Wordless Wednesday... Fun with PicMonkey

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(altered with PicMonkey)

I feel so blessed...

Lyn, I will be writing to you, but I wanted to thank you immediately for the stunning tag you created and sent to me. I agree, this image is just beautiful - so serene... And the lace trim, rhinestone design, flowers, and silk ribbon you added are just perfect....

As you know, I love my Blessed Virgin Mary statues, busts, and planters, and your tag is such a beautiful addition to my collection.

Not only that, this tag arrived just when I needed a little lift. It's been very stressful to see all the changes my dad has been going through lately, and your sweet gift could not have arrived at a more perfect time.

Thank you so very much... I feel so blessed.

Donna

Sweet Serenity ... my growing collection

My collection of Madonna statues began with a wall hanging of Mary that belonged to my mother.

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It hangs in my studio office along with this beautiful cross swag that I purchased from the lovely Lori at Katie's Rose Cottage a few years ago.


Over the years my Madonna collection has grown to include planters and statues found at second-hand stores. The one thing they all have in common is the sweet facial expressions... a sense of calm, of knowledge, of wisdom. I love how each artist or sculptor uses their own distinctive style to capture that sweet serenity...


My most recent thrift store find...



There are chips on baby Jesus' hand and on Mary's nose... Neither detract from the beauty of this statue.

Amanda saw this planter in a consignment store last year and bought it for me, knowing I would cherish it. I do.

The gold is worn along the edges of her veil in one area... I wonder if someone rubbed a finger along it while saying a daily prayer.

Chips on the halo add to the character and charm of this statue, found in a New Hampshire second hand store a couple of years ago.

One of my all-time favorite movies is "Under the Tuscan Sun," starring Diane Lane as Frances Mayes. At one point, after moving to Italy, Frances talks about her relationship with Mary. I love that piece of dialogue:

"Signor Martini wants me to have faith. Something I've never been good at, and now I'm even worse at. Not that I don't want faith. I'm jealous of the believers. But as a fallen-away Methodist, I do not expect to emerge from all of this a Catholic, although I admit some interior juggling is going on. To my surprise, I have become friendly with Mary. It started the night she stood by me through the storm, knowing full well I'm not a Catholic. Yet, somehow, she seems more like Mary, my favorite aunt, than Santa Maria. Aunt Mary is everywhere here, her calm presence assuring us that all things will go on as they have before."

Mmmm... a calm presence... That's how I feel about my little collection of "Mary's, Aunt Mary's, Santa Maria's, Madonna's" ... they are, indeed, a calm presence.

Happy Monday, everyone! And thank you ALL for the wonderful birthday wishes for Courtney!!!

Donna

Office bookcase...

I've spent some time organizing my home office this past week, including the top of my bookcase... Some photos were taken today, some last night (the lighting difference between day and night photos is amazing!)...

The bookcase itself is a $5 junktique find (the shelves are packed with books and 'stuff,' so I'll spare you looking at my stash and just show you the top!)... I fell in love with this etched mirror at Target several years ago, so of course it came home with me; the beautiful beaded "Create" sign hanging on the mirror is from Lori at Katie's Rose Cottage (I love everything in her shop!!)...


This mug, embossed with roses, was made by Amanda in a high school pottery class... she realized too late that the handle was put on upside down but, to me, that makes it all the more charming! I also love the intricate pattern on the tall table lamps, a vintage store find at $15 for the pair, including the shades!!


I have a favorite photo of my mom, along with a pair of white birds (which are actually napkin rings)... I bought the two flower prints from a catalogue (the flowers looked blue in the catalogue). When I received them, they were purple rather than "cottage blue," but I still love them...


I've had this scalloped table runner forever! For the longest time I used it in the dining room, but I really like it on the bookcase... Like so many of you, I'm always moving things around and using them in different places around the house...


Here's a "bird's eye" view so you can see the eye on the lid of the tall blue jar, which I think is so neat!! (Another high school pottery piece made by Amanda)


This is the ceramic Mary I found (from this post), sitting on top of a beautiful hand-painted, repurposed cigar box that Amanda bought for me at a lovely Cape Cod shop. The vanity tray used to be shiny gold, but I thought I'd like it better pink, so I painted over the gold... Ahhhh, so much better :)

Donna

A Thrifty Day Indeed!

I had such a fun afternoon visiting several thrift/ junktique/ antique stores along the New Hampshire/Massachusetts border, and boy did I score some goodies! I'll share some with you now, and some in future posts. This barn (actually two 2-story barns) had wonderful things, but most of it was big furniture, and my little home is already filled to capacity with furniture. But take a peek inside...

I love cats and dogs, so this framed print immediately caught my eye (not to mention that it's all my favorite colors!). It was hard to read the tag, but I think it said $40, and since I don't have any wall space left to hang pictures, I couldn't justify spending that much...

But then, a few towns away in another shop, I spotted this... I know I just finished saying that I have nowhere to hang another picture, but this is an original 10"x14" painting of roses on canvas just oozing cottage charm! And - are you ready for this?... the tag said $2.50 - an absolute steal! There was no way I was walking out of the store without it! (You better believe I'll find a place to hang it or prop it!)

At the same shop, I spotted this beautiful little statue of Mary with a price tag of $1.50. I know nothing about it... any writing on the gold tag on the back has long since worn off... MLC 23 is etched on the bottom. The halo has some nicks along the edges, but I knew she had to come home with me to keep my other Mary company...

Below is the Mary that belonged to my mom. I have no idea how old she is, but my guess is that my mom bought her in the 50's or 60's. She hangs on the wall in my office. The beautiful necklace of glittery silver crosses is from Katie's Rose Cottage. I've purchased so many items from Lori and I am always so thrilled with everything!

So that's it for this post. I'll save some of my other junktique buys for another post, but here's a little two word hint about one of them... white birds! (Big surprise, right?)...

Donna