for baby, for bella

baby shower today! thanks for inviting all of us, debbie:) it is so wonderful that baby bella is doing so very well! so in the spirit of this special party, i want to share the baby photos of my two precious sons, now 11 and 7. last winter i removed these from their place of honor in our family room and took them upstairs. just the other day, my 7 year old looked at me with melancholy eyes and said "i miss those baby pictures, mama."

just to clarify - i do not have 8 children. it's just that photos have always been very meaningful to me, and i was determined to have the ubiquitous 3,6,9, and 12 month shots of each child. i fought city hall and i won! heehee. it was worth every penny and all the blood, sweat and tears of a major photo sitting with babies...enough said.

now this special occasion has caused me to recall this lovely old poem...it has always made me misty-eyed. here's to you, bella:)



ALL ON ACCOUNT OF THE BABY

An ache in the back and an ache in the arms
All on account of the baby,
A fear and a fright and a thousand alarms
All on account of the baby,
And bottles and rattles and whistles and rings
From cellar to attic a clutter of things,
From morning to night and to morning again
More fuss and more fume than an army of men
And a head that is stupid for lack of its sleep
And a heart where a flood of anxieties leap—
All on account of the baby.
A joy in the heart and a light in the eyes,
All on account of the baby
A growing content and a growing surprise
All on account of the baby
And patience that conquers a myriad frets
And a sunshiny song that another begets
And pureness of soul as a baby is pure
And sureness of faith as the children are sure
And a glory of love between husband and wife
And a saner and happier outlook on life
All on account of the baby.

(Amos R. Wells)

"where bloggers create"...my space

i think of this room as my haven. it is most often cluttered, crowded and in disarray - but when i come in here, i feel happy. just the sight of so many of my favorite things makes me smile. often this blogger just thinks about creating but that's alright with me:) it's all part of the creative cycle, they say!

our home has cherry trim throughout; and so this is what you see looking into my studio. when we decided to turn this 5th bedroom/office into my space, i just had to have white trim in here:) and creamy walls...it's very restful to me.


as you walk in and look to the right, this is what you see. my beautiful handmade inspiration board, made by my husband for my birthday a few years ago, hangs on the wall facing my only window. in the adjacent corner, is a built-in nook, which i chose to leave in its original cherry trim.

my inspiration board is fairly empty right now - but you can see where the cork has faded from all the pages that have hung there in the past.

i love my hodge podge of push pins...especially the ones made from old buttons. i also wanted to show you a close up of the frame on the board...so pretty, i think.

i bought this chippy table for the times when one of my two boys wants to join me in my studio...we can easily clear if off and they can read, draw, color, paint along with me. it gets used most often in the cozy months of fall and winter. i always have a fan with me, wherever i am - so this one is functional, not just for decoration.

the nook that i mentioned previously. mostly photo storage.

moving left around the room, you'll see my precious little pink chair and my storage closet. we removed the doors so i could hang these velvet curtains to soften things up.

a glimpse of what you've seen so far. the words above the closet say "today's beautiful moments are tomorrow's beautiful memories"

more storage - and the beginning of the slatwall. an old thrift store picture...

try as i might, i was not able to get a good photo of this spot...but here it is:) the view out my window and most importantly, one end of the gorgeous workspace my husband constructed for me. i found two old chippy doors and persuaded him to mount them in the corner for an L shaped desk. then i covered them with glass...and oh, how i love this!

here it's a little easier to see the contours of the door under the glass.

and here we are looking across the window to the other corner of the work area. this is a very real photo, as it usually is this messy on the desk space. one shelf mounted on slatwall, and lots of hooks with paper products out where i can see them.

supplies, etc.

the other end of the shelf, not really organized, but just how it happened to land:)

shabby magazine rack with 3 pockets and a sign slung over the corner...i tried to get a photo of the whole piece, but the light was poor. i'll try to do that another time and share it here.

one more time - a big thank you to karen! you had a wonderful idea and you made it happen, so that we could all enjoy this tour of creative spaces:) very, very nice...i'm off to make some visits!

a party tomorrow!

so looking forward to visiting everyone's creative spaces tomorrow and through the week-end, probably... i really enjoy seeing the wonderfully inspiring photos! my post will be up by early afternoon, at the latest; i've been waiting for some good light:)

thanks to karen, at my desert cottage for organizing this...a fabulous idea, indeed!

what would freud say?

tonight i giggled right out loud as i sat here watching the boys play in the backyard, and happened to glance up at the "vignette" that has evolved on the fireplace mantel. i really did think to myself "i wonder what freud would say?". not that i truly care. but it is thought provoking...and it amused me:) any thoughts or insights would be happily received and considered! i'm pretty difficult to offend:)

p.s. it's "the hand" that really screams something, i think...but what?!?

chippy old door

this photo is off topic, but pretty, i think


this is the wonderful old door with a lovely patina that i found at a garage sale on friday

for now i just placed it leaning on the front of the house...

but tell me honestly - is it right there? or is it too symmetric...too centered...too anything? or not enough something? i'd really appreciate any opinions:)

(edited to add) it's a bit funny - i love to scrounge around and find wonderful old junk, and i have pretty good luck with that - but i'm not so good at the art of display. i'd be thrilled to have someone come into my home and arrange all the things i love! that's why i appreciate feedback from you, my talented and creative blogger friends.

this is only the second season that we've had these endless summer hydrangeas; and they are incredibly lush! just love them...

something blue

wouldn't these have looked so beautiful full of red fruit for july 4th? strawberries or raspberries or anything red, really...but i found them at the thrift store just a little too late for this year:) no worries - their simple beauty makes me happy right now.

sweet summer! oh, how i love your possibilities...

i miss the junk drawer

i've been gradually sifting through the piles in my beloved studio. tonight, as i looked around the room, i was inspired by this lovely old vase, made from an old bottle and scrap metal. i found it several years ago at the junk drawer...a local shop that was here and then gone, in no time. oh, how i miss that little store!

so after a brief moment of reflection, i went out and cut a beautiful hydrangea, placed it in the vase, and photographed it. it's a tiny tribute to a wonderful shop that i dearly miss. isn't this lovely?



so clever. a piece of old tin, some wire around a pretty bottle, and there you have it.

and then i returned to my studio, and placed it in its usual spot, hanging from my old fashioned pencil sharpener. which i love, also.

i miss you, junk drawer! you were packed full of lovely things, reasonably priced, and you always smelled good. it was the handmade soy candles with names and scents that evoked endless memories. *sigh* i think i'll go light my "santa's whiskers" candle and mope around for a while...

time-worn beauty

again, i will leave you with mostly images and few words. i do want to warmly thank leslie, over at junkgirl studio,for these wonderful time/number themed items that i received for our swap:) so much beauty...


so fun that we each found a vintage avon bottle for the other!

this is a lovely handcrafted project that leslie put together...i adore it:)

little golden "treasure chest"

oh, how i love ephemera...

many thanks, leslie:) i'm thrilled with all of it! i just have to say that the old folding ruler, the rusty old thermometer and the handmade hanging simply make me drool...

real life

i'm contemplating the thought that our pictures so often capture scenes that may or may not even be a true representation of what was really happening. i guess i'm feeling philosophical...and just for the record, this photo was pure serendipity. i had some dried hydrangeas that had fallen out of their container onto the floor...i picked them up and tossed them into a box nearby. and was delighted with the simple juxtaposition of this cardboard box, words and flowers. it speaks to me, somehow:)

so these photos show parts of our recent july 4 day at the lake, with family. a wonderful day. a boat parade. good food. gorgeous sunny weather.

spectacular fireworks over the water

old glory, in all her special beauty.

and yet...what you don't see. the mosquitoes. the secret heartaches and concerns of a single mom. the tears of the children who felt sad and hurt and left out of the "little" group dynamics that day. the man who quietly worries a lot, about everything. the fact that two of these photos were taken last year. who'd know?

and the truth is - it's all okay. that's real life. the good. the bad. the ugly. life is not all kodak moments. but it sure is wonderful!

happy independence day!

merci!

i don't speak french, but i know what i love when i see it - in any language...i want to thank shelley over at sweet pea for kindly inviting me to join in her "i'd rather be in paris" swap. i am just thrilled with what my partner, diana, sent me and i know you'll enjoy seeing it all, too:) i was more than a bit overwhelmed at being involved in swaps with two real life antiquers lately!!! i am just a thrifter, junker with no real knowledge of what i'm doing.

the beauty of this old millinery...and the wonderful shabby little mirror
wonderful vintage perfume labels, baubles, anagrams - and look at that beautiful domino!

look at the fabulous old postcards with attached cut buttons - this photo does not do justice to these...


oh, the old sepia photos -with such lovely subjects! vintage button card and other ephemera...



i love these glassine envelopes with these french words, both inside and out!

imagine finding this little craftpaper box labeled "fragments"...how appealing and intriguing

then to open it and find bits and pieces of old frames, wrapped in a snippet of linen...it is so beautiful

more of the little embellished envelopes that came in this incredible box:)
there may be a few more detail photos to follow - i had camera troubles today; not sure why? thank you so very much, diana - and shelley, for hosting:)