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Sweet Valentine – Free

I have three Refind Valentines to give away.

These are each unique and might make somebody very happy! You could get a little easel to hold one. They are each 6″x8″.

They will be Free at Whatcom Art Market this coming weekend. While they last. You will find them on the shelf in my space. Come and get one for some nostalgic sweetheart. Each one comes with a wrapper of beautiful embossed paper. You can add a ribbon to hold it in place.

Number One:

Porcelain tile – with a transfer of an original 1907 Postcard. It features young lovers sitting in a park. I’ve added a few flower petals and elderberry blossoms and covered in an acrylic medium. It’s like looking into the past – not clear and crisp but faded like a memory. The postcard has a note on the front: “Don’t this couple look sweet? I did not suppose you had the courage to have your photo taken in such a position”.

Number Two:

Porcelain Tile with a dry rub transfer of a postcard dated 1916. A red heart says “I’m looking for a Valentine”. Again I have embellished with petals and added sparkles and acrylic. It becomes opaque like a memory.

Number Three

is a porcelain tile with a dry rub transfer of the cover of a book from 1880 based on the very old song “Home Sweet Home” – written in the early 1800s. A sweet girl sitting in the porch of a tiny cottage. “Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home”. And of course I embellished with dried flowers and opaque acrylic to show the distant past that belongs to every generation.

Happy Valentines Day! If you take one please please please post on here or on my Facebook page or tag me on Instagram @refindcreations33

©Belindabotzong2019

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Nostalgia

Nostalgia
Remembering the past
Idealization of times gone by
Days of old
Bittersweet memories
Nostalgia
Childhood freedom
Unrestrained laughter
Swinging and hiding and seeking
Discovery and dreams
Nostalgia
Longing for what never was
Aching for a past never experienced
In the way it’s remembered
Reminiscing
Leaving out the struggle
Nostalgia
Faded valentines
Handwritten letters tied in paisley ribbon
Envelopes with abbreviated addresses and one cent stamps peeling at the corner
Albums with velvet covers
Sepia toned portraits
Hiding stories of days gone by
Frozen smiles or frowns
Everyone dressed up in their Sunday best
Portraying ideal families in ideal situations
Their own nostalgia created on a tin photographic plate
Someday someone will long for the days of old
And they will mean today

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Old Things are Beautiful

These are old things in my otherwise modern home. They are things from my childhood or things I acquired somewhere along the way. Some things I made while others I collected. Enjoy!
Apple Head Dolls – made in about 1974 with our very old neighbor lady Mrs Van Mater

These were given to me when I was little by another elderly neighbor lady Mrs Pate. I love old grannies!

My great aunt Fanny gave me this vase as a wedding gift and this is her family photo album –

This was given to me by another old neighbor lady when I was a child and is still beautiful

And here are several things from my great aunt Margarett, my Grandma, and others:

I have been blessed with treasures from the past which have inspired my life and given me an appreciation for the beauty and details of history and craftsmanship and especially for making beautiful and fun things by hand. Thank you Mrs VanMater for countless hours spent with three little neighbor girls letting us stitch and craft and bake. To my great aunts, grandma, and my own mom for spending time with me and always encouraging me.
Blissful and blessed
©Belindabotzong2017