once upon a time in an art gallery...

When my hubby and I dated, I worked part-time in his mother's art gallery on Cape Cod. I swooned over her selection of jewelry, and would often put pieces away for myself so I could work them off.

My mother-in-law made much of the jewelry she sold, so when hubby and I became engaged, I went on some buying trips with them. My MIL made frequent trips to NYC and Santa Fe to purchase many of her beads. Needless to say I became hooked, and starting making my own jewelry just for fun.

My dear mother-in-law passed away last year, not too long after hubby and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. It was then that my brother-in-law asked that I start making jewelry to sell in the art gallery. I like to think my mother-in-law is smiling down on me with each piece I make that goes into her shop. ;)

I've been thrilled to do so! My jewelry is very seaside inspired (I find I've been using alot of pearls in my work). I decided to start listing my jewelry in my etsy shop once again (as I had done a year or so ago). The set you see in this post is currently in my shop.

Thank you for visiting today!

weathered garden decor

I spotted these fabulous old treasures in the "secret garden" of the Strawberry Patch on Cape Cod. I never would have thought of using this as an outside display... and I just love it!

And I adore this statue of a little girl, perched atop a water fountain.

More old/weathered/chippy/rusted garden decor... fabulous! I'm getting ideas for next Spring's garden already!

Treasure Keepers

I have a definite penchant for handmade treasure boxes!

Whether they are truly vintage (such as the seashell star box from France), or newly-made to look vintage... I love them all.

I've been fortunate to purchase (and also win) some gorgeously handcrafted boxes from people in blogland and etsy over the years. These delicate boxes become the perfect place to store all your vintage treasures and crafting supplies.

One box holds some of my vintage ephemera, including this amazing letter from the 1800's with fabulous blue ink handwriting.

This is a silverplate bowl, dated with a personalized inscription and the date "1886". I found it at Goodwill for only $15 (actually a high price for Goodwill, but very reasonable considering the bowl is in perfect condition and nearly 125 years old)!

This is one of the treasure boxes I made, using some millinery I purchased at Tinsel Trading in NYC.

What do you store your vintage treasures inside of?

sharing Victorian photographs

One of my most favorite past-times is collecting antique photographs. I've sold many of them in my etsy shops over the years. I find the clothing and hairstyles particularly charming.

I also wonder about the lives the people in these photographs led. What did they look like when they aged. Did they marry and have children.

Did friends remain friends. Did some of them move far away from their own families.

Do copies of some of these photographs remain with their original families. What was the occasion why so many people were smiling.

Feel free to use these five images which are copies of photos I've once personally owned. If you use them in your own artwork, please leave me a link so I can see what you've done with them.

Thank you! ;)

why I love etsy so much

"These are a few of my favorite things!"

in the still of autumn

With each leaf that falls from the trees, the Cape's beaches are becoming quieter. If you can brace the cold whipping winds, there are some lovely scenes here to photograph. I'm sure as winter's storms arrive, these beaches' landscaping will change once again (in fact, one of my favorite beaches lost its final battle with winter and surrendered its parking lot to the ocean last January)! ;)

back in business!

Finally! After the past two months of getting back into a "new" routine, I think I'm finally able to start posting here again.

I also reopened one of my etsy shops yesterday, Cape Cod Cupboard. This shop is where I sell my Cape Cod Fisherman's Cowls (so warm and cozy for the cold weather). You can find the link in my sidebar.

Have a wonderful weekend!