Heaven's Walk

Summer Threads

2013-06-16T22:44:00.000-04:00

Time flies.

Days pass.

Hours slide by beneath an azure sky.

Summer shines in her fragrant beauty.

Peonies to cut and arrange

as their sweetness fills the air.

Blush pink roses wait for me on the workbench in my studio.

Sweet scented stock pose gracefully on the mantel.

Treasures discovered while antiquing at a new shoppe in a nearby village.

I pour my soul into new dream catchers.

Pink & aqua

"Lavender fields"

Another day kisses farewell

as the sun begins to set once again.

Content with accomplishments this summer week.

Dreams of what tomorrow will bring...

God has woven each one of us

into a quilt of the world.

Each thread a uniform part,

and yet, also a unique individual.

Alone, we lack structure,

but together beauty is created.

By the way He connects us,

our lives are determined.

He is our compass needle

and we, His threads of life.

~ by Hidden Poet

~ Sweet Summer Blessings ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar.

Little Pink Table

2013-06-09T15:31:00.000-04:00

I have a "thing" for pink.

I also have a "thing" for pink and chippy.

Put them together

and

I...am...in...~~pig~~ pink...heaven.

So, when I wandered by this adorable vintage table at the antique market last month,

I stopped mid-stride.

(If you've ever shopped with me, you know that I do that quite often.)

Causing people behind me ram into each other like dominoes because of my sudden stops

is a very normal occurrence in my life ~

especially when treasure hunting.

(Unless, of course, I'm diving headfirst toward something, and that's whole 'nother story.)

As I deliriously walked around and around this little, pink chippy sweetness,

she was singing my name ~ loud and clear.

She needed me and I needed her.

We were meant to be together.

I needed to see that perfect chippiness in Heaven's Walk.

So, while the throng of scattered people behind me picked themselves up off the ground...

(Hmmm...I can see this as a great diversion tactic in the future....)

I decided that I just had to take her home with me

(despite the fact of some unsuccessful bartering.)

She was covered haphazardly in original chipped, distressed layers of a delicious pale pink and creamy white
over a layer of vintage green.
She had knots, cracks, worn corners, and splits.
Perfect imperfection in my world.

Upon my arrival at home, and after giving her a good scrubbing,
I lugged the round, grey wicker table...
(see her there in the corner?)

out to a new home on the front porch.

and introduced Little Prairie Pink Table to her new one.

She looked like she had always belonged there.

*Sigh*

When I placed the vintage rose pitcher on her

(that also found a new home with me),

and filled it with stock in the most beautiful pale lavender color ~

a soft, quiet vignette bloomed in front of me.

Silver hearts: RASCC

Vintage lilac millinery crown: Rachel Pallas

Can you spell L.O.V.E....?

Yep.
I love you,
sweet little chippy pink table.

~ Chippy, Pink Blessings ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar!

Music in the Gardens

2013-06-02T21:30:00.001-04:00

Many of you have asked for photos of my garden.

With all the rain we've had lately,

everything seems to be happily bursting forth with color and fragrance!

Most plants are budding, pushing their color slowly into the garden ~

while others are dancing and swirling freely in their early summer attire.
There's music in the gardens!

So, grab that cup of coffee,

slip on your flip flops,

and dance with me through the gardens

here at Heaven's Walk.

♥

The rose bush in my whiskey barrel next to the door

snuggles next to frilly ballerina pink verbena.

A look into the east gardens from the brick path next to the back porch.

Standing in the middle of the east gardens,

the deep purple lilacs are finished performing

while the white lilacs are quickly fading.
The French lilacs on the right are still blooming beautifully ~
bowing their rain heavy heads toward the earth.

The shady north side gardens are filling in nicely.

My new-last-year arbor will eventually be covered with a cape of soft pink 'New Dawn' roses.

This is the second season in their new home.

The birdbath at the corner of the porch
is a popular pit-stop for a variety of feathered friends.
We've even watched squirrels jump up there for a slurp,
and many times during the winter it will be drained almost dry from the deer sipping from it.

French "Josie" lilacs ~

petite little blossoms that are so full and fragrant.

'Josphine' clematis ~ a large double bloomer that is winding her way up the small arch on the steps of the porch.
The long petals will eventually fall to the ground leaving the zinnia-like centers.

'Nelly Moser' loves her home on the old trellis in the north garden.
She is always a steadfast, happy bloomer towering above the elegant bleeding heart
and dainty sweet woodruff.

Standing in the north gardens.

The plants in my new north garden bed are growing by leaps and bounds.

Hydrangea, roses, hosta, bleeding heart, catmint,

and a new fir tree.

A female bluebird visits her favorite bath
in the center of the east garden.
I brought the little pale pink cement birdbath home from the antique market a couple months ago
and set it in the middle of the large one.
It created additional space for birds to bath together.

Kind of like a community spa. :)

Happy hostas pirouette with partying peonies.

Looking toward our barn.
We have plans of renovating it sometime this year before the wood ages too much more.
We don't want to lose this beautiful piece of history which was built long before our farmhouse was.

Sweet, stately foxglove
sprinkled with raindrops.

Crowds of peonies reach toward the sky.

Little Kermit waits for his buddies.
There are 20 of them who join him in the nightly waterfront chorus.

Standing on the outside perimeter of the east garden,

'Zephirine Drouhin' climbs happily over the arbor.
The first bloom made her appearance today.

Her deep pink flowers will soon blanket the arbor and send sweet fragrance throughout the gardens.

'Sarah Bernhardt' peonies tango with 'Walker's Low' catmint.

Dichondra and bacopa spill from a vintage wooden box

next to an old watering can on a wooden bench my husband built for me years ago.

Every time I walk through the gardens, I hear a whisper...

"Abide in Me".

A loving reminder from above
that blesses my soul.

Now....I'm off to prepare Heaven's Walk for a photo shoot with a beloved, nationally known editor.
I'll fill you in on the details later! :)

Have a joyful week!

~ Be Blessed ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar!

Allegan Antique Market Booth

2013-05-30T21:50:00.002-04:00

Whew!

The holiday weekend seemed to just fly by...

but what fun!

On Saturday morning, Georgina and I loaded up her truck and my trailer

with as many treasures as physically possible

and made our way to Allegan Fairgrounds...

to set up our booth for the monthly Allegan Antique Market.

We rented a 25'x25' booth which gave us lots of room to spread everything out

and make it look as eye-catching and welcoming as possible.

Once we manhandled our new canopy,
(which is always a good laugh)
all systems were 'GO'!
It was time to play house and create some pretty vignettes.

After everything was set,
of course we had to do a little shopping.
The vendors are always so cordial and fun to chat with!
Some of them were all set up and were kicking back with a glass of wine
while other vendors, like us, did a little treasure hunting.
I did nab a few beauties that I'll share with you later. :)

Sunday dawned chilly, but sunny ~
(I was up at 5am and in our booth by 7am)

and it warmed up nicely during the afternoon.

We received many compliments on how cute our booth looked.

Thank you, everyone!

Here are some vignettes I created for our booth.

This table I painted sold right away.

The hand woven table runner is still for sale! ($30)

The Victorian desk and dining chair also sold later in the day ~ after numerous people ooohed and ahhhhed over them.

The "Be Bold" and "Laugh" signs are still for sale ($20 each).

I discovered another vintage grain sack while packing for the market. It could be yours for $50!

My dream catchers ~ fluttering in the springtime breeze ~
caught everyone's attention,
and I sold quite a few of them.

Happy day!

My Jardin bench ~ one of the very first pieces I ever painted.

This little table was the second piece I ever painted with ASCP. It sold late morning.

I got some use out of my old ruffled bed skirt by using it as a table cover.

I could have sold it 10 times.
lol!

It was such a fun day!

We loved people-watching all day long

and met so many nice customers.

The crowds were incredible!

Numerous close friends and family members wandered in to see how sales were going.

Two of my cousins stopped in to see me which was such a blessing!

One of them took home a Prairie Girl dream catcher with her.

Thank you, Carol!

I met a fellow blog friend, Shirley Wing,

who is just the happiest, sweetest gal ever!

She purchased one of my Prairie Girl dream catchers, too.

Thank you, Shirley!

And of course,
I had to spend some time with my sweet sister-from-another-mother,
Michelle from {re}imagined Just For You,
who vendors a beautiful booth at the market every month.
She creates beautiful ASCP patinas on vintage furniture that she and her husband travel near and far
to bring home to transform into artful creations.
She's simply amazing and incredibly talented.
(And don't get me started on how fabulous her children are!)
[Love ya to bits, Victoria! *wink*]

Thank you to everyone who helped make our day fun and successful!

~ Blessings ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar!

Dream Catchers, Pillows, and the Market!

2013-05-23T20:11:00.000-04:00

Between shoveling 12 yards of mulch into the flower beds,
planting rose bushes, foxglove, and hydrangeas,
and loading the trailer with treasures from my booth
for the Allegan Antique Market on Sunday ~

I squeezed in some time to create more dream catchers to take with me.
Even though I tend to want to keep each one I make...
I do hope I sell them all.
{It'll give me a reason to make more of them, right....?}

Introducing "Prairie Girl Pink"...

"Prairie Meadow"...

and "Blue Skies".

I think I may have to hang on to this one for a while...... :)

Message me on Facebook or drop me an email if you'd like me to create one of my dream catchers
just for you...or for someone special...or as a wedding gift....or a baby shower...or birthday present...
or....
well, you get the idea!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ♥ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On another note, remember that beautiful needlepoint piece I discovered at the market last month?

My friend, Randi, who is a fabulously talented quilter,
sewed it onto a pillow slip that Shellagh made for me
from RASC pink velvet.

I love it's vintage look.

Thank you so much, Randi! ♥

The crocheted throw was a flea market find last month.
It was originally a dull, boring shade of tan.
I dyed it using a bit of 'Petal Pink' Rit Dye.
Because of its base tan color, instead of dyeing to a candy pink like 'Petal Pink' can do when used by itself,
the throw turned a pretty mauve pink.

Randi also sewed some napkins for me out of scraps of SSC fabric that I had.
I mixed them with my RASC napkins.
Now, I've got enough for a summer party!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ♥ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Well, it'll be a busy but fun weekend here at Heaven's Walk.
The weather's supposed to be bright and sunny with cool temps.
Just perfect for partying at a flea market!

This is where you'll find me on Sunday.

Photo: alleganantiques.com

Look for Georgina and me at Booth #0-140!

Have a great Memorial Day!

~ Blessings ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar!

Whimsical Gypsy Swing

2013-05-16T20:11:00.000-04:00

I do a lot of thinking when I'm on my sweet Husqvarna riding lawnmower.
A lot.
I love my lawnmower.
I love mowing.
Four hours of sunshine on my shoulders;
the earthy fragrance of freshly cut grass;
and seeing our property from different angles and views.
It's alllll good.

And while I'm cutting those neat, green stripes in the grass,
my brain is going a million miles a minute ~
re-landscaping this,
relocating that,
adding something here,
and moving something over there.
It gives me the perfect chance to do some serious brainstorming and planning.

So when I rode by the front porch
and glanced at my favorite porch swing,
she looked pretty

but...

unadorned.

She needed something.

I love the new RASC body pillow slip a friend made for me.
I love the ruffled cushion beneath it.
But something was missing...

Hmmmmmm.......

The creative gears in my brain began to whirl and grind.
Every time I rode past the porch, I looked at her.
Contemplating....
thinking.

By the time the mowing was completed,
I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

My swing was singing for some
gypsy goodness.

Gathering up a pile of streamers I use when creating my dream catchers,
I headed out to the porch...

...and started wrapping.
Criss-crossing back and forth over the chains,
tying them in a knot,
leaving the ends to flutter in the wind.

I used different streamers in a variety of pastel colors and shabby chic prints.

They added such a sweet, fun, whimsical look to the swing.

So much better than those plain, old chains.

I also changed out the chandelier on the porch, too.
The previous one was very plain.
This one, however,
(picked up last summer at an antique shop)
adds a touch of vintage, romantic bling.

A large, new outdoor Turkish-inspired rug will soon grace the cement floor
replacing the worn coir one.

Hmmmm...
but there was still something missing....

The answer was to hang long, romantic sheer outdoor curtain panels ~
giving the porch an even more cozy, romantic bohemian feel.

Oh yes.

I ripped some white streamers to use as tie-backs on breezy days.

Now, the porch feels a bit more like an outdoor room.

A place to escape the hot afternoon sun.
A place to swing and snooze the day away...

on a whimsical, gypsy swing.

Be sure to stop by and take a leisurely walk through Kerryanne's beautiful new e-zine
"Simply Shabbilicious" at her Shabby Art Boutique blog.
You might see someone you know.
*wink*
The new issue is scheduled to be out on Monday, May 20!

~ Gypsy Blessings ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar!

The Old Garden Gate

2013-05-09T19:55:00.000-04:00

Well, we knocked another task off the "honey-do" list this week.

[If the Husband is trying to impress me or something,
he's doing a good job.]

When we moved out of our lake house, we took the vintage cow stanchion gate with us.

It was rescued from a barn that was being torn down and we installed it at the entrance to our garden lot.

We couldn't leave it behind.

It had so much character and history.

I loved the weathered wood,

the spot where cows chewed on it,

and the rusty strap hinges.

The screws were so old, they still had small squares of leather instead of washers.

For the last 6 years, the poor old gate sat behind the outhouse here at Heaven's Walk,

leaning against an old mulberry tree ~

waiting patiently for us to find a place to plant her.

I expanded the north garden bed last week.

[Which meant digging more sod ~

which of course is at the top of my "love to do" list.

Not.]

The new bed is from the crab apple tree back to where I'm standing beneath the arbor.

A whole lot of sod was dug.
Square by square.
Wheel barrel by wheel barrel.

As I stood there leaning my tired, sweaty body on my shovel and gazing at the work I had yet to do,

I suddenly realized where that sweet old gate was going to find a home.

I couldn't wait to approach the Husband with my grand idea.

He was very receptive and willing to make another one of my visions happen.

[Ok...what's going on with him lately, anyway...?
Is he finally developing a shabby prairie chic heart....?]

Sunday afternoon,

under a warm sun filling an azure sky,

we lovingly nestled The Old Garden Gate between the lilacs and a dwarf crab apple tree

creating a sweet side entrance to the north garden.

We gave her a little face lift, too.

We moved one of her rusty strap hinges to a more solid spot,

and added a couple of new ones to help hold her together.

She was then washed with some Behr's clear protective stain

to help her last another decade.

It brought out the rich color of the worn, vintage wood.

We stood back and grinned.

We practiced walking back and forth between her strong posts,

unlatching and latching the ancient, rusty hook;

hearing it click into place.

We could almost see her smiling...

There....

among the lavender 'Princess de Monaco" and pink Double 'Knock-Out' roses,
the blush pink 'Sarah Bernhardt' peonies,
the old fashioned purple and white lilacs
and the deep green pines;

standing proud and stately once again.

This is only a small portion of the 12 yards of mulch I've been shoveling over the past two weeks... :)

Someday, this cool, shady area will be embraced by tall firs,
lush, fragrant peonies,

and colorful roses ~
creating a cozy, secret garden...

complete with a
sweet Old Garden Gate.

~ Blessings ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar!

A Pink Chorus

2013-05-02T19:52:00.000-04:00

Well, you all probably know how much I love the rustic pink shutters

that my sweet, "ever-wary" husband made for me a couple weeks ago

(under my strict supervision, of course.)

You can read about them here.

I'm still doing the happy dance over them
(still hearing the angels singing)
and am spending waaaay too much time in the loo, however,
just sitting and staring at them.

Loving the perfectly distressed pink color.
Loving the vintage cup cradling tiny pink roses next to them.
Loving the pink tulleing fluffed over the top of one.

I desperately needed more of them.

There was more than one time that I would be walking by a window
carrying the laundry basket upstairs,
cleaning the kitchen,
vacuuming the living room,
and find myself stopping to try to envision another shutter here...
or there...
or over there.

Imagine my utter surprise when out of the blue one evening the Husband said,

"You know...I could make some shutters for the kitchen window for you."

Have I ever told you how much I love that man?

Imagine my utter surprise once again when I came home one evening from spending the day with my parents
and he had already built a pair for me.

I spent the day happily swishing my homemade recipe of "Prairie Girl Pink" paint on them
and distressing them with a whitewash of ASCP in Old White.

These beauties are big and beautiful.
A full five feet tall.

I also drybrushed the hinges after I took these photos.

I'm in pink shutter heaven.
(There are pink shutters in heaven, aren't there...?)

*Sigh.....*

Outside the French doors, on the back porch, you can just make out the edge of the new whiskey barrel with the new pink rose standard I planted the other day. It's full of buds!

Imagine my complete delight when my talented husband agreed to make an additional set for our window on the landing of the staircase.

Yeah. I love that man.

The problem now is...

I can't get any housework done.

I'm spending way to much time starting lovingly at ALL of my pink shutters...
and now hearing a CHORUS of angels.

LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
LAAAAAAAAAAAA!
LAAAAAAAA!

~ Blessings ~

PS Doster Emporium is now open for business!
Stop by and see the new treasures I've added to my booth!

Linking to the lovely linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar.

Surroundings...

2013-04-25T20:17:00.000-04:00

While playing beach bum for a couple weeks last month

and enjoying this view every single day.....

I also met a celebrity.

A sweet celebrity.

Have you heard of Melinda Graham

from

Surroundings by Melinda?

She owns a charming shop on the island where I was vacationing.

"Melinda first opened Surroundings on Sanibel as an Interior Design consulting firm in 1994 shortly after graduating from West Virginia University. The business quickly evolved into a retail shop featuring the “marketable version” of her every day life. The shop is filled with all of the lovely things that Melinda has cultivated into her own signature style…casual opulence."
-Sanibel/Captiva Daily

I first heard about Melinda in Romantic Homes sometime last year.

She is an extremely talented interior designer and lifestyle expert who has starred
on The Today Show, shared a series with Willard Scott, been on the Discovery Channel and HGTV, featured in numerous newspapers and magazines like Woman's Day, Budget Decorating Ideas, and Where Women Create, is a contributor to Romantic Homes magazine,

met and worked with Fifi O'Neill, created a wedding gown made from seashells that was featured in multiple media venues, and continues to consult with her interior design business as well as keeping up her blog and online shop.

I vowed that this spring I would make the effort to locate her shop while we were on vacation

to see the beautiful treasures she had there,

and hoping to possibly meet her.

I was beyond excited as we drove into the driveway one afternoon, wondering how receptive she would be....being so famous and all. :)

My husband and I walked up to her charming shop located on the first floor of her home.

Is this not the neatest island beach house?

The entrance to her shop is on the right where the yellow French doors are on the first landing.

We walked through the doors into Melinda's world of glittery seashells, soft, handmade tee-shirt dresses, found and repurposed treasures, paper parasols, and easy elegance.

Dulcimer music played softly in the background.

She was standing at the counter tagging some items and when I introduced myself saying,

"Hi, Melinda? I'm Laurie....."

She said, "....from Heaven's Walk, right?"

I just about fainted.

"You know me?"

Smiling, she said, "Well, I don't have a whole lot of followers on my blog yet,

but I do know each and every one of them!"

I loved her personality from the get-go.

Melinda is the daughter of a Presbyterian minister,

a man who still voluntarily pastors a tiny church in the foothills of West Virginia

where Melinda spent her childhood.

He is Melinda's webmaster.
Her mother loves helping her with her design business.

Experiencing a scare with possible breast cancer
which turned out to be non-cancerous invasive stromal cell tumors ~

she is a true warrior through and through.
The Susan B. Komen Foundation was with her every step of the way.

♥

Between sharing our life stories, beliefs, and loves,

she waited on various customers while I wandered around taking photos

while the husbands chatted in the garden.

This is what you see upon entering Melinda's shop.

I loved the paper parasols hanging from the ceiling.

These little clam coin purses were only $6, I think.

Charming hand made hat pedestals were created by an elderly friend of Melinda's.

He rescues the wood from rivers and streams.

Lacy paper lanterns were tucked under hydrangea blooms.

Starfish snuggled with balls of angora yarn.

We chatted and chatted and chatted like we had known each other for years.

I am humbled to consider her a new friend,

blessed to call her a sister-in-Christ,
and can hardly wait to see her again next spring.

Take a few moments to visit her beautiful blog and online shop.
You'll find them places of serene grace and eloquent design.
And be sure to like her on Facebook, too.

She would love to hear from you!

~ Blessings ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar.

"Prairie Girl"

2013-04-18T19:43:00.001-04:00

Although the calendar indicates that spring officially arrived last month,

Old Man Winter was slow to give up his grip here in Michigan,
and when he did,
Mother Nature continues to bless us with an abundance of rain.

Great for greening things up around here,
but not so great for working in the garden.
Great for getting projects completed indoors, though,
like the sweet pink shutters I'm still giddy about. :)

[You can read about them here.]

So, given another cold, cloudy, rainy day,

I spent it creating a new twist on my shabby, romantic dream catchers.

Inspired by the beautiful fabric garlands that

Sherry at ShantyGirl

and

Sandi at Wayside Treasures

have been making,

I wanted a rustic, whimsical, bohemian look.

When the sun made a very brief appearance during the afternoon,

I gathered apple and cherry twigs from the woods surrounding this old house,

spread out piles of fabrics on my prairie table...

and the
"Prairie Girl"
dream catcher was born.

Colorful streamers cascade next to

dangling seashells collected from the beach,
sparkling glass beads,

shimmering metallic threads,

soft strands of lavender leather,

fuzzy pom pom yarn,

and white, silky feathers.

The soft pastels look pretty next to the beautiful vintage millinery floral garland
hanging on the barn door handle.

The garland was made for me by sweet friend, Rachel at Shabby French for Me.

Prairie Girl is sweet, rustic, bohemian and whimsical.

Each Prairie Girl dream catcher I create is one of a kind.

Each is wrapped in her own quirky, unique, personality.

Each is full of color, sparkle, and captivates with an ethereal, gypsy-like feeling.

Although "Prairie Girl" takes a bit longer to dream into being

because of her thick waterfall of fabric streamers
and multitude of unique, assorted beads,

I love making them and look forward to designing more to sell.

This one, however, just may make her home

catching the morning breezes by my front porch swing ~
where the fabric will flutter in the breeze
and the beads will gently clack together... :)

But if you know me at all,
I couldn't stop with just one.

A second Prairie Girl dream catcher was adorned with a passion for purple.

Deep purple mingles with turquoise, pink, blue, and aqua with bright gypsy beads.

And a third is embellished with grass green, bright teal, and a touch of rich purple.

So full of happy color,
I can't help but smile as my hands busily string and tie each one.

Well, a stack of sticks and some pretty, ornate boho beads wait patiently for me on the prairie table,

and a pile of streamers are whispering my name...

Time to create.

~ Sweet Prairie Blessings ~

PS These will be for sale in my booth at Doster Emporium
(which is now OPEN!) ~
and I'll be taking them to Allegan Antique Market on May 26, too.
Or if you see one you love, email me!

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar!

Pink Inspiration

2013-04-11T19:35:00.001-04:00

Inspiration.

noun\ˌin(t)-spə-ˈrā-shən, -(ˌ)spi-\

1. a divine influence or action on a person

2. the act of drawing in; specifically the drawing of air into the lungs

3. the quality or state of being inspired

This old farmhouse wouldn't be what it is today without it.

It's what makes my heart beat faster.

It's what sends my mind into a whirling dervish.

It's what makes me draw fresh, creative air into my lungs.

I can't seem to make it through a week without it.

You.

You bloggers.

You creative sisters out there.

You inspire me.

When we first moved into this tousled, old farmhouse,

there was an old, grey window frame dressed with a piece of lace that covered the master bathroom window.

I removed it because I wanted to allow more light into this lovely room full of white bead board
reaching all the way up the ten foot walls.

Since then, the window has left been bare so I could watch the birds at the feeders outside

while I was preparing for the day in the morning.

Recently, my friend, Tausha at Simply Me, inspired a change for this window.

She hung some large, pink shutters in a beautiful new room in her house

and me being me,

immediately fell head over heels for them.

I desperately wanted some in my house,

but was perplexed as to which room to put them in.

There was no window that would allow any shutters to open and close.

Agh!

*
*
*

Except one.

My bathroom.

So, after presenting my ever-wary Husband with a photo of her shutters,

he created a small set for me from repurposed wood from our barn "stash" in about an hour's time.

I happily brought them to the basement for a light sanding and a slap of pink.

But...

I had no pink paint.

Agh!

I took a little leftover MMS Milk Paint in "Tricycle" that I had mixed up last week,
and channeled my inner scientist ~
adding in a dribble or two of ASCP in "Old White",
a few drops of "Graphite" to tone down the hue,
a squirt or two or three of pink acrylic,
and a beautiful dusky pink color emerged
that was very similar to the over dyed ruffled pillow you see here on my love seat.}

Perfect.

After letting them dry, I swished some more Old White to lighten them a bit more,

and distressed them with another light sanding.

The strap hinges were painted with a coat of black.

I painted each silver screw black with a tiny brush

and dry brushed the black hinges with some of the dusky pink and Old White to distress them.

Can you hear the angels singing.....?

Laaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

I am seriously in love with these sweet pink shutters.

Seriously.

In.

Love.

And yes....I have a feeling more shutters will be making their way into the house....

somehow...someway.

I want to hear those angels singing again...

Laaaaaaaaaaaaa!

~ Blessings ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar!

Sun In My Heart

2013-04-03T21:27:00.000-04:00

"God meets us in the stillness of our souls.
It is there that he seeks to commune with us."
- excerpt from "Jesus Calling"

Car loaded with luggage and snacks.
Pointing the car toward the warm breezes of Florida.
Driving past meadows and prairies,
hills and mountains,
walls of stone spouting waterfalls,
with little Garmin
(fondly called"Road-duh")
leading the way.

Two 12-hour days of driving and our eyes see
the causeway.
My heart beats faster
knowing that the hot sun will soon spread across my shoulders
as I press my feet into shell-filled sand.

The island main street is a welcome sight
holding the promise of slow moving, stress-free days ahead ~
if only for a little while.

Our sweet little cottage with a screened porch overlooking the ocean...

and a charming little room that would ensure nights of drifting off to sleep to the sound of the ocean waves caressing the ocean's hem;
with the ceiling fan clicking softly overhead
as we sweep sand off our feet before tucking them between covers.

Making our way up sandy paths past beach grass, sea oats, and sea grape
tossed by the salty breeze
for early morning walks together.

Mornings broken by a foggy mist
rising above palms.

Mystical, moody, and mesmerizing...

turning to days of brilliant blue.

Always in the company of tern and seagulls...

our feet churning through warm sand;
thighs burning after miles logged.

Seashells offered up by the ocean and scattered along the shore as far as the eye could see.

Discovering sandy micro-worlds
and collecting seashells with holes and rough edges ~
giving up secrets of time spent under the waves.

Footprints and paw prints leaving untold stories in the sand.

Bare toes and brown shoulders.

Flip flops and frizzy hair.

Grasping every lazy thought winding through my mind
and transferring it to paper.

Sunshine, dancing diamonds, and sea foam.

An endless sugar sand beach under an azure sky.

Evenings witnessing God's glorious artistry.

A few mornings painted with stormy clouds...

changing ocean blue to sea green.

Solitaire snowy egret watching dolphins surface in the waves;
their soft dove-grey backs slick with salt water.

Spending every sunny hour on the beach...

lounging together....

next to mermaids in the sand.

Reading a good book in Coppertone scented sea air.

Holding the sun in my heart.

Watching it kiss the ocean...

and melt into a sorbet night ~

whispering on seagull wings...

"Remember me."

~ Seaside Blessings ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar.

Dream Catchers, Crochet, and Roses

2013-03-11T21:48:00.000-04:00

A snowy month of February in Michigan

provided me the perfect time to put my sweet rustic prairie table to work and create some dream catchers for my booth this spring,
as well as for the antique market that I'll be vendoring at in May with my buddy, Georgina
(who owns Doster Emporium where my booth is).

I often wonder why in the world I ever waited so long to build one of these tables.
It has been such a joy to me, and gets so much use.

As each hoop is wrapped and tied,
a theme always seems to float into my mind.
That theme is woven and threaded into a dream catcher,
making each one unique.

Some are bright and happy with turquoise bows.
Others are rustic and prairie-like with denim.
A few have a feminine feel with faded florals.

These are all ready to sell.

While daydreaming about a vacation from a couple years ago...

2011 photo

this whimsical, beach inspired one was born...

with ocean blues and sea greens...

yarn that resembles seaweed...

and a charming little porpoise swimming among the streamers.

And then, this dusky purple fantasy dream catcher was influenced by
some soft purple floral curtain panels I hung recently in the master bedroom.

Soft and moody

above the Simply Shabby Chic pillow slip I over-dyed
in a faded denim color that is
tossed on top of one dyed a dusty rose.

[I find myself feeling occasionally threatened by the thought that
it looks like an Easter egg exploded in this room
after introducing more color here lately.
Is it too much....? Or am I just over-thinking again....?]

Sofa pillows piled high on the love seat while the sofa slipcover was in the wash.

This darling little crocheted lampshade was purchased from
a sweet gal in the UK who has a charming eBay store.
It lends a soft, romantic, bohemian look to a corner of the living room.

I added the crystal prisms to the bottom for a bit more bling.

On days dream catchers weren't being created,
spring-inspired vignettes began to bloom around the house.

Dyed cheesecloth in soft shades of aqua and blue
snuggle next to a vintage pitcher of blush pink roses
sitting atop some inspiration photos.

Spray roses are scattered around the house
in floral pitchers...

while I dream of summer days ahead
in my gardens.

I'll be taking a small spring break from blogging for a couple weeks.
See you soon!

~ Blessings ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar.

Little Prairie Stool

2013-03-07T20:31:00.000-05:00

The Habitat for Humanity ReStore never fails to reward my treasure-hunting soul.

Some little trinket always comes home with me,

and I can assure you, it's probably the cheapest shopping trip I make.

During a recent excursion there

where I discovered a sweet little hobnail light fixture

(which you can read about here),

I came across this sad looking stool

with a misconstrued, mangled, faux leather, and just plain ugly attempt at a cushion stapled on top.

It was lacking a price tag.

I offered $5.00.

They counter offered $8.

I shoved dollar bills at them as fast as I could and danced out of the building.

This poor stool was so nasty that I felt it needed a bit of dressing up for its first photo shoot

with some newly dyed cheesecloth.

It had a ridiculous number of staples holding the (p)leather to the seat...

which I pulled out

one by one

using a flat-head screwdriver and pliers.

After a quick sanding session,
I mixed up a container of Annie Sloan Chalkpaint
using 1:1 ratio of Old White and Pure White
and slapped two coats on her.

A little distressing on her legs to add a time-worn look,
and she was ready for her shabby chic debut.

A little prairie stool

perfect for sitting and doing intricate work at my workbench

under the warmth of a vintage light.

Oh, and I received a sweet email this past week from a friend in Australia.
It was such a blessing!
I had the recent honor of being included in the "Blogroll Spotlight" among many talented and creative women featured in Kerryanne's new e-zine called Simply Shabbilicious.

It holds pages and pages of everything that we love all in one place.
Shabby, French, and vintage inspired gorgeousness, beautiful homes, inspiring creative spaces,
amazing people, lovely blogs, and special events.
It is just one beautifully published piece of art!

Kerryanne is the author of a wonderful shabby chic inspired blog
entitled Shabby Art Boutique by Woodberry Designs.
You can visit her here
and congratulate her on her new adventure!

And you can subscribe to her amazing new e-zine here!

Thank you so much, Kerryanne!

~ Blessings ~

Linking to the linky parties at the lower right of my sidebar!

Hobnail Lamp Globe

2013-02-28T19:40:00.001-05:00

The Husband and I made a recent trip to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore
on a "gad-about" day.
That's a day where we climb into the SUV and go "gab-abouting" the town.
Running errands,
stopping here and there,
having lunch,
and always bringing some new project home with us.

While searching and scrounging and digging and pawing through the piles at The ReStore,

I came across this little ceiling fixture.

I loved the hobnailed look of the glass globe.

The green sticker on it said $5.00.

All green stickers that week were 75% off.

That made this little gem a mere $1.25.
Score!

I had no clue where I was going to use it, but for that price,

there was no question that treasure was coming home with me.

Later that afternoon,

I stood at my prairie workbench, picked up that little light fixture,

turned it over and over in my hands and wondered where to hang it.

Basement?

Bath?

Studioffice?

I leaned over to switch on my vintage floor lamp,
(read about it here)...

and had an Aha! moment.

I immediately got to work removing the globe from the fixture,

pulling out wire, wire cutters, needle nose pliers,

and some necklace chain I had stashed away in my supplies.

I wrapped the chain around the lip of the globe and using the clasp,

attached it tightly,

adding a loop of wire just for added security.

It fit nice and snug.

The extra chain was clipped off.

Two more chain necklace pieces were attached to the first piece

with the clasps on the necklaces.

I held it up to the light bulb to measure how much of the two chains needed to be removed.

After attaching the two chains together with an extra link,

I had a sweet little vintage looking hobnail glass globe

for my prairie floor lamp.

It cut the glare of the bare light bulb...

and added a sparkly touch of warmth to the room.

Cheers to those little Aha moments in life!

Next week:

Box-Store Ugly Stool to Sweet Rustic Prairie Stool
Transformation

~ Blessings ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar!

Shabby Prairie Chic Remodel

2013-02-21T20:19:00.000-05:00

I know you all have been waiting for this post,

so there are a few more photos than normal.....

but SO worth a few extra minutes of your time,

I promise!

You're going to want to savor each and every one.

So, I'll wait while you go grab your second cup of java

(or depending on the time of day....a glass of wine)...

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Ok.

Put your feet up.
Take a sip,
and think back to these Pottery Barn curtains from my last post.

(Not the pretty lavender floral ones on the left.

The plain linen ones to the right.)

They were temporary replacements for the ugly, plastic accordion thingamajig I dismantled last winter

that originally served as the door to our guest room closet.

Welllllllllll........after once again being awestruck and inspired and totally in love with ANOTHER creative idea from my friend Tausha,

I copied her.

Yes.

(head hanging low)

I did.....

(head hanging even lower)

again.

Seriously, I can't help myself.

In my own defense, it seems that every time I turn around, she's creating vignettes in her beautiful home that make my heart pound and that little voice in my head say,

"I NEED to do that!"

(I'm assuming that you all have a little voice in your head, too?

Please don't tell me I'm alone in this.)

So, I'm giving all the credit to her.

(And saving a bit for my husband, too,

since he did most of the labor on our little project.

*wink*)

After scrounging through scrap wood planks in the loft in our barn and throwing them down to the main floor,

we gathered them up,

and marched them down to The Husband's workshop.

Yes, that wood is sitting on our second rustic prairie table (read about it here) we just built that I need to paint and stain yet. It will probably end up in my booth at Doster Emporium.

He got busy measuring and cutting...

and gluing...

and nailing...

(Now....don't get ahead of the story here. Stay with me.)

he began to create my vision.

I was beyond happy.

Raring to go with my magic paint brush.

Ready to make it all shabby chic and pretty...and barn-y.

After a coat of primer, two coats of flat latex paint,

and 12 hours of both of asking each other,

"Do you think they're dry yet....?",

we lugged my vision upstairs.

Here is what you see upon entering the guest room.

Mmmmmmm.....yeah.

I'm liking it a whole lot.

Before we continue,

go back up to the first photo and take another peek at it to refresh your memory.

I'll wait here for you...

♥

Ready???

OK.

This is what you see NOW when you turn around.

Oh, yeah, baby!!

Are you squealing with glee?

Better than a plastic door or linen curtains, wouldn't you agree?

(Sorry. Didn't mean to Dr. Seuss it.)

Because this is such a tiny little room,

we had to get somewhat creative as far as hanging these barn doors.

We couldn't use the heavy, duty barn door trolley rails that I really wanted.

So, we installed two simple by-pass closet door track systems purchased at Home Depot

for about $15 each.

By the way, I had a distinct moment of pure genius while standing in Home Depot

(which I totally embraced, took advantage of, and bragged about all day long to The Husband

which resulted in numerous eye-rolling episodes).

I grabbed four large galvanized hinges,

had The Husband cut off the hinge part,

and screwed the remaining part at the top of the doors to give the illusion they were hanging from a barn door rail.

Yep, I can see you nodding your head and thinking,

"Genius idea!"

(And because I'm still in the bragging mode,

I give you my permission to steal my brilliant idea and use it for your own.)

We couldn't attach the door handles together in the center like I wanted, either,

because of the by-pass system.

So we installed them on each side instead.

I dug around in the basement and came up with a couple of old, black handles,

and swiped them with silver Rub-N-Buff

giving them a galvanized look.

A watercolor farm landscape my dad painted decades ago was pinned to the wall above

the dresser to complete the barn-like feel.

A second dream catcher was hung by the large one above the bed.

Lumber: free

Two By-Pass Track Systems: $30

Four galvanized hinges: $20

Hard working husband: free
Cost of my vision: priceless

I think I'll be sleeping in here tonight.

I want to open up my eyes in the morning to THIS.

(Hope The Husband's okay with that....)

And now I'm thinking that a set of those sweet, rustic doors would look pretty nice in here ~
our master bedroom
where I can wake up to them every single morning.

Just a set on the left side....?
Or replace all of the mirrored doors...?

Hmmmm....

the wheels are turning on how to coerce The Husband into going along with THIS new idea.

~ Blessings...and sweet dreams ~

Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar.

Lilac Floral Curtains

2013-02-13T22:21:00.000-05:00

I love our little guest bedroom.

It's tiny,

but it's cozy, bright, and warm.

The walls are papered with a subtle textured wallpaper that is painted a shade of French vanilla,
(not my color of choice, but I'm living with it for now)

and the original extra wide wood trim work is also painted.

Painted trim rocks my world, you know ~

especially 12" wide painted trim.

The Jenny Lind bed in here was purchased at one of the first auctions I went to decades ago.

I plan on switching that bed frame out this summer with a vintage one that once belonged to The Husband's grandmother. It has a rolled and embellished headboard

which will look beautiful painted creamy white and distressed.

The cafe curtains in here were originally full length sheers that hung in our master bedroom.

Being the kindergarten sewer I am and not owning a sewing machine at the time,

I just cut the curtains in half and hung them like that.

(Ok...ok....I can hear you seamstresses groaning loudly...)

It worked.....for a while.

A bright summer morning at Heaven's Walk.

But I grew tired of seeing the unhemmed edges and the partial curtains.

The windows are nice and big and we could see only half of the beautiful view of our property out of them.

"Big girl" curtains were desperately needed.

Prairie floral-ness was calling.

So, I went searching for a cheap, quick fix.

And I found it at Target ~

on sale no less...

for cheaper than I could fill up the gas tank in my SUV.

A snowy winter's afternoon at Heaven's Walk.

Simply Shabby Chic White Voile window panels were a perfect solution.

They're a light weight cotton with a pretty pale, lilac floral print scattered on it.

A couple of curtain rods later ~

(which were also on sale for just a couple bucks each),

the room took on an elegant feel.

A different dresser here is on my wish list.

I picked up this cute little lamp at The Habitat for Humanity ReStore this past autumn for a dollar.

I gave her base a little touch-up with some gilding wax,

and added the rosettes on the lampshade with my glue gun.

The vintage looking clock was a gift from my "lil sister", Michelle.

Last year, I took down the gag-me-with-a-wooden-spoon plastic folding doors on the closet and hung some Pottery Barn curtains there instead ~ just as a temporary solution.

The Husband and I recently worked on a permanent solution to replace those PB curtains.
It includes a pile of this ~
taken from our stash in the barn.

[You have to wait until next week for the big reveal.]

After doing a "dash and turn",

I realized that the headboard wall needed something on it,

and I knew exactly what that was.

I spent the afternoon making a large dream catcher.

A bit of sweet, simple, shabby prairie love for my guests.

I'll leave the light on for you!

~ Blessings ~

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Tangled Prairie Hearts Tutorial

2013-02-07T22:03:00.000-05:00

The wait is finally over!
Many of you emailed me requesting a tutorial on the tangled prairie hearts I made last month.

Since my supplies finally arrived, I can now share with you how I made them ~
just in time for Valentine's Day.

Gather up the following items:

suede lacing

22 gauge wire

metal puffed hearts

mini wire cutter

needle nose pliers

pretty little pink crocheted basket to hold your supplies (optional)

The metal hearts I purchased are from Hobby Lobby.

Michael's carries them, too.

They come in a three pack ~ one silver, one copper, one gold ~

all strung on a little gold chain.

Using wire cutters, snip each heart from the chain

leaving the one larger link attached to the heart.

You'll use that one to thread the leather through.

Take your wire and clip several pieces about 2" long,

and one longer piece about 5" long.

Cut a piece of suede lace

and tie it in a loop.

You can make this as large or as small as you like.

Lay this aside for the moment.

Take the spool of suede lace

and thread one end through one of the hearts.

Fold it up and wrap it with a small piece of the wire.

Thread the heart through the loop you previously made

adjusting the length for the second heart you'll attach next.

I just eyeballed this each time, staggering the hearts as I went.

Do this for each heart, for as many hearts as you want on your tangle.

I like to use an odd number, so I chose seven of them.

I completed four of them here.

When you're finished attaching and looping your hearts,

lift up the large leather loop and adjust the hearts so that they hang in a staggered fashion.

Take the long piece of wire you previously cut

and wrap it numerous times around the gathered cords just below the leather loop.

Lift them up,

listen to their rustic tinkling sound,

and hang them some place sweet

for Valentine's Day.

[or give them away to someone special.]

Laying on a bed of lace on my prairie table...

Hanging on a crocheted curtain...

Dangling over a Shabby Chic apron on the kitchen frantel...

Draped over the corner of a vintage rose painting in my bedroom.

I spent the day creating many of them to sell in my booth this spring.

From my ♥ to yours....

Happy Valentine's Day

~ Blessings ~

PS ~ Heaven's Walk is sharing a booth with Doster Emporium at the Allegan Flea Market in May!
Stop by and see us! There will be lots of wonderful treasures to buy!

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Catching Dreams in the Light

2013-01-31T21:26:00.000-05:00

As the sun set one evening a couple weeks ago, it breathed magenta fire into the sky.

It was the calm before the storm, however.
The winds began to blow 50 mph and screamed into the velvet darkness.
Sleep was evaded.
Overnight, the temps plummeted 25 degrees.

Old Man Winter made his appearance here in Michigan in royal style.
(much to my chagrin)

"When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the Creator".
~Mohandas Gandhi

The next day, the snow fell.
The temps dropped even further into the single digits.
The furnace wouldn't stop running.

It was a good day to hunker down inside this toasty, tousled, old farmhouse
and catch a few dreams...

making some dream catchers to sell in my booth...

on my new favorite piece of love in the house.
*wink*

I wrapped hoops with strips of vintage linens and pieces of old denim.

Note: Many of you asked about the name and SKU of my prairie table from Menards.
Here it is: Midwest Manufacturing Workmaster Workbench, SKU #136-7034.

I pulled out my supply of twine, feathers, beads, bits and bobs.

I wove and strung and beaded and tied.

Content.
Happy.
Blessed.

Glancing out once in a while to watch the swirling snowflakes piling up on the windowsill
and collecting on every green branch of the pine trees.
Feeling grateful for a warm house and the joy of working and creating with my hands.

"Aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands."
~ 1 Thes.4:11

He has given you gifts, desires, talents, and inclinations.

Pursue them with gratitude and great joy.
They are God's gift to you.
Make them your gift to Him.
Even if no one understands.
If no one is impressed.
He is honored and pleased.*

I added some love and grace to each dream catcher
with a small wooden cross
or a tiny turquoise heart ~

whispering a prayer of peace over each.

I stood there and worked at my rustic prairie table all day long.

Enjoy stillness and quiet.
Appreciate His created beauty.
There is loveliness all around.
Choose to see it, hear it, feel it, smell it, taste it.
Open your eyes to wonder.
Then create.
Make your own kind of beauty.*

As the evening sky began to darken,
I clicked the old switch on the vintage lamp that my sweet husband revamped for me.
This is the lamp that we dug out of a pile of junk in the back of a neighbor's property this past spring.

You can read about it here
(and see what Heaven's Walk looked like with a French-Nordic twist before shabby chicness found a home here).

It was badly rusted and not working,
but The Husband lovingly restored it for me ~
even taking the time to wipe on some linseed oil to bring back its original luster.

The warm light flooded the room
as I heard The Husband stomping his snowy feet inside the back door.

I drew the gauzy curtains against the cold and snow,
and turned to see him enter my studioffice.

A grin crossed his face as he saw me standing at my ~~our~~ little prairie table working,
vintage light filling the warm, cozy room,
seeing how happy I was at that moment.

He turned and smiled at the completed dream catchers
hanging here
and there
and there
around the room.

Leaving the dreams until tomorrow,
we headed to the kitchen for a glass of our homemade FatCat*HappyDog wine
before dinner ~

while the trees creaked and groaned in the icy wind,
and the snow created deep whipped cream drifts around the barn...

Smile, inside and out.
Choose to enjoy each day.
It is a gift.*

~ Blessings ~

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Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar this week.

* written by Susan, High Desert Home blog

Vintage Millinery Veil

2013-01-26T15:22:00.000-05:00

"The art of making flowers was said to begin during the 12th century in Italy when they made flowers by hand from silk cocoons. By the 14th century the French had taken the art of hand making flowers and really began perfecting the techniques and materials. It was said that in 1775 Marie Antoinette was given a single silk millinery rose, and because it looked so real she fainted! Eventually the craft made its way to England and then on to America. The Victorians were huge fans of anything floral and over the top, so at that time Milliners were a part of every community."

"Starting around the 1970's is when it all began to change, we discovered how to make these flowers, that for all these centuries had been made by hand, by machine. The beautiful velvet and silk fabrics used for the petals were replaced with polyester and synthetics. The stems were assembled with plastic and no longer laboriously hand wrapped. We could make them cheap. So the art of hand crafting these beautiful flowers pretty much ended and this is what makes collecting millinery fleurs so desirable today."

~ Heather, prettypetals.typepad.com

Creating treasures using vintage millinery fleurs is a true art today.

Rachel Pallas is a talented Washington state artist who takes these fragile, silky pieces of history and weaves them into small rings of sheer beauty.

She recently made this pale, mauve millinery veil for me.

Tiny baby blue velvet forget-me-nots are tucked between large, floppy, frayed edged silk petals.
Rachel is carrying on the history and skills of using these beautiful fleurs in millinery veils, wreaths, and petite veils.
I can truly see her one-of-a-kind veils on the chignoned heads of brides to be
or on the tresses of little girls attending their first garden party...

But I'm just having fun moving this sweet hoop of silk around the house from room to room.

If you haven't met Rachel yet,
be sure to visit her beautifully inspiring blog, Shabby French for Me.
You will find yourself swept away by her photography and her talent for creating breathtaking vignettes
in her beautiful west coast home that overlooks the Sound.

Thank you so much, Rachel ~

You are such an inspiration!

Beginning to work on my Inspiration Board.

~ Blessings ~

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Linking to the linky parties on the lower right of my sidebar.

Pretty Storage Solution

2013-01-19T20:09:00.001-05:00

Storage can be a problem in an old farmhouse.

Whether it's closet storage or shelf storage,

it tends to be far and few between.

{It ends up wrecking complete havoc with a tiny bedroom turned

"walk-in closet"....

Insert resigned sigh here.

But that's another story for another day.}

I knew I wanted something sweet and unique to store some craft items in.

Something other than plastic tubs (that are stacked in a miniscule closet) and rustic baskets
that you will find in almost every room in this house.

Something a little more shabby chic.

Something really pretty.

So, a couple of vintage hatboxes made their way into my studioffice recently via a quick, cheap trip to eBay.

I was delighted to come across this sweet blue floral one.

It now holds paper roses, strips of vintage fabric, and bits and bobs.

Votives: TJ Maxx; wallpaper candleholder: Stephanie Bradley

And this pink floral one is filled with ribbon and stamped 'Heaven's Walk' tags.

So much prettier than plastic tubs and bins. :)

They make me wonder what woman decades ago owned them,

what her home was like,

and what type of hats she stored in them.

I moved on to the master bath to make some changes there next,

and spent the remainder of the day giving the antique cabinet above the loo a little face lift.

I had grown tired of seeing the apothecary bottles and seashells.

It needed something fresh and cottagey.

Something that said, "I belong in a romantic old farmhouse."

Thoughts of painting the inside of it had crossed my mind recently.
I almost used the same paint as I did on my sweet rustic prairie table.

But today...I wanted to see it wallpapered with some florals.

However, I didn't have any wallpaper.

Next best thing.....??

Fabric.

Yep. I used fabric.

I had no idea if this was going to work or not, but I plunged ahead anyway.

Worse case scenario, I would wash off the glue and paint it.

A homemade template and a little Mod Podge later,

I had this.

Then this.

Sorry about the blur.....

And finally....

this.

I filled it with sweet gifts, hand milled soaps,

and vintage linen hand towels.

Sweet ring box, glittery vintage earring, and millinery flowers: gift from Stephanie at The Spanish Dahlia.

I'm kinda diggin' the shabby chic farmhouse look in my loo....

and the pretty new storage in my studioffice, too. :)

Now....on to that disaster of a walk-in closet.

If you don't hear from me by the end of next week,

please send help.

♥

~ Blessings ~

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Sweet Prairie-ness

2013-01-12T20:55:00.003-05:00

If you bring home some of this...

ask your husband ~ very sweetly ~ if he would tackle a little project for you...

and then stand back and watch the magic happen...

your studioffice will be graced with this charming piece of prairie goodness.

Menard's recently advertised this darling six foot wooden workbench for $49.99.
When my eyes landed on that ad,
my heart fluttered. :)

It reminded me of the entry table in Tausha's beautiful Florida home
that I had been secretly coveting for a long time.

The next day, I rushed to the store with a $15 rebate check clutched tightly in my hand,

ran down the aisles in search of my long-lost table,

had some helpful young man load it onto a cart for me,

and plunked down $35.

[The Husband later told me he couldn't even buy the wood to make one from scratch for that amount.]

It only took him a day to put the kit together

(after cutting down the length by 12" to fit into my studioffice better),

and I spent the following day recreating a worn, vintagey look by staining it first with 'Early American', then painting on watered down 'French Enamel' Milk Paint

which I rubbed and sanded back.

We moved the antique church pew that was previously in the room

to the barn.

See it there behind the chaise covered with a slipcover?

To tell you the truth, we never sat on it or used it for anything.

I may sell it this spring in my booth.

I spent the next day floofing, creating pretty vignettes,

and

sighing...

over and over and over again.

[I even got the good kind of raised eyebrows, and a

"Holy cow! That looks great! I'm really impressed, hon!"

from The Husband.

Woot woot!]

Oh, yeah...

I'm loving every single board on this baby.

'Tangled prairie hearts' I made this week.

This sweet little prairie table will give me a special place to weave my dream catchers,

string my large wooden rosaries,

Made more rosaries this week. One is winging it's way to Australia!

wrap my tangled prairie hearts...

Tutorial will be coming soon. I promise. :)

and create some pretty vignettes, of course.

*wink*

We were both so thrilled with the rustic feeling this workbench brought to Heaven's Walk,

that The Husband wants to make more for me to sell in my booth.

What do you think?

A bit of faded pink

or lavender paint next.....?

~ Blessings ~

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Fruit Drying Crate & Sanctuary

2013-01-06T16:53:00.001-05:00

Early in the week, I took another day and stayed home

to regroup, refocus, and try to bring sort of semblance back into my life ~

if even for a few hours.

The anxiety demon was threatening to push me over the edge once again,

and after listening closely to those of you who have been - or who are - where I am right now in my life,

I heeded your encouraging advice and took stock of what my heart and mind was telling me.

God was whispering, "Breathe in. Abide in Me".

The best place for me to do that was here at Heaven's Walk.

My safe haven.

My respite from the roller coaster ride I'm on.

My sanctuary.

After a surprise breakfast of my favorite homemade buckwheat blueberry pancakes,

thick cut bacon, and fresh orange juice that The Husband so lovingly made for me,

I spent the rest of the day stripping the beds,

laundering duvet covers and linens,

dusting and vacuuming,

cleaning out the cobwebs of stress in my mind,

and playing around with my little fruit drying crate on the coffee table.

Therapy for me.

It had me stumped.

I couldn't figure out what it was lacking.

So, I emailed sweet, creative Tausha and she offered some wonderful suggestions.

A simple stack of floral linens.
Strips of cotton fabric off Christmas gifts from a blog friend.

Tea glasses filled with vintage silverware.

A sweetly scented candle.

A tangle of leather strung silver hearts.

A fragrant handful of roses plunked in a crystal glass.

Through the camera's viewfinder, my eyes landed on the sofa.

That, too, needed some freshening up.

A simple change.

The everyday duvet cover that I had thrown over it to keep the slips clean

was tossed into the washer.

A Simply Shabby Chic 'Mon Ami' twin bottom sheet was tucked around the seat cushions

and topped with a variety of favorite pillows.

I sat.

I looked.

I breathed deeply

and

thanked God for blessing me with such a wonderful place to live.

A respite.

A haven.

A sanctuary.

I hope that you can take time in this new year to find a place of respite and sanctuary ~

a place to breathe in...

a place to abide...

a place to hear His voice.

~ Blessings ~

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Breathing in the New Year...

2012-12-29T22:36:00.000-05:00

I took the day off today to breathe.

Breathe in being a wife and exhale the stress that has entwined itself around my mind.

Unwind.

Regroup.

Relax.

My body and mind needed it desperately.

If you follow me on Facebook, you know I've been driving two hours a day to spend the day with my mom who is now in a rehab center recovering from a recent stroke.

It's taking a toll not only on my poor old SUV

(which is having hiccup issues)

but on me, too.

I feel like I'm in the "Groundhog Day" movie;

getting up and doing the same thing over and over and over again,

day after day after day.

I'm not complaining.

Really, I'm not.

The hours spent with Mom are treasured and cherished.

I need to be there to relieve my Dad and support him.

But I'm feeling frustrated with the lack of improvement I see in my Mom.

I expected her to be walking again

and feeding herself

and in the least able to hold a partial conversation with me.

So, I wait.

I hold her hand and rub her back.

I talk to her and tell her I love her.

I comb her hair and put on her lipstick.

I pray constantly.

I beg.

I cajole.

I pray again.

And I wait for God to answer our prayers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I was anxious to get my house back in order after Christmas.

So I spent the day decluttering, putting away Christmas decor,

cleaning, and refloofing ~

And just breathing in being a housewife for the day.

I love doing housework.

It relaxes me and I don't stress out over it.

I found some time to hang another little chandy, too.

This one's just for looks right now,

and doesn't work quite yet.

But at least it's out of the box it was sitting in on the floor in my office.

It did my heart good to dip into my bucket of inspiration

and create some new vignettes.

This darling little crown ring box filled with a couple tiny treasures

is one of many beautiful shabby chic Christmas gifts sent to me from my good friend and sister-in-Christ,

Stephanie at The Spanish Dahlia.

♥

This old fruit drying crate was pulled from the abyss in my basement.

I've been wanting to use it in someway

but it continually stumped me

and I would find myself wandering blankly around the house with it.

Not quite sure it "feels" right yet, though.

This vignette may need a little reworking.

I moved to the kitchen and freshened up the table vignette.

Blush pink roses drying on the pie safe,

will soon join the dried ones

on the other side of the kitchen.

I'm breathing easier now.

A little creativity does do the heart and mind good.

I'm ready to tackle another week, too.

Ready to spend it in grateful prayer at my mom's side.

♥

To those of you who have been praying for my family,

I deeply thank you.

For those of you dealing with the same thing,

know that I am praying for you...

And may the new year bring you all an abundance of

peace,

joy,

and

answered prayer.

~ Blessings ~

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Celebrating Christmas...

2012-12-24T20:38:00.000-05:00

He is our Joy during times of pain.

He is our Strength when we are weak.

He is our Hope when we think we have none.

He is our Peace in times of turmoil.

These are the gifts I am celebrating this Christmas.

Praying that all of you will experience HIS love and peace this season

in a way you never have before...

Merry Christmas

♥

~ Love & Blessings ~

["He Is" by Tracie @ Beneath My Heart]