Grow your blog party!

A fun party I am joining in on this weekend!

 

To those who are new to visiting my blog, WELCOME. My name is Debbi, I reside in western Oregon in the small rural town of Sublimity. We enjoy a quick commute in Salem, Oregon's capital city. We are within 90 minutes of the Pacific ocean beaches and 45 minutes from the Cascade mountain snow activities in winter as well as many beautiful lakes and rivers. My children are grown and I have two little granddaughters (pics at the bottom of my blog) Lynsie Jean and Lilian Grace. We are very lucky that they do live close by and see them often.

I am a textile and graphic artist as well as an avid cottage gardener with a passion for old fashioned and English roses, especially pink roses. Many of my art designs reflect my love of the colors of the garden.
A little over a year ago, I took the leap to quit the "day job" and follow my bliss. Some say I retired, but I say nope, I am self employed now and really loving what I do!

My hubby Jim is a retired police officer, and together we enjoy traveling to tropical destinations. The Big Island of Hawaii is our favorite, but Key West Florida comes in at a close second.

I have been blogging on this blog since 2006, some years more than others and I tend to blog a lot more during the warm months because I love to share my gardening and traveling adventures. In 2009 I split in 2 blogs, this remaining my personal blog and forming a blog solely for my textile art website business.

I hope you will follow my blog!! 

AND please head over to my other blog to see my art and throw your name in for the lovely  

GIVEAWAY 

 I am doing over there http://MarionberryCottage.blogspot.com

Cottage colors Party~White

Joining on the party at Etsy Cottage Style blog

The color for June is WHITE

Sharing a couple vintage pieces handed down from grandma to mom to me...

This is a vintage 50's TV lamp with white birds. It was always my favorite. Even tho now it doesn't serve the same purpose as it did back then, I love to put fresh flowers in it during the summer.

An interesting single pineapple crochet doily

This lovely little frog vase is a fave for those tiny flowers from the garden

then I had to step outside to my garden this time of year and there is plenty of white!

I have been blogging a lot about my cottage garden this season. It is now in it's 6th year and becoming the glorious place I dreamed it would be.

Above is a gorgeous Hollyhock!

Glamis Castle English rose

 False Queen Annes Lace

 Chocolate Delphinium

Hope you enjoyed~Please join us with your favorite white treasures!

Etsy Cottage Style blog--the party is all week

Walls of roses

So lucky in the fact that my day job takes me past Heirloom Rose Gardens, that I can make the 2 3/4 mile side trip off the main road to snap a few pics....Not quite a total explosion of blooms yet, the PNW is about 3 weeks behind due to the 2nd wettest coldest spring on record here. BUT, the climbing roses were in full bloom, so I decided today to focus on "the Walls of Roses

Eden Rose (above)

Mary rose (above)

Sorry, I didn't take the time to write down all the names--my main mission was to get a pic of the Eden rose since that is my newest edition to my garden. I also have the Mary rose which is my all time favorite. A big cabbage rose that is very fragrant. A bouquet will scent an entire room!

my pink details from the garden

So I shared some white from the garden last week....last evening I grabbed my camera to seek out all the pink. What I found was the pallet our creator presents in pink has so more much detail I had not noticed before. I took lots of photos, but just a few were presentable...Enjoy!

tiny upright fuchsia

Cosmos "sonata"

pale pink hollyhock

Mary rose

"kiss me over the garden gate"

garden pinks (dianthus)

did you see the bee in this pic??...

click on the pic to see full size

Summer Roses Swap

oh, look at the wonderful treasures Char from Someplace in Thyme sent me for the Etsy Cottage Style Summer Roses Swap!

Chocolate Cake~but not to eat!, a gorgeous bird house tassel, vintage buttons, and a bag of very fragrant french lavender buds~on my, what lovely treasures!!

I am going to display the cake with my collection
of Vintage German porcelain!

The tassel is hung on my floor lamp at the
entrance to my studio~
the first thing you see when you enter

This was an awesome swap! Thanks Char for all the lovelies!

Happy May Day!

 It's May Day and here is a bit of it's history!

May Day was once, in its earliest days of glory, quite a celebrated date. It was marked by plenty of dancing, singing, and merriment. This holiday was often symbolized by the colorful new growth of spring. It was an early tradition for the youngsters of Europe to carry fresh flowers and boughs and to visit neighborhood houses. They would sing songs that commemorated the arrival of springtime too. People typically decorated their homes with fresh flowers, green leaves, and tree branches. And, May Poles were a common sight on this holiday. Some considered the poles to represent the "tree of life." They were erected in the town squares in order to mark the presence of spring as well as the coming of summer when all of the trees, flowers, and crops would be growing heartily in the light of the golden sunshine. The May Poles were usually trees that had been cut down in the forests. The branches were removed, and the trees were then carried into town. Brightly colored ribbons were then attached to the tops of the trees. The youngsters took turns grabbing a ribbon and dancing around the poles as part of their May Day celebration. Some cultures believed that the winding of the ribbons around the May Poles was an attempt at helping Nature remain in balance after the long, cold winter, and continue its plush green growth cycle. The youngsters would wind the ribbons together in a colorful pattern. The youngsters also held an annual election in which they selected a May Day King and Queen who were then supposed tp preside over the days events.

 

Help yourself to these lovely images-my gift to you for May Day!
Just click on the image to enlarge to full size, then right click your mouse to save

Tagged by a friend!

I was tagged today by my friend Carol from Etsy Cottage Style ning! I have to tell all of you 10 things about myself--some that you may or may not know already--hummm, this might take a while!

1. For starters--the above banner for Carol's blog--I designed for her!

2. I work a day time job for a grocery marketing company and have a website and 3 etsy shops

3.I have a wonderful hubby Jim, 2 grown children and a 21 month granddaughter Lynsie

4.I love David Austin and old garden pink roses and grow several in my cottage garden.

5. I love vintage textiles and it is a thrill to create beautiful home decor that can become new treasures.

6.. I collect vintage German porcelain (of course it has to have pink roses!) preferably the MZ Austria or Leuchtenburg marks

7. I am a Star Trek fan! Loved all the series!

8. I enjoy camping in the mountain forests of Western Oregon

9. I have a passion for traveling to Kona, Hawaii (the Big Island) I think I lived there in another life, it feels like home to me. Andmy dream is that some day we will have a second home there

10. I am a Christian and believe that we are all saved by God's grace

I am going to tag 4 of of my Shabby Lane Shops Friends today!

Janet at Graceful Rose

Theresa at Cottage Violets

Mimi at Mimi's Rose Chenille Boutique

Lynn at The Vintage Nest

Just all pink

With most of my roses taking a break right now, the many shades of pink are still going just fine. So I picked a bouquet that was "just pink", so thought I should plop them in a "just pink" vase. I added a few "pinks" (dianthus) and a some soft baby's breath. Nope I am not a floral designer (does it show? LOL) but I do love fresh flowers and wanted to share on this lovely morning!
Roses shown are Abraham Darby, Mary Rose and Glamis Castle

Do you love roses?

Feast your eyes! I had the opportunity to visit Heirloom Rose Gardens with a friend this weekend! I took way too many pics to post here, but here a bunch of my faves! Below is a wonderful quotation that was on a sign in one of the themed gardens, it is so inspirational to me, I hope you enjoy the roses as much as I do!

To see more about Heirloom Rose Gardens, see the guest author post I did
on the French Cupboard blog