“she painted the world with her love”

An absolutely lovely handmade gift arrived in my mailbox on Saturday.

It was thoughtfully created by my friend Dawn, of the blog 4:53.  Dawn has been an inspiration of mine for years and is constantly working on the most beautiful little crafts of all sorts.  She sews, works with papers, paints, embroiders, and loves so many of the same things that I do, including our Savior and Friend Jesus,  that I consider her a Kindred Spirit of the very best kind.

It was such a pleasure snapping pictures of the loveliness, but first I had to politely ask kitty Sherlock to step aside.  He thought the pretty thing covered in flowing ribbons was a cat toy.

Don’t worry, dear Dawn, there was no harm done by the naughty cat.

The journal was held together by an elastic which had a fabric flower glued to it  (the back of the flower was covered with felt to make it look neat).  Once the flower was off, I eagerly opened the book, which was bursting with pages upon pages of pretty touches.

Most of the pages had a folded-over edge, with an embellishment such as a tag, quote, playing card, or doily sewn to it.  The ends of the threads were left long, making for delightful dangling out the top and bottom of the book.

two favorites:  books and Jane Austen

In truth

a family is
what you make it.

It is made strong,
not by the number of
heads counted
at the dinner table,
but by the rituals
you help
family members
create,
by the memories you share,
by the commitment 
of time,
caring, and love
you show to one another,
and by the hopes
for the future
you have as
individuals and as a unit.
~Marge Kennedy

Thank you, Dawn, for this beautiful gift.  I’ll cherish it always, and very much enjoy adding some of my own *jots and tittles* to it, too.

For more information on this journal and a peek at many of her other works, visit Dawn’s lovely site.  She would be more than welcoming to see any visitors that might happen to drop in.  You just might want to pour yourself a cuppa something’ hot before you do, so you can pleasantly linger.  🙂