Etsy Love : love and peas creations

Hello there! How’s your week going so far? Hope all the Mamas out there had a beautiful Mother’s Day! My dear hubby sent me up to Skamania Lodge for some alone time to recharge. So sweet! I came home on Sunday to warm hugs, handmade cards (by Grace), a bouquet of peonies (my fav) and veggie lasagna for dinner. Needless to say, I felt completely spoiled. I even got to complete a small mixed media painting – which I will share with you soon!

Today, I wanted to share with you a sweet little Etsy shop – loveandpeascreations – owned by artist, Jenny Blair. I just adore her stunning work! She combines mixed media illustrations with wonderful hand sewn elements. (Oh, how I wish I could sew!) The blend of paint, pencil, fabric and thread creates gorgeous texture and color. Have a look for yourself…

I’m in love with this bear. Go here to see the process of this piece on her blog.

I discovered her work through the latest Artful Blogging! What a delightful find! Go here to explore her website and view her full portfolio.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

xo,

Ivy

Grin & Bear it.

Hi there! How is your week going so far? We are getting so much sun here in Portland that I’m a bit giddy! It’s a little bizarre but I’ll take it!

Maybe it’s the extra Vitamin D but even my dreams have been stranger than usual. You see, I have recurring dreams with a bear in it. Yup. A big ole’ grizzly bear that I always see on the outskirts of a forest. He is always tromping through the trees on two feet appearing rather ferocious. He never actually gets me or even gets very close but the dream is alarming and always stays with me all day. This last time, I woke up from the dream and this thought entered my mind – “The bear represents change.”  It hit me like a bolt and thinking back I realized that I have my “bear dream” when lots of change is entering my life. All of a sudden both the changes and the bear seemed less frightening.  I decided to look up what a bear stands for in dreams and found that actually the bear can symbolize being brave, facing the world alone and encourages independence and strength in motherhood. Be the Mama Bear. Okay. I can do that.

To remind me of this, I just bought this print from Corella Designs on Etsy. The wonderful artist is Donna McKenizie. I love this big bear and I love that what at first seemed scary is now making me stronger.

Here are some more of her gorgeous illustrations.

Do you connect with a special animal or see one in your dreams? Maybe it’s trying to tell you something…

Have a wonderful Tuesday.

xo,

Ivy

Hello, Sydney.

{artwork via here}

Hi there my lovely readers!

Well, I have some exciting news to share with you today – we are leaving for Sydney, Australia on Thursday – yes, as in two days from now!! A last minute opportunity landed in our laps yesterday, when one of my hubby’s clients invited him to an executive retreat in Sydney. Well…as many of you know, that is my birthplace and there was NO way in hell that I wasn’t going with him. So we scrambled and made arrangements for my parents to fly in and take care of the girls! I’m in total shock!

I’ve gotten in touch with several of my childhood friends, so I hope to meet up with them and catch up! I haven’t been back since we left in 1994!! I was in the 11th grade. It was so hard to leave all my friends but at the time we kinda idolized America and I had fanciful notions of becoming a cheerleader, dating a quarterback and going to Prom! ha! Things didn’t quite pan out like that…

Anyway, I have always wanted to go back and visit so I feel incredibly grateful for this chance! I will be taking tons of photos and hope to post a bit while I’m there!

See you when I return from the land Down-Under…

xo,

Ivy

A Cup of Spring

Hi there friends!

How was your Easter? We had a fabulous time visiting the gorgeous Brasada Ranch in Central Oregon. I have so many pictures to share with you but they need to be processed, so while I’m working on all that, I wanted to show you some pretty pics of the recent teacup I found. She’s a real beauty and so perfect for Spring.

She is a lovely example of 1940′s lusterware by Royal Halsey and has a beautiful pearl like shimmer. The sweet clusters of rose blossoms go from petal pink to deep garnet and are paired perfectly with swirling gold embellishments.

She is in the shop now just waiting to be loved.

Hope you are enjoying all the beautiful blossoms of Spring!

xo,

Ivy

Etsy Love: Pastels

Hello lovelies! Hope your week is going well so far. I gathered up some pretty Etsy treats to get your excited for the approach of Spring. I adore Spring and pastel hues always remind me of all the beautiful flowers about to bloom and the soft sunlight peeking through the gray…

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6| 7 | 8 | 9

Go make a cup of tea and enjoy browsing these lovely shops.

xo,

Winter White Roses for you.

I’m stuck in bed, sick as a dog with the flu. So I won’t say much but I did manage to edit these photos today, so I thought I would share some winter white roses with you. Flowers always cheer me up…

I will be listing this sweet, vintage silver rose bowl in the store very soon!

I hope that you and your family are staying healthy!

xo,