And the winner is.....!!!

Well lookie there! Even the bears are all lined up in anticipation of the winning name for my Pink Wednesday giveaway!! They kind of look like alien bears, don't they? They're what I've been working on all weekend. Four traditonals, one Truly Silly and two Silly Bits of Whimsey!! This is what happens when I keep my rear end in one place instead of running around the universe! Running around the universe will commence once again next week.....AKA Flourishes! Ha!

Okay.....enough silliness.....the winner is: #35 A Thing for Roses!! Yay!! Toot! Toot! Streamers! Confetti! Giggles and clapping! Party in a blog post!! Wahoo! Oh yeah, enough silliness. ha!

Thank you so very much for every little post left on my Pink Wednesday blog!! I appreciate all of you taking the time to peek in and for leaving such sweet notes. You're a blessing!

Have a fabulous week ahead!! I have a kajillion things and seven bears to finish. Hey, and it finally stopped snowing!!! That in itself is a blessing. We're headed back to SPRING!!

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

A sense of humor!

Mother Nature pulled a fast one on us last night! I woke up to an inch of snow and it's still snowing!! Yesterday everything was oh so pretty and green with pink ruffled trees, and tulips and hyacinths blooming. Today everything is plaster with white snow. ACK!!

It's easy to have a sense of humor about it though when you know that by late afternoon it will all be melted and the glorious color will return. Mother Nature, you certainly have a wicked streak!

Warmest bear hugs on a snow covered spring morning! Aleta

A Pink Wednesday Giveaway!!

A pink pinwheel, a pink candy box and sweet little birdie be-ribboned in pink!! It's a Pink Wednesday Giveaway!! Wahoo!! I know. It's about time!! I missed the 100th post giveaway so I'm trying to make up for it with a few extra goodies. More sweet little pink things will make it into the box.....for now though, what you see is what you'll receive. Pink Wednesday goodness in a box!!! Life is GRAND!! Yay!!

All you have to do is post a note on this blog entry that says: "I love Pink Wednesday!" Pretty simple, huh? Please make sure there is a way I can contact you if you win, whether through blog or e-mail. I will draw a name on Monday, March 31st at 9am!!!

Warmest Pink Wednesday bear hugs, Aleta

P.S. I'm sorry darlings, the Lisa Kaus painting in the background will not be included in the box.

Spring on Mt. Pleasant

All colors of spring greenery are starting to appear on Mt. Pleasant. The crocus are long gone but the daffodils continue to bow their ruffled bonnets in the breeze. Bleeding hearts are sending up lush feathery fronds. I have a woodland garden here on Mt. Pleasant with dappled shade. This is my new challenge!


With each home I have had new garden challenges. If you've been reading my blog for awhile you've seen pictures of my semi-tropical garden in our Oregon home. Well, palm trees and tropical colored flowers just don't lend themselves to the serene beauty that is Mt. Pleasant.

You will find me knee deep in garden books in the evenings now. We'd like to encircle the property in planting beds. A grandiose idea considering we have two acres!! Three years. Five years. Ten years. Mt. Pleasant is a work in progress!!


Warmest bear hugs, Aleta


P.S. Pink Wednesday presents a blog giveaway!! Do peek in if you have a moment.

Pink bunnies, a bear and a chick!

Happy Pink Wednesday!! Well, here they are! These were supposed to be at Flourishes Celebration of Spring. They're almost finished.....I just need to heat set the airbrushing. I'll take their pictures and list them tomorrow on my website.

Working in the studio again has been a good diversion for me. We had sad news on Monday and I'm missing my sister. I've found the best way for me to pull out of a blue funk is to work or clean. I cleaned yesterday after I dropped my sister off at the airport. Today, I worked!

Everything will right itself eventually. Some things will inevitably get worse before they get better. Just think how clean my house will be and how many bears and other projects will get finished!! You know me, always the Pollyanna looking for the silver lining!!

Warmest Pink Wednesday hugs filled with bears and bunnies and a chick, oh my! Aleta

A Flourishes Hangover

I awoke this morning feeling dazed, confused and puffy. Puffy? It must have been those two Lemon Drop martini's I had with dinner last night. Ha! ;o) Actually, I think it had more to do with all the excitment (okay, perhaps not the puffy part) of Flourishes first event yesterday.

I have a really well functioning replay button in my head so it's easy to recount the days happenings. Funny how the replay button only works on things I WANT to remember. ;o)

People started parking in the drive about 20 minutes before opening. They waited so patiently in their cars while we scurried about bringing in fresh flowers and attending to last minute details. In my haste to make everything just right, the thing I failed to do was to take pictures of everything all set up. (Insert a very sad face here.) Sigh.

The first two hours were crazy!! Crazy in the best possible way!! People familiar with the previous business here, Willow Nest, knew that if you wanted first dibbies you had to be an early bird. After ten o'clock the crowds came in waves. Very few and then a bunch. Very few and then a bunch. This carried through for the rest of the day and made it easy for everyone to take turns running in the house for a break. Well, okay, not running IN the house, rather, running INTO the house. Ha! Still, at days end, we were all exhausted.

Now comes sorting it all out and making sense of it. The business of figuring out what went well, what did not and moving on to the next event. The only negative comments that were overheard were the comments about the lack of my bears. Quite honestly, that bit of information surprised me! Unfortunately, I was so focused on making everything just so for my vendors that I neglected to finish my own work. None of my new bears, bunnies or chicks made it to the show. They're upstairs in my studio waiting to be airbrushed. Bummer. I suppose the upside to this is that I will have inventory for my website and the April show!! That's not such a bad thing. :o)

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

Tweaking Displays

Just one more day to go!!! Everything is coming together just as I had imagined it would. Antiques and artist handwork.....a divine combination!!

One little side note here. I've received lots of e-mail about Flourishes online sales. As much as I would love to reply to each note, it is just not possible right now. This became quite clear the other night when I accidentally deleted a whole page of e-mail notes. I was tired. It was late. Delete buttons happen. (sigh) So, if you've written a note and not received a reply....it may be one of the ones that was accidentally deleted. Bummer. Please send along a note again and I will be sure to get back to you the first of next week.

Oh, gee whiz.....I got a little sidetracked there. Online sales? No. That would require me to triplicate myself. I am a mere one chickiedoodle!! To get the goods you have to come to one of my events!! ;o)

Now it's off to the races. It's chicken day!! Running here and there and everywhere for all the last minute details!! The chicken dance anyone? Ha!!

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

A bouquet of violets and pincushions!

First let me say, a most heartfelt thank you for all the lovely sentiments left on my blog these past few weeks. You really don't know how much your comments have kept me going on days when the task at hand seemed so overwhelming. Thank you.

For you, a cyber bouquet of violets!! These are growing in abundance all over our Mt. Pleasant property. You'll see them when you come up for the show. There are even pink ones! Pink violets? Who knew?!!

The last picture for today is one of my favorites.....a grouping of Christine LeFever's pincushions! She brought me dollies too!! I hope to get pictures of those later today. :o) Actually, I hope to be about finished with all the displays this afternoon so I can take pictures of displays rather than shots of just a few things.

The weather is miserable on Mt. Pleasant today. It's raining and blustery. I won't be out tidying up the yard that's for sure! Please, if you will, send out good thoughts for better weather on Saturday.

Until then, I'll be back later (or tomorrow) with final sneak peek pictures.

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

Bits of Pink Wednesday!

Only bits of pink today! Glass beaded flowers in lovely old bottles from Julie Verburg, The Withies, and dainty blue Marie Antoinette shoes with touches of pink from Karen Otto. Scrumptious!! Karen also sent a couple of her lovely journals along.

Oh, and that picture of water droplets on the blades of grass......would you believe I'm growing grass in roasting pans in my diningroom? Yessirree bobaroo!! Roasting pans full of grass!! Oh, the lengths I go to for display!! Ha!!

A divine pink Wednesday to you!!

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

Filling in the spaces!

The artist merchandise has arrived!! Yay!! Now it's time to fill in the displays!!

Ooooh, lots of lovelies to delight the eye! Lots of layers of color, beginning with Easter pretties..a mix of pastels and brightly colored blossoms. As you move around the shop you get a rich saturation of color to excite the senses.....artwork by Lisa Kaus, Tammy Gilley and Jan Chandler. Simply fabulous!!

The colors then soften into muted shades. Taupe and white with mixed metals infused with bits of color here and there. Ahhhhh.

There's a little something for everyone! Antiques and mixed media art combined. Love it, love it, LOVE it!!

Only a few more days now.......!!!!

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

P.S. This event and the April 21st event are held inside. June and August will will have added vendors outside and around the barn!

Chicklits are hatching at Flourishes!

It would appear that the server is having difficulty uploading my photos. Boo hoo. :o( I was only able to get one picture to post. Buy hey, that's okay....one is better than none!!

Aren't these little chicklits darling?!! These were made by the fabulous Martha Kohley, Vintage Trifles. She's bringing me some of these and lots of other pretty things tomorrow!!

Today will be spent fluffing the antique beds and putting together the table coverings while we wait for more merchandise to arrive. Cross your fingers that the server will be more willing to accept photos later. I soooo want to show you more photos!!! Until later then......

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

It's sneak peek week!!

I'm getting soooo excited!! My sister is flying in this morning to give me a hand with Flourishes opening. Yay!!

I promised sneak peeks today, so, sneak peeks you will get! Actually, I'll be posting pictures all week as everything starts coming together.

First is a picture of the bunnies Brenda Power is sending me. Did I not tell you her bunnies look like they just hopped off a Victorian postcard? Well, there you go!

The other two pictures are Flourishes in progress. Bill made that amazing screen out of 9 1/2 ft. tall windows. It's simply fabulous!! And, we have a new heat source. Wahooo! That's Bill's "real job". He builds custom fireplaces. He's really pretty handy to have around, that husband of mine. I wanted a fireplace that looked like it might have been original to a building of that era. We even used salvaged moulding for the mantel. It's chippy and worn.......and I love it!!

Well, it's off to the races. Mini Me (my sister) has arrived!! More tomorrow!

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

Pink Wednesday Pictures from Expo!

The sun is shining brightly and it promises to be a grand day....and it's Pink Wednesday!! Is life fabulous or what?!!

Ooooh, lots of pink pretties in these pictures!! The first picture is of Cindy Dockins booth...of Queen of Tarte blog fame. When I step in her booth I imagine this is what going to a Paris Flea Market must be like!! Supremely lovely.

The second picture is Joy's booth....Auntie Joy blog fame. Besides having a laugh that is infectious and a larger than life personality (in a great way!), this gal is extremely creative. I wish I'd have taken a better picture of one particular item she used for display. An old wire bedframe. You know, the kind with the wire springs! She set it upright and used clothespins to attach baskets to it and then filled the baskets with ephemera and other assorted goodies. How cool is that?!!

And last, but certainly not least, Isabel's booth. Gosh, I don't know if Isabel has a blog or not! I do know that Lisa, from A Thing for Roses blog fame, had a few things in Isabel's booth so if you see anything in the picture you absolutely MUST have, you can probably get in touch with Isabel through Lisa. Annnnnyway, Isabel captures cottage style to perfection. Lots of roses and soft colors. Yummy, yummy eye candy!! Isn't that lamp shade darling?!!

Now isn't this one of the best Pink Wednesday's ever?!!

Warmest bear hugs, Aleta

P.S. Friday begins Flourishes sneak peek week! Hooray!!

More Expo!

This is one of my favorite booths at Expo, Madison Park. Randy has exquisite taste and he's a top notch dealer. There is also a picture of him in the dictionary under integrity. Well okay, not really. But there should be!!

His displays are always unique. How does one person collect so many of one particular item anyway? I wonder how long it took to collect that many hand mirrors....all of the same material? Ponder that for a minute!


Perhaps he's not the only one collecting those mirrors. The twins, Donna and Diana, may have had a little hand in that. The three of them are joining together the first of April in Randy's shop in Sellwood.....Madison Park. This will be a dynamo team, let me tell you! I look forward to having them bring all sorts of pretty things to Flourishes.

Warmest Monday bear hugs, Aleta

P.S. Don't you think that little aqua blue dresser is the sweetest thing? Soooo fabulously chippy!

Portland Antique Expo!

We went. We shopped. And, six hours later we came home with a full truck load of goodies!! Oh my, my!! So many lovely things for Flourishes!! Among my treasures, a charming old wrought iron garden bench. Wonderfully old Italian chairs. (I think I'll keep those......at least for awhile.) Tables and benches. Vanity tables and dressers. My best find of the day? A bed that matches the style of the waterfall dresser I mentioned in an earlier post....that I still haven't taken a picture of. (I'll get to it.....really, I will!) It's a keeper for sure!

I took lots of pictures of my favorite booths so I'll scatter them throughout my posts this week. Today though, I'm locking myself in my studio so I can put the finishing touches on bears and bunnies and chicks, oh my!! Pinwheels and candy boxes need their finishing touches as well. Perhaps I should lock myself in my studio for two days!!

Warmest Sunday bear hugs, Aleta