sweet little houses

over christmas i bought a free style stitching foot and i looooove it!! click the above photo to see it large and all the random stitching i did by machine. these are each about 15" high by 5" wide and they sit on my antique church pew in the dining room. i never had my sewing machine set up permanently at my old house. here i designated a sewing corner in my art room and love how handy it is to just sit down and sew any time i want to.

we had gorgeous sunshine today here in indiana. i took a long walk and soaked up some rays. it felt marvelous!!

collaged cubbie!!

 

i wanted to share a few pics of the finished cubbie i showed you here.  this was so much fun and i just loved how it turned out.

it sits on top of my refrigerator and is a cute whimsical focal point.  i bought this at the thrift shop -- 2 pieces for $10 and i didn't have to buy a thing in order to transform it.

i love everything kelly rae and my collage work was inspired by her piece shown here.

and, an update this piece!! i've not touched this old cupboard that i featured here.   all of my china, teapots and other kitchen collectibles are still in mom's barn with the barn door frozen shut. i want to arrange a few things inside of it before i decide how to paint, refinish, collage, etc. please, please, please let spring get here soon!!!!!

a little of this, mostly that

i've had such a wonderfully creative weekend -- and willow was right in the middle of most of it! above she is sitting in the torn paper scraps i was using to collage over an old wooden cubbie i bought at the thrift store. i'm not sure which she was most attracted to -- the paper or the wonderful sunshine streaming in my dining room window. 

 

here's the cubbie. i bought it and a matching wooden chest with four little drawers for $10. yes, that's right -- only $10 for the set.  it's very sturdy and will look so cute when i get it all done. pics to come!!

today at goodwill i bought this roll of 2,000 double tickets for $3.00. did you see that they are orange??!! let me know if you'd like some!!

memories slumbered

in perfect silence

memories slumbered

as snowflakes

blanketed their beds

--julie king

as i was headed toward the cemetery on thursday afternoon i noticed another sojourner walking in the cemetery. she was bundled up against the cold but her stature and spirit were open. open to the beauty that surrounded her. open to the quiet. open to the joy that is walking in a snowfall. i wondered if she'd come to visit a loved one. was her heart heavy with sadness and loss? or was she like me -- buoyant and blessed by all god's bounty.

let me take a minute each day to be open to the world, to slow down, breathe in the essence of life and say a little prayer of thanks for the blessings.

winter's cloak

winter's cloak

is woven with

hope

-- julie king--

have you discovered kim classen cafe yet?!! i recently did and i love my visits to see how she adds textures to photos, her free classes and her frequent email of free textures if you sign up fir her email blasts. hop over and give her a visit.

i am grateful that my work management allows me to work from home on bad weather days -- like today!!!  the first snowfall we had this winter season it took me 2 hours and 20 minutes to get to work. it was not fun. i took a break from work this afternoon and headed out into the winter wonderland with my nikon. i shot the above in a hedgerow along the cemetery. i added kim's paper stained texture and then my gravestone 12 texture as well. i love all the depth and splotchiness.

welcome home

i wanted to share a few more peaks at my house. welcome home to my living room!  this first picture features 2 pieces of my art on the wall, some pillows i made and 3 of my thrift store finds -- the entertainment center, the coffee table and the plant stand. i'm planning to collage the top of the coffee table. i'm hoping to get that started this weekend.

here i've collected old wooden frames, taken the old photos out, removed the backs and placed them on the wall bare naked. then i've added photos of the grandkids  (all taken by me) which i mounted to black foam core and hung with velcro wall-hanging strips. more of my handmade pillows and two of my kelly rae roberts canvasses are lit by another thrift store find.

i bought the old student desks at an antique store in new castle for ben and jenna. i say bought but really it felt much more like a steal. they were very inexpensive!! jenna loves to do art projects at hers and ben mostly likes to climb up on the chair and mess up the mini blinds. :)  i made the curtains and love how they pull together my whole orange, teal and brown color scheme.

this is the view from the living room into the dining room. another of my fave collages and another handmade pillow keep things bright and cheery!

any of you who follow my blog regularly know that i've been on a roller coaster ride for a couple of years. ailing parents, the loss of my old dog presley, the death of my dad, my battle with debilitating depression and separation from my husband have tested my stamina, self esteem and perseverance. but i am a survivor and hope still lives in my heart. i'm regaining my footing, finding joy in simple pleasures and feeling at home in my own skin again -- slowly and surely. every time i come home i am welcomed by a new sense of possibility and renewed faith in myself.

i am truly blessed.

my next project

in case you were curious, i am still lurking in the thrift store and goodwill at least once a week. i love looking thru all the old stuff and occasionally buying something. above is my latest purchase -- a china hutch. i'm guessing it is from the 70s but i could be completely wrong. it is not a high-end piece of furniture but i like the style of it and am looking forward to fixing it up a bit.

i had lunch with my mom on monday and then headed to her little barn to load up a few boxes of my misc. china and dishes i have stored there. it's been a few months since i packed it all up and honestly i'm not sure what all is in there. i thought i'd bring most of it home in anticipation of being able to display my collection in this new hutch. but, alas, after tugging, pushing, pulling, lifting and much grunting i had to give up. it seems that the barn door has settled in the ground and frozen in place. just another reason to yearn for an early spring!!

happily nesting

 ever since i moved into my little rented house in late september i've been happily nesting. i thought it was time to show you a few pics of where i now call home. this is my dining room which features the antique oak table and chairs i bought when my kids were little and the old church pew i bought for $25 and my dad refinished for me decades ago.

i love the big window that faces south and the curtain i made. my indoor plant collection is growing since i have such a wonderful place for plants. 

here's a shot of nellie who you met here.  i still haven't done the collage work on her drawers but i hope to start soon.

one wall of my dining room features these originals i purchased from the itsy bitsy spill. i simply adore magaly ohika's work and i am so proud to display these pieces in my home!! her shop is here and her blog is here.

more to come on my new little home where i've found peace and tranquility.

meet my willow

after a few weeks of urging i finally relented and let my son matt bring me his favorite barn kitten. he had talked about how sweet she was for weeks and how i needed the extra company. i have to admit that i was a bit lonely when i didn't have bella and zoe here visiting with me. ( i get them every other weekend and one evening a week). so the little gray barn cat arrived in a flurry of excitement and peals of kittykittykittykittykitty and i named her willow.

she is the sweetest little thing, took right to the litter box and loves her kitten food. i'm sure she is pleased to get a whole bowl to herself since she was used to competing with several siblings for food. 

 

after a couple of quiet evenings alone here at the house with me, willow got to meet her sisters bella and zoe. not one of the three quite knew what to think at first but after a couple of days they were all tentatively playing together. and all 3 slept in bed with me altho we did have one 4 am raucous when willow playfully ran across bella and zoe's backs.    

notice the cute little bell in the first 2 photos. to save my sanity and ensure restful sleep, it has been removed. willow has not quite learned that lights out means no running, jumping, chewing of elbows or sucking of hair. i am hopeful that with time she will learn that this is a place of rest -- at least during the night.