a good lesson for today...

Happy Saturday!

love,

Theresa

xoxooxoxox

a new kind of art school...

I signed up for Jeanne Oliver's Creatively Made e-course

awhile ago, but with everything going on over here I didn't 

really have time to do more than glance at it.

Until the last couple of weeks when I realized that my time was about up 

and I better get busy!

I am so glad that I didn't miss my chance.

From the art lessons to the guest artist videos

and mostly the heartfelt conversations from Jeanne.

I felt like I could relate to so much of the insight from all of them.

The main idea that Jeanne shared in the course,

 is something that I have said to anyone that would listen...

in times that I could not create art, I felt that I was not complete.

I was not using one of the most important gifts that I was blessed with.

my creativity defines me in many ways.

(thankfully it trumps my ditziness!)

Thankfully those times of a lack of creating art in my life did not last long!

I didn't do this art lesson exactly the way it was taught, I have a difficult time not 

incorporating a vintage photo in my work.

That is the beauty of a class like this, nobody was expected to create

the same piece of work as their 'neighbor'.

Mine started with a layering of vintage papers, just as we were shown,

much like this bigger piece that I will be working on next...

but it was smaller and quite a bit of it was covered up with the photo.

As I searched the workroom for a frame that would work,

my eye was drawn to the stack of grain sack scraps, and I had

recently dug up this vintage metal embroidery hoop for Danielle and she didn't use it,

so there is sat on the table begging to be brought back to life!

add a rusty key and  what you see here is the end result of digging through the workroom!

Now what will I find to add to this one?

Stay tuned...

I would take this course all over again.

If you want to be inspired,

feel the freedom to find your voice,

learn a good many incredible tips, tricks, tools, and the many

ways for you explore new techniques for your art,

then the next time you see Jeanne offer an art class

jump right in!

Thank you Jeanne and all of the amazing artists who shared

themselves with us in this course!

love,

Theresa 

xoxoxooxoxo

linking to:

Transformation Thursday

Vintage Inspiration Friday

Feathered Nest Friday

a wish....

my wish for today...

to turn back time... just for a little while.

It's not that I want it to stand still,

it's not even that I don't want it to move forward.

I just want to see it all replayed again.

photo by Eric Kirby

Today is Cameron's 20th birthday and I swear,

this picture was just taken yesterday!

all grown up.

(I made this birthday candle girl a few years ago, when it is someone's

birthday she hangs from the large dining room chalkboard to wish a happy day to the b-day person!)

As I sit at the table soldering away,

I will be replaying all kinds of wonderful memories 

that Cam has given to me.

I am blessed.

love,

Theresa

xoxoxoxo

linking to:

White Wednesday

around the house...

Soooo, maybe spring really is here?

The sunshine we are getting is wonderful, and it has given me to push that I

needed to do some spring cleaning...

(and what's cleaning really, if you're not moving things around?)

I finally brought in the players bench that I bought 2 years ago.

It's way longer than the table but when we need it in a pinch, we move

the chairs to the other side and pull it up to the table.

(I love it so much that I may just need to find a bigger table!)

but honestly, the room is too small for that so I will just

have to keep it against the wall for now.

chalkboard love and the daffodil's that Hannah and Max have picked for me!

Of course, in my favorite new vase!  

I can't wait until the rest of the flowers bloom and they

bring in some peonies for these jars!

It seems time to put these away for now,

they feel too dark for all of the sunshine that's coming through the windows today.

I have been putting off raking the leaves from the gardens,

but this sunshine and 80 degree temps. has me rethinking that!

I'm just hoping that in typical Michigan fashion,

we don't get anymore snow!

Hope you are enjoying the same kind of sunshine that I am! 

love,

Theresa

xoxoxoxo

linking to:

 Transformation Thursday

Vintage Inspiration Friday

nesting...

Here in Michigan it feels like spring.

I am not fooled however, and am calling it 

"pretend" spring

it is only March after all and it could very well snow next week!

Never the less, it has been warm and sunny and that makes it feel like spring.

You know, the feeling that makes you want to rearrange your whole house,

clean all the windows, and redecorate?

a little fluffing of the nest, perhaps?

**Spring**

The birds have been singing their sweet songs,

but instead of rearranging, cleaning windows, and redecorating,

in honor of the birds

I made these...

I know, I know, it was a tough task to take ;)

(In my defense, I did manage to sweep down the cobwebs)

I know we've all seen these,

and I wanted one of my very own.

The one above with 5 fresh water pearls in it is just for me.

I made more to share though.

They are actually very therapeutic to make.

Weaving nests and thinking of the children who keep flying out of them.

Danielle was home for two weeks for some oral surgery.

She was told in Atlanta that she needed 4 root canals asap

and without any support system in place down there,

she came home to the mama bird to be cared for.

Her 4 root canals actually turned into one, with some other work to be done

so after all was said and done, I'm glad she got a second opinion!

The best part?

While she was home she hung out with the family most of the time

and took me to the Roller Derby again for my bday!

We had a great time!

In the picture above she was trying to teach me to take

a picture without my eyes disappearing,

but I couldn't stop laughing so it didn't work!

She was also here for Hannah's special dance.

She told Hannah that she could invite her friends over and she

would do their hair and make up.

That made 6 girls all together!

It was a crazy, fun, wild, house full of girls!

Danielle made them all feel special and they all were lucky

to have an in-house professional make them look like princesses!

(excuse the photo, my camera does not cooperate at night with low lighting)

I really wish this one would have turned out better.

This is another way we enjoy the warm weather of our "pretend" spring...

Duane, Max and Hannah play catch in the yard while I snap pictures.

Another tough job of mine :)

We have been on walks, bike rides, grilled out, played soccer, catch,  

hit tennis balls on the barn, and grilled out some more...

please, oh please don't let it snow.

I could get used to this early spring stuff!!!

For now, we are back down to two in the nest,

but this week John comes in for a week before he moves to NY.!

OH HAPPY DAY!

How is your nesting coming along?

I want to share a giveaway with you,

I know, that's just the sunshine making me extra nice ;)

Suzan over @ Old Grey Mare

is having a 8 away from 500 posts giveaway!

Rumor has it (one that she started btw)

that she is going to fill a couple of boxes with some 

fabulous prizes for 2 of her followers!

WOOHOO!

Head on over and put your name in the bucket!

love,

Theresa 

xoxoxoxo

linking to:

White Wednesday

Primp Your Stuff Wednesday

winner, winner, chicken dinner...

The title of this post should be...

a day late and a dollar short
(sorry)

This is a bit crazy, but I know that I wasn't seeing things when I said that

if I made it to 600 followers then I would

give away two necklaces...

or that my eyes weren't fooling me when I saw on my sidebar

that there were now 604 followers...

and I am sorry to say that in what appears to be one day,

I have lost 36 followers.

That makes me sad indeed,

 it's not that I haven't lost followers before.

I have and I understand, really I do.

I am not everyone's cup of tea.

clearly.

some of us prefer lemon zinger and others chai, while still others like a good earl grey...

I get that.

I have myself even stopped following a blog or two,

back when I thought we were limited to 300 blogs.

300!  Who can only follow 300 blogs?

geesh...

but losing 36 in one day?

I'm perplexed...

is it something I said?

anyway, there were 600 here just yesterday,

soooo true to my word,

there are two winners for my giveaway!

drawn by the resident name picker outer... Max!

drum roll please...

Josie of Josie's Vintage Treasures

and 

Suzan of Old Grey Mare

I can't wait to see what you girls send me to put into the pendant!

They are double sided so you could actually put something on the front and the back.

Thank you to everyone who joined in the giveaway!

Also thanks so much for your patience on me getting this out a day late,

I'm like a dog chasing my tail around here!

Happy Tuesday!

love,

Theresa

xoxooxoxo

it is Tuesday, right?

p.s. I thought I would show you a couple of the new necklaces I've been working on :)

last chance to throw your name in the giveaway hat!

I wanted to have a new post this past weekend, but things were pretty busy around here, 

so I am reposting this before I draw the winners name tonight!

t.xoxo

First things first...

I want to show off my gift of spring from a dear friend,

I will say right now that those beautiful hyacinths were put on the dresser

just for this shot and cannot stay there... why, you ask?

Meet Oliver.

Hannah found him on Halloween when he was just a tiny thing,

I will say that we were apprehensive,

we looked for the owner,

we actually ended up finding the owner after having him

for over a week.

(after we all fell in love with the little booger)

by the way,

this is how they make you fall in love with them.

Kittens are so adorable and then to top it off, he is a cuddler with a very loud purr.

So Hannah, Max, Oliver and I went to the home that we were

told he probably came from.

Imagine the scene... 2 very sad and crying 

children who know that, although they are doing the right thing

by taking the kitten to his owner,

are madly, deeply in love and are clutching him so tightly

that he is lucky to be alive today!

I will cut this short...

the sweetest 5th grade boy who Oliver belonged to,

had 4 other kittens in the garage and

gave sobbing Max a hug and told him he could keep

Oliver because he could see how much they loved him.

Now I was crying.

What a generous thing to do.

Jazz took the longest to welcome him to her domain,

and still pretty much pretends he doesn't exist...

but he even managed to weasel his way onto her beloved pillow!

O.k., back to the real reason for this post...

It's giveaway time!!!

(this pendant has a snippet of a doily that my Bushie made many years ago)

I am going to give one of my followers a custom

pendant necklace.

from my new line in the shop called

snippets of life

I will put a snippet of your treasured item between two pieces of thick glass and using lead free solder, I will preserve your families cherished memories for you.

I have different sizes and shapes of glass to choose from with a necklace made from glass seed beads or a key chain.
A piece of fabric, grandmas apron, grandpas tie, a scrap of the napkin from your first date, a button, a photo, a favorite quote, the possibilities are vast... double sided.

(stolen right from my site's description)

so, you can choose a necklace, key fob, or even one of these bracelets 

with a pendant hanging from it!

Hannah and I were at Forever 21 looking for a dress for her big dance, 

when I stumbled on the super cheap belts.

Skinny, cheap perfect for the bracelet that I had wanted to make for a while now!

Cut the belt to size, poke a new hole or two in it

with a nail... yeah I'm super high tech over here...

not.

I added a large jump ring to one of my pendants and

strung it onto the belt ~

Waa Laa!

I did find a really great tutorial with detailed instructions

but I knew I wasn't going to go out and purchase

a rivet maker thingy

so a belt was the easy choice.

edit... I just found the great tutorial and wanted to give credit to

Flamingo Toes

and now you can go and check her step by step pics out!

no hand model available so this is the best I could do for this shot :)

Then a few days later, while I was out running errands,

the car automatically pulled into the thrift store parking lot

and I figured since I was already here I might as well go in :)

Low and Behold, they had even cheaper skinny belts!

So I made one in red, and I have a couple of good 

distressed brown ones waiting in the wings!

So here's where you come in...

let me know in a comment what you would like me to put in your pendant,

Do you have a snippet of your mom's favorite dress,

or maybe a cherished photo,

or a special medal that you won in 4-h

that you want dangling from your neck?

here's your chance!

These can be double sided, so maybe a special photo on the front,

and a quote or scrap of fabric on the back!

Oh wait, one more thing!

I am at 599 followers,

if I reach 600 during this birthday giveaway

I will pick 2 winners!

you know the drill...

1.  this giveaway is for all of my wonderful followers

so if you aren't one yet

jump on board!

2.  let me know in your comment what memory you would

want preserved under glass.

3.  for one more chance,

"like" my facebook page ~ The Old White House

There you go!

easy peasy, right?

I will pick the winner on Monday 3/12/12

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you

who stop by and let me ramble on and on at you,

and leave me the best comments!

Plus, like I said a couple of posts ago,

what's a birthday party without a goody bag or two?

love,

Theresa 

xoxoxoxooxo

linking to:

White Wednesday

Primp Your Stuff Wednesday

Share the Love Wednesday

inspired...

I played with another bracelet design yesterday,

the first one is always the prototype.

This is not my original design...

I was inspired by a feature in 

Jewelry Affaire Magazine

my take on it includes grey fresh water pearls, a few vintage costume beads

from an old bracelet, a disco ball and a St. Therese medal

along with some bling on the silver fork handle.

The extra chain is something a local and very talented friend taught me during one of our play dates,

it rests snug on my wrist so that the pearls can dangle a bit.

She is also the girl responsible for teaching me her technique for rosary beading!

Thank you Jill!

(you really need a blog so everyone can see how talented you are. xoxo)

I looked for this magazine when it first came out because it featured

my good friend

Melinda of Alabaster Rose Designs

and her feature is AMAZING!!!

She is such a gifted artist and her jewelry in this feature is gorgeous as always!

but alas, I did not buy it I just oogled it in the store.

(again, hoping that security camera did not catch the crazy lady

getting all giddy for her friends success!)

I figured I would go back when I had a little extra money,

then when I went back they were sold out!

I went to all of the bookstores and craft stores in the area and no luck :(

So I turned to ebay and thankfully I was able to get a copy

at a discount so with shipping it cost the same as in the store.

This is the one of the many pages from the magazine that  inspired me.

Thank you Susan Chesley for the tutorial and the inspiration!

A special medal for mine...

The dremel is still out and ready for more action today!

The silverware drawer needs to be lightened up a little anyway :)

If you haven't entered my snippets of life giveaway, 

click on the photo below to take you to the post...

ht

Thanks for stopping by!

love,

Theresa

xoxoxoxo

linking to:

Transformation Thursday

Vintage Inspiration Friday

red cross necklace - 100% of sale to RED CROSS

Photo: Niccolo Ubalducci

On Friday while I was in the comfort of my home, with my family, enjoying my birthday

others were doing all that they could to save theirs.

Their home, their families, their pets, their lives.

We've all seen the destruction of the deadly tornadoes on the news, 

but when I googled images for this post it was

so heart wrenching.  

Photo after photo of loss and helplessness.

I can't even begin to know how these people are feeling right now.

I need to help.

The first thing that comes to mind for me 

is to offer a donation to the Red Cross.

In honor of them, I think that this necklace is the perfect

sale for that donation.

(sold)

edit... Why do I love Blogland?

The most kind and generous people live here!

Thank you Danielle! xoxooxoxo

100% of the sale of this necklace will go to the

American Red Cross

to aid in the care of the tornado victims.

free shipping.

and my love.

The Old White House

click on the link above to take you directly to the link for the necklace.

I am also donating 20% of the sales for this week

from my shop.

I know it is just a drop in the bucket compared to what they need...

but every drop fills the bucket.

I am doing my research for other ways to donate items locally as well.

I just know that I have clothes, blankets, coats, household items, and other items that they can use,

and there is usually a local church or two that are gathering items for disaster victims.

Knowing that I can't go there personally, I am searching for ways to be of some help.

If anyone has other ideas, I am all ears!

Thank you!

love,

Theresa

xoxoooxoxo

stay tuned, a giveaway is just around the corner...

I have turned another year older recently 

(you did see the announcement on tv, right?

well ,what's a birthday without

a goody bag or two?

I'm thinking a necklace for one of my wonderful followers...

A custom necklace perhaps?  

One made just for you, with a family photo,

a snippet from grandma's apron or grandpa's tie, maybe?

Maybe you have a trophy medal like this one

that holds a special memory for you...

I will be sharing details as the week goes on,

so stay tuned!

Thanks everyone for stopping by and for the wonderful comments...

you always say the nicest things to bring a smile to my face

and a dance to my step!

Have a fabulous Sunday!

Theresa

xoxoxoxo