You are Precious in His sight.

Went out to play today.  Look what I saw...

By far, the longest table ever!  Love the metal top.

I am really drawn to old cement.

Beautiful designs.

Lots of crusty rusty.

The top of an old door with fabulous detailing.

 .

And who can resist old pillars?

Some beauty from nature among the tired and worn. 

A nice contrast.

Here is a verse I learned as a young woman in Sunday School.

"Be beautiful inside, in your heart,

with the lasting charm of 

a gentle, quiet spirit.

Which is so precious to God."

Some days I feel tired and worn out.  Maybe I'll go

sit in a junk yard next to some

peely pillars.  Just lean there.

Can you picture it?  Someone comes along and takes my photo and says,

Look, she's so beautiful.  Look at the gentle spirit.

Precious in His sight.

I'll try and remember that,

it puts things back into perspective.

Now I think it's time to go rest this tired gal.

"You are precious in His sight,"

deedee

They really are Possible!

With a little time

and lots of help from

my daughter,

look at 

the fun we had

redoing our living room!

The mantle got an updo,

with the gold frames tying it

together.

This broken chandelier

has some character,

only 2 arms are in tact.  Maybe it

will someday be a jewelry display piece.

And my favorite garden

statue of all times,

too crumbly to go outside,

but bringing me joy when I see it indoors.

The wildish rosebush in the backyard

surprised me the other day.

It's tucked away close to the house

and I just happened upon it

not knowing it had

blossomed.

That's a lot like watching

our children grow.

It's the daily mess and diapers

and feeding (I had 4 children in 6 years)

 and wondering if you'll ever talk

to adults in complete sentences again, and

then realizing

in a moment, that your

cute little preschool singing, "Old McDonald had a farm,

e-i-e-i-e,"

has grown into a brave, talented and confident young lady.

Blossomed, beautifully.

Of course,

throughout the day dedicated

to housecleaning, I had to 

go rust some things

and play a bit too!

Yes, dear, all things are possible

with God."  Raising children

most importantly

and even

those least 

things,

like housecleaning.

with joy,

deedee

With God all things are Possible!

Really?

All things?

That is truly an amazing concept.

Here are some 

new signs.

I really like the way they

turned out, but

stenciling is a booger!

I much prefer playing

and creating 

than bill

paying

and house cleaning.

hmmm.

But if all things

are possible

does that include

keeping up on

the daily stuff too?

I'll keep that in mind!

For Mother's Day

my kids helped

plant and

redo

some garden spaces.

It's a little hard to tell,

but this is

an old mop bucket with 

wheels.

And I do love geraniums.

Just rambling today, I hope your

day is full of amazing surprises.

I went to a hoarder's estate

sale yesterday.

And while it is very sad

to see and I seriously

hope my things

are organized enough

no one is terribly

shocked when

they have to go through

my home,

digging is so much fun!

Got 5 medicine cabinets!

It was an old house with spiral wooden

stairs.  I hauled these cupboards out

of the basement.

I'm not sure why digging 

(in other people's stuff

as well as the garden!)

is restorative

but it does have

something inspiring about it and

restful.

A step away from the everyday and

the stresses that crowd in.

All things are possible

even soul restoration.

Gotta love that.

Blessings,

deedee

The Power of Words

Yesterday I had some 

fun with words.

Someone it seems has ordered me a magazine.

I haven't had a subscription in several years.

When it came in the mail this week,

a couple titles caught my eye,

something to add to a

journal

or collage.

So I began to rip out words that

spoke to me.

And my story started

unfolding.

Hey,

these words

fit my journey.

Ooh, I was getting more

and more inspired!

All done with the magazine,

I picked up a grocery flyer.

And 

"HAVE YOU SEEN ME?"

jumped out at me.

The final piece.

I started messing around with them

to take some photos.

My daughter had a photography

assignment involving

words.

I had no idea.

See what fun I had!

Honestly, these were random words!

Words

can

heal.

Words

can 

encourage

or tear down.

I choose the encouraging

kind.

Don't you just

love it when someone

does

that for you?

This is my daughter's photo, love the mix with the old letter.

Something else that struck me funny this week are the labels

on my old jars that I store buttons

and pearls in.

Who doesn't love a jar labeled cyanide!

I use to keep it in my kitchen~ ha!

I am reminding myself

as well as you,

be encouragers and builder ups of others.

"Say only what helps

each word a gift."

Ephesians 4:29 The Message

peace,

deedee

gathering

On Saturday I got to take some jewelry 

and other fun

and inspiring goodies

to my newest store,

 A Joyful Cottage in Estes Park.

As I was preparing to go, I gathered 

a few props to display with,

I threw in an old

Remington typewriter 

at the last minute.

It's a good thing I did.

I ended up having to do a table

and wall display.  I had

a piece of pattern paper, two lace doilies

and the boxes I carried thing up in!

It actually turned out pretty cute.

I've been organizing my studio

so I can get back to jewelry making.

I haven't actually made any

in several months.

It's sign season mostly.

But now I am jazzed to start playing again.

There's just something about rosaries I love.

The patina,

the prayers,

the hope.

The reminder that Jesus loves us so.

On the way home I went treasure hunting with my friend.

The one who made the display work with our

few supplies.

I really love the hunt.

And the find.

It wasn't until I went to take photos a few days

later I realized this pot was stamped made in Italy!

Does anyone know who these

lovely statues are?  I think maybe one is St. Francis.

I am drawn to old boxes.

and pillars.

Treasure hunting.

It's inspiring.

Why do old things bring me such joy?

The score so to speak, of something rusty or peely

imperfect.

Like me.

I guess that says it all.

We are a treasure, with all our glorious imperfections.

Gotta love that!

blessings,

deedee

Choose Joy!

Joy is more than a smile, it is an attitude of the heart which permeates your entire being. It affects all of life, how you handle situations, and how you reach out to others. 

I just loved this quote from simplyvintagegirl.com

what a great definition,

the attitude of the heart.

I choose joy.

"You make known to me the path of life;

in Your presence there is fullness of joy;

at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Psalm 16:11

I adore this picture of my Grandma and her brother.

Her laughter looks so contagious!

And this is my sister and brother.

So cute!

I hope you choose joy today.

blessings,

deedee

Shut up and Pray!

This quote came out of a discussion

in my Sunday School class

a couple of weeks ago.

Someone was trying to figure it all out,

to solve things and then said,

"You know, I'm just gonna shut up and pray!"

I loved it immediately and knew it

needed to be a sign.

Instead of figuring it all out.

Just,

Instead of wasting all that time worrying

and fretting,

think about the birds...

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Matthew 6:26

He takes care of them.

He'll take care of you.

Here's my son,

these baby chicks adopted him as

mom for a day.

He cares about baby chicks too.

Precious in His sight,

Incredibly so,

You are.

blessings,

deedee

The Journey Girls

I have been in a Bible study called "The Healing Journey," by Cyndy Sherwood.

It has definitely been a journey 

and I  have taken it with five other ladies.

On the last day of the study

one of the ladies mentioned praying for her

'journey girls.'

And an idea began in my little brain.

Here they are!

Aren't they so cute!

They are modeled after my 'journey girls' of course,

with lots of hidden messages in this collage.

Now, I am a beginner at this

art stuff,

so I'm not sure what to do with it

for all the ladies.

Or where to have it done,

t-shirts, mugs,

plaques.

Still thinking on how to share

it with 6 of us.

Here is another one I had to do some

technique practicing before I was ready

to put the journey girls on canvas.

I didn't even realize until they were

both done that they went together with the same 

message.

Healing.

He does long to heal us.  Love that.

I need to dwell in that today.

Got to looking at some

old photos and

had a weeping session.

Life hasn't been what

I had hoped and dreamed for.

Initially.

But it can be awesome.

Still.

In a new way.

It is actually,

but healing is a process.

No, 'okay all done, all fixed now.'

Moment by moment.

Finding the good.

The precious.

Cherishing it.

I am very thankful that

my journey girls have  helped me so much this year.

Do you have journey girls?

Friends who can help you through the

muck.

Rejoice with you in the yippees?

I hope so.

Maybe you can be that for someone else.

Friends in the journey.

blessings,

deedee

Today I choose to live in hope.

Hope
hang onto it,
never let it go.
Christ wants to give you
the desires of your heart.
It says so right there
in Psalm 20:8.


Wow.
Really?


That is amazing to ponder.


I've been playing in the newly tidied work area
in my garage.  Now that it is warmer,
I can take my paint
and wood
and mess, there's a lot of that
and not worry
that the kitchen is a wreck.
The kitchen gets to be a wreck
all by itself!


Here is a sampling of what I've been collaging 
(the dictionary tells me that's not spelled right.)
This is actually my practice board
for the piece I have in my
head, got to try those 
techniques and figure things out.
I'll post the one
that's in my head,
"The Journey Girls,"
when it gets more complete.


Live in hope,
deedee

Use your 'big girl words'

I work in preschool.

Yesterday 

another adult in the class said these words,

"use your big girl words,

crying isn't going to get you what you want!"

I had to write it down

and tell her I was

turning it into a sign.

Not only are they good words for young ladies 

learning to be friends,

but for grown up girls too.

My big girl words,

my voice,

it took some time for me

to find it again,

but I never want to forget to

use my 'big girl words'.

'Cause they are worth hearing.

You are a gift and using 

the voice God gave

you 

matters.

A sampling of my  journals

as I was finding

those words.

God has been faithful to me.

He has carried me.

I want to share

that with people.

To give hope.

You may be in rough circumstances.

Most of us have to go through

the valley,

but He is the one

who restores our soul.

Don't lose sight of what is

possible

in your life.

How God can use your story,

How He longs to 

hear you

and heal you.

"Be strong and courageous

for the Lord your God

is with you wherever you go."

Even if it starts with a little squeak,

deedee