SUMMER GIVEAWAY WINNER

Greetings Dear Friends,
Today is the drawing and we have a winner for the shabby pink rose and graphic ornament box with 2 heart rose glitter ornaments!





So many of you entered and I always wish that everyone could win, but we all know, we only have one.
So let's see who that someone is~~~~~





Congrats to you Marilyn,Our Victorian Cottage! Please contact me with your info for sending this gift out to you! And for all of you who entered my giveaway and became new followers, I am so blessed by your visits and comments. I will have many more giveaways to follow, so I hope many others win in the coming months.

Thank you to my B~Guy for helping with the drawing and always being there for me when the days become so busy!!
Blog friendships are the best and my world is a better place because of you.
Thank you so much and again, Congratulations Marilyn!~Our Victorian Cottage
Till next time, I will be designing, painting, thrifting, and doing a little relaxing too!!!
Blessings to you sweet friends.
Celestina Marie

A STORY OF ENCOURAGING WORDS

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.
One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.
His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.
The men talked for hours on end.

They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, and where they had been on vacations.

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.
Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man could not hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.


Days, weeks and months passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep.
She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.


As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.
He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides the bed.

It faced a blank wall.


The man asked the nurse, "What could have compelled my deceased roommate to have described such wonderful things outside this window."

The nurse responded, that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.
She went on to say, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."


The author to this sweet story is unknown, but I felt it had special meaning and wanted to share with you, like it was shared with me, from a dear sweet friend.

I hope your day is full of friendship with encouraging words. Days of special moments and hope. Memories to last a lifetime and God to guide your journey.

See you Saturday with my giveaway drawing announced. Still time to enter. Click HERE to read the details.


Have a Beautiful Day.
Blessings and Blue Skies Be Yours.
Celestina Marie

Texas Garden Flower, a Tolerant Blessing!

Pretty Purslane~
in all it's splendor.

Reaching High~
in Texas heat.

Sunshine brings~
wide open blooms.

Nightly closes~
under heavens moon.

Dark green foliage~
stand sturdy daytime.

Friend to sun~
and heat alike.

Giving show with~
displaying power.

Thank you Lord~
for this, my flower.
(c)CMD

Taking a walk through my garden today, I am so thankful for the pretty Purslane that seems to thrive in our Texas heat. It is a planting that I add every year to fill in the spaces among my other loved flowers. Tolerant to our very HOT temps and always giving a beautiful show of small colorful blooms. Planted in the ground, a garden pot, or hanging from the porch, these wonderful annuals are a blessing and look so pretty next to other flowers and especially,roses.

Sharing a few pics of the purslane from my garden this season.









Thank you for stopping by and taking a walk with me in my Texas garden. Remember my Summer giveaway and leave a comment and follow to enter. Click HERE for the details of the giveaway and the drawing July 31st with the winner announced.


And, Please Welcome my friend Diane Knott in the Grand Opening of her Etsy shop with her daughter Holly. Diane is an accomplished and published artist with talent galore. Visit her Blog HERE and her new Boutique on etsy HERE. She is also having a giveaway to celebrate the opening and you will see the details when you visit her blog. BEST WISHES DIANE!!


Till next time, Have a wonderful Summer Day!
Blessings, Celestina Marie

FRIDAY "SHOPPING WITH A TWIST" FROM MAKE MINE PINK & SUMMER GIVEAWAY FROM THE HEART!

It's Friday once again and MMP is celebrating "Shopping with a Twist" and themed shopping. Today's Friday theme is "The Kitchen Cupboard". Click HERE to view items I have offered in my Little Pink Boutique, perfect for kitchen decorating. While there, visit the other special boutiques for more shopping joy!

It is a very busy time in the studio now and I am having a special time creating many pretties to fill the shelves in my shoppes.
I am also very excited to be included in my first Make Mine Pink Co-op ad with Tea Time magazine and Somerset Life, also Victoria and The Pink Pages in Romantic Homes coming next. If you see me, stop by and say hello.

Here are a few treasures on the way~~




Don't forget to leave a comment on this post or more, from now till July 31st for my Summer giveaway, Click HERE for the details to win the drawing for two Pink Glass Rose Heart Ornaments in a keepsake box. My heartfelt thank you to all my dear bloggy friends.

As always, thank you for stopping by. Blessings to you all for a wonderful weekend.
Hugs, Celestina Marie

SUMMER HEART GIVEAWAY~~~~

In honor of Christmas in July, I am having a Summer giveaway straight from the heart. Two fairy dusted and glittered rose heart ornaments with silver snowflakes to say thank you to all my bloggy friends. It is a sweet and pink gift perfect for the cottage Christmas tree. Whoever is drawn from my studio pink cowgirl hat, will receive 2 ornaments in a sweet pink keepsake box for safe storing.

For blog friends to enter, leave a comment on any post from now till July 31st and become a new follower. Those already following get an extra entry. I will annouce the winner on July 31st. Thank you so much!






Good Luck and Thank you for taking a moment to stop by. Hope you have a great weekend and God Bless Always,
Hugs, Celestina Marie

SOMETHING SPECIAL, Vintage Alphabet Party Brought to you by the Letters, L&M

Welcome to the Alphabet letter party from Etsy Cottage Style. This month we were challenged to showcase our vintage wares showcasing with the letters L&M. Very special vintage treasures near and dear to my heart and for more vintage fun click HERE to visit the many more participants joining in today.

So with camera in hand, I will share the letter L, which for me means, LAMPS, LACE,LOCKETS AND LETTERS! The letter M means MUSIC BOXES, MIRRORS, MUSIC SHEETS, and METAL BOXES.

This cherished lamp graces my studio and was given to me by my dear friend Ann, from Ann's Finds. I added the toile to the unique shade and when it is on, it makes the studio feel so cozy. I believe the lamp is from the late 40's or early 50's.

Beautiful and also cherished, is my 40's floor lamp, owned by my parents when they first married in 1945.

This lamp treasure was a gift to me from my mother as a house warming gift. I will always remember how dear she was when she gave me this.

Yards of handmade vintage lace edging made by my grandmother and other creative and talented ladies over the years when this was something you embellised all your gorgeous linens with. So glad we are seeing these beautiful pieces in pillows now and altered art designs. This lace has outstood the test of time as these linens have long been cut away from age, but the gorgeous lace lives on.

~~L~~~ can also stand for Lockets such as the vintage pieces I cherish.
The heart locket was my mother's, the silver oval was a gift from my mom and the small gold oval was a gift from my dear and best guy when we first started our life together. I have since added that one to my charm bracelet.


Now sharing the vintage M's. I have a music box, shaped like a piano, given to my mother from her God daughter. It plays, Somewhere My Love. She loved it and so do I.

The next M subject is this dear to my heart, hand mirror. It is from a metal dresser set belonging to my parents and one of the first pretty treasures they owned. I use it everyday on my vanity and have added some of my antique roses to the front.

Another smaller hand mirror found by my sweet friend Ann. It is wooden and has a small metal decoration in the center.

One of my favorite pieces is the swinging mirror that sits atop my vintage dresser in my shabby rose guest room.

Moving on with the M's brings me to vintage sheets of music. Cherished vintage music scores from the late 30's through the late 50's. I still play these piano arrangements now and then for fun.

From my studio store room, I couldn't leave out these vintage medicine bottles, just waiting for a redesign.

And, with it's age showing and rusty lid, I treasure this old metal round box used by my mother to hold vintage buttons. Love this one and the gorgeous rose on the lid graced by rust.

Another favorite metal box is this pretty round treasure that my dad loved and kept his keepsakes inside.

Lastly, and my very favorite, going back to the L's is my treasured album filled with 145 love letters written to my mother from my dad during World War II.

Here is his picture that mom had in the front of the album and every letter with their original envelope inside. The letter I share here, is one of the first he wrote while in boot camp in Lousiana. The rest are from England, France, Germany and Belgium. They are so wonderful and beautifully written sharing the love between two special people from 1942 through 1945. They start and end with my dad going off to war and coming home to ask my mother to marry him. It is a real romance in rare form and when I read these gorgeous letters, I know I hold something very special and dearer to me as time goes on.

Hope you enjoyed this portion of the vintage alphabet sharing the letters L&M
Till next time, thank you for stopping by and blessings to you always.

Hugs, Celestina Marie

Friday Shopping with a Twist, Christmas in July & New Studio Treasures

Hello Friends, Today I present shopping with a twist, themed shopping with Make Mine Pink. Click HERE to visit my shoppe and many others with "SIMPLY PINK" treasures.



And, the Christmas in July begins today with many new treasures filling the shelves in my Little Pink Boutique. HERE and my Etsy Shoppe HERE.

Christmas in July at MMP offers you an opportunity to earn points and win fabulous prizes when you see this logo in my shoppe. Simply click on the logo once you are in the shoppe (not here) to earn points when "YOU FOUND IT" It's never too early to think about picking up a gift or two and start Christmas shopping before the rush. The shopping starts July 16th through July 20th.


Now that you are informed about all the wonderful shopping today, I will share a few studio treasures hitting the shelves in both shoppes. I invite you to visit both boutiques anytime, as everyone is welcome.

This week has been crazy busy creating and so much fun. Recently, I went on our usual treasure hunt and found great items to redesign and repurpose.

Here are a few items including my new design for Red Velvet Roses. Inspired from my garden cut roses, this new pretty is rich red on a thrifty plate treasure by Fritz and FLoyd.

The flameless candle at the top of this post is also a new design using a favoite Victorian graphic. I have painted on candles for years and going in a new direction with them now. This one is already sold, but more are on the way soon. They are flameless and have a wonderful real look flicker. Safe to be around pets and children. Some have a light fresh vanilla scent too. I just love them and enjoy them around our cottage too.

Velvet Red Roses Plate, inspired by my Mr. Lincoln Cut Rose in my garden.



Rose Nest Tray, Wall Decor, with sweet girl Victorian graphic.


"There's Gladness in Rembrance", Keepsake Book Box.

This box above just SOLD right after I posted this morning. It is going to a good home in Italy to Debby! Thank you!


Pretty Pink Vintage Tea Pot Canister.


Pink Victorian Lady Plates.



Amazing Grace Wall Decor.

I hope your days are Amazing and filled with God's Grace!

Blessings my friends,
Celestina Marie