A small packet of loveliness and a gift for you...

Good morning everyone!

Last week I received some more antique indigo fabric that I had ordered. I am always amazed that some of the sellers on eBay take such care in packaging their items. This one arrived with a lovely special touch.

I loved the way she placed the fabrics

in this cellophane envelope, 

included a thank you card,

and wrapped it with a bow...

How sweet is this?...

And here were the fabrics,

in such a lovely shade of blue

that can't be matched with

today's modern versions...

So, friends...

since the indigo hails from the

1800's and early 1900's,

I thought it only fitting to gift to

you these two vintage photos

that were from the same time

period.

They are CDVs,

which pre-dated

cabinet cards.

Aren't these possibly the cutest children

that you've ever seen?

I love that I have two photos,

with the children in different

poses...

Click and save to use in your art!

Many thanks for coming by.

In morning's early light...

Good morning friends! 

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day...cool and breezy with clear blue skies, so after I finished my morning walk with my neighbor, I took a walk through the yard and shot some photos. Everything looked so pretty in the morning light.

The Limelight Hydrangeas

growing behind the deck 

are at their peak.

I'm amazed that they look so good,

since the other species that we have

didn't bloom very well this year...

And the hostas and ferns

growing in the fountain garden

at the base of the deck

are thriving due to the miracle of

some good recent rains...

What is thriving in your garden 

these days?

In my dreams...

When I dream,

this is where I live.

In a Folk Victorian with a white picket fence...

...and beautiful pink crepe myrtles 

in front...

It has a porch that surrounds much of the house...

...with brick chimneys 

and four fireplaces...

 It has a beautiful yard,

not too large,

and not too small...

...and original stained glass throughout...

When you close your eyes,

where do you live?

Have a wonderful evening.

And if you dream tonight,

dream big!

Christmas in July...

Hello to all!

Have you noticed that "Christmas in July" has become a really big thing lately? I suspect that the real reason is so stores and other vendors can cash in twice, instead of only once, on the Christmas shopping frenzy. When I was in Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago, a bunch of Christmas decorations were already out. And when we were up north last week, I noticed at least one town where the streets were decorated, and you could tell that people had decorated Christmas trees standing in front of their windows.  My dad was telling me yesterday that his town in Florida does the same thing. Each to his own, I guess, but personally, once a year is enough for me. I guess you could decorate your tree, though, in a beach or patriotic theme, and kill two birds with one stone!

While we were away last week we had our mail held at the Post Office. So, having Mr. Perch come home with a box filled with the week's mail was a bonus for me. Some things I ordered on line were all there at once, and this was my own version of Christmas in July.

Some small pieces of antique indigo

print fabric from the 1880's to

the early 1900's. 

This fabric is getting harder to come by,

and lately I've had a thing for indigo...

Three of the most beautifully quilted

indigo and cream quilt squares

I've ever seen.

I dream about what the whole quilt

must have looked like.

I am thinking of making them into a 

table runner, but time will tell...

Here is one up close...

And a sizeable piece of quilt done in

the "ocean waves" pattern...

And last but not least, some vintage photos

to add to my ever-growing photo collection. 

I love the sister with the baby,

and I adore girls on swings.

The tiny photo...

...is one of a few pieces of the photo booth strip shown below.

They were separated like this when I got them, 

but yet, to have this many still together is quite

a find.

Mostly, dealers separate them into singles 

and sell them as one photo to maximize their profits.

Pity. 

I wonder what this beautiful mother and daughter 

were thinking when they had these taken.

Each photo measures only about 1 inch wide

by 1 1/2 inches high.

A copy of one would be lovely in a jewelry pendant...

An added bonus was that the photo booth strips were

in an envelope with these stamps on it.

Aren't they worthy of being incorporated into 

a collage?...

For some inexplicable reason, 

I bought this western belt buckle. 

Well, actually there IS an explanation.

I have amassed a small collection of vintage cowgirl

photos, and am hoping to do some cowgirl art.

Well, maybe...

Collections of stuff. Awesome stuff. I keep saying I will use it, and I will. The question is: when? Perhaps in the winter when yard season and vacations are done with. Hmmmm....

I hope that you're being more creative than I've been lately!

Paper inspirations...

Good morning!

Last week the last of my search for artistic inspiration took me to Absolutely Everything, a paper arts store in Topsfield, MA. I try to go every year when we are up there because they are always on top of the newest art "stuff", and I haven't found a similar store in this area.

If you follow this blog, you know that I am not really a scrapbooker, but I do love the papers and other doodads found in scrapbook stores. One of the lines of paper that I can never find around here is Graphic 45, which they carry there. I couldn't resist these two paper pads, which I now buy in the smaller 8 by 8 size since I find they are so much easier to use when making only greeting cards. Also, if I want to take something with me to work on when we go to Birdsong Cottage, they are easy to carry and all coordinated, so I can make cards or tags with few supplies.

The colors are just so beautiful!

This one was the By the Sea Collection...

I tried to also show you what some of the back

sides of the pages looked like...

I think that I would like to use some of these

vintage beach pages with some of my old

beach photos that I've been accumulating...

 And this one was 

the Botanical Tea Collection.

Can you guess why I loved this one?...

 Well, that's all I have for today! I hope that you have a great one!

Sentiments from The Pansy Album

Hello!

Last year I posted about an antiques shop that I like to visit in Concord, Massachusetts when we are up there each year, and last week was no different. It is Thoreauly Antiques, and you can read my post here. I didn't plan on spending a lot of time in there this time, as we were getting hungry and headed to lunch, but imagine my surprise when I walked in the door and immediately spotted something that I have been hoping to find for quite some time now. And that was a vintage autograph album that isn't selling for a fortune.

I fell in love with it the minute I saw it.

It is in perfect condition. 

And I love pansies...

The edges of the pages are the prettiest gold...

Not only is its frontispiece beautiful,

but it still has the album blotter contained within.

It's a miracle that it wasn't lost somewhere along the line.

I wonder how many people gently placed this blotter

behind the page that they were writing on to protect

the next page from the ink of the fountain pen 

bleeding through...

The penmanship is so beautiful.

Why can't we write like that anymore?...

Some of the pages had a beautiful pansy in the corner.

This sentiment was written five years after the previoius ones...

...and this one came earlier, but was written on a later page.

I imagine that they just opened the book to any page,

and spoke what was in their heart.

This one was from Douglas...

The Victorians were so demure,

yet they were so free with their sweet words...

If you click on the photo below,

you will see that her son signed on the left.

Was it his wife that signed on the right?

And they signed in 1910.

There is no indication of who this album belonged to,

but she must have kept and treasured it for many years...

The entries below were made towards the end of the book,

but were dated 1893...

There are still many blank pages in the book.

More blank pages than not.

What was the rest of the story? 

What became of the owner,

and how did this treasure end up in an antiques store?

Were there no ancestors that would have wanted to keep it?

I wish I could travel back in time to watch this ladies and

gentlemen signing this book.

Wouldn't that be something?