~Yard Work Once More~

We have had such an early spring this year that Jeff and I have found ourselves ahead of schedule when it comes to our yard work.

It always makes me feel so much better to get rid of those left behind dried leaves and trim the bushes and spread fresh mulch.  I love the smell of mulch and it makes me think of spring and summer.  When you're a teacher in the finally stretch of the school year any glimpse of summer vacation is a welcomed sight! = )

A couple of weekends ago, Jeff and I were in the yard armed with the hedge trimmers and a pile of fresh mulch to spread.  I thought I would share some pictures of how everything turned out.

Even looking at these pictures now, I am amazed at how green everything is!

I also wanted to share an idea I had for adding a little color to a wooden bowl.  I had a wooden bowl sitting on an old bench in the sun room and it looked so empty and colorless.  I decided to add some dried cranberries and a dried orange slice to spruce it up and give it some much needed color.

Thank you for visiting Yesterday Once More.  I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you will continue to come back as often as you can.  Don't forget to look for Yesterday Once More on facebook.  I would love to see you there too.  You can also follow Yesterday Once More on pinterest by clicking here.

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."

~Audrey Hepburn~

All My Best,
~Dan~

~Two of My Favorite Samplers~

I just finished designing and stitching two samplers that I think are two of my favorite samplers that I have made so far.

The first sampler is a pineapple design that says "Welcome Friends".  I am really happy with how this one turned out.  I wasn't sure if I could make this one or not.  I have thought of many other designs to add to this sampler.  One of my goals is to make it into a Colonial Christmas sampler.

I call this sampler "Woolens".  It is three sheep in a pasture.  I am really happy with the way this one turned out too.  This sampler came about because I was kind of stuck about what to stitch next.  I decided that I had not done sheep before, so I thought I would try it.

If you have time, please let me know what you think of these two samplers.  I would really like to hear your honest thoughts.

Thank you for visiting Yesterday Once More.  I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you will continue to come back as often as you can.  Don't forget to look for Yesterday Once More on facebook.  I would love to see you there too.  You can also follow Yesterday Once More on pinterest by clicking here.

"We are all of us stars, and we deserve to twinkle."

~Marilyn Monroe~

All My Best,

~Dan~

~Folk Artist Spotlight...Johanna Parker~

I am back with another folk artist spotlight.  I am very excited about this folk artist spotlight.  I am featuring folk artist, Johanna Parker.

I decided to feature Johanna second because she is the daughter of my first folk artist spotlight, Kathy Parker.  So quite literally, if there was no Kathy Parker there would have been no Johanna Parker.  Johanna is a wonderful artist.  She is probably most known for her Halloween designs, but she has a multitude of designs for all the seasons.  Johanna was even born on Halloween so it seems that she was meant to make October 31st a very important day in her life.

Johanna's work has been featured in Many different magazines including A Primitive Place & Country Journal, Celebrate by Phyllis Hoffman, Country Home, Country Sampler, and Holiday by Matthew Mead.  Johanna has a large following of collectors who avidly collect her original works which she sells through her website www.johannaparkerdesign.com.

Johanna and her husband JP make their home in Colorado along with their very photogenic black cat, Jack.  They attend folk artists shows including the Halloween Trunk Show which will take place on September 29, 2012 in Denver, Colorado and the Ghoultide Gathering which will take place on October 5-6, 2012 in Chelsea, Michigan.  Johanna will also be hosting her 10th annual Holiday Open House at her home in Lakewood Colorado on December 1-2, 2012.

Johanna's work is sold through a variety of online websites including Bayberry Cove, The Holiday Barn, Primitives by Kathy, Shelley B. Home & Holiday, Traditions, and Vintage Halloween Store.  (You may click on any of the above names to go to Johanna's page.) 

Johanna also has her own Zazzle Shop which features unique items with some of Johanna's wonderful illustrations. 

Most of Johanna's art is created through papier-mache, but she is also a very talented illustrator.

One thing that I like about Johanna's designs is that they fit seamlessly into any style of home.  They look wonderful in vintage homes, primitive homes, or more traditions homes.  You can see Johanna's love of the holidays through all of her designs.  For me, they remind me of the holiday decorations that we in our home when I was a kid.  I think that is one reason I love Johanna's designs so much.

I guess Jeff summed it up best when he said, "Johanna Parker has some wicked talent."  I am pretty sure he meant that as a huge compliment! = )

I would like to thank Johanna Parker for allowing me to feature her on my blog.  It is quite an honor!  I also want to thank her for allowing me to use pictures of her work from her blog.  Johanna and her husband, JP, are also very talented photographers.

I also wanted to share some of my collection of Johanna Parker's folk art.  They always put a smile on my face when I look at them!

If you would be interested in collecting some of Johanna's original, one of a kind, pieces or if you would like to be kept up to date about what is going on in Johanna Parker's world of art, you can join her mailing list by clicking here.  Just fill out the form on the bottom left of the screen.  You can also visit Johanna's blog by clicking here.  Make sure you tell her that Dan sent you! = )

Thank you for visiting Yesterday Once More.  I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you will continue to come back as often as you can.  Don't forget to look for Yesterday Once More on facebook.  I would love to see you there too.  You can also follow Yesterday Once More on pinterest by clicking here.

"A grandmother pretends she doesn't know who you are on Halloween."

~Erma Bombeck~

All My Best,

~Dan~

~Goodies from the Olde Homestead~

Last Saturday, I did a magazine signing at The Olde Homestead in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.  While I was there, I picked up some wonderful goodies that I wanted to share with you.  If you live in the Illinois area, it would really be worth your time to visit The Olde Homestead.  Their new shop is amazing!

Speaking of amazing shops, the shop of Dan DiPaolo and Jamey Berger, Fried Green Tomatoes, has released their event schedule.  I wanted to share it with you so that you might be able to make one of their events.  I am hoping to attend one of them this summer too.  The shop is wonderful and Dan and Jamey are wonderful guys.  You will not regret making the trip.

Now, on to my goodies that I found at The Olde Homestead.  I found this wonderful primitive bird.  I placed it on the desk in the keeping room.  I believe that it was meant to be a spring decoration, but I will keep it out all year.

I also found this wonderful handmade Teddy bear.  I love him and I placed him on the bed in one of our guest bedrooms.

I have also been looking for some pillows to add to the sofa in the keeping room.  I found these wonderful Family Heirloom Weavers pillows.  They are black and tan and I love the extra color that they bring to the sofa.

What do you think of my goodies?

Thank you for visiting Yesterday Once More.  I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you will continue to come back as often as you can.  Don't forget to look for Yesterday Once More on facebook.  I would love to see you there too!  You can also follow Yesterday Once More on pinterest by clicking here.

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else."

~Judy Garland~

All My Best,

~Dan~

~The Surprise Home Tour is Finally Revealed!!!!~

I am here to reveal the mystery artist whose home will be featured in the summer 2012 issue of A Primitive Place & Country Journal magazine.  We are very honored to announce that we will be featuring the home, studio, and shop of artist and designer, Dan DiPaolo!

I have been sitting on this secret for two years and let me tell you, there have been times that I was about ready to burst.  I wanted to share this information with people for so long, and I really appreciate the editor of A Primitive Place & Country Journal, Kristine Berg Doss, for allowing me to make this announcement. 

This feature started two years ago in the spring of 2010.  I had just started working for the magazine as a contributing writer, and we were looking for houses to photograph.  I had always been a fan of Dan DiPaolo’s work and I had emailed him a couple of times expressing my admiration for the work that he does.  To my surprise, he always returned my emails and was always very gracious.  I thought that featuring his home would be a wonderful addition to the magazine.

After talking to Kristine about it, I emailed Dan and asked him if he would be interested in having his home in the magazine.  He was very interested and he said that he and Jamey Berger who helps Dan run his freelance business, Dan DiPaolo Studios, were in the process of having a 1840s log cabin moved to their property to turn into an art studio.  He thought it would be a good idea for me to come and photograph the studio after it was completed.  I thought it was a great idea, so we decided to wait to do the feature.  Reassembling the log cabin and turning it into an art studio was a very long process.  It took Dan and Jamey a little over a year to complete it.

When the studio was completed I made arrangements with Dan to come and photograph his house, studio, and shop, Fried Green Tomatoes, in July of 2011.  On a hot July morning, I travelled to Burlington, Wisconsin to do the photo shoot that had been in the making for over a year.  I was very nervous when I arrived at the beautiful farm, but was immediately put at ease by Dan and Jamey.  They were both so welcoming and gave me access to every part of the farm. 

The first hour I was there, I think I was in shock.  I could not believe that I had just met an artist who I had admired for so long and I was photographing his farm.  The day went by all too quickly.  Before I left, I bought a wonderful birdhouse that Dan had for sale in his shop which was made by Rick LaChance.  Every time I look at the birdhouse, I am reminded of the wonderful day I spent at Dan and Jamey’s farm.

After I made the eight hour trip home, I probably talked to Jeff nonstop about everything I saw and what a wonderful experience it was.  Then I began waiting for the time to come to write the feature that would accompany the pictures that I took.  It has been a long process, but the end result is wonderful and I think that you all will really enjoy being invited into this perfectly decorated home, art studio, and shop.

 Dan’s homes have been featured in other magazines, but A Primitive Place & Country Journal is the first magazine to ever photograph Dan’s studio.  What an amazing honor!

 
I would like to thank Dan DiPaolo and Jamey Berger for being so gracious and welcoming and allowing me to come and photograph their beautiful farm.  I would also like to thank Kristine Berg Doss for giving me this once in a lifetime opportunity.  It was truly a dream come true.

If you would like to know more about Dan DiPaolo, you can click here to visit his blog.  If you have not yet subscribed to A Primitive Place & Country Journal magazine, this is the time to do it.  You can get your subscription started by clicking here.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek into Dan's beautiful farm.  You can see many more wonderful pictures in the Summer 2012 issue of A Primitive Place & Country Journal magazine.

Dan graciously allowed me to have my picture taken with him.  This picture was taken on the front porch of the log cabin that is now home to Dan DiPaolo Studios.

This is the birdhouse that I bought from Dan and Jamey's shop Fried Green Tomatoes. It was made by Rick LaChance.  You can visit Rick's website by clicking here.

A view months after my visit, I made this sampler for Dan to put in his art studio.

Thank you for visiting Yesterday Once More.  I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you will continue to come back as often as possible.  Don't forget to look for Yesterday Once More on facebook.  I would love to see you there too!  You can also follow Yesterday Once More on pinterest by clicking here.

"Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true."

~Lyman Frank Baum~

All My Best,

~Dan~