Where Bloggers Create 2015!

Where Bloggers Create 2015!

It's Finally Here!!

Hello to you all!  I'm delighted that you came by to visit!!

Months have gone by and I've fretted and worried about whether I would be able to join this year, but it finally worked out, and I'm ready with my space!!

Thank you Karen Valentine for AGAIN hosting this awesome party!!

Be sure you go and see all the wonderful spaces that are out there. 

This year I decided that because I haven't changed my space very much since the last party, I would go into a bit more close-up mode and show you all the INSIDES of the drawers and jars that I collect.

If you want to see more photos of my craft room, click HERE, and it will take you to last year's post and will show many more photos of the whole room.  I also have it pictured on my side bar near the top for the last number of years and there you will be able to see how it's changed!

As some of you know, Pink and Cream is my favorite color combination, and I have a huge love for anything Pearls and Lace.

This shabby chippy pink shelf is a find from a local antique shop where I have located a number of chippy pieces over the last few years.  My collection of Vintage Sewing Boxes look awesome displayed here.  But you want to see inside, don't you??

I have to admit.  I do NOT know where I keep all of my stashes, but for the most part, I DO know CLOSE to where they are!!  I am always hunting around looking for something.  It's truly part of the fun to find something that I forgot about!  But there are lots of pieces that are kept out in the open!

I utilize many different shaped dishes and trays, bottles, vases, and in a variety of colors.  I love the pink ones, but I find that the clear glass jars do the best at letting me see what I actually have!

Tarnished silver trays and bowls are also favorites to use for my buttons and jewelry bits.

The edges are so pretty, and I think they really set off the contents!

There's just something about being able to rummage through a bowl of pearl buttons to find the perfect one!

Last year, I showed my husband my blog post.  He saw this bowl of threads and called them, "Thread Kabobs"!!  A number of you thought the comment was great, so I decided to add the Kabobs again this year...

I have quite a number of these glove boxes on display in the front window.  They are literally filled with laces and goodies that I am constantly playing with!  Here are a few close ups of the ones that are on the bottom:

I have many already, but I'm always looking for more of them.  They make wonderful storage containers, and are just gorgeous with their satiny covers!

The east window displays my collection of baby dresses, and I recently found a number of baby hangers that were identical to ones that held my own baby clothes.  I love the cute details on the hangers, but the dresses are absolutely stunning in their detail!

Pin Cushions are yet another thing I collect.  I like the old ones that look like they've had a lot of years of use and been well loved.

Now for my favorite boxes of goodies.

These little gems are filled with my absolute favorite pieces of lace, trims, lace making pieces, and embroidered appliques.

I truly believe that beautiful things have a place in this life.  But sometimes I find that I go overboard with them....and spend too much time or money on them!  Finding a balance is hard.  But when I do, it really is wonderful!  I have the freedom to enjoy without the guilt.

Here are four of the boxes in closeup.  The beautiful floral fabrics are delightfully faded, and they are each of them so pretty!

Lace Making pieces are another one of my loves.  Finding Coronation cord, and beautiful Duchesse lace pieces make my heart beat fast!  First, the Coronation cord.  It has a rice shaped design to it that people would bend and shape together to make designs.  I think the rolled threads look shiny and almost like oblong pearls!

Then we have the tape laces.  The braids and tapes are used in conjunction with each other to make designs that are highly sought after.  That's why I don't have very many finished pieces!!

The card above is an example I keep of each of the different patterns of tapes/braids that I have.

When stitched together, they make lace!

The tiny lace appliques that I've found over the years are some of my prized finds.

I think the delicate beauty speaks for itself.

I just can't get enough!!

Making new friends from near and far is a huge part of my blogging experience.  I have been SO blessed by many of you out there who have become dear friends since I began blogging.

Unexpected surprises and heartfelt love from dear ladies have made my days bright.

For future posts, I will be taking some of the photos I've collaged and showing them in a larger scale so that you can see them better.

And for those of you who Pin on Pinterest feel free to pin any photos from here.  You might also want to see my boards.  You can find them HERE.

I hope you enjoyed looking inside the drawers and jars this year!

Hopefully next year will show a room totally redecorated!  I have so many ideas!  I just don't know where I'm going to start yet!

Blessings,

Doni

A June Evening

A June Evening

So I've been busy!  Did you happen to notice that I've changed the background and the template of my blog?  It took me a long time to learn how, but it's almost just how I want it.  I hope you like the changes!

It's been raining off and on today, but for the most part the sun has been shining today.

It was a quick weekend with so much going on, but I went into my craft room this evening and these goodies were ready for me to share with you, so I turned the blinds open, and it was marvelous!

The light was fantastic.

I have put myself on a spending hiatus, not purchasing anything new for months.  Until this last week...then I had to have some pink and cream goodies to add to my stash!

And speaking of stash, do y'all want to see more?

Well, the yearly Where Bloggers Create Party is coming up on July 11th!!

Karen Valentine is hosting yet another year and I'm almost ready!

I decided to work on the INSIDES of my storage pieces and concentrate on closeups of the lovelies I collect.  If you always wanted to peek inside the drawers, then next month is the time!

Remember when something as simple as a length of ribbon came with an embossed metal crimp to hold it together?  Seriously, even the wrapping that we usually tossed in the trash back in the day is now a piece of nostalgia!!

A pink headed corsage pin.  Now that's classy!!

Tiny details.  So lovely.

The velvet flowers with the rhinestone centers are a new favorite!  I must start looking for more of these lovelies!!

Click on the image above to go over to Karen's blog to find out the details about the party.  I plan on spending a LOT of time looking through blog land at all your creative spots and gleaning ideas for my own room!  I hope you'll enjoy visiting here again for the party!

Blessings to you!

Doni

March Time For Light

It's March.

And it's still stormy, cloudy, cold, and dreary.

BUT...

The sun is starting to come out today!!

And the temperature is rising!!!

The flowers will be blooming soon and the birds are going to be nesting.

We have a large number of birds I feed on our back porch, mainly Cardinals.

They are gorgeous.  But they will start barking soon.  Yes, barking.

They love dog food!!!

And with the sun creeping out from behind the clouds, I wanted to share some light and bright things with you all.  I hope the winter snows and storms are beginning to subside where you are.

(Unless you're my friend Melanie in Australia!!! : )

With the storms and cold of this past winter, I've been thinking about times in my past when the storms of life seem to be never ending.  

I was told once that when you're in the valley of the shadows, that SOMETHING has to be there to make the shadows....LIGHT!  So instead of concentrating on the dark and shadows, turn around and look at the LIGHT.  The ONE Who is the LIGHT is Christ.

Wise words.

But His promises are for those who obey Him.  Who walk uprightly.

And we can only do that through His Son, Jesus.

Jesus Who died on the cross, was buried, and Who rose again the 3rd day.

I was a child when I first heard of Jesus, and was told Bible stories that I remember to this day.

But I was an adult before I realized that Jesus dying on the cross had a purpose...

for ME!  He died in my place to take MY sin on Himself.

I don't have to pay that penalty now.  It's been paid by HIM.

God gave me FAITH to believe that!!!  It's a gift from HIM.

Ask Him for faith to believe.

You can't muster it up in yourself.

I'm reminded as I look at the clouds still thick in the sky as the sun breaks through that the sun is ALWAYS there...there are times we just can't see it.  And yet there are times during the thick clouds that the sun breaks through and there is beautiful light!

How like our Lord to give us pictures all around us of the way He works!

And He cares about the littlest thing.  The birds that I feed...He knows about each of them.

The things that you are concerned about...He know them too.

And when the threads of our life start to unravel, or get tangled, He is there:

He is there to take them from us, and to make them into something beautiful!

Each of us has a history, each of us has a past. 

We are none of us perfect, and we have no perfect family.

We tend to dwell on our past, to try to bring back the good times, instead of looking at our future and making it worth while.  My past is nothing compared to what God is doing in my future!

I don't know about tomorrow, He alone knows what it is. 

 There is a hymn I love...the last words are these:

"But I know Who holds tomorrow, and I know Who holds my hand."

To you my friends who have come alongside of me and brightened my days, I dedicate this post.

My Lord and Savior alone is my Pearl of Great Price, but I see each of my friends as precious pearls or jewels along life's way to make each day beautiful in special ways.

My prayer for each of you is that Jesus be your Savior.

Pray for Him to be just that.

He gives beauty for ashes and makes all things new.

Praise Him for His wonderful grace!!

Blessings,

Doni