Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Beautiful Baskets

Is there anyone out there who shares my
Obsession
for
Baskets?
Aren't these the most
Beautiful Baskets?!!
And the really cool thing is...
they were
Handmade
by
My Very Dear Friend
Carey.
I am so amazed by her talent!
Each one is lovelier than the last.
It is hard to choose a favorite.
Carey has long been a
 gifted knitter
&
absolute
Queen of Crochet
but this too.....
Come on now!
So much talent in one sweet person :)))
And by day
she's a
Nurse Practitioner.
This little beauty is
mine all mine :)))
She made me a
Tea Basket
for my birthday!
And filled it with teabags
&
a handmade teabag dish.
She even signed the bottom for me.
As much as I love baskets...
there's nothing that compares to
Good Friends!

Thanks Carey ~
I love you!

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Meet Mr. Darcy

On Sunday afternoon my sister
Bridget
brought me a gift.
I had been thinking I might enjoy watching a pretty fish
float around while I am in my upstairs office.
So I pulled a pretty crystal rose bowl out of the china cabinet
and made it ready,
thinking I would go fish shopping one day this week.
Instead I got a lovely surprise ~
Bridget showed up with this gorgeous
Beta.
I love how colorful he is.
Such a beautiful creature needed a special name...
So~
Meet
Mr. Darcy.
Isn't he pretty?
I especially love the turquoise blue across his body.
And speaking of
turquoise blue...
I finally finished my third pair of
Crocheted Socks :)
These are for my friend
Mary Anne.
She has been off work with a back injury.
I decided she needed a little something soft and snuggly to comfort her.
She was delighted!
Isn't it fun to give gifts :)))
And back to my sister
Bridget ~
I just can't resist telling you this little story...
Last night Bridget decided she would walk
to my  house and join us for Knit Night.
Her favorite coffee shop is along the way.
The girls in there saw her going by and waved her in for a nice chat.
She pulled her crochet work out to get a few stitches in while they visited.
And this is what happened~
If you look closely
you will see
that she crocheted
{and connected!}
her work around the strap of the bag!
They all got a good laugh out of that...
and when she arrived at my house...
well....
we had to laugh some more!
So today's post has gone from
Fish
to
Frog.
For my Dear Sister
must now get busy
frogging
that bit of nonsense.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

A Trip to Versailles

I've taken a trip to
Versailles
this week~
well....okay....
not really.
But I have painted everything
that didn't get out of my way
in this lovely shade of
Versailles
green.
Before

After :)))

I am in love with this
Annie Sloan  Chalk Paint!
I have the  most charming Vintage store
~Second Betty's~
 just across the street
about a half a block up from my house.
And it is owned by the most delightful couple ~
Mike and Cindy.
Not only do they have lovely items of all sorts,
they also carry this fabulous paint.
I purchased this dining room table about 3 years ago
from another shop downtown when it closed.
The owner had used it in her farmhouse at one time.
Although I love it, I always intended to paint it.
I am quite happy with the fresh new look!
I think I will purchase a can of
Old White
and repaint the legs with it.

While in the midst of my painting frenzy,
I happened to spy a coffee table sitting on the curb 2 doors over.
The young man is moving out and no longer wanted it :)
So....
I helped myself!
This is what it looked like.
Ick!!!
But NO WORRIES....
I had plenty of paint left.
This is what it looks like now :)))
It's just perfect under the window in my upstairs office.
I really needed a place for my overflow of books
{and, of course, a few more pretties}.

So~
What have all of you been up to this fine week?

P.S. My Mother began to worry I might paint the dogs if they didn't stay out of the way.
Well... there is still some paint in the can.....

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Baby Shells

I crocheted this baby blankie for
my granddaughter
Gabby
who is now a whole 6 years old.
Does time ever fly?!!
I ran across it this morning
and realized I had never taken any photos of it.
The darling wicker buggy it is draped over
is a gift Grammy found at an antique store
when Mommy was expecting Gabby.
There's just nothing quite like baby things.
Everything that has to do with babies is always so
soft
&
pure.
And I love to wrap new baby's in crocheted shells.
Hope you are all having a beautiful day!

P.S. In case anyone has noticed
I am having Picasa Web issues.
On Sunday I nearly had a heart attack
when I realized that all of a sudden almost all
of my past blog posts no longer have any pictures!
I am working on trying to get them back.
If anyone has any clue as to what I should do
PLEASE HELP!!!

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Make Mine Pink

I just LOVE
re~making
re~doing
re~using
&
re~cycling.
Especially when  I can make something
pretty
&
{you guessed it!}
*pink*!
And if I can stick a
rose
on it
Well....
that just makes my day :)))
So here's today's project all done up.
An old floor lamp that got left behind when my youngest
daughter
Chelsea
got married.
Mainly because it no longer has a switch on it.
There is a slot for one behind the handmade
clay button which I glued a plastic rose to.
I just plugged it into a power strip
that has an on off switch.
Yesterday I purchased some
Anne Sloan Chalk Paint in
Antoinette
&
now it has a new home next to my
Crocheting
Knitting
Reading
Chair
in my upstairs office.
I found this divinely comfy chair
back in the Winter
at the local thrift shop for just a few dollars.
This is what the fabric looks like
but I am not a lover of yellow and orange
{nothing against those of you who are}
I just always have to
make mine
pink
when possible.
Or green with pink roses in this case!
So I dug out this old quilt and tucked it around
then topped it off with a butterfly doily
&
tossed a pretty pink
heart shaped pillow on it.
And now I'm
Happy!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Summertime Crochet

Okay ~
So I am still
addicted to these lovely
Crocheted Socks.
I mean ~
they just
tickle me pink!
And, of course,
I had to make a pair in
*Pink*
for myself :)))
I love this shade of pink.
It has just a hint of lilac to it.
I used the same Queensland BeBe CotSoy yarn as
for the aqua socks.
It is so soft you feel like your feet are walking on clouds.
I have started another project in a gorgeous shade of
turquoise
in the same yarn.
And the good news is...
I  have enough skeins in this color for
another pair of
Socks!

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Sweet Summer Socks

A few days ago I picked up the newest issue of
Simply Crochet
It's hands down my favorite
crochet magazine ever!
{You can find me lurking about in Barnes & Noble
just waiting to exhale
when I finally get my hands on it}.
Each issue is chockfull of 
the cutest
projects just screaming my name :)))
These lovely lacy socks were my first pick
this time around.
They were designed by the darling Vicki Brown
of
I mean....Really!!!
And they were so easy to make.
I sat on the porch swing yesterday with the perfect breeze
gently billowing around me
and crocheted my little heart out.
Throughout the day my
Mother
Sister
Daughter
Granddaughter
and finally
Hubby
were all spectators of my
perfectly
Lazy Summer Day.
We all have to have one of those every now and then.
And at the end of the day ~
Voila'
a pair of
Sweet Summer Socks.
Today's project?
A pretty pair in
*pink*
{shhh.....Don't tell Hubby.....
I'm supposed to being cleaning the basement...}

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

The Time Has Come...

The Time Has Come
to talk of many things ~
just not of
shoes and ships and sealing wax
nor
cabbages and kings.
{That was SO last week!}
This week is full of its own beautiful things :)
Like this sweet vintage looking
Little Dress Potholder
I just added to my

AND ~
The newfound
freedom
of my precious
Baby Bunnies.
They were with me for 5 full weeks.
Remember?
This is where we started.
And now look at the chubby girls!
At ll:00 a.m. yesterday
Daisy & Violet
were released back into my garden.
It was a
sweet
happy
{and a little bit sad}
day.
My Son~In~Law
Eric
came over to video tape
Miss Gabby
&
Grammy
setting them free.
I tried to upload the video so you could all see the
Big Event.
However, I cannot get it to happen......
I will contact a Son~In~Law to get some help
and get back to you on that!
It was a lot of fun.
We spotted them several times throughout the day
running and playing together
&
eating in my garden
alongside the Mommy and Baby Squirrels.
And they have been seen a couple of times today.
I am so filled with joy that they survived and have
made it through their first day and night
out where God intended them to be :)))
Ahhh...
Life truly is GOOD!

And NO Girls ~
you CAN'T have rabbit stew for dinner!!!

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Simple Saturday

Today I am going to have a
Simple Saturday.
Scott has taken himself off with a group of friends
for a baseball game
and will be gone till bedtime.
And after a week filled with birthday celebrations,
fence building,
and a holiday
I am ready for some down time.
This is the gorgeous cake my sister made me for my birthday.
I realized I had forgotten to show it to all of you.
The first picture shows the flowers my
Dear Friend Krista
brought to me for my birthday
and the sweet tea set my sister gifted me with.
But ~
back to today....
I plan to
drink tea
sit on the porch swing with my Bible
crochet a few stitches
and
keep all my animals fed.
Happy Saturday to All of You!
xo
  xo
  Danette

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Alice in Wonderland Tea Party


For my birthday
my granddaughter
Gabby
wanted to throw me an
Alice in Wonderland Tea Party
at her house.
My Son~In~Law
Eric
came as
The Mad Hatter
He made this hat out of an old cowboy hat and blanket.
{Chelsea came as her darling self ~
a hostess that worked hard for her mother's
special party!}

The table was delightful from every angle.
I was the guest of honor so I had a special
Tea for One
Since PaPa {Sweet Hubby} was on vacation
he was able to join us as well.
Gabby was sure to instruct him on how to
"drink tea like a princess"
with pinky held high :)
Aunt Hilary {my beautiful first born} was able to take an extra long lunch break
from the library.
Grandma Brenda
{my Mom}
and
Aunt Bridgie
{my sister~ just barely visible to the left of the hat}
were also in attendance.
Jaxon
{Chelsea's dog}
came as
The Cheshire Cat
{that is until Gabby decided he would make a cute bunny}.
Good times were had by one and all!
They sure know how to make  me
Smile :))) 


OH!
And of course
Gabby
was there as well!