Thursday, 7 February 2019

One day at a time

Hello Friends,

Recently I made this wall hanging for a friend who is going through a tough time, having experienced domestic violence and psychological abuse for many years by her husband. At last she decided to leave, the best decision she could make for her and her teenage daughter's safety. She is much relieved to be out of the 'cooking pot', and is now embarking on a new job, in a new home, and rebuilding her life.

https://lace-age-girl.blogspot.com/2019/02/one-day-at-time.html

I wanted to give her some support from far away, something that might help her feel better. It's only a little token, but she was very touched when I gave it to her. I chose her favourite tone, aqua, and the bird nest to symbolise her new safe home. The sentiment 'One day at a time' was one I've found useful in huge upheavals. A few other sentiments appealed to me too, so I made a few extras that she could change depending on what spoke to her, and tucked them into an envelope on the back. They were: 

Be still
Breathe
Grateful heart
Be brave

https://lace-age-girl.blogspot.com/2019/02/one-day-at-time.html

The image of birds is a copy of a vintage postcard. The wall hanging was assembled on a blue canvas vintage book cover and hung with seam binding. I used a found feather, gum leaf and skeleton leaf, old sheet music, old pearl beads, blue and gold tissue paper and various scraps of vintage doilies, fabrics and laces to embellish it.


https://lace-age-girl.blogspot.com/2019/02/one-day-at-time.html


Now to introduce you to my new girls... At last I have a small chook pen and four darling hens who I hope will lay some fresh eggs for us in the next few weeks. They are four different kinds: A Crested Cream Legbar (who lays blue eggs), a Silver Laced Wyandotte, a Silver Pencilled Wyandotte and a mystery (the cream coloured one). They are settling in well and when they are big enough I will try free-ranging them. Hawks can easily take them when they are small.
Here they are:


https://lace-age-girl.blogspot.com/2019/02/one-day-at-time.html

I look forward to watching them contentedly forage, making those happy chooky noises I remember from my childhood. I'm linking up to Wen's Simply Neutrals Party #53 at her blog, AppleApricot.


Follow the link to find gorgeous glimpses of neutral beauty and art. Wishing you a smiling heart,
and a hug,


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20 comments:

  1. chrissie8 February 2019 at 00:23

    Such a very beautiful tag with amazing ideas to admire and inspire

    Have a great weekend

    Love Chrissie xx

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    1. Lace Age Girl8 February 2019 at 01:20

      Thanks, Chrissie. Enjoy your weekend too :)
      Jesse

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  2. Roosterhead Designs8 February 2019 at 08:19

    Ooo this is gorgeous Jesse! The touch of gold really drew my eye into this wonderful collage~ It is beautifully placed among the laces, fabrics and papers. I like the addition of the natural elements too, like the leaf and feather! Great layers friend! A happy restful sight. The nest really does feel so homey. Hugs, karen o

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    1. Roosterhead Designs8 February 2019 at 08:20

      Oh goodness I forgot to mention the chickens!! OMW how cool is that?! They're beautiful and sure to bring you much enjoyment and delicious egg meals too!

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    2. Lace Age Girl8 February 2019 at 23:57

      Thanks, Karen. The gold was a chocolate wrapper from Christmas :) I embossed it with my Cuttlebug machine. It will be so eggciting when we get our first egg!
      Hugs,
      Jesse XX

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  3. Naomi8 February 2019 at 20:47

    What a sweet gift. A lovely creation, Jesse. I especially like the bird and nest image to symbolize your friend's new home. Good for her for getting out of an abusive situation. So brave of her and an important message to her daughter. May they both embrace a new life and celebrate their courage.

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    1. Lace Age Girl9 February 2019 at 00:01

      Thanks, Naomi, you are so right, it is an important lesson for her daughter, but one she is not happy to see at the moment. It's so tough on her too, but luckily her Mum is determined to be positive.
      Jesse

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  4. froebelsternchen9 February 2019 at 08:39

    I love your wonderful hanger - it is gorgeous! And your girls are so beautiful!
    Happy February Jesse!

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    1. Lace Age Girl13 February 2019 at 21:58

      Thanks, Susi, I'm enjoying the milder weather but I expect it to get hot again soon. The poor chooks don't like the hot days. I've rigged up shade for them. They are so sweet.Enjoy your day,
      Jesse X

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  5. Tamara10 February 2019 at 07:57

    Hi Jesse.
    What a beautiful and thoughtful gift. So many lovely thoughts for your friend. So many charming layers and colors. And I love your idea of including other things for her to add her own little touches. And your chickens! They are so cute.... Best wishes for your friend. Have a wonderful Sunday.

    Tamara xo

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    1. Lace Age Girl13 February 2019 at 22:23

      Thanks for your kind comment, Tamara. Lovely to catch up on your sweet blog again, too :)
      Jesse X

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    2. Tamara19 February 2019 at 21:04

      Hi Jesse...
      Thank you for coming by. Yes our little pets do add so much to life. They are so affectionate and very querky! :) looking forward to visiting again. I hope your week is filled with peace and inspiration.

      Tamara X

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  6. suziqu's thread works10 February 2019 at 18:41

    What a beautiful thing to give your friend going through such a transitional time in creating a completely new life for herself! It's beautiful! Love the idea of "One day at a time"! Helps us ALL
    keep things in better perspective.
    How gorgeous are your wonderful new breeds of rare chookies. They are so gorgeous! We have had Wyandottes in the past. Love them! Would love to see your new home for them also.
    The breeding these days we believe has sadly deterioriated from the chooks we homed 30 years ago. Perhaps you will have good luck with these beauties.
    All the best with your new feathered babies. So adorable!
    xox Suzy

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    1. Lace Age Girl13 February 2019 at 22:30

      Hello Suzy, These are my very first chickens. I hope you're right that these chickens will be tough and healthy. I'm not finished with their home yet - I think it's too small. We are working out what to do to improve it, and when they get bigger I'll let them out in the garden too. Jasper the cat is very interested in them - I want them to be big enough to put him in his place before I let them out!
      Love,
      Jesse XX

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  7. Tracey@Hotchpotchcreations14 February 2019 at 02:12

    A real source of inspiration and of great comfort for your friend, such a thoughtful make. I hope she can now bloom with endless possibilities to her new life shared as it should have been without the fears she must have experienced in the past. As I have enjoyed exploring all those embellishments and detail upon your magnificent hanger i'm sure your friend will look upon this with kindness in her heart of your true friendship. Beautiful.
    Jesse's girls are amazing and what a treat to have freshly laid eggs of *Blue* I'm now waiting on a blue egg shell creation, i'm sure you will grace us with one soon.
    Warmest of wishes Tracey xx

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    1. Lace Age Girl18 February 2019 at 15:34

      Hi Tracey, thanks for your lovely chatty visit to my blog. A blue egg shell creation, that's an interesting challenge. I have some tiny quail eggs which I blew empty (hard work!) and they are in a nest I found. I'll see what I can do with larger eggs. They haven't started laying yet, it will be a few weeks before a surprise is left in the nesting boxes :)
      Wishing you a creative and peaceful week.
      Love,
      Jesse XX

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  8. AppleApricot Wen20 February 2019 at 04:48

    Heavens me, that is such a tough thing to go through! I know by experience and I'm so glad your friend has chosen to leave that toxic environment. I really hope she'll refind herself and the safety of her and her daughter. Wishing them both well.
    Now to your gorgeous collage, Jesse dear. It's so so beautiful! I love that aqua, and the gorgeous layering you did. And the beautiful found feather and leaves you added. Such a sweet gift for your friend.
    Speaking about gifts... dear friend, I have to appologize to you for not coming back to you earlier. I received your gorgeous gift a little while ago, but with my grandma and friend passing away, my mind was a bit absent these last weeks. But thank you so so much for your sweet gift! It's so gorgeous! And so sweet of you! I have to write you an email... will do that this week! For now, big hugs and love, xx

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    1. Lace Age Girl20 February 2019 at 23:06

      Hello Wen, I'm glad you received the gift - the mail really is snail now! I know you have had some difficult times, so don't worry. We'll catch up soon, and that will bve lovely. And then I'll have a keyboard with no blanks for a,e,i and o which is driving me crackers! My email is down at the moment as I am in between a computer upgrade - the agony of it! We spent all day trying to get my email back into shape on the new computer but we failed dismally. We are drowning our sorrows in champagne, as the hot water service died too! So no warm showers for a while. Ouch! And Skype of course will need to be reconfigured, along with everything else. But I have a lovely new 4K HD screen so my pictures are looking gorgeous!!! LOL. Sending love to you,
      from Jesse XXX

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  9. Dorthe21 February 2019 at 08:28

    Oh Jesse , how could I have not seen this,- it is so very, very beautiful, a gift to your friend. So adorable a creation, dear.
    Your new hens looks wonderful, too , and I hope they will be to much joy for you .- also when bigger and more safe to have them running free.
    Hugs, to you and love from Dorthe

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    1. Lace Age Girl22 February 2019 at 16:12

      Thanks, Dorthe. I'm just catching up on all my online friends now that my email program has found its files at last on my new computer. Wishing you a happy week,
      Love, Jesse XXX

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Thank you so much for your friendly comments. It makes my day to hear from you about my artworks and topics.

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