it's done! The above photo is one of my favorite of favorite trees…The Red Bud tree.

After applying a couple of Florabella actions, I added five layers of Kim's textures:

~scratches, 2 brushed linens, just golden, and an all time favorite, grey day!  

 
Thought I'd show the original pic before I applied the textures. It wasn't that long ago that I knew "zero" about Photoshop, and even less about adding textures to a photo. But both of those changed when I happened across Kim's blog! I took a couple of her online classes and a whole new world of fun was discovered.

If you've ever wanted to learn Photoshop {any of the versions}, I have, and will continue to highly recommend Kim's classes. There's even a free one to get you started. Just click on this link and you'll find the listing of classes on her sidebar.

 
Dragged home from the greenhouse a few pots of these adorable flowers to add to my flower beds last week. They are called Scabiosa, or more commonly known as the Pincushion flower.

Kim Klassen textures that I used: just blush, mona, sepia scratched, and 3 layers of softly. {also used a texture from flickr from boccacino}.

Head over to this post and check out all the other players in Texture Tueday and be inspired!

Hippity Hoppity….

 
Sometimes a little whim has me chasing rabbits…

…or bunny ears…specifically felted bunny ears….

…with wires in them so they can bend!

 
…and might as well make a hat to stick them in….

…and don't forget to hand sew some vintage bias tape around the edges so you can tie it on to someone's head…and add some vintage pom pom balls too!

Easter's on its way you know….

 
…and he could sit on a glass jar filled with chocolate eggs covered in pretty pastel foiled wrappers! {or jelly beans!}

But don't buy them just yet because you know you'll eat too many of them…

 
Those little pom poms made from tulle would sure make a sweet bunny tail…

 
Another one of the dollies thought she should have a chance to have her picture taken in the new hat as well. Have you ever noticed the tendency in curly-haired folks to stir the pot of life just a tad more than straight-hair folks do? That's why I religiously take a flat iron to my curly hair…it improves your personality. Seriously.

Since this little hat I made reminded me of this Ralphie scene from A Christmas Story…

 
I'll leave you with one last picture of a "Ralphie" version of my new hat!

 
Just being silly today.

But also wanted to share the scrumptious ground cover phlox that is showing off in my flower beds right now. Wish it would bloom all summer, but it doesn't….such a hardy perennial to plant that will naturally spread over the years.  

Hope you're finding some time for silly too. It's important too you know!

Xo, Sue

p.s. AND speaking of time, And of PS {PINK SATURDAY} I'm linking to my fellow Duke Blue Devil's fan, Miss Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to play in her weekly Saturday event! Saturday's are typically not a good day for me to play on the computer so it's fun to HIPPITY HOP back aboard for today!

So many blessings!

 
Spring has returned.  The Earth is like a child that knows poems. 

 ~Rainer Maria Rilke

Everyday there is a new plant peeking out of the ground, others stretching to new heights, an explosion of colors all around me….oh, how I adore Spring. And March Madness….as in NCAA basketball tournaments. Seriously. Die hard fan of college basketball. Especially the ACC, and specifically the Duke Blue Devils.

Despite the warmer weather calling me outdoors, I do come in for the games I need to watch. Which is most of them! And blessings heaped upon blessings, my Dukie boys are still in the dance!

As if all of that isn't enough, I was also blessed to win Cherie's {Humble Pie Designs} recent giveaway! {check out her She Art she has posted on her blog…next class begins April 11th!}

 

Amy Barickman's scrumptious book she was most generous to donate to the cause…

 
Lots of special little touches in the box as well….

 
It's filled with articles from days gone by…Department of Good Looks makes me smile. When stress has the better of you, it's time to melt into the mattress of the couch. Such timeless wisdom…

Speaking of stress, and the NCAA games, and not being someone who sits still very well….

…I've been reading through this book while watching the games. This little illustration from the book sort of jumped off the pages to me. Sparked an idea to keep my hands busy…inspired me to stitch some little embroidered flower medallions…

 

 

 
….lots of stitching going on during the games…the little flower pieces are stitched to a 100% cotton batting…the quilt squares, if you will, are pieces of vintage wallpaper first glued to a sheet of paper {also did a linen backing version} and then stitched…

 
Okay…and maybe I pop a few of those healthy ALMONDS {covered in sugar and chocolate} into my mouth as well, to relieve stress, of course.

I'm a big fan of cheetos and nacho doritos too but those leave orange fingerprints on handwork…m&m's don't!

Also tucked into the box was this pattern of Amy's…I'm pretty sure I could see myself melting into the couch in a pair of those jammie bottoms…

Good thing all my little ones are old enough to drive themselves to where they need to go these days.  Cuz back in the day when I was the driver to all the practices…

….and my gardening time was interupted to make the next run…

…i can't tell you how many times they'd ask if I was going to change into normal shoes before we left. They'd be asking the same question if I ventured out in these fun jammie bottoms as well….

 
What's wrong with these garden boots?! Why didn't they want their mother to wear them out in public? 

Oh well. You can't please all of the people all of the time.

Unless of course, you put a sweet package in their hands like the one I received from Cherie! Cherie who is always such a bundle of warm encouragement and talented little creator of all things artsy! Thank you so much {and Amy too!} for such wonderful gifts.

Xo and many warm blessings, Sue

GO DUKE!

Online Classes

Sometimes I think about the impact of computers on our lives. Wow. Twenty-something years ago when working in corporate America, in a 75 story building, in the heart of a major city, our floor of maybe 50-60 people received "ONE" PC to share!!!

And one night I was in that building way past midnight ripping my hair out trying to load in data [to a flawed program] for a meeting the next day. For a client. Because my boss said so. We were going to wow them with our advanced technological abilities….NOT. Do you know how creepy it is to be in a skyscraper, in the middle of the night, in a huge city? Really creepy…especially for this scaredy cat!

If you had told me way back then that someday I would ENJOY being on the computer and even taking online classes…

 
 
…i probably would have laughed…and not believed you!

 
Fast forward to today: now I'd believe you. While my first attempts are fairly simple compared to how elaborate you can go, I am thoroughly loving stitching away in the evening hours on these two little pieces.

 
 

Specifics: Jude Hill's Cloth to Cloth: The Basics of Quilt Weaving online class.

First read about it here.

Of course, back then I never thought I'd spend time wiring vintage buttons together either. But I do that too…

 
Maybe the lessons I can learn from those seasons of frustration,

or when things aren't going right at all,

is that

 
And one of those POSSIBILITIES that I am anxiously awaiting is this:

 
Christy Tomlinson's She-Art class…the second round which will launch on April 11th. Thank you Cherie for sharing about this class so beautifully in your own creations! Check out her recent posts and be wowed! 

And very soon I will be sharing with you the YUMMY package that came my way from Cherie. Oh my. Lucky little me! 

Last but not least, another class that is in the works is another journaling class by Mary Ann Moss. I am so taking that class!  Meanwhile I am in love with her posts from Paris…it is a city that I so long to return to for a visit. One of my most favorite trips ever…

So wherever life finds you today…and esp. if you're in the heat of one of life's battle…just remember, tomorrow is full of NEW possibilities.

Xo, Sue