those dog days of summer ...

It has been a week of hot humid days ...

especially for those of us with black hair!

dips in the kiddie pool have helped ...

it didn't take long to dry ...

on this last day of July ...

have a wonderful day

♥

Sunday Serenity ...

May you experience

each day

as a sacred gift

woven around

the heart

of

wonder

~John O'Donohue~

hope you are having a wonderful Sunday

xo d

Summer gathering ...

I've been walking around my garden and creating bouquets.

My handy gathering bag in one hand and secateurs in the other.

The yarrow and hydrangea have bloomed.

Yarrow, we found out many years ago is a wonderful mosquito deterrent , so we always keep a bouquet of yarrow near our outdoor dining table.  It also dries beautifully, so when it's time to put away the garden furniture at the end of the Season, I will use the dried Yarrow for Autumn wreaths.

I made my gathering bag years ago from an old shower curtain.  The grommets along the top were perfect for simply lacing some twine through.  For "handles" I used 2 branches (saved from a little Maple tree trimming my hubby had done in our front yard).

Of course ... I had to add a quote tag :-)

the branches are handy to hang from another nearby branch to hold the bag as you walk amongst the flowers

Our trumpet vine is in full bloom ...

I am on "hummingbird watch" :-)

the view from my Sparrow Studio where the trumpet vine is trying to reach the window from below!!

it's the perfect avocado pit rooting spot

they love this sunny space

one is more than ready to be potted up.

A few rose of Sharon ... a few Cosmos ... some Hydrangea leaves ... and some purple Clematis to make our lunch table pretty ♥

~Thank you for all the lovely comments and emails and new followers ~

♥d

Where Bloggers Create 2015 ...

So happy be participating in Where Bloggers Create 2015 ♥

Thank you Karen Valentine for hosting this wonderful event where we open up the doors to our studio spaces ~

Welcome to

Vintage Sparrow Studio

I am so happy to have you drop by.

Lots more studio photos can be found on my sidebar by clicking on

the Where Bloggers Create image from past years.

My little studio fuels my creativity

and soothes my soul.

It is filled with treasures that mean the world to me.

A spot where I can bring my ideas to paper ...

I opened up a little Etsy shop less than a year ago and have met so many lovely

people while sending my Art all over the world ♥

©The lovely~ness of daily~ness is my mantra

I truly believe that it is the small, daily events in life that are the most important.

Daily visits from the Sparrows are a blessing to our garden.

Sparrow Studio holds lots of lovely little found treasures.

In fact, just about everything (short of gifts) has been found either at a garage sale, auction, our local animal charity shop ... and even curb side.

Like the Sparrows, I love to gather up these treasures, bringing them back to my home and weave them into a little nesting spot ♥

an assortment of canvas filled with images of bunnies, fox, trees, the moon , sun and stars fill a corner of the room...

Always something sitting on my art table

I am always with my camera, and love to turn my pictures into cards ...

this Yellow Finch sitting in our Lilac bush was taken through my kitchen window :-)

 

my favourite summer bouquet ... hand picked dandelion blooms in a jam jar

from my grand son xoxo

My favourite water vessel,

a mug with my children's image on the front

taken 25 years ago.

It isn't just painting that happens in Sparrow Studio ...

I like to create jewelry,

and weave ...

make dream catchers ...

for inside and out ...

sew

plan my garden and create little seed packages to gift to friends ...

carve stamps ...

whimsy always :-)

where the sun streams in ...

and memories from long ago sketches hang ...

She loved her Sparrows

From Where You Dwell

#1 in the ©Women of the Woods Series

inspired by my love and respect for Nature. While on long Woodland walks with my dog, listening to the sweet serenades of Sparrows, the idea of a series came to me.

and speaking of my dog ...

Archer - my constant companion in the Studio and out ... who I refer to as my "tea/coffee break reminder" because who could resist that face !

I suppose I am a Sparrow

A stay-at-home-bird

~Gladys Taber~

Thank you so much for stopping by.

I've loved showing you around ... hope you come by again ♥

I'm looking forward to visiting the other participating studios and see where you create.

~have a wonderful weekend friends~

Cosmos calling ...

I remember the very first time I spotted a garden filled with Cosmos.

It was at the end of our Summer holidays,

 we had just finished lunch at a wonderful restaurant and took a stroll around the grounds

that surrounded it.

Amongst the blooms were dried pods of tall spikey seeds and I brushed my hand  along a few, and placed them carefully in a tissue to take home.

Once home, I opened up the tissue and released them to our garden, allowing them to land where they wished ♥

That was many, many years ago now, and each year, in the same patch that the first seeds were scattered, the Cosmos bloom.

And it is still my style of gardening, that I brush up against the spend Cosmos and release the seeds back into the garden.

I snip a few to enjoy inside our home, but leave most in the garden for the butterflies and bees.

Have a wonderful week

♥ d