Whites: A Magazine and a Mantel

Hello! Well, we survived last night's storms. After our area received an actual tornado warning around dinner time, we grabbed the cats and holed up in Hubby's closet for about 40 minutes. His is the one spot in this house that is away from windows and outer walls. When all was clear we ventured out and today we only had some branches and pine cones strewn about the yard, so we won't complain. My heart goes out to those in the areas that were not quite as lucky.

When we knew yesterday morning that we were in for some stormy weather, I picked up some foodstuff on our way back from breakfast. I also picked up a great magazine, and thought I would share a few glimpses of it with you.

This is the magazine.

(Ignore all my sticky notes,

and pardon the bad photos.

Good lighting was not

to be found!)

Can you guess why I bought it?

All kinds of articles about white decor.

The creamware featured in this article was gorgeous...

This was about a lovely shop in

Birmingham, AL 

that featured beautiful wares in white...

This owner used a lot of neutrals

with a touch of black.

I loved the rustic ceiling beam

that kept everything from looking

too sterile...

This stove is gorgeous,

and was in my idea of a dream kitchen.

White shaker cabinets,

marble counter tops,

and wood floors.

I wouldn't personally put spices in that

drawer under the stove though,

as spices should be kept cool.

Perhaps this designer or owner does 

not like to cook!...

And this glimpse is from the old family home

of Terry John Woods,

who is an artist and designer.

Not too long ago I bought two of his 

recent books about modern

farmhouse decorating, but

I started following him in Country Living

in his early

folk art days when his home was

decorated in a primitive fashion.

Over the years, his home

 has evolved to a pale and whitewashed

look, which of course, I love...

And this gal had something I always say that I will one day start,

namely a moon garden.

I love all of these white flowers...

...and the bouquets that she makes with them.

Gee...I wonder why I bought some 

moon flower seeds today?...

And who could not love snowdrops?

They start to pop up early,

 and often right through the snow.

What could be bad about that?

I have never seen any for sale in this area,

though I have seen the bulbs for 

sale in mail order catalogs.

Must try them some time!...

And now for reality instead of fantasy.

Last week I was tired of looking at our

rather barren (after the holidays) mantel,

and did some late winter 

or early spring 

(depending on whether you consider

your cup half empty or half full)

decorating of it.

I went for a clean and fresh look,

finally getting to hang up our new

goat picture.

Actually, I found Mr. Billy

on-line awhile ago,

long before we ever reworked the fireplace.

I love goats!...

I also used some faux milk bottles

purchased a while ago from Michael's...

...and some wispy white flowers,

also fake...

So much for this decorator!

NOT!!

Are you lightening up your decor yet?

Thanks for coming by, friends.

Fabric and Lace Collage: "A Sister's Solace"

Hello dear friends and blog sisters!

We have a bad storm headed our way within a couple of hours, so we have have hunkered down due to the threat of high winds and possible hail and tornadoes. I thought I'd catch up on a few "computer" things while I can still be safely connected.

I finished the "purple" collage 

that I posted about last week.

I used silky fabrics,

a vintage doily,

antique lace,

and old buttons.

The whole collage was sewn to

a lovely piece of ivory damask...

It was fun working with these colors,

as they are normally outside of my

"comfort zone"...

I used sari ribbons and 

crinkled seam binding for the tie.

I got to practice some of the fancy stitches

that my fairly new sewing machine

can do...

This piece will be listed for sale in my

Etsy shop.

****************************

I also put a few things together for my next piece.

Some laces, and fabrics in grey-blues,

along with, of course,

a beautiful photo!...

Keeping the momentum going!

As always, thank you for sharing some time with me.

Architectural Salvage: Three Windows and a Door

Hello to all!

Last week Hubby and I went to Vintage Village on a mission. And we came back with exactly what we were looking for. Imagine that. No shopping around. No waiting to find them. No stress. They were all just magically there! And discovered in about 30 minutes.

Three old windows.

The one in the middle is just slightly different, 

but close enough...

How could you not love these?

Pardon our legs reflecting in the glass!!

But the best part was the old salvage door.

Exactly what we were looking for.

Don't you love the rope "doorknob"?

Was this thing a rest room door in a bar,

or perhaps on the side of a red barn?

A cool shade of red, 

but not for us...

We love that the panels run length-wise,

but best of all is the reverse side...

Just look at that patina...

...a closer view...

Here is the door propped up 

over the windows...

And they are sitting in our very own garage. 

Not just on a photo on my cell phone.

My, oh my.

Whatever are we going to use these for?

Stay posted!

*************************

Have a great day!

Harbingers of Spring: Pansies, Violas and Hellebore

Happy Monday!

This weekend we had our first beautiful couple of days. With temperatures in the 60's it was the perfect time to do some yard cleanup. So, on Saturday I cleaned up the herb garden (in which I also grow daylilies and coneflowers, if you follow this blog), and then worked on the little garden that grows along the stone path leading to our deck.

Yesterday we had to go to Lowe's for some stuff that Mr. Perch needed for his current project, so I spent a few minutes in the garden section. It's always fun to see the early arrivals that usually make their way here after mid-February, namely pansies and violas. So who could resist?

It felt great to be out there for about four hours each day, but my muscles and back are singing a different tune!

Pretty purple pansies...

...and whites and yellows...

Sweet yellow and blue violas,

which will self seed and pop up

where you least expect to see them

in the years ahead...

These hellebore have been growing in

our shade garden at the base of our deck

for about six years now.

They actually started to bloom in January,

and will continue to do so until the weather

turns really hot.

They get better every year...

Below is the little area along the path

to the deck.

The daylilies are just beginning to pop

out of the ground,

but until they really grow tall and bloom,

I decided to plant some of the pansies and 

violas between them to give us some color.

This little area doesn't look like much now,

but in the spring and summer it is

quite beautiful.

I won't mulch until I can see what

is really coming in...

Then yesterday I cleaned out one of our

daylily and iris gardens.

It always takes a while because we have quite a few

plants, and I keep markers in the dirt identifying

each one.

When I clean out the gardens, 

I also replace the markers that broke

during the winter

or are getting difficult to read. 

I use cut up pieces of cheap white mini-blinds,

and write on them with pencil.

It is a cheap way to keep track of your plants,

and they usually hold up for two or three years.

*************************************

What did you do this weekend?

Paper and Lace Collage: "Dare to be Different"

Happy Tuesday friends!

I have been in a creative mood lately, probably as an excuse to get out of cleaning the attic...oops! So I decided to create a little piece using the Victorian photo album paper frame that was sitting out waiting to be incorporated into another project.

I used one of my favorite ballerina

images from my vintage photo collection.

I didn't use the original photo album frame

because it was too thick to sew through.

A copy worked fine!...

I also added a copy of vintage sheet music,

old lace and black velvet ribbon,

three stacked paper flowers,

held on with a brad,

and old laces.

The bottom fringed layer is not actually

lace, but rather a piece of 

an old window valance,

found where else, 

but in the attic!...

And for the "different" little ballerina,

I made her a skirt fashioned from some

ribbon that had rhinestones on it. 

It was a piece from a scrapbook store, 

and not vintage...

All layers were sewn on by machine,

and then sewn to burlap backing for some

support,

and lengths of my beloved

crinkled seam binding are tied

into a bow at the top

to serve as a hanger.

Today I am joining Wendy's

Simply Neutrals Tuesday Party

and you can visit all of our friends

HERE.

********************************************

Note: Not to sound like a used-car salesman,

but if you like this image of the ballerinas,

it is for sale as a digital download 

in my Etsy shop.

I normally don't list photos for sale unless 

I have already used them in my own art,

but how could I not share this beauty!

Making some room and purple...

Good morning friends! I mentioned recently that I have been cleaning out our attic and tagging things for our community yard sale in the spring. Cleaning out attics is never fun, at least not in my book, but as with everything else, there is always a bright side.

I determined the other day that if I live to be 100, I will never again need to buy gift wrap, other than perhaps for Christmas. Because I am (almost!) a hoarder of all things on sale that I think I will have a future use for, we had so many rolls of wrapping paper stored in so many plastic totes that I decided to price all of the ones that I didn't think I would ever really use and away they will go. Well, as you can imagine, the attic-cleaning is not confined to just the attic, because we are also getting rid of quilts, throw pillows, and various other household items that are not only sitting in the attic. So along the way, I have cleaned out bedroom closets, kitchen cabinets, and even my studio. That's right. My studio!!

As I was tagging the gift wrap, I decided to clean out the bottom drawer of my chippy white old dresser in my studio, where I kept papers that were for occasions other than Christmas. Not to mention, a long and low tote that housed more of the same is stored under the bed in the upstairs guestroom. Result?

All wrappings are now consolidated into the

tote that is under the guest room bed,

and this dresser drawer in the studio

was emptied out and cleaned...

All the stuff that was sorted for projects-to-soon-

be-in-the-works that were sitting on the bed...

...are now in zip-locks in the drawer...

,,,and you can now see the bed ,

which anyone rarely sleeps in,

for what it really is...

As I said before,

there is a bright side to everything.

And after working most of the day Saturday

on the "attic project",

I treated myself to a little creative time.

Since my fabrics are now so nicely organized,

I pulled out the purples...

...and put some things together

for a fabric collage, 

hopefully to be completed soon...

Goodness,

I love it when a plan comes together!

Valentine's Day and a German Pancake

Happy Valentine's Day! 

In honor of this special day of love,

I thought I would share a scan 

of this vintage sheet music that I have.

Use as you wish in your artwork!

The other day I took a trip over to World Market.

I love puttering about in their food (and wine!) section

because you see so many things that you don't 

see elsewhere.

I am not a big pancake person

(as in the big thick things that you get

in most restaurants).

I would much rather eat French crepes 

or nice puffy German pancakes

(perhaps because I am of 

French and German descent),

so imagine my excitement when

I saw THIS...

Once box makes two batches,

with one batch being one large pancake

baked in the oven in a cast iron pan

at 450 degrees,

and coming out looking like this...

Served with fresh blueberries

and powdered sugar...

...and a side of breakfast sausages,

it made for a delicious Valentine's

breakfast today.

And the best part?

Mr. Perch did the dishes!

We will go out to dinner tonight with family members.

This day is special for us,

because we got engaged seven

years ago today.

Do you have any special plans for today?

*********************************

Keep love in your heart!