My Ridiculously Simple Seashell Project

I got these really cute curved glass portraits of children praying at the Thrift Store for a buck apiece. I had been looking for some shells to frame them with but couldn't find the right size. 

On my last visit to San Diego, I went to see Debi Beard who owns "Out of the Blue." It is a fantastic shop in Solana Beach (but come to think of it, she has recently changed the name of her shop but I can't remember what it is!) She has a talent for making gorgeous embellishments with seashells. Anyway, I just knew she would have what I needed. 

Debi had the perfect sized shells for me. I used some vintage crepe paper and seam binding too. The block letters I'd recently gotten at a g'sale.

Thanks for helping me out, Debi! 

You can see Debi's latest creation, her blingy starfish chandelier and learn how to make your own with her how-to videos!

Enjoy!

Garage Sale Season is in Full Swing!

   

Although I don't get out sale-ing as often as I'd like, I did hit some great sales recently. 

I've been on this AQUA kick lately. If I see anything that color, I buy it. (Within reason...) Don't ask me why. Check out this cool little dish: pressed glass scene of the last supper! The blue disk bracelet was a score this morning and the  blown glass paperweight is from Salvation Army.

Two vintage brooches, a bronze seahorse and lefton angel/devil figurine all for mere coinage.

This Brownie camera is similar to the one my mom used to take pictures of us as kids. I also bought some craft supplies: pink sugared bells,;a pack of tinsle stars; and mini alphabet blocks.

Here's a better look at the stars. They are in a nice jam server that is in the shape of a basket. It matches my existing tea set nicely!

The mercury glass bowl was just a quarter! How could I pass that up? The little piano is a jewelry box with nice detail on the "engraving."

You won't believe me when I tell you its actually made of plastic!

I love the detail of the little birds. I'm a sucker for birdies!

It was a gorgeous day for sales here in Missouri. I hope you are experiencing the same in your neighborhood! Good luck and happy Sale-ing!

Rosie

Warhol Pet Painting (kind of a "how-to")

This is my daughter's dog, Pee Wee. Pee Wee was an older dog who was left for months at the kennel because her owner died. My daughter cared for Pee Wee and got to know her while she worked at the kennel. My daughter fell in love with her and took her home. Pee Wee was a great dog with a kissable nose! Sadly, she passed away about a year ago.


This year for Christmas, I painted a Warhol-style picture of Pee Wee for my daughter.

I used the photo above as my starting point. I'm sorry I didn't take pics of the process, otherwise this would have been a very nice "how-to" entry. But in a nutshell:

I enlarged and printed the photo in black and white on the xerox machine in high contrast. Then I traced over the dog's outline from the xeroxed enlargement onto a plain sheet of paper. (I always tape my tracings to the window and the daylight works just like a light box!) On the back side of that paper, I covered each pencil line (back to the window!) with lead by swiping the broadside of the pencil lead over it. A bit of artists charcoal would also work.

Placing the image rightside up on your canvas, trace, again over the lines. This is how I transferred the exact image onto each square of the canvas. I wanted to use carbon paper but who has that anymore?
Then it was just a matter of filling in the spaces with paint, like paint-by-number! It was a very LOW tech project.



Let me know if you try it!!!
rosie

Easy Christmas Craft Banner

Here is a really simple Christmas craft for large groups or even just a few kids. Most of my group was elderly so I did all the prep myself to make it easier for them. All they really had to do was glue it all together. And to make that even easier, we used glue dots, so...NO MESS!

To make this easy banner you will need crepe paper, wired ribbon, paper doilies, pipe cleaners, some tape, magnetic strips and packaged letters in die-cut circles. I bought my letters at Hobby Lobby. They are pkgd as Initials so you can get 20 of each letter you need.

Begin by cutting crepe paper into 18"-20" strips

Fold each strip accordian style.

Then fan it out and press flat with the palm of your hand.

Secure it with scotch tape.

Do this for all the strips...

In all the colors you like!

Next you'll need your paper doilies. Mine were about 4" in diameter.

You'll just want to pinch and scrunch it up in the center to give it a little dimension. Then press it flat with the palm of your hand. Glue it to the top of your crepe paper medallion using glue or glue dots.

Next, take your letters and glue them to the center of the doily. I used the word "JOY" because is was more economical that "MERRY CHRISTMAS". (Ha!)




Next, cut your wired ribbon to accommodate the size of your greeting and glue (or "peel and stick") your magnet to the back of one end of the ribbon and cut a notch in the other. I looped the top end to give it a more "finished" look.

There are lots of pretty decorative ribbons out right now to choose from. I chose two: peppy polka dots and stripedy candy cane style. The last thing to do is to twist your pipe cleaner into a bow and glue it to the ribbon along with your finished lettered medallions. I have a metal front door so I hung it "toot-sweet" as soon as it was done!

Hope you try it!

rosie

Serenite' Maison and all my favorites

While on a recent trip to Tennesee I happened upon a wonderful shop in the teeny town of Leiper's Fork. Serenite' Maison is run by San Francisco transplant, Alexandra Cirimelli. If you are ever driving thru Franklin or even Nashville, it is waaaay worth the side trip! She has fabulous antiques from both Europe and the U.S.


Her decorating skills are to-die-for!


I also want to take you on a tour of some of my other favorite places to shop and browse....



Urban Barn in Escondido, Ca. comes to mind first.


With their warehouse full of lovlies and their monthly on-site flea markets it is really a wonderland to walk through.

Check out this chandy hanging from the rafters.

Debi Beard owns Out of the Blue in Solana Beach where she holds The Mermaid's Mercantile flea market on the last Sunday of every month.

This is the sweetest, sunniest, most delicious outdoor market I've ever been to!

With the blue sky shining down on everything, its like taking a walk in the clouds!

Debi has an amazing talent for turning everyday items into sparkling sea gems by embellishing them with seashells.

She was so sweet and gracious to allow me to take some photos.

Next on my list is Matilda's Mouse in Valley Center, Ca. The barn is not open everyday but only about one weekend a month. But that being so, you can bet on seeing something different everytime you pop in.

Wouldn't you love to have a table like this for your Thanksgiving day meal?

There are LOTS of pretties at Matilda's Mouse!

And THIS is Matilda (a-hem, the one on the right)!

Another great place is Vignettes in Ocean Beach in San Diego. I only have pics from the outside. They don't allow photos of the inside...So I guess you'll just have to visit them to see what they've got!

Christie Repasy and Rita Reade hold a fantastic outdoor market 4x/year called The Vintage Marketplace.
It used to be held at Christie's home and studio but they have now moved to a new location.

Lots of sugary sweet feminine items!

Cottage-y bliss!

This is Debbie from Blossoms Vintage Chic. Her booth is my favorite!

What are some of YOUR favorite spots to shop????

rosie

Awesome Velvet Headboard!

I've been able to hit a few local thrift stores on a regular basis and saw this headboard a week ago. It was blue and really needed some help so I passed it by. Well, the other night I went to bed thinking about it, (because, after all, it WAS velvet!) I called the next morning to see if it was still there. It was. I walked in, offered half of the asking price, and it was mine. I cleaned it up and it is fabulous!


It was a '70's stripedy blue and beige. I gave it a good scrubbing and sprayed a bleach solution on it. I was hoping to get a silvery shade of french blue grey and it worked perfectly. Above is a part on the back that shows a small portion of the original color. (I always forget to take before pics and I was pretty thorough with the bleach!)

I want to offer it at our next Re-InVintage sale in Sept. but I may have a hard time parting with it! It shines like a diamond!

rosie

Can I just say, "It's HOT?!"

I guess I should have brought in my candles from the wall sconce out back! Sheesh! It's so hot I can see the BIRDS panting!

There are some crazy people who still hold garage sales in 100+ degrees and being crazy myself, I'll stop if I'm out but I'm not going out on purpose...unless its to the air-conditioned thrift store...Here are a few recent finds:



Check out this Quinceanera crown and matching scepter! I hit this garage sale in the AM before work and drooled all over this set but didn't buy it. When I stopped again after work, it was still there and I knew it MUST be mine!



I put it on as soon as I got in the van and waved out the window like Queen Elizabeth all the way home.



I also got this tiny little crown at the same sale.



I'm using it to glitz-up my new little glass lamp from Salvation Army.



Once a year my neighbor takes me to her friends AWESOME sale that is in an old turkey barn. I got this adorable baby picture for $3.



Here are some more thrifting & G-sale finds: patina'd old clock, 2 pretty boxes and some glass knobs on clearance, 4 for $5, at Mega-Marshalls. Mega-Marshalls is like HomeGoods only HUGE.




But this was my luckiest find at Salvation Army yesterday. An old Steiff dalmation doggy! I'd love to tell you what I paid for him (CHEEP CHEEP) but I'm listing him on Ebay today and don't want to discourage any buyers.

The heat advisory that started last week is now extended through this weekend! Hope you are all finding nice ways to keep cool...like wandering around in a cool thrift store for 2 hours like I did!

rosie