In The Studio

I have fallen behind in my studio....I have a lot of catching up to do.

Be back soon.

p.s. don't forget to visit my Home Goods Open House latest blog by clicking here.

See You Soon,

Penny

Art On A Budget

I just finished my weekly post on Home Goods Open House Blog, click here to view it and please leave a comment if you visit me there :-). The post is about Art On A Budget.

One inexpensive way is to use books as part of your art! If you remove the dust jackets, the book covers color will act as art on your bookshelf or table top. The red and yellow books above are vintage books from the thrift store. They cost $3.00 each. That is pretty cheap art! The sweet butterfly rock and sunflower painting are from Donna at Donna's Art blog.

On another note, Louise from The Pink Front Gate has tagged me with this fun tag:

1. What are your nicknames?

I don't have any!

2. What game show and/or reality show would you like to be on?

Dancing With The Stars.

3. What was the first movie you bought in VHS or DVD?

The only one I have every bought is White Christmas.

4. What is your favorite scent?

It's a toss up between coffee perking and peonies.

5. If you had a million dollars that you could only spend on yourself, what would you do with it?

I would travel.
6. What one place have you visited that you can't forget and want to go back to?

Italy

7. Do you trust easily?

No. I am pretty good at reading people when they are lying though.

8. Do you think before you act, or act before you think?

Act before I think...

9. Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days?

The devastation caused by the recent hurricanes.

10. Do you have a good body image?

Yes!

11. What is your favorite fruit?

Blueberries
12. What websites do you visit daily?

None daily.
13. What have you been seriously addicted to lately?

Double Bubble Bubble Gum

14. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?

Extremely thoughtful, creative and sweet.

15. What's the last song that got stuck in your head?

Imagine by John Lennon

16. What's your favorite item of clothing?

My flannel PJ's

17. Do you think Rice Krispies are yummy?

No, I like Cheerios better.

18. What would you do if you saw $100 lying on the ground?

Look for the owner, if unsuccessful donate it to charity.

19. What items could you not go without during the day?

My computer and my morning coffee.

20. What should you be doing right now?

Working on mosaics.

If you have not been tagged with this, please consider yourself tagged!

See You Soon,

Penny

Autumn on The Porch

A Little Porch Fluffing.....






On a side note, did you know Martha Stewart has a blog? And you might be able to have your blog featured on it simply by leaving a comment here. I learned this from Cathie at Catherine Holmans Folk Art.
See You Soon,
Penny

What To Do With Old Silverware....

This past weekend when we were at the art fair, I found a couple of whimsical garden art pieces. Please click on the photos to enlarge for detail.

This first one is a cute flower. Look closely. It is made up of spoons! And the leaves are the handles of forks.



This second one is a sweet dragonfly. All made from silverware handles. I put these in my "kitchen" garden...Where else you you put your silverware?




I have been the lucky recipient of some awards this past week. Judi from Judi Creations honored me with the Super Commenter Award.


Cathie of Catherine Holman Folk Art and Sandra of Canyon Wren Cottage awarded me the Hooked on Your Blog Award.


And Beverly from How Sweet The Sound awarded me the the Million Dollar Friend Award.

Thank you all so very much. I really appreciate it. I would like to pass these awards on to all of you who read my blog, because you are all the best Commenters, Million Dollar Friends and I am Hooked On All Of Your Blogs!

See You Soon, Penny

Real Life Before and After

I know I have shown you my courtyard entry before. But I thought you would like to see the dramatic change from beginning until now. These changes took place over a two year period. I wish I had taken more step by step photos.


The picture below is the view you see of my entry courtyard, if you get out of your car in my driveway and start walking around the house to the front. This is the CURRENT look. I took this picture today. When you reach the table ahead of you and you turn right you will see steps to our deck and front door. If you looked to your left you would see our mountain view




Below is the same shot right after we bought the house. See the steps going up to the deck? They are gone and we moved them around the corner. You can see this is before landscaping, before the pavers, before we had about 60 dump truck loads of fill brought in to enlarge our courtyard area. BEFORE


Here is the way the steps to our deck and front door look today. The copper vents on the step fronts are lights.


Below is another before shot. I am standing at the opposite side of our courtyard here. You can still see where the old steps came up the side of the house. Where the flag is hanging is where the NEW steps are, which you can see in the photo above. In the before picture below you can also see that the foundation was just cement blocks. It now has a stucco coating on it that you can see in the photo above.

And here is a during shot standing in the same location as the picture above.

And finally another AFTER photo standing in the same location.

So there you have 2 years of work....I am very happy with the results. Especially because we did all of the work ourselves.
See You Soon, Penny

Fall Festivals!!

One of the things I love most about fall is all of the FESTIVALS! Every weekend your local newspaper will list upcoming festivals in the area. The weather is perfect for being outside. Cool, crisp air...the hint of someones fireplace....

This past weekend we went to two events. Biltmore Estates Field To Table Festival and The Weaverville Art Festival.

At the Biltmore we were pressed for time and will go back before the festival ends on Sept 28th. We had a lovely lunch outside at the Winery Bistro Grill. I spotted these cute metal pigs and had to take a couple of pictures.

Weaverville, is a small town north of Asheville, NC. It is a fun artist community. We wandered the main street looking though all of the wonderfully creative booths.

I think I need to live on a farm. It seems roosters and pigs capture my attention. I loved this painting of the rooster below.

There are several more fall festivals in our area over the next month or so. I am going to visit as many as I can. Do you visit fall festivals in your area?

p.s. don't forget to visit my Home Goods post, by clicking here

See you soon, Penny

Signs Signs, Everywhere Signs....

Today's post is all about SIGNS

(The Song for Today's Post is Sign of the Times by Petula Clark)

First....a sign of Autumn. I have finally started decorating for Autumn. This weekend is the official end of summer. Autumn Equinox is Monday, September 22. Here is a sneak peak at my mantel decorated for Autumn. Please visit my post at Home Goods (by clicking on the Home Goods link, highlighted) to see the rest of the story and more pictures. Please leave a little comment there if you have time.....Thanks! (Click on any picture here or at my Home Goods post to enlarge for detail).



Below is the second SIGN. Remember the Private Residence sign I did HERE ? Well the sign arrived safely at it's destination and the owner of the sign sent me pictures of the sign in it's new home so I could share them with you!

I just LOVE her cottage! Remember she lives in a wonderful little town with vintage cottages. Most have been made into stores, galleries and cafes. People often mistook her home for a business and wandered right in.

Now she has a friendly way of letting people no that it is a Private Residence. Thanks Wendy for sharing your home with us!
See You Soon! Penny

Before and After

The past few weekends we have been doing some landscaping in our side yard and the property that runs along our driveway.

This is an AFTER...I love the pine bark nuggets....

Before shot below...

Remember - we don't have a lawn. We are in the middle of a forest and are trying to keep things as natural as possible. Click on the pictures to enlarge for detail....

We bought tons and tons of pine bark nuggets, because we thought it look more like it belonged in the forest than regular mulch. The flagstones were all dug up on our property over time. We brought in the tiny gravel. The fence hides the gas tank, the well and garden tools. Next spring we plan on adding flowing vines to the fence.

"AFTER" ~ Below of side yard

Here is the before. The before picture was taken in early spring.

Below, some more AFTER shots.

Aren't these stepping stones great?

Till Next Time, Penny

Red Transferware Table

I loved this table after I painted it red. I was happy to leave it just like this! But I made the mistake of putting too much Briwax on it and when ever I set anything on the top, marks were left. I couldn't removed the wax. I tried everything. Finally I just sanded the top and decided to cover it with vintage red transferware plates.

Before


Well, it is almost done. You can click on the pictures to enlarge.

After



I made sure the patterns matched when the drop leaf sides were up....



And when the drop leaf sides were down the pattern still has interest.

A close up of the pattern on the table. I now have to touch the paint up on the sides, where the grout scratched it and left some white grout stain. That will take just a few minutes. So far I think this one is staying in my home...but you never know, it might end up in the Lavender Hill Store :-).





Till Next Time, Penny

Some Thank You's Are In Order

I am truly blessed in blogland lately! I have received 3 lovely awards and have won a couple of blog giveaways and I want to take this time to say THANK YOU!!

First Dena from Swaddle Cottage, and Melanie from Jelly Bean Angel have given me the I Love Your Blog Award. Thank you Dena and Melanie! I love your Blogs TOO!

Shelia of Life at Number 17, gave me this sweet award. She didn't quite know what it said and neither do I but I am assuming it is something nice :-).... Thank you Shelia!

And Shelley from Building a Log Cabin presented me with the Arte Y Pico Award. Thanks Shelley!


I also was lucky enough to win not one but TWO giveaways recently. Colleen from Main Street Memories had a fun contest to name two baby hummingbirds....I won these pretty plates....Birds, eggs, feathers!! So Perfect! Thanks Colleen.


Judi at Cranberry Blossoms had a giveaway for this wonderful tote. I was the lucky winner. She also sent a sweet bar of lavender soap. My favorite of course! Thank you so much Judi!

I am very thankful for the sweet friendships I have made here in blogland. From the bottom of my heart, Thank You!

Till Next Time, Penny

End of Summer at the Biltmore House

We spent a day last week at the Biltmore House. I showed you some beautiful roses in a post a couple of days ago from their rose garden.

Here are some more pretty pictures. This sweet cherub is standing near the Main house and next to the new FLOWER CARPET.




Remember the Beach Boys concert I attended at the Biltmore House last month? It was held in the exact same location as their newest feature. This is their Flower Carpet. (Please click on the picture to enlarge and be amazed at the details).





Some of the fun facts about this pretty carpet can be found below on the sign.



This fountain is in a shady area near the flower carpet.



Doesn't this look like it is in Italy or France? Nope...it is at the Biltmore Estates.

Till Next Time, Penny

Some Exciting News To Share!

I've been keeping a secret for about a month now....Yep! My lips were sealed. But now I can reveal the secret...





About a month ago Home Goods (yes THE Home Goods!) contacted me and asked me to be a part of their Home Goods Team as one of their Open House Bloggers. They didn't have to ask twice!





WHAT? You didn't know that Home Goods has a blog? Well they do! It is a blog for anyone who loves to decorate, garden, cook....well - like most of us! So now I am one of 8 bloggers with the Home Goods Team.





If you have time, please come visit me here, where I have just posted my first post and leave a comment. I plan on posting there about once a week. I will keep my blog up here too....

Remember, The Silent Auction for Nie is still going on. New auction items are added daily. Click here to see the auctions.

Till Next Time, Penny

A Rose By Any Other Name...

(Today's song is the Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet)

What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

These pictures were taken by me at the Biltmore Estate Rose Garden today. Please click to enlarge. The details are so pretty.








There are two bees in the center of the rose below....click to enlarge for detail.




Don't forget the Auction for Nie going on at Today's Creative Blog. My mosaic heart auction is number 28...Click here for a chance to win it!

Till Next Time, Penny