Donna's Shabby Treasure Nest...

Another beautiful treasure nest
                   has flown away to a new home...

 This nest was created for Donna,

using her own vintage 

and treasured items...

 Donna sent me a lovely note,

explaining the story behind the pieces

that she choose for her nest...

 with her permission,

I will share this note and her beautiful

stories...

 Hi Vicki,
When I look at my treasure nest I see my 2 loves,

 the love I have for my daughter and my love for all things vintage.

 To begin I will start with the love for my daughter. 

A year ago she was married and had a beautiful vintage wedding 

at the oldest wedding venue in the country Plimoth Plantation.

 I created a vintage wedding lace journal 

that contained a lot of the elements

 I sent you to use in

 my nest. 

~

 The vintage silver filigree pieces, 

clear and silver beaded trim and my parents wedding picture

 were all used in her lace wedding journal.

 It was such a labor of love. 

 There were so many hours spent on that journal,

 it came out beautiful and I loved 

every minute of it. 

~ 

 

 The other elements used in the nest 

were from my love of vintage and vintage inspired pieces. 

To see some of the vintage inspired pieces that I made

 incorporated into the nest, 

warms my heart. 

~

 I can look at this nest in years to come 

and see some of my most favorite vintage pieces I collected,

 especially the little beaded handbag.

 I knew that this was the perfect canvas to display such a wonderful trinket.

~

 I find great joy admiring the many beautiful pieces 

I have acquired over the years and I am delighted 

to say this is one I will "treasure" forever. 

 I have this displayed on a glass cake pedestal under a glass dome. 

 A very special place for a very treasured nest! 

Thank you so much.....
Kindest regards,
Donna

 A note from me...

Have you all been as busy as me this summer.  I waited all winter for these warm summer days to be here, counted every minute until spring, and then summer...and now that it is here... its flying by!! I have not stopped.  I think that because we were gone for so much in May, we have been working overtime to catch up since we have returned back home.  Everyday, I work in my flowers.  The Gardener and I both start our days out playing in the dirt every morning -- he in the yard, me on my back deck.  In my next post I will share some of our summertime photos from our home...

xoxo

Vicki 

ps -- OF COURSE I am behind in returning your gracious and kind comments..... I'm all about that this week! 

And lastly -- please remember to check out my post on the Kindness Quilt Project.  It runs for a full year and I am hosting a lovely giveaway for that project as well.  There are ways for EVERYONE to get involved. Donations are already starting to arrive and It's exciting, even at this early point in the project. I will begin taking photos soon... Please do visit and consider being a part of this great project.

My friend Karen Valentine
is once again hosting her incredible
"Where Blogger's Create" blog party.
This is a wonderful way to make new friends
and share your own blogging and crafting talents with others.
I'll be there to share my crafty place,
my "Sacred Yarn Room"...
I hope you will consider joining me there!
It's gonna be great fun!
xoxo

Virginia's Shabby Treasure Nest...

Treasured keepsakes...
tiny fragments of our past that we keep because they are connected to precious memories...

 so often,

we tuck these keepsakes

into a special place, thinking all the while,

that one day we will

"do something" 

with that tiny treasure...

but---

more often, than not..

we forget...

 

this beautiful treasure nest 

was created for

 Virginia...

using her own personal and treasured

 keepsakes.

She has graciously allowed me to share

with you the story behind the pieces

that she chose for her 

"Shabby Treasure nest"...

~

Virginia's story..

"I have had a love affair with vintage jewelry

since I was about 14 years old.  

I  still have the first piece of vintage jewelry

that my grandfather gave to me.."

 

"Autumn is my favorite season. 

I love to see the leaves change their colors. 

I also love it in the spring when the leaves are just starting to grow.

 So I was really happy that you used the beautiful leaf brooch in the nest."

  

 "I have had a love of birds ever since

I can remember.

I was so happy to see that you were able to use

the vintage bird piece, it goes so well with the nest. 

I have bird nests, bird houses, bird baths, and feeders

throughout my whole yard.

I was so happy that you used the nest charm too..." 

 

 "I love flowers and all that goes with them.

I like to take long walks and look at people's

yards and flower gardens. 

The vintage pink flower brooch is one of my favorites...

"I love fibers and ribbons, laces and trims. 

So many different colors, textures, styles. 

And you can never have enough...

I was so happy that you used strips of my wedding dress.

 I am making a lace book with it and a few lap quilts for my children

 using pieces of my dress..."

  

 "I love anything that sparkles.

Since I was a child, one of my favorite things to do

when it snowed,

was to wait for the moon to come out

and see the snow glitter and shine in the darkness...

I could watch it forever.."  

"I didn't see the little doily you used behind the bird brooch until later.

 I swear, every time I pick up the nest I find something new that I missed.

I love doilies in every style and shape.

I love to make books and flowers out of them..."

 

 "I choose the word BEAUTY...

because I try to surround myself with beauty every day.

And I knew before you finished my nest....

that it would be a beauty..."

"I also love to collect feathers and use them in my crafts.

 I have birds thru out my home and my craft room.

To me they are so beautiful and soothing.." 

~

I am always so humbled when I have the opportunity

to make a treasure nest for someone.

To create a nest using precious keepsakes that

belong to others,

is truly a special privilege. 

~

Thank you Virginia, 

for allowing me to share the story

of the building of your nest..
~~


We are just back from travels...
the person who cruise travels
 back and forth to the Caribbean at least once
a year...
has just packed up her winter clothes 
and long johns and taken a cruise to
Iceland!

 

 We flew to England and toured the Cotswold region
and the Cornish coast before boarding our cruise ship
for Guernsey, Iceland, and Ireland.
It was incredible. 
I'm going to take you all along
on our travels -- 
you won't even have to leave your favorite chair. 
Stay tuned for photos...
lots of photos...
xoxo
Vicki

ps-- the first of the packages and donations have started to arrive for the Kindness Quilt Project.  If you would like to be involved in this amazing charitable venture -- please see my post here

xoxo

"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

Shabby Treasure Nest - "a family story"

Every family has a story~

stories that link our past--

 to our future

~

stories that tell us not only who we are -

but WHY we are~

stories that live on forever

in our hearts~

we pass these stories on to our children,

and they, in turn,

pass them on to their children,

and on, and on
and on~

Precious mementos-- 

fragments of our lives,

often hidden away for years~

tucked inside

tattered boxes,

cluttered drawers,

places long forgotton.

Now,

 brought back to life-

a beautiful new place to be 

honored and cherished

forever~

This is Lisa's story~

   " the pocket watch belonged to my husband's Grandfather.  He lived on a 150 acre farm way up a holler in Greenbank, WV.  After he passed away, his family all gathered there to clean out the house.  This watch was found in an old drawer and the family was going to throw it away.  I just couldn't let that happen~"

"I found the ivory piece in and amongst a drawer of

 my Grandma's stuff. 

 I believe that it belonged to her sister,

 Laura."

 ~ "one of the rhinestone sets belonged to my Grandma Ella.  The other set belonged to my Mother.  The beautiful lace pieces came from a blouse that my Grandma Ella loved.  The other lace piece was from the tattered remains of her wedding dress. That crown pin was also a favorite piece of my Grandma Ella's jewelry."

~ "those dangle laces were made by my Grandma Meallie--

we found them among her sewing things.  She became a tailor in Italy at the age of 14 and later emigrated to the states when she was 19 years old.  She made wedding gowns for all her daughters, and for my Mother, when she married her son.  I still have that gown.  She made that doily and also the tatting."

~ "that vintage heart belonged to my Mother. 

 It was a gift from her sister Lois  (who was 11 years older than my Mom.)  

The heart was originally a gift to Lois from her boyfriend Byron, who was a merchant marine in the war.  During the war, when so many things were rationed, Byron saved so that he could buy gifts for Lois and for my Mom. That heart was gifted to Lois along with a box of chocolates and some silk stockings.  My Mom always treasured that little heart  ~"

These Shabby Treasure nests are a little variation

 of my Shabby Chic nests. 

 Like Lisa's nest--
each of them will be as unique and personal
 as the family stories
 that they tell.   

For more info regarding these little nests --

you can visit the "Nesting Updates" page

located on my sidebar --

 or

click here

I want to say Thank you to Lisa

for allowing me to share her personal family story

with all of you~ 

xoxo

Coming up next~~

I've saved your emails and notes for the last year and have compiled some of your questions into my yearly "20 Questions Answered" post.  Perhaps your question will be one of those that was chosen! (Although I have already answered each of these emails, I've been saving the questions to share with all of you in this special post.) 

Well, it snowed again. Big surprise there. First we got the ice -- then the snow -- thank goodness our power stayed on, I am so very thankful for that. I am telling myself that this is the LAST storm of the winter -- spring will be here shortly. Sometimes I can fake myself out like that~

Love,

Vicki