Will you be my Gnomie for Valentines?

 Hi friends!  I can't believe I'm doing this again, but here I am!  After last year life has shown me not to neglect doing the things that I love.  I am absolutely sure 2020 has shown many of us that life is so short but more importantly so precious.  I am blessed to have many hobbies which helped ease the transition of social distancing.  I don't know what I'd have done if I didn't have hobbies to keep me occupied.  Blogging is one those hobbies I have missed, so here I am, once again.

Last year I found myself combing through many blogs I used to follow.  With everything going on in our world I wanted to find things that were pleasing to look at as well as inspirational.  I realized I am very fortunate that I am able to daily create a beautiful environment for myself, my family, and my friends to enjoy.  So it was with that focus that I decided to share my home, my embroidery, my tablescapes, my seasonal decor, crafts, gardening and all the enjoyable things in my world with others once again.   I don't have an endless budget, or a designer home but I do have a desire to create something enjoyable to see.  So with that said, I hope you will enjoy coming here again if you are an old follower or consider following along if your new to my blog. 

 Welcome everyone, to The Decorative Dreamer!

I love seasonal decorating!  Do you?  If you do, will you be my Gnomie?  LOL!  

I made this little dishtowel last year.  I am especially proud of this design as it is one of my very own.  I personally digitized the gnome design with the heart balloons, ect.  Every bit of that is design is my own work, with the exception of the font. The lettering is a purchased font I own.  Digitizing is another one of my favorite passions now as it has allowed me to be creative in a whole new way. 

Have you noticed a trend with decorating with Gnomes for Valentines?  I sure have! 

I got on board with the gnome trend last year when I found the kissing gnomes applique design and knew it would be perfect for a sweet little pillow.  I added the wording to make it even more fun.  This year, I added to my gnomes after finding this design for a stuffed gnome. She was fun to make but not so fun to stuff with those skinny legs.

She is sitting here on the shelves in my kitchen.  I have pretty much limited my Valentines decor to the kitchen.  Its one of those holidays I tend to do more groupings with either one location, or only a few items here and there.  This year I focused on the kitchen sitting area.  It's so fun to see this every morning and brings a smile to my heart. 

When I first set up my shelves I just had the hearts hanging there without anything on them.  One morning I looked at the shelves and thought now wouldn't that be cute to have mine and my husbands initials on them with arrows pointing at each other.  Sooo, I made some decals with my silhouette machine and put them on there.  Isn't that so sweet?  I think so!

 

Can you tell how much I love personalized decorating?  I made sure they were placed centerstage to the rest of the valentines decor on my shelves.   Also centerstage are the cute little Pioneer Woman salt and pepper shakers that remind me of my dogs.  Even though these are meant to be labs they really, really, look like my two Cavachons to me.

Speaking of Pioneer Woman products.  I decided to pull out the first pattern of dishware that I bought of hers and the matching accessories pieces.  I thought they had enough red on them to to work well for Valentines decor.  

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little tour of my kitchen sitting are all decked out for Valentines.  I'm so glad to be back sharing and recording the pretties in my life.  If you enjoyed your visit please feel free to drop me a comment if you wish.  I'd love to hear about what you are doing for Valentines as well. Otherwise, thank you for stopping by, please drop in again sometime.  

Have a beautiful day!

Mary

I am joining these fun and beautiful beautiful blog parties;

Sundays on Silverado

My Very first Homemade Doll

 Hi friends!  This post is to share my very first doll that I made for a very special little girl.   What makes this little girl so special to me is that she is the grand daughter of my late best friend who was born just after my friend passed away in 2019.  I feel very blessed to be able to still connect with her even though it's been far too limited in 2020 due to this horrible pandemic.  I finished this doll just in the nick of time for her very 1st birthday.  What a joy to be able to deliver this little cutie to another adorable cutie!

My doll making began when I found a pattern online that I could use to make the doll on my embroidery machine.  After searching locally I found this material at Hobby Lobby for the skin.  I liked the way it had a texture as well.  

After carefully following the instructions for a doll with sewn in limbs, (arms and legs) the doll was read for stuffing.  I got to choose the face from several designs.  I am in love with this face!  Just look at those adorable eyes!

The pattern I used had the option for a doll joint for the head that I chose to use.  I didn't realize at the time that I should have waited to stuff the body and the head after I had the doll joint in place.  I had to wait for some time for my ordered doll joints to arrive and thought I was being ahead of the game by prestuffing the head and body.  I knew not to sew it together yet so I could insert the joints but I hadn't thought so far ahead to realize I couldn't get the joints in with the stuffing inside.  So I had to unstuff them again.  Ugh, lessons learned right?

Another fun adventure on my first doll was finding different types of fur to use for the hair.  I first purchased a few different fur types from Hobby Lobby but they were shorter lengths.  After seeing how big my doll was I knew I had to get some longer fur.  I found a great little shop on Etsy after reading about them in a Facebook group.  I decided to let Mom and Dad decide the color of the baby dolls hair.  They chose blonde after deciding it might be the closest match to their daughters hair.

At long last the neck joints came in and I was able to complete the doll.  Isn't she just too cute?

I was able to find this adorable little outfit for her at Walmart.  The size of the outfit is for a newborn.  There are different sizes you can use to make the doll.  This was the next to largest size.  It might be a bit big for a one year old but its big enough for her to grow with. 

And finally I was able to deliver the doll just before her first birthday.  I received a photo tag later with these photos of her loving on her new baby.  Isn't that just the sweetest?  I think so!

This makes my heart smile!  What a joy!

I'm not so inclined at this time to start selling homemade dolls as there is so much involved with compliance laws that I would need to sort out even though I was very careful to make sure everything I used for this one was safe.  I can see making a few more gifts though, as this was such a fun and enjoyable project.  This one especially because it was the very first one made with love!

Mary

A sampling of my earliest Embroidery creations

Hi followers!   This page was updated to share one of my passions, the love of embroidery and sewing.  My blog will share tablescaping, seasonal decorating and my embroidery and sewing projects.  Much of what I do is on a more personalized, homemade and decorative style.  Here's a little sampling of some of my earlier embroidery projects, it's a peek at what you'll get to see on the embroidery side, as I reopen the blog and jump back in to share my life passions.

  My love for Embroidery has allowed my creative spirit to flourish and I cannot wait to show you what I have been up to over the last few years. 

Lets start the Fall decorating shall we? Still Tweaking!...

Hi Yall!  Labor day has passed and I have finally allowed myself to begin decorating for fall.  I've actually been really wanting to get started for a while now but I've been holding back because well, it's still just so very warm here in the south.

I love the warm rich deep colors of fall!  I have been so pleased over the last few years how well, the browns, oranges, and plums of fall accent the teal I have throughout my home.  Its so fun to see the warmth just begin to spread so smoothly with the cool hues of teal and grey. 

I recently picked up two handmade pottery pieces for a steal at one of my favorite consignment resale stores, called Almost Antiques.   I have to say it's bittersweet because they are going out of business.  Not just the booth but the whole store.  This store was where I once also had a booth of my own.  I really did enjoy having a booth and often kick around the idea of doing another one someday. I guess I will have to find another location if I do though.  

 These two beautiful pieces were actually for sale in the very booth (space) I had vacated several years ago.  They were in a booth full of beautiful handcrafted items such as handmade pottery, afghans, pillows and such.  I will share those later.  When I first spotted the small pitcher, I knew it was coming home with me.  Then when I saw the small plum and teal jar and I decided immediately that I would use them together for my fall decorating this year.  I even knew immediately where they would display.  I've plopped a few orange flowers in with some glittery copper apple looking ball thingys, and that was all the color needed for this space.  

I then decided to play on the copper a little more and swapped out my trio of white candlesticks for this sparkly beaded pair of candlesticks.  I went back and forth a bit trying to decide if I wanted to use candlesticks or fat candles in them.  Finally the fat candles won out.

Then my pretty little glass pumpkins found their spot this year.   I don't know about you but I can honestly say I've had a very hard time not buying more fall decor this year.   There are so many new adorable pieces out that I am seeing and would love to use.  But, I am being very good and waiting until I pull out what I already own first to see what all I have.  This may be a good year to purge some of the old before adding any new.  These glass pumpkins are definitely on the keeper list though!  I know you cannot really tell in these phone photos but I am just loving the reflections of light off all these pieces.  They are all so sparkly and shiny!

It's just a small start, for sure.  I know it doesn't come close to what I am seeing everywhere already, but it's just enough to get me in the mood.  So whoohoo, let the fall decorating begin!

Ahh, well isn't it funny how just a few hours can change your mind.  Yep, I had to do it.  The plain little orange flowers were just not cutting it.  I still need to find a better floral arrangement but I pulled this one out to see if I would like it better.  Umm, yea but it still needed more so I added the little orange flowers again.  Well, it's a little better.

Let's just say I'm still tweaking for now....geez!  

Sharing today with the following:

Inspire Me Tuesday
Metamorphosis Monday

Thanks so much for stopping by today, hope you enjoyed your visit!

Mary

A Puppy Changes Everything!

Hi All!  Last time I blogged I was all excited to be back on Blogger and ready to dive right back in.  Obviously, that didn't quite happen.  I recently read a blog post from someone I enjoy tremendously that reminded me how to find my joy in blogging again.  I think I may have lost it until I was reminded that just simply being "in the moment" was blog worthy.  You see, I've kinda been caught up in the idea of needing to have something "decorative" to share.  It's not that I don't have anything decorative to share just not a lot of new things, new remodels, new tablescapes, or this or that.  I have made a few changes around the house since I last blogged but nothing I've felt really blog worthy compared to what I see some of my favorite blogs sharing.  Sooo I decided better to not blog at all.  I know it's sad, but yes sometimes I do get caught up in comparisons and feel unworthy.  I am so grateful to be reminded that I do have something to share even if it's not the latest and greatest.  I know I will enjoy looking back at this post as time goes by and remember the moment as one of great joy.

In my last post I mentioned I worked on a few changes in the kitchen, well I certainly did.  This post will not show you those changes but it will show you one big change and here it is.

 I've had a little rearranging to do, because we added another member to our family.  One that required a little "safe space" of his own.

This little one whose name is Skipper will soon be 4 months old on August 2nd.  I cannot believe how much he has grown since we got him on May 25th.   Please pardon the scruffy look but he has yet to have his first haircut.

 He is the same breed as my first dog love, Maizey, a Cavachon which is a cross between a Bichon and a King Charles Cavalier.  I won't go back and share younger puppy photos with you because today I'm sharing where we are right now.  We are in the moment.

My beautiful new traditional style reclining sofa that I fretted over choosing the right style and color is now covered in a quilt for protection from those sharp little puppy teeth.  I hate the sloppy look here but I'd hate to loose this sofa even more.  I won't lie, I am counting the months.

The new accent chair I was hoping to add to the den this year has been put on hold.  I just cannot stress myself with adding new furniture until this puppy outgrows the teething stage.  My first Cavachon chewed up so much furniture, I've vowed that will not happen again.  Luckily this one seems to enjoy tearing up all the existing puppy toys almost as much as the furniture.  We are living in a constant state of puppy toys everywhere all over the house.  If I pick them up and pile them all back into the toy basket (which will also need replacing from chewing) he is right there, immediately pulling them right back out.  Such a stinker!

This is just one of three baby puppy gates that have gone back up again.  I've blocked off the foyer and dining room to keep this little one from venturing upstairs or gnawing on my dining room furniture.

I look forward to the day when these items go back in cabinet for good again.  Thank goodness for Amazon for making these expensive must have items so much more affordable.

As adorable as this little one is, the reality is he has turned our quiet home life upside down.  I knew this would happen and I struggled with did I have it in me to go through the puppy stage again.  I still have days when I keep thinking, why did I do this? I know why I did but I have yet to see the rewards I was hoping for. I know they are coming, I just wish it would happen soon.  The joys of companionship I was hoping for is slow coming, not for us, but for our other Cavachon.

More often then not this is the extent of their interaction.  Maizey has yet to actually play with Skipper unless you call taking toys back and forth from each playing.   Skipper wants nothing more then to play with Maizey.  Unfortunately his idea of play is nipping, tugging on her ears and climbing on her back.  She tolerates him only occassionally and then retreats to the bedroom or sofa near me.  I feel so sorry for Maizey and Skipper both but keep reminding myself that all will be well with time.  Correction, I pray all will be well with time!

I have some hope I cling to.  Because occasionally and I do mean occasionally they will sit peacefully together just long enough for me to enjoy the possibilities or to grab my camera and take a snapshot.  Please ignore the ugly outdoor cushions on this loveseat.  That's another replacement down the road.  Again, after the teething phase.

I do have much hope for these two after seeing their interaction last week on our vacation.   I know I must be insane to take a puppy on vacay, but I did.   I felt we were making great progress and maybe we did.  I so want to be the happy people in the picture below all day and everyday.

But we need more time..... and a lower bed which we are getting.  This one is so very high off the ground and Skipper has figured out how to get up here. I myself have a step I use to get in and Maizey has a bench at the foot of the bed she uses.   I can't get rid of the bench in front of the bed because then it will leave Maizey stranded an unable to come and go as she pleases.  So our solution is to get a lower bed so when Skipper jumps upon it he will not break his neck jumping off. We are starting with a metal bed frame only for now, I'm sure I don't need to tell you why.   Poor Maizey! Little does she know her safe space is about to change.  

Who would have thought one little creature could turn a whole house upside down?

But gosh, he's so stinking cute while doing it!

We love you Skipper!

Thanks for popping by today, that's my moment.  I hope you enjoyed it.

Hugs and Waves,

Mary

  

Decorating with Measuring Spoons

Hi Again!  I love when you finally make the time to tweak those little things you've been meaning to get done, don't you?  If your like me you sometimes put them off thinking, "oh, that's just a small thing that won't take long so I'll do it later.  And I'm sure I don't have to tell you those little things can add up pretty quick.  So, I've been on a bit of mission to focus on getting the little things done.  I call it tweaking!

I had this wonderful, Family Prayers sign my son gave me for Christmas.  As much as I loved it, and I really do, I just wasn't sure where I wanted to put it until I started tweaking the kitchen.  After I started making a few changes I decided this was the perfect spot for it but there was only one problem.

As wonderful as the sign is, it didn't come that way.  It came with the clips shown above.  Sorry, I am a slacker and didn't take a before picture of the sign with these clips but trust me they were on there.  I think it was most likely the clips that were throwing me for a loop. You see, I had no clue what to do with a sign with clips.  I tried, I really did try to think of how it would fit in somewhere.  But it just didn't.

After deciding I wanted the sign here in the kitchen I sat down determined to remove the clips and just put the screws back in the predrilled holes.  As I removed the clips I remembered I had a box of these small hooks in my kitchen drawer.  I have these hooks on several places of my cabinets to hang coffee mugs and always keep extras on hand.  I was quite thrilled to find my hooks fit the screw holes perfectly and just like that my new sign had hooks.  It didn't take me long after that to figure out what I wanted to hang on those hooks either.  I am missing my regular measuring spoons in this picture because, well, they were in the dishwasher at the time.  I know shame on me for not setting up my props better.  LOL!

Once the sign was hung and designated a holder for measuring spoons I decided I needed a few more decorative ones.  I already had the heart shaped set but wanted something a little more fancier too.  Would you believe after all those years working in retail that I have never bought myself any of those pretty metal measuring spoon sets that come in all sorts of patterns?  I've restocked them more times then I care to remember but never bought any for myself.  I guess I just never wanted to spend the money on them, even with my discounts.  Anyway, I really did want something a little more decorative here now.  Thanks to Pioneer Woman, I found just what I wanted at Walmart.  Aren't these just wonderful?  The metal is really nice and thick too y'all.  These are very sturdy and so pretty.  I love them!  I still have room for one more decorative set.  I've decided I will just wait to see what I find "someday" for that set.  I know one thing, it will be definitely be a set that has to hit me just right and will be fun to be on the lookout for.

Before you go, I have one more final tweak to share.   Do you remember my last post when I shared the sideboard in the den and all the tweaks I did with it?  Well, if you don't remember just jump back or keep scrolling when your done reading this post and you'll see.  

Anyway, I had shared where it was staying and the few tweaks I did and how I wanted to also find a new runner.  Guess what?  Yes mams, I did!  I found just the runner I was looking for.  Its so pretty so see a beautiful pop of color now on this sideboard in my den and it was a perfect match to the rest of the teal in this room.  Love when an idea becomes a vision, don't you?

That's all I got for today, but I'm still tweaking away here.  So come back again another day and check out the latest if you like.  Have a great week dreamer friends!

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Sending waves,

Mary