Pedestal Obsession!

If you have been visiting me for awhile, you know that I am in love with pedestals!  Put anything up on a pedestal and it immediately looks better, don't you think?

Well, I am always hunting for vintage wooden pedestal bowls, and was super excited to discover one last weekend when we visited the Olympic Peninsula. Hey, a girl can't waste any thrifting opportunities, can she?

One of these days I need to get better about remembering to take "before" shots. At any rate, this was a dark finish, just begging for some paint and my decoupaging treatment!

 Some cream paint, The Graphics Fairy, and vintage sheet music from my collection, and viola, a one of a kind vintage shabbylicious pedestal is born!

 This jasmine French soap label has got to be one of my all time favorites from the Graphics Fairy (I think I say that about all of Karen's graphics!)

 I guess you could say this is my "signature look", as I've created quite a few of these sheet music lined pedestal bowls.  And the thought just occurred to me that I actually need to make one for myself, as all of the others I have sold!!

 Some distressing and antiquing glaze gives it that perfectly imperfect look that I love so much!

Here's one last look!

I may not be on here much for the next week or so, as my mom is on her way out here, as we speak!  I am super excited, to say the least! Hubby took an early flight from Seattle this morning for home, and met my mom at the airport, so he could fly back with her.  My mom is 84, and not as mobile as she used to be.  To get her around is hard enough, let alone getting her thru an airport and on a plane to fly clear across the country!  It will be her first time visiting Washington State.  So, I plan on flying back with her when she returns, and staying for a few days.  I am so looking forward to it, I'm really homesick and missing everyone!

Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Another Fun Repurposing Project

Like so many of you talented bloggers out there, nothing makes me happier than to breath new life into the old, the ugly, or the once loved treasures that I unearth at thrift shops or garage sales!  Today I'd like to show you one of my latest repurposing projects, a fun cafe sign with a vintage vibe!

 I'm a bad blogger once again, as in my excitement to paint this puppy, I neglected to take a "before" shot!  At any rate, this started out as a plain, ordinary dark wooden platter.  Nothing exciting.  Rather ho-hum, actually!  I began by painting it one of my favorite creamy shades, followed by a generous dose of distressing, and my trusty ol' antiquing glaze.

 I am totally in love with this cafe design from the Graphics Fairy!  I thought it would be a perfect match for my new sign!

 So, I decoupaged it on, and added a sawtooth hanger to the back, so the sign can be hung.  I thought it would look neat perched on an easel, too!

 I've added it to my Etsy shop, if you care to take a look!

Gotta run, it's back to painting and decoupaging for me!

Now go out and find something to repurpose!!!

I'm linking up with the following great parties:
French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday
Common Ground Vintage Inspiration Friday

Lavender Festival and Rain Forest Trip

Over the weekend, we took a trip to the town of Sequim (pronounced "Skwim")  on the Olympic Peninsula to attend their lavender festival.  I never would have thought that rainy, cool Washington would be anywhere near an ideal climate for growing lavender!  But, there are many micro climates in our state, and Sequim is in what is called "the banana belt", meaning that it is much drier and sunnier than most of the state!

 There are over a dozen lavender farms in town.  We visited two of them, and I got to pick my own fresh lavender bouquet!  The scent and sight was amazing!  Row after row of gorgeous, fragrant lavender, of more varieties than I ever knew existed!

I was picking my bouquet alongside hundreds of honeybees!  They didn't even mind that I was there!

 One of the farms had some really neat displays.  Love this "planted" chair!

 And I thought this bicycle was just too cute!

 If you look closely, you will see a bumble bee enjoying this gorgeous poppy!

 And how cute is this vintage baby buggy heaped full of lavender bundles?

 Can't you just smell the lavender?!

 The next day, we went to the Hoh Rain Forest, in The Olympic National Park.  The photos below just don't do it justice!  Of course, it was raining when we visited!  They get an average of 240" of rain a year.  Can you believe it?!

 There was moss dripping everywhere, making the tree branches appear like some strange mythical creatures!

 We were thrilled to see these elk, which were right next to the hiking trail!  They barely looked up at us as we quietly walked by!

 Doesn't this moss covered tree look like some crazy giant insect out of a science fiction movie?

 Roosevelt elk up close and personal!

 And you never know just who you will want to call when you visit the rain forest! (actually, the phone was long gone, I just thought this moss was so funny!).

Hope you are having a great week.  If it is hot where you live (back home in Michigan, they are having a major heat wave!), hope that you are keeping cool!  It is cold and damp here today, I don't think it made it to 60 degrees, and I even turned the furnace on!  Now I'm off to visit all of your inspiring blogs:)

French Flower Market Buckets

 Bon Jour Mon Amis!  Today I wanted to share with you one of my latest projects, French flower market inspired galvanized buckets.

 When I discovered these buckets the other day, I couldn't scoop them up fast enough!  I knew that they were full of potential!  To this bucket, I added one of my all time favorite French labels from the Graphics Fairy.  Just look at all of the gorgeous detail!

 The label below, also from the Graphics Fairy, is a copy of a French soap label.  I really love the colors of this one!

 Oooh, la, la!

 Ok, this rose label has also got to be one of my favorites over at the Graphics Fairy!

 What gorgeous colors, and a fitting label for my bucket, I think!

 I've put two of these in my Etsy shop, if you want to take a peek!

 And below is a shot of a real French flower shop, right across from the little hotel we stay at in Paris!

 And this is moi at our favorite Parisian market.  I can almost smell all of those gorgeous blooms right now!

Hope you have a great weekend!
I'm linking up with the following great parties!
Debra at Common Ground Vintage Inspiration Friday
The Graphics Fairy Brag Monday

French Flower Market Buckets

Gorgeous Vintage Floral Easel

Do you  love cream, white, and all shades in between?  Well, it's no secret that I do! Today I wanted to share with you one of my latest discoveries, that I am super excited about!

 I was thrilled to discover this vintage floral and faux bamboo Syroco easel the other day.  But, it didn't look this pretty when I found it at a garage sale!  Oh, no!  I'll show you a before shot a bit later.

 First off, I am always on the prowl for Syroco anything, and had never come across anything like this in all of my treasure hunting.  I nearly jumped up and down with excitement when I found it!  Of course, I had to give it a much needed makeover with the addition of my favorite shade of creamy white paint!  Just look at all of the gorgeous details!  Love!

 I think it's almost too pretty to cover up!  The great thing about this piece, which I didn't realize til I got her home, was that she can be also used as a wall shelf! 

 Also while out thrifting, I found this beautiful pink, oh so shabby chic picture frame.  Isn't it romantic?  The best part was, I didn't have to do a thing to it!  It was already perfectly distressed, so all I did was add a sheet of my vintage sheet music to it.

 This beautiful red rose came from our garden, and I thought it looked so pretty as part of my vignette.  I've placed it in one of my favorite little green vases.  If you look closely, you will see that there is a beautiful and dainty etched design on the vase.  I've had this since I was a little girl, when I received a bouquet in it, while I was recuperating in the hospital after having my tonsils removed (I guess that means the vase could be considered "vintage", yikes!).

 I think it looks lovely on the fleur de lis tray that I made, too!

 Ok, here is the easel "before".  So much better with the addition of creamy, dreamy white paint, don't you think?

 And here is one last look at my little romantic vignette!

Have a great day!  I'm linking up with Kathleen over at Faded Charm for White Wednesday.  Be sure to pay a visit!

Vintage Book Bundles

Do you love vintage books as much as I do?  To me, there is nothing more appealing than a stack of old books with interesting spines or covers.  Ok, chocolate might be more appealing to me, or a nice glass of wine, or a plate of pasta, haha!  So lately I have been on a kick creating embellished vintage book bundles!

I tied this bundle together with wonderfully crinkly light mossy green seam binding.  I also used a snippet of burlap from a coffee bag (love that look!), and further embellished the stack with a neat skeleton key, a glittered silk hydrangea blossom, and a vintage French vocabulary card.

 I love the way the stack looks on my silver tray.

 For the stack below, I printed out a gorgeous French bird image from the Graphics Fairy onto a sheet of vintage sheet music.  I tied the books together with twine for a bit of a rustic touch.

 Another skeleton key and vocabulary card complete the look!

 This next stack was really fun to create!  I was thrilled when I discovered both French and Italian vintage dictionaries recently!  I just knew that they would be perfect in a European themed bundle!

 So, I used some fun French and Italian themed papers (I just had to add some glitter to the Leaning Tower of Pisa!!), tied it all together with some twine, and of course another vintage French vocabulary card, and a cute little key that is printed with the word "journey".

 Since I only know a few words in Italian (I don't think "cappuccino" or "gelato" count, do they???), and my French is rusty, maybe I should be keeping these dictionaries for myself, haha!!

If you are interested, I have several vintage book bundles, including some of the ones you see here, available in my Etsy shop.

Ok, now I need to get busy and visit all of you wonderfully talented ladies and see what you've been up to!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
I'm linking up with the following great parties:
Boogieboard Cottage Masterpiece Monday
Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday