Friday, March 18, 2016

Taking a Spring Break

Hi Friends,
I'm taking a little Spring Break
the next few weeks.
But I wanted to stop in and wish everyone
a
Very Happy Spring
and glad you all enjoyed a
Happy Easter.

You are all the best
and
I hope you enjoy the new season filled with many blessings.

See you some time in April!


XO
Celestina Marie

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Thursday, March 17, 2016

Happy St. Patrick's Day!



Hope you enjoy a special day if  you're Irish
or
Like the old saying goes,
"Everyone's Irish Today"

My father was Irish 
and
growing up we always celebrated this day
with a meal of corned beef and cabbage or Irish stew.

I can still recall the cozy aroma of those meals in my memories.
Wonderful preparations made by my mother,
who was an awesome cook!!


Ireland is about the size of West Virginia,
 and this tiny island has some of the richest history of the Western world.
Some important dates are 600 B.C. when the Celtic arrived on Irish soil.
 In A.D. 432 St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland. 
During the time from 500- 800 known as the Golden Age of Ireland, 
great music, literary creativity made Ireland the most accomplished in Europe

 When the Vikings invaded Ireland in 800,
 they founded the first towns including Dublin in 988.
 In 1002 Ireland is united for the first time under one leader
 and by 1801 Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. 

1845 saw a million and a half Irish starve to death due to the Great Potato Famine
 and a million more people emigrate to avoid the same fate. 

By 1922 Ireland becomes a free state within the British Commonwealth
 except for six counties of Northern Ireland
 which still remain part of the United Kingdom.
 Leaving the year of 1949 to see the twenty six counties of Ireland become an independent republic.



St. Patrick is the man who converted the Irish to Christianity 

and is the most famous Irishman of all time.
 No one is sure where exactly the patron saint was born or buried,
 but they do know when he died, which is March 17Th.

 So on this day, the Irish worldwide celebrate the holiday in honor of his name. 
The shamrock is the symbol of Ireland and comes from Gaelic Seamrog, 
which refers to the plant's three leaves. 
As the story goes, 
It was in a heated debate with a Druid priest that St. Patrick bent down,
 picked a shamrock 
and used it to demonstrate the Christian trinity 
using the three leaves held together by one single stem.

 We don't really know for sure if the story is true or not, but still regarded today as the national plant of Ireland and worn in many forms on St. Patrick's Day.


William Churchill once said," We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English"

My grandfather was from Dublin and came to this country residing in Pennsylvania in 1921.

Here is a picture of Dublin today overlooking the River Liffey.
 Shown is a portion of the Ha'penny Bridge.
 The Dome building in the background is the Custom House.



Some of my favorite books!



Some pictures from these book are among my favorites.
 Pottery and shamrock bowls, ending with spring roses!





I hope you enjoy a bit of the Irish on St. Patrick's Day
 and may your day be filled with blessings and good cheer!
 The following pictures are a bit of Irish in my home.











Vintage porcelain bells from Ireland.





Thank you for stopping by,

 ERIN GO BRAGH "Ireland Forever"
 Smiles,

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Wednesday, March 16, 2016

You Know You're In Texas

When you see a gate entrance with
The flag of Texas
and
The shape of the state.



I drove upon this great entrance gate in the country
a few weeks ago.


I love the rustic charm of the rusty flag and state shape.
These details in the center,
really give the gate some interest and character.


Just down the road a bit more
is a beautiful wood split rail that seemed to run for miles.

So serene, peaceful and calm.
Look how green the grass is getting.
The trees were budding here but hard to see in the photo.
Hope to take photos of Bluebonnets soon.

Thanks for stopping by

See you next time!
xo
Celestina Marie




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Monday, March 14, 2016

New Spring Treasures

It' been a busy time in my studio this spring
and
I have been having lots of fun.

Feeling refreshed and inspired to bring new pretties to my shop.

Here are just a few completed and on the shelves
at
on Etsy


~Roses and aqua filler flowers~


~ Simply Blessed Hydrangea~


~Faux Chocolate Bunnies~


~Vintage shoe mold~


~Aqua and rose eggs~



~ Porcelain keepsake trinket box~


~Happy Easter Crowned Birdie~


~Roses and springtime birds~



Blue bird and roses tray~
All the  new pink creations are apart of my new design collection
called,
"Keep It Pink"

All inspired for my customers who will always love pink!





Of course it's time for me to paint
Texas Bluebonnets.


and
for those cool spring days,
my signature crocheted lace lap throw in springtime light pink.


Thank you for stopping by and your welcomed comments.
Wishing you all a wonderful week.
xo
Celestina Marie




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Friday, March 11, 2016

Texas Bluebonnet Blog Hop


Hi Friends!
So glad you stopped by for a visit today.

It's springtime in Texas
and
the Texas bloggers are welcoming the new season in with a little inspiration
from the Texas Bluebonnet Blog Hop.

Stacey 
from
is our creator for today's blog hop.
and 
I hope you will stop over and say hello
and visit the many participating today too.

************************

When I begin to style for a new season,
it usually means, cleaning and rearranging.

This spring finds me doing that and more
in my sitting room.

I first begin by taking everything away
and doing a good cleaning.
I remove all the accessories, wall art and more.
Notice the dust mop to the right?
It's my pride and joy and was my grandmother's from the 40's 
or maybe even earlier.

It's a work horse to reach those areas a vacuum can't.
If I had to run out of my house in a hurry, 
this is something I'd take with me.


Next, 
I completely empty and clean the mantel and fireplace.

Once the cleaning is done,
I gather my inspirational pieces from around the house 
and in my prop closet.

Here are some of those piece
 and 
I must confess, a few new goodies this year too.

I found this HOME pillow last year and love it.



As you can see, I'm going a bit pastel this season.

S
Some new art work this year.


This piece is a Texas treasure and I love it.
The artist is Paul Valencay.
Horses in a watercolor wash of aqua shades of blue.
Love it!!

Then I got busy and
 created this new banner for the mantel.

I simply stenciled SPRING
on cardboard banner shapes atop
pretty scrapbook papers.
I can turn it around and stencil summer in the future.

So now let's put it all together and see the before and after for spring.

BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
Now you know me~ 
I make furniture switches all the time.
If you remember,
the red plaid chair that I placed here after Christmas~ still love it 
but, it went to the master bedroom where I have touches of red
and
 these vintage wicker chairs came from that space.
Perfect for spring!
Love them here better.


Lots of light streaming in makes this the sunniest room in my home.

I left the black and neutral design rug for an anchor piece
and
to balance off the darker pieces in the room.

So this is the beginning of spring inside my Texas cottage.
Here are a few little views from around the room.









Thank you for visiting today.

Before I go I'll leave you with one of my favorite Texas wildflowers to paint.
The 
Bluebonnet!



Come join the fun and visit the Texas Bloggers sharing springtime.


Have a great weekend.
xo




http://www.inlinkz.com/new/view.php?id=614513" rel="nofollow" title="click to view in an external page.">An InLinkz Link-up








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