Pink Roses

a bit of Pam...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...

I love Pam Garrison...

Everything she does inspires me...her journals and art, and these fabric collages she has been working on (and blogging about)...

I bought this little piece from Pam's Etsy store a few weeks ago, and I want to find the perfect old frame to put it in...I just love all the patterns and textures...

This makes me want to dig out the collage piece I started back in January...I haven't worked on it in months...maybe this Fall I will start stitching again!

52Q: weeks 28, 29, 30...

Q28:what are your favorite days of summer filled with?

Well, as you can tell, my favorite days have not been filled with blogging!  I find it SO hard to blog when the kids are home, maybe because now more than ever I realize my time with them is rare and precious, and I tend to drop everything to be with them.  But now, I'm back :)  For this tag I used rubber stamps, micron pen and colored pencils.

Q29: do you have a recurring dream?

I used: fabric, wallpaper, paper lace, stamens, a pompom, ribbon and a label maker...

Q30: who do you need to thank?

This started with a tiny little thank you card that Julie Collings had sent me...I just LOVE Julie's perfect little handwriting and had saved it...

I rubber stamped the tag, stapled Julies card to the end with ribbon and a piece of black scalloped paper underneath so it would stand out.  And who do I need to thank?  Well, my parents for everything, and you guys for taking the time to read about it!

Hope you all have a great day!

chocolate tin...

A few weeks ago I was exploring an old town with a new friend and found this chocolate tin in a little antique store.  I have several vintage chocolate boxes made of cardboard, but none made of metal.  The price was right and it was the perfect "shabby chic palette" as Rachel Ashwell would say, and useful to store things, so I bought it.

Three and a half ponds of chocolate...that's a lot!  I wonder if someone was very good, or very bad! :)  Was this given for Valentine's or Mother's Day, an anniversary?  The inside is all scratched, so did someone use it to store buttons, or was it in a workshop holding nuts and bolts?

I added the flower to dress it up and now I need to find a home for it.  It actually would go in any room of my house, but I'm thinking of using it on my bathroom counter to hold makeup...maybe line it with an old linen or hankie.  So many possibilities...

no fussing...

We got the boy moved back to college on Sunday...it was a long day, but really quite easy.  He didn't take tons of stuff (compared to a girl), and wouldn't let me help him do anything.  No fussing.  I insisted on making the bed, but that's all he would let me do.  I used to have to spend the night with Elizabeth, because she wanted help with everything!  I think he was just glad to be back and to see his girlfriend Katie again...

So now life gets back to normal...can someone please tell me what "normal" is?  Last year I lived by myself, the year before was with a teenaged son...now I am living with a 20-something girl/woman/daughter.  She and I have never lived alone together, except for the occasional weekend girls trip.  We learn, we grow, life changes, new beginnings, and hopefully she and I will enjoy our time together...with no fussing!

pencils...

some things make me happy just looking at them...

next to me...

We have wireless internet, which means he could take his laptop computer anywhere in the house to check email, and Facebook, and Youtube...any room, any chair, any place.  Sometimes he chooses to sit

next to me. 

When this happens it's like having a butterfly land on your arm...surprised at first, you quickly remain motionless so as not to scare it away.  I do not look up from my book, but I stop reading.  I notice his feet touching mine, I feel the warmth of his arm next to me, I listen to his breathing.  I steal a sideways glance at his perfect profile and his shaggy-needs-a-haircut hair and his long fingers typing away.  I pretend not to notice that he's there, but we both know, and our feelings go unspoken.  I do not say: I love you, you smell good, and I'll miss you when you're gone.  I do not say (for the one millionth time) that I'm glad your my son, and I love being your mom, and you make me so proud.  I do not break the silence, I just cherish every moment, that he's sitting

next to me.

inspiration board...

 

I needed a new inspiration board for my studio, and this is what I came up with...take one ugly duckling twin headboard from a garage sale...

Paint the headboard white, cut a thin piece of foam from the fabric store to fit inside the frame, use a damaged vintage damask tablecloth to cover the foam, staple gun in place, glue cording around the edge to cover your horrible stapling job...

I was going to cover the cording, but liked the texture of it uncovered (I swear it's not because I'm lazy...it's all about the texture!)...

I need to get the boy to help me hang it above my desk this week, and then I can cover it with fun stuff...it's not perfect, but it will be inspiring!

all's well...

Just checking in to let you know that all is well...enjoying some "mandatory family time" as I like to call it, where everyone has to turn off the electronics and hang out together.  That means me too!

Also helping this one get ready to go back to college in one week.  ONE week!  Don't even get me started...

so I'm trying to soak in every single bit of him I can...

...before I have to say goodbye...I'll be back soon!