(photo of me at just a few weeks of age, with my mom, dad and brother - don't we look like the perfect 1960's family?)

My Birthday Weekend

My birthday was Sunday, but the celebration began before that.....

I received this lovely rose planter as a gift from a faraway friend. This sweet lady has never been to my home, yet knew how perfectly this would go with my decor! I loooooove it!

I have some of the most thoughtful friends! Another friend sent me these flower seeds because she knows I am currently putting in a cottage/secret garden. They will be perfect!

(The term "faraway friends" only applies to distance in miles, because I certainly hold them close in my heart.)

I began my celebration on Friday, when my dear mother took me out for lunch at my favorite cafe! We had a lovely time, and browsed some antique shoppes afterwards, and here are my finds....... these prayer lady salt & peppers, which are just the color for my kitchen.....





This sweet bird shelf..... I don't know where I'll put it, but thought it was so sweet!

This lovely green and pink plate, which will go in the dining room ~ somewhere! :)

Since my birthday (Sunday) would be spent travelling most of the day, so that we could attend my niece's graduation party, my husband and I spent the day together Saturday, hitting some flea markets and going out to dinner that night. I found a few treasures, which I'll share another time.......

It was a great birthday weekend, and included lots of chocolate too, of course!

I have named our pretty lady in pink! Thank you all for your suggestions; they were all lovely names ~ I might just have to buy a dozen or so more dolls so I can use them all! :)
Her name is Annabelle, and this name was suggested by both Susan P. and Michele........ so if you ladies would e-mail me with your addresses, a little something will soon be on its way to you!
I thank you, and Annabelle thanks you. She is so happy to have such a pretty name!

Dresser Makeover

I mentioned in a previous post that I would have a BIG makeover to show you soon.

Well, here it is! I had this old pine dresser from the early 1980's..... I just knew that, with a little work, it could be made over into something beautiful, to be used in our living room.

So I primed it, painted it, added glass knobs to replace the old brass ones......

And then came the most fun part ~~ decorating it in the romantic style that I love!

I'm glad I decided to make it over instead of throw it out!

I'm happy with it!

Glittering Gift Tags Galore!


Thank you for your continued interest.... thought you might like to see some of my latest designs.

You can see that bluebirds and/or roses are a continuing theme!

Available in my Etsy shoppe (link at right)...

I have just added note cards to my shoppe, in addition to my gift tags:

Also available by special order...... I can make a special package for you in any combination you desire, and can add words or special phrases to most of my designs.

I hope you enjoyed looking.
Thanks for all the suggestions on naming my *new* vintage doll; I love all of your ideas! Please keep them coming, and I will choose one soon, perhaps over the weekend. I will send a little something to the person whose suggested name I choose for my pretty pink doll!

What a Doll!!





We went to the liquidation store Saturday to pick up some hardware, and this vintage doll was in the "estate sale" section.

Of course, I was attracted mostly by the beautiful pink lace dress she is wearing, but don't tell her that. She thinks it was her overall beauty that caught my attention!

She rather enjoyed the ride home, looking out the window part of the time ~ but I don't think she had seen the outside world in a long time, and she was a mite overwhelmed by all the changes. She grew a bit fearful when we stopped at the thrift store, but I carefully laid her on the car seat to rest while we went in, and she relaxed and fell asleep then.

What do you think her name is? She does need a pretty name..........

EDITED TO ADD: Thanks for all your suggestions thusfar, please keep them coming! I hope to choose a name by Tuesday, and I will send a little something to the person whose suggested name I choose!

Gardens of Happiness

Peonies

&

Pink Roses

Look ~ Look!! One of the robin's eggs hatched!

Isn't he so sweet?!

This is the rusty planter I bought at the yard sale Thursday. It will go in the Secret Garden area with something lovely planted in it........

These dianthus are in the front and make a spectacular return every year......

...... flowers of happiness!

, More Pretties from Thrifting & Yard Sales

I just adore this little cup ~ the colors in it ~ the robin's egg blue band around it, with the pink roses within.... The lace panel was also a find, as was the pretty pink rose sheet in the background.

A vintage powder tin.... dh is going to put a shelf above the bathroom window for such pretties..... oh and some pretty blue floral ribbon......

The other tin is an old candy one ~ almost too far gone, but not quite!

There are six of the little Homer Laughlin plates, and the fabric they are on is one of the pretty finds I purchased from Amy at Four Sisters in a Cottage.

Mini Tea Set ~ this was in the bin at Goodwill, hadn't even been unloaded onto the shelves yet, when I spotted it and scooped it up. I like the little scene on it.

Can you believe this still isn't all? I found a great old blue window and a rusty old planter ~ but haven't taken pics of them yet ~ will share when I do!!

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Framed again!

What is it with me and old frames? (Or old pictures, or trays, or....... :)

Here are some of today's yard sale finds! I only went to a couple, but did well!

An old tray, only four dollars! And it's really painted, not stenciled on!


The seller said this old piece used to hold a beveled mirror, but that she had broken it. I just loved it so bought it as is..... When I got it home, it hit me! I'll put cork behind it and use it above my craft area..... it already has a couple of old hooks at the bottom..... It's quite large, as you might be able to tell from the very first photo.

Love the pretty flowers painted on it.

A couple of old buckets in robin's egg blue. Not sure if they'll go in the garden or hold flowers indoors.........

The sweet angelic picture was only $2.... I haven't decided yet where it will reside, but I loved the colors!

I have more to show but will share in another post, perhaps tomorrow!

The Heart of Ginny
Look what I received from my lovely blogging friend Ginny!!

She had kindly asked to order two sets of my Bluebird & Roses gift tags...... and, because I'm quite inexperienced in international money exchange (Ginny is from the UK), I asked if she might be interested in a swap instead! She agreed, and I told her to surprise me with what she sent..... and did she ever!! This is what she made for me! It's a beautiful heart made from vintage eiderdown and vintage costume twinkle!! Isn't it beautiful? It is pink with roses, and just so delicate and soft......

And, she included this adorable bluebird gift card. Look at that cute little bluebird nestled into pink roses. (However did she know? ;)

I love it so much, I am going to incorporate the design into some of my gift tags!

Here is a closeup of the amazing detail Ginny included on this pretty....... A heart within a heart...... with beautiful sparkles embellishing it.Thank you so much, Ginny!! And if you haven't had the pleasure of *meeting* this sweet lady, please stop in and visit her at:
http://twinklepinkpostit.blogspot.com/

Shabby & Pink Makeovers

If you don't like shabby & chic or pink & white, look away from the computer screen! This post is laden with pics of my shabby white makeovers! You have been warned! :)

I bought these gold candleholders at a garage sale one year..... I think they were seventy-five cents each. Anyway, they never looked quite right...... so I decided to paint them creamy white. Well pleased with them, I was showing them off to Chris (dh), saying proudly, "these used to be gold." To which he replied, "Oh. They just look like unpainted plaster to me." Argh! That was not the look I was going for! So, out came the sandpaper to "shabby" them up a bit more! I have to admit, they do look better now with a little "age" to them. But don't tell Chris that.

I bought this shelf below at a garage sale Thursday. It was five dollars. Of course I knew that I wanted to paint it white. I just didn't know where I could find wall space for it!

Where there's a will there's a way, and with a little re-arranging of some pictures, I made room for it in the dining room.



Here it is, painted white, with some teacups, pitchers, etc....... I will probably still "tweak" it some more, but I had to share it with you and couldn't wait!





The little mirrored cabinet below it, also received a coat of paint. It used to be green, but not quite the right shade of green. I like it much better now. See that quilt rack in the picture? It's days of woodtoned ignorance are numbered. It's next!! :)