PresentPast Collection

Cheerful Colors

Just thought I'd show you a few of my latest lovely finds. Kind of a color pick me up in the middle of the week. Aren't these vintage ribbons yummy? They look like little bon bons all packed neatly in their tattered boxes.

I bought this antique pin cushion from Heather at Pretty Petals Boutique. I absolutely love it and plan on using it to display jewelry, seeing how my sewing skills are extremely lacking. Her packaging is like a treat in itself!

Just scrumptious! And I also bought a pin cushion from the ever so talented Julie. I adore her attention to even the smallest detail and her creations are always so unique. Even her tiny thank you card was adorable!

And I stocked up on a few small packs of vintage flocked wallpaper from Donna's Etsy shop. She has some incredible wallpaper in her packs. I also purchased a vintage prescription binder from her but forgot to photograph it for you. You can see them on her website, they're really cool.

I found this antique candy box from Tiffany of Shabby Scraps along with a metal twine holder for my workroom. She included a sweet handmade frame that she embellished with rhinestones and a millinery posy as a thank you. Such a thoughtful gesture and I love having it hang on my inspiration board.

It seems I've been doing quite a bit of internet retail therapy. I think it's because I've been busy editing photos and working on articles and it's such a nice distraction. Hope everyone's having a great week. The weather here in So Cal has been wonderful lately. Cool ocean breezes and under a 100. Woo, Hoo! I sure hope it lasts for a while.

Show and Tell Sunday: Vintage Paper

I'm just barely making it in time for my first Show and Tell Sunday hosted by the lovely Cerri. I suppose Sunday evening still counts even if the day is almost over. Paper addiction, whew, it seems everyone has one. Here's a very, very small sampling of my collection.

I have lots of old letters, bingo cards, hotel stationery, train tickets and maps stuffed inside a giant tin box.

My prized pieces are the ones from France or any European country for that matter. And I especially love my old Russian money. Isn't it so cool? Worthless, but cool.

I also have my share of ticket stubs. Here's just one roll and I always save the wrappings from my seam binding packages. The graphics are great and you never know when you might want to use them for something.

Oh, and my antique French novels and sheet music. Ahhh, divine.

I suppose that my stash of vintage crepe paper counts too, right? I love the muted colors from the old folded ones.

As you can see, I haven't even touched on any of my postcards, advertising ephemera, hymnals, vintage European hotel stationery, German scraps and dresdens, etc., etc., etc. It's probably better to stop somewhere because a girl could go on and on!

Salvaged Furniture

The trash he brings home, gotta love him for it! The Man spotted the upside down leg of this iron rose table on one of his job sites. It was just sitting in the heaps of construction debris and told me he saw a tiny portion of the roses and thought, "this might be something my wife would like". Ya think? He's getting very good at finding some really great pieces. Here's what it looked like when it came home to live with us.

When he showed it to me in the back of his truck I was so excited! My only thought was, I need to get to the glass shop tomorrow. But then, when I looked at it I thought it would also look great topped with some of the old wood scraps he's been saving. I picked out a couple of sky blue boards and he cut them to fit. Next I just touched up the raw edges with some white paint tinted blue. Not bad for a piece of trash and free to boot!

Here's another shabby side table that I picked up at the flea market. It's nice to have these scattered around the patio for candles and drinks. I don't even mind that they get sort of beat up from the weather since they weren't expensive.

I leave you with a few bouquets from my garden and wish you a beautiful weekend!

Anthropologie Winner!

Thank you, thank you all who put their name in the hat! It sure was fun reading your responses to the questions and I think during the dead of winter I might go back and read some of the summer favorites. Fresh cut grass, sun tan lotion, flowers and ocean breezes ahhhhh, they were all lovely.

According to the Random Generator the winner is comment # 142 which belongs to Alisa! Congratulations Alisa and please send me your address so I can get your gift in the mail and you can start your shopping, perhaps that apron you mentioned?

Thanks so much for playing along. I plan on doing more of these spur of the moment giveaways. It's my small way to thank you for all the kindness you send my way!

Sunday Antiquing

With the heat here in So Cal, I haven't been doing much flea marketing lately. But today, I HAD to get out of the house. Our contractor came on Friday to install the granite, sink, disposal and faucet and guess what? It's Sunday night and they still aren't finished. So you can see why I had to leave this place before I go mad. Ahhh, the joys of remodeling.

Anyway, I stopped by two of my favorite antique shops to see if they had a few treasures for me to bring home. It was so nice because several of my favorite dealers were checking their booths and it was great to chat with them and see what they've been up to. I bought a couple really great tins to help organize more of my office clutter. I think I'm going to use the Honey one for flowers when we have outside parties.

And I bought this beautiful velvet album. I love the hardware on this and it's inspired me to add some hardware embellishments to my new Voyage Artistique journal.

There were a few photo surprises inside. Instant ancestors!

I've been collecting vintage medal ribbons for a long time now and almost never pass them up. I plan on framing this one. I'll be sure to show you when it's done.

Oh, and I bought this great hand made box/cupboard because I liked the latch so much.

The inside had small side rails which will be perfect for some wooden drawers. I've got to ask The Man to make me a few.

Then I can use it to hold my vintage postcards, tin type photos and small paper goods. Well, that's it for now. I believe there is a Show-n-Tell group that shares their flea market finds... I think I should join them.

Vintage Pattern Party Goods

Well, I can see some of you really like Anthropologie! Can't say as I blame you much. I love having the questions because it makes reading all the comments lots of fun and I have certainly enjoyed some of the comical answers. Looks like quite a few of you should be working and doing laundry. Don't worry, I'm not tellin'.

To divert...here is a very simple project using those vintage patterns I spoke of in an earlier post. I ended up using lots of them as tissue wrap for my customers at the Farm Chicks show. It seemed to be a big hit. Recycling rocks! These are some other ways I'm going to use up my stash. I made small "corsets" to be used as napkin rings for a party. I just folded them into pleats and attached some lace and ribbon as the ties. A few tiny old buttons finishes off the sewing theme.

And then as place cards & take home party favors, I wrapped the tissue patterns to form a rose. I secured it to a wooden chopstick and wrapped it with velvet ribbon. And finishing it is the same ribbon from the "corset" and another button.

Here I used a French vocabulary card but you could also write someones name on a piece of ledger paper or vintage wallpaper scrap.

Here's the inside of the "corset" to show you how it's folded and wrapped. The idea here is to keep things simple. And the look should be hand made, not perfect. This is not a work of art, it's just cheery party goods.

Wouldn't this be fun to do for a sewing club or quilting group get together? And I think it would be great for Mothers Day. You could also change up the colors and do summery brights or an autumn or holiday theme. Just a small way to dress up a table with minimal cost and effort. I'm sure your guests will appreciate the special touches!

Anthropologie...My Gift To You

Finding a way to thank all of you who stop by my blog for a visit, leave a kind word, share a part of your day or give such encouraging comments can prove to be difficult. What I'd love to do is have you all over for lunch, to sit on the patio and chat for hours, but that's not possible now is it? So instead I've decide to do spontaneous giveaways!

And to kick things off we're starting with a $100 Gift Card to Anthropologie! With the price of gas these days and the continuing summer heat, you can shop from your armchair or you could take a trip to your local store to get a dose of visual stimulation and inspiration!

To make this a little more fun, we're going to make this an "Answer the Questions" game. And here are the completely random questions:

1. Would you spend this moolah on yourself or someone else?
2. What should you be doing right now, instead of reading this blog?
3. What is your favorite scent of summer?

Just leave your answers in the comment section and a winner will be chosen by a random number generator on Wednesday, July 16th. Please, no double entries, we have to play fair. And thank you, thank you, thank you for being such great friends!

Mon Voyage Artistique

Over the weekend I had some time to start my new journal. I've never kept one past a few days and I'm determined to make this one a non-dated, no pressure journal. That way I'll never have that dreaded "missed a day" feeling.

I also don't plan on writing about my day in it (unless, of course, I feel like it) and I'm planning to fill it with snippets of inspiration.

Some days those snippets might be a photo or a page from a magazine. Other days it might be a trinket, a small piece of jewelry or even a dirty old button.

I've decided to call it Mon Voyage Artistique and this voyage has no destination. Just a spur of the moment trip where I start and stop whenever I want.

And part of the fun will be learning new things, seeing with new eyes, making mistakes and enjoying the process. It's the first journey I've taken completely by myself without anyone's input or say.

I've put my stamp on the inside cover, ready to stake claim on my journey and thrilled for the adventure. And my first lesson learned?

  Art is messy business! Creating something beautiful is dirty work. But I don't mind all those bits and pieces scattered all over my desk, studio floor, kitchen table, and workroom tables because this is all part of the journey.

And even I can appreciate the simple beauty among the collection of scraps.

On the Homefront

Everyday like clockwork, when the sun starts to droop down, I wander out into the garden. With the high temps we've been having, watering my plants twice a day has become a must. I purchased this French wall basin a while back and just got around to planting it. Don't you think it looks so provencal?

I filled it with variegated ivy and petite geraniums and of course, French lavender. And my little garden has been filling our home with lots of blooms which is a pleasant sight amidst all the construction!

And I thought I'd show you a few peeks into the kitchen project. Most of the lighting is finished and it makes me so happy to see this when I walk into the room. Even if there is still a small disaster surrounding it!

Here is a sample of the granite I selected. My sister went with me to pick out the slab. It's called Millennium Cream and is imported from Italy by a local company. I wanted marble but didn't want to worry about the more delicate nature of it. Especially since we ( read: The Man) aren't gentle in the kitchen.

Now on to wall color, hmmm. That was fun. The cabinets are staying Bright White and I chose Gobi Desert from Behr for the walls. Just a nice neutral color. I wanted the kitchen to be more serene than the previous black & white toile.

Here's a little shot of one of the glass front cabinets. I'll have to rearrange the dishes once we're finished. Right now I just wanted put them in there to clear up some much needed space. We've got boxes of dishes scattered all around the dining room.

Well that's about it for now. I've been to Michael's and Joann's to pick up some craft supplies. I've got creative ideas roaming around in my head. Let's hope it turns out half way decent so I can share. In the meantime I hope you all are staying cool!

Inspiration Vacation

Around here things have been incredibly busy. It seems I've been saying this to my family on a daily basis for months on end. I'm sure many of you feel you burn the candle at both ends as I do and sometimes there needs to be a time to rest. That's where I'm at today. I need some rest and a small amount of time to recharge my creative mind, pitter around the house and garden, do some reading, go to the beach and just unwind.

I think I mentioned before that I'm also in the middle of our kitchen remodel, which I'm thoroughly enjoying (sounds crazy to some I'm sure) and it's coming along nicely. I'll be sharing some photos with you very soon. There has been lots of progress... granite ordered, paint colors chosen, chandelier and light fixtures bought, sink and faucet on their way and it just needs to come together. It shouldn't be too much longer, of course, that's what we all say when we're doing home renovations.

So, please bear with me as I tend to my nest. I know that I will come back with lots of inspiration to share! I'm sure many of you probably feel the same way and any creative person understands that sometimes our best work is when we aren't working at all!