300 Follower GiveAway

I have mentioned in the past that I grew up in an artists' home and with that comes some instilled thinking or at least strong influences on art in general. Opinions that were not questioned, it was just fact on certain matters. Not that I agree with all that I was taught, as we get older we form our own opinions and art is a personal preference. My father also went through different phases in his art as we all do. He painted mostly still life but had a period of abstract art which fit in our contemporary home. But one rule was not altered and that was original artwork was hung on the walls, no prints. I have kept to that rule most of my life for some reason, although I have found some old lithos that I have hanging. With that in mind, I fell in love with Victorian oils. I have a small collection some are good, some are charming and simple, some are not so good but I love the fact that probably a housewife painted some of these as an expression of herself. I have quite a few simple Victorian rose oils, it was fashionable in that day for women to take painting lessons. That is why you see many paintings of the same subject. I have posted some of them for you today, a mixture, some done by accomplished artists and some by women like you and me... I love them all.

This French painting is quite large and is one of my favorites.

This is a pair of very old Italian paintings that I received from my husband one birthday.

Love the frame on this one and the color

I am leaving you with my favorite all time painting that my dad painted when I was a child.

The Head of our Household

The tour has now ended please leave your headphones at the door :)

I am posting my 300 Follower GiveAway also today...

  300 of you at some time liked something I posted...  and I want to thank you for your support and taking the time to come visit me once in a while. Thank you for following my small part of the world here. This is such a treat for me, and I enjoy you from the bottom of my heart...

So I am giving away a spring "pretty little things" box full of vintage goodies to make many wonderful creations.

It has vintage buttons, millinery, wallpaperr, music, journal pages,  graphics, charms... .

and everything to make this bird collage, which is included in the giveaway.

 To enter just leave a comment and grab the button for another chance to win. GiveAway ends March 22nd as I leave for Round Top on the 26th.

Blessings to you,

Rebecca

Welcome White Wednesday

Hello, it is good to be back on White Wednesday hosted by Kathleen at Faded Charm. As always visit Faded Charm for wonderful white posts by so many talented bloggers.

I have started bringing Spring into the shop and with that Easter. It is starting to feel a little like spring here in Chicago but March is more of a "Hope For" month. Easter comes early this year, so I have been working on it since I have come back from Az.

Paper bird collages

Old buttons

Painted cross on linen fabric with old lace trim

Old tin ceiling angel

I am coming up on my 300th follower here soon, so that means a GiveAway!  I haven't decided on what to give yet, any suggestions?

Well that's it for this Wednesday, thank you to Kathleen for hosting yet another Wonderful White Wednesday.

I hope all of you will have a fabulous week and many blessings to you. Don't forget I love hearing from you...

Rebecca

Leaving Arizona...with a pocket full of gems

Leaving Arizona... with a pocket full of gems and good times to remember. The evening sky put on such a spectacular show that it seemed to beckon us to return again soon.

We go every Feburary to escape the gray Chicago winter for just a short time but it helps rejuvinate that last leg of winter. Now, since my sister and her husband moved there it makes it quite easy and a lot more fun.

It also gives me a chance to shop for beautiful stones for my jewelry. I happen to love turquoise and bought some wonderful Kingman and Bisbee turquoise this trip, not to mention all the other beautiful precious gems I found.

My sister wanted to learn to make jewelry this trip, so I brought my tools and we shopped for stones and findings. She is a natural, as she makes stained glass ornaments and solders beautifully.  She will be selling her beautiful jewelry in her new shop in Black Canyon City called Pleasantries.

Bisbee turquoise from the Sleeping Beauty mine and other treasures

Beautiful stones to warm my heart

I love Pyrite or fools gold and I use it a lot in my jewelry, it has a nice weight to it and comes in so many different forms.

Here is some of my handy work while in Arizona

A nice pile of jewelry to put in the shop and a lot more to make. Looks like I will be busy for awhile now that I am well rested and ready to go to work...

Our next Vintage Living Workshop on Junk Jewelry will be

March 19 at 6 pm

Thanks so much for stopping by and I love hearing from you!

Blessings

Rebecca

Enjoying the Sun...

Hello from Sunny Arizona!

We have been here for almost two weeks now and it is time to be thinking of going home.  We have had such a nice time with my sister Cindy and her husband Rudy. They live north of Phoenix and this is the view I see as I sit on their patio.

Soaking up the sun... Chicago has been gray this winter (as most of the winters are) and I have a hard time without the sun, maybe a lack of vitimin D (which I take) but it still seems to affect my energy level, so to sit here in the sun just makes me happy.

I find the desert to be beautiful and especially this year with all the rain the West has had, it is green and lush.

My mother also came from Minnesota and enjoyed staying here for a couple of weeks. I am so grateful to have these two lovely women in my life... my mother and sister. Each day as the guys head out for the golf course, we say "well what shall we do today"... and the answer is usually the same, we are content to stay here and visit.

We have just sat and talked... caught up on life in gereral. We have solved world problems, we have talked ailments, we have shared what the Lord has been doing in our lives, discussed and quoted scripture, laughed and walked down memory lane. It is what we as women do best, share our lives and hearts with each other. There is nothing in life better than that...

My sister in her new consignment shop, Pleasantries.

Oh ya, and we did a little (very little) three wheelin'

Even the rain is beautiful here with a double rainbow...

My husband will miss the sun and his reading time...

We leave for home tomorrow... it has been a renewing of the soul and I am ready to get busy with life again. The shop is waiting for a good spring cleaning and I am ready for spring!

Blessings
Rebecca