Vintage Greeting Cards

We are in the middle of another deep freeze here at the Chateau! With temps in the single digits (I don't even want to know what the wind chill factor is!), it's a great day to stay indoors and get caught up on some projects!  Today I'd like to share with you some vintage greeting cards and post cards that I was just given from my SIL & BIL.  They belonged to my BIL's mother, and they were just going to throw them out!  Then they thought I might be interested in them.  Of course, I couldn't turn that offer down!

Most of the cards are from the early 1940's thru the 1950's.  Here are a few of my favorites.

 I really love all of the pretty floral cards!  I am trying so hard not to get spring fever!!

 Look at the inside of the above one on the right.  I think it's just charming!  Hard to believe these were going to get tossed out!!

 This next card below has a rather funny sense of humor (that I am afraid I don't get!!). 

 Kind of silly, but cute!  Notice the date?  1943!

 It seems like back then, they made the inside of the cards as pretty as the outside!

 I was especially excited to discover this postcard of Casa Loma, in Toronto.  The first long distance trip hubby and I took together in his airplane was to Toronto almost 11 years ago, and we have many great memories of visiting this castle!

 This postcard was never sent, so there is no postmark to determine its' age.  But, note the 4 cent postage stamp!

I think I will have to do something special with this postcard!

Also in the bunch were some pretty vintage Valentine's Day cards, that I will save to show you another time!  Have a great weekend, and keep warm and cozy!

From Drab to Fab!

Hello ladies, hope you are having a great week!
As you know, one of my favorite things to do is find overlooked "treasures in the making", and give them much needed makeovers!  You know, things that most people may overlook because they are oh so boring, or just downright ugly?  Well, today I want to share with you one of those projects!

I always like to start by showing you a glimpse of the "after".  I'm afraid that if I showed you a "before" shot first, you might be too afraid to look! 

Ok, she might not look so bad here in the above photos, but trust me, this baby needed some help!  I've always loved lazy Susans, so when I found this vintage one, I quickly scooped her up!  Note the lovely faux wood grain?  Ugh!!!

 Some Heirloom White and a decoupage treatment, and you would never guess that she started out as an ugly duckling!!

 Of course I had to shabby her up a bit around the edges!  She is vintage, after all!  Some pretty sepia toned decorative paper and a fun graphic from the Graphics Fairy and she is good to go!

I just knew that I could find a neat graphic to use for this project over at the Graphics Fairy, and when I spied this cool knife, fork and spoon, I immediately knew that they would be the perfect addition to the lazy Susan!

Much better, don't you think?

Happy creating!
I am linking up with the following great parties:
Funky Junk Interiors SNS
The Graphics Fairy Brag Monday

Everything's Coming Up Roses!

Bon Jour, Mon Amis!

It may be the middle of a very long, cold winter here at the Chateau, but I can still be dreaming of roses!  French roses, to be exact!

Today I wanted to share with you a few of the projects that I have been working on lately.

I am in love with this beautiful frame!  Isn't it gorgeous?  When I found it, it was a gold tone and just begging for a coat of Heirloom White!  After a bit of distressing, she was feeling much better and oh, so shabbylicious!

Aren't these white roses lovely?  I added a vintage print of roses by Pierre-Joseph Redoute.  Redoute was the premier botanical illustrator in France in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.  He offered drawing instructions to nobles and socialites, including the infamous Marie Antoinette, and Napoleons wives, as well!

Redoute's work even drew the attention of John James Audubon, another artist whom I admire.  Audubon even took a trip across the pond to visit with him!

Oooh, la, la!

I am always excited when I find oval frames.  This one was also gold when I discovered it.  I immediately knew that it would be so much prettier in creamy white!

After adding another of Redoute's rose prints, I think this former dated frame (that came with a really ugly picture!) is much happier!

More distressing love!

And I was extra excited when I discovered this vintage frame!  It was brown when I found it, and though I really liked the original finish, I knew that it would be the perfect addition to my framed rose collection.

I added this pretty wooden applique.  What a difference it makes!

I think the shape of the frame is so neat, I've never seen one just like it.  Below is what she used to look like.  All three of these framed roses are going in my Etsy shop, which you can visit here if you would like.

Ok, this baby is not for sale!  She is a keeper!  You may remember me showing you this a few months ago.  My mom gave me a very old and dusty window, in dire need of a makeover.  Several coats of paint and Redoute prints later, and she is looking just gorgeous!!!

One last thing I'd like to share with you today is my sweet friend Cindy Adkins' new on line magazine!  I am so excited for her! Cindy will be featuring several creative bloggers each week, as well as sharing her many talents with us!  She currently has two giveaways that I know you will love, so be sure to visit and check out her new venture, Whimsical Musings Magazine!
Au Revoir!! 
I've linked up with the following parties, be sure to visit!
Faded Charm White Wednesday
Beyond the Picket Fence Under $100 Party 
The Speckled Dog Favorite Things Friday 
Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday

Handy Hubby!

Sometimes I like to tease my husband and tell him that the only reason I married him was because he is so handy!  Of course, he has a good sense of humor and knows that I am joking!!  Of course, it is nice to be married to a handy guy!  Hubby can build or make just about anything. In fact, he is a licensed builder and built part of our home all by himself!

Today, I wanted to show you a beautiful shelf that he just finished creating.

I have been encouraging him to open his own Etsy shop, which he plans on doing as soon as he gets some inventory.  In the mean time, this baby is going in my Etsy shop.

 Hubby built is, and I painted it.  That's our agreement:  he builds and I paint!  I also distressed it and added an antiquing glaze.

 I love the way the distressing and glaze give it instant character!

 It's quite a bit longer than it looks, it's nearly 4 feet long!

I was doing alot of distressing today of my own projects that I am working on, when I realized that it (distressing) is a great stress reliever!  Maybe they should call it de-stressing instead!!

Have a great and (hopefully!) stress free night!!

Enamel Pail Project

Do you love enamelware?  I do, and I was thrilled to find this adorable creamy yellow enamelware bucket last week while out thrifting.  It's not vintage, (though it looks it!)  but it is brand new, and still had the original tag on it!  So of course I knew that it would be coming home with me!  It didn't have this pretty label on though.

 As soon as I spotted the pail, I just knew that a French themed label would be the perfect addition.

 I've used this beautiful label on several different projects.  It's from the Graphics Fairy, and I just love it!  I decoupaged the label on, then went over the entire label with Diamond Glaze, to give it a shiny glaze like finish.

 Isn't this wooden handle adorable? 

 Wouldn't this be charming filled with pretty rolled up cloth napkins and silverware for a buffet dinner?  Or how about in the powder room filled with some fluffy white hand towels rolled up, and some pretty bars of soap?  I can think of so many uses for this cute pail!

I'm putting her in my Etsy shop a bit later tonight.  So of course that could mean only one thing:  I need to find another one so that I can make one for myself!!
I've linked up with:
My Romantic Home Show and Tell Friday
Funky Junk Interiors SNS 
Finding Fabulous Frugalicious Friday

Pretty Glittered Valentine Jar Candle

Hello Ladies,
Since yesterday I posted about my obsession with glitter, I thought I might as well do yet another glitter post today!!  I'm linking up with Brag Monday over at the Graphics Fairy.  If you have never visited, be sure to do so!  You will find tons of beautiful and  inspiring graphics, Karen adds a new one each day!!  I found this gorgeous vintage Valentine over there, and just knew that it would be perfect for my jar candle project!

 I love birds, and think these are just the sweetest!

 This project combined several of my favorite crafting elements:  glitter (of course), Mod Podge, and pages from a vintage French book.

 I added some of my favorite wonderfully crinkly seam binding, a neat vintage key that had just the right perfect amount of rust!  I wanted to add a little heart, but I didn't have anything on hand.  What's a girl to do but make her own?  I made this pretty heart out of chipboard, and covered both sides with pages from a vintage French book.  Of course I had to add some fine light pink glitter, and I used a gold paint pen around the edges to glam it up even more!

 The back of the jar candle features pages from a vintage French book.  Oooh, la, la! 

 The key to my heart!  (sorry, I just couldn't resist!)

 I will be putting the candle in my Etsy shop later tonight, but I love it so much that I want to make one for myself!!!

Here's one last look!  What have you glittered lately?
I've linked up to the following great parties:
Beyond the Picket Fence Under $100 Party