Lambs & Ivy Boutique

Well, I've had my shop open again now for about a month & a half & have been loving it! Here's a few pictures I took this week. The tutus in the crib have done wonderfully, I almost sold out of them, this is my last one. My sweet hubby found the garden & birdhouse benches at a garage sale for $25 & the cart on the side of the road ready for the trash, GREAT finds...I think I'm starting to rub off on him. He brought them home & white washed them, took them to the shop & they make great display pieces. All is well & I'm thoroughly enjoying being back in business. Please check out the badge on the right of my blog for the 3/50 Project, help keep your neighborhood small businesses open...we all thank you for your loyalty & support! :)

Shop Girl & Domino's

What a fun & exciting week this has been for me at the shop! The shop is also my studio. Since I spend so much time there it only made sense to bring all my art & craft supplies & spend my down time creating. Creativity centers me, it calms me, it focuses me & it is my passion. I've been absorbed in a project over the past couple weeks of making vintage domino pendants to sell. It started by a walk across the street to our local Senior Center Thrift Store (yes, how cool is that, my shop has a GREAT thrift store right across the street) where I stumbled upon an old wooden box of ivory colored domino's. I did a little research & it seemed that alcohol inks were the best product to use to color the dominos. I then printed out some images I got from ArtChix Studio on photo paper & glued them on. I top coated with a polyurethane, added a top & bottom eye hook, some ribbon & beads & put the 7 I made on the floor yesterday morning. Well, you can imagine how excited I was when one of my 1st customers came in, fell in love with 2, couldn't choose which one she liked best & bought both...yeah!!! So this vintage picture is a Celebration of Domino's, Art & Women Entrepreneur's. I'll get some pictures of the pendants & post them asap & add them to my Etsy Shop. In art I create things not knowing if anyone else will appreciate there beauty other then me, I create for me because I like the concept... it's always nice when your creative force is validated. I guess that's what we all do for each other here. Truly, thanks to all my blogfriends who give me inspiration everyday, who humble me with their magnificent creations & who make me feel apart of such a wonderful community of artists! :)

Vintage French Postcard 'Multiple Baby' Freebie 6

By now you all probably know I LOVE Turn of the Century, Hand Tinted French Postcards, but my favorite theme is Multiple Babies!!! These cards are so sweet & whimsical, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Tennis Anyone? Enjoy Friends....

Vintage French Postcard 'Flower Girl' Freebie 4

Vintage French Postcard 'Blooming Baby's' Freebie 3

My Father's Eyes

Yesterday was Father's Day, so today I would like to take the time to remember a few of the many gifts my Father has given me throughout my life. Some are simple, tender memories from childhood, others life changing trips to amazing places, but the ones I treasure most are the gifts from his soul, the ones he's probably not even aware he's given me. I was born in Long Beach, CA because my Father joined the Marines right out of his High School in Illinois & was stationed in Oceanside. With the VA Bill he was able to go to college & buy our 1st house, but he worked 2 jobs to support his family & we never went without, a gift. One of his jobs was working at Disneyland as a janitor back when Disneyland & the idea of amusement parks was brand new. My brother & I kept empty mayonnaise jars on our dresser. Every morning when we woke up the jars would be filled to the brim with shiny pennies, nickles & dimes. I would find a Disneyland pen light in my jar, while John might find a pop gun or giant pencil in his & of course we would always get TICKETS! Long after the rides had closed for the night & the smiling, sleepy children & worn out parents left the park, my Father swept Main Street. He cleaned the bathrooms & the shops & arcade that lined the street. He worked through the early morning hours while we were home asleep in our beds & at the end of his shift the work crew would divide up the remnants of abandoned toys & lost change & take them home to their children. Every morning when we awoke it was like Christmas, another gift. In 2003 my Father decided he was going to take my daughter & me on a trip to Italy to see Rome & the Sistine Chapel, Florence, the Arno River & the Duomo, a life changing gift. Everything he does for us everyday with his concern & support are gifts, but I do have one favorite gift. This one comes without thought, it is born from DNA or osmosis, this one forever keeps me hopeful & striving for something better. My Dad is a dreamer. His dreams can be little or big, they can be practical or completely irrational, but all my life my Father has dreamed! I am a dreamer too, creating this blogsite is a dream. A dream that I have something to say that might be of value & that I might find an artful way in which to say it. I dream of my tiny shop being a huge success in an economy where no one has any business trying to start a new 'business'. I dream of far off lands filled with surprise & magic just like Max does in "Where the Wild Things Are". Through my Father's eye's, I see all things as possible. So, thank you for the dreams Dad & I hope one day you find a hidden vein of gold in a northern creek some crisp & sparkling morning!