Shop Update: 40s and 50s patterns!

Merry Christmas!! It will be pretty quiet over here until January. I'll be making some changes and working on a little bit different content - a change I'm excited about!

And as we ring in a New Year, I'll be excited to hear your goals, plans and words for the fresh year.

Here's a little ode to the 50s housewife ... don't you want one of these to wear?

Find the rest in my shop!
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

thirty

I turned 30 on Thanksgiving Day (Nov 28 for all my non-American friends)!

I've been looking forward to starting a new decade and growing into my new-found smile wrinkles. And what better way to celebrate than with flowers, Izze, cheesecake and family??!

please note the girl's contribution to the gift on the right ... i love her thoughtfulness! :-)

My thirtieth year of life has been one of the more stable ones ... so thankful to have my sweet girl, my husband, his much happier job, a few fun side "jobs" on the side of my full-time one (she's cute, isn't she?), and a warm place to live in ... and decorate.

Thanks for celebrating with me!!

DIY etched glass Christmas ornaments

I love personalizing gifts. Especially if it's something fun, pretty and still inexpensive! 

For all 6 of my piano girls, I wanted to try etching their names onto plain glass Christmas ornaments. My inspiration came HERE and the one and same vinyl dealer, the amazing Dana, hooked me up with the gorgeous stencils for the etching.

But, first, I found some ornaments at the hobby store. 50% off, thank you very much. Dana told me that the etching cream wouldn't work if they were covered in glass varnish, so I crossed my fingers and hoped they weren't.

Supplies needed: 
set of flat plain glass ornaments, unvarnished
vinyl stencils
etching cream
sacrificial paint brush
gloves

I didn't choose the glass orbs, but ones that were flatter, hoping that the stencils would stick better. All those curves aren't ideal for flat stencils! It was a good choice, although I still had to really smooth down the edges near the letters so the etching cream wouldn't leak through.



 I carefully peeled away the backing and smoothed down any edges that came up.


Then, using my throw-away paint brush and gloves, I brushed on a thick coating of etching cream. It had a tendency to pull away from some of the letters, so I had to keep a close eye on them and brushing it back so all of the letters would be etched.

Not all of the letters were perfectly etched, but they were more than good enough! Then, I filled them with old, shredded sheet music and looped some red and white baker's twine to hang them from. And I think they girls will be thrilled.

What I especially love about this project is that the possibilities are endless! You could fill them with fake snow, pearls, sand, confetti, etc. I think I'd love to do an ornament-a-year for Ladybug or for us (etch a different year on each) and then fill it with something that represents the year for us.


(Oh, and while I was at it, I etched "fleurs" (French for flowers) in an old vinegar bottle I'd saved for that purpose. Simple and sweet.

... And sort of addicting. "What should I etch next?!")

What would you etch??

What do you do with leftover pumpkins?

What do you do with the pumpkins that have graced your home for October and November? 

First, you drag them to the Thanksgiving table for a pretty {natural} centerpiece.

Then, you cook them, of course!!

This may sound silly, but I hate tossing our hard earned pumpkins in the dumpster when it's time to decorate for Christmas. Did you know that any pumpkin (provided it's not gone bad or molded from being carved) is edible? Some taste better than others, like pie pumpkins, etc. but from what I've read, you can cook up any gourd.

So, we did.

My mom helped me cook and puree these babies into 10 cups of homecooked goodness. That's the equivalent of 5 cans of pumpkin. Sweet! I popped them into my freezer when I got home where they now patiently await to be used in delicious recipes.

Pumpkin baking instructions: halve pumpkins with sharp knife, scoop out seeds and pulp, place them cut side down on baking sheets and cook at 350 degrees fahrenheit until very soft and can be easily poked with a fork or knife (an hour or more for larger pumpkins). Cool, then scoop pumpkin from skin and puree. A tiny amount of water can be added if your blender isn't cooperating. 

The seeds can also be baked into a yummy snack! 

Market Items - Discount!!

Need a last minute Christmas gift or just something pretty for you? I would love to clean out my inventory from the craft shows - and I'll do it for a discount!

(above sconce not available)

Feel free to ask me for dimensions, details or make a reasonable offer and any of these items are yours!

DIY: Antique Barn Door Headboard

Tools: Miter saw, saw horses, router, wood glue, finishing nails, a pneumatic staple gun, and your dad to do the trigonometric calculations.

Supplies: reclaimed wood, old barn door, 2x6 for French cleat, wood screws

Now someone just needs this beauty in their home!

blue gray vintage chair makeover

:-) the last *finally!!* project complete.

This chair is the exact same as yesterday's white chair, but I painted this one first - it's a flat gray blue that is so pretty! However, it will probably need just the right (matching/complimenting) home.

 I don't know if you remember, but these chairs and the settee were a mess. Stinky, gross, ripped, cat-hair covered speckled nasty pieces of junk from the roadside. But I couldn't get past those lines! So I didn't even take them inside my house until they were stripped completely down and wiped off.

Actually, I took them to a friend's house and they sat there (for a year, ahem.) This one chair I kept in my house and was all fired up to sand and paint it.

Then it sat in my basement. For a year. Truly, I didn't have the right equipment (electric staple gun), so I did have to wait around for that. Then, when I did have it, the only time I was willing to do it was during naptime and with a noisy air compressor, that option was out...

Finally, however, I prevailed. :-) And after sweat and probably some tears, this gigantic upholstery challenge (well, it was for me anyway) is done!

I've listed it on CL and hoping it sells soon!! :-) Then I can drag over my chair from my neighbor's basement and maybe actually use it someday.

UPDATE (12/18/13): It's sold!

more "finally!" furniture transformations!

It's been way too long since I started with these furniture pieces to practice my upholstery and diy skills on. Like a year and a half too long...

Anyway, they are done and they are sold!! I snapped a few pictures before they went away to make another house pretty.

The makeovers aren't perfect. There are some wrinkles in the upholstery and uneven spots in the paint, but I prevailed. I probably will never tackle a project like this again, but it was a good chance to learn. And practice. And decide that if I have to strip the chairs and purchase new foam it would be better to just. walk. away. 

I'll post the photos of my other identical chair that is gray this week. That one more chair to sell and they're outta my life! I am in love with all of this space I am accumulating. It's addicting.