Immortality: Standing Proud and Strong

"In every flower that blooms around,

Some pleasing emblem we may trace:

Young love is in the myrtle found,

And memory in the pansy's grace

Peace in the olive brance we see,

Hope in the half-shut IRIS glows,

In the bright laurel victory,

And lovely woman in the rose."

--AUTHOR UNKNOWN

VERSE FROM ANTIQUE GARDEN BOOK

FAMILIAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Published by Cassell and Company, Limited

London, Paris & Melbourne

Prior to 1891

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Standing straight and tall,

proud and strong,

and visible from across our yard

is a beautiful white iris...

She set her buds and was ready to bloom

right before a surprise early spring

hard freeze hit.

She was not daunted by the freeze.

She was not daunted by the wind.

Shortly thereafter a second,

and more fierce,

freeze hit.

By this time her buds were ready to open,

so I feared that we would lose them all.

But she was not daunted by Mother Nature,

and she continued to bloom...

  

 

...pure white with yellow beards...

 

...and the slightest pale lavender at her throat...

 

 

I have divided and shared her many times.

She is now in several spots in our gardens.

She was one of the least expensive

 and most common

bearded iris that I have ever purchased,

but her beautiful fragrance abounds

and she perserveres as one of the

earliest bloomers in the garden.

Her name is Immortality.

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Today I am linking with Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday,

and you can join the fun here.

Thanks, Wen!!

 

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.

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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!

Neutral Odds and Ends

Good morning!

Yesterday I went to my favorite antique place, Vintage Village in Raleigh, NC, to pick up my order of Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint (Farmhouse White, which I wrote about in a recent post), and browsed around with phone in hand taking some photos. It is amazing how many neutral items you can find at these places. And the best part? They are set up in the most wonderful vignettes, so I don't have to do any staging! You have to love it.

Handles and knobs...

Curio cabinets...

Baskets and picket fence pieces...

Old painted frames...

A chippy paint door actually used on this shop...

And, of course, a close-up of its old

knob...

Not to mention,

the biggest bread bowl I have ever seen,

with a bowl of fruit...

And who could not take a photo of this sign,

with beautiful old stuff around it...

In my next post I'll provide the rest 

of the photos that I took there,

but for today, 

I am linking to 

Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday Party.

Why don't you pop over there and say hello

to some of my other friends!

You can find Wen's blog here.

Have a wonderful day!

Winter Whites and Winter Days

Hello friends! 

Today we woke up to a 31-degree morning, which is pretty cold for November in NC. My heart goes out to our friends in the mid-west who have it so much worse with their early snowfall. I hope that you are all doing well!

Recently I purchased some lace fabrics and trim on Etsy, and most of them were in winter whites, so I couldn't resist pairing them with some of my vintage winter photos on burlap linen.

Do you remember when you were little and

your mom bundled you up so tightly that

you could barely walk?

But if you did as you were told,

she rewarded you with a ride on your 

sled.

Of course, she was all bundled up too!

When you grew up,

you got to skate with your friend.

You were still bundled up against

the cold.

Well, maybe not as much as 

when you were little!

Wherever you are,

enjoy the season! 

Thanks for coming by.

This week I will join Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday.

You can find Wen's blog here.
Thanks again Wendy.
I really appreciate all of your hard work!

Fabric and Paper Collage: Thankful

"Give thanks for a little

and you will find a lot."

-- A HAUSA PROVERB

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I am giving some thought as to all that I am thankful for. 

But I am not so thankful for the sadness in France this week. 

My prayers are with the people that were so adversely impacted by the recent events in that country. 

What terrible irony there is in that "the city of love" played victim to those with such hatred in their hearts. 

Though I have never been to Paris, my great grandmother was born there, 

 so I feel a kinship to the people of that city and a love for the country that helped
 ours become what she is today.

Though I hope that the people of France are finding something to be thankful for,

it might be a little hard right now.

But it will come. 

As it did after our own terrible day some years back.

France, this one is for you...

This week I will join Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday.

Wendy was born in France,
so my prayers are especially with her.
You can find Wen's blog here.

Beautiful Vintage Photos

Hello dearest friends. I hope that you are having a great week!

Last week I received the most beautiful vintage photos that I had ordered from Etsy, and thought that you might like to see them. Of course, they deserve to be displayed in a lovely setting, at least for a little while..

Who can resist these beautiful little girls...

...or these lovely dancers?...

This little lady is one of many that I have

depicting little girls wearing big bows...

...and likewise, one to add to my collection

of little girls holding dolls...

That I now own this photo of these pretty

little blonde sisters makes my heart sing.

Don't you just love that they are holding

twin dolls?...

Of course, this charming group

 was added to my collection

of photos of dancers...

...but this little fairy girl dancer 

is just stunning...

And, as friends often do,

we share things,

so here is one for you...

Right click and save, and use as you wish.

This photo is so old I can't imagine that

there is any copyright protection afforded

to it.

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Today I am joining Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday Party.

Why don't you pop over there and join the fun!

You can find Wen's blog here.

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Dance through the week,
and find some creative time!

We are headed up to The Wren's Nest
to add some finishing touches
and to start getting her ready to be closed down
for the winter.

Thanks so much for coming by!

Old Books, Hooks, and Baby Shoes

Hello dear friends!

We just got back from The Wren's Nest, our little place in the mountains, where we spent most of our time trying to finish the bathroom remodel before we have to close it down for the winter next month. Consequently, I haven't had much time for being creative in the way of any artwork.

So, I thought that I would take out a few of my pretties and post photos of them today.

I love Victorian baby shoes with their

tiny little buttons.

They look especially pretty when

sitting on top of a couple of vintage books...

Recently, I stumbled upon my newest collectors' item.

Did you ever wonder how the Victorians managed to

fasten all of those tiny buttons

while their little ones were squirming around?

Well, they used boot hooks, 

some of which you can see in the next two photos.

Boot hooks came in all different sizes,

some for children's shoes,

and some for those of the adults.

Some of them had celluloid handles.

And some, made of steel,

were given away at shoe stores as freebies and stated the name

and location of the manufacturer of the shoe.

The three below happen to have mother of pearl handles,

and not everyone likely afforded them.

They are so beautiful in their own right...

Here is a pretty little black shoe with lovely cutouts on the side,

and it has laces rather than buttons.

I also have the mate to this beauty.

Sometimes, though, I buy shoes 

that are missing their mate.

Not everyone and everything has to be

part of a pair to be beautiful!

And isn't the cover to this old poetry book gorgeous?

When buying old books,

I do indeed "judge the book by its cover"!

Even when falling apart I see such beauty in old books...

Of course,

you know that I also have a huge collection

of vintage photos, and couldn't resist

sneaking a couple into these vignettes!

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One of these days I will share photos of some of my other

old books, hooks and baby shoes.

Do you have any special collections?

I would love to hear about them. 

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Today I am joining Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday Party.

Why don't you pop over there and join the fun!

You can find Wen's blog here.

Thanks for coming by!

Fabric and Lace Collage: The Sweet Girls

Hello dear friends. Not too long ago I started these two little fabric and lace pieces and finally got around to finishing them. I think that when you look at the faces of the little girls in the images, you will know why I call them "the sweet girls". I purchased these images on Etsy, and the shop is NostalgieGrafikland. She has beautiful images that you would love, and you can find her here.

I apologize for the photos not being very good, but when I took them we were having a rainy week and the lighting was terrible. 

Today I am linking with Wen's Simply Neutrals Tuesday Party.

Why don't you pop over there and enjoy some lovely eye candy.

You can find Wen's blog here.

Thanks Wen!