Pretty Petals

Sweet Swappin

My dear friend Natasha and I decided to do a little swap a few months ago. I am finally finishing my end of things... Life just has a way of getting in the way you know?

I created her a necklace... she requested candy colors when I asked her what colors she would like, so this is what I created for her.

 

I love the bow! It is currently almost summertime in Australia where Natasha lives so the candy colors of this necklace are perfect for hot summer days. The pink rhinestone piece reminds me of a snowflake... so every time I look at it I think of how it is winter here...and summer there... which is always so fascinating to me~ and I think it is so cool how we share this wonderful friendship from across the world. ;)

 

 

Hope you love it N! I also have a few other pretty little things for her but I am going to leave that a surprise until she gets it.

 

 

On the recieving end of things... Natasha painted me a gorgeous set of beachy paintings inspired by the Australian coast.

I told her I had been wanting a painting of the ocean and this is what she came up with for me... I LOVE them. Her creations are just perfect for me. I love them so much because they are simple... and in the best shade of deep ocean greenish-blue. I am so priveleged to own one of her beautiful paintings. She has such a unique and beautiful style to her work.

 

 

 

My son is trying to take this one with the sailboat off of me for his room! haha. I might let him hang this one in his room and I will display the other one somewhere else but so far I havent' been able to split them up.

This swap was so much fun... it is always fun to exchange gifts among your friends isn't it? I don't think there is anyone that truly GETS us like our girlfriends.

 

We have had a busy week this past week with Thanksgiving and it was my sons birthday party... we have spent the weekend putting up some Christmas decorations. It is looking very festive! Hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving. Happy Christmas trimming!

xoxo Heather

Softly She Shines

I am excited to start Christmas decorating. This week I have started to bring some things out.  My Mom bought me these super cute glass glittered birds. Can't wait to find a home for them!

 

These are a new additon this year to my vintage ornament collection... I found them at an antique show. I love the pretty shade of blue and vintage glitter on them. I have been dreaming up ways I want to decorate my tree...

 

 I made a necklace recently and today I put it into my etsy shop...  it is called Softly She Shines...

 

Perfect title I think, it  would be so beautiful for the holiday season coming...

 

 

It has been pretty rainy here today, so I have been sipping on coffee and staying inside trying to get caught up on laundry. This H initial mug is my new favorite and I never use any other one.... if it is dirty I wash it just so I can use it...lol. It was a super sweet gift from my friend Andrea... :)

 

 
 

 So, I am still in my pajamas... and it is 6:57 in the evening.... and my little doggie Jada is feeling the same way as me... lol!!

 

Talk to you soon! xo Heather

 

p.s.- thank you for the votes on my Photo in the previous post! It was the winner for last weeks competition!! So now there will be an editorial vote where they will choose a winner of all the weekly winners... that will take place in December... so keeping my fingers crossed... thank you so much for voting!

 

Photo Contest

Good Morning! I want to say thank you SO much for all of your sweetest & heartfelt comments on my last post. They were SO very powerful and uplifting...  The power of women never ceases to amaze me! I almost never do posts like that, because sometimes it is hard to be a little vulnerable....

but you know it is nice to know that everyone is not alone in this journey.

in other news...

I took a chance and entered the photo above into a Better Homes and Gardens Fall Centerpiece contest... and I was wondering if you had a minute if you could vote for it?? I hope I am not being annoying!! lol but I would so apprecite it! The winner will be entered into a judging to possibly win $1000. Kinda fun!

Here is the link below for the voting..

http://photos.bhg.com/category/vote/photo/568554

 

I am detemined to visit each and every one of you that left me a comment the other day...so I hope that I will get some time later to do that. Wishing you all a happy day today!!

xoxo heather

 

edit: Thanks for your votes girls! You can vote once a day up until the 14th ... forgot to add that to my above post.. . thanks so much!:)) xo

 

 

 

 

Life Lessons

Some life lessons I have been learning lately… 

 

How the changing of the seasons can bring on a whole new perspective…

and change can be good.

 ~

How there will be days in your life when you just feel deflated… but knowing that tomorrow holds hope and promise is what keeps us going stronger.

 ~

How music has the amazing power to uplift people…

 ~

How sometimes you had a friend that you thought was a friend that really just isn’t?

 ~

How important it is to say hello and smile…

 ~

How sometimes life has a way of testing you when you are down,  to see how strong you are maybe? To see how much faith you have? To see how much you can grow?

 ~

How to be ok with just being yourself… flaws and all.

 ~

How sometimes you want to be happy, but you just can’t be in that exact moment

and it is OK to let yourself feel down for a little bit..

 ~

How sometimes watching our teenagers make mistakes is so painful

it literally squeezes every ounce of breath out of you..

~

How a kind word can change someones whole day...

 ~

How cliquey~ness is hurtful …

and serve as a reminder that I never want to be that kind of Woman.

 ~

How raising children is hard…

but the proudest accomplishment to your resume.

 ~

How sometimes you just need a hug..

 ~

How political opinions can quickly spread hate if you aren’t careful…

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How to recognize your own strength…

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How not to allow envy to creep into your heart, but to be happy for all the blessings in your life

and to know that God has a plan specific to you, even when you just don’t see it yet.

 ~

How sometimes men just don’t think the same as women… and that is just the way it is, period.

No sense trying to make sense of it.

 ~

How when one thing goes wrong, a million other things go wrong too…

 ~

How when life gets us down, we need to focus upward…

and ask for help to get through.

 ~

How while we are praying for help, to never ever forget to say thank you for the blessings.

Every. Single. Day.

 

 

 I have been going through some rough times lately... sorry if this post seems a little dreary but sometimes you gotta be real, you know? It helps to just get it all out there somehow..

We all have those times in our lives when things are just hard and we have to climb a mountain or two or three. I am just a girl who is trudging along,  … and while we all have our own mountains to climb, some days I guess it is ok to stop & sit down for a few, take a deep breath… then get back up and dust off and keep on trudging!

 

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

 

xo Heather

Pillow from a vintage towel..

My Mom and I bought a few of these vintage homespun towels at an antique show a few months ago. I haven't been feeling well this week, so while I was watching tv & sipping tea this morning I decided to get one out and try to make a pillow.

 

 

 I folded it and sewed it up on my sewing machine like a pillowcase with a flap, ~ envelope style ~  so that the pillow can just slip down in. Now don't mistake me for a good sewer...

I am not, I was winging it as I went along.

My stitches are nowhere near perfect, but I was thinking about the lady that hemmed this towel before me. The stitching along the hem was hand stitched and slightly imperfect just like mine. Maybe she was in a hurry and trying to get dinner ready for her family, and get the house swept up before the kids come home from school, and trying to do the pile of dishes in her wash basin too, but decided she needed to hem a towel first? yep, maybe that is why her stitches were uneven...

 

Then I added two rows of ruffles on the flap, (I am still not even sure how I got those ruffles to go right...pins did the trick I think!), and some linen ties to the sides... 

 

 The pillow just slips in and I can slip it back out if I need to wash it.

 

 Pretty for being an old towel!! I think whoever owned this pretty old towel before me would be proud!

xo

p.s.- linking to White Wednesday at Faded Charm

Fall at my House

I am not usually a very Orange person... it is probably one of my least favorite colors. I am usually very anti-orange during the fall season, but this year am feeling more drawn to it. Loving those shades of dark yellow, browns and oranges. I am also loving those pretty rust colors I keep seeing in the stores and then I think to myself, heather what is up with you, you hate orange??

 

 

 I am glad we still have a few more weeks until Thanksgiving so I can enjoy it all a little longer. I am really not minding the touches of orange at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought the red striped rug at Ikea for 3.99! Just used it as a table runner instead of a rug. ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

This pillow I dressed up with some fabric flowers... I think it looks very fallish.

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!!

 

 These leaves are what greeted me this morning when I woke up and looked out the front door... they looked like a blanket on the ground so I took a picture. Hope you all had a fun Halloween! We had such a great night, the sky was so pretty while we had our trick or treat... there were lots of kids... and lots of candy... fun times.

Happy Fall!
xo