Believing in Beauty, Vintage Blossoms, Bonnets and Bloomers

When you look at this image, don't you just want to tell her

"You can do anything you want! You are amazing and beautiful and unique!

The world is waiting for your heart,  your gifts and ideas to be shared!

The potential and determination shining

in those eyes

will be accomplished!"

How do I tell her that,

How do you tell her that 

If you don't believe it for yourself?

This last summer a couple of wonderful things happened.

 First , I learned that as a creative  designer and artist 

I will have more ideas than I could ever possibly accomplish. 

This was huge.

 I never really considered the fact that I would have so many ideas 

that some of them simply would never be completed. 

I believed that if it were a good idea,

I should accomplish it.

Newsflash! 

I'm only one person,

with too many great ideas,

so 

accomplishing some of them

well

is actually great.

Secondly,

I learned to start talking to myself

or counseling myself, as I would one of my daughters,

or any of the ladies in my life.

That gave me permission to be a little

more forgiving of myself and my failures

and it encouraged me to believe big in 

my hopes and dreams.

I realized I couldn't truly encourage others

And help them to see their potential

unless I believed in mine.

In other words,

I couldn't tell her, 

"You can do anything you put your mind to"-

unless I could honestly tell myself the same.

One of my great ideas, 

is to take beautiful vintage linens and upcycle them

by creating special dresses, 

unique bloomers and bonnets 

and rompers for little girls.

Reminiscent of Old World Europe

these pieces are simple darling!

Beautiful thoughts and dreams 

protected and adorned 

with roses make these precious bonnets

poems to be worn.

 Vintage rose buds hugging her little neck

and covering her heart

visually communicate truths about beauty

and sweet mother prayers

for their daughters.

Sometimes dreams seem like hidden fruit

elusive  yet near....

....And so delightful when discovered.

 Protect the beauty of wonder and the wonder of beauty!

 My dreams are watered by

 faith, hope and love, 

rose petals, lavender

 and 

sweet little people.

 Every side to this outfit is covered in sweet florals.

 Having friends who appreciate true beauty

 makes the days so much sweeter.

The world is full of unpleasantness,

so whenever possible 

I strive to share whatever is lovely, 

innocent, 

and excellently beautiful.

What does it look like to wear kindness, humility, patience?

I think it looks a little like trailing fragrant blossoms

wrapped around one's heart and mind.

I think it looks like joy in the coming and going.

I think it looks like sharing your gifts and dreams with others

in order to bring love and beauty into their lives.

I think it looks like believing in

your own potential and beauty,

just as much as believing in others!

Be encouraged!

"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

Blessings,

Katherine

All Clothing available in my shop

Photographer

Christine Dibble

Princess Shoes ~Fit for a Queen

My Custom Made Princess Shoes are one of the  most popular styles 

in my Etsy Shop.

Carefully and lovingly made to each brides specific measurements ,

I embellish each pair with hand made rosettes, flowers and beading.

Hours of detailed artistic work goes into creating each lovely pair of slippers

 ready to  dance  into the most beautiful romance of life.

I'm pleased to be able to work with each bride 

accommodating their unique style.

Shown in champagne with and ankle ribbon.

Scarlet Roses symbolic of deep love are perfect for a Christmas, Valentine or Romantic Bride.

These pairs were customized to coordinate with the brides color palette,

she chose to send the fabric for the flowers to me

to insure she was happy with the unique color.

White or Off~white

A request for a "Little Something Blue" was met by adding some blue beading

This particular pair was made with fabric and lace 

that was the exact match to the bridal gown sent from the UK.

The bride was very pleased with the match.

Flower Girl Princess 

Champagne shoes with cream and champagne roses,

Or

Cream shoes with cream and champagne roses.

Cheers to champagne!

Custom shoes with very special bead work and romantic medallions

And for the Blushing bride ~ pinks!

Autumn Roses, How to Enjoy Your Roses to the Fullest This Season

As I sit down down to write this  blog post,

I scan my desk where an old photo of my grandmother holding me, 

 her first visit to meet me 

and there in the background is a a bouquet of roses.

Their  fragrance has wafted through my life 

adding beauty to every moment they've touched:

Life celebrations, my home gardens and everyday life.

When my youngest had begun to speak,

 she asked me what she was smelling when I had opened a bottle of rose oil.

I asked her what she thought it might be,

to which she answered,

"It smells like angels." 

Our cakes are often decorated with fresh garden roses.

In Autumn , 

when the roses are preparing to rest for winter 

there's a few ways I attend to my favorite flower friends 

who have so generously 

enhanced my life through spring and summer.

Sugaring rose petals, rose buds and small roses 

allows us to enjoy their beauty throughout the winter.

You'll need one egg white diluted with an equal part of water,

white sugar, preferably extra fine,

and clean soft paint brushes.

 Carefully brush the dry rose or dry petals with the egg mixture,

 covering thoroughly, but not saturating.

 Sprinkle the sugar over the petal or flower while holding over the sugar bowl,

 being careful to be thorough.

I sprinkle sugar over the roses several times

 until I feel I have covered all the egg mixture thoroughly.

These small rose buds were  taken from a carpet rose 

I planted last year as a ground cover just before the first snow.

They have since assured me they are happy to live through our snowy winters.

Aren't they lovely! 

Any dessert garnished wish these will be transformed into loveliness.

I leave them out to dry for 4-5 days, 

then store in an air tight container for up to four months.

To insure that I have enough roses to share  with friends

and in hopes of bookending our dream vineyard rows with roses someday soon,

I have  also started cuttings.

It's the perfect time for this

with the sun and rain taking friendly turns with our Autumn days. 

Cuttings should be about the width of a pencil and 18 inches in length.

Remove all but the top set of leaves.

I cut a small slice in the base, 

dip in a rooting compound to encourage growth 

and place somewhere I will be able to keep an eye on the growth.

I've successfully stared many of my roses like this.

I leave them to root until spring.

Lastly, I harvest the rose hips, quarter them, 

remove the seeds and dehydrate 

to be infused in a tea in order to release their stores of vitamin C 

which we will doubtless be needing this winter.

 All this done, I can patiently  look forward to the first rose bud of spring.