I'm all tucked away...

...for the season that is...
I probably won't be posting on this blog until Spring,
as I compile stuff for an open house
and figure out which direction to go with
A Secret Garden...
I have much to do still,
many plantings and paths to be created
in my world,
paths that will lead in all directions
like the four winds,
I'll explore them all
and pray for an early Spring...

So my rabbit hole is quiet as the snow,
only used for storage for the coming Spring...
so take a break and keep up with Sweet Repose,
as my heart never strays far from there.

See ya next year Alice(s)...

It is light that I seek...

And it is light that I got, thanks to my bestest buds
Theresa and Craigsmith...
I love it and I played in the shop all day...

Theresa also helped me move my heavy statue from the
back gardens to what will be the new gardens
at the entrance to the shop. She needs a little repair work,
but she's a beauty as is too!

Rearranging again, after taking loads of goodies to Sisters'
for her open house, then come Spring,
my shop will officially open and the fun will begin...

Sweet Annie will fill the fields behind the shop
and intrepid shoppers will be able to harvest at will.
I hope to get rows of lavender planted too for pick your own
lavender bouquets...mmmm...
can you smell it...

Another project in the works,
two end tables with drawers...hmmmm...
what shall I do???

Victorian Salvage...

As much as I love the crisp look of white,
I'm so drawn to dark fabrics and woods.
It's so romantic and Victorian, I feel like I'm in a
Merchant Ivory movie, perhaps listening to Jane Austen
recite words of an era of past elegance and
proper delicate beauty...

Makes me wonder what beautiful home this elegant piece came from,
was there an entire set, how many others survived...
well, this little jewel now has a home in my shop
at my secret garden, it will await the Spring
and the reopening of the season...
unless some intrepid wanderer
bids me to open my doors...
I shall...
you see, this is what it's all about...
the sharing of the prize!

A project du France...

First you take a cute lil' smoking stand,
who doesn't love them...

Then you take your favorite stencil
and slather on the joint compound with a wide plastic trowel...

Then remove stencil and let dry for 30 minutes...

First coat of paint...

Second coat of paint...

Then sand and distress. I don't go over the stenciled part
with sander, I just leave it alone.
You can put a poly finish on or leave as is,
which is what I do, 'cause I like the fingerprints and
grime of the ages...instant antiquity!!!

Add a little ironstone bowl of whatever
and your piece is good to go!

Autumn descends...a view from my kitchen...

I'll wrap things up for this season, as far as the
retail part of the shop goes, however, I'll be working out of the shop,
till it's just too cold or I find a heater that works,
but painting will again be done inside my house...
that is until Spring brings the signs of warmer climes
to our neck o the woods...
but that's many moons away...sigh...!

My secret garden rests under a blanket of Autumn,
sad to see it end!

From the beginning...

Completed and ready to move...

John's Sheds, where my dream will be completed...

My doors and windows awaiting construction...

Delivered... and the first coats of primer to seal my deal...

Totally painted white on the inside, with the floors a battleship gray...

The view from my kitchen window...ahhh...!

My work space, slowly being filled with the tools of my craft
and space configured for retail and studio still in the works...

Playing with window box designs...

Love this old door, she and I have history, she was the front door
to the first house I ever bought by myself...
the old house was torn down, as were all the homes on the block
for progress...sad...

Soaps that will be displayed in the Spring in the shop...

Every shop must have antlers...right!

and sunlit vignettes...

The completion of the arbor, which in the spring will harbor birdhouse gourds
like green drapery blowing in the breeze...

Interior magic...

Trellis and yard art toward the end of a season...

The blue skies of Autumn declare an end to my fantasy...
but perhaps Indian Summer will linger on...