Is anyone still here?

It's been forever since I've posted, I know. I wasn't sure I would come back to blogging - the longer I was away from it, the harder it seemed to get back into it. I didn't intend to take such a long break, or any break at all really. Things just seemed to get busier than I'd expected. Murph went back to work and Bryn came home from Afghanistan (safe and sound). Then we decided to do a little remodeling/redecorating, that turned into a lot of remodeling/redecorating - it just got away from me!

Things are rather back to normal again, at least for a while! Brutus has moved to NC with Bryn.


Murph drove a U-Haul up with all his furniture, the pool table, things for his kitchen we'd found him, his surf board - all his goodies, a week or so earlier. Once he was settled he came back for Brutus and his bike.He looks pretty happy in the passenger seat next to his buddy, doesn't he? Bryn said he was good for the entire trip - about 7 hours. He's settling in nicely.
This little guy was dropped off in our front yard at the end of June. He had a note on his collar, "I am a good boy. I need a home and love." I wonder how long they watched my house before they realized what a sucker for dogs I am! LOL! We've named him Jake and after a few rough patches he's fitting in nicely and getting along with the girls.
This is the only piece of artwork I've managed since April! I can't believe it myself. I collaged two chipboard pages from a chipboard book by Maya Road. It's the first time I've tried some of the layering techniques here. Since I made it in early September, I went with kind of a school theme.

Yeah, the theme becomes more apparent on the insides!
And the back - I love that little girl with the HUGE bow in her hair!

Thanks for checking back - I'm sure I can do better at posting on a more regular basis!

Of Birds and Books

I've been working on this for a while now, and while it wasn't hard, I kept getting distracted by one thing or another. It's a short children's story about sparrows - in a bird shaped book.
From the side. (The little bird cage is a candle holder I found at Michael's.)
Close up - don't you love vintage millinery flowers? And tulle - I'm a big fan of tulle!
Flower frogs are pretty cool, too. (Did I not give this guy an eye? Oh my!)
Vintage rhinestone buttons.
And a photo of Bryn when he was a little guy.
Little birdies on a wire.
Love that pink button. (That's Murph in his high school football days!) ETA: See the small silver frame on the left, sort of behind the cage - that's Murph!
Gotta have a little bling.
All babies fly the nest sooner or later!

Happy Easter

Thinking of you today and wishing you a wonderful Easter.

A Spring Garland

I really haven't spent much time in my studio since Murph's surgeries. When he went back to work this month - after 4 months of being home - I had a lot of catching up to do! I decided to start easy, with this eclectic garland. The mantle is a piece Murph and I found at one of the antique shops we frequent. We looked at it for weeks before we finally brought it home. This vintage looking garland is a nice touch.
That's an old photo of Bryn, he's maybe 9 or 10 there. We went to Disney World and had our pictures taken in old time western wear. Yes, I still need to decide what to write on the scalloped tag - any ideas?
The M is for our last name, Murphy. You know I had to have a bird, right?
Love the old key!
You can click on the photos if you want a better look. It felt good to be back in my studio, working on something. I've got another project on my desk now!

Bunnies for Kathy

I thought I'd post a couple of pictures of the bunnies and goodies I sent to Kathy. Instead of a basket, I found an Easter box for her, lined it with a couple vintage napkins and filled it with candy, including chocolate covered marshmallow bunnies.
And of course the Easter box had a bunny on the top! This is also a better picture of the journal I made for Kathy and the bunny pitcher I gave you a sneak peek of earlier.

Happy Easter!

Look!! I have an Easter basket!!

This is the first Easter basket I've had in so many years, I can't remember and I'm so excited! This basket and all the goodies were sent to me by Kathy of Kat Collects, my partner in Heidi's Very Vintage Easter Basket Swap. Such a lovely package with so many of my favorite things! Click on the picture so you can see what's in the pretty blue basket.
One of my favorite things in the basket are these chocolate flowers and candy tulips. I think they may be too pretty eat! I love how they look in my little silver vase. Also included is the pretty yellow candle pictured here, as well as a light blue one. So pretty!
Another of my favorite things is this beautiful vintage Easter card set between glass framed with silver. Kathy also sent the hand made doily it sits on.

Kathy, thank you so much for such a lovely package, I smile whenever I see it! Mostly though, I thank you for your friendship, I've truly enjoyed getting to know you.

Another Sneak Peek!

This time I'm sharing a peek of the "Very Vintage Easter Basket" package that I put together for Kat of Kat Collects. All of my recent swaps have been such fun to put together, but I especially enjoyed this one. Maybe it's Kat's bunnies or maybe it's that Kat and I have really gotten to know each other. Either way, I'm happy to count Kat among my friends.

Remember I said that I'd bought another Gerbera Daisy at the Farmer's Market this Saturday? I have a couple of these copper planters I thought looked nice on the front porch, but one plant just looked lost in it. Someone with a green thumb could help it grow into the pot and would enjoy it for months or maybe even years to come. I'll be happy if it looks lovely for a month - anything longer than that is certainly a bonus!

I'm really going to try again this year to help my plants live a long and healthy life!
If you clicked on the photos in my previous front porch post you probably noticed the hydrangea in this pail wasn't doing too well. I replaced it Saturday with fresh plants, all of them on sale for .99 cents! I'm going to repot the hydrangea and see if I can find a spot where it will be happy.

Kat, your swap goodies are on the way!