all about Pretty!

Do you see the incredible gift of the ordinary?

God's handiwork shines in every little moment.  Sometimes we fly through life so fast we miss the pretty ordinary moments, gifts from God that just slip away unnoticed.  There is much so much ugly in the world, Lord help me to see your beauty & creativity and focus on the pretty.  Be attentive, look for the marvelous in the ordinary everyday.  Try writing down those average boring things in a new light.  By paying attention and giving thanks, the ordinary becomes the extraordinary!!!

Here's a few of mine...
-love the sweet sparrows that sing to me in the morning
-the magical speckles of dust floating in the rays of sunshine streaming through the window, yes God even created dust so it’s okay to have some
-the amazing grace & strength of the neighbour’s cat as he rushes over the 6ft fence
-the cheery sunshine bouncing off the sparkly snow
-the fresh, clean country air that I breathe
-the friendly smile of my neighbour as he shovels my sidewalk
-my peaceful winter garden with the secret hope of springtime
-the rustling sounds of the winter winds, making me feel cozy in my comfy lil home
-love waking to the gorgeous fragrance of a fresh bedside bouquet
-love sipping my dark roast coffee, snuggling up on the couch in my cozy housecoat reading my great new book first thing in the morning
-the beautiful fresh snowfall creating a winter wonderland right after you’ve spent hours shovelling all your walks
-the blue, blue vast sky without one cloud, the prettiest blue ever!
-the gracious beauty in the barren trees, Gods gift of fallen leaves so they aren’t blocking the sunshine we need more of in the winter, He thinks of every little detail!

The incredible gift of the ordinary! Glory comes streaming from the table of daily life.
~Macrina Wiederkehr~  A Tree Full of Angels (1988)

I love what Helen Keller had to say in her essay “Three Days to See”, here's a portion of it...

Perhaps this short outline of how I should spend three days of sight does not agree with the programme you would set for yourself if you knew that you were about to be stricken blind. I am, however, sure that if you actually faced that fate your eyes would open to things you had never seen before, storing up memories for the long night ahead. You would use your eyes as never before. Everything you saw would become dear to you. Your eyes would touch and embrace every object that came within your range of vision. Then, at last, you would really see, and a new world of beauty would open itself before you.

I who am blind can give one hint to those who see - one admonition to those who would make full use of the gift of sight: Use your eyes as if tomorrow you would be stricken blind. And the same method can be applied to other senses. Hear the music of voices, the song of a bird, the mighty strains of an orchestra, as if you would be stricken deaf to-morrow. Touch each object you want to touch as if tomorrow your tactile sense would fail. Smell the perfume of flowers, taste with relish each morsel, as if tomorrow you could never smell and taste again. Make the most of every sense; glory in all the facets of pleasure and beauty which the world reveals to you through the several means of contact which Nature provides. But of all the senses, I am sure that sight must be the most delightful.  ~Helen Keller~

Have a Pretty! day,

Laura

for pretty sake…

I don’t where I got this thinking from but I’ve always felt the need to create functional things only.  I’ve been trying really hard to step outside this box and just create for pretty sake!  In this era of being environmentally friendly it does make sense for things to be useful or have dual purpose.  Somewhere along that line of thinking I’ve lost my balance and forgot the magic of just plain pretty.  God the #1 creator has created many things just for the sake of pretty.  No, not the dumb blonde, but what about a field of wild flowers so high up in the mountains no one may ever see them with a fragrance that will never permeate anyone’s senses but His.  My thinking is slowly changing and I’m realizing that something pretty though it may not be what we would consider useful really is intrinsically useful because it touches our heart & soul.  

A great example is the doily, yes the doily.  Most modern day people (my friends) hate them & have no problems telling me. (although my friend’s husband did like his gift from me, great for his beer) 

Anyway the rest of them would never use them therefore they are useless, but to me, I just love them, can’t get enough of them, they warm my heart.  I imagine the precious time & daydreams that went into creating them. 

Yes, doilies are just pretty for pretty sake.

Have a Pretty! day,

Laura

Even though I’m working on this new mindset I'd still like to find some inventive & creative ways to use all my doilies, any suggestions?

Had a lovely surprise this morning that made my day.  Karla from Sugar Bear Designs designs sent me the You Make My Day Award. Karla I have to say you're the friendliest blogger I've met in the short month I've been doing this, you are truly most gracious. Thank you.

I couldn't decide so I'm passing this on to 2 great gals. I'd like to pass this award on to Heidi at Everyday Cookies.  Heidi, you've helped my confidence which has inspired me to keep trying on the creative side. Thanks so much for that inspiration, it made my dayI  And to Cindy who organized the first blog event I've tried & I loved it!  It was so fun, inspiring and really got my creative juices flowing again when I had been kind of shlumping along stagnant, thanks Cindy!

Update on Virtual Thrift Store

Hi All,

Just had to get creative with something from the Virtual Thrift Store Tour.  Was up till 1am last night working on the old cake pan I picked up.  I've actually been creatively blocked lately (battling all or nothing perfectionistic thinking) but heard some great advise and decided to dive in, go with the flow, create without thinking, now that's a thought!  It worked, I'm happy with how she turned out so I thought I'd share what can happen to a discarded little cake pan from the thrift store.  See there is hope !

Have a PRETTY! day,
Laura

ps... if anyone can help a poor gal out with how to post pics & text together and have it look lovely, not wonky, I'd be forever grateful.

Cindy's Fun Project - Virtual Thrift Store

Hi All,

Just a quick post as I'm behind in life right now. I was down for the count all last week with a flu bug and just getting back to life now.  Being sick I kind of cheated since I wasn't able to hit the thrift stores last week I posted pictures of some thrift store finds I had not even unpacked yet from last month.  I think this was 2 separate runs and both days I had a good haul.  I believe the total spent for all of this was about $34. As soon as I'm feeling on top of it again physically and catch up with work & home I hope to put these things to the creative challenge.

Thank you Cindy for this fun project!

~sorry for the wonky pictures & text, still learning how to post~

I love old metal things, some of these I'm not even sure what they are?

love these old craft magazines, most from the 50's but some from the 30's & 40's.  they have some cute ideas as well as great pics for collage.  I found so many I might post some for sale on my Etsy shop.

found a big bag of lace & paper, I love to use lace in my projects so my motto is you can never collect too much!

Have a PRETTY! day,
Laura

the little town I live in is so small we don't have a thrift store so I hit the bigger towns & cities like Lethbridge & Medicine Hat Alberta (Canada).  These I found at the Salvation Army, MCC Thrift Store and Bibles for Missions.

Happy New Year to all you cracked pots!

Being new to the blog world I was a big hesitant about how it all worked.  My first intention was to open an Etsy shop & blog, not realizing the reality of blogging but I’ve found out that it’s an amazing community with so many who have much in common.  The first night blogging I was hooked and was online till 4am looking at so many beautiful & inspiring blogs.  I was thrilled to have a peek into other creative minds & studios and was relieved to know I’m not the only one who has a basement full of vintage junque just waiting for the right idea to pop into my head and the transformation begins.  I love finding something really unattractive that was abandoned to the thrift store and re-design it for a totally different use or make it pretty! My resolution for the year is to get back into the studio and get working on projects again since I've kind of been on a break since my move last spring. It's about time.

So thank you all for encouragement, inspiration and such a warm welcome! 

I received the below email from a friend and it spoke to my heart so much I’d like to share it with you all.

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.
"I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."

The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?"

"That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them."

"For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.

Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting, rewarding and beautiful~!

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

SO, to all of my crackpot friends, you are beautiful, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

Have a pretty day!

Laura