In The Studio

Another Donna piece finished.  "Donna Goes to the Disco".  Enjoy!  ♥

Found Treasure

                      

Check out this lamp, I love it, don't you?  Last year I found a retro store located in a small town in Iowa.  My husband and I visited it again recently and ran across these lamps, I knew they'd work perfect in our office. His response was "really, you like them?"  "Of course, trust me" I said.  So we bought them (great deal), cleaned them (he did), rewired them (he did) and taaaa daaa.....Perfect!!!

Unfortunately I couldn't use the original shades, my allergies are too bad to risk the musty smell.  But I found a shade I love at Target, it fits perfect and brings out the gold in the lamp.

Now check out the table the lamp is sitting on.  A great deal at my favorite place...Brass Armadillo.  I don't think it's Heywood Wakefield, the legs aren't rounded but once again I fell in love the minute I saw them.  And just for the record, I cleaned them. :)

I love how the lamps pop against the red wall.  Now to convince my husband we need a "new" mid century couch! 

♥♥♥ I'd like to quickly mention I've opened a store at Zazzle, a great place to find customized products such as plates, phone covers, iPad sleeves, cards, t-shirts, magnets, etc.  I've added some products to my store featuring my designs, if you have any questions leave me a message.  I've also ordered several pieces for gifts, the quality is great and they have quick shipping (I especially love the magnets, mouse pads and plates). Click on my sidebar or follow my link and check it out. http://www.zazzle.com/donnahoward

Happy Mother's Day

Have a wonderful day! ♥

Found Treasure

So many times when a parent passes away you're forced to clean out their house quickly to sell it, but when Mom passed away my sister and I were able to take our time since Dad still lives there.  We show up on a Saturday, Dad makes us lunch and then Debbie and I start sorting through boxes, visiting as we go along.  We've run across special things that bring tears to our eyes, pieces we both say awwww it's mine (we have different tastes so no arguing over things) and lots and lots of paper.  We've made a lot of progress and are now looking through boxes full of paper, pictures and lots of linens.  I've brought home 3 large containers full of ephemera, maps, journals, tickets, pictures, etc...great for using in my art but I'll have to be in my studio 24 hours a day everyday to use it all.  Check out recent finds...the small, metal address book was my grandmothers and has my great grandma's address in it.  Precious!!!  ♥

In The Studio

Hope you enjoy this piece....."Playful".   ♥

In The Studio

Guess who this little one is.....yep it's me!!!  I've started a series of "Donna art", so keep watching to see what Donna does next!  ♥

Found Treasure

Growing up we always had a juice carafe/decanter (whatever you want to call it) in the frig filled with water.  Back then I never paid much attention to it but now, oh how I love all the pretty designs.  I found the middle one with oranges on it at Mom & Dad's house, the very one I grew up with!  The other ones were found at my favorite antique shop (Brass Armadillo) along with the cute turquoise tray.  ♥

For You...

Feel free to use this photo in your art.  Have a fun, creative weekend!  ♥♥♥

In The Studio

I love my "studio time".   I relax, listen to music and let the ideas flow, every day worries and stress disappear!!!  When I look back on last year I realize I only created a few new pieces.  Yes I was busy planning a wedding with my daughter but still what happened to my art.  I have to admit a number of my paints and glitter containers dried up as well as my creative muse.  But I'm happy to say I've found my creative energy again and I'm making sure to set aside time to relax and let my ideas flow.  I've been adding new pieces to my Etsy store so stop by and take a look if you like. ♥

In The Studio

I haven't worked on altering vintage compacts lately so was happy when I finished this Mermaid one entitled "Gossip".  Enjoy!  ♥♥♥

Found Treasure

Look at this unique hanging planter/bird cage I found on eBay, couldn't resist bidding on this gem.  Enjoy your day!  ♥♥♥

Merry Christmas

★ Happy Holidays!!! ★ May you all be blessed with good health, food, warmth, love and laughter. Warm hugs and many wishes for a Happy New Year ♥ ♥ ♥

Around The House

Holiday Decorating!  ♥♥♥

Around The House

Love this glittery vignette!   ♥♥♥

In The Studio

Enjoy!!! ♥

Found Treasure

I'm always on the lookout for vintage jewelry.  I check antique stores, garage sales, eBay and Etsy, anywhere I can find a good deal.  I wear some of them, attach them to pillows around the house and I use them in art.  If  I happen to find a fish, seashell or starfish I know it will work perfect in my mermaid compacts, I'll use a star burst shape in my beach tins and I can always use flowers and leaves.  But crowns, I know I can use them in art and I have but for some reason I'd rather just look at them, so many different shapes, sizes and stones.  Enjoy your collection of Bling!  ♥♥♥

The Wedding

Let's talk hair!  The Bride has long, straight hair and planned to wear a tiara and veil for the ceremony and just the tiara for the reception.   How did she come up with her hair style for the wedding???  Well she knew she wanted a soft look with some curl and wanted to add rhinestones to the back of her hair for a bit of sparkle when the veil came off .  She/we looked at wedding hair styles on Google but in the end she let her high school friend Leah, a talented hair and make-up stylist work her magic. Leah inserted large and small rhinestone hair pins after she pinned the Brides hair up, we found the rhinestones at Michael's and Nobbies. We added the tiara and veil when we arrived to get dressed, both were purchased at Bridal Connection.  I'm sure you'll agree she's a BEAUTIFUL BRIDE! ♥♥♥

For You...

Feel free to use this photo in your art.  Have a fun, creative weekend!  ♥♥♥

Found Treasure

From Mom's Kitchen cupboards

I have containers and containers and many more containers filled with "things" from my parents house; maps, pictures, pieces of toys, tons of ephemera for my art along with household items, radios, planters, fabric and so much more.  My mom hung on to everything.  In 2005 Mom had her hip replaced, I came over every day for 2 weeks to look after her while Dad was at work.  I told her I couldn't sit still so I gathered the old clothes from upstairs, we looked at them, we laughed then she said donate, I couldn't believe it, she was letting go!  I was on a roll, we cleaned out clothes, I found and kept a lot of my Dad's old ties, my Grandma's old jewelry, table clothes, pillowcases, aprons and handkerchiefs, and the dress my Mom wore to my wedding.  We recycled tons of magazines and cardboard, took boxes and boxes of VHS tapes to Goodwill and bagged up trash, lots of trash.  I made a dent but the upstairs was filled with many years of  living along with my Grandmothers belongings (her house was filled to the brim when she passed away).  I was exhausted after 2 weeks but would continue to come over for a cleaning out day until Mom became ill the next year, the cleaning was put on hold and my wonderful Mother passed away in 2010.  I cherish the time we spent together reminiscing about childhood things and listening to her stories about my Grandparents and their belongings.  Lucky for my Sister and I our Dad isn't pushing too hard for us to finish cleaning out the upstairs, basement, garage, closets and kitchen cupboards so we're able to cherish the time we've spent finding "treasures" at Mom & Dad's house.  ♥

The Wedding

The Bride wanted her niece the little munchkin or little one as I like to call her to be the flower girl.  Being 2 years old we didn't know what she would do or say, we were picturing Modern Family when Lily was a flower girl and had a "nice" word to say in front of everyone. :)  Here's the pretty basket she carried, I added small hearts around the lace and on each side of the handles. The basket was going to be filled with rose petals but during picture time she kept a little blue stuffed bunny in it.  We found the basket at Hobby Lobby by Studio His & Hers, they had a nice selection of accessories and we happened to be at the store when all wedding items were 50% off (wonderful deal).

I ordered a wreath from David's Bridal for the little one to wear on her head.  I added pewter beads that sparkled to help bring out the color of the sash on her dress.  Unfortunately she has very fine hair and her mama couldn't get it to stay on her head so I slipped the wreath around the basket, it fit perfect and the long ribbon ended up being a cute addition to the basket.  My friend Susie secured it with a safety pin to make sure it wouldn't slip off during the wedding (make sure you bring plenty of safety pins, we used them to adjust dresses too).

The little one did a great job although it was hard for her to wait in line.  As the bridesmaids were walking down the aisle we could hear her fussing but when her time came she walked out holding her mama's hand.  Her mama, the matron of honor, dropped a few rose petals on the floor and as she was walking down the aisle she looked at her basket then back at the petals, dropped the basket and ran back to pick up the petals, ran back to her basket, picked up the rest of the petals on the floor then was passed off to her other grandma for the remainder of the ceremony.  Everyone laughed and enjoyed that special moment. ♥

The Wedding

As I mentioned before we started using hearts/double hearts as part of our decorating theme.  Again we turned to David's Bridal and found these pretty Toasting Flutes with double hearts.  I ordered the Groom and Bride's name along with the wedding date on the first one then switched it and put the Bride's name first then the Groom on the second one (with the wedding date too).  They looked great, a special keepsake they'll always treasure.

   

Keeping with our double hearts theme the Bride and Groom picked the following serving set from David's Bridal.  I had the Bride and Groom's names and wedding date engraved on the server blade and on the knife I had "Our Moment to Celebrate" engraved.  Those special words came from their wedding invitation, I'll share those in another post.  It was easy to shop on line, everything arrived quickly and I could check things off my list, and let me tell you I had lots and lots of lists!!!  ♥

In The Studio

I finally managed to finish a piece last week, hope you enjoy! ♥

The Wedding

The Unity Candle symbolizes the union of two individuals.

It took us a while to find the perfect Unity Candle, we looked at Hobby Lobby, Michael's, so many online sites and finally we stopped at David's Bridal and there it was, although it looked different when we first bought it.  Yes, I made a small change!!!  The candle was very pretty with the lace and bead work but the bride (and mother/wedding planner) didn't care for the bow hanging down so I added double hearts.  Are you starting to see a pattern emerging with the hearts?  The beautiful altar flowers were created by Bella Flora, they did an amazing job on the flowers, linens, centerpieces, etc.  I would definitely recommend them, they were so easy to work with.  For the tapers I used a set of candle holders I'd bought years ago (PartyLite) and after a good washing they sparkled, a truly BEAUTIFUL altar.  The ceremony and reception were held in the same historic building so the guests just walked across the hall for the reception in the Grand Ballroom.  The staff very quickly and efficiently took the Unity Candle/Flowers to the Bridal Table and we were able to use them as reception decorations too! ♥

The Wedding

The Wedding is over and I'm still recovering!!!  :)  Almost everything turned out as we planned, it was a Beautiful, Magical Day.  When we picked out the ring bearer pillow from Hobby Lobby (Studio His & Hers) it had the lace and beads on it but again I couldn't leave it alone.  This time I added little hearts to the pillow and center bow, a small detail but it looked sooo pretty.  The second picture with the wedding rings was taken by my friend Susie, I appreciate all the help she gave that day and love the photos she took!!!♥

The Wedding

The big day is almost here, I can't believe my daughter, my baby is getting married.  I wonder if my mom felt that way, I was 20 and marrying my college sweetheart, so young when I think about it now.  My son was born 3 years later and my daughter 8 years after that, our beautiful family.  My son's been married 8 years now and has a two year old daughter, (aka the little munchkin, the little one or sweetheart) a great big joy in our lives.  And now my baby is getting married....

Since she lives out of town I've been helping plan the wedding, a job that's right up my alley.  I love to organize, decorate, pay bills (not), make lists (many, many lists) and this will be the last wedding I plan!!!!  Boy, what a job, I'm tired!!!  It's going to be beautiful though, I'm so excited to see the loving couple exchange their wedding vows.

Of course I had to add a little embellishment to a few pieces we picked up for the special day.  We bought an ivory colored card box from Michael's, it had tufting and pearls on top.

I added a string of pearls around the edge (just inside the twisted ribbon) and around the card slot.

I found a lace sash at Michael's, I added that to the middle of the box and added some pearlized hearts to it.  I also added a knob from the Tim Holtz collection.

I added a string of pearls to outline the sash on each side.

 I added beaded wire letters to the back.

The final, personalized piece, Emily loves it!!!