By the sea.....Here is my newest bits and pieces collage!! They are so much fun!! And below is an image from a book of vintage posters my mom gave me.
And these last two fabulous prints my mom bought from Moonlight and Roses. They are mounted on boards and have sparkle added to them!! They look even more magical in person!

It's been so long since I have been able to visit the seaside, but at least I can enjoy all my lovely seaside themed decor and sea souveniers- seashells, sea glass, and sea pottery! Have any of you collected sea pottery? In Fort Bragg, California there is a wonderful place called Glass Beach and old broken pieces of pottery regularly wash up on the shore. Isn't that cool? It is so fun to sit on the beach for hours searching for it! What is your favorite thing to do or place to go when you visit the sea?

Michelle

My muse has returned!!
She has me organizing, redecorating, and making bits and pieces collages!!

This was my first bits and pieces collage (inspired

by Jenny's fabulous swap) ! It was so fun to make
I think I need to create some more!!

Back from vacation!! I had a wonderful time, but I am so happy to be home with my sweet husband, David!! We did get to see each other one time in the last 2.5 weeks, as he flew in for his dad's 60th birthday celebration. Here is a photo of us at the party and a couple of photos of some lovely antique mall finds from both California and here in Texas.



This adorable little yellow dress was my mom's when she was a baby.
And here is a fabulous and sweet 4x4 collage from a swap withthe sweet Jenny Heid!! Isn't it the cutest!!!??

Fun in the Sun!!
Hello ladies!! Well, my sweet mama arrives tonight and will be here till Saturday, when she will whisk us (me and the two little munchkins) off to California with her for 3 weeks!! Yes, I do have a photo of ladies frolicking at the beach, but my parents live over 3 hrs from the beach so we will just be frolicking by their pool instead! Hopefully we will manage to get some antique and collage supply shopping in, too!! Yes, lots of fun to be had!! I will miss my sweet husband, David , so much!! He cannot afford to take time off of his new job. It's always hard to be away from each other so long, but that's what happens when you move a girl half-way across the country from her beloved family.

I am so going to miss you lovely ladies and your inspiring blogs and your fabulous photos on flickr!! It will be so fun catching up when I return, though!! Hmmm- what do you think flickr withdrawl is like? I guess I'll find out soon enough!! LOL!! :D

Ladies, till mid next month, I bid you adieu!!

Michelle

Fairy Jar Swap!!!



I was lucky enough to participate in Little Melfie's Jar Fairy Swap and my partner was the fablulous Jenny of "Everyday is a Holiday"!!! Look at the amazing fairy jar I recieved!!! Isn't it the sweetest, prettiest jar fairy??? Look- there is a aqua feather and a pink bell at the top!! Inside is the sweetest fairy with sparkling pink wings, lovely floral paper background, and a sweet bird on a vintage millinery flower!!I LOVE it to bits!!!! Thank you SO much Jenny!!

The photo below is the fairy jar I sent Jenny. We were amazed how similar the jars we sent each other were! Both photos are by Jenny. I can't wait till I get a new camera so I can take photos of all the lovely 3D things I make and recieve in these fabulous swaps!!!

I've been having the best time making these ATCs!!

Hello dear blog friends! I'm busy creating 4x4 fat book pages for a book I'm making with Jenny (Everyday is a Holiday) and Cerri (Little Pink Studio)!! The theme is "Being a girl"-how fun is that?!

Here is my latest collage. Had to take little break from pink! I love my pink, but once in a while I like to do something different. I am such a lucky girl- I joined my first swap with the most talented ladies!! It's a tag swap and we each make and recieve 12 tags, so the good mail just keeps coming for days!! I could definitely get addicted to this swapping thing! I have already signed up for two more because it's just so fun!! It's also making me try things I haven't tried before, but have been wanting to. So my new addictions are collage art, ATCs, and swaps! I better start selling some of my work to pay for the supplies!! What are you addicted to? I know without asking that most of you reading my blog are addicted to the same things! :D

Mother

To one who bears the sweetest name

And adds a luster to the same

Who shares my joys-

Who cheers when sad-

the greatest friend I ever had

Long life to her for there's no other.

Can take the place of my dear Mother.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Tagged!!

O.k.- Here it is ladies:

7 Random Facts about me:

1. I have only dated one guy- and I married him on the one year anniversary of our first date! We will be celebrating our 14th wedding anniversary in October! How lucky am I to have never had to "kiss any frogs" before I found my Prince Charming!!

2. I always said I would never have kids- I just could not imagine being anybody's mom. Now I have two little sweet boys and I could not be happier!! Kids make you strive to be a better person and make life so much more fun!

3. My favorite foods are cheese and chocolate- just not together.

4. I love scents that others probably would not- gasoline(the old kind, not the new kind), new tires, lumber yards, my Walmart brand dishwasher detergent... oh, I could go on and on.

5. I have a texture thing. I pretty much touch almost everything I see- especially when shopping, and I can't stand to touch silky fabrics- especially when my hands are cold. Yeah, I know I'm wierd.

6. I once was in a car accident and I still don't remember any of it. I have no idea how it happened. I had amnesia ( short term memory loss- not long term) for several hours afterwards and kept saying the same things over and over. When my husband showed up at the crash scene he said I was sitting there in a daze and I said "Hi Honey! What happened? You look nice!" over and over and over again! Then at the hospital he said I kept rolling my eyes around all wierd, looking a bit crazy. Guess I was just being silly, but he was more than a little worried that I would never be normal again- poor guy!

7. I really hate talking on the phone, unless it's to my mom and I pretty much just sit there and make her talk!

That's the best I could think of- it was hard to come up with some that weren't already in my 50 things about me post. I guess I'm supposed to tag 7 more people, but everyone I know in blogland has already been tagged for this.

Have a lovely day, ladies!

Michelle

Busy creating!! Hope to get some more ATCs done soon! I think they may be my new addiction. But I do have some other things I need to finish first, like my tags for Tammy's tag swap and a mother's day present for my sweet Mama and a belated birthday card for my fabulous sister-in-law! Seems these holidays and birthdays always sneak up on me and my presents always late. I need to work on that.

I was tagged by lovely Dawn from Oh So Pretty to list seven random facts about myself. I'll have to think about what wierdness of mine I'm willing to share.

Have a lovely weekend ladies!

Michelle

Hello dear blog friends! My sweet little boys with their unending energy and exuberance and unearthly volume have completely drained me of all mental and physical strength and functions. So how about a little eye candy? I can just click and not think. Above is a happy summery piece I made and below are glimpses of my art studio.

She's here!! My lovely mama is here and we are having so much fun!! That's her above in the art studio/guest room!
We spent the weekend visiting antique malls and discount stores! The photo above is us in front of one of our favorite booths at the antique mall.
This gorgeous banner was made by my mama and she gave it to me for a gift! If I were her, I don't know if I could've given it away! Isn't it the sweetest, prettiest banner?! She even added my little guys to it! On top of the "F" is my baby boy and on the "Y" in the little flower is my big boy! I just adore it!! She also gave me a big box full of collage supplies- glitters and vintage photos and ephemera! I'm such a lucky girl! At the antique mall she found some wonderful vintage ribbons and vintage hats covered in flowers and lots of other goodies. We spent the evening ripping the flowers from the hats (which seemed kind of awful, but we couldn't help it!) to use in our collage art! We are just having the best time ever! You should go check out my flickr account- lots of new pretty photos because my mom brought her camera with her! Yay!
Michelle

Yay!!! My sweet Mama is coming to visit today!! She will be arriving tonight, so I will be spending the day cleaning my messy house. My craftroom (which looks like a tonado hit a scrapbook store) is also the guestroom, so I'm going to be a busy, busy girl today. I'm so exited that she is coming- I miss her so much. She lives in California and I'm in Texas, so we don't get to see each other very often. She and I love all the same things, so we have so much fun together. We love hunting for antiques (especially together!!) and creating art and we love all things pretty and shabby chic and vintage!! The piece above is a collage I made and the little girl is my sweet mama when she was about 3 years old. Isn't she the cutest thing ever? Well, I'd better stop blabbing and start cleaning!
Michelle

For me a good day consists of lots of time playing with my kids, quiet time with sweet husband, and ends with me covered in glitter and paint. This was one of those days- I hope you are having a lovely day, too!!
Fondly,
Michelle

Here is a little spring birdie I made!

There is a fabulous spring giveaway with lots of fun springy lovelies at Violets are Blue!! Go sign up now!!

http://www.violetsareblue.net/blog/2007/03/08/giveaway-1/#comment-1139

Michelle

"Let's be grateful for
those who give us
happiness; they are the
charming gardeners who
make our soul bloom"
~ Marcel Proust ~

Oh, I am a happy, happy girl!! My printer died on my a few months ago and it drives me crazy because I use it all the time. Well, two days ago sweet husband comes home late and claims his foot hurts and would I please go get the pizza he brought home out of the trunk of the car. Well, I looked pretty awful- I was already in my pajamas- no make-up and he said "It's o.k.- it's dark outside-no one will see you- please??"So I agreed- running out to the car quickly checking for neighbors who might see me. I wondered why sweet husband would have put the pizza in the back of the car ? I reach in for the pizza, but my eye is caught by a large box- I look at it and know it cannot be what I think it is- I look again- it is!!! There in my trunk is a brand new HP printer!!! :D I ran back in with the pizza with a giant grin on my face. My husband is such a sweetie pie!! We really can't even afford it right now, but he knows it is so important to me. I'm a stay-at-home mama with no car who only gets out on the weekends, so kid's cartoons, the internet and this printer are my only entertainment. I have been having SOOO much fun with it!! Earlier in the day, before he brought this home, I had told him how sad I was, because I was working on something (the piece in the photo above) and I accidentally cut my finger and hadn't realized it, then touched my ballerina and got a blood stain on her white dress and couldn't print a new girl because my printer was broken. I am so lucky to have such a sweet and thoughtful husband, but I already knew that. Well, I'm off to play with my little ones and maybe sneak in some printing and creating!! Have a lovely day!
Michelle

Welcome to my humble blog! I doubt anyone checks this silly blog since I have not posted since hmmmm- maybe a year ago? Oh my- yes, it has been that long. I'm going to try to start up again because I so enjoy all the lovely and inspring blogs that I visit daily and I hope that I can return the kindness and maybe offer some pretty photos and inspiration too! I don't have a working camera now (I slipped on ice and my poor camera went flying through the air!), but I do have some photos to share and a scanner so here we go! :D I am by no stretch of the imagination of writer, so please bear with me as I use run-on sentences and jump from subject to subject without warning! I have just started to try collage art and I am loving it!!! I cannot draw, but I can find pretty things and I enjoy putting them all together. There is so much wonderful artistic inspiration on flickr.com and I am so addicted to it! I enjoy peeking into other's beautiful and charming homes and gardens and the wonderful artwork that so many talented artists are kind enough to share! You should visit my flickr website and click on "favorites" for some delicous eye candy from my flickr friends!

I think I have babbled on long enough for a first post so farwell and hopefully I will return!

Fondly,
Michelle http://flickr.com/people/seasiderosegarden/

100 Things about me: (well, how about 50?)

1. I am married to the most wonderful, sweet, handsome gentleman
2. I'm a stay-at-home mom to two wonderful little boys, 4 and 2 yrs.
3. I love old, vintage, and pretty things from the Victorian age thru the 40s
4. Antique malls are my favorite place to shop, while I detest the mall (everything is just too new!)
5. I eat too much cheese- way to much
6. I also eat too many sweets
7. My favorite flower is the rose, but all flowers make me happy
8. I can't choose a favorite color- how could one be so much better than the rest?
9. I'm very close to my mama and we love shopping the antique mall together
10. I enjoy scrapbooking
11. I would like to try collage art
12. I'm shy, but not nearly as shy as I was when I was younger
13. I don't like talking on the phone
14. I sometimes think I miss my 20s, but then I realize I was confused, immature and didn't know who I was- that's not worth having my pre-baby body back!
15. Old men who walk around whistling songs to themselves make me smile
16. Old ladies with red lipstick and too much rouge make me smile
17. I don't cook, but I want to learn
18. I'm tall and I love it
19. White cake with white buttercream frosting is my friend
20. I miss California, but I think I'm starting to get over it
21. My guilty pleasure tv show is "All My Children"
22. I have a love/hate relationship with computers
23. I'd love to live where it snows in the winter
24. I'm not athletic and I'm not at all interested in sports
25. I'd like to learn to be a great photographer
26. I love God (this list, by the way, is NOT in order of importance!)
27. Even the smell of coconut makes me sick
28. I'm not addicted to tea or coffee, but chocolate milk is another story
29. I love vintage children's toys and books
30. I loved shoes with a passion till my feet grew to size 11 by age 11 and it became too difficult to find cute shoes in my size
31. I love the outdoors, but I'm a hotel person, not a camper
32. One of my dreams is to travel to France, Italy, and England
33. I enjoy watching Spongebob
34. I love decorating and decorating books
35. I love cottage/shabby chic/vintage/seaside style
36. Nobody tagged me to do this list, I just felt the need to talk all about myself! :)
37. I don't leave the house without makeup
38. I'm addicted to flickr.com
39. I dye my hair blonde (well, it used to be natural!) ;)
40. I won't swim in any water that I cannot see through ( I did when I was little and cannot stand wondering what is brushing against my feet under the water! :0
41. I think clowns are evil and creepy
42. I want to own my own house and paint every room a different , yet tasteful, color
43. My first car was a 1974 cream colored Mercedes- how I miss that car, except for it's lack of a working air conditioner
41. I don't have a favorite movie, but I love romantic comedies and action comedies best
42. I enjoy the internet and I'm thankful for all the lovely people I have met here
43. I'm a little sister to one brother, but almost feel like an only child because he's 10 yrs. older
44. I love being a stay-at-home mom and wife
45. I believe fairy tales do come true and there is a happily ever after, if you help them along and work hard to keep it
46. I love animals, but have no pets
47. I love pretty much all types of music, but classical is what inspires me the most
48. I'm 32 and feel like I'm finally getting to know my true self and what I enjoy and want from my life
49. I have scoliosis (curvature of the spine- I think if I didn't I would probably be a full 6' tall! That would be awesome!)
50. When I was a teenager my big aspiration in life was to be a supermodel! :P That one was quite embarassing to admit!
If anyone actually made it all the way to the end of this, thanks for reading! :) I may finish the 100 someday, but for now 50 seems like plenty. A girl has to keep an air of mystery about her, right? I can't let out ALL my secrets at once!
.