What I loved about May

As May draws to a close, here are a few of my favorite things... My new yarn wreath from Katie Runnels. This being my third one, I now have officially started a collection of these beauties!

End of year artwork from the kids preschool classes.

Lots of walks in the woods looking at spring wildflowers.

The Minnesota state flower, the showy lady's slipper.

New bright and happy vintage finds, just waiting to be filled with goodies:)

My favorite bowls ever from Anthropologie.

Finding these from rose and radish. What about you, what did you love in May?
And if you're looking for a fun challenge to get your June off to a creative start, check out Sara's "I saw Red" photography challenge that starts next week. Details here.

Finally, I added some more goodies to my etsy shop. It's all here.

Have a great weekend!

More treasures...

I found another vintage dress that is absolutely fabulous!! The other dress I shared just a few weeks back is already in it's permanent residence in Natasha's home in Australia. I know it will be happy there:) So here is my new find from the estate of G.B. Hill, one of Minnesota’s oldest families.Love this shade of pink!My treasure hunting also led to a little Victorian update in my etsy shop.

You'll find the good stuff HERE!!
I scanned a page of this gorgeous book below for the table of contents of my own book.

Summertime delight!

Hope you had a nice Memorial Day weekend!

Since summer seems to be just around the corner, I had some fun mixing some of my favorite things together to create these vintage ice cream parlor style signs. They include vintage ledger paper from the 1800's, flocked wallpaper, and vintage crepe paper. You can now find them in my etsy shop. Delish....

They remind me of these vintage signs I saw once at Hunt and Gather.

I was just there again recently and this is their current vintage ice cream/kitchen goodies display.

Have a great day!

Spring riot...

Now that spring really has arrived here in Minnesota (yea, I know...it's almost June...but in Minnesota is sometimes takes that long) we have seen a riot of color bursting forth from the crabapple trees this week. Accentuated by gorgeous blue skies and 70 degree weather. It was well worth the wait!

Cotton candy colored crabapple blossoms.Doesn't this tulip look like a strawberry sundae!

Saw this house on my way to an estate sale and thought it had such a retro vibe to it. The turquoise paint, bright pink tree in the front yard and shabby steps. Love it!
Found this old baby scale....

and loaded it up with vintage fabrics.

Hope you're taking some time this weekend to stop and smell the flowers:)

Friday collected...

(China paints collection in shadowbox)

Thank you for all the wonderful comments and gracious support of my class project. I will look into having an online class in the future and maybe some kits. I'll keep you posted. It is always wonderful to hear from those of you that read my blog and the fact that you find joy and inspiration here is truly a blessing. I'm so glad that you find things that you like here and continue to come back day after day. So without further ado, the winner of the inspiration pack giveaway is......

Stephanie (comment #72)!!!

Speaking of goodies, here is a fun pack that I got from Julie that she and Candice gave away at ArtFest. Isn't the mushroom on the ArtNest postcard fabulously retro!? LOVE the colors here!!

Julie's daughter drew these whimsical pictures for the stickers below. She is so talented. Check out her blog! She is off to art school in the fall.

I will leave you with some photos of the flowers that have burst into bloom around here lately. Absolutely gorgeous! Lowell on the trail through the spring marsh.Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Wild and Happy giveaway...

Wow, thank you so much for your patronage in my etsy shop yesterday....and always. I had so much fun putting everything together and glad that it had such a warm reception. I plan to update my shop more frequently, so check back often.

Today is a very exciting day, because general registration begins for the ZNE ConvenZioNE that I will be teaching at along with the most amazing instructors from August 22nd-24th in Pleasanton, California. Learn all about the three day long festivities in this YouTube video that Chel put together.

Just check out the workshop descriptions HERE....wow!! So excited to see my class (above) House of Inspiration as part of this wonderful event. If you sign up for my class, please let me know. I'd love to start up a little group to socialize and discuss before the event takes place. Can't wait to meet some of you!!!

So because I am absolutely wild and happy about all the enthusiasm that you all bring to my art I am also hosting a giveaway. In the spirit of my inspiration board class, I will draw a name on Friday morning to win a goodie bag of inspiration. Here is a peek and I'm sure I'll be adding more throughout the week. Please leave a comment on this post with an email to reach you at if you win.Thanks for everything!!!

The shop is stocked!

It's all there, folks. Lots of color, lots of fun! Including my newest edition (below) party in a box. See details here. Everything you'll ever need is included. I also will do custom orders for vintage parties of any theme. You all know how I love to hunt for one-of-a-kind supplies.

The shop is stocked....but it's going fast!

Check it ALL out here!!