A Little Studio Time for Myself

Hi Bloggie Friends,

It has been so very long since I've done any creating just for myself, but this weekend was a break in the cycle.  A couple of weeks ago, I picked up this fun little frame at my local thrift store.  It was made in Italy, was VERY gold, and did I mention, it was PLASTIC.  EEEEOOOOWWW!  Anyway, I thought it had potential, and went ahead and purchased it, even though my husband rolled his eyes at me.

I'm terrible at remembering to take "before" pictures because I usually just want to get to work, but I did find this image on Pinterest that is what my little piece looked like except mine was a really garish gold.  I saved the little cherub for use in another project sometime.

A little chalk paint, a little wax, clear, followed by brown, and then adding back a little gold with a wonderful French gilding wax gave the frame the look I wanted.  I covered over the worn red fuzzy backing with a nice damask paper and finished the back (not pictured) with a similarly styled vintage wallpaper.   Then, I added a pretty lady and some gorgeous old French silk ribbon work trim.  After putting her all back together, this was the result.



Beautiful details...

Love me some beautiful old ribbon work any day of the week and twice on Sunday!

And here she is, hung on the wall in her forever home (well, okay, maybe just her "for now" home, but whatever).  I'm so pleased at how it turned out. 

Thanks for coming along for the show and tell.  It's been a long time, hasn't it? 

Until next time,

Where on Earth Have I Been???

My oh my, my bloggie friends,

Where, you ask?  Well, right here, living life, just not blogging.  Are any of you still out there or am I deluding myself?  It's been SOOOOOOO long (nearly 2 years) since I fired up my Blogger account.  WHAT?  How does this happen?  I've missed blogging so much, but the whole full-time job thing and trying to juggle 2 kids and 2 Etsy shops (didn't do so great on that, more later on in the post), blah, blah, blah, you get it.  I have started doing Instagram a small bit, but nothing like the blog-more personal, no real theme, just a real mish-mash of whatever strikes my fancy on any given day.  It's great for short attention span lookey looing, but not like the blogs are. 

The reason I wanted to pop over to say hello was to show you what I spent all of last week doing...reviving my sad, neglected little Etsy shops.  I actually just let them whither on the vine for a while.  Also sad, but apparently, what I needed.  After a few months of nothing new being put on there, I finally decided enough was enough.  I asked for a week off from work and got busy.  I photographed and measured and cataloged.  I got several new pieces up in each shop and I am now postured to be able to add more pieces much easier since I did the hard work up front.  I thought I'd make little photo collages to give you an idea of what's new.  I call this one "Rhapsody in Blue and Gold"-okay, just kidding, I didn't name it that, but it does kind of work, don't you think?  LOL!

These lovelies can be or will be found soon along with many other beautiful treasures at The French Laundry. 

My other shop, Elegant Farmhouse, has also been revamped. If you aren't familiar with Elegant Farmhouse, the aesthetic is different than The French Laundry.  More simple items, cleaner lines, less fancy.  Funny, but this seems to coincide with my split personality when it comes to decorating.  Part of me LOVES all the fancy French antiques, the more gilt the better, while another part still digs the painted primitives that I came to love when I lived in New England.  Hence, 2 shops.  Or, if you are Marion of Miss Mustard Seed fame, you can blend both into a wonderfully cohesive decorating style.  She is so sweet and so very talented...but I digress.  Back to my photo collage.  We'll call this one "Study in White and Tan". I plan on adding more items every week to both shops, so pop by whenever you get the chance and have a look around. You just never know when something is going to strike your fancy. 

I'll try to circle back around and share more photos when I get the chance. 

Until next time,

Beautiful Things...

Hello friends,

First let me say that I got to spend the day handling beautiful things which is always a pleasure.  But why am I so tired???  I don't know about you, but photographing and editing and measuring and listing just take it out of me.  Maybe I'm just getting soft in my old age!  Anyway, after looking at all of the beautiful photos I had just taken for items due to land in my Etsy shop The French Laundry, I decided I'd love to make a beautiful collage since I like making those and haven't done so in a while.  THEN, lucky you, I decided to share with you as I do a drive by post (my nickname for a quickie-definitely NOT done while driving though).  Some of these treasures are already in the shop and some will get there this week, but even if you don't stop by the shop, you can get some eye candy right from your armchair.  YOU'RE WELCOME... LOL!

I've also been busy listing some pieces from one of my favorite artists/designers, Robin Brown who created the Magnolia Pearl line of romantic wear.  These can be found on eBay if you're interested.  If not, do feel free to feel the love right here anyway.

These beautiful pieces can be seen for auction here.

Gotta run...those things won't list themselves!

Until next time,

Nothing Beats a Dose of Pretty for Making Me Smile

Hi Bloggie Friends,

I woke up feeling tired and cranky this morning...not good when it is only Tuesday.  I decided that the best way to shake off the Grinchiness was to play with the camera and take some pretty pictures just because.  I love the awesome antique linens I got recently and roses, china, and white ironstone is a trifecta for beating the blues, at least for me and lots of my peeps out here in cyberspace (you know who you are).  I've had this amazing cup and saucer for ages.  The roses in this photo are from my garden and smell SOOO good.  I took them into my office in a little milk glass vase and it made the office smell so nice...

Butter pat love for sure...

The little enamel Roman numerals make my heart go pitter patter. 

I can't help but smile even editing the pictures.  Got the French cheese heart mold (couer a la creme is it's proper name) in Brimfield about 5 years ago and I LOVE it!  I clearly need to make time to play with the camera more often.  It's cheaper than therapy!  I'm sharing today's post with Blissful Whites Wednesday over at Timewashed.

Until next time,

Valentine Shop Hop, Part 2

My apologies for not getting back to you for part 2 of my shopping spree through some of my favorite Etsy shops, but life kind of got in the way.  Whew!  Busy weekend and I'm going to need some retail therapy to unwind...

First stop is my blogging buddy Debra's fun shop The Petite Boutique.  I'm sure many of you know Debra from her blog, Common Ground.  She hosts a great Friday party and always has some great decor posts, but in her spare time, she loves to play with old keys and fun findings and she makes these cool necklaces.  She has some new ones posted for Valentine's Day, so pop on over and check them out.

I discovered Julie at GoGoSnap purely by accident, but I was so enchanted with her beautiful designs for business cards that I had her make some up for me.  My design that I picked out was the wonderful lady in the center.  She does invitation packages for weddings, notecards, thank you notes, and save the date cards.  Her designs are all done on a real Heidelberg Offset press, so not digital or laser, and she has high quality thick paper.  I mean really high quality.  She is not cheap, but trust me, you will be thrilled with the result and Julie is great to work with. 

Another face that may be familiar to you is Rhonda from A Little Bit French.  She is a blogger as well and she makes the most wonderful things out of fabric, lace, jewelry, and paper.  I love everything she creates and whenever you buy something, she spoils you with little extras.  Go check out her shop if you haven't yet because you will love her French style.  

Susan at Evelyn and Rose is a blogger and DIY decorator who has been featured in the Somerset Life magazine a couple of times and she makes some awesome things for her shop, namely pillows.  One of these days, I'm going to get one of these beauties for some place special in my home.  She's super nice too and that's always a plus, don't you think?

If you love pretty paper tags, journals, and other paper whimseys, you will have a great time poking around Dorothy Jane.  She is a an old soul and loves anything Jane Austen.  Her work is beautiful and a real treat for the eyes.  I bought the Souvenir de Paris tags on the right and they are quite fun.  I can't wait to do something awesome with them.  Give her a look, you'll be glad you did.

And, while I was trying to behave and not engage in shameless self promotion, it is my blog after all, so I guess I will attempt to prod you to check out my new listings at both of my Etsy shops, The French Laundry...

And Elegant Farmhouse.

So, that's it for our pre-Valentine's Day shopping spree on Etsy.  I hope you enjoyed yourself.  I know I did.  For now, it is time for this little chickie to go to bed.

Until next time,

Because I'm Also a Collector...

I'm getting pretty excited for the opening of my new Etsy shop, The French Laundry, on Sunday, January 6th, but I've also been trying to appreciate some of the treasures I have as part of my collection so as not to be tempted to keep everything that I have been finding, either in my existing stash or in my travels.  Antique ribbon, trims, laces, and ribbon work flowers are probably my most valued collection-I love anything that relates to items made by women, for women, to make their environment more beautiful.  I've always done needlework and handwork myself, so I have always appreciated old textiles, etc.  

Aren't the graphics on these bolts of ribbon divine?  I might add that the silk ribbon wrapped around those bolts is equally divine.  Swoon...

These little ribbon work garland sweeties are only about 3 inches long, but they are so intricate and beautiful.  Never used old stock.  They still have their "made in France" tags on them.  The wide metallic lace they are sitting on is a.ma.zing!  I got it from a lady who dressed dolls.

Well, I know this is a short post, but I may have to resort to short and sweet for the most part because I just got a full time day job.  I will be sad to leave my peeps on the evening shift because I love my girls, but life demands full time and days, so after 12 wonderful years of part time evenings, I am making a change.  I will definitely have to organize my time better if I'm to keep up with the things that nurture my soul, like peddling antique pretties and blogging, so wish me luck.  I'll be starting in February, so I have a few short weeks to figure this all out.  Send some positive energy this way, OK?

Linking up with Debra at Be Inspired Friday and Kerryanne at Shabbilicious Friday.

Until next time,

This Week's Tresors and a Couple of Quick Projects

Gee, I feel like I've not been doing much but show and tell of my shopping pursuits lately.  While that may be true, I do want to show you what I found last weekend.  The photo above shows the sugar dish of the sugar and creamer I found.  It is so pretty and would you believe I found it at a yard sale?  For $1 for both pieces?  I didn't need it, but how could I refuse?  I rarely find anything like that for that kind of price.  I fell in love with those roses~ YUM!

The other pieces I got at a new European market that they are trying to get started here in my town.  It was cool and I found a few goodies.

How cool is this doorknob?  Yes, Michelle, I will be making an inspiration holder with it. 

I simply cannot seem to resist pretty vintage millinery pieces...

or pretty lace.

Isn't this just the sweetest little pincushion?

J'adore the pretty pins that will be added to my "stash" for when I begin rocking the jewelry maker thing.  Whenever that might be... My girlfriend had the two pins on the cards in her booth.  Isn't it cute how she dolled up the cards they are on?

I was utterly enchanted by this little shelf and she's already gotten a makeover with my first attempt at Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint.  I'll show you that later.

An exquisite antique silk glove box. 

A set of Victorian curtain rods.  I'm going to try to put them in my studio.  If they don't work, they may end up in my Etsy shop. I've always wanted some of these and the chippy white with the gold peeking through just called my name.

I was really in love with that little shelf, so I couldn't wait to do it up the way I wanted it with the ASCP sample pots I bought.  You'd think that with all of the hype online about the chalk paint that I would have known exactly what to do, but as usual, I just kind of did my own thing and flew by the seat of my pants.  All in all, I like the way it turned out.  I hadn't planned on it being quite so distressed looking, but obviously, that's what spoke to me because that is how I did it!  Here is before once again...

And here is after...

I just love all the little details of this shelf, don't you?  I find it's form very pleasing to my eyes.

I did another mini-redo this week.  I'm not sure it is really blogworthy, but I will show you anyway.  I have these old sconces in my bathroom which I love.  I added the little shades many years ago and spruced them up with the green trim.

The shades had started to yellow and were looking a little shabby, not so chic, so when I saw this awesome button trim at Hobby Lobby, I knew what I wanted to do.  Honestly, had some new white linen shades just fallen into my lap, I probably would have purchased them and started fresh, but I wasn't much in the mood for hunting for these little guys, so I got out my trusty craft paint in a soft white and some additive that you use to make craft paint fluid enough to paint on fabric.  Delta makes it I think, and it is quite handy to have on hand.  I painted the shades so they were once again white, left the green trim where it was because I still like it, and glued on the new trim to the underside of the shade.  It adds a touch of whimsy so I'm happy. 

 It still looks like it could maybe use a little something else, but since these are the primary source of light on either side of the sink, I decided to leave well enough alone, at least for now.  I didn't want to interfere with their light casting abilities.  Maybe a tone on tone all over stencil would work?  For today, I'm calling it good enough.  It probably isn't my most exciting project, but it is done, which is more than I can say for most of the ideas that have been rattling around in my head but haven't yet been tackled.

Hope you all have a good weekend tackling some of your own spring projects.

Until next time,

Linking up with:
Vintage Inspiration Friday
Time Travel Thursday

What Would You Take?

I wrote this post about 6 weeks ago and then sort of forgot about it.  Or maybe I was too superstitious to post this until my brother got a good rain at his house.  Either way, the rain came and  I decided today was the day, so although it may not be as timely as it once was, the topic is still relevant to me, so here goes...

Hello friends.  Most of you probably know that I live in Colorado, but unless you've been a reader for a while, you may not know that I am originally from the state of Texas.  Yep, that's me, born and bred, educated and wed -the first time anyway :-)  So, most of my family is still there and I've got to tell you, this crazy drought, severe heat, and now the wildfires are really disturbing.  Last week, my home county was being ravaged by wildfires and then I got an email from one of my brothers on Monday night that his subdivision in Bastrop Country was being evacuated.  His practically new retirement/dream home one shift of the wind away from ashes!  He and my SIL got both cars packed up with their irreplaceables and headed back to their old house in Houston (luckily, they were still working on getting it ready to sell, so could land there).  The latest update this evening was that they are pretty sure the danger has passed, at least for now, so I am ever so thankful.   BUT this got me thinking (you might want to go to the kitchen and get something to drink now or perhaps just close this window because when I get to thinking, I tend to go for a while)...WHAT WOULD YOU TAKE?

If you have been around this blog a while, you know that I am a collector.  I love antiques and I have MANY collections.  I have to periodically purge my own treasures for fear of the show "Hoarders" coming knocking at my door.  It's a bit of a problem, I admit.  I am emotionally connected to my STUFF.  That being said however, it was an interesting exercise for me to engage in thinking that if I had a few hours or even a couple of days to grab all that was dear to me...anything that I just couldn't bear to be without...and put it in our cars and drive to a safer place, what would I take?

Hmmmmm, says I.  Can I rent a semi?  Can friends help with their vehicles or is it just us?  Can I make two trips?  Then it came to me with exquisite clarity:  once I had established the safety of my husband, my kids, and our silly little pets, anything else we had the luxury of taking with us would be gravy.  Obviously, the important papers would get tossed in the car, the family photos, and the computers and CD backups.  Can't replace my photographic evidence of my children in all their diaper butted glory, my parents in their 20's, or my 2007 tax return (with accompanying documentation).

Clothing seems fairly obvious.  Favorite jeans, a flattering dress, THE shoes, and, yes, my Magnolia Pearl pieces would have to find their place, but most everything else could be replaced.  I'm a thrift store shopper (yes, I have Magnolia Pearl in my closet, but the rest of it is thrifty and nifty) and clothes are necessary, but obviously are replaceable.  Clothes for the wee ones would be thrown in along with their favorite toys.

Then I started thinking about "THE STUFF".  All of these antiques and wonderful items collected over 25 years.  Where to start?  Oddly, I look around and although I really LIKE my stuff (good thing I guess), I realize that most of it could be left to chance.  It is other people's dead relatives' belongings and there's always more out there.  If I had the luxury of picking what I wouldn't want to be without, it would be things like the dresser set my husband bought me for our first anniversary.  It was the best surprise anyone ever gave me.  I cried at the time and always say that if the house is burning, that would be the one thing I would grab if I could.

My parent's sterling.  It isn't used much I know, but it is one of those tangible things that was passed down to me that I hope to pass down to my children someday.

My mother's paintings.  Mom learned to paint while my dad was overseas in WWII.  She wasn't terribly prolific, but she did a few and I am lucky enough to have 2 small florals plus one that she did of my dad, I think from a picture.  She never in a million years considered herself an artist, but she was in so many ways.  Painting was one of the first demonstrations of that.  Those small paintings I possess are precious to me and I would protect them if I could.

I have 2 of my great aunt's paintings and a few of her china painting pieces.  Aunt Da was a very independent little sprite of a thing and when her husband died at an early age, she made her living doing a variety of things, one of them china painting.  She had her kilns in her home and her studio always had that faint smell of turpentine.  I love that smell to this day.  I'd definitely make room for her artwork.  Luckily, the pieces are small.

My collection of 1920's ribbonwork....that is my favorite collection.  I am completely drawn to it and have spent more than any sane person would on examples of it.  One book box would house every piece I own though.  SO, I'd probably just toss it all in and call it good.

Strange thing is, that's where my mental list stopped.  I'm sure if I were positive the whole place was going to burn to the ground, I'd find a few more things to toss in the vehicles, but for the most part, I'd be willing to chance it.  I wasn't expecting that.  I guess it all boils down to the fact that if you have your family intact, you really do have everything.  Nothing is more precious than that and nothing other than them and perhaps your memorabilia of them (pictures) cannot be replaced.  Of course, we all hope that we are never faced with the tragedy of losing everything, but it is an interesting thing to ponder or at least, I think so.  I hope this newly discovered introspection will make it easier for me to part with some of my toppling tower of too much that I am faced with (Thanks Lana for that visual).

So, blogging friends of mine, I ask you:  what would you take?  Talk to me. I'm listening.


Until next time,