Mixed Media and Penmanship Art

One of my favorite things is old penmanship and faded papers.

Another is gardening and painting so they are brought together

in this new grouping (new series) of mixed media prints

that I am offering on at my Dictionaryreader shop

This French girl spreads love and gardening cheer

by planting her gardens in heart shapes.

I am ready for Spring and all of the bulbs

and tubers that push their noses up through the 

winter weary soil

Spring is like the opening of the treasure box

and the treasure box being the garden.

All kinds of jewels shimmer and sway!

Not to mention fragrance.

Downton Abbey Silver Holiday Decorating Tabletop

Simple decorating ideas are my kind

of decorating. I have these silver plated cups

that I call my Downton Abbey Cups..

They are just vintage silver cups

but I am sure they have lots of stories to tell.

(They will look more like Downton Abbey

on white linen!)

Place each cup in a circle like a wreath

and fill each with boxwood cuttings.

If you are a gardener that is the same

as saying each are filled with cheer.

If only boxwood rooted quickly

like say, mint!  

Old silver has such character!

The combination of brown, silver and gray

with some shimmer and some dull areas

has such appeal to me.

These almost blend into the tabletop.

Beautifully burnished is the best description for the cups.

Happiness is a table full of family and friends

good food helps too,

so I guess I should be looking for new dishes to make

the usual dishes are comforting but it's always good to

have a few surprises each year.

I stumbled upon a cookbook by 
Sam Choy

at a Goodwill store and it was $1.30 

Now I have the recipe for Payapa Dressing!

The list of secret ingredients is in my kitchen.

All photographs are my own from Instagram.

Connecting up with:
   Between Naps on the Porch
Coastal Charm
Common Ground

Pink Rose and Flower Petals

Pink is still fresh here. This rose I took to photographing.

It looks so lovely.

As I moved it around on the vintage silver platter the

most amazing coincidence happened.

I saw it's gorgeous inner reflection on the silver rim.

The learning process is beautiful too.

I should list the new things I learn everyday.

I wanted to toss these fragrant petals into the bath.

Who has time for leisurely baths?

Their aromatherapy on my fingers was enough for me today.

We are scattering petals about like sugar and spice.

It is quite nice!

This vintage silver spoon's design is elaborate.

Little details speak directly to the heart through the eye.

Fragrance speaks to the heart when you inhale it.

To be alert to these things...

The calm it brings to a busy life.

Pretty soon we will have peonies the same soft sweet pink color!

I will have to look for a silver ladle

to photograph the pom pom's with.

Connecting up with these friends:

Feathered Nest Friday

Common Ground

Pink Saturday



My Romantic Home

Saturday Show Off

White and Rhubarb Raspberry Valentine Hearts

Any excuse to whip cream.

My favorite Lenox bowl to whip it in. Got out my heart cookie tin.

Played a bit. I spooned some whipped cream into the heart cookie cutter and lifted it up. So pretty. Would anyone like a little whipped cream on the side of their dessert?

Here is the treat! Rhubarb raspberry crisp. It's so good. It makes you pucker up your mouth and squint your eyes because of the tartness, then the sweetness kicks in and it's oh, so good.

A little mini heart on top.

The little whipped heart grew. Not only are the heart cut outs very Valentine like, they also make for smaller servings which is just what I need.

Connecting up with White Wednesday
A Beach Cottage

Paris Dress

For the love of paper!

Look at these beautiful paper dresses

I'm in love with them

Lately I've been working with paper

No fumes paints

No pins and needles to step on

No expensive supplies

and yet it's rewarding in the

creative sense.

I didn't make these darlings,

but I wish for some Paris robes.

Eileen Blue White Floral China England

The sweetest old china platter

It's old, but new for me and this blue

and white says SPRING.

Now I know why Mother's always

want their kids to eat everything...

because the plates are so beautiful!

Any food would look good on this platter.

W.H. Grindley made these dishes.

Do you see the cruise ship on top

of the globe?

It cost me only pennies and it dates

between 1891 and 1914.

This dish has been around!

I wish I knew alot more about

old pottery houses in England.

Some trade mark stamps

identified here at The Potteries

Connecting with:

Vintage Inspiration Friday

The Shabby Nest Frugal Friday

Feathered Nest Friday

My Romantic Home

The Charm of Home

Farmhouse Friday

Shabby Chic Rose Styling

My formula for styling.

Keep arranging until it sizzles.


Make it have a lived-in look.


The top is my finished vignette.


I started with some (still) gorgeous

dried white roses.

These were on long stems

from South America.


I couldn't believe how they


dried white/cream and not brown.

I love arranging them in a

heart shape but I also

didn't want them

handled too much by little fists,

so I put them in a vintage pitcher

probably from the 50's

thrift shop purchase 1.00

I like the see through look here.

Then I walked by my rusty

silver platter that I hadn't

put away yet and inspiration hit.

Romantic crystal, candles,

roses and diamonds.

Okay. The "diamonds"

are really glass on a keychain that

I slipped down on the candle.

It cost 2.00

Here is where I stopped.

Doesn't the cream,

silver and white

look charming?

Plus the shimmer even

without the candles lit

gives it a shabby chic style.

Connecting with these friends:

White Wednesday

The House in Roses

Wow Us Wednesdays

Ivy and Elephants

Farmhouse Prairie Dresses - Gorgeous

I have some lacy tablecloths and curtains packed away.

Aren't these dresses beautiful?

I would love to put something together like these

Ralph Lauren haute couture dresses.

French Frocks and Ruffle Clothes

Smitten by french linen ruffles! I can see myself running through the fields and working in the garden. Sit down to dinner in these french robes. Have you ever been to this fab Un Coeur en Provence French blog? Everything is a treat for the eyes, home and "la nature". One of her adverstisers is Artisan Couturier Be sure to visit.

Candied Orange Peel - Cooking Art

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These candied orange peels are delicious and anyone can make them. All you need is an orange, water and sugar! Simple as can be. Your kitchen will be fragrant and your tastebuds delighted. I am getting more and more like my mother. Frugal. I peeled an orange and as I went to put the peels in the garbage I stopped. A little voice in my head was saying I was throwing away the best part of the orange. Why not make candied orange peel? Nothing to lose. All gain. We get in habits and sometimes it's good to break them. And so after I had just wiped down the stovetop and sink and counters I got out the cutting board and started cutting away the pith. Sliced the peels in strips and dropped them in water and boiled them a few minutes. Emptied out the water and repeated that 4 times. Then added water, orange rind and sugar and simmered them in the syrup it made for 30 minutes or less. Drained them and then dredged them in sugar. They say the blanching takes out the bitterness. They were so sweet and delicious that the compost pile will not be seeing very many orange rinds in the near future. You can snack on these or add to desserts, put on cupcakes, pancakes, whatever. Plus we have the orange flavored syrup for hot chocolate or to add to whipped cream!


It's a new year. Why do we wait for a new year to make resolutions and changes? Tradition, I guess. Really we can change anytime we want to...Which got me thinking about what I want to change or what have I changed? First of all I want to be a better listener and observer. Some people don't communicate what they are thinking or feeling, but if you observe them you will know. Plus it doesn't hurt feelings to observe, it's not like painfully prying out information. Chip, chip, chip, ouch! There is a time to talk and a time to walk. We always want to make other people better, but maybe I will also work on myself! Big project; right?

Thank you for stopping in as I save one orange at a time.

Candle Stick Vignette

A little corner of my kitchen. The super tall candle stick was black when I bought it. A mixture of grey with a hint of blue went over that. This is a rather neutral color now. Softer than black. It has elaborate carving on it. Large bamboo platter from Ikea.

Food Art Garden Cards Kids Mushrooms

Let the mushrooms show you where your place is at the table.





Food as art? Absolutely. Useful art at the table in the form of a name card or place card. It started out innocently as I was going to make a salad. My marker was on the counter from last night numbering the Christmas calendar. I couldn't help but pick it up and draw a face on the mushroom. The trials of an artist. This is one of those times inspiration struck immediately on what to do with it.









There is a wonderful 3-d quality to the name cards. (These were simple plain tags that I had in my drawer.) She looks like a sweet bird on a branch. I added lavender, cinnamon bark, ribbon and a dab of hot glue to hold the mushroom girl to the card and also for the lavender. My hands were very fragrant when I was finished.





When I cut the mushroom in half she had a perfect mate who I then drew his face on. He's here on the right. Every American family has a dog (or almost) so here is our westie dog mushroom. This last photo is before I hot glued them on the cards. It's so fun to get kids excited about coming to the table and making it fun and presenting food in an artistic way. These are not to be eaten but mushrooms have a pretty long shelf life so you could make them earlier in the day and they will keep and look beautiful all during dinner.

I am linking up with these friends linky parties:

Feathered Nest

Farm Girl Friday

My Romantic Home

Pin Inspirational

Thanksgiving Bittersweet Berries

I was fortunate to get these beautiful branches loaded with berries from a perennial vine called bittersweet the day before thanksgiving. They really add color.




Did everyone have a good time with family and friends? We did...and still are...still eating and having a good time. I'm going to bed earlier tonight.






The weather was great today. It really cools down at night though. We are ready and have marshmallows. Big decisions...in the hot chocolate or toast by the fire.

Shabby Whites and Romantic Grays

Stunning vintage, chippy white-gray double doors for sale at the Design House last weekend in Leesburg. The wreath is just the right size to compliment the doors. Would you repaint this? I like it just like it is chippy white over gray.





Such a sweet little bird and the same chippy white and gray colors.




I love ruffles and wool and flowers. Sheep have two out of those three things and they eat my flowers from time to time. This is a 16 x20 painting I did to go with white decorating. My lambie is center front. She is a border leicester and has the curly ringlet wool.

More white ruffles on these amazing winter cabbages. Nature has lots of ruffles!

A photograph from early spring when I could not get enough of linen and whites. I still have a yearning for that combination. So very romantic!

A real wreath with dried flowers for only 69. Stunning and it was large, too!

I am linking up with White Wednesday.

Also Wow us Wednesdays at Savy Southern Style.

And The Vintage Farmhouse linky party.

Shabby White Furniture and Linens

To walk into these bedrooms in the Beekeepers Cottage is like being awake in a good dream. You can linger in the light as cloud rooms.






The linens, cottons, and burlap are touchable and ready for you to purchase. Tempting and beautiful and they would fit right into my dream cottage. How I loved everything there.





The backs of these steps have the prettiest rose paper or linoleum on them. Unfortunately the stairwell was not for sale. Wouldn't you feel like a princess going up and down the staircase? It would remind you to smell the roses.





This pillowcase with the triple rows of lace were gorgeous.





All of the furniture has been refinished to white or gray. Oh la la! My husband is afraid that our bedroom might be this full one day.



This decorative pillow is so cute. It looks like rows of opened bias tape stitched into flower shapes. One side of the tape had a metallic sheen to it which would really sparkle in candlelight.





The folks at the Beekeepers cottage are full of creativity! This is a different stairwell in the old farmhouse with a mosaic all along the wall. Do you see the silver spoon and beads? The broken ceramic dolls and lids? Whimsical! I had the biggest smile on my face the whole time I was there. When you first enter the rooms are sparkling with jewelry but I edged by the crowd for the furniture and linens.