In HONOR of Moms!

Hi all,

It has been a couple of weeks since I have posted. I thought I was getting better but my health has been suffering the last 5 weeks. I am finally on the mend and getting some energy back.

So I hope you don't think I disappeared because I didn't. I will be posting on a more regular basis. I haven't been able to do any sewing but hope to get some things done this weekend.

Anyway, enough about me. I know it is Easter this weekend and Mother's day is coming up as well so I wanted to make a treasury in honor of Mothers for that reason. I am a mother and I'm sure quite a few  of you are as well. Moms seem to always put themselves first no matter what. When they are sick they don't let on and try to carry on without alarming anyone. When they are tired and their child is sick, or sad, or hurt nothing else matters, they are there. I lost my mother the day after Mother's day 6 years ago and I think of her every single day in some way or another. I remember one of my first thoughts after my Mom passed away was "I have never known life without her" she was always there, I really was unaware what life would be if she weren't part of it. Now I know. So here's to all you Moms out there, you are AWESOME!!! You are CARED ABOUT and most of all you are LOVED!!!

Here's to you Mom xxxxxx

 

'In Honor of Mommys All Over!!' by dressedtothe9s

A treasury of all things honoring Mommy. Celebrating mom, mother's day and parenthood.

Aqua Mother Telephone Side T... meredithscott $145.00	Mother and Child by Klimt jeannie689 $35.00
Hand Embroidered Mother'... crookedsister $8.00	Trinket Dish or Tea Bag Hold... LennyMud $8.00
Mother of Mine Tag - Set of ... creativevision... $3.25	Mothers of little boys work ... distresseddesi... $18.00
Mother and Son Hedgehog Neck... marmar $58.00	Ice Cream Social Mommy and M... luckyduckydesi... $67.00
You are my world mother neck... MetalPressions $97.99	Nursing Mother - Wool Needle... woolicious $58.00
When Mother is in the room- ... 2ndcoming $18.00	wall quote sticker decal was... VinylGraffiti $9.00
Cherry Apron - Retro Inspire... atouchofgray $6.50	Child Proof Bottle Cap Penda... ZuliDesigns $5.00
Make Way for Ducklings Origi... HeatherKent $35.00	Retro Vintage Mom Getting He... bellastitchery $9.99

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

My Tree Peony---can't wait for it to bloom

When spring comes and I clean out my gardens (which I have yet to do) I think about the beautiful Tree Peony in the corner of my yard that only blooms for a few days but oh my is it breathtaking.

It took 4 years to get one bloom and now it blooms every year with anywhere from 10 to 30 or more blooms. The flowers are huge like a dinner plate and it never fails that once the blooms open it rains and I don't mean a shower or a mist I mean a good old downpour that knocks all the beautiful petals to the ground. That is why I take pictures, so here you go, my Tree Peony before it rains.

Looking so forward to June..!!! But I will be patient.



Outdoor Living Trends

Most of us don't have backyards that look like this, right?

What do people want in outdoor living for 2011? For you it could be a wonderful cooking area, a fire pit to sit around, wonderful lighting for evening get togethers, comfortable seating, be it freestanding or built in.


Despite our economic woes people still want a nice outdoor area to live in to expand on the useful living space of our homes. For most of us it is short term for the spring summer and fall and for others it is a useful space year round.

So what are we trending towards?

Outdoor Living Features (Percent rating somewhat or very popular for 2011)


Lighting – 96.2%
Fire pits/fireplace – 94.2%
Seating/dining areas – 94.1%
Grills – 93.8%
Installed seating (benches, seat walls, ledges, steps, boulders) – 89.5%
Weatherized outdoor furniture – 83.6%
Counter space – 74.2%
Utility storage – 61.3%
Stereo systems – 58.3%
Sinks – 54.7%
Refrigerators – 50.2%
Wireless/Internet connectivity – 46.3%
Televisions/projection screens – 45.4%
Outdoor heaters – 44.4%
Showers/bathing – 42.1%
Outdoor cooling systems (including fans) – 36.7%
Bedrooms/sleeping spaces – 10.4%

 

Deck post solar lighting is offered in wide array from simple to sophisticated.

 



Installed seating is on a real upswing and can be very cost effective.

Whether or not you have a larger yard , a smaller space or even a balcony there are many things you can accomplish in your outdoor living space. I love this balcony, what a cozy corner to curl up in.

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For the garden area of your yard people are looking at lower maintenance options including planting native and/or drought tolerant plants that you know will survive in your area. Water features are still quite popular and increasing in popularity is growing your own food. Small vegetable gardens where people can grow a few things, tomatoes, lettuce, beans, peppers to supplement your food supply and you can be sure these products are healthy and free of pesticides.

Other items people are looking at are recycled materials, drip-water efficient irrigation, reduced lawn, rainwater harvesting and composting.

Add some beautiful planters to your deck or patio. The great thing about some of these is that they are raised and easy on the back.

What are you looking at for your outdoor living space this year?

I am on the lookout for some new cozy chairs and some Japanese influenced plants and garden ornaments.



Edith Head : Costume Designer Extraordinaire

You must have heard of her , if not then you would certainly have seen some of her marvelous creations.
She was born in 1897 and sadly left our presence in 1981.
She won 8 Academy Awards for Costume design and was actually nominated for 35 of them.
Never really having any formal training in art she was a teacher and offered to teach Art at Hollywood School for Girls and took night classes at Chouinard Art College where she met her first husband. She took a job at Paramount as a costume sketch artist in 1924 and started designing for silent movies. She divorced her husband in 1936 after a long separation and met her second husband and married him in 1944.
She worked at Paramount for 44 years and moved to Universal Pictures on March 27, 1967.

She designed beautiful clothing for some of America's most beautiful and famous leading ladies. My absolute favorite would be Grace Kelly. Never has there ever been another woman with her style.

 Grace Kelly above a sheer gown she wore in Rear Window with Jimmy Stewart

Great movie, great fashion. 1954.

Grace Kelly "To Catch a Thief" 1955 with Cary Grant 

Another one of my favorite actresses so full of style and charm and beauty was Audrey Hepburn and here is the beautiful gown she wore in "Sabrina" 1954 with Humphrey Bogart and William Holden.





Below we find the dress that Elizabeth Taylor wore in "A Place in the Sun" 1951 with Montgomery Clift.

The bustline was covered with fabric daisies and this style was what all the girls wanted for prom that year.

Look how stunning she is in this dress.

I love the suit below that Edith Head made for Lucille Ball in "The Facts of Life" with Bob Hope in 1960

Edith's illustrations are fabulous.

Below we have a very sombre looking Bette Davis in 1950's "All About Eve" she starred with George Sanders one of my favorite actors.

She did the costume design for Olivia Dehavilland in "The Heiress" (below).  Olivia won best actress that year for her portrayal of Catherine Sloper a painfully shy girl whose emotionally detached father doesn't hold back his disappointment in her.

And here she is "Edith Head" a very talented woman who paved the way for women costume designers in Hollywood.



Don't forget the Giveaway at Giveaway Blogdom....

Just a reminder to all of you to head on over to Giveaway Blogdom and enter the giveaway for my handmade clutch if you haven't already. Contest ends Tuesday night at 11:59pm and is open Worldwide! Just read through the contest entry rules and enter as often as you can.

Here is the clutch again!!

Hope you win!

Versatile Blogger and My bouquet of Flowers

The other day I rec'd a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my dearest friend because I have been sick for over 2 weeks. Wanted to share them with you plus the fact that I was given the Versatile Blogger award by Paige of Final Clothes out  ...Thanks Paige!
So I am supposed tell you 7 random facts about myself.



I have worked at the same company for 32 years (Publishing).

I love the smell of wet  pavement after it rains, I know it's weird.....lol.

I went back to school when I was 46 for Interior Decorating.

I have been sewing since I was six years old ( I would sit on my mom's knee) and I still use her old sewing machine that is an old Singer and it survived Hurricane Hazel in the 50's.

I have been married for 24 years and still live in the first house we bought 20 years ago ( something about not liking change...I sense a pattern here).

I have 3 cats all females 2 of which hate each other and we have to keep them separated at all times.

I absolutely hate to wash dishes , I would rather do anything else, anything!!

Now I need to give the award to 2 other bloggers.....

I would like to award New End Studio and T and C Bakery for all the wonderfullness I get to read on your blogs all the time.

And finally here are my flowers that cheered me up immensely...Thanks Liza (Lum)

Something I Learned in School about Colour

I must apologize for no posts this week , I have been terribly sick and just starting to feel a little more normal the last two days.
A few years ago when I was taking courses for Interior Decorating at College (my daughter was in high school at the time and would laugh every time she told her friends her mom was in College) one of the courses I enjoyed very much and learned quite a bit from was Colour Theory. One of the most important things I learned to identify was "undertones". Undertones are just that, the tones underneath the colour that you see.

I will give you an example:



                                 Yellow Based Neutrals

                        
                            

                                 Red Based Neutrals


Visually you can see the differences right away. But take it to another level. Imagine you have a yellow based neutral on your floor. You have a beige carpet that has yellow undertones or a wood floor with yellow undertones, a beautiful honey oak. What do you think would happen if you put a neutral beige on the walls with a red undertone? Well, I will tell you. The walls would look pinker and the floor would look yellower causing a clash.
Many people mistake grey for green if there's a green undertone, or plum if the undertone is purple. To determine the undertone in a grey paint you are considering, compare it to a "true" grey paint chip, which has no colour. A true grey paint chip would be a combination of black and white.


     Say this is the beige you choose. In order to get a better idea loo at the next picture.
Sample number 2 is more yellow and number 3 has a bit of a green undertone. I hope you can see it. Sometimes its hard to see the colour on a computer screen.



These are all beiges but you can see they have differences when compared.

Check out these beautiful neutral rooms.

 

 

Any of these neutral rooms can have a punch of colour added at any time.