Leap of Faith Pink Saturday

Today I’m sharing a couple of my lawn pinks…

First a grove of Pink Crepe Myrtle that are just starting to bloom…Mother’s house sold this spring and I took a couple of dollars from the sale and the closing of her estate to add nine small trees to our side lawn. She loved Myrtles and I love thinking of her as I tend them. Spring rains got the coneflower off to a strong start. So far the deer have left them alone and they are filling this bed with happy Pink. It’s my Pink side of the yard.

Follow me from the side lawn to the front porch where a pair of Phoebes have set up housekeeping.

I think this is the mother bird at the nest. It’s about the size of a small cereal bowl. It’s made of mud and fibers and hubby says it’s lined with fluffy fur or dryer lint.

It’s not a pretty nest…sort of ugly like the proverbial “mud fence” and it’s tiny for the four little birdies. We were just sure they would fledge today based on the wing stretching and flapping that has been going on for the last two or three days, but this evening they have settled in for another night. We have marveled at what good providers the parent birds are. They keep watch from the flower bed or a nearby small tree.

They hunt insects and feed and groom the lucky little ones all day long.

We will spend Father’s Day weekend watching the Leap of Faith as they leave the safety of the nest. Look at how high the nest is! We threw a couple of sheepskin rugs below the nest should one fall over before their feathers are able to support them.

There’s not much to hang on to as they learn to fly.

There is a small railing around the edge and a  few lamps and shutters. But they will do what little birds do every spring. They will hop over the side and take wing. This has been such a safe spot for the nestlings, but we are holding out faith that it will be a good spot for fledglings. One of my favorite hymns is “His Eye Is On the Sparrow” and I’ll probably be humming it all weekend. Speaking of the weekend, let’s go see who Beverly has gathered for us to visit this holiday Saturday at how Sweet the Sound. Have a Pink Week.

June 1st means Circle Journals in the mail!

Ten of Beverly’s Pink Saturday fans are working on a set of collaborative circle journals. Today we are mailing out the current month’s pages. I went to the post office this afternoon with a very special package… Grace’s Circle of Friends journal. You probably know Grace from her blog Pink in the City. http://graceinthepinkcity.blogspot.com/  Grace picked Marie Antoinette in Paris for her theme. the first three journal artists have done amazing jobs. Nancy, My Crafty Little Page, did the pages just before mine and she had created a wonderful glittery carriage for Marie. Using that carriage as my inspiration, I took Marie on a shopping trip through the streets of Paris.

The vintage map of Paris was the first layer on the background. Then a second layer was a pocket collaged with fabric samples and ribbon roses satin trim and a dress form and a couple of images of shoes and gowns Marie had her eye on. The fabric and trim actually came from my big first-time-ever trip to Grace’s city…New Your City!  The layers of fabric and pictures were stitched down beneath ivory tulle.

The right side page has a picture of Marie as a young girl and no tribute to Mare would be complete without CAKE! There’s a gold fleur de lis, a velvet flower, and a leaf from Tinsel Trading Company in NYC. I made tags for the pockets… Each one has vintage sheet music and

of course, the map of Paris.
But my favorite addition is the Bag of Cats! That’s right, a bag of six cats…

They’re dressed and glittered for a royal ball…

There is a legend about a breed of cats in Maine, here in America that are said to be the offspring of her cats. Look up Marie’s cats to read the whole improbable tale. I doubt that Marie planned an escape to America,(especially a plan that included six of her favorite cats being sent on ahead of her.) but it makes for a fun feline addition to Grace’s journal…I don’t know if Marie dressed her cats in party attire, but it sounds like something she might have done.

I’ll be spending part of my Pink Saturday watching our favorite team, the San Antonio Spurs in the National  Championship play offs…Wish us luck! We love our Spurs! Now back to Beverly and How Sweet the Sound to see this week’s happy Pink.

Congratulations, Beverly! Let’s have a Big Pink Birthday Celebration in NYC!

I just got back from a trip to The Big Apple last week and I’m ready to head back today! Wouldn’t it be the perfect way to celebrate Beverly’s fourth Pink Saturday birthday with a trip? I know just the perfect ride…

That’s right; it’s a bright Pink stretch limo Mini Cooper! We could all pile in and wave from the sunroof just like the Sex in the City girls! One of our first stops would have to be one of my favorite paper shops…

The shop is all decked out for spring in shades of Pink…And the window of the Grand Central Station shop sported this mannequin wearing a paper dress!

I found a vintage looking map of Paris poster to use in Grace’s Circle of Friends journal. So I had my Pink Saturday ladies in mind while I was shopping.

Next stop would probably be for Chocolates at Teuscher’s  on Fifth Avenue by Radio City.

It is one of the most Pink shops anywhere. And the chocolates are in a class of their own! We could break the bank in there…

But no birthday party would be complete without candy! And flowers…we could stop in at the corner market and while we’re here at Klein’s, let’s pick up a bottle of wine! 

It would be the ultimate Pink Saturday girlfriends trip! The absolute highlight of our party would have to be a visit to Tinsel Trading Company. Talk about eye-candy!

We would have such fun picking up vintage finds…

Yes, it would be the perfect way to celebrate this Pink Saturday and to thank Beverly for all the friendships and fun she has created! Well, I’ll be enjoying the weekend at home watching the Indy 500 and listening to Back Home again in Indiana as only Jim Nabors can sing it. Monday we will pause to remember the meaning of Memorial Day. Right now, I’m off to visit How Sweet the Sound to see the list of posts for this special Pink Saturday.

Happy Anniversary Pink Saturday!

What a milestone! And how quickly the days have added up! Today I’m sharing pinks from a candy shop in New York City. It was my first trip to NYC and I was like, what else?, a kid in a candy store!

It was all decked out for Mother’s Day and the entire shop was festooned with pink flower garlands.

See what I mean?

The staging and packaging made the chocolates irresistible…I bought an assortment after I had snapped pictures of every window and every display.

Wish the smell could come through the Internet connection…your mouth would be watering about now!

Before I left for my big NYC adventure I did finish two pages for Dana’s(The stone Rabbit)  Circle Journal…and of course, the pages included plenty of pink. First came the background pages…hand pieced fabric collage/assemblage from my scrap jars…

with pieces of pink in hand, I pressed and stitched together  a couple of squares to create backing and pockets. I layered in a couple of flowers here and there.

The letters across the top are G-R-I-T-S. It stands for Girls Raised In The South…and since Dana asked us each to supply 5 words that described  ourselves, that seemed like a starting place. There are five pockets, one for each letter. Each pocket holds a collection of tags and reclaimed cards that explain how each letter fits me.

I love making and filling pockets in altered books and journals.

The “R” stands for Recycler, so there were loads of examples of reclaimed and repurposed additions,

A set of wedding shower invitations from the 80’s found new life when they were collaged and stamped and stickered for the pockets. I even found a notepad from Missouri, Dana’s home state, and added the Show-Me state’s map to one of the cards. Dana’s blog was one of the first that I started following back in the early days of Pink Saturday.    What a perfect way to celebrate Beverly’s 4th Anniversary! The Circle Journal group is having a ball celebrating our shared projects.  Be sure to say congratulations when you visit How Sweet The Sound.