Playing in My Studio

Hi Bloggie Friends,

I am so excited to show you what I've been up to these last few days.  I took a couple of days off this week to celebrate my birthday (yes, 39 AGAIN!) and decided that my number one priority was to go to my studio and create.  I can't tell you how good it felt...I made these pretty little hearts with beautiful images of Madonna and Baby Jesus.  They didn't start out this cute...they were rather gawdy bright gold and bright silver Christmas ornaments but they had great bones, so I had to pick them up a while back.  I did some magic with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in a few different whites and layered clear wax followed by the dark wax and then added the beautiful prints which made my heart sing.  

I'm pleased with how they turned out and would like to do up some more if I can locate the hearts again.  In the meantime, I will be listing these this week in my Etsy shop, Elegant Farmhouse.  I also had some fun with some old tintype or daguerreotype cases.  Although I love them in their original state, I just had an idea that these would be great altered to be a little shrine. I keep one by my bed as a reminder to quiet down and just BE once in a while amidst the whirlwind that is my life.  I hope you like them.  I may put one in my Etsy shop and if it sells quickly, I will definitely be on the lookout for some more to "do up".  They are usually pretty pricey, but I am willing to hold out for a price that is affordable-a fixer-upper is fine with me since I am altering them anyway. 

 

This case is so beautiful...almost looks like a stylized cross or perhaps a stained glass window.

This one started out so sad looking but was transformed with a little love and effort.  The same can happen in our lives, oui? 

I am in love with this case.  It has such beautiful detail.

I have missed you all.  I hope your summer was fun and that your fall will be beautiful.  Don't forget to take a little time out to do something that makes your heart sing.  You'll be glad you did!  I'm sharing this week at Blissful Whites Wednesday,  What's It Wednesday, Feathered Nest Friday, and Shabbylicious Friday.

Until next time,

A Thrifty Nifty Weekend

I hope everyone had a nice summer weekend. I managed to do a little thrift shopping and had a lovely time. I thought I'd share my finds with you...

Can you spot a theme? From the cream date night top I scored to the old ironstone creamer, it seems that I had a thing for white in all of its glorious shades.  Applause, applause, applause!  I just never tire of all of the shades of white.  The large vintage shell with just a beautiful touch of pink was an awesome find and I can't wait to get to creating with those pretty lace appliques.

These pretty little metal tags will be incorporating into something fun one day.

Love those beautiful scalloped edge oval dishes and the pretty creamy saucer.

That's about all for now.  Remember that the sale in my Etsy shops ends July 31st.  Now is a great time to pick  up something that you've been eyeing. 

Until next time,

Some Pretty Just Because and a Special Sale You Won't Want to Miss

I was taking some pictures of a beautiful antique lace scarf on my antique dress form and after I redressed my dress form after her photo shoot, I couldn't help but fall in love with my pretty gal all over again.  She is all dressed in her finest frippery...

She's been dressed in this same beautiful outfit for some time but I just can't seem to find anything that looks as lovely as this, so she just keeps her same duds on.  Oh well...

On a non-related note, baby needs new shoes so I am running a sale in both of my Etsy shops like nothing ever seen before.  Visit The French Laundry or Elegant Farmhouse between now and the end of the month and use the code SUMMERSUN to receive 30% off of your purchase of $50 or more.  Sorry, does not apply to items "On Reserve" or on layaway.

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,

Summer Roses-What's Not to Love?

I know this isn't the first time I've bragged on inexpensive grocery store roses, but these little beauties are worthy of a mention.  First of all, they lasted well over a week and looked great the whole time.  In fact, they went to full on full bloom after a couple of days and were even more beautiful than when they were brought home and the Alstroemeria stayed gorgeous for almost 10 days.  The way the petals curled down reminded me of the Victorian roses painted by Catherine Klein and Paul Delongpre (and contemporary artist Christie Repasy). 

The way the light was shining on the roses, it almost made them glow like the sunshine itself.

I put them on a sweet little vintage folding chair that I painted with Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Luckett's Green.  I love the way it turned out.  The pictures didn't even begin to do justice to the depth and dimension this paint has to it when it goes on.

You may see this one in my Elegant Farmhouse Etsy shop one of these days, but for now, "she's with me".  (SMILE)  I hope my U.S. friends had a nice holiday weekend.  I had a wonderful 4 day weekend, but tomorrow it's back to the salt mines, so that's all for now. 

Until next time,

July 4th Decor for the First Time in a Long Time

Happy July 4th Almost!  I have not managed to muster the energy to decorate for July 4th in several years.  I suspect it has to do with the fact that I used to do it up big because my parents and their long time friends would come up to our house every year for a cookout... after my mom and the lady of the family friend couple had passed away 13 years ago, I continued to have my dad and his buddy over, but then 7 years ago, my sweet daddy passed away and I guess I stopped decorating for the holiday at some point after that.  Didn't seem important I suppose.  But I always regret it when I don't because I love the whole patriotic theme.  SOOOOOO...this year, I finally pulled out the goods and had a little fun spreading some Independence Day love around my house.  I hope you enjoy taking a peek.    

The bunting is antique, purchased many years ago from eBay.  The eagle is also old, picked up at a flea market a few years back.

A little vignette of odds and ends that have been collected here and there.  I have a thing for postcards and when I went to the box of "stuff", I found quite the stash of patriotic postcards-I used about half of them for this vignette.

 This little basket as well as the cone were purchased some years ago from an Etsy seller called Moth to a Flame I think although I can't find a shop by that name, so if you recognize the artist, let me know so I can put a link in.  Her work is beautiful and she uses vintage materials at least in part to make her treasures.

This was an old cylinder from Columbia Phonograph Company.  I found it at a Goodwill shop in West Palm Beach last fall and thought it would be cute for the Fourth decorating.  Did you know that Columbia was an old name for the United States?  According to Wikipedia, "Columbia is a historical and poetic name used for the United States of America and is also the name of its female personification."  District of COLUMBIA...Columbia, the gem of the ocean...well, you get it.  I think it is charming although I can't tell you why.  Probably cause I'm just a sap...

 The postcard on the left no doubt has another iteration of Columbia. The one on the right is so stinkin' cute with her little turban and "safety first" on her diaper!

Classic patriotic beauty...

Well, that's it for now. I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my red, white, and blue theme. Happy Independence Day! I'll see you after the long weekend.

Sharing with Make It Pretty Monday

Until next time,

Poor Me...A Tale of Gratitude

Hello Bloggie Friends,

I have been feeling every so slightly put upon lately.  Not horribly, but just a little whiney.  Not enough time to devote to my Etsy shop.  Poor me...Not enough time to make art.  Poor me...House always needs cleaning.  Poor me...Summer is going by lickety split and I feel like I haven't soaked up enough of it.  Poor me...Not enough time to do my blogging (reading or posting)...yep, you got it...POOR ME!

So today, I was walking to work on a particularly lovely summer day here in Colorado.  I'm lucky that I get to be close enough to walk to work, especially on a perfect sunny day, not too hot, not too cold, but like Goldilocks said, "just right".  As I walked, I passed all of these gorgeous flowers on my way and had to catch a shot with my cell phone.  That's pretty awesome.  I also ran into 2 neighbor friends and got to exchange a few words with these lovely ladies on my way.  That made me smile.

When I got to work, I passed by a couple of our beautiful statues at the hospital.  Pardon the glass glare as they had to be encased to protect them from vandals (UGH!).  Glass and all, I find them so beautiful and serene.  Hard to be in a bad mood when looking at these precious, almost life sized figures.

Playing with my phone editing.  Not too bad for a quick effect...

The color of the Madonna's cloak is just the same as the robin eggs we have in a nest out in our hanging geranium plant on my back porch.  LOVE it!

When I got to work, I opened up my office and was greeted by the roses I'd brought in the day before.  They smelled SOOOO good.

How can you not smile with these pretty faces looking up at you?

By the time I put my purse down and got ready to get busy, I was feeling pretty darn happy and blessed.  All of this attitude enhancing goodness AND did I mention that I got to work right on time?  No more "poor me's" for this girl.  I'll get to the stuff I need to do when I get to it.  It will get done, even if not as soon as I would like.

All in all, I'd say I had a great start to my day and the rest of the day was not too shabby either.  I hope you take the time to notice the goodness all around you.  It'll change your life...or at least your day!

Until next time,