It’s a very special Pink Saturday – it’s Bev’s One Year Anniversary of hosting Pink Saturday. A huge thank you to Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for hosting this fun day of sharing all things Pink!

I love handpainted plates – and just about anything else that is china painted. I’ve got a few dozen more plates stored away that I have to get out of the garage. Just never seem to find the time to dig through all the bins out there.

This is one of the plates that I did get my son to take a picture of before the plates were all packed away about a year and a half ago when I cleared things out to remodel. I’m still trying to get organized.

As I run across more of my collection I’ll be posting them.

As an added note, I wanted to thank those people who have stopped to post comments. They sure are welcome and I really appreciate each one.

It’s Pink Saturday again at Cottage Dreamer! Thanks to Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for once more hosting this fun day of sharing all things Pink!

It’s been years and years since I did any quilting, and then it was only a Dresden Plate kit that had all the pieces cut for me. I made the top but never did turn it into anything. It was all yellows and light orange and it just didn’t go with any of my rooms. I’m not even sure how I got it. lol

Recently, I started recording craft and sewing shows from my cable company and got the idea I’d like to give quilting a try again. So, I got my trusty old Viking, a 5610, that I purchased when I moved into my condo (25 years this August) and it’s been a great machine, and set things up in my studio. Also, I’m working on turning some of my artwork into embroidery patterns, many of which I’d like to use in pillows. Well, to make a long story short, I figured I needed to refresh my sewing skills – and since I had watched a Sewing With Nancy series on Quilting with Confidence and I had a 40% off coupon at JoAnn’s – well, might as well get the book, some fabric, and see what I could come up with.

I tend to be a perfectionist so when I saw my crocked seams and other issues I wasn’t very happy. But, after talking with a friend I realized it’s because I didn’t have the correct tools. So, JoAnn’s is having a fantastic sale this weekend with everything that I need to add to my studio/sewing room on sale for at least 40% off. I know where I will be for a good part of Saturday.

So, below are the two placemats I managed to get done this week. I’m only able to sit at the sewing machine for an hour at a time but I hope the longer I do this the more time I can spend in the studio. I need to tie the placemats with floss – I’ll pick that up tomorrow.

I will get better. I’ve taught myself all types of embroidery, how to sculpt and make original dolls, I’ve conquered Heirloom sewing – so I think I should be able to make an accurate four patch next time.

Thank you so much for stopping by and have a very Happy Pink Saturday. On this Memorial Day weekend, let’s remember those who gave so much for our freedom.

It’s Pink Saturday again at Cottage Dreamer! Thanks to Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for once more hosting this fun day of sharing all things Pink!

This week I’m offering everyone a contact sheet that features various sizes of a pink rose. I’ve been collecting die-cuts for quite some time now. I just love their vintage feel. You could print these out and use them in all kinds of art projects. Or you could print them out on fabric and incorporate them into a sewing project. You could even print them out on transfer paper and apply them to just about any craft you could think of. Hope you enjoy them and Happy Pink Saturday!

Click on the image below to get the PDF file.

Today I’m featuring the items I’ve got on the smaller sideboard in my dining room. This one sits between the entrance to the kitchen and one of the walls in my living room. I love the wallpaper even though it’s almost 25 years old. When I had the remodeling done on my condo it’s the one thing I wouldn’t part with. It was freshened up with crown moulding and some white paneling and a chair rail.

The handpainted items (tray, enamelware bowl, candleholders) were done by my friend Debi Coules – a very talent artist and you’ll see lots of her work in my home. I purchased the antique linen from eBay.

This weekend I went to one of my favorite antique stores. They moved from their location downtown to a wonderful place up on the north side. Their new shop is located in a previous furniture store and they have about five times as much space. So many more “pretties” to chose from.

When I saw this glass vase I just knew I couldn’t pass it up. I think it’s Fenton, but I’m not sure. I’ll keep doing some searching and see if I can find out. It really doesn’t matter, though, since I like it and it’s my perfect colors. I’ve got another vase packed away that I hope to come across soon and I’ll see how close the colors are. This round vase will be placed on the top of my curio cabinet with the vase I know is Fenton. As soon as I get the curio cabinet stuff out of the garage (was there while the condo was remodeled) I’ll take some pictures – lot of pictures.

Hope you have a wonderful Blue Monday!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms, Grandmas, Great-Grandmas, and the special people who aren’t family but have been a mother to us.

I got a call from my mom yesterday. She got the card I sent – a cute one with Snoppy on the front. I’m the kind that likes mushy sentimental cards, but Mom likes the funny ones. My parents live in Florida in a really nice retirement complex. I don’t get to see them very often.

Today has started off very nicely. My son took me to see the 11am showing of Star Trek. He knows I don’t like crowds and don’t really enjoy going to the theatre, but after a good talking to myself I screwed up my courage and went. And I’m very glad I did. It was a great movie and a lot of fun to do something with Dave.

On a side note, he’s been through a lot with me and anxiety attacks, agoraphobia, etc. But he’s always been patient. Couldn’t ask for a better son and it makes Mother’s Day very special.

We stopped back at my place to pick up Bootsy “da pup” as we call him. We then went and picked up lunch, and now it’s nap time. Oh, and watching the Cubs, of course. Tonight we’ll put in an order for pick up at one of the best Italian restaurants in the area and watch the finale of The Amazing Race.

All-in-all a very nice and enjoyable Mother’s Day. Hope yours was as well.

It’s Pink Saturday again at Cottage Dreamer! Thanks to Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for once more hosting this fun day of sharing all things Pink!

Last week I posted pictures of the wreath I have on my kitchen table. I did go out last Saturday and got a pink candle to go in the center to replace the green one I had in there before. It’s a very pretty pink candle that has a wonderful fresh spring floral scent. The candle is much more pink that it appears in this photo.

When I walked into HomeGoods I was greeted by a display that featured the following bunny. I just couldn’t resist it. I love Dana’s blog The Stone Rabbit and wanted to add this Stone Bunny to my home.

My Bunny is currently trying out different locations in my home to see where he’d like to live. Right now he’s sitting next to the fireplace in the living room, but he’s not quite sure it’s the perfect place for him. I do know he wasn’t happy to be sitting under the small table I have close to the entry. He felt like he wasn’t part of the action. lol

While taking pictures in the kitchen I took a few of the painted plaque I have on the top of my hutch. I’ll post them here, but I may take in down to get better shots of it and post them sometime later. This plaque is another one of my Debi Coules collection.

And lastly, I’ve been slowly going through the boxes of stuff that I stored out in the garage when my remodeling was done. This week’s finds included this handpainted cake stand:

Once again, thank you for stopping by and sharing this Pink Saturday with me at Cottage Dreamer and a Happy Mothers Day!

Well, Bootsy isn’t exactly a puppy, but when you’re seven pounds you don’t exactly appear to be a full-sized dog.

I took these pictures on my patio the other day when my son, Dave, dropped off Bootsy for me to “puppy sit” while he’s at work. He only lives a block away so it’s easy for him to drop him off each morning.

Bootsy doesn’t look too happy. He used to not mind his picture being taken, but then my son got a Nikon SLR digital camera that’s much bigger than the one he had before and suddenly Bootsy got camera shy. I think it might have to do with the fill flash. The camera is now mine since Dave decided he wanted to upgrade. I do love having a camera that feels like what I learned to take pictures with.

So, the other day Dave was taking some pictures of a damaged package I’d received and Bootsy decided it was time to go into hiding. So he thought he’d make his getaway:

Dave told him that he was too big to get under my secretary – but that didn’t deter a headstrong Chihuahua:

Two things – Bootsy has made it clear that he does not like the new “big” camera and secondly, I’ve got to do some dusting!

While surfing for something I ran across a website and signed up for their mailing list and just love the daily hints I receive. (I’m not affiliated with this site – I just think it’s very helpful.) The site is Tip Nut. It’s a mixture of all kinds of handy hints on everything from housekeeping, crafts, recipes, and more. The daily newsletter links to articles that are on the Tip Nut site or to other sites that have interesting articles.

One thing I’ve done for sites like this is to set up a Gmail account that I use for my email address. This keeps them all in one place and Gmail has a great spam filter. Plus, if I ever change my Internet Provider I don’t have to go through the pain of changing all these email addresses.

It’s Pink Saturday again at Cottage Dreamer! Thanks to Beverly at How Sweet The Sound for once more hosting this fun day of sharing all things Pink!

I’m just getting the hang of my new digital camera – so I’m hoping to improve my pictures in coming weeks.

The first picture is a view of my kitchen table and the bay window behind it. The pinks on the window shelf are things I’ve featured before – the enamelware the I’ve purchased from Debi Coules. On the table is a wonderful tablecloth I purchased on eBay. I had never heard about tinting embroidery until I got this example and did some research. Had to go out and get some supplies to try this technique. The wreath has a bit of pink in it and I’m going to go to Home Goods today and buy something other than the green candle to put in the center. I had a great bunny in there for Easter but want something summery. If I get anything today I’ll add it to this post later in the day.

Here’s somethings from other areas in the kitchen.

Two pretty teapots with pink roses that are in my kitchen hutch:

Dozens of pink tea roses in a Capodimonte bouquet:

And lastly, a pretty pink candle and a green one with a ceramic collar that has a pale pink bow on it.

Thank you for joining me on this great Pink Saturday. I’m off to take some pictures of the gorgeous blooming trees that are around my town and hope to have some good pictures for next week. Oh, and maybe I’ll even run across a few garage sales today – it’s finally getting to be somewhat warm enough for them to popping up like all the tulips around town.