A room of my own...

Yes, Sweet Repose has a room of her own right in Sisters' Garden...
as these darling and yummy scented sachets announce.
Ah, the sweet scent of gardenia wafts through the air...

When a little girl plays in her doll house, magic occurs...
VIGNETTES...

I love the penny rug in this setting under the soaps,
it perfectly blends with the shabby floral seat cover
of this old parlor chair.

A bit out of focus, but dreamy and true, another vignette
proves that white is still queen...

A treasury of tiny French fruit jars, now filled to the brim
with Christmas scented soy wax, tiny votive sized treats to
scent your holiday room.

AND soap, soap, soap...

And candles...I've chosen the fruit jars for my candles,
because these jars are still made in America by
American laborers...they are easily attained in most stores,
so shipping costs are minimal...
plus, they give the feel of homemade and not imported!
And that's what it's all about these days, right!!!
They can be sold wholesale too, so email if interested!

I have newbies...

No, it's not a new disease...it's new stuff...
Stopped by my favorite haunt yesterday on my way
to deliver soaps to LeClaire, had a few spare bucks...soooo...
isn't this clock to die for!!!
Don't know if it works, don't care if it works,
it's just a grand piece of decorating going to Sisters' on Friday!

Who doesn't love the delightful design of art Nouveau candlesticks...
sweet...

and this darling repro ink well and novel pen,
made from the point of a lobster...soooo me!

AND baby heads...isn't this just the cutest, she may be a keeper,
you just don't find a lot of black babies...
I love her hair!!!

OK, we won't go here...

but we will here,
the evening sky over a secret garden

My tree row ablaze with an evening's passion,
sure to bring on another perfect day!!!

Shadow Shot Sunday...An ode to dawn......

Just an ordinary shuttered window
to some but
in my realm it's the rabbit hole
that beckons an Alice
come hither and join the day
a Winter's schemin'
whilst summer dreamin'
a moody blue morn
rises o'er the purple haze
of the lonely night
sun on golden glittering beams
whisper notes
to the petals that float
on the fables composed in my eye

dare to dream of


me

Speaking of dreams, I had the most glorious of dreams last night,
I was shopping at the Salvation Army
and what treasures bedecked my slumber,
there were gilded, chippy frames, Shabby Chic,
slip-covered chairs, chippy white mirrors,
buffets and farm chairs galore...AND
even a grungy old baby doll(with eyes)
there were also many other shoppers
competing for treasure
and we all knew it...
a frenzy of feeding sharks!
Now I ask you...do I love my job so much
that these gilded dreams
awaken me to a smile...

and the beautiful parlor table in the back of my truck...
OH YEAH!!!

Life is good!

Please skip on over to Harriet's hood
it's that time of the week you know...
is it my imagination or is time speeding up?

DAWN...

First light...

I'm in love with the term,
Victorian Tribal Salvage...not savage, but salvage...
I'm also in love with windows...

For me, the window and the light it reflects into a room,
totally reflects where I place my furniture
and the first light of the morning
sets my mood for the day.

When TOT and Craigsmith were here, I was telling Theresa
that I just couldn't make this piece work in my living room,
but now that I've moved it next to the stairway
I love it, it reflects the light from the window in the first picture
and blends with the old grey paint of the parlor table
and lace curtain...well DUH!!!
And the dark objects inside the cupboard reflect Victorian
and tribal...taxidermy!

and more salvaged treasures near my Navaho rug
given by a dear friend from Colorado,
a' Two Grey Hills', if anyone knows their Indian rug makers...

I also pulled out of storage my beloved spool cabinet...
why,
because it displays my maiden name...
and PARIS...

Who knew...
but what a perfect piece to set my grooming schedule book,
so very Victorian
and ME!!!

I'm pondering thankful...

...and what it means...
I don't ask the Universe for much

to live each day to the fullest

have good health for a 61 year old
still have my wonderful parents
a wonderful brother
(that I would've traded in for a puppy)
(back in the day)
a beautiful talented free-spirited daughter
a grandson that's the bomb
a heathen, mischief-making terrier
a pink shack to call home
a studio/shop in my yard
and blogland
where friends galore abound

and so far, I still live in America
once the land of the free
as corruption in government and wall street
(and FOX news)
beat us middle class down
with lies and deceptions
I'm still thankful for the freedoms
we do have left
freedoms women don't have in many countries still
freedoms to still think freely
though big brother is listening
even as these freedoms are dwindling
I still have hopefulness
that the freedoms I enjoy
will still be shared by my family
and generations to come

and most of all...

I'm thankful for my sense of humor
without it life would've been dull
the government would've driven me to distraction
Scratchy would've made me ponder a cat
BUT
life is still good
no matter how you live it
be thankful
that you did


me


Be thankful friends!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Pondering under a full moon...

When the proverbial tomboy, meets a flower girl,
there's a spark...
I met(on blog) a beautiful soul, Kim,
over in Phoenix, her blog...
Sweet Sage Vintage

She is a lover of feline,
I, a lover of canine,
but there was something about her that I felt akin to on her blog,
she has a beautiful soul.
Very feminine, with roses and laces
bedecking her world,
a world of Shabby Chic and Victorian splendor...
I, a world of taxidermy, old bones and oddities,
dark velvets and tea stained artifacts...
yet there was a bond.

Thanks Kim for stopping by
and sharing the bond of antiquity
and soul searching
in this wonderful world called...
BLOG!

ps: love the Moody Blues song!
Reminds me of lost youth and hippy days...

A time for a change...

Been doin' some rearranging since the open house at Sisters',
it was a balmy 50 sumthin' today, so a great day to play...

and rearrange...

and color coordinate...

and play with the dried Sweet Annie,
don't you love the smell and the look tucked in here and there...

Ohhh, for the love of whites and creams,
yet my heart lies in the bordello reds and dark woods...
beaded fringes and velvets.

Perfect now with the chandelier that glows from the newly
wired shop, as I await the evening darkness
to get the real effect of the power...

of the light...

It glows and it radiates every nook of my world,
now I know what my Granny felt like when she finally got
lights in her cottage...
it's a grand feeling!!!

Shadow Shot Sunday...Dead, but promising...

shadows of a win'try promise
as much as I defy
slip still
into my slumbering world
shadowy and stark
yet my heart dwells in the bits
of sun
that deftly shine
in muted minuets of mauve
and steely blue
I know what the promise brings
at the end of the long
cold death

life...




I was just sitting at my computer this AM,
thinking of something that was missing,
besides having to go into work early this AM...
OMG...

SSS...Tracy's gig...

Had my bestest friends here for a 4 day holiday,
yeah right, we worked our buttes off shopping...
hey, that's a lotta work in our world,
but now,
not only does the light glow on the outside of my lil' world,
it also glows on the inside!
my wonderful buds wired the inside, soooo...
let there be light in my lil' studio/workshop
I now have electricity...
plug-ins and a light switch...
AND
plug-ins on the outside for fountains,
how cool is that!!!

T & C...you kids is the bomb!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

M.I.A....did ya miss me...

Been missing in action, but have been having a blast,
TOTS been in town...oh my...
my shopping days have been full, we've been all over Iowa
doin' our thing...WHEW!!!

Theresa and I were also busy making soap for her to sell
in her booth, but making a wonderful new goat milk soap for
Sisters' Garden open house this Friday evening.
TOT tied on the wonderful lil' rags and stamped the 'goat milk' stamp
on them, while I busily made more batches...

So now the decorating begins for the room at Sisters'...

Today I'll run up and tweak what Theresa and I did yesterday
and wait for the crowds to swarm...

Barb's Friday evening of lights is always so magical,
so don't hesitate, come visit us...

Check out all the designer trends...
AND...

Help me chase Brandon around for the perfect pictures of his room...
see ya this afternoon lil' buddy!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Well, you know the rest of the story...right...
tis the season when we all deck out our shops
for the Christmas shopping frenzy ahead.
Wonder what this years sales will be like with the economic issues
this year, guess we'll see huh!

Piper has her hand-painted snowmen out in full force...
they are so cute and the sayings so perfect,
click pic to enlarge for a few laughs.

Made in America and proud of it,
as we try to fill the shop with hand dids, by us and other artists,
not cheap reproductions, the true work of the artist/crafter.
I'm being kinder to that word these days,
used to be anything with the word CRAFT in it was taboo,
but with a struggling economy, many of us have had to
resort to making our product, since it's so hard to find quality gifts that
aren't made in China, they look great in the pictures,
but when you finally get them to the shop,
they really look cheap and mass produced.
Look for the tag...
MADE IN AMERICA

These lil' fuzzy purses are so cute, not my style, but we've sold bunches
to the younger crowd, isn't everyone younger than me...
I had to laugh, one of Pipers' friends came in and called
them chia purses...I like that, now that's my style!

She also does the Floozie koozies...what a hoot...
can't ya see a bunch of these round the pool or bar!

Poinsettias and antiques, now that's my idea of the holiday spirit...
however, if I lived back in Florida, I'd be planting my poinsettia
in the yard instead of the trash, they get huge down there...
sigh...

Come on out and visit us at the Shed, the new Cranberry soap is in!