Valentine Love

Remember the banner from my mother's birthday party, well the banner has morphed from my mom's birthday party, to Christmas and on to Valentine's Day!  I haven't gotten tired of it yet and whether I am having a party or not....it makes me smile when I walk past the doorway!

Here are some of the valentine hankies I found in my "hoard" of hankies.

This is a pale pink dotted Swiss hankie....very cute.  Not too practical for a hankie I  would say.

My mom taught school for several years and hankies were one of the teacher gifts of choice at that time.  Then I have bought a box or two at auctions and all my grandma's had nice collections as well.  So let's just say I might have a vintage suitcase full of hankies....not saying I do....but it could be possible.

As I was pulling ones for the Christmas banner, I notice all the Valentine ones....so cute!  So I must do a Valentine's banner too!

I love the edges on many of them....so fun!

Sweet designs....

Look at those corners....this might be one of my favorites!

Fun little border print with tiny scallop edges.

This one is embroidered with my Great-grandma's name....with a lovely crocheted edge, which I think she would have done.  It is not in good condition....so I am sure it was well used.

Little hearts all around and tiny scallop heart border.

 Don't you just love these little pieces of sweetness!

 Cute border prints!

Love the edging on this one too....way too cute!

Happy Valentine's......sorry for the glare....too many windows in my dining room!  I always struggle taking pictures in there.

 Be My Valentine banner .....isn't that cute!  I sewed the paper letters on a piece of rick rack and finished the loops on each end with red buttons.

We had a couple visitors last weekend for Sam's 8th birthday.  He invited his sister, Cora, to share his sleepover.  The kids love to make designs with Perler beads.  You can get them at the local craft store, I even scored a bunch of them at Goodwill one time.  :)

We played Valentine Bingo and I know two kids that won some prizes....what's not to like about that?

Happy 8th Birthday, Samuel!

Isn't this just a hoot....I took this picture last year of some of the tribe and I got some free $$ from Shutterfly....so I dressed this pic up in Photoshop Elements and had it made into a puzzle.  To say it is stinkin' cute....... is an understatement.  The grands will love doing it!

Happy Valentine's Day to my Sweetie Pie.....we're off to do something fun today!

Right click and you can save it!

Summer in a Basket

What can you do with a worn out, old broken basket, a vintage mason jar, a chipping sparrow's nest?

I hope this arrangement will make you smile, as it does me.  It reminds me of those things that make summer great.

I used some leftover silks that I already had....filling the basket with flower oasis and tucking in some moss to cover it and make it look natural.  I used some taller stems in the back.....but you could do whatever you wished....and it might depend some on the shape of your basket. 

The "Silver Fox" and I live on the top of a hill out in the country, so when we have wind, which is quite often.  I find nests that have blown out of the trees.  So I have a nice collection of nests.  It was fun to tuck this sweet little one into the corner.

On one corner of the basket, the splints were broken out, so I added some moss and a couple flowers "growing out."

This photo is taken looking down from the top.....so you can see the mason jar tucked in the basket with a butterfly glued to a stick inside. 

This certainly brings back childhood memories of collecting fuzzy caterpillars in glass jars, that I had poked holes in the lid.  Then I graduated to a bug keeper that we bought at the local dime store.  I thought that thing was the cat's meow!!!

I hope this inspires you to collect a few of your flower blooms and some natural elements..... put them together in a old container.....and enjoy!!!

Tis the Patriotic Season

I have been collecting Americana for a very long time.....

 long before it was popular or collectible.

It is probably my favorite season to decorate.....maybe because it is during the warmer months of the year or because I LOVE red and blue or because I enjoy the history of our country, 

 or all of the above.

Well my goal is to always have my patriotic decorations up before Memorial Day....so we can enjoy it all for not only that weekend, but Flag Day and July 4.....but this year I didn't get quite that far.  I did get my tree done...only to have one of the strings of lights burn out on me.  UGGG!!!

I don't have a window above my sink....but I do have a mirror and two lighted glass shelves and I usually place some of my favorite pieces there to enjoy while  I work in the kitchen.

I still love this piece of Rowe pottery from Wisconsin that I bought many years ago.....it is filled with vintage kitchen tools from my grandmothers laid on a vintage crocheted  red, white and blue potholder.  The patriotic angel was made by one of my quilt friends and the little sailor is a fun Hallmark card, setting on a patriotic doily made by Grandma K.  I am not sure Hallmark makes those kinds of cards any more.  At least the last time I looked, which wasn't recently.....they had nothing like this.

This little still-life includes a sweet framed print, Longaberger flag basket and an old "American" scale loaded with dish towels ready to use.

This shelf includes a metal ice bucket from a thrift store, and a wonderful paper honeycomb decoration of George Washington.  I got a set of these from a special life-long friend.

Another Hallmark card surrounded by a vintage food chopper and a wooded flag bowl.

Hope you enjoyed these little vignettes above my kitchen sink.

New Beginnings

I must say as I begin this blog, I am some what intimidated by it.  I did start a family blog several years ago and really didn't do that much with it.  I find myself needing a challenge and hopefully I want to develop some online friends through this means.  I need a new beginning, but after seeing the devastating pictures from Japan, my losses that I have endured last year seem small and insignificant in comparison.

Just to give a little explanation of the title of my blog 4 & Fifteen.  It comes from my four beautiful, grown daughters, who are in the trenches of motherhood and raising our 15 grandchildren.....hence the 15.  I consider them my treasures.  If you remember the movie Sarah, Plain & Tall, she referred to her spinster aunts in Maine as the "unclaimed treasures."  I always loved that, so my 4 & Fifteen are MY claimed treasures.

What better time to talk about new beginnings, than March in Iowa and the end of winter.  I always enjoy my Easter decorations so much.  I thought I would share with you some of my fav Easter decorations.

I finished a couple towels last week from two pieces of vintage huck toweling that I had from my Grandma T's stash.  I found this darling machine embroidery design and have the towel draped over an old scale with a vintage child's chick bowl.  In the bowl is a egg toy that you push a button with your thumb and the egg spins around and opens and exposes the chick inside.  A fav with the little kids.

Here is the green towel, I used it to line a napkin basket.

Here is my serving basket on my dining room table in my kitchen.  You can see some of the plastic eggs that have cross stitch little bands around them with simple designs.  In the background is a tablecloth I bought on a trip to Germany.  On the far left corner you can see one of the salt and pepper shakers that has a beautiful pink flower on the top.  They are so sweet.  The basket is lined with a 60 degree star quilt made out of 30's reproduction fabric and it was English paper pieced by a friend.