A SNEAK PEEK AT MY HOME......

MY FAVOURITE GUEST BEDROOM

I think we all have one room in our home that is a favourite and that really speaks to us. For me this room is my pale Tiffany blue guest bedroom, to put it simply I love this color and it makes me feel happy every time I walk into this room......

I am not a true shabby chic type of girl, I could never and I mean never paint an antique piece of furniture just to have it a cottage white. Now let me be clear if it is vintage and not a good piece then I can happily give it a spiffy re-do but it has to meet the criteria of not being great quality and that age and time will not increase it's value. I have a home that is full of antiques and my earliest piece is about two hundred years old and these wonderful old pieces I just cannot paint. It is funny I don't look on them as mine but rather that I am a custodian for the duration of my lifetime and then someone else will take over the job later on......

This bedroom has a wonderful bedroom set of an antique 1880s high back carved golden oak bed with it's original high mirror dresser. I love that the dresser still has all of its orginal hardware and that these pieces have long stood the test of time. Furniture like this was made in the days when a craftsman took pride in his work and there was no partical board to be seen. A gentle polish every so often keeps these wonderful old pieces gleaming and loved......

In the eightes and early nineties I used to be into Laura Ashley rose wallpaper and pretty borders with a vengence. But as I have grown older I find myself enjoying a quieter look. Gone are lots of floral tributes and in it's place are wonderful colours with a touch of roses in my accessories. I will hunt out some of my old photo's one day for a comparison in decorating style......

When I look back over some of my past bedrooms I cannot believe how much stuff I put into each and every room. All I can say is I must have enjoyed dusting an awful lot and moved things quite happily. Those days are long gone, I am paring down and simplifying. No longer do I have twenty pillows on a bed, now I try to stick to just a few really jumbo pillows that take two seconds to hurl onto the floor, not kidding about that either! Is this change because of age, I don't know all I do know is that I am happier not being a slave to the things that I own. Years ago I would have a fit if something antique was broken or damaged now I realise it is just a thing and I enjoy it while it is here but if it is broken then it was simply it's time to end......

I love that my friends think my home is like a lovely english bed and breakfast. As I am english these rooms remind me of home every day and I do not think about the palm trees swaying in the breeze outside my windows. May your own homes fill your hearts with joy and happiness and make you smile when you enter a room, enjoy......

PALM SUNDAY......

Mark 11:1-7 (King James Version)

1And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,

2And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.

3And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.

4And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.

5And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?

6And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.

7And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.

CONGRATULATIONS......

First of all I have to give credit for the photograph's to Crystal and I hope she does not mind me using them......

For those that do not know Crystal of http://www.vintagebycrystal.com/ they are in for a treat. A while ago I carefully went through Crystal's website and listed down all of her creations that I would wish for. I rapidly realized that I would have to raid a bank, my list was sooooo long! That said I am lucky enough to own some of her enchanting pieces and love their whimsical nature......

For all of us that are lucky enough to have a creation or two in our homes we all feel as if we know her. She is very talented and has been featured on the Martha Stewart Show twice with her most recent show on the 23rd March, 2010......

For those that missed her show segment I am sure it will be on her blog soon, I hope so. I like to watch more than once. This show was particularily special because Crystal's boyfriend suprised her with a marriage proposal. I just want to take a moment to wish Crystal and her new fiance congratulations and all of the best wishes for their future together......

Hugs and blessings to you both......

WHO KNEW......

FLOWER FAIRY......

THE MERMAID......

BABY IN A TEACUP......

I have always been a bit of a non conformist, ok, ok I have always been a huge non conformist.

This I know to be true about myself if there is a different drum to dance to the beat of I will always find it......

As a young girl this got me into more hot water than I can count and made life very difficult on many occasions. That said I would not change a thing and I love being in the 2% of thinking outside of the box......

Now on the subject of thinking outside of the box, I am really getting into this digital altered art form. It is honestly the best fun I have had in ages without getting into trouble. I began working with this software about 9 months ago and was doing the more every day stuff but this last while I have really let my imagination lead me. These three lastest creations of mine are the direction I find myself going in......

The first picture is my idea of Cicely Barker's flower fairy and if I were to see one in the garden this is what I hope she would look like. The second is a beautiful mermaid, as a little girl I used to dream that I was a mermaid and would imagine myself swimming with the fish. My last digital picture has its inspiration from the hot air ballons I see in the park behind my home. This is how I would like it to look in my minds eye and I think it would be fun to fly off in a cup and saucer to ventures new......

One of my favourite author's to read to my son was Enid Blyton and I would read to him The Wishing Tree and The Flying Chair. I think this has had a great affect on me or maybe I need to take a sedative......

Anyway I hope you like these new digital pictures and enjoy the flights of fancy they take you on, happy journey......

A NEW LOVE......

Digital Art......

I have always loved beautiful antique chromolithographs and over the years I have collected more than forty wonderful examples. During one of my documenting phases for insurance purposes I photographed many of them before they were framed. Sad to say the ones that are framed I cannot get a decent picture of because of the reflection of the glass......

With these wonderful old images sitting around for years doing nothing I eventually did do a blog on collecting antique prints. After my blog I was asked if I would ever sell some of the images for others to enjoy and now ta dah!!! I am doing so......

So that now brings me to the wonderful art form called Digital Art. I have been mucking around with this for about the last nine months and most times getting into a mess. I originally had a simple version to work with and it was not too bad, suited my simple brain. The one problem I had was that everytime there was something I could not figure out my poor husband had to try and work it out for me. Now I can safely say that this drove him nuts! He had a professional package and knew how everything worked with his own but mine was different. So when I would whine about something on mine, he would try the commands for his to no avail. In the end he went on strike and downed tools and told me that I had to get the same package that he had. My many chins hit the floor!!!

Yikes, tell me this is not so! I had seen and heard the beast that he worked with and the groans of frustration. He had many and I mean many disks on how this beast worked, I mean really from the bottom of my heart was I capable of even slightly conquering this monster......

Before I could say the words "Maybe" he had ordered my own copy from the internet. Now I am very much a creature of habit and like to stick with what I know. I will be honest to say what I know is not a lot, but this new software came into the house whether I liked it or not. I can understand why, let's face it he could now yell at me (gently inform me) the same commands that he knew worked......

So now after after many hours of gently yelling (is that an oxymoron or what) I now feel confident enough to begin some artwork. With that in mind I remembered my wonderful old prints and decided to "Give it a bit of a go" as we say in England......

These first three digital art prints are my new babies and are now up on my Etsy store http://www.arosewithoutathorn.etsy.com. I have made these a really high quality print and they can be taken to a store such as Kinko's and enlarged even more from my original size. I am so proud of my new found skills and my husband does not look at me like the complete idiot that I am in regards to my hard earned computer prowess. Even my son Jonathan is looking at me with a new found respect, this will last until my next meltdown on the computer. So now at the age of 54 I am finding myself removing wrinkles and flaws like a pro and also using and editing html. Who would had thunk it!!!

Thanks Reubs for taking the time to teach your computer illiterate wife these new hard won skills and still loving me at the end of it. I know it was not easy!!!!!