love {is in the air}

 love

kindness

 friendship

  loyalty

 sweetness

dreams

heartfelt wishes

all of this valentine goodness

is available

at

bleu bird nest.

xo

spoiled & loved

Every night I light a candle in our bedroom to serve as a "night light". I love to wake up in the night and see light flickering around the room.  This morning I was up early to start on some chores and I forgot to blow out the candle when I got up.  A little bit later I went back into my room to get dressed for the day and my "original" dog {I call her that because she was the first}, shelby, had climbed back into bed after a quick trip outside. There she was, relaxing in my spot, next to the candle...just cooling out, enjoying the aromatherapy, and cleaning her little paws
{which,by the way, weren't any too dirty as
I had just given her a sudsy bath
yesterday}.

Little miss tiffany was in there too.      

   She spent some time sunbathing this afternoon.

So cute. And spoiled and loved. Just the way it should be!

circle of friends

One of the lessons of life for me is the importance, the necessity really, of friendship in my own little world. Life and work and expectations can beat you up; it is so comforting to find myself in the familiar rhythm of conversation and fellowship with those who know me well, with those who love me just as I am. When I get caught up in day to day living and breathing {and sometimes holding my breath}, I have a tendency to pull away and isolate. That seams to be my survival mode, I don't know why. And just then I am blessed when the lesson of friendship comes around again, reminding me to breath in & out and take in the beautiful fragrance of true friendship.

sharon, christine, mary, me, heidi

Just the other day I met four friends for lunch. We all know each other from our teaching careers; at one time we all taught at the same school. Through the years we have been there for each other through career changes, lay-offs, financial troubles, divorces, re-marriage, moves, our kids' adventures {such as getting married and starting or finishing college, or just growing up in general}, and changes good and bad, planned or unexpected.

And as we sat there enjoying fabulous food, laughter, memories, and wonderful conversation, I was reminded once again of the amazing bond we share.

Friendship comes around again.

Such fun.

that's what I like about you...

Here is what I love about etsy: you meet the nicest people. I've said it before, I love etsy because of the wonderful artists who offer such amazing products and the fact that these products are unique and are not mass produced. But I also love it because it is such a friendly place.  I have been selling lots of my Country Christmas NOeL Banners this season

and someone from Kansas saw them and contacted me to see if she could get one custom-made -- in orange ink and with the saying "We Still Do".  Now I didn't want to pry and ask what it was for, but in my mind I'm imagining an anniversary...anywho, I had a fun time making it for her and chatting back & forth about the details so I could make it just the way she wanted. I visited her blog and found out she is an amazing photographer too...the kind that takes those types of family portraits that make it look like each family featured is amazing and beautiful and fun as they

are standing out in a wheatfield in front of a rustic barn

or something. 

 I mailed her banner off today and thought, "isn't it nice that, even though we've never met in person, we touched each other's lives for just a moment in a lovely little way?"

xo

Sometimes when I watch the birds around this time of year I wonder if they feel the excitment of the holidays in the air...

these nests I've created are how I imagine those sweet birds would decorate their nests as they scurry around during this wintery, festive month.

joyeux noel to all!

 

xo

Christmas Goodies

This past week I've been busy working on lots of Christmas goodies for Bleu Bird Nest.

There are some new banners:

 one that reminds me of Sugar Plum Fairy goodness with all these beautiful colors...

and this sweet country Noel banner made from sewn vintage ledger pages.

I've also added new bird tags...

 this one is from an old vintage Christmas postcard I have...

and this one from an old French postcard.

And I made some lovely little birdie gift card pouches made from felt and vintage trims...

I had so much fun sewing these. The trims are all vintage and look so nice with the cream colored felt. I've had these trims for about a year and this seemed like the perfect project for them. Most of the trim is from Angela Harris, of Your Angil, who makes the most gorgeous trim tags.

Also added were some tags that feature darling little French girls getting ready for Christmas...

* * *

These tag packs include hand-dyed crinkly seam binding ribbon and a vintage ledger sheet tucked inside.  I love these

softer shades for Christmas.

What I'm loving right now about creating
is that I've had the luxury of some long quiet
afternoons in our new cottage, with my little dogs
by my side.
We are getting a new heater installed {tomorrow}
and haven't had any heat all fall
{except a space heater & roaring fires};
I've been bundled up in cozy sweaters
sipping lots of warm tea and creamy coffee
while the dogs lay by the little space heater
or spend an extra hour or two in bed!

{little 4 pound Sugar Bella all warm and snug in bed}


And I love that Etsy is full
of so many wonderful artists and shoppers
with an appreciation for hand made
goodness rather than the mass-produced
objects that seem to fill the stores
these days.
Loving also so many kind
comments from customers who
are so encouraging!

Hope you are enjoying these days
of preparing for the holidays
& that you find quiet time
to savor the goodness of the season.

xo



in stitches

This week I got out my sewing machine because I've been thinking about sewing some holiday crafty projects with felt...before I could get motivated for those, I decided to do a little stitching with paper and I had forgotten how fun it is.

I started with these holiday tags that I made from some vintage photo images. Just simple and sweet, with little holiday messages stitched to the images.  I was inspired to stitch up the package topper as well.

Today I had a package of tags to ship out, and instead of the usual paper topper, I decided to stitch that too.  I love how this comes out because it doesn't have to be perfect. In fact the inperfections seem to add to the charm.

Now I'm thinking about doing more stitching with paper and I have so many ideas swimming in my head!

can't wait to get started!