HUGE Praise ~ A JOB~ THANKFUL Heart!!! * PINK Saturday*

Thanks so much for stopping by today and helping me

CELEBRATE!!!

I am also joining Beverly in a very special PINK Saturday.

We are celebrating inspirational stories and supporting

Kelee at The Kattilac Shack

 for Collettes makeover reveal which was sponsored

  by GuidePost.

Please Check out Beverly of HOW Sweet The SOUNDs

blog to see what is going on.

I have been sitting on this announcement for quite some time.

Waiting for all the final details to fit into place.

Through 2 years of an emotional Roller Coaster,

my hubby was offered a wonderful job.

Negotiations have taken almost 2 months!!!

And we are hopeful that his start date should be

around the 1st of September.

Hubby will be commuting 3 hours south to Indiana for

this new job.  As a married couple, this will be a

challenge as we have never lived apart like this.

Right now it is necessary.

This company that hubs will

be working for is in the process of moving their

facilities to the Chicago area. At that time, it would

then be necessary for us to move as

the company would help with relocation costs at that time. 

So, that means my daughter who is starting college and

I will stay in our home and hubs will commute on weekends.

He's NOT looking forward to this, so I ask that

you'd keep him in prayers for his mental health

and safety as he commutes and works for our family.

We are so THANKFUL that God has heard our prayers

and opened this job up for us.  In the gloom

and doom or our country economy, GOD still is at work and

opens up doors, in his time.

A HUGE thank you to those who have prayed for us.

Thank you for your words of wisdom and cheer

when there was no job in sight.  I have

been so blessed by my sweet bloggy friends

who have prayed and loved me through this

very long ordeal!

To GOD be the Glory!

Tea Time Tuesday

Tea Time Tuesday

Part 2

Thanks for stopping by.  Last week

I shared part 1 of Tea Goodies I have around

my Royal Blue dining room.  In keeping with

sharing this room with you I have picked

another area that I have many

tea cups and tea pots on display.

This wall display is right by our window.  I found

this amazing Tea Cup Shelf at a Garage Sale

quite a few years ago for $3!!!  It already had hooks

and grooves to display my many cups/saucers

Then below is a metal plant cart that I found where I

display my Milk Glass and Tea Pots.

These tea pots are my rabbit/bunny themed ones that

I put out around my home during Easter.

I then took some closer up shots of the tea cups that

I have hanging on my shelf.

My two favorite are on top...the pale yellow with roses

and

the paler pink with roses.

Aren't these the cutest pots?

Oh I had to take a wider shot so you could where

my sweet Chloes loves to curl up during the mornings

to peer out the window or  Cat nap.

Please make sure to stop by the many

TEA TUESDAY  hostess LINKED

to the LEFT on my side bar.

HAPPY TEA EVERYONE!

PINK Saturday!

Good Saturday Morning to my PINK Friends!

Welcome,  I am just so glad you stopped by!

Business first: be sure to visit our wonderful

Hostess Beverly of How Sweet the Sound to see

more PINK Participants.

Also, my giveaway is in FULL swing!  Please

click here to see more details.  I'd LOVE

to have you join in the on the fun!

Giveaway drawing is September 5th!

Okay...on to sharing some PINK!

This week I'd like to share with you some of my

handmade or created goodies that I have

for sale in my etsy store.

Recently a gal came to my store asking me about

my clay roses.  She had a gorgeous mosaic mirror

that she was wanting *clusters* of roses

for each corner.  I made up some different clusters

and she loved them.

I LOVE it when sweet friends ideas

become another GREAT item to use

in crafting projects.

Below, are the clusters that I did for her.

I am calling these

ROSE Cluster Appliques.

Now I just ADORED this ideas so much that I have

made quite a few to sell.  I have listed them in my

etsy store and have a few more to list, hopefully

later today.

What I basically have done is created a small

base.  I then either glued or baked my roses

to the bases. This is a flat surface, ready to adorn

your projects.

Each cluster is unique and one of a kind.

These can be made to order.  I can also do

custom colors for you as well!

The options are limitless with how these can be used!

How would you use them?

They also range from between 2-4 inches.

These ROSE Clusters can be glued to just about anything.

GLUE tip, I use HOT Glue,

but depending on the surface,

 I also HIGHLY recommend GOOP~Craft Glue

(the containers is purple)

for great adherence.

 

I am sharing how I have used a cluster

in my own items I sell.  I embellished this pedestal plate edging.

And...if you don't like the clusters, you can always use

my roses that I sell in batches with leaves. 

Either way, projectsare just so much more fun

 when you have these ROSES for embellishing

your own projects!

Happy Pink Saturday Everyone!

I'm a Loving my Kitties!

Hey Kitty Lovers!

I know so many are like me and adore our

furry friends we have.

I am always clicking my camera  when I think something

is cute or just because.

Can  share some current pix of

our Female Calico, Chloe and

adorable Long Hair Tiger with you?

This is our Chloe!  She my lovey dovey kitty!

The life of Leisure! Wish I was a cat!

Do your cats love anything weird that's on the ground to

lay on? Chloe will sit on anything...papers tho, is

her fav!

This is TIGER...our rather handsome guy!

I just adore this picture above...you'd think it would

be uncomfortable, but our cats will sleep this

way off and on...or sit behind one of us as

we use our computer..cause that's our puter chair!

I also couldn't resist adding a couple of

vintage images for you to copy/paste!

Have a PURRRRFECT Day everyone!

Tea Time TUESDAYS!!!

A Dining ROOM Dedicated to Tea Thangs!

Part 1

Hello Tea Loving Friends!!

Please be sure to check my sidebar to the left for

all the TEA Party Links!!!

I thought I'd share the next few week with how I have

incorporated my LOVE of all things TEA

in my Formal Dining Room. 

I may do this for the next few weeks as it would

be way tooooooo many pictures  otherwise.

So starting with an inside corner  I am showcasing

a unique wall Tea Cup Display that I have.

These tea cups are probably some of my favorites and

to choose one over the other would be very hard.

Each one is so uniquely beautiful.

 

Doncha agree? wouldn't you have a hard time picking a FAV?

Here's a view of what the wall looks like.

You can see below I also

have a great display of

tea pots.

Besides Tea Cups and Pot I do collect them in smaller

version and differing uses.

      

Two more pots. The Blue Heart one I use the most

to steep teas due to its size.

You may have seen this tea pot below with its cozy before

in another post I had done.

      

Sorry about the cords in the below picture.

But the above glass tea pot is a night light.

   Be sure to check out my GIVEAWAY Badge!

I'd love to have you join in the fun.

TEA Blessing to all!

Trusting a Mother's Instinct

Can I open my heart and share?

Have you ever had one of those dreaded feelings, like

something is just NOT adding up?  You keep thinking

it's this, or that, but your gut just won't shut up?

We had a situation last night with my daughter and I

could NOT shake a horrible feeling.  I don't know if in all of her

18 years that I have ever felt it so strongly like this.

Oh at every turn I kept hoping for the best, just kept

hoping that my mind was overacting. 

Only to have each and everything we (me/hubs) were

thinking was beginning to show that my

instincts were right.

So a situation was confronted and this momma

is so glad she DID *listened* to that still small voice

from deep within...

yet a part of me wishes it didn't have to happen.

Daughter is safe, but in a hole heap of trouble

due to broken trust.

I cannot help but think of how often I have

broken a trust.  Even lied to cover up something

I didn't want to face.  Oh doesn't parenting

some time throw our own weakness right back 

in our faces and make us deal with our own inadequacies?

I am so thankful for REAL forgiveness.  

A true repentant heart is one that the

Lord can take an offense and use it for HIS good.

For that past few days I have been led to read Psalms 91

and today it brought my grieving hurting Mother's heart a much needed

rest.  A rest in my Lord who is there with me

through it all.

Psalms 91

 ¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
       will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
 ² I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
       my God, in whom I trust."
 ³ Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
       and from the deadly pestilence.
 ⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
       and under his wings you will find refuge;
       his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
 ⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
       nor the arrow that flies by day,
 ⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
       nor the plague that destroys at midday.
 ⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
       ten thousand at your right hand,
       but it will not come near you.
 ⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
       and see the punishment of the wicked.
 ⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling—
       even the LORD, who is my refuge-
 ¹⁰ then no harm will befall you,
       no disaster will come near your tent.
 ¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
       to guard you in all your ways;
 ¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
       so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
 ¹³ You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
       you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
 ¹⁴ "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
       I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
 ¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
       I will be with him in trouble,
       I will deliver him and honor him.
 ¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him
       and show him my salvation."

Trusting in HIM

Pink Saturday and a GIVEAWAY

Welcome PINK Friends!

Getting business out of the way...

be sure to visit our amazing hostess

Beverly of How Sweet the Sound ...

She has a list all our Pink Saturday Participants

Oh I am so happy you have stopped by and will

be joining me for my latest giveaway!

I LOVE to create and I love to share those

goodies with my friends...especially my

PINK loving friends.

I am celebrating many milestones...

3yrs of Blogging

300+ bloggy posts!

Over 150+ Wonderful followers and friends, Yea!!!

AND

My 51st Birthday, which is September 5th,

and/or the last day that you can be entered

to WIN.

How you can be entered to win...

1. Leave me a comment today

2. Copy/Paste my Giveaway Badge and advertise on

your blog side board

3. Copy/Paste and do a special blog

 about my giveaway (please let me know)

4. Current and new followers will be entered 

again to win

5. Come back and visit me and leave a comment

during the next few

weeks til Sept 5th (my b-day) 

Let's go over what one Sweet Blogger will win!

Sweet lil mini-cake with handmade clay roses and birdy, 

and

Pedestal Stand Cake is resting on

Sweetly decorated Heart Shape Pillow

Ribbon  Rose Clothespins, birdhouse ornies and

a couple of sweet cherub die cuts

And lastly, this sweet lil Christmas Snow Cone ornie.

Your chance to enter goes until September 5th!

All the best to you as you enter

and let the FUN begin!

Blessings...

PS  You never know what ELSE may be added to

my stash of goodies so please

leave comments to you have more chances

to win!!!

A LOVE Affair with Tole Art

Hi Sweet Bloggy Friends!

In past posts I have shared with you my many collections.

Today I wanted to show some of my favorite

things that I collect...tole art
also know as toleware.

Now, my Love Affair began about 12 years ago.  As

someone who was learning how to paint roses, I became

enthralled in the hand painted art of others.   I can SOOOOOO

appreciate the time and skill that those who have

painted these lovelies have put into each one.

This tray was a STEAL for $10 at on of my FAV places

in Ann Arbor, MI called Treasure Mart!  It happily

resides in my Victorian Parlor Styled Living Room.

Being and avid shopper and treasure hunter has helped me

amass the many unique shapes and sizes of trays 

that I have for a fraction of what you may find them for

in antique stores.

You can see that I have found some wonderful different

sizes.  Most all of these were thrift store finds for

probably $1-2!!!

This top rectangular shapes one is my latest find!  I

am thinking that his is probably a newer version

of tole.

This tray looks to be a souvenir tray from Mt. Vernon, VA.

This is NOT a mass produced tray and is all hand painted.

This tray is very unique and if you look closely you can see that

it has a hole in the middle.  Well, when I found this tray

in a small shop in Washington state it came with a

metal holder which gave the tray

 the function of a serving or tidbit tray.

These next few pictures are of *reproduced* tole ware

that have been placed on metal tins or trays but

are not actually hand painted.   But I just had to have

them because of their floral and rose content!

     

Below are 2 very large reproduced trays that I just adore!

These are so large that I believe they may have been

intended to use as lap trays.  

The one on the right actually has

mental legs that pull down so that you could be served

in bed! Cool huh!

Then I am taking you into my laundry room where I have

hung some reproduces trays as well as some

smaller newer hand painted tole trays.

As you can see, these have flowers that are much brighter

in color from the ones I have displayed in my Living room.

So a few years back when we painted out laundry room I choose

to used these trays and well as a few well placed roosters in

here to go with the GORGEOUS Red Floral fabric I use

on my windows and around our deep tub/sink.

I just LOVE these colors on each tray!

A little about tole...

I do know that artist many years ago did not have the types

of art supplies readily available to paint on as we have today.  

Metal trays were what they used to express themselves

and became pieces of art in themselves.

Tole is just another word for Metalware and

many of these pieces became useful in homes.

Next you browse ebay, etsy or other sights that

sell these beauties, you will be amazed at the

details and how beautiful these trays can be.

I know that what I have shared are are much

simpler than many you will see.

I hope you have enjoyed your visit!

Blessings