SMALL JEWELS...

"Reminders of the flitting of butterflies, the hum of all the little winged people."

E. A. Bowles

Puppies up for adoption

The sun has come out and all are blossoming under her spell.

Tiny blooms are displayed in the sweetest of ways...

...and their colors and fragrance fill the air.

"There are few of us who cannot remember a front yard garden which seemed to us a very paradise in childhood."

Sarah Orne Jewett, 1881

The fairies have done their homework over the winter and are now making preparations for a glorious coming out party.

The garden is starting to wake up...

...the small jewels are beginning to sparkle and...

...although it seemed like a long time coming...

...the magic is on it's way and, again, will not disappoint.

"If a fairy godmother or a talking fish offered me three wishes I think one would be to have the clock stopped for six months toward the end of May."

E. A. Bowles, English garden writer

...Judy...

Hope everyone had a fabulous Mother's Day.

Sharing at:

What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life

CLOCHE ENCOUNTERS...

I'd like to thank Kris at Junk Chic Cottage

again for the feature in her Saturday Spotlight.  It was a wonderful experience and I appreciate all the hard work she puts into it.  I'd also like to thank all of you who responded with such kind and positive comments and to give a warm welcome to my newest friends.

A cloche is a very elegant way to display a cherished item.  It takes that item and raises it to a level of importance...

...or it can take an item of less importance, such as the lowly butter dish above, and by adding a treasured teacup and a couple of prized books, it becomes charming and significant.

Cloches were of great importance in the Victorian era.  Then, like now, there were fads and collections.  A well-heeled Victorian household would most likely have a presentation of flowers, made out of human hair or preserved birds or butterflies that all needed to be kept clean and free of dust.  The easiest and most decorative way to display these would be under the safety of glass.  Hence the cloche.  It was attractive and practical.

A.

B.

Cloches come in all shapes and sizes.  The two above are great examples...

A...Was a gift to me from my first boss in the business world.  He was on a trip to Paris and picked up the beautiful little bottle of Joy perfume. This was around the late 1950's.

B...When my mother's twin sister passed away, I was asked to pick out anything that I would like to have to remember her by.  I chose this elegant little cloche covered lady which was also a perfume bottle.  Her head is attached to a little dobber.

This beautiful and delicate doll was brought to me by my cousin when he came home from the Korean conflict.  She is around 60 years old and I was never allowed to play with her, to my chagrin back then, but many thanks to my mom and grandmother now.

In today's market cloches are often fashioned out of more than just glass...

...they are all just as special and elegant as the cloches of old but with a new and modern twist on the original design.

The first pair of baby shoes that my kids wore.

For those of you who may not have heard this story:  Back in the early 60's and before, keeping your children's baby shoes by bronzing them was all the rage.  You found an ad in a magazine and for a nominal fee you would send the shoes in and they came back to you preserved for life.  Of course, after the deed was done, I realized I'd made a horrible mistake so the only thing I could do was get out the old paint brush and bring them back to what they originally looked like.  The sad thing is that incredibly sweet softness was lost forever.

Happy Mother's Day to each and everyone of you. Tami is having her annual yard sale to benefit breast cancer, so I will be spending mine by the ocean.

...Judy...

Sharing today:

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

GOLD COUNTRY COTTAGE IS BEING FEATURED...

Today is a special day.

I am so excited...

Kris at Junk Chic Cottage is showcasing Gold Country Cottage on her feature, Saturday Spotlight: The Life Behind the Blogger

Kris is such a special and beautiful person and, if you don't know her already, she is one you don't want to miss.  You will fall in love with her blog and the style and grace in which she presents it.

Plan a visit to Junk Chic Cottage today and I hope you will enjoy reading and learning more about all of us who live at Gold Country Cottage.

Thank you, Kris, for this honor, and I hope you will accept these bouquets picked fresh from the Cottage garden and sent with my appreciation.

...Judy...

WATER - LOGGED...

We are becoming waterlogged once again, but rain isn't going to be the subject for today.

Today we are talking technology...

...phones to be exact...cell phones

Now, I'm not even sure they are called cell phones anymore, but back twenty or thirty years ago, when we purchased this one, that is what they were called.

This phone was just fine by me.  It served it's purpose well.  It was lucky it got turned on a couple of times a year when we went on vacation.  It hardly ever was turned on in the house and to this day I still don't know the phone number by heart.

One time while on the road, we saw what appeared to be a drunk driver. When I called 911 the operator asked me for my phone number and I had to hang up on her because I didn't know it. 

So now when I tell you that I am technically challenged, you will believe me!

The kids were always nagging us to replace the phone and come into this century but we held out.  That is until my lovely friends out in Blogland started posting their beautiful photos transformed by the app Waterlogue.

Well, I had to get one of those so that's when this little beauty came into our loves...

...my brand new beautiful little Smart phone.

I was so proud.  I picked it out myself and it was free.

The only problem is that the Waterlogue app doesn't work on this type of phone.

WHAT'S SO SMART ABOUT THAT?!!

To make a long and tearful story short...my SIL and grandson (I really would be lost without them) showed me that I had a program on the phone called SketchGuru.  It may not be quite the same as the Waterlogue app but it's pretty close and doesn't just do watercolors, it also does colored pencils and crayons and I'm really liking it.  It also takes some awesome pictures, some better than my camera.

This is a picture taken with the Smart phone.

The same picture transformed into a colored pencil sketch...

...a crayon sketch...

...a watercolor #1...

...a watercolor #2...

...watercolor #1...

...same doorway in colored pencil...

...a David Austin rose in watercolor #1...

...the actual rose taken with the Smart phone...

...the Cottage in living watercolor #1...

...a corner of the garden in the same...

... and the flag in a colored pencil sketch.

This is Jake and Jacenda taken with Jake's Iphone and using the Waterlogue app. I will admit there is a difference.  Waterlogue has a more intense color and watery look, but I'm not hating mine.

A corner in the sitting room that really wasn't set up for a pretty picture but I loved how it came out in the colored pencil sketch so decided to show it anyway.

This is my absolute favorite. Teddies turned into a colored pencil sketch. I think I will definitely frame this one.

Well, I guess this little phone was smarter than I thought and oh yeah, I think it might make phone calls too. I guess I'll have to try that!

...Judy...

This is called the 8bit. It reminds me of cross-stitch..

I'm sharing today with:

Seasonal Sunday at The Tablescaper