give it a try...

i love shell art...sailor's valentines always tempt me to just give it a try...but there are so many other shell projects that you can try for yourself...there is something about shells and summer - they just go hand and hand, the thought of the beach and the shades of white...i just love it...

here are some ideas from country living magazine that i thought i'd pass on to you - maybe inspire? if you have kids at home - we all know they would love this too, and it will keep them busy at the kitchen table for a good hour!

what a great memory you can create searching for shells and then making a special piece for your home, whether you are by yourself, with your kids or grand kids, the piece will certainly be cherished...but if you can't get to the beach i have browsed in the past on-line for shells and you are able to buy shells in bulk at various places including ebay if you don't have a michaels like me...they are beautiful too displayed in a vase, set here and there - i myself have a shell on the drain in the shower - it just looks pretty when you step in...

Shell Mosaic
When creating big projects, try to use at least seven different types of shells. They're usually inexpensive, so buy them in bulk and then choose the best ones in the lot. Lay out your shell design before using a hot-glue gun to secure them in place

Naturalistic Display
Gracefully curvaceous and sculptural, these pearly treasures bestow a note of sophistication to any room. Show off the seaside beauties in a large glass, or scatter them around a candle or across a table for a naturalistic display.

Combine Shell Sizes
When decorating a large space, such as this bathroom, create interest by mixing shell sizes. Large shells lend drama to transition points, such as corners. Tiny ones create texture. And medium ones, balance.

Shell Memento
Pay homage to summers past. Embellish a simple wood frame with local shells such as limpets, available on both coasts, and slip in a picture of your family's bathing beauty. Arrange your design, then secure the shells with craft glue.

Breeze Tamers
Prevent tablecloths from billowing. Gather sun-bleached oyster or clam shells, sides still attached. Slip jute, knotted at both ends, between open "wings" of the shells, and lay across the table. For a centerpiece, gather turban shells and scallops.

i think i'll give it a try....

if you would like to be taken over to my game board website, here's the link:

www.dallisongameboards.com

oh how i love it!

spring has sprung....now some of you may be thinking - that was sometime ago...well not up here in the mountains....we begin our official planting season mid may...but that is if you still want to take a chance...for a freeze later in may isn't a surprise and i have seen snow in early june...our planting season is very short, just a few months before our air turns crisp again....

so june 1st is my planting day - the day i can head out to the garden store - packed full of so many people that it is one of the few times in town where you actually find a line and have to wait...but it's a time also to make conversation with the other line waiters - for i am 'one of those'...if i'm waiting, i will certainly be talking to everyone there finding out what they are planting and seeking advice on what didn't work for me last year in my garden....

i will do this same thing every morning for weeks on end - for new flowers are brought in daily for us to meander through, touch, sniff and make decisions on...

i don't have much planting that needs to be done - flower boxes and pots on the deck, for i have a wonderful flower garden in the yard - but they are the added touch, the touch that says to me - no matter what, all will be well....with care and patience...

if you would like some more inspiration for your plant gatherings - whether it's boxes, entry ways or yards - here is a great link to browse through to see more wonderful photos like the above...

flower framers

ohhhh how lovely....

lana manis, honeysuckle lane

lovely is a word that i reserve....i use it only on special occasion, when i find something that can only be described by the beautiful word itself...and that's how i have always felt about lana manis' heartfelt work....lovely. her company, honeysuckle lane, is the perfect place to take a stroll, for she insists that not only she, but all of us meander through her garden and smell the beautiful flowers....or walk through her vegetable garden bursting with the bounty that her family will feast on throughout the summer and fall...or if you like - pull up a rocker and watch the cat play...

lana's talents are so many and each of them are entwined with a historical note and a loving touch. fancy paper pieces, needlework, ribbon work and jewelry - she is often inspired by the 18th and 19th century folk art...that is also why her pieces have also been chosen year after year by early american life's "directory of traditional american crafts" which is an honor bestowed on a handful of artisans who work in traditional media, styles, and crafts, an award that singles out their work as the best now in america.

there is so much information to share about each of lana's pieces and her inspiration that i thought i'd show some pictures and give you the link to her site to check out for yourself...her pieces are perfect for gift giving (just ask my mom for we give lana's to each other!), beautiful handmade cards to send to those special few, as well as, wonderful pieces to display throughout your home that adds just that perfect feeling of tenderness or sparkle...

click this link to be taken to her site: honeysuckle lane

just when you think...

just when i think i have it going on, in other words, things in order....everything ends up flying in different directions...

do you remember last year when i said i was cutting back on work, taking time to smell the roses so to speak...dig in my garden and travel to florida to put my toes in the sand? work on less game board pieces a year so that i could create more new designs?

hmmmm....maybe what i was really doing was clearing part of my schedule to set foot out in new directions...maybe i was opening a window (or big old doors), to let new opportunities approach me instead? was i tricking myself?

since i have opened up my schedule (haha)...deciding to sit back a bit in my upcoming old age i was asked to write a series of children's books based on chetola resort in blowing rock, swimming swans...i have completed the first book - still in the works of illustration...

i was asked to create a gallery in the same resort....a gift shop transition that will by years end feature wonderfully hand made crafts and art from our local talent and many more wonderful artist friends have jumped in to be part of this new gallery...and being that i have never 'owned' or even worked at a shop - well you know me - sure i can do it - not a problem....ahhhhh so naive! but it is up and running, 3 legged so to speak with much more to do...

i put aside some time to work on the feature for romantic homes magazine that will hit the stands in july, and am being interviewed by an upcoming book featuring entrepreneurs that are raising kids at the same time, this is a book backed by my wonderful country living magazine...

so as i stumble down my steps in heels (this hair and make-up is not easy at all!), to jump in my car to head off to the 'shop', or drop it all to run to do carpool, or spend as much time as i can in my studio...i wonder to myself was the loudly announced "i'm going to slow things down a bit", just a way to tempt fate?

boy, next thing you know oprah's peeps will call!

ahh.............i wish!!!!

my oh my....

it must be an age thing, do you agree? large parts of time, just trickle away like a well fed spring...or is it they are misplaced like my reading glasses...or is it my old age playing tricks on me...i could've sworn it just was about to turn may...i clearly remember bits of conversations claiming that it has come so quickly this year...

and now it is mid-may....so much for those new year's resolutions too...i'm not one to make them, but really i don't think i've gotten much accomplished and the year is nearly half way gone...i must try harder to do better...i must try harder to remember to do better or to even remember what i'm supposed to be remembering...

for those of you who can follow my thoughts, well we are in the same slow boat, or is that row boat?...but where is our boat going...hey, let's take a trip, that sounds fun! no wonder i don't get much done...

i'm truly enjoying the blooming of our "it's taken it's own sweet time", spring to arrive...for the garden is finally bursting with blooms...soon after the apple blossoms arrived the lilacs joined in and filled the air with the sweetest of scents...

bleeding heart is commanding one's attention, already way above 3 feet tall, and the peonies are starting to bud....there is nothing like spring in the mountains...