While jogging through blog land yesterday {exhausting..} I stopped in on one of my faves,
 {if only this activity would actually burn calories } Poppytalk. I found a post they had done 
featuring the artwork of Amy Rice. This isn't just an expression--my mouth truly dropped.

    

LLLISTEN, I get giddy I tell ya, when artwork evokes a physical reaction!! My giddiness led me
 to be immediately smitten with the artist behind this little beauty. I so love the layers of mixed
 media art and especially love the incorporation of handwritten letters.


Swan Mail

I got myself first to her etsy shop. And discovered the little gems that were available. 

 
Bandits



Pretty Harvest

I needed to know more about Amy, so I clicked over to her website and blog. It's here that you can see
Amy's techniques, visit her studio, and learn about her new venture into working as a 'full-time' artist.  


Listen

And then I saw this for sale:



Underneath First Days, Amy wrote this narrative:



Big , enormous, huge gulp...it was reading this, that led to that beforementioned physical reaction, 
but, this time it left my cheeks wet...
 


You see, I have a lab who is 11. My Buddy is currently in the same 'stage' as Ella. So vividly,
 I remember the day I sat in the grass with Buddy and all of his brothers and sisters, his mom
 and dad, and tried to figure out which one of these furballs would be the happiest with me.
 I sat and l played with that liter for several hours.

 I picked perfectly.



Ironically, I am also in the first days yet again with our new puppies Bella and Beau.
It's so bittersweet.....



Needless to say, First Days is now mine ! I can't wait for it to arrive. Not sure yet where it will hang.
But, I know how much it will be treasured.     

Thanks Amy!  
  

I just got my new Rejuvenation catalog. I opened it up, and got a look at this little hottie:
 

Meet George.... Isn't he handsome ??!!
 I must say that I am crushing hard on this rich enameled old-fashioned sweetheart.


 
And check out his turnkey socket.....sigh..

old brass  $145
with metal shade  $190

{love you, George........call me ;) }

I have been a long time fan and customer of colorful, quirky Stray Dog Designs. As a matter
of fact, Billy Pritchard {one of the owners--the other, his lovely wife, Jane} and I, have had plenty
 of conversations over the wire, regarding shipments. So, I was thrilled to see their Tennessee
home and their family featured in this months Country Living.



"I don't care if colors clash," Jane says. "Personality should be reflected in a house."
Jane--the only clashing I see/hear are those of the 'happy cymbals' ringing in my ears!!



I love the flower pulls on this Stray Dog console. Those pulls turn that table into a whole
 other level of wonderfulness. Also in the Stray Dog line, the fabulous black lamp.

These great stripes were painted down this hallway for a photo shoot and then
 they were to be repainted. But, they liked them so much that they stayed!  

6-yr old Franny Pritchard, stands on a staircase in an area of the house that used to be
on the exterior before the family remodeled their family room.

Love the bright Stray Dog bubble lamp sitting on top of the traditional, gorgeous
table. And the additional pop of color that jumps off of the lamp and onto the 
oversized butterflies...luv-a- lee!!
And not ones to leave the color simply on the ground and walls, nope, the Pritchards
 covered their ceiling in color--salvaged colorful beadboard. 


  
The family is just as good-looking as their home:
Jane, Billy, Pete-12, Stella-10, and Franny- 6.  


{photos 1-6 Country Living Magazine: Victoria Pearson photographer, 7-Stray Dog}

The Stray Dog story is so inspiring and sweet--and it really does involve a
stray dog. If you aren't familiar with them, check them out...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And, can I just say 'Holy Moly' to the recent love you guys have given!! I have received
such fabulous emails, and comments the last few days. And, I have been featured
recently on the blogs of Effortless Style,  k.f.d. designs , and a few others.. can I 
just say 'thank-you, thank-you !!'  {if you have featured me and I am leaving you out, 
please let me know so I can give you some shout-out-love!!} 

Remember last week when I posted this picture which was a hint of a project I was working on?

Well, project is finished!! My wine bottles were tranformed into chalkboard vases. 
And they got double-duty party time as they made their 1st appearance at my daughters
 high-school on Friday at the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon.

I peeled all the labels off my bottles. Some brands labels came off way easy than others. I had
 to use Goo-Gone and a sharp knife to scrape off residue more times than not. You have
 to remove every little bit of adhesive or your chalk will 'skip' across the unsmooth surface. 
  
I looked locally for chalkboard spray paint with no luck. Instead, I bought 6 cans of the $.94 flat
Wal-Mart black spray paint {MUST be FLAT}.

{** little hint--place the bottles somewhat close together when spaying. This way, all of the overspray lands on other bottles and doesn't get wasted}

Use a light hand and spray very thin layers to avoid any drips. It dries super fast. It probably takes 10+ thin coats to get a good surface. {**hint-- hold the bottle up to a light source, if you can see any light through the paint, then keep spraying}

When you are done, get your chalk out and write your message!

Notice my flowers? I wanted to go the cheaper route, so instead of going 'real',  I went 'paper'. I  decided to follow Martha's directions on making tissue flowers that I saw on one of her Valentine
 shows last week. Her segment does a great job of showing you how to make these. So, rather than redo the instructions, if you want to learn how, click here to watch the clip:  http://www.marthastewart.com/article/paper-poppies-and-peonies. In the clip, Levia Cetti is showing Martha how to make these. This talented stylist, florist, and crafter creates and sells her tissue paper flowers on her site The Green Vase. Take a look at some of her work:

Aren't they gorgeous??! You could do so many fabulous things with these lovelies. 

{The Green Vase}

And these are mine:

Saturday night, the bottles were erased {a damp rag does the trick} and used for a Valentines Party at Balsam Mountain Preserve.

I also decided that I wanted some height to the arrangements, so I collected some branches
from the yard and hot-glued little tissue buds and scrapbook paper leaves to the branches.

Use your imagination on what to write/draw on the bottles--they could be used for
 'Happy Birthdays', Christmas parties, Graduations...the possibilities are endless.

Tips and Tricks :
**If you didn't want your bottles to hold flowers, then you could always use taper candles for a whole
different look! I just wouldn't use the 2 together. This could easily lead to burning down your house/ resort.
**To give some nice height variation, I used my 'go-to' tree trunks as levels.
** Actual chalkboard paint would probably take a lot fewer coats than the flat black, but if you are doing
 a bunch, it would be quite a bit more expensive {$.94 verses @$6.50 per can}
**think about using other colors--any flat paint would work!



I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day !