New projects with a French theme!

 

All of the following is new in my craft studio. 

 I have been busy this week painting and crafting away.

Here is some of what I have been working on!

New white shelf that I bought at a yard sale for $5.00
Small shelf with metal scrolled wall bracket for $2.00 thrift shop find.

Newly painted Family Heirloom Chippendale style desk

The 12x12 clipboard was painted and distressed, and will be for 

displaying favorite scrapbooked layouts.

                                                             Decoupaged French label

                                                 Crackled peg board, just added assorted
                          knobs I had laying around to hold shabby necklaces ready for my Etsy Shop

           Magnet board filled with Pictures of my mother and other ancestors,
              tags and findings.  The silhouette is German antique store stock!

Ceramic dish filled with shredded music sheets,
chandelier crystals
dominoes and antique pins.

This wonderful enameled holder.  Oh the
things I will put in here!

This print is titled 'the nest' and is an old toile style painting.
I am very happy with the results and feel like it is the
best eye candy at my house.  I just love to stare at this
wall now, plus I have added 4 more drawers and some shelves
to my room for organization purposes. Someday I will take down
the wallpaper border, but that would mean I need to redo all the
walls in the room.  I don't have time for that, because I need to
start crafting for Christmas!  This is my early Christmas present
to myself.  I might show a post of what I am storing in the drawers
I am the 'queen' of this room and I Love it!
This post can be viewed along with many other wonderful ideas
for the home.  It is like a beautiful online magazine right at your fingertips.
Show and Tell Friday at romantichome.blogspot.com

A Before and After story

This Chippendale style desk was my husband's when he was growing up, and it was an antique then. There use to be a paper on the back with a date, but that has since been worn off. The desk was given back to my father-in-law and he moved around so much it really took a beating. After his passing away earlier this year, it fell back into the hand's of my husband, and has been in our garage since May, just crying out to be fixed up. After careful examination, I realized that the only way to fix it would be just to use some wood glue and paint. There was a drawer at the bottom that had completely come apart, but I put it back together this week, sanded, spray painted the inside
cubbies, and painted by hand the rest of the desk. The hardware was taken off and spray painted with hammered iron (rust-o-leum)
and the results are seen below. I luckily had the piece that broke off the front leg, and missing hardware. I love this little desk, and used to have it in our home when our children were little. So it even meant a lot to me. My husband has graciously let me have it in my craft studio. Thankyou to my sweetheart, it was like getting a really special gift, and I enjoyed very much restoring it to a useful piece.

I guess in older desks like these, they used to build little secret compartments.  There are two of these, one on each side of the little door.  It was so secret, my husband didn't even know they existed and it was his desk for years.  below is another picture of how it looks when the slant top is down.

Fall Intrigues Basket Swap arrival

My partner for the Fall basket Intrigues was Valarie Kraft from glitterydazeandnights.blogspot.com. We had some problems getting it to here to Logandale. I was patient, but deep inside the anticipation was killing me. We live in a more rural town in Nevada and I guess it came all the way to me and was sent back to Valarie in Colorado. I was a little bit ticked at my post office, after all they do know me. I am sure it had to be frustrating for sweet Valarie.  On Monday, November 1st it finally arrived! I think I was the last to receive, and it was well worth the wait! I was never so thrilled to get a much anticipated package. I had so much fun opening it. I took it home to my studio and went to work on unpacking the very large box of goodies, and before I got to the basket that was wrapped in cellophane, there was this awesome burlap and ribbon wreath, and there were fun snacks, little candy bars, her famous faux  cupcakes Thanksgiving style, and other surprizes. It couldn't be more perfect for November as everything seemed to have a Thanksgiving theme.

Inside the large wooden basket, there was the amazing Banner which spells out F A L L, a darling figurine, pumpkin cheesecake bar mix, candle Chocolates and this way cool Turkey glass dish with lid. I love love it all so much. Thankyou Thankyou Valarie. Your banner is amazing.

Here is a picture of the banner at my living room
fireplace along with tassels that Kerry made for me
from a YOE swap. they go together so well at my hearth!

I found the perfect spot for this sweet pilgrim.
She is adorable! I couldn't love it all more.
Now I have some great decorations for Thanksgiving too!

Look what $5.00 got me!

Okay, I finally was able to pull a Margaret. By that I mean that my sister Margaret lives in an area where she is always going to estate, garage or yard sales and finding the really amazing things for so little money. She posts something amazing every week. And she also is the host of Rusty Rave Monday.  Check out all here wonderful makeovers over at the Rusty Plum. therustyplum.blogspot.com It is finaIly my turn too.  I found this cool little vanity and bench at a yard sale on Saturday. (I actually went to 3 sales) I wasn't really looking to buy it until the lady said it was $2.00 That's right I said $2.00 and I told her I would take it! The items on top of the newly painted vanity and recovered bench (the photograph below) were $3.00 together,  making everything in the picture a total of $5.00. I love candlesticks and have found many neat things to do with them in decorating etc. So hence, I finally pulled a Margaret. Ha

One person's junk is truly another person's Treasures!

Hey there paper crafters, there has been new scrapbooking layouts added to my other blog
"Special Paper Projects"  Come say hi and check them out. This blog is very sad and lonely!   See you there!

My sort of attempt

I am in such a Christmasy crafting mood lately.
So I came up with this in my studio/craft room.
I decided that this would be my submission for the
the DECK THE HALLS Friday over at Tinsel and company.
I have admired so much the work of Jen
at j nichelle holiday that I really wanted
to try and somewhat attempt making a
Christmasy shaker box, covered in Mica
Flakes and Glitter to resemble hers.


The big difference in hers and mine, is that she uses
pure vintage. My figurine is a thrift shop find, and
is not vintage, just a look alike, and I might have
paid .75 for it. Jen's are all authentic vintage figurines.
Now the larger ornaments on the
bottle brush tree, are in fact blown glass, but I
don't think they are vintage, However I did use
some real mercury glass beads, along with the
old holly leaves sent to me by Jen herself. The
shaker box is from a craft store. The trim was
saved from a Christmas package back a few years
ago, and the "merry Christmas" and other musical
plastic instruments were purchased off of Etsy.
The mini silver glitter bells were from Walmart,
and I glued a mercury bead inside each one.
There also is some other vintage tinsel also
from Jen mixed in the tree.  Not to worry my 
friend Jen,  I will be making these for
my pleasure only.  I got a how glue burn from 
this little baby and the mica flakes make me itch!  ha

Owls in my life in time for Halloween!

The sign at the top was sent to me by my
good friend Kristin at Signs and Salvage
for hosting the Fall Intrigues Basket
swap. Check out her fun vintage blog, and all
the great little signs she makes.  There is a sign
for everyone there and every occasion.
Thanks so much Kristin.  The next owl is one
that I made for the YOE (year of enchantment)
swapper spots partner for the month of October.
Owls were the theme, so I came up with this Sleepy owl.

I also framed this little gem for my partner.

Then I made this little owl which actually hides a key inside. It was fun coming up with some owls for the swap, and then they were sent off to Australia, where they don't celebrate Halloween, so none of my owls were scary ones.

First attempt at cake balls

They are very easy, but I
need to practice more on getting
them to look perfect. I can see
really getting into this. There
are just so many possibilities with
these very tasty, sinful morsels.
Inside these were orange flavored
fall cake centers. I learned a lot
about melting candy coating, and
just when to put the sprinkles on.

I have seen cake balls so many different
places, that I just had to try them. I
think I will be making these at Christ-
mas time to share with friends and
neighbors. I would love your ideas on
flavors and centers. Here are some of mine.

1. Red velvet centers with chocolate coating
2. Spice cake with white chocolate coating
3. Rich dark chocolate centers/dark chocolate coating
4. peanut butter centers surrounded by chocolate cake and chocolate coating
5. peppermint cake centers with white chocolate and ground candy cane sprinkles

The list could go on and on.

Been making pillows

 There just are times that you have to keep something instead of giving it away or selling it.  This is one of those times!  I have been crafting pillows
from Moda and the basic grey charm pack 'Fruitcake' 
and have added vintage laces and trimmings, and also vintage jewelry and buttons. I wanted to particularly show the details of the "Merry Christmas"  on this pillow.  The other pillow pictured here was part of my latest giveaway sent off to the winner, and is shown in an earlier post.  I used a vintage 'M' pin and a 'C' from K and Company for the "Merry Christmas" and then Stamped with STAZ ON onto distressed cotton.  I love how it turned out and wanted to share it on the blog.  I will post more pillows as I complete them.

For Valarie in Fall Swap!

We were suppose to send a basket. I couldn't fit the house and the pillow in the basket, so just sent them in the same box.

Inside were many items, all with tags. Some treats, earrings, vintage earbobs, salt and pepper turkeys for Thanksgiving. Doily, picture frame, fall journal, buttons etc.

I made two of these pillows. One for Valarie, and one for another gal pal exchange on my get-away crafting retreat for 4 days. I did up a gift bag full of stuff for Halloween, for that.

Today I received my 150th follower

There is a winner in my short lived giveaway.
I made it to the 15oth follower today, and so I had a
drawing and the winner is. . . . . Susan from Art of Mine
www.sjmcdowell.blogspot.com Congratulations to
you my blogging friend Susan!