Leavenworth, Washington

Hello Ladies, hope you have all had a great weekend!

On the weekends, we try and explore as much of our new state as we can.  Yesterday, we took a day trip to a gorgeous Bavarian town several hours from here called Leavenworth.  The setting is just perfect, and seems right out of a fairy tale!  In the middle of snow covered mountains, the town feels straight out of the Black Forest region in Germany!

 I loved the architecture, and all of the flower boxes and hanging baskets.  They were stunning!  It was a very warm and sunny day, and the town was super busy, as you can see from all of the cars and tourists in some of my photos.

 All of the buildings had the most beautiful painted scenes, just like the ones we saw when we visited Germany several years ago!

 If it weren't for the American flags that were flying, and signs in English, this town would surely be mistaken for a little piece of heaven in Bavaria!

 We were surprised at how much warmer it was in Leavenworth than back by us in the Puget Sound.  It was in the upper 80's when we visited yesterday, which was one of the few glimpses we've had of hot weather since we've been out here. We do good to make it into the low 70's!

 And here is yours truly, and a glimpse of our little dog Emily, who was too busy to get her photo taken!

 The flowers were just stunning!  I don't think I've ever seen such huge hanging planters before!

 I especially loved the blue tones of this pretty building!  Look at all of that gorgeous hand painting!

 They say that it's especially beautiful at Christmas time, as they have lighting ceremonies all thru the month of December.  I know that I can't wait to return to this beautiful little town!

Isn't this church pretty?  It really does look authentically German!!!

Ok, now I am totally behind on visiting all of you, so I need to get busy and do some blog hopping!  

Have a great week!

Heirloom White Love!

Nothing gives me more of a thrill than a can of Heirloom White spray paint, and a treasure that is just waiting to be transformed!  So today I thought I'd share with you some of my latest projects, that I've added to my Etsy shop.

 I was super excited when I found this gorgeous vintage syroco mirror!  Of course, it was a "gaudy gold" when I discovered it, and was in dire need of a makeover!

 You would never guess that the frame is not carved wood.  Just look at all of the beautiful details!

I am always looking for candleholders and sconces, and was excited to find this pretty iron pair, which originally were black (but not for long!).

 I adore this pair of vintage syroco sconces!  They were black and gold when I found them (ugh!).

 Oh so much better now, I think!

 Speaking of syroco, if you have been with me awhile, you know how much fun I have transforming syroco anything!  I do believe that my heart actually skips a beat when I spot it while out on my treasure hunts!  I had alot of fun making over this pretty and large vintage wall pocket.  I just love all of the wonderful details of the piece!

 I especially love finding treasures that are not only attractive, but functional as well!  I was super excited when I found this vintage desk organizer. Originally dark brown (ick!), she's so much happier with her shabbylicious makeover!  She's made of a very heavy resin that has the look of carved wood.  Love!

 Just check out all of her wonderful details!

And last but certainly not least, I gave this set of candle holders a shabbyfied makeover!

 This little cutie below was hand made in Sweden, and is so much happier now with her new paint job!

 More shabbyliciousness!

All of the things you see here today are in my Etsy shop, if you'd like to check them out!!

I'm linking up with the following great parties:
Common Ground Vintage Inspiration Friday
Boogieboard Cottage Masterpiece Monday

Glittered Parisian Wall Hangings

Today I'd like to share with you a recent project that I made from wooden plaques that I picked up at the thrift shop.  Glittered Parisian wall plaques. Oooh, la,la!  But, they didn't begin life looking this good!  

Oh, no. 

 This is what they used to look like!  As soon as I spotted them, I just knew that they deserved a new lease on life!  I'm sure that the checkout people at the thrift shops always secretly wonder about me!  I can just hear them thinking "that poor woman needs some serious help!"  So, buh-bye cutsie little girl saying, so long, funny little frog!

 Nothing that a couple of coats of Heirloom white, some vintage sheet music, and a bit of glitter can't cure!

 One of the things that first drew me to these plaques were their pretty antique toned metal hangers.  Love!

 After painting and distressing the plaques, I decoupaged some vintage sheet music to them, and added these gorgeous glittered vintage inspired French postcards.

 Much better, no?

Voila!   My two favorite Parisian monuments, Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower.  Tres magnifique!

 So there you have it!  Just because something may look a bit tired, a bit sad or worn out, doesn't mean that it has to stay that way for long!  Now go out and find something to transform!!

I am linking to the following parties:
Faded Charm White Wednesday
French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday

Drab to Fab Chalkboard Makeover

It seems that I am continually on the hunt for large frames that I can transform in one way or another.  I especially love making chalkboards from these once cast off, and often quite unattractive (when I find them, at least!) frames.  So, when I found a large vintage syroco type frame a few weeks ago, I was super excited!
I'll show you what it used to look like in just a bit.  Here it is after I gave it a much needed makeover!

 Ok, are you sure you are ready to see the "before"?  I told you that it was in dire need of a transformation!  And I am sure that the cashier at the thrift shop where I found it at took one look at me and thought "the poor dear, she doesn't know bad taste when she sees it!"  This photo actually made it look better than it was in real life!  The gold tone of the frame made it look even more "plasticy"

Ok, I know that you are shocked that I did not use my standard Heirloom White on this piece!  As much as I love it, I thought the frame would be pretty in a nice pure white.  What a difference paint makes, don't you think?

 Instead of looking cheap and plasticy, the frame now has the appearance of carved wood, I think!

 I used my chalkboard vinyl on this one.  I love the clean look it has, and you can use chalk paint pens on it, too. I'm going to be in a flea market in our town in a couple of weeks, and I'm taking this beauty with me!

Much better looking now, don't you think?

What have you transformed lately?

Sweet Peas and Vintage Milk Glass

It's a warm and sunny day here on the Puget Sounds, a perfect day for a "photo shoot" out on the deck!

 I am in love with Sea Peas, and was thrilled to discover that there is a ton of it growing wild in our yard!  We always grew it back home in Michigan, and it's always been one of my favorite flowers.  I think it looks especially lovely in my vintage milk glass vases.

 I also really love this white cotton tablecloth with pretty crocheted trim and fringe.  I found it a garage sale earlier this summer for just $1!  I didn't realize it til I got home, but it actually is a shower curtain.  I'll probably use it as that someday, but for now, I think it makes a great stand in for a tablecloth!  Proof that you don't always have to use things for their intended purpose!

 I think the detail is just gorgeous!  And to think it was only a mere dollar!

 Such pretty and old fashioned feeling flowers, don't you think?  I didn't touch up the color of the blooms, they really are this vibrant!

 It's kind of hard to tell in the photos (I still don't know the "trick" to photographing milk glass!), but this compote has the prettiest diamond pattern.  I also really love the scalloped detail at the top.

 So pretty, and so romantic, I think!

 This Fenton hobnail vase below is one of my favorites.  My mom gave it to me years ago.

 I found this pretty vase at a thrift shop.  Not sure what you call the pattern, but I really love it!

 Don't you think that sweet peas resemble orchids, when you look at them up close?!

 Another pretty vase, found at a garage sale!

My mom had a great visit with us last week.  It was so nice having her here.  We took her site seeing, and I took her to some of my favorite shops, which she loved!  Hubby and I flew back with her to Michigan on Saturday.  It was a quick trip home, as hubby had to be to work today.  It was great seeing family, but it made me even more homesick for Michigan!  Like many of you, Michigan has been having the worst heat wave for weeks, and it was super hot and muggy when we were there!  So, I was actually looking forward to coming back to Washington, it's never humid here!  We spent about 8 hours yesterday stuck at the airport in Detroit!  What fun!  I had forgotten than Monday is the absolute worst day to fly.  The airport was a zoo, and we were beginning to think that we'd have to spend the night at a hotel there.  Luckily we finally made it out late afternoon, yeah!  Now that things are back to "normal" here, I can get caught up with all of you ladies!

Hope you are having a great week!

I'm linking up today's post with Kathleen over at Faded Charm for White Wednesday