"Shabby Treasure" nest stories...

Tiny little treasures...pieces of the past.  Memories of special times, favorite things,..  collections, sentimental keepsakes, cherished remembrances of those we love.  Priceless, not in monetary value, but in sentiment.  We keep them in boxes, in bags, in cupboards and drawers, in the top of a closet...

 my "Shabby Treasure" nest 

gives new life to those tiny little tokens

that are treasured reminders of 

all that we love~

perhaps,

the best was saved for last...
~

after the Woodland and Shabby nests

were completed and traveled to their 

new homes~

six of these 

"Shabby Treasure" nests

were specially

created..

 each precious nest

as different and unique

as the treasures that were sent to me

by their owner~

I'm sharing two versions

of these specially commissioned nests

with you today..

I actually FORGOT

to photograph the other four nests

after they were created!!

As crazy as that sounds,...

I was just so busy at the end of the

nesting season,

those four nests were boxed up

and out the door before I realized

that I had not photographed

 them!!

(I was SO excited to be sending them to

their new homes where I knew

that they would be loved!)

~~

hence-- I'm sharing

two versions with you today

instead of six!!

this beautiful nest was

created as a special request

using a favorite collection of vintage 

pink jewelry. 

Vintage pendants,

brooches, earrings, and pieces

of necklaces were all used

to create this lovely vision 
in pink.

~

some favorite pieces of pink fabric

were also included in the collection

that was sent to me

for the creation of this

nest~

I loved making this nest --

the vintage jewelry really spoke to me

as it all came together

so beautifully in this
special

"Shabby Treasure" nest...

Sometimes these nests

truly are a collection of treasured

memories...

sometimes,

they tell a story...

"the hankies came from both my family and 

my husband's..

~
the Battenburg lace bread cloth 

was purchased on my trip to Ireland,

it's been used for family dinners over the past 10 years,

 hence the stains...

~

 the purple ribbon was one of my favorites,

 it came with a gift 

that my husband had given

to me."

"the lace came from a bag of trimmings
 that once belonged to my
 Grandmother.
the lace was mixed in with a bag of sewing items
that she collected..."

"the silver heart necklace 
was given to me by a high school friend 
when we graduated...
the brooch belonged to my Grandmother~"

 "the pink heart 
has my daughter's fingerprint inside..
she made it for me in school 
one year for
Mother's Day...
~
It has always hung near my bed

 and I thought the nest was a perfect place

 for it to lay."

 

to know that these nests are loved 

and appreciated

means so very much to me...

~

that these nests bring 

a special joy 

is my very reason for their

creation...

~

" I absolutely love the nest. I hope you know how special it is and how much it will be treasured.

 One day I look forward to passing all of my nests from you down to my daughter. 

 They grace our house on a daily basis and the special ones for the seasons always add that final touch to the decorating Emma and I do together. She loves it when a new holiday is coming and we get to decorate the house. Thank God we found a house with a walk in attic for storage. Your nests however, have never seen the attic. They get placed in the China cabinet for safe keeping.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! " 

 

 

 

When your treasures arrive at my home,

I want you to know that I recognize

that you have entrusted them to

my safe keeping.  

I know how precious that they are to you.  

~

If your treasures have a story to tell,

 I want to hear it.  

Your stories help me to create

your special nest...

giving new life to your

precious collections

and keepsakes~

xoxo

 

Thank you for allowing me to share these special nests and their stories with you.  Nesting is finished for right now --- and I'm so happy to say that serious progress is being made on my organization of the Sacred Yarn room!! There is a definite path now -- and some rhyme and reason to this madness!  

 

We've had some glorious spring days and my back deck is full of color and beautiful blooms.. my flowers are 

one of my summertime passions..

 

I'll take lots of photos

as the season progresses

and share them with you later

this summer...

~~

 

For those of you who are following along on

our trip to the Gaspe Penninsula ---

(and SO many of you are!!)

(my monthly readership jumped to over 15,000

after the last blog post in the series!) 

WOW!!

and we haven't really even got to the best

places yet!!

 

 we are headed here next...

 

xoxoxo

Vicki

Traveling Gaspese (Part 4)--- Baie-Saint-Paul

Situated on the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence river, the quaint little city of Baie-Saint-Paul is known for it's thriving artist community.   This tiny little town is also famous as the home of the  internationally renowned Cirque du Soleil, where the first production was held in the early 1980's~ 

 Baie-Saint-Paul is one of Quebec's oldest cities

and is famous for the charming boutiques

and art galleries that line the streets~

just over an hour's drive from

Quebec City--

visiting this quaint little town

can easily be done as a day trip

while you are in the area~

this little town loves to

"dress UP"

 and goes all out to decorate

the shop displays, streets, and homes

within the city~

This small town has over 30 galleries and studios,

 along with historic houses

 converted into attractive restaurants and shops.

 With its prosperous, holiday atmosphere 

and its location among wood-covered hills 

 Baie-Saint-Paul is one of Quebec's

 most appealing towns~

Come along with the Gardener and me

 as we stroll along the narrow streets

lined with quaint boutiques and art galleries~

 the whole town is in

"cute" overload!

I think I took photos of almost

every storefront in this town!

we visited last fall,

and the entire city was

decked out in beautiful autumn displays~

 seriously,

how cute is this little woolen store?

 the city was filled with

beautiful blooming bushes and flowers~

 the city is famous for it's 

annual artist festival

that is held every 

Autumn

~

one of our first trips to the city,

(a few years ago)

was during the annual art festival.  

every street was filled with artists

and their displays...

the city was a wonderland of color 

and artistic impressions.. 

around every corner

is a pretty little painted

mural~

no shortage of "green thumbs"

in this city,...

the blooms were amazing!

one of my favorite photos

taken as we strolled around town~

some of the "century" old homes

in the city,

have been converted into

art galleries~

one of my favorite shops..

I fell in love with the garden display

(it was a tad bit cool that day!) 

 

 in the early 1920's,

a group of Canadian artists

known as the 

"Group of Seven"

lived in this tiny little cottage 

within the city~

the "Group of Seven"

 is best known for its paintings

 inspired by the Canadian landscape..

 their continued residence in

Baie-Saint-Paul

helped to establish this town's reputation

 as an artist community~

  this cottage,

now turned "art gallery"

houses some original works of art

from the "Group of Seven" artists

and contains original furnishings

dating back to the period 1920's

when the artists were in residence~

a beautiful mural is in process

at the flood wall on the 

outside of town~

situated on the highest ground within the city

stands the beautiful
Place de l'Église

church 

the banks of the

Saint Lawrence river~

 on our way back to

Quebec City,

we followed curvy country roads

in search of this historic

 covered bridge~

 and ....

we ended our wonderful day

like this~

~~~ In my next travel post, we are seriously on the road as we begin to make the circle around the Gaspe Penninsula.... thank you for traveling with us on this amazing adventure. We travel past ancient churches, picturesque settings on the bank of the Saint Lawrence ,and our very first hotel outside of Quebec City.  Wait till you see the incredible scenery just outside our hotel door!

We will meet all types of weather, days in the 80's, days in the 20's, and everything in between!  We will have calm days, and days with gale force winds,... if you are packing to travel along with us you will need to prepare for all the situations! 

~~We have beautiful blooms in our yard and 4 baby kittens roaming around on our back sundeck --- both are sure signs that Spring has finally come to our little corner of the world!

While I am working on the next set of travel pictures, I have one more nesting post I wish to share with you--- next up will be some photos from this seasons beautiful Shabby Treasure nests.  I made 6 of these special nests and sent them off to new homes. I'll share one of the personal stories relating to this "commission" only nest  and some photos in my next post~

Love,love,

Vicki