Being thankful and PINK saturday

good morning to all. hope this finds you well. two weeks ago my family was hit with a horrible event. the death of my daughter's dearest friend. chris' sudden passing is pulling at my heart. when the death of a young person seems to not make sense in "our world" one can only turn it over to the lord and keep stong in faith. i would like to thank all of you for your concerns and prayers. they mean so much. we write & share so much on our blogs, as if we are all living on the same block. it amazes me how souls connect via the internet. i am thankful for that.

i haven't really prepared much in the way of pink. two snow days caused me to create other projects. i'll share a few pictures from my files, just random PINKS me thinks.

i'm not sure what i will be doing with this bed jacket. i'm thinking altering it with alot of fluff, like over the top romantic girl-ee and leaving it on the mannequin.

a few altered ink pens i made for the shop. very easy to make. a pack of ink pens, ribbons and silk flowers. attach the flower to the top of the pen with floral tape. starting at the bottom (the ink part) wrap the pen, at the top part cut the ribbon and glue the end in place. tie all the fluffy ribbon, lace etc. around the part where the pen & flower join. add any extra embellishments. they make nice shower favors, don't you think?

altering odd cast off pieces seems to be something i really love. this metal heart dish had no chance staying silver and plain. first thing i did was paint it a muted pink then decoupaged the vintage image,  added some glitter and a bag-o-buttons, flowers and that 10 karat diamond. (hehee)  jenn at whine n roses has lots of PINK to share. she's very creative and a mother of four (how does she find the time for creating?) please stop by her blog and say hi and of course beverly at how sweet the sound.

blessings

marie

GETTING THE NEWS OUT THERE

i have enough scrabble tiles to last me another 10 storms. i'll take whatever mother nature sends. here in jersey we've had the 3rd going into our 4th winter storm. maybe 12" before it's over.

i think being stuck inside on days like this make great crafting days. maybe it's the nesting thing. i created two pillows today. the large one is made from a thifty find, i think it was a curtain but the material reminds me of a painter's drop cloth. i printed the graphics from

using heat transferable paper i ironed the chandelier onto the drop cloth material. stuffed it with a pillow form added a little batting and hot glued the fluff. the second pillow is vitnage material, i think it was a curtain. i found it thriftin' and stored it away. like a squrriel storing nuts for the winter of 2010.
 this time i used fusible webbing. once the label graphic was in place it didn't seem to pop off the material. i had to replace my snowcap with my thinking cap, i was going to outline it with glitter, not the right look. fabric paint, fabric markers, etc. still not what i wanted. digging out some supplies i thought of the sting/cording idea. i like this look it feels a little french-ee. i will be taking all these items to my booth once we de-frost. i'm also putting them on my website. hope all is well and all are warm.
blessings
marie

Time Heals

time has a way of healing a broken heart. we will never understand way god does all he does. he took chris home way too early, he had just turned 25. my son & daughter are missing a piece of their hearts. they both loved him so much. now, they are finding ways to honor him in life. my daughter is putting together a fund-raiser to help his family off set the funeral cost. i love my children , and i'm so proud of them, i hurt because they hurt even still at the ages of 24 & 22. a mothers love moves differently with our children as they age, don't you think? may god bless chris & his family, my children and all of us who love chris.

i have spent a few days finishing projects and making a few new ones. i've always felt that creating/crafting has a healing power. so, i sort of forced myself to get my hands on, head clear and heart mending. here are a few projects and i will be adding to my website. i would like to share a little happy news. a few weeks ago i sold my first item from my website. a sweet vintage tea cart. wow!! my first customer!! and i shipped the tea cart to up state new york, right outside of buffalo! it was a great experience. thanks again anne.

blessings

marie

my daughter's heart is breaking

ok, on my last post i was away on a beautiful romantic weekend with my husband. saturday night we got a call, you know the type i'm talking about. my son was giving us terrible news, one of his friends, and my daughter's BEST and dearest friend  had died in a car accident. the accident happened around 3 p.m. saturday. we came home from our little get away to be strong for the kids and, i'm not taking this well. i loved this young man like he was my own, he was pure love and gave so much of himself. chris was fun, loving, gentle and kind. my daughter, susan introduced chris to our family when she was in high school and we embraced and loved him from that time forward. chris and susan were inseparable during their high school years. they were the prom queen and king. their friendship remained strong as they became young adults. they leaned on each other always, they just had a once in a life time connection. we will miss this young man with all our heart & soul. many prayers are needed for chris's family as well as ours. i'm just going to take a little time off from blogging, please keep us in your prayers.
blessings
marie

it's a romance and relics valentine

my pink saturday will be full of romance. my husband planned a romantic weekend, jim had asked me a few weeks ago if i wanted to go away for president's/valentine weekend. i was up for the little road trip he was planning, he said let's go to cape may (we live in new jersey) jim didn't  need to ask me a second time. cape may means beautiful victorian b&b's and antique shops. so i said will we stay at the john wesley inn? the john wesley is the b&b we stayed at almost 4 years ago for our honeymoon. he said no i think we're going to try someplace else. oh, ok jim, i'm happy with the idea and i'll look forward to whatever you plan. i left it all up to him and that was that. a few days after we had that conversation he told me he made reservations at the grand hotel. cape may, grand hotel, romance, vintage and victorian were my thoughts from that moment on. the 12th is here, and are you gettting the feeling you know where i am right now.well, if you guessed john wesley inn you would be correct. he pulled if off and totally surprised me. wow! this guy is a keeper. our room is so romantic, the beautiful grand victorian bed had PINK rose petals scattered over the fresh white linen. there are hints of vintage PINK treasures around the room, on the mantel, on the washstand and the vanity. now, what does one do when there isn't wireless service available at the 100 plus year old victorian, that had me at HELLO, look at my vintage beauty. jim pulled out his blackberry (we took the lap top thinking we would have internet) and used it for the IP. ??what?? i'm lucky if i get the pics to load, or type the right letters in the right place. using the blackberry is very slow i may share more pics when i get home. so, i blog this tonight straight from my grand romantic bed, with the fire burning and visions of all that's vintage dancing in my head. and just loving the man that made this happen. thanks for visiting please go see beverly and all the other blogs that will tell stories of pink and romance.
blessings
marie

we've gone flakey...snow flakey

oh my goodness i don't know where we're going to put it all. just in case ANYONE has forgotten what snow looks like, here in new jersey we can help you out.

the first two pictures are from saturday feb. 6,  we had close to 12 inches from that storm and the one that's hitting us tonight is going to leave maybe 18 inches. it's crazy!

this is what's happening on my street tonight. it seems my neighbor's may have had a problem with the gas heat or the wood burning stove in their home. the gas company and fire company are on stand by. everyone is safe, they have returned home! thank god!

blessings

marie

A Family of Creative Woman

There was a time not so long ago when woman spent their free time doing some type of creative, artistic, activity. My family had their share. I must say I was inspired by them all. My great-grandmother yes, great-grandmother was born in 1884 lived to be 95, I was 15 when she went to heaven. I loved her so much. She could tell some amazing stories. I enjoyed hearing them over and over again.Grammy made free hand quilts/blankets. Not a QUILTED quilt, she used scraps of used fabric or odd pieces that didn't sell. Her pattern was a 4x4 ceramic tile. She would cut out squares by the hundreds and sew the squares together then add batting etc. The quilts were basic, simple & primitive looking at times. She made them for her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren & before she passed she made them for the two great, great, grandchildren she was blessed with. I will share Grammy's quilt @ another time.
Now onto the PINK post of today. I really was surrounded by very creative woman. I just thought a little family history would paint a better picture.
My Great Aunt Minnie was the most artistic of all the ladies in my life. I have mentioned her before in a few other posts. Her art was super great!! she painted on canvas, she painted on ceramics and porcelain. Aunt Minnie had two studios in her home. The big studio is where she made her ceramics and porcelain, she kept a huge klin there and designed some of her own molds.The smaller one is where she painted and shared the space with her husband, my Uncle made doll houses (not from kits) I will share my beautiful house he made for me another time. Today I'm sharing with you all a pendant my Aunt designed and painted. PINK ROSES. She gave this to my mother many years ago. I inherited it after my mom passed away. I'm thinking of a way to display it out in the open where all can enjoy it. I hope you all have enjoyed the creative ladies of my life. There is one more lady to be lifted up, that's Beverly@How Sweet the Sound. She is the hostess of PINK SATURDAY. please be sure to visit her and all the other PINK ladies.

Blessings

Marie