loveliness

This is what most of my house looks like right now. 

Furniture strewn about, mattresses upended against walls, piles of books, clothes, toys and trinkets.  Yes, we are well into the list, and at current count have moved 9 or 10 large pieces of furniture to different spots in the house.  Some pieces up two flights, some down two flights, some into the next room, or into the attic for storage, and one large and comfortable chair that lived a good life, unfortunately, moved out for the trash.  Luckily as our family has grown and our space has evolved over the years we've made great use of what we have, and many pieces of furniture have found different spots and varied use in our cozy house.

I've been quite buoyed by a recent comment by Mama Scout extoling the virtues of living in a smaller home and the joy (and chaos) that comes with shared space.  So, with her encouragement, I am well into decluttering and making the most of every inch of space that we have, knowing that there will be quite a mess before it is all put back together again.  I am quite good at seeing in my mind's eye the end result, and quite good at creating a disaster getting there.

Amidst all of this mess, I've decided to share some bits of loveliness too.  Some are projects I've completed, or presents given to me, some are even things crafted during the holidays.  I've had pictures of all of them, but not the chance yet to share, so I will do so over the next couple weeks when there may not be so much to photograph of the piles and paintbrushes and boxes of clutter.

Today I will share these tile coasters that were sent to me from a dear friend.  The colorful flower paper is decoupaged to the front of the tile, and felt covers the entire bottom of the tile making them quiet and furniture safe.  The weight of each is pleasantly heavy and they can be used not just for drinks, but for hot dishes at mealtimes too.

I've especially enjoyed using them at my sewing machine, though admittedly the hardest part is picking which to use, because I love the flowers on each and every one.

Loveliness indeed, made more lovely by the generous giver!