About Me

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Sublimity, OR, United States
****WELCOME FRIENDS****
I am artist of texture and color. I enjoy working with textiles, mixed media and the graphic arts. I am an avid cottage gardener with a love for pass along plants and big fluffy pink peonies and pink roses. Many of my tangible creations reflect my love of the garden and all its wonderful colors. I have been selling my creations online since 2002 beginning as a hobby. After 10 years I quit the day job to pursue my art as a full time passion.

31 December 2012

grab the champange

This amazing graphic was on The Graphics Fairy blog tonight....just had to share it too..love love the roses and details....

Happy New Year to all my blog world friends:)
 


25 December 2012

a look at the holidays

 A few saved moments of 2012 Christmas season at All in my Cottage....


On my front porch...

Candy Cane Cheesecake~

The project with my granddaughters one afternooon
Eight tiny reindeer noses and of course Rudolph's red nose too

Warm winter wishes at my front door

Lynsie 5 and Lilian 2 1/2 before Christmas Eve Church

a peek into the tree....this is a very old glass glittered deer I cherish

Upside down apple pie

another peek inside the tree...sparkling silver

Santa picked the perfect gift for the grands....no fighting,
they each have a side to do their art!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 Wishing all my lovely blogger friends a wonderful Christmas and bright New Year
I promise to blog more in 2013 too...

26 November 2012

a little upcycling.....

Here I am again, so tardy updating this blog....I have been so busy getting ready for the one show I do a year...in fact this is my second year and my first having a booth all by myself...I will be okay as long as I get one of my family members to give me a couple potty breaks...I cannot give up my coffee that morning.

Thought I would share some of the up-cycling and re-purposing I have been doing for the show...The first is something I rarely do...working with clothing...but a recent trip to the thrift store I found this denim jacket for $7 and I could not resist! I had seen this done before many times, so WTH, I am going to try it. I also picked up a ruffled gauze skirt, I have not tackled it yet, but a loose plan is in place.

I bleached, and used sandpaper to bring about a more aged look. Coffee stained some lace and added one of my satin/lace burnt roses. Along the bottom I sewed a wide piece of vintage crochet to the inside of the jacket adding some length.


The jacket looks great with the gauze skirt. Both pieces are a little bit too big for me, but I can roll up the cuffs and take a tuck in the skirt...add some cowgirl boots and I am ready to go!

Another up-cycling project are these soft fluffly gloves I picked up on clearance at the end of last winter, so I did not pay too much for them. I had seen something similar done to up-cycle, so I added my own lace burnt roses as wonderful pretty touch.



Lastly, I love old jello molds! I bartered a trade with a good friend to get a whole bunch of these to re-purpose into pin cushions...what a great stocking stuffer!


joining in today with the party over at EtsyCottageStyle blog





02 November 2012

A piece Humble pie



The definition of

hum·ble   
not proud or arrogant; modest: to be humble although successful.

Recently a friend of mine used the word "humble" in a facebook post in which she wanted to share her recent success with her art venue. She stated that she was a humble woman, but so proud of what she collectively accomplished, she want to toot her horn a little.
I had to agree, she is a successful, and extremely talented yet humble woman that has not forgotten what it was like to start at the bottom. Even tho she is extremely busy now, she remains committed to her customers, friends, and counterparts.

Then a few days later, in my haste to finish a project for my website, realized I was out of a couple supplies. So I headed over to etsy, found what I wanted, purchased and sent a convo to the seller asking "Is there was any possibility she could ship the next day priority mail as I am in need of the supplies quickly" 

The answer I got back shocked me..."if you want to upgrade your shipping there are options listed in my shop to purchase, otherwise you will be shipped in the order your purchase was received, I do not make one customer more important than another"
Wow, I didn't think I was asking to be more important than another customer, and I did pay priority rates, so I shouldn't have to pay more. I went back and looked at her shop and she was a very high volume seller so it is understandable she has lots of shipments everyday.
But the more I thought about it, I thought about how rude she was. I am very busy too, but I would never answer a customer request that negative manor if I could not full fill the request. So I convo'd her back and requested to cancel my order and to tell her that I did not appreciate her negative response that I had asked to be more important than her other customers.
Her response back was "I cancelled your order, I do not prioritize orders. You need to go have a glass of wine and relax" 

Of course I was seething at that remark....she was pulling my strings. But I thought back to the word "humble". This seller needed to have a piece of humble pie set in front of her. It also reminded me that we all need to remain humble, no matter how successful we become in life.

and..btw...I did find the same supplies through another seller and she shipped then the next day!



22 October 2012

A new life for my flea market finds

Indian summer weather a couple weeks ago afforded me the time to get outside and complete a couple lingering projects I had to get done. 

 The "before" as found

This folding screen I picked up this summer at a garage sale for $5. I could not pass it up. Not my style for sure, but I have been looking for a screen to use in my booth at the upcoming local holiday craft show.

The 2 clover leaf tables were $10 for the pair and I love the Victorian design, and they were begging to be white! I also want to use them for the booth.

Last month I took a class on using Annie Sloan Chalk paint, so tried my hand using it on these pieces. For the screen, I mixed Provence blue with Old white and came up with this pretty robins egg blue. I waxed it with a medium distress brown.


The "after"

Since the center panels were a bamboo, using spray adhesive and laying over lace curtain sections That I picked up at Value Village, made it look as if the curtains were gathered.I am still going to add more cottage touches of lace and also my shop banner,

The tables were painted Old white, then even tho you may not be able to see it here, I waxed them with clear wax mixed with provence blue. the blue falls nicely into the scroll work.

Joining in today with the Etsy Cottage Style blog Cottage Craft party~it is open all week, so if you have something in the works in your craft room, please join us, we would love to see it!




07 October 2012

Oatmeal Shortbread cookies!




Since we are still having summer weather here in Oregon, it has been hard for me to get motivated into fall decorating when my roses are still blooming so beautifully. So until the rains arrive, the fall decorating is on hold!

Today I am joining in on the Etsy Cottage Style blog party...... sharing one of my favorites....



Oatmeal Shortbread cookies

1 cup butter (no substitutes)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
3/4 teaspoon salt

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour, oats and salt. Press into a greased 8" x 12" brownie pan. Prick with a fork if desired. Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 min or until lightly browned. 
Cool at least 10 minutes before cutting.


23 September 2012

Free images!

It has been a great while since I shared some of the images from my graphic library, so thought that the Cottage Craft party over at Etsy Cottage Style blog would be a perfect time to share. Since next months party will be too close to Halloween to share these images, I am putting them up now to give you plenty of time to play in   your craft room with these!

for your treat bags--click to enlarge to full sixe

 a pair of vintage greeting cards




Happy creating!
Join us by sharing your current project!



Click on the pic above to get there!



17 September 2012

Late summer on the patio

This summer we revamped our patio area. It was mostly flagstone and every year we would have to pick it all up and relay it. After 5 summers, we got tired of all the work and decided to put down aggregate.

It was also an opportunity to invest in a new patio set along with a big offset umbrella. Our table seats up to 8 people very comfortably. We are in the process of finishing up a stone fire pit (which you can't see in the pic) which will afford us some nice late summer and early fall fires.


 I snapped a couple pics this morning of what is still looking amazing in my patio and garden!




95 degrees today here in western Oregon...we are having an indian summer! This warm weather is expected all week. At least now all my tomatoes will ripen as they were very late this year.


20 August 2012

Sharing some recent garden photos. My roses were lovely this year even tho I didn't have time to really care for them like I should!

My little granddaughter Lilian 

Black eyed Susan vine (Thuinbergia)

My cherished Eden roses!


26 July 2012

Remembering moms Clothesline

Now isn't this the truth! My father in law forwarded this in an email...I love it...so true for those of us who were kids in the 50's and earlier!



Remembering Mom's Clothesline 
There is one thing that's left out. We had a long wooden pole (clothes pole) that was used to push the clotheslines up so that longer items (sheets/pants/etc.) didn't brush the ground and get dirty. You have to be a "certain age" to appreciate this one.... (But you YOUNGER ones can read about "The GOOD ol' days"!!) I can hear my mother now.....
 
 
THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES: (If you don't even know what clotheslines are, better skip this.)
1. You had to hang the socks by the toes... NOT the top.
2. You hung pants by the BOTTOM/cuffs... NOT the waistbands.
3. You had to WASH the clothesline(s) before hanging any clothes - walk the entire length of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.
4. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites" with "whites," and hang them first.
5. You NEVER hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What would the neighbors think?
 6. Wash day on a Monday! NEVER hang clothes on the weekend, or on Sunday, for Heaven's sake!
7. Hang the sheets and towels on the OUTSIDE lines so you could hide your "unmentionables" in the middle (perverts & busybodies, y'know!)
8. It didn't matter if it was sub-zero weather... clothes would "freeze-dry."
9. ALWAYS gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on the lines were "tacky"!
10. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item.
11. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket, and ready to be ironed.
 
 
And now a POEM ...
A clothesline was a news forecast, To neighbors passing by,
There were no secrets you could keep, When clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link, For neighbors always knew If company had stopped on by,
To spend a night or two. For then you'd see the "fancy sheets", And towels upon the line; You'd see the "company table cloths", With intricate designs.
The line announced a baby's birth, From folks who lived inside,
As brand new infant clothes were hung, So carefully with pride!
The ages of the children could, So readily be known
 By watching how the sizes changed, You'd know how much they'd grown!
It also told when illness struck, As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe too, Haphazardly were strung.
It also said, "On vacation now", When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged, With not an inch to spare!
New folks in town were scorned upon, If wash was dingy and gray,
 As neighbors carefully raised their brows, And looked the other way.
But clotheslines now are of the past, For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home, Is anybody's guess!
I really miss that way of life, It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best... By what hung out on that line.

23 July 2012

French cottage side table

Joining in on the party over at Etsy Cottage style blog, I thought I would share another of my refurbished finds....
 

 here is the "before" 
I  have not finished the letter holders:) that will be in a later post...


I picked up this table at a garage sale..it was wobbly with loose legs and the top was full of water stains. But it has dome much potential! I had to bargain a bit, the owners said it was in the family since the 1930's, but one of the grandkids took it to his college dorm and pretty much had destroyed it. They didn't want to spend the money to have it refinished, but it was also hard to let go. But for $20 it was mine.


the details are amazing. The legs re-glued, and new pads on the feet and a good sanding to smooth the top. I painted it a soft heirloom white and added an antique glaze.This was to be displayed in a local antique shop that I was consigning in, but the owner abruptly closed the shop, so now I will most likely sell it on craigs list locally since it is too hard to ship from my website.




I added a coupe waterslide decals to the top and sealed
Viola!  Vintage French cottage!!






Every Saturday

Where we reside

Where we reside

The Oregon Coastline

The Oregon Coastline