Make A May Day Basket

May your days be beautiful

like the buds of May.

May Day is only two days away,

do you have a May Day basket all ready to give to someone special?

We do not have any fresh flowers blooming outside 

since the weather has been rather cold here in the mountains

so I made my own sweet posies using miniature fabric roses
to place in my "basket."

I coiled up a fabric wrapped wire

 and attached the rose to the top with hot glue.

My basket is made out of a recycled tin can 

and has been decorated with lace, pearls, and rose trim.

I glued on a mini clothespin and printed out a sweet May Day saying

to hang from the clothespin.

The can is filled with Spanish moss and plenty of roses

which are "springing" forth.

Now my shabby May Day basket is ready to be delivered.

I wonder who will find it hanging on their doorknob. . . 

It's not too late to make a loved one or special friend a May Day basket.

It can be simple and sweet - it's the thought that matters most.

May Day blessings to you, precious friends!

New And Fresh Items In The Shoppe

Hello Lovelies!

I wanted to pop in and show you a few of the new items listed at

Rose Petal Blessings - perfect gifts for Mother's Day :)

Rose Petal Blessings

A charming pin cushion made out of a hand-painted creamer.

Delicate lace and pearl magnets.

A hand sewn quilted 6 patch tote bag/ purse.

And aprons. . .

Aprons made out of men's shirts,

and pretty aprons made out of tea towels :)

Have a wonderful Monday, my friends!

My love to you!

Rose Petal Blessings

* * * * *

Click here to read about Jessica Dotta's amazing new book,
'Mark of Distinction.'

Mark Of Distinction - Book Review

IN VICTORIAN SOCIETY,

WHERE EVEN A WHISPER OF SCANDAL CAN RUIN A LIFE,

JULIA ELLISTON MUST WATCH HER STEP.

London is said to be the glittering jewel of society, a world unto itself,

but to Julia Elliston, it is a city of shadows.

Now under the protection of Lord Pierson,

she is caught up in his desperate plan and thrust into the public eye as his rightful heir.

She's the toast of London, a celebrated curiosity,

but with the entire city clamoring for more news of the Emerald Heiress,

Julia quickly finds it difficult to maintain the illusion.

Each step forward pushes her closer to the precipice.

And she must not forget that Chance Macy's power is far-reaching as well.

One false move, and he could bring her - and the future she's fighting for - tumbling down.

Aided only by a gentleman whose intentions she prays she can trust,

Julia must find a way to regain control of her own fate,

But outwitting one's foe rarely goes according to plan.

My Thoughts

Jessica Dotta has thoroughly captivated me with her writing style!

She is truly amazing and incredibly talented - yes, she is now a new favorite author of mine.

'Mark of Dinstinction' picks up right where 'Born of Persuasion' left off

and I am quite happy to say Jessica does a great job of keeping the two books flowing together,

she is very consistent with her writing.

The main character, Julia Elliston, 

grew up believing her father was the famed Atheist,William Elliston.

She later becomes aware that she is not his, 

but rather the daughter of  the wealthy and very powerful Lord Pierson.

Lord Pierson takes Julia in knowing she belongs to him, but she must abide by his rules

and adhere to his wishes.

He is often rude and very controlling which leaves Julia feeling helpless and very angry.

It appears she went from one captor to another. . .

And speaking of captors, Chance Macy once again has quite the impact on Julia.

She seems to lose any clear, sensible thoughts when she is in his presence

and Jessica Dotta does an amazing job of making the reader feel what Jessica is going through.

Will Julia relent to those forcing her hand 

or will she find her own way to break free of the cage she seems to have put herself in?

There are so many incredible twists and turns in this book - romance, suspense, intrigue -

and it will leave you questioning who is the honest and sincere one

and who will ultimately win Julia's heart.

This book had me reading into the night and early hours of the morning 

because I could not put it down,

and yet it was so good that I also wanted to take my time and savor each chapter.

I could honestly read this book again and I just finished it - 

I said the very same thing about the first book as well.

Jessica Dotta has won my heart over with her unique writing style

and I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

I highly recommend this book and 'Born of Persuasion.'

** I was given a free copy of this book from Tyndale Publishers for an honest review.

All thoughts are my own. No other compensation was received. **

About the Author

Jessica Dotta has always been fascinated by England during the Regency and Victorian eras.

Her passion for British literature fueled her desire to write in a style that blends the humor of

Jane Austen and the dark drama of a Bronte sister.

She lives in the Nashville area with her family

and works as a freelance media consultant and publicist.

Visit her online at www.jessicadotta.com

* * * * *

You can click here to read my review for 'Born of Persuasion.'

A Rose Plant In Jericho

"At morn I plucked a rose and gave it Thee,

A rose of joy and happy love and peace,

A rose with scarce a thorn:

But in the chilliness of a second morn

My rose bush drooped, and all its gay increase

Was but one thorn that wounded me.

I plucked the thorn and offered it to Thee;

And for my thorn Thou gavest love and peace,

Not joy this mortal morn:

If Thou hast given much treasure for a thorn,

Wilt Thou not give me for my rose increase

Of gladness, and all sweets to me?

My thorny rose, my love and pain, to Thee

I offer, and I set my heart in peace,

And rest upon my thorn:

For verily I think tomorrow morn

Shall bring me Paradise, my gifts increase,

Yea, give Thy very Self to me."

~ Christina G. Rossetti

Have a blessed Lord's Day, lovely ladies!

Friendship And Snickerdoodle Bars

Won't you sit down at my table, sweet friends,

and enjoy a cup of hot coffee with a Snickerdoodle treat :)

The Snickerdoodle Bars recipe is at the end of the post.

They are OH SO good!

The joy of friendship is a treasure we ought to cherish. . .

We ought to nurture it and treat it with tender-loving care.

Friendship is not something we should take for granted,

but rather hold on to with gratitude and love.

Friendship is sweet to the soul

and good for the heart.

So sit with me for a while, dear one, and we shall enjoy the delights of friendship,

and we shall revel in the wonder and beauty of becoming kindred-spirits.

Blessings and love to you on this beautiful day!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 The lovely mug was a gift from my dear friend, Sylvia, who blogs at

A Grandma's Blessings.

Sylvia was one of my first followers almost two years ago when I started blogging

and we have become good friends ever since :)

Snickerdoodle Bars

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cinnamon Filling

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Glaze

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 - 2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease bottom only of a 13x9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter with mixer until creamy.

Beat in sugars.

Gradually beat in eggs and vanilla into sugar mixture until combined.

On low speed, beat in dry ingredients until combined.

Spread half the batter into pan; spread evenly (it's very sticky)

Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over batter.

Dollop teaspoon size amounts of remaining batter evenly over cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown

and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely - about an hour.

In a small bowl, stir glaze ingredients until smooth

and drizzle  over bars.

ENJOY!

Upcycled Shabby Apron

Hello sweethearts!

How are you doing on this beautiful day?

I truly hope all is well, dear friends,
and I hope each and every one of you had a lovely Easter.

* * * * * * * * * * *

I am very excited to say that I finally made an apron :)

This is my first ever apron and I don't know why it took me so long to try my hand at one.

It all started when my family I went to my parent's home for supper one night

and I saw my mom wearing an apron that looked like a man's shirt - I was very intrigued.

My mom is not a sewing lady so I was quite curious to find out where she got it.

Well, my sister's mother-in-law made it for her :)

So began my desire to make myself one.

Now I know aprons made out of a man's shirt are nothing new,

but in case you are like me (in the dark) and had never seen one before

then here is a full tutorial on how I made mine.

Basic Items Needed:

man's shirt

scissors

chalk

sewing machine

seam ripper

extra embellishments (optional) such as:

doily

eyelet lace

My darling husband went through his closet and tossed out three shirts

so I kept them to use for this purpose.

I don't know about you, but I love putting on a sweater or shirt of my husband's

just to breathe in his scent and feel close to him. . . . . . 

Anyway, I was quite happy to use one of his shirts for this project.

You can also go to the second-hand shop and find a shirt for cheap :)

Shall we get started?

If the shirt you're using has a pocket you will want to rip it off with a seam ripper

(keep it to sew on elsewhere on the apron).

Using chalk, draw an angled line from the shoulder seam

down to the seam under the arm.

Start at the bottom of the shirt and cut along the seam

and work your way up to the shoulder seam by cutting along the chalk line.

This is what it should look like. . . 

Flip the collar up and cut along the seam.

Here is what you should have. . . 

Making sense so far?

I hope so :)

I attached an old doily to my apron since I have a hard time leaving things "plain." :)

I cut the doily to size and pinned into place.

Then I sewed along the edge to secure it down.

Next, fold over the edges of the shirt

and sew along the edge.

Also, button the shirt up and sew along the middle to keep the shirt from gaping.

Make sure you don't sew all the way up to the top button 

or else you won't be able to get your apron on over your head!

Leave about 2 - 3 buttons open at the top :)

Sew the eyelet lace onto the inside of the shirt along the bottom edge.

If you kept the pocket then now would be the time to sew it onto the apron.

I placed mine on the doily.

Pin into place and sew around the edges leaving the top open.

To make an eyelet lace flower use a needle and thread

and sew a running stitch along the top.

Pull to gather it and to form a flower shape that looks like this. . . 

Bring the two ends together and sew them closed.

Add a pretty embellishment to the center of the flower

and sew or use fabric glue to attach it to the apron.

You can even attach the flower to a pin so that you can take it off

and add it to your outfit :)

And finally it's time to attach the apron strings

(which I forgot to take photos off),

but thankfully it's easy.

I used a rose chiffon ribbon that was about 14 inches long for each

and sewed them onto the edge of the apron.

You can also use the extra fabric from the shirt to make strings out of.

All done! :)

Enjoy your upcycled apron, sweet friends!

Have a beautifully blessed day!

Don't miss out on the Mug Exchange - click on the picture for more details.