Etsy Garden Party - Part 2

Well, after reading the blogs that joined the Etsy Garden Party, I felt that I should include some pictures of what I actually do have outdoors around my "desert dwelling" house or "garden".  I don't garden.  I hire someone to do that.  But I do have some items to share with you from the yard that are real pretty right now.

Here is one of the lavender bushes that are in the yard.  They are so pretty right now and full of visiting bees!

 

The birds have built nests in the sweet acacia tree.

The succulents are blooming in the warm sun.  Such tiny pink flowers.

And this is the bougainvillea at the end of the patio!  Pretty spectacular, even if I do say so myself!

Thanks to the other bloggers on the Etsy Garden Party, I went out and took these pictures to share as well!  I hope you don't mind!

Etsy Cottage Style Cottage Garden Party

This week Etsy Cottage Style is inviting members to link up and join a Cottage Garden Party.  Now I live in the desert -- at least not by me.  A beautiful garden just isn't something that is easily achieved in this dry, hot climate.  But, the garden party also ". . . includes posts about your indoor garden rooms, botanical dishware.....glassware.....fabrics......art....ceramic or porcelain. Floral motif crafts you've created. If you collect vintage gardening tools, books, magazines.....it all helps inspire a 'fertile' mind."

So, I took camera in hand and started snapping photos of the pretty "garden" things I have in my bedroom.  Lots of flowers and roses.  That's where I do my "gardening."

I recently got this beautiful pitcher that once belonged to my grandmother.  I also recently found the milkglass hands and filled them with vintage corsages.

This is the most comfortable wingback chair ever!  The pillow is something I made and used a piece of old floral barkcloth.  Just enough fabric for a great pillow!

Love these paintings of roses -- naive and really pretty!  Not my artwork, because I never was good at painting roses.

Older hat boxes and an old book with roses on the cover.

I bought this unframed watercolor at an estate sale.  Luckily I had a frame in the garage just the right size.  So I put the watercolor in the frame and took it to my antique booth.  No one bought it (!!), so I brought it home and hung it in my bedroom.  The small plates also have roses and are vintage.

I love this vintage platter.  It's handpainted and the edges are fuzzy, but that makes it soft and pretty!

 

More vintage flower corsages in front of my favorite picture of my sister and I together.  She had just recently had a cancerous brain tumor removed and my husband (also suffering from cancer at the same time) and I had gone to visit her.  This was taken 7 years ago.  Both my sister and my husband have since passed.

This dress form has another beautiful pink rose corsage that she wears all the time.

This pot of artificial lavender sits on the antique washstand next to my bed.

Lastly, I actually do buy real flowers for myself every now and then.  Last week I bought these two bouquets:

Nothing like a bouquet of pink roses and sweet smelling daffodils!

As you can see, I do have an indoor "garden" of pretty flowers and displays.  Hope you enjoyed visiting my Etsy Cottage Style Cottage Garden Party.  Check out the others who have posted their favorite garden items on their blogs for this party.

Etsy Cottage Style Party - What's Cookin' in the Cottage Kitchen

This month, Etsy Cottage Style is having a blog party called "What's Cookin' in the Cottage Kitchen?"  I am linking up to this because I have pictures only of a mixed media recipe book I did several years ago that I would like to share with you.  I had fun creating this and filling it with old recipes, vintage pictures and many other goodies.

Here's the cover to "My Recipes" book.  Mini cookie cutters, tiny over mitt, and a lady dressed for the kitchen with apron and crown!  ;-D

I found this recipe book in a thrift store.  It did not contain any recipes, but was full of illustrated envelopes and divider pages that could be decorated.  I'm afraid that the flash on the camera gave this picture more glitter and shine than the actual book.  Older camera, less experienced photographer!  ;-D

The pink page on the right is one of the large envelope pages where you can tuck recipes.  I used an image from a vintage cookbook to illustrate how your cook/maid should be dressed while working in the kitchen and serving meals at the table.  ;-D  That's an old dinner menu on the other page.

Recipes, embellishments, old recipes are all over the pages.  I included extra pockets for more storage.

Love the large red rick rack as trim and the fabric on the opposite page tied with red polka dot fabric.  ;-D

Always good to know what utensils are needed in the well-equipped kitchen of the early 1900's!  Plus all the measuring instruments!  I also included a weights and measures chart!  ;-D

More storage pockets and envelopes for your recipe collection.  This isn't the entire book, but it sure gives you a good idea of what fun I had putting it together!  Sorry to say I don't cook much anymore since it is only me here these days.

Thanks so much for coming to my blog and leafing through a few pages of my favorite recipe book!  I hope you enjoyed it!  Use the link to Etsy Cottage Style to see all the other bloggers who have linked up with their "What's Cookin' in the Cottage Kitchen" blogs.

Etsy Cottage Style December Color Party

The colors for December's Etsy Cottage Style Color Party are red and green!  Very appropriate!  However, we weren't limited to Christmas decor.  It could be anything around the house in red and/or green -- art work, vintage pieces, decor, thrifty finds, heirlooms.  As I walked around the house I wasn't sure I had a lot, but I did!  Let me share with you my red and green colors for December.

Just put out "Merry Christmas" in old children's blocks that were mine as a child.

I bought this old sign from my dear friend, Gail.  It sits atop the cabinets in my kitchen.  Went great with my southwest cowboy decor -- except for the English riding saddle.  How did they come up with that when they created this old sign??

This lovely green plate belonged to my Grandmother Ryan.  It looks like "Fiesta" but isn't marked as such.  Nevertheless, I love it and use it every day to hold fresh fruits and veggies.

Vintage cowboy boots salt and pepper shakes with red and green trim!  Also a nice sage green and brown McCoy planter.

Many years ago someone lovingly hand painted this beautiful bowl.  Picked up this bowl in Virginia.  The pine cones are reddish brown (does that count??) and the greenery is lovely.

This was a thrifty find!  This Santa Fe style home with the red trim on the window and the beautiful green cacti surrounding it just epitomizes the southwest.  It is a photograph and the colors are enhanced to make it really southwest pretty!

Thanks for visiting my blog to enjoy the December Etsy Cottage Style Color Party.  Please check out this link and visit the other Etsy Cottage Style bloggers who are participating this month.  There's a fabulous "Holiday Berry Trifle" by blogger All in my Cottage that looks fabulous!  Think I will make a batch!  But will have to share it with neighbors and friends.  Can't eat the whole thing!

Etsy Cottage Style Fall Color Party

This month Etsy Cottage Style Fall Color Party hit on the colors I love best, fall colors -- browns, beige, khaki, chocolate.  A lot of my artwork is done in these shades and colors.  My "cottage" is more of a  "rustic style" with a western theme.  I am going to share with you a lot of things I have that come in these colors.

This was a fabric book I created when I joined KC Willis' Collage Camp.  I had a lot of fun putting this together.  It now is part of KC's personal collection.  She told me it gives her inspiration!

This is the second fabric collage book I created entitled "Prairie Gals".  The entire book was published in the Summer 2010 issue of Sew Somerset.  I still have this book.

A lot of people I talk to while they visit my booth at Merchant Square are surprised to learn that I do not have a lot of shabby chic, white, cottage style items in my home -- only in my booth.  My bedroom is really the only place where I do have the cottage look using whites, creams, black, sage green and pink.  But here is a peek at some items around the rest of my home.

I love the wood box with the brands on it and the handles are horseshoes.  My sister gave this piece to me.  Also love the bottles wrapped with old baskets.

The collage on the left is one of my creations.  Again you can see that recurring theme of the blog party's color theme for this month.

I love the old, well-loved and worn buckaroo boots on top of the great leather box.  Below is an old egg basket with genuine stirrups highlighted against the vintage doily.

In my entry way is my grandmother's kitchen clock.  It used to work, but quit after being moved around the country so many times.  I have paid more in trying to get it running than it is worth.  But I love it.  At least it is right twice a day!!  This gorgeous antique chest and old mirror I picked up in Leesburg, VA when we lived back east.

I love these old jugs and the crock.  The jug on the far right has a cobalt design and my husband found that on a TDY to Massachusetts.  You can see that I am a cowgirl at heart.

And another piece of my artwork done in the coffee dyed fabrics, browns and tans.

Thanks for visiting my blog today and sharing in the fun of the Etsy Cottage Style Fall Color Party.

Etsy Cottage Style Color Party for June

Well, Etsy Cottage Color Party chose WHITE for this month's color party.  Think my last blog fit in with that and hope you will visit that blog post as well.  So, here are my pics of WHITE for the June color party:

I found these pretty ladies at an estate sale recently.  Mostly dressed in white and very pretty.  These pretty ladies are half dolls and recently decorated.  They are not old, but they are lovely!

An embellished off white bustier.  I used pretty lace trim and a vintage rhinestone necklace to decorate this for sale.

Another bustier that I embellished over a very pretty slip.  The lace on the top of the slip just peeks out of the top of the bustier.

I love this pretty white envelope I made on a whim from vintage flocked wallpaper.

This is a display piece to go into my antique booth at Merchant Square very soon.  A ceramic white hand and an embellished glove.

My DDHubby made this shelf for me many years ago.  It is in my bathroom.  The pictures are family pictures and the white vanity/toilet pieces are from a complete set I have that belonged to my grandparents.

In my bedroom I have this wonderful dress form that has on three white skirts, a white lace top and lots of necklaces.

Beside my bed is an antique washstand that belonged to my grandparents.  My grandmother is the lady in the vintage racetrack frame.  It belonged to her.  The little white dress form has lots of pretty rhinestone pins and single earrings on it.

Last, but not least are these white baby clothes and a doll dress in my antique booth.  I love white baby clothes!

Thanks for visiting today!  Be sure to check out the other blogs that are participating in the Etsy Cottage Style Color Party this month.

Etsy Cottage Colors Party for April

I am a member of Etsy Cottage Style and each month they have various blog parties or market days.  This month is the Etsy Collage Colors Party for April and the color is PINK!  So, I set off around the house to take pictures of my pink displays.  I don't have a lot, but here is what I do have:

Just recently redid the mess on top of a shelf unit in my art space.  I much prefer this!  I walnut ink dyed the cotton crochet thread on the left and added vintage hat pins.  Next is a huge spool of pink-tan thread, a big roll of pink lace, bright pink crochet thread with vintage earrings, a sugar bowl with no lid that has a bouquet of pink flowers in it.  The old paint brushes added height.

My wonderful dress form with her pink scarf and lovely, full vintage pink cabbage rose corsage.  Just redid this wall in my bedroom a couple of weeks ago.  See the blog post below.

I have two of these lovely pink roses plates in my bedroom.

The plates are on the wall on either side of this great roses print.

Another vintage pink rose corsage held by the lovely white hands dish.

In my bathroom resides the only Christie Repasy print I own!  I bought this years ago at Lucketts General Store in Lucketts, Virginia.  I love this print!

Hope you enjoyed my PINK Etsy Cottage Colors Party pictures.  Please click here to go to the Etsy Cottage Colors Party blog page and take a look at the other participants.  I can guarantee you won't be disappointed in what you find!! 

Enjoy the rest of your day!  It's going to be warm and breezy here in the Phoenix area.  Another perfect day!