Raised In Cotton

~Graceful Rituals~

For the last several years, I have kept a written journal. It basically is a way to write down all the things that have been important in my life. I don't always write in it daily, sometimes its weeks before I make an entry and it may be just a quick note.  It is a very important and peaceful process for me to actually sit in a quiet and beautiful place and take a few moments for     Some of my favorite places to sit and journal are at the lake or my patio. The fresh air may have something to do with how grateful I feel when I am able to relax and take an inventory of the previous weeks. I think everyone should have some sort of ritual that brings them comfort. This for me is one of my graceful pleasures. I hope you have some of your own to enjoy.

~Spring Lights~

I was in charge of decorating for a Wedding of a friends daughter that got married a couple of weeks back. I have never considered myself an "Event Planner" but it seems I have built a "Call Carol" list of family and friends who seek me out. I am a total sucker when it comes to decorating and planning Weddings and Parties. Anything from hanging yards and yards of crystal white tulle down a grand staircase to a Summer evening celebration, I am in my element. No matter what the occasion is, I always use some sort of candles or lanterns. The theme for the Wedding reception was Intimate Garden~The problem was the hall where the reception was to happen was very dark. Not wanting the entrance to resemble an airport runway, I opted to start the Garden theme at the doorway. I took 4ft,5ft and 6ft tree branches and placed them in buckets that I had poured cement in for anchoring. I wired small flowers, buds and green leaves to my "Garden Tree's" and sprayed some white glitter to the branches to increase the illumination factor. I then took individual tiny battery operated lights and placed them in white tulle and tied them on the branches. I wrapped the base in more tulle to camouflage. The tables were dressed with crisp white linen cloths and small mirrors to reflect the white candles that were placed in the center. Each of the tables had the same color of flowers, coral and celedon green but for interest no two centerpieces were the same. I used clear flat marbles and added water in the glass vases for more reflection with the flowers. It was truly a magical evening.

For my own house celebrations, I have a collection of lanterns that I use over and over. I love to use white candles~pillars, tapers or votives with them. Very simple but oh so pretty at night!

I hope you have a beautiful weekend with your loved ones!

~Kitchen Design~

I am redoing my kitchen and need some design help~what better place to seek the much needed advice then to ask all my creative blogging friends!

My cabinets will be a buttermilk/creme color with a tobacco glaze~

I am going with a oil rubbed bronze for the cabinet handles,pulls and kitchen faucet. I also will have a creme color sink.

"Lapidus" granite counter tops. It has a combination of black,brown and a creme pattern.

So far OK, but now I am stuck with what color of appliances I should go for? I know stainless steel is hot and has great resale value but I am not sure that look is for me~

Stainless steel cook top.

Do I want more of a contrast and go with Black?

Black cook top

Or, do I want the appliances to offer a more blended look like the color bisque?

So blog friends what do you think? Also, brands are another question for me, so any help would greatly be appreciated!

~More Victoria News~

I was contacted by the Public Relations Director at Hoffman Media, the company who will be publishing and helping relaunch Victoria Magazine the other day. It seems that they have been following my blog and are interested in the unbelievale "buzz" that has been generated throughout the blogging community in regard to Victoria's re launch. Here is a portion of the email;

"Blogs have brought a whole new dynamic to the consumer industry! Blogs are real, candid, communal and honest! You offer great insight to your everyday lives and the value systems that define them. The buzz surrounding the re-launch of Victoria has been unbelievable, particularly in the blog community. Our goal at Hoffman for all of our publications is to expand our reach but stay close to our demographic. We want to stay grounded in our vision and in the vision of our readers. My job here is to facilitate that. I try to stay in touch with our readers’ lives, passions, and desires and to reach out to those who may not have heard of our magazines"

Hoffman Media is very smart in their assesment of how far reaching and important the world of blogging has become to Women. I was contacted to submit any ideas or suggestions that would help improve their publications in general. They also publish Southern Lady, TeaTime, Taste Of The South and Sew Beautiful.  Victoria was always perfect as far as I was concerned, but I did have a few suggestions to offer. I explained to them that one of the reasons the magazine was so popular was their continued support and promotion of Women Entrepreneurs. I encouraged them to bring back  the "Follow Your Bliss" philosophy that so many Women took to heart. I also suggested a beautiful interactive website and blog. Another thought was that they should form a panel of readers across the country to offer ideas to keep the "buzz" and market appeal.

I was honored that they took interest in my little on line diary and hopefully they will continue to check out all the other wonderful blogs that are available. Cheers to Victoria and great success!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and Mothers Day. I have a few random photo's to share with you~

"Garden Goddess" statue, with a little paper "Dream" crown that I made for her. She has lots of character and crust!

Close-up of her "Dream" crown~Looks like she has had some major dermabrasion done on her face~

Can't get enough Flowers!

 

~Dance Time~

~Garnish List~

~My favorite words to live by~

My Family and Dear Friends adorn my Life with amazing Love on a daily basis. I also believe in enhancing my surroundings with beautiful ornaments that bring a smile to my face. Here is my "Garnish List" of Embellishments that provide my Life with simple graceful pleasures that I use to decorate with. .

Simple but beautifull flowers and candles

I hope you "Embellish Your Life" too!

~Treasures~

You know when you are blessed with friends that just "get you". They understand what makes your heart smile and are always on the look out for tiny treasures to fill your days. My friend Phyllis is the person in my life that always finds just the right little bag of baubles and trims to give me. She is like my personal "picker" when it comes to scouting out estate and garage sales. Recently she gave me a bag of old millinery flowers that she found and knew I would appreciate. I combined a couple of the faded flowers with some old pins and placed them on a padded tray in my little studio. In future postings, I will show pictures of how I like to use these wonderful gifts.

Sunday Evening Post

Oh my, our Open House at the Shop is over and what a complete whirlwind of activity the last few days have been. Except for the rain and our charge machine acting up, it was a wonderful success. Thankfully, almost everything that I had made for the Sale sold along with lots of our new Spring finds. We have been in business almost two years and have built a pretty nice email and word of mouth following. But you still never know how Sales will be, especially since gas is $3.00+ per gallon.

One of the bright spots was a beautiful patch of Purple Iris that is on the side of our Shop. They just happened to open up the first day of the Sale, nothing better to decorate with then lovely Spring Flowers.

After seeing these beautiful flowers, I remembered that I have some old sheet music with a pretty Iris on the front. I like to collect sheet music just for the covers, anything with flowers, butterfly's or a garden theme draws my attention.

Lastly, I joined Flickr and have listed a ton of photo's on the site. I am still trying to group the pictures so they are easier to navigate but man what fun that site is.

~More Shop Pictures~

Happy Saturday~Here are more Shop pictures. Our Open House continues today~

~Tagged~

The lovely Sara has Tagged me and I am honored to be selected by her. The idea is to list 7 random facts about yourself and then Tag 7 more!

1. I can start an IV and draw blood in my sleep (Registered Nurse)

2. I taught my little bischon "Belle" to sneeze (she really does) She can do a big sneeze (shakes her head) and a little sneeze when I ask her.

3. I am suffering from major empty nest syndrome~my youngest son just finished his first year of College.

4.  My mind is constantly in the creative mode with idea's I want to try.

5. I wear some sort of bracelet everyday.

6. I cry easily, very emotional.

7. I always have some sort of project that I am working on in my little studio. Usually I have more then one going on at a time.

Ok, enough about me! My turn to tag 7 talented ladies! Sorry if you girls keep getting Tagged, but you are all soooooo creative!!!!

Abby Lovely notes on owning a Shop

Gypsy Purple Beautiful!

Heather One of my favorites.

Lana Eyecandy!

Southern Heart Perfect~

Dawn Love her creativity

Cindy Wonderful!